The Adventures of Lady Kitchenless

Fish tacos with sprouts, salsa, cheese, and homemade guacamole!

Ingredients:
2 tilapia filets, fresh or thawed from frozen
One pita (I used whole wheat)
Dried parsley
Dried savoury
Chili powder
Salt
Pepper
Cheese
One jar medium salsa
One ripe avocado
Sprouts
6 tortillas
Lime juice
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil in sprayer

Line a baking sheet with foil and crumble the pita into tiny pieces onto the foil by rubbing it between your hands. Spray the pita crumbs with olive oil, then sprinkle the salt, pepper, savoury, chili powder, and parsley on top of the crumbs. Bake in a 350F oven for 18 minutes, stirring halfway through baking to ensure even cooking.

Once breadcrumbs are toasted, immediately remove them from the oven and slide them straight from the foil onto a plate, then put the foil back onto the baking sheet and spray the foil with olive oil. Pour the beaten egg onto another plate, and dip the tilapia filets in the egg, letting them soak for a few minutes. Dredge the tilapia filets into the breadcrumbs, making sure to coat thoroughly, then place the breaded tilapia on the foil-covered baking sheet. Bake the breaded fish for 10-12 minutes at 350F.

While the fish is baking, cut and mash the avocado in a bowl with a little salt and pepper, a teaspoon of lime juice, and two tablespoons of salsa. Adjust to taste, if necessary. Set the guacamole aside, the fish is probably done! Take the fish out of the oven and cut the filets into portions slightly smaller than your thumb.

Warm the tortillas in the microwave and fill with 2-3 cut up fish pieces, salsa, guacamole, cheese, and sprouts!

Apple Crisp! Yes, I did turn some apple slices leftover from the mandoline into little mushrooms. :)

2 large Honeycrisp apples, cored and thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 T lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 t cinnamon

Topping:
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 t cinnamon

Combine the sliced apples with the lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon, then place in a greased glass or metal baking pan. Combine the topping ingredients, cutting in the cold butter until the topping resembles large crumbs. Pour the topping onto the apple mixture, then bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

Shepherd’s Pie

Lord Kitchenless says this is, hands-down, his favourite dish. It’s pretty simple to make, and you can do wonders with it! You can make it with chicken, beef, lamb, or even leave the meat out entirely and it will still be amazing. It’s gluten-free, although I think it would be pretty difficult to make this dairy-free or vegan simply because you can’t make mashed potatoes that taste halfway decent without milk and REAL butter!

Mixed veggies (I used broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, courgette, green pepper, and mushrooms)
Steak, chicken, or lamb, 8-12 oz., cut into small chunks
Mashed potatoes (instant or fresh)
Mozzarella cheese (optional)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (I use the stuff in a tube)
2 T beef stock concentrate (I use the No Name brand from No Frills/Superstore; Bovril also makes it but it’s more expensive)
1/2 cup water
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup milk with 1 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt & black pepper

Saute the veggies and garlic in olive oil until tender, add salt & pepper, steak, beef stock concentrate, and water and simmer until steak is cooked. Add the milk/cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Sprinkle a thin layer of shredded mozzarella on top of the filling, then spread the mashed potatoes on top. Simmer 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.
Makes 4 servings.

Potato-Leek Soup

This is one of my favourite soups to make. It’s so quick and easy, and absolutely delicious. It can be made vegetarian/vegan by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and is kosher as well as dairy- and gluten-free!

1 leek (white and light green parts only), rinsed of all sand and diced
1 carrot, sliced into thin coins
2 T olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (I use the stuff in a tube)
1/2 tsp salt & black pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 small (pear-sized) potatoes, diced
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth

Saute the leek and carrot in the olive oil with salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic until the leek and carrots are soft.
Add the potatoes and liquid, simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Blend until smooth, garnish with parsley and paprika.
Makes 4 servings.

Chicken and vegetable stir fry

Typical stir fry that you just randomly throw together with whatever meat/veg you have in the fridge. I used bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, courgette, green beans, mushrooms, and red onion in my stir-fry. I started by sauteeing two chopped boneless skinless chicken thighs in 1 tablespoon sesame oil, in the rice cooker. Then I combined 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of mushroom-flavoured dark soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, stirred until the sugar was dissolved, then poured it over the chicken. Continue to cook the chicken, then add your veggies a little at a time, stirring to coat them with the sauce. Be sure to add the bok choy and cabbage last so they don’t get soggy. Put the lid on the rice cooker pot and let everything steam in there for about 10 minutes. Serve over steamed rice (we have a separate rice/vegetable steamer that works great when I need to cook stuff in the rice cooker that requires rice as a part of the meal!)

Another chicken pot pie, this time with leeks in the crust! It didn’t last very long. :)

…Yes, that IS a 4-leaf clover I tried to make on the crust. So what if it’s nowhere near St. Patrick’s Day?

Chicken and vegetable noodle soup and salad with balsamic vinaigrette

I used my basic chicken noodle soup (posted previously), but had lots of different vegetables including bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, courgette (zucchini), green beans, leek, and mushrooms, most of which came in my Fresh Food Box this month (so did the lettuce, tomato, and cucumber in the salad!). The rice cooker was almost overflowing, there was so much yummy stuff in it!

Balsamic vinaigrette

2 T olive oil

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 T red wine vinegar

1/2 t dry mustard

Put in 1-cup plastic container with snap-tight lid, shake until combined and oil is emulsified. Pour over salad.

Pork chops with a honey-mustard and balsamic vinegar glaze, with garlic mashed potatoes.

Pretty plain supper that night, but it was pretty damn good nonetheless.

Honey-Mustard Balsamic Vinegar Glaze

1 T honey

1 t dry mustard

2 T balsamic vinegar

Brush over pork chops or chicken before and during broiling. It’s delicious.

Chicken souvlaki on pita with lettuce, tomato, and homemade tzatziki!

The chicken souvlaki, dill, Greek yogourt, and pita bread were store-bought, but I got the lettuce, red onion, and tomato in my monthly Fresh Food Box, as well as the cucumber, lemon, and garlic in the tzatziki!

I cooked the souvlakis according to the package directions, and assembled all the tzatziki ingredients. I opened up the Greek yogourt, which is pretty thick already, and just poured off the little bit of liquid at the top. They say you’re supposed to strain the yogourt through a cloth into a bowl to get out all the liquid but that takes too damn long. Chop the ends off 1 medium cucumber, then cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Peel the cucumber then cut it into thin strips or grate it, sprinkle the cucumber with salt, then roll the salted cucumber into a clean kitchen towel and wring as much water out as you can over the sink. Add 1 large clove finely chopped garlic, 2 tsp. lemon juice, and the wrung-out salted cucumber to the yogourt. Roughly chop a few sprigs of dill and add that to the mix. Taste it and add salt & pepper, then cover it and put it in the fridge until the souvlakis are done cooking.

Heat the pita bread in the microwave for a couple minutes until it’s soft, then spread tzatziki sauce on the pita bread, add lettuce, tomato, and red onion, then top with the souvlaki! Enjoy!