Homemade Sushi!

I really did make homemade sushi with my friend Ellen! I am going to attempt to post these pictures here & explain this process...this is not really a recipe, but more of a way for me to try and retain this! 

 For starters, you can make this amazing super easy sauce that you see pictured here. Ellen called it "Volcano sauce."  It is basically that sriracha hot chile sauce that you can buy in the asian section at Walmart, mixed with mayonnaise! But I'm telling you, this stuff is amazing inside these Californian rolls!

 The ingredients we used were: japanese rice (she said to use this kind of rice b/c it's just the right amount of stickiness). We used sliced avocado, sliced cucumber, crab meat & the seaweed wraps. She bought all of these items at Kroger!  It is also helpful to have those small bamboo rolls--she said you can buy these at World Market, but Ellen said you could also just use a dish towel to roll the sushi if you don't have this mat.

So you lay a piece of saran wrap down on top of the bamboo mat. You spread out a layer of the cooked japanese rice--spread it nice and evenly in a square shape (basically the same size & shape of the seaweed wrap). You can see if you look closely at this picture that the rice is laid underneath the seaweed wrap.  Then inside the wrap you place your crabmeat, sliced avocado, sliced cucumber & top it off with a little volcano sauce.
The tricky part is just using that saran wrap to pick up the entire stack you've just created and you fold it over...kind of rolling it up (see the second picture for what it looks like once you've accomplished this).  After you've made the roll, use a sharp serrated knife to cut your sushi into the sushi rounds you see on the platter.  That's it!!
Ellen said there are many you tube videos showing you technique, etc.
I could not believe how "easy" it was to make this. Now I am hungry for sushi!
Hope I get brave enough to try this again before long!! :)

Simply Seasoned Seared Mahi Mahi

I made this the other night and Presley ate almost two fillets. She loved it!

4 Mahi fillets

3 T canola oil

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1-2 t flour

place oil in large non stick pan over high heat.

Preheat until there are ripples in the oil but before it begins smoking

Liberally season all sides of fish with salt, pepper and then sprinkle a very small amount of flour over tops and bottoms of each fillet, tubbing in the flour and seasoning to evenly distribute. (The addition of flour will help for a crust and prevent fish from sticking to the pan)

Place fish in pan, sear for 3-4 minutes or until golden crust has formed and the fish releases from the pan. Flip and cook another 3 minutes until just cooked through. Remove from pan and let fish rest for 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Hint: Fish will stick to pan until the moment it is ready to be flipped

Shrimp and Mushroom Casserole

Per Paula Deen recipe...
"This recipe can be served as a main dish with a green salad and French bread or as a side dish with steak."

8 T (1 stick) of butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups half & half
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (13 1/4 oz) can of sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
garlic powder to taste
buttered bread crumbs for topping (I used a sleeve of Ritz crackers tossed with a little butter)

Preheat oven to 350. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in flour, then slowly blend in half & half, stirring constantly. Sauce with be thick. Do not brown. Add mushroom soup, sliced mushrooms, and Parmesan. Fold in shrimp. Add garlic powder to taste. Pour mixture into buttered casserole dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Shrimp Summer Stir-Fry

Really good and easy (from the Pioneer Woman website), especially this time of year when the fresh veggies are so yummy (and cheap!)

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
12 whole Jumbo Shrimp, Peeled, Deveined, Tails Left On
2 whole Zucchini, Sliced On A Slight Diagonal
2 ears Corn, Kernels Sliced Off
½ cups Grape Tomatoes, Sliced In Half Lengthwise
Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
Chopped Fresh Herbs, If Desired

Preparation Instructions:

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic. When oil/butter is hot, add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes. Remove to a plate. Do not clean skillet.

Add the rest of the butter and oil and heat over medium heat. Add zucchini slices in a single layer and cook for one minute, tossing once. Scoot the zucchini to the edges of the pan, then add corn kernels to the middle of the pan. Cook for one minute. Add grape tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and toss around, then add shrimp. Cook for an additional 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Serve on a big platter.

Penne ala Betsy

I am just posting a link to a great recipe that I tried this past week. It was good, not too difficult (although not too healthy either!), and everyone in the family ate it.

Penne ala Betsy

It is from the website www.pioneerwoman.com which is one of my favorite recipe sites to look through.

I made this exactly like the recipe called for, but Kevin and I both thought it would be just as good with grilled chicken and maybe the addition of artichoke hearts & mushrooms if you like either of those.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Baked Tilapia

I love seafood, but Kevin is not a huge fan. This is a recipe he actually really likes though -- the fish is mild tasting and the panko breadcrumbs & seasonings make it a yummy meal. Even Seth will eat it!

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese or asiago cheese, grated
2-3 tilapia (or other mild white fish) fillets

Preheat oven to 400°F

Melt butter in shallow pie dish; set aside.

In another shallow dish, mix cracker crumbs, seasoning and spices.

Dry fillets and dredge in butter; then, in crumb-seasonings mixture.

Place on oil-sprayed foil-lined baking sheet and distribute remaining crumbs on tops of fillets.

Drizzle remaining melted butter over crumbs.

Sprinkle each with grated cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until fish flakes easily and topping is golden.