dinner

Easy Lemony Baked Steelhead Trout

January 13, 2020 by Becky Spoon

This baked Steelhead Trout takes minutes to bake! Loaded with garlic and lemon, this dish was absolutely delicious. I purchased this trout fresh, immediately froze it, then allowed it to thaw in my refrigerator overnight. The trout was still as fresh as it had been the day I bought it!

Steelhead and Rainbow Trout are the same species of fish. The difference between the two are that the rainbow trout remain in fresh water, while the steelhead are anadromous – living in both fresh water and the ocean for parts of their lives.

Steelhead trout is a member of the salmon family that is commonly fished for sport in the United States. It is related to (and similar in many ways to) the rainbow trout, but steelhead trout are slightly larger, are less colorful.

Steelhead trout taste much like salmon. It is a little stronger in flavor, but you can easily substitute salmon in this recipe. It is a beautiful fish that makes a wonderful presentation.

I actually had this for breakfast. It was wonderful with some hashbrowns, fried eggs and toast.

This would be wonderful with just some buttered red potatoes, a nice salad or a vegetable like asparagus or sautéed spinach. Here is an asparagus recipe on the blog that would be delicious with this: https://the2spoons.com/sesame-roasted-asparagus-with-whipped-boursin/.

Easy Lemony Baked Steelhead Trout

When I bought this it was whole. Before cooking I removed the head and cut the fish down the middle. There is a line of bones that I removed, but all of this was easily done.

Melted butter with garlic and lemon juice, along with slices of lemon makes for such a delicious meal. I cooked I in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, checking after about 10. You want to cook it until the fish is a little flaky, but you sure don’t want to overcook it.

Easy Baked Steelhead Trout

Print Recipe

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 Whole steelhead trout cut down the middle and bones removed (about 3-5 bounds)
1/2-1 stick butter depending on the size of your trout
1-2 tsp minced garlic
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
1 lemon sliced
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the fish by removing the head and slicing through but leaving it whole, so you can lay flat. Thoroughly wash the fish. Dry the fish and lay flat so you can remove the bones. There is a strip of bones I just easily removed with a sharp knife pulling them out, you can feel them and it's not hard to do. You may be able to buy your fish already prepped, but mine was whole, but still very easy.
Line a sheet pan or baking dish with foil. Place your fish in the dish. Melt your butter, then add the minced garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice. Brush on both sides of your fish, pouring the remainder on and around the fish. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Lay the lemons on top of your fish on both sides.
Bake for about 10 minutes, then check for doneness. You want the fish to be a little firm but flaky. If not done, place back into the oven and cook an additional 10 minutes or until flaky. you could even cook under the broiler, watching closely so that it doesn't burn.
Use any leftover to make croquettes. Use just like flaked salmon. Enjoy

Super Easy Mississippi Pot Roast

December 30, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

I always forget about Mississippi Pot Roast! I saw a relative posting it the other day and he gave me his recipe! Yum! Perfect as a pot roast but our favorite way to serve is on a toasted bun with melted mozzarella or provolone cheese. Delicious!

Super Easy Mississippi Pot Roast

The recipe blends together five distinct and rather unexpected ingredients: one packet of ranch seasoning, one packet of au jus gravy mix, Several jarred pepperoncini (I used quiet a few) a full stick of butter, and a 3- to 5-pound chuck roast. If you aren’t familiar with the pepperoncini, here’s a link: https://www.walmart.com/tp/pepperoncini. Not only are these great for this recipe, I use them with a blend of olives, pickles, tomatoes and onions for an Italian salad mix.

This recipe originally was created using the slow cooker but I used the Instant Pot. I wanted my roast really tender, so I set the time for an hour. I used a chuck roast but you can use any roast similar that’s perfect for a braise. If you don’t already have an Instant Pot, you will not regret the purchase! Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/2Z9dcbx

Mississippi Pot Roast

Want another roast recipe for your Instant Pot? Try my Sunday Pot Roast: https://the2spoons.com/?s=Pot+roast. It’s a must!

Let me know after you make this Mississippi Pot Roast what you think! My husband loved it! He asked for it a couple of times with the leftovers. When I make it as a sandwich, I strain some of the au jus and serve it for dipping. Yum!

Mississippi Pot Roast

Print Recipe

Course: dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 3-4 lb boneless beef roast, your choice of cut (I used chuck)
1 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
1 Pkg au jus gravy mix
1 Pkg
dry ranch dressing mix, such as Hidden Valley
Pepperoncini peppers, number to your liking, and a little juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, if desired

Method

Slow Cooker Method:
Put the roast in a slow cooker. Add the butter, au jus gravy mix, ranch dressing mix and pepperoncini peppers and juice. Add salt and pepper if you like and cook on low until tender, about 8 hours.
Instant Pot Method:
Put the roast in an Instant pot: Add the butter, au jus gravy mix, ranch dressing mix and pepperoncini peppers and juice. Add salt and pepper . Set the pressure cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Beautiful Roast Chicken with Sauce Chasseur

November 9, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

This Roast Chicken with Sauce Chasseur recipe was in the October, 2019 issue of Food and Wine and I just had to make it. As with all recipes, mine isn’t exactly the same. I feel a recipe is a guide and you make your version as close to the recipe with what you have on hand or what you have available locally, like the Airline Chicken Breast the recipe calls for. What’s an Airline Chicken Breast?

Airline chicken is a food dish comprising a boneless chicken breast with the drumette attached. Skin on breast with 1st wing joint and tenderloin attached, otherwise boneless. The cut is also known as a frenched breast. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_chicken. If you don’t have a butcher that can cut an airline chicken breast, if you don’t want to cut it yourself, or you can find from a specialty store like Central Market, a bone-in, skin on chicken breast works just as well. That is what I used. You don’t quite have the dramatic presentation, but the taste is the same!

Beautiful Roast Chicken with Sauce Chasseur

Another Roast chicken recipe I think you will love is my Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken. Here’s the link! https://the2spoons.com/lemon-and-garlic-roast-chicken/. This recipe is on my blog and it is a delicious recipe also!

Beautiful Roast Chicken with Sauce Chasseur

Here you go with the Roasst Chick with Sauce Chasseur recipe. Hope you Enjoy! I served it with a Basmati Rice that I steamed and just added a little salt, pepper and butter. The rice was the perfect accompaniment.

Beautiful Roast Chicken with Sauce Chasseur

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Course: dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 tbsp neutral oil
4 skin-on airline chicken breasts or skin-on, bone in chicken breast
11/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 large shallots, halved lengthwise, root ends trimmed
8 thyme sprigs
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz fresh wild mushrooms, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large plum tomato, chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon (I used dried because I wasn't able to find fresh)

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a 12-inch stainless steel ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Sear chicken in skillet, skin side down, until skin is crisp and golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken; add shallots, cut sides down, and press into skillet. Cook chicken and shallots until shallots are browned, about 4 minutes. Add thyme and wine to skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium-high; add broth, and return to a simmer. Carefully transfer skillet (so skin of chicken stays dry) to preheated oven, and roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 155°F, about 20 minutes.
Remove skillet from oven. Using tongs, place chicken breasts and shallots on a plate; tent with aluminum foil to keep warm while making sauce. Pour broth mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl or measuring cup, and set aside. Wipe skillet clean, and return to high heat.
Melt butter in skillet, and add mushrooms in a single layer. Cook, without stirring, until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Shake skillet to loosen mushrooms; cook, without stirring, until mushrooms just begin to release their juices, about 2 minutes. Add strained broth mixture and cream to skillet, and bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in tomato, chives, and tarragon; season with salt to taste.
Slice chicken breasts crosswise into 1-inch-thick pieces. Divide chicken among plates, and serve with sauce chasseur.

Delicious Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas

October 8, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

I made this recipe, Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas, while I was in New Mexico a few weeks ago. The lighting was bad in the condos I was staying in, so the photo isn’t the greatest, but boy, is this dish good! It’s actually delicious!

The perfect dish for meatless Mondays, this dish has two types of mushrooms. Along with the mushrooms, there is chickpeas. I love chickpeas. They are actually good for you are loaded with nutrients. Here’s a link giving you a list of some of the benefits: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/chickpeas-nutrition-benefits.

I saw this recipe on Instagram from Half Baked Harvest blog. Like all recipes, I tweaked because of available ingredients, like the burrata Tieghan used. I honestly can’t find burrata at my local grocery stores, so I substituted Bocconcini, you know, the little fresh mozzarella balls.

Besides loving all the other ingredients in this recipe, I love the polenta. Adding the basil pesto to the polenta adds another level of flavor. Here’s another recipe I have on the blog with polenta:https://the2spoons.com/chicken-agrodolce-with-creamy-polenta/.

Delicious Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas

Here’s the recipe! Enjoy!

Delicious Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas

Print Recipe

Servings: 6 servings

Course: dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, roughly chopped (I used baby bella and shitake)
1 can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
3 sprigs fresh thyme
6 cloves garlilc, smashed
salt and pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes

For the Polenta

1 1/2 cups dry instant polenta
3 tbsp butter
1/2 bunch spinach or dale, chopped
1/3 cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
8 oz burrata cheese, at room temperature, or fresh mozzerella if you can't find burrata.

Method

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Position the oven rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven.
On a rimmed baking sheet, combine the olive oil, mushrooms, chickpeas, thyme, garlic, and a pinch of salt., pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Increase the heat to 475 degrees F. Toss the mushrooms and chickpeas, then return to the oven and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until crisp on the edges. Watch closely.
Meanwhile, make the polenta. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the polenta, stirring until the polenta is soft and thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter with olive oil, kale or spinach and 2 tablespoons pesto, stirring until the spinach or kale has wilted, about 3 minutes. If the polenta thickens too much, thin with water.
Divide the polenta between bowls and break the burrata over the polenta. Spoon the mushrooms and chickpeas over the polenta. Drizzle with additional pesto and garnish with fresh thyme.

Essential – Classic Fish Chowder Recipe

September 12, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

This Classic Fish Chowder is an essential recipe you need to have in your repertoire. Once you have the recipe for the chowder base you can use different fish or seafood to complete the dish. You could easily make this a clam chowder. Add a little celery when you sauté the onions, use clam juice instead of the fish stock, finish with some cooked and diced salt pork for garnish and you’ll have the perfect clam chowder.

The base is loaded with heavy cream, butter, onions and lemon zest. What is not to love? The recipe calls for whole milk and heavy cream, so no worries you’re not using all heavy cream. But who are we kidding? Heavy cream and butter? To die for!

I love chowders any time of the year, but I really love soups, chowders and stews in the cooler months. You will want to try this recipe. I gobbled it up so fast it was so delicious! It is one of those dishes that you just can’t take a break from eating!

Essential – Classic Fish Chowder Recipe

I used Red Snapper because #1. I love it! #2. I had it on hand. Other white fish that is good in chowder are: Popular kinds of white fish are tilapia, cod, bass, grouper, haddock, catfish, and snapper, and these are great for frying, searing, using in soups and chowders, and baking. Here’s a link with same information from the Kitchen: http://Popular kinds of white fish are tilapia, cod, bass, grouper, haddock, catfish, and snapper, and these are great for frying, searing, using in soups and chowders, and baking.

Essential – Classic Fish Chowder Recipe

Another favorite is my Fisherman’s Stew. The stew is loaded with mussels, cod and sea scallops! Here’s the recipe link for your review: https://the2spoons.com/fishermans-stew-or-cioppino-hearty-robust/.

Here’s the recipe for the Classic Fish Chowder! Enjoy!

Classic Fish Chowder

Print Recipe

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Seafood

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup diced celery
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups fish stock
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
zest of one lemon
2 cups chopped white fish
2 tbsp fresh dill leaves for garnish
1 tbsp finely diced fresh chives
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium-heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, keeping a close watch that it doesn't burn. Add the onion, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and a pinch of salt, and sauté until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes and fish stock, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the potatoes are almost fork tender (6-8 minutes).
Stir in the milk, heavy cream, smoked paprika, and lemon zest. Season with salt, and bring the chowder back to a simmer. Add the fish and simmer about 5 minutes until the fish is cooked through, opaque and easily flakes with a fork. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Divided the chowder into bowls, then garnish with fresh dill, chives and freshly ground black pepper.

Corn & Summer Tomato Salad with Grilled Chicken, Fresh & Delicious!

August 15, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

This Corn & Summer Tomato Salad with Grilled Chicken is loaded with fresh summer vegetables and the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing is a little spicy from a little fresh jalapeno with some tartness from lime juice! Oh, and the cilantro in the dressing just makes it!

Fresh Corn & Summer Tomato Salad with Grilled Chicken, Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

The dressing takes minutes to make. I make it in my food processor allowing it to emulsify. The base of the dressing is yogurt which gets you away from a mayonnaise-based dressing. I’m not knocking mayonnaise-based dressings, love them, but you know trying to cut a few calories, so this yogurt-based healthy–ish dressing was perfect. Even my husband loved it and yes, there was no mention of the yogurt! Lol!

Corn & Summer Tomato Salad with Grilled Chicken

I marinated the chicken strips in the dressing before grilling for about an hour in the refrigerator. I allowed the chicken to come to room temperature before placing on the grill. Honestly, the chicken makes the dish! It is so delicious, loaded with flavor from the marinade and the charring from grilling. I used a whole milk yogurt, but there are so many great yogurts, so choose your favorite! I used HEB Organics Whole Milk yogurt. Here’s the link: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-organics-whole-milk-plain-yogurt/2088234.

I used metal skewers for the chicken. I cut a large chicken breast into strips, then threaded it onto the skewers. Wood skewers are fine, just remember to soak them in water before you place them on the grill.

Summer is the perfect time of the year to use fresh corn. I posted a recipe yesterday “Summer Pasta with Fresh Corn, Roasted Red Peppers and Cherry Tomatoes” that was absolutely delicious! Here is the link for that recipe” Ihttps://the2spoons.com/summer-pasta-with-fresh-corn-roasted-red-peppers/

Corn & Summer Tomato Salad with Grilled Chicken

Hope you try this recipe!! Even though cutting calories is the idea for this recipe, the salad is absolutely so filling!!!

Corn & Summer Tomato Salad with Grilled Chicken

Print Recipe

Servings: 2 servings

Course: dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1-2 heads Romaine Lettuce, washed and chopped
1/2 English Cucumber
2 Ears of Corn, grilled
1 large tomato, diced or 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes halved
4-5 Radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 15.5 oz can Chickpeas
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
Grilled Chicken Skewers

For the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

1 large bunch of cilantro
1/2 cup plain yogurt of your choice
1 garlic clove
juice of two limes
1-2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and stem removed (optional)

For the Grilled Chicken

1-2 chicken breast, sliced into strips
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing for Marinade
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Method

For the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
Add the cilantro, yogurt, garlic, lime juice, honey, salt and jalapeno (if using) into a food processor or blender. Put the lid on and blend. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil and blend until smooth. Stop and Taste, adjust with more salt or honey if desired.

For the Grilled Chicken

Place the chicken strips in a zip lock bag. Add a little extra virgin olive oil and coat with the dressing. Marinate for about an hour. Remove the chicken and alow to come to room temperature if you want. You don't have to do that, it just helps the chicken cook more eenly.
Before cooking, thread the chicken onto your skewers. Place on the grill and cook until cooked through. The chicken will cook fast since it is in strips.

To assemble the salad

Place the chopped lettuce and all other ingredients (except the chicken) in a large bowl. Add a little dressing at a time and toss. Layer a large platter with the salad and top with the Grilled Chicken Skewers. Serve Immediately!