Thursday, May 27, 2010

Grilled Mahi Mahi


I've been working to incorporate more seafood into my diet...I hear it helps to trim the waist :) This recipe has won a spot on our regular menu. And what Mormon family doesn't love a main dish that can be served with rice!


3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp ground ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
mahi mahi filets (I use this recipe for 6 filets)
Pepper to taste


Mix all ingredients except the fish in a gallon size zip lock bag or a 13X9 baking dish. Add the fish, coat with marinade and let sit for at least 20 minutes and even up to 1 hour. I use the frozen filets from Sam's Club and often forget to thaw my fish ahead of time. I rinse them in cool water to break off the outer layer of ice, add the fish to the marinade and then let them thaw on the counter while they're soaking up the marinade goodness. If your filets are thawed ahead of time, let your fish marinade in the refrigerator.


I choose to pepper after the fish has marinated as I have non-pepper eaters in the house. This way the pepper doesn't contaminate the marinade. I also think this would be awesome with fresh ginger, but I'd use less than the ground ginger as fresh can have quite a bite.


These can be pan fried, but I prefer the grill. If you pan fry, use a little oil or spray in a non-stick pan. Cook until fish flakes (about 5 minutes per side depending on thickness of filet).


You may also reserve some of the marinade before adding the fish then reduce the extra marinade in the same pan you fry your fish in to make a sauce to top your fish. We've found the extra sauce isn't necessary but can be a nice addition.
Last night, I only had 4 mahi mahi filets and I knew that would not feed my family so I threw in a couple handfuls of jumbo shrimp to marinade for 10 minutes or so. Grilled these up and they were a hit! Although, I have to admit...I think the only shrimp my family wouldn't eat is shrimp that's still frozen, but that's even questionable.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream


Picture compliments of Joythebaker


I finally bought an ice cream maker and we're having so much fun! I'm having to exercise more as my restraint is weakening. I've never been a person to eat much ice cream because I just don't care much for it. But when you make it yourself and you can customize the taste and texture, boy oh boy, I'm a sucker for ice cream now!

Here is the first recipe we made and so far, our favorite. I found it on this website and fell in love the description the author penned for it. I was hooked from the words. Unfortunately, I had used all our cornstarch for diaper rashes and had none for ice cream at 10:00p.m. and wasn't willing to go to the store. I substituted unflavored gelatin (I used 1.5 tsp, but should have used at least 3 tsp or maybe even more). It did not set up while in the ice cream maker, but froze beautifully and was nice and soft when it came out. We made it again with corn starch and the texture was better in the ice cream maker and a nice scoopable yet firm texture once frozen.



Double Chocolate peanut Butter Ice Cream

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

double pinch of salt (I like a bit more salt with my chocolate so I doubled from the original recipe)

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup smooth salted peanut butter

In a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together 2 cups whole milk, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Heat until the milk start to steam, but before it starts to boil.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup of whole milk and the cornstarch. Stir until no lumps remain.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the heated milk and chocolate mixture and bring to a low boil. Boil until thickened. The mixture will look the consistency of chocolate pudding. Remove from flame.

In a small sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Once boiling, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir the cream and chocolate mixture until incorporated.

Stir the cream and chocolate mixture into the cooling chocolate ice cream base. Place in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, and put in the fridge until cool.

Once cool, follow the manufacturers instructions on the ice cream maker to churn ice cream. Once the mixture has chilled and thickened in the ice cream maker, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of peanut butter (we nuked the peanut butter for 15-20 seconds to make it nice and thin for a lovely pouring consistency). Don’t over mix. You want a nice ribbon of peanut butter running through the ice cream.

Transfer the ice cream into a freezer safe container and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter (we drizzled in 3/4 cup while the ice cream maker was running and did not stir in any at the end). Cover and freeze until solid.

Birthday Shrimp


Today is my husband's birthday and I made him a surf and turf lunch. Here is a fast and tasty way to prepare shrimp:

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper (we don't do spicy so use as much as you would like for a spicy kick)
2 tbls butter
2 tbls oilve oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup ginger ale
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 lbs shrimp - peeled and deveined
salt, to taste


In a small bowl, stir together your dry ingredients - garlic, onion, thyme, sugar, basil, rosemary, paprika and cayenne.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. When the oil is hot add minced garlic; cook about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle shrimp with the spice mixture-use as much or as little as you like-and continue to cook and stir until shrimp is pink all over. Pour on the ginger ale and balsamic vinegar; simmer until shrimp is cooked through, about 1-2 minutes more. Taste and season with salt before serving.