Skillet cajun spiced swai fillet with tomatoes

I had the weekend off, which means at least one of the days I was going to cook. I had some fish in the freezer so I took to my new favorite website, Skinnytaste, to find a recipe I could use with them. I again was not disappointed -- although my sinuses certainly are clean from the heat. The original recipe can be found here. 

Review: First of all the original recipe calls for using Flounder but it also says you can use any type of white fish. Well, I had some Swai in the freezer so I used that instead. Swai is similar to catfish. The only thing I didn't like about the fish was that it already was marinated -- something I did not know because I actually got it from someone else -- but it still had a nice flavor. I've had salmon so much the past few times I've cooked fish that the taste threw me off a bit, but if you like catfish you'll like the Swai. As far as the tomato mixture goes, it was really hot. I didn't have any cajun seasoning like the recipe calls for so I had to make my own. I used all the ingredients you would typically find in a Cajun seasoning but I think I added a bit too much cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. I like my food spicy but this was ALMOST too hot for me. It also didn't help that I used two cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis mild instead of fresh tomatoes because the green chilis added a bit of heat as well. I was still able to eat it and I will continue to do so with the leftovers, but if you have to make cajun seasoning yourself just be mindful of how much of the peppers you include, and you might even want to include one or the other of cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes instead of both. Overall though this was a quick meal to make by taking no more than 30 minutes from the time I diced the onion and green pepper to the time it was ready to serve. Even though it calls for fish this would be a great meal with chicken as well and in fact, next time I make it I might cook chicken breasts instead of fish just to save money on the meat. The tomato mixture also would be a good salsa on its own as well, especially if you cut back on the heat.

Recipe:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 (6 oz.) pieces flounder fillets (or any white fish such as tilapia and any amount you want)
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped (I used a whole white onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper (I used a whole pepper)
• 2 1/2 cups tomatoes, chopped (I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis mild)
• 1 tbsp Cajun spice seasoning (see below for the spices I used in making my own)

In a deep skillet, cook the onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat for a a few minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes, peppers and spices. Stir and cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 2-3 minutes. Lay the fish fillets in the sauce, cover and cook on medium-low until the fish flakes easily, about 12-15 minutes. To serve, place fish on a plate and spoon the sauce on top.

If you do not have cajun seasoning you can make it yourself. That's what I did and instead of measuring I just did a couple shakes of each ingredient into the skillet. You might want to mix it in a bowl first though and then sprinkle into the skillet that way you don't overpower the meal with heat like I did. Anyway, the ingredients I used for the cajun seasoning were: cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, oregano, basil and parsley.

Obama talks up plans for a thriving middle class

President Barack Obama used his weekly address to reiterate his ideas to grow and strengthen the middle class that he made during the State of the Union. Among those ideas include increasing the minimum wage to $9 an hour, having states provide early preschool education to any child who wants it and rebuilding the country's manufacturing sector.

Obama calls on Congress to pass short term fix to sequester

In this week's address, President Barack Obama urged Congress to avert the sequester -- if only for a temporary time -- by finding a mix of spending cuts and revenue raisers that would help to reduce the deficit. If Congress fails to act by March 1, tens of billions of dollars in spending cuts to domestic programs and defense will occur. Congress voted on these cuts and President Obama signed them into law as a way to push both parties to reach a consensus on budget reducing measures. Still, Congress has failed to find ways to reach a bipartisan agreement on how best to prevent these cuts, which economists have said would be devastating for the middle class and possibly put the country back into a recession. President Obama said in his weekly address that any agreement lawmakers reach should be balanced in a way that would allow investments in areas we need such as education and infrastructure and have cuts in areas we do not need.

Crock Pot italian sloppy joe

Another meal from the Skinnytaste website and another wonderful experience. There would be a few things I would change next time I made this but overall, the concept was good and most definitely something I will fix again -- maybe next time with spaghetti. The original recipe can be found here. 

Review: If you go into this meal thinking it will be just like the sloppy joe you buy in a can you will be disappointed. From the pictures on the website I thought it might be extremely close but after making it, the look of it left me disheartened. Still, the taste of it was good and as close to the can as making it from scratch with healthy ingredients can be. I followed the main concept of the recipe but there were a couple things I changed and a few things I might change when I do it again. First, the recipe calls for turkey sausage but I used two pounds of 93% lean ground beef. It also called for 1/2 cup chopped onions and 1 1/3 cups crushed tomatoes but I just used a whole white onion and used two cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis (mild). On the website, the picture made it look like the meat should be smothered in sauce (similar to what you'd get if you used a can) but after mixing all the ingredients together mine looked nothing like it. Any sauce that was in the Crock Pot was liquid and the beef was not smothered. So, I added a can of tomato sauce. Next time I might use a can or two of tomato paste instead that way it'll be thicker. Now maybe had I used the crushed tomatoes it would have been thicker and looked more like the picture but I had the diced tomatoes in my pantry so that's what I used. Also I think the next time I make this instead of putting it in a Crock Pot and waiting four hours I'll just mix everything and cook it in a skillet for about 30 minutes or so. This might also help with thickening the sauce. Still, it was a great, healthy substitute for canned sloppy joe and would be an excellent meat sauce for spaghetti if you wanted to make it for that instead of for sloppy joe.

Recipe:

• 1 lb Italian turkey sausage, removed from casing (or use lean ground beef)
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/3 cups crushed tomatoes (Tutorosso) (or substitute with diced tomatoes and add tomato sauce and/or paste)
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

In a medium non-stick skillet cook the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks into small bits until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Add onions and garlic, and cook another 2 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker and add the bell peppers, crushed tomatoes, rosemary, salt and fresh cracked pepper (and tomato sauce and/or paste if you want to add that too). Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Makes about 3 1/2 cups (of course the more meat you use the more servings it'll make).

Steak with black beans, corn and tomatoes

I've been waiting all week to fix this meal but my work schedule hasn't worked out to where I could. Luckily I opened this morning so I had the opportunity to fix it for dinner and once again, I was not disappointed. Like the past few recipes, I found this one on the Skinnytaste website. I'm really glad I found this site for healthy food. I have yet to find something I haven't liked. The original recipe can be found here. 

Review: This recipe was quick to make and each component is good enough on its own. In fact, I might make the black bean, corn and tomato "salsa" again soon just to have on its own. While the recipe called for flank steak I just used regular Ribeye steak and cut it into pieces after cooking. It also said to make the salsa and leave it cold but I heated it in the skillet for 5-10 minutes before putting it on the steak. I actually heated it, moved it to a bowl, then cooked the steak in the same skillet. The recipe says to grill the steak but cooking it on stovetop or in the oven would be fine too. While I followed the basic premise of the recipe besides heating the salsa, I used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis (mild) instead of dicing fresh vine tomatoes. That was partly because I didn't have tomatoes and partly because I wanted a little extra heat, which the addition of the chilis provided. It wasn't over-powering, though, so if you want it a little spicier you could either add a touch of cayenne pepper on the steak along with the other spices or you could add additional chili peppers as an added ingredient. While I'm talking about ingredients it should be noted that I didn't follow the measurements except for the 1/4 cup of lime juice and the cans. Everything else I just sprinkled on the steak, used a whole onion, used a whole bag of frozen corn and estimated for the amounts of the rest of the ingredients. Finally, I put the meal on a plate but this would make a wonderful taco meal. Get some tortillas (whole wheat ones for a healthier meal), put the steak and salsa in it and enjoy. I also had some brown rice as a side, which also could be added in the taco. Next time I make this I think I'm going to buy some tortillas. The bread also will make the meal a little more filling because of the carbs.

Recipe:

STEAK:

• 1 1/2 lb flank steak (or really any steak you want)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper to taste

SALSA:

• 3 tbsp red onion, minced (I used a white onion)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 2 medium vine ripe tomatoes, diced (I used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis (mild) instead)
• 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels (fresh is fine)
• 2 tbsp finely minced cilantro (I used oregano to spice the salsa and parsley to top when finished)
• Kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Season the steak with crushed garlic, cumin, salt and pepper and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Combine the red onions, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside a few minutes (this is where I put them in the skillet). Add the tomatoes, black beans, corn, cilantro and set aside (add them to the skillet at this point and cook until warm).

Heat a clean lightly greased indoor or outdoor grill on high heat. Grill the steak on high heat, 6-8 minutes on each side or until your desired degree of doneness (I just cooked them in the same skillet as the salsa after heating it and moving it to a bowl). Let the meat rest about 5 minutes before slicing. Slice the beef into thin slices across the grain, place on a platter and top with the corn, black bean and tomato salad.