A word about this recipe: The original recipe (Baked Fish in Spaghetti Sauce) came from the source noted below. In the book there is a recipe for spaghetti sauce that you can make from scratch to accompany this recipe and the recommendation to use Tilapia fillets. While I like to occasionally make my own spaghetti sauce, honestly, if you can find a great sale on sauce, why not save yourself some time and money and pop open a bottle of store bought sauce? For some reason sauce always seems to be on sale lately so I stock up so I have it on hand. My favorite (in terms of cost and taste) is Ragu Traditional Spaghetti Sauce Flavored with Meat. But honestly, there are a ton of choices out there, so it really depends on your individual tastes and budget.
To make it more of my own, I typically add a tablespoon of Italian seasonings, a smidge of sugar and about 2 tablespoons of Manischewitz Blackberry Wine, but you can use any red wine and play with the amounts. I got started on the Manischewitz Blackberry Wine (www.manischewitzwine.com) because my mom always used it her cooking and to me the Blackberry wine adds an added “kick” over red wine.
In terms of what type of fish you use for this recipe, really you can use whatever you like. Larry and I like Tilapia because it always seem to taste light and fresh, not “fishy.” I love seafood, but anytime fish smells or tastes too fishy I recommend not eating – it’s just a sign that it’s not too fresh – believe me, I’ve been burned a few times, so I’ve learned my lesson!
Personally I recommend Tilapia loins over the fillets. The loins just tend to be lighter in flavor and not fishy.
Larry and I tend to have our Tilapia with just olive oil and sprinkled with Old Bay Seasoning, but this recipe offers an alternative with sauce – just to mix things up so you don’t get bored with having the same old thing all the time. This was excellent - very moist and light in taste.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1½ lbs Frozen Tilapia (I recommend using loins - not "fishy" tasting)
2 C Spaghetti Sauce (make your own or buy)
2 T Italian Seasoning, smidge of sugar and 2 T Manischewitz (or to taste) – Jill’s recommendation
Directions:
1. Take desired number of fillets out of the freezer an thaw in refrigerator.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 350
3. After fish is thawed, pour ¾ C spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a baking dish and then use the remaining amount of sauce to cover the fish..
Bake at Dredge chicken through the flour mix.
4. Bake fish for approximately 20 minutes or until fish is flaky.
5. Serve with a side salad and brown rice.
For Freezer Meals: Keep frozen Tilapia loins and spaghetti sauce on hand for this quick, easy and healthy meal.
4 servings:
Source: [Adapted from] Once-a-Month Cooking, Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg
Easy Peasy Baked Fish in Spaghetti Sauce
Top Sirloin with Red Wine Marinade
Note: Freezer labels available. Feel free to email me if you'd like the PDF file.
A word about this recipe: Ideally you want to grill the sirloin. But I saw the recipe and thought "what the hey...why not try this now...in mid-winter...on the broiler." The good thing was the broiler worked fine and we didn't burn the house down...AND...the sirloin was very tasty! I think the Worcestershire gave such a nice zing to this - not too much...not too little...just right. Looking forward to trying this on the grill once we finally catch a break and the snow finally subsides.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
6 servings:
2 lbs. top sirloin steak (can be cubed for kabobs)
¾ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T dry mustard
1½ t black pepper
¼ cup red wine (I use Manischewitz Blackberry Wine)
¼ t dried parsley
3 T lemon juice
1 cloves garlic, minced
18 servings:
6 lbs. top sirloin steak (can be cubed for kabobs)
2¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
¼ cup + 2 T Worcestershire sauce
3 T dry mustard
4½ t black pepper
¾ cup red wine (I use Manischewitz Blackberry Wine)
¾ t dried parsley
½ cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
36 servings:
12 lbs. top sirloin steak (can be cubed for kabobs)
4½ cup vegetable oil
2 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
¾ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup + 2 T dry mustard
3 T black pepper
1½ cup red wine (I use Manischewitz Blackberry Wine)
1½ t dried parsley
1 cup lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, minced
54 servings:
18 lbs. top sirloin steak (can be cubed for kabobs)
6¾ cup vegetable oil
3 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 cup + 2 T Worcestershire sauce
½ cup + 1 T dry mustard
¼ cup + 1½ t black pepper
2¼ cup red wine (I use Manischewitz Blackberry Wine)
2¼ t dried parsley
1½ cup lemon juice
9 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
1. Thaw completely. Discard marinade.
2. Grill over medium heat until cooked according to preference. You can also broil.
3. If steak is cubed, grill on skewers with your favorite vegetables.
For Freezer Meals: Place sirloin, whole or cubed, in freezer bag. Mix remaining ingredients together to to form marinade and and pour over steak. Freeze, using freezer bag method. I put two pieces of steak per bag - which would be 1 meal for Larry and I.
Nutritional Information (per serving): Calories: 468; Total Fat: 27.4g; Cholesterol: 138mg; Sodium: 1221mg (this would not be as high if you use low sodium soy sauce); Total Carbs: 2g.
Source: Don't Panic - More Dinner's in the Freezer: A Second Helping of Tasty Meals You Can Make Ahead, Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell & Bonnie Garcia
Take A Walk in Her Shoes - A Must Attend!
I wanted to share with everyone a phenomenal opportunity to help woman in need (in McHenry County, Illinois) reach their goals through education.
For awhile now I have been volunteering for the Friends of McHenry County College Foundation. Specifically, I have been involved in helping plan the Take a Walk in Her Shoes Ball. The details are:
Take A Walk in Her Shoes Ball
March 19, 2010
7:30 p.m. to Midnight
Holiday Inn
Crystal Lake, IL
Reservations: $50 per person or $500 for table of 10
The concept of the Take a Walk in Her Shoes Ball highlights the personal journeys women take - shoes are symbolic of the steps we all take in our lives. Half of the proceeds raised at the Ball will be used to establish a scholarship called “Women in Transition.” Our scholarship recipients will receive funding at McHenry County College for:
• Educational costs
• Books
• Childcare
• Transportation, should any be required
Women who apply and receive the scholarship can use it for the College’s occupational career programs, certificate programs, associate’s degree programs or transfer programs. The other half of the proceeds will benefit the Friends of MCC Foundation efforts including the MCC Promise program.
To find out more information about this program or to attend, visit: www.supportmcc.org/shoes
Even if you are not located in the area, this would be a great program to donate to. For more information, contact Kathrine Pfister, Development Coordinator, Friends of MCC Foundation, at (815) 479-7529.
New Year’s Resolution: Fall in Love with Your Freezer...Again!
One of my New Year’s Resolutions – among many, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it – is to really get back into freezer meal preparation (see In the Kitchen link). It makes a huge difference because: 1) we’re not scrambling for something to eat and then opting for Tommy’s (our favorite local hot dog joint when we get desperate, 2) it’s a healthier alternative to eating crap :) and 3) it’s great on the wallet; and as we all know, it’s rough out there right now with the economy, so every little bit counts.
So, I’ve been plowing through Internet sites and books at the library to add to my freezer meal binder (something I recommend – very handy). I’ll be posting the recipes shortly, as well as some PDFs of labels that I made that can be affixed to the freezer bag/container; the labels provide meal-day instructions for preparing the specific meal – this keeps your freezer organized and also let’s you know what the heck you have in your freezer – and it’s pretty amazing how quickly your freezer can go awry with various meats and meals forever disappearing into the freezer abyss!
Once I post a particular recipe, I’ll make note if there is a corresponding freezer label. If you would like to receive a particular label set, just email me your request with the name of the particular recipe and I will send you the file – my email address is located under the My Profile/Email - just click on View My Profile for my address.
Christmas 2009
Christmas was a wee-bit quiet this year: poor Larry developed bronchitis, which you know is something, because he never gets colds! On top of that the Chicago-area, in particular, Crystal Lake, got hit yet again with snow and ice. So we ended up missing the annual festivities at Brett and Carol’s and at Mom and Dad’s.
We improvised and had a lovely little celebration with Jack the Cat at home: opening our presents and watching It’s a Wonderful Life (albeit, with an obscene amount of commercials), having wine, cheese and snacks and avoiding the cold and snow.
Since we always do something for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the cupboards were bare – not really a situation you want to be in on Christmas – you want the day to be special and all the stores are closed – so you are out of luck if you did not prepare ahead of time. Luckily Brett gave Mom and Dad leftovers of the Christmas Eve feast for Larry and me - a lobster stew and mussels – my favorite! The meal was fabulous (thanks Brett!) and we ended up having a very nice Christmas, feast and all!
We, of course, missed being there for the Vassallo Christmas, celebrating when you are under the weather is never fun and the snow continuing to fall (read “dump”) made the staying at home the logical choice.
On Saturday, December 26th, we did manage to get out for a couple of hours for the May Family Christmas. The snow kept coming, ALL DAY, which made for an interesting ride to and from the party – we were just slip, sliding away.
That evening, although the snow accumulation made it look suspiciously like a blizzard, we did manage to see Scott and Gwen (who were in from NJ) for our annual holiday get together. We opted to stay local for dinner and opted for Cucina Bella Due. (www.cucinabellaalgonquin.com/) in downtown Crystal Lake. We’ve actually been there before with Scott and thought we’d try it again – it’s pretty good – but I think Larry and I are partial to Mia Francesca’s (www.miafrancesca.com) in Dundee – which is just plain YUM! But I digress…
Anyway, the restaurant was nicely decorated for the holidays and the food and wine hit he spot, but due to the weather (read “ridiculous accumulation of snowfall”) it was just our group of 4 and one there group. I initially thought this would put a slight damper on our evening, but not with us! We get to chatting and all hell breaks loose! Honestly, we could be hanging out at a 7-Eleven with Scott and Gwen and still gave a great time, but having wine and good food to boot doesn’t hurt!
