I am not sure that I would call myself a foodie. I always think that foodies are those who know their wines and delight in things like calamari. But I LOVE COOKING! I am not much on desserts. I have a couple of things that I like, but mainly I just love cooking and not dessert making/baking.
I will add links and notes about what things I enjoy in case there are others who like to cook as much as I do.
Yesterday was Fish Tacos with Lime Cilantro Crema The recipe calls for red snapper which is expensive (and according to this, you may not actually be getting what you think). So I substituted red snapper with tilapia. The “crema” is FAB-U-LOUS if you are a big fan of lime and cilantro.
Another new one I just tried - Ellie Krieger’s Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham. Don’t freak out about the calories (440). The serving size is 2 cups which is a pretty big whopper of a serving that could easily be cut in half and eaten with a salad for a lighter meal. Saturated fat is 1 gram per cup, so that is not bad at all. I didn’t have quite that much shrimp and my ham was a little short too, so I threw in some turkey smoked sausage too. Regarding the heat, 1/4 of a teaspoon of cayenne was a good base heat. It was fine for everyone in my family except my oldest son who can’t handle it. So I may back down on it a little next time and then just load mine up with hot sauce. Sometimes I really like that “mouth on fire” feel for some reason.
Citrus Chicken - I mentioned this one a lonnnngggg time ago. It is simple and great for summer because on the raw spinach it has such a nice light/cool feel to it. Don’t worry about the fresh thyme. A little ground thyme will do. I wouldn’t specifically buy fresh thyme only for this recipe.
This is the sundried tomato pesto one. I have made this numerous times and finally got a clue and used whole grain pasta. Tasted great. The pesto has a texture that can stand up to the more rustic texture of the whole grain pasta.
This is technically Catfish Po’boys, but I make it with tilapia. It is nothing fancy, but the broccoli slaw is a sort of a unique element. My kids love these. I like to put horseradish on mine. Going to have them with kale tonight. If you are a northerner, you may not have had this. My husband hadn’t due to his New Jersey roots. Kale is sooo yummy and one of those foods that has that “loaded with good stuff” feel to it (probably because it is!). Just boil and drain it and douse it with vinegar.
Tonight is goulash. I find that I should not ask my husband for a dinner idea unless I am in the mood for goulash. Maybe it is because of the beef. He is a red meat kind of person and I am typically very much NOT into the cow. But it does taste ok in this. It just seems sort of hot to be eating goulash. Whatever. Obviously, you gotta like paprika for this one.
Another good one is Shrimp Orzo. This has cherry tomatoes, basil and romano cheese. It is very easy to put together and there is something about it that makes it a decent summer dinner. This is a favorite of the exchange student as well as my oldest daughter. Pretty popular around here. For the crushed red pepper, I like to use those red pepper flakes. Yummy.