Halibut Olympia

This is a family favorite we had in Alaska all the time and now I do it with any white fish. However I do all sorts of variations of this now to change up the flavors.

onions, sliced
1/4 c sour cream (I use yogurt)
1/4 c mayo
parmesan
garlic powder
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Sautee onions in oil/butter and place on bottom of buttered dish.
2. Place fish on onions.
3. Mix mayo, cream, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice and seasonings; spread on top of fish.
4. Cover dish with foil and cook 30 mins on 375. Then uncover and cook or broil a few more minutes.
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My simplified version of this is to sautee onions, put fish over top, then spread minimal amount of homemade mayo/yogurt directly on top (about 2 T) and add garlic power (or other seasonings like dill). Then I pop it in the toaster oven and broil for about 10 mins total. It doesn't even need parmesan or lemon juice (depending on the type of fish).

White Chicken Chili

So this isn't a thick typical chili. It's more a soup with white beans and chicken and a mexican food type flavor. But it's good and always better if you add cheese and milk/creamy stuff at the end, but not needed.

• 1 T  oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 c cooked chicken (I usually use an oven-baked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to save on time), shredded
• 2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can (4 ounces) green chiles
• 1/2 t. cumin
• 1/2 t. oregano
• 4 c. chicken broth
• salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• 1 lime, juice (opt.)
• cilantro (opt.)
• 1 c shredded cheese (opt.)

1. Saute the onion in a pot.
2. Add Beans, corn, green chilies, cumin and oregano to the large pot. Then the broth.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and juice from one whole lime. 
4. Serve with cilantro, cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, etc. as desired (but not needed)

I normally don't add the optional (unless cilantro and chips) and then have a side of cornbread if we don't do the chip option.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts n' Sausage

This is another basic dish created during our dairy-free, gluten-free "diet" this last week.

In case you weren't aware and don't like brussels sprouts (like many people), the only real way to eat them is to shred them! You can then sautee them with curry powder and maybe add some lemon juice? Maybe add some pecans? Or just onion and garlic? Whatever else you'd do with sauteed greens..... But I wanted to share this because it became an easy main dish. Again, measurements aren't precise--this is just an idea for those wanting to try shredded brussels sprouts.

10 brussels sprouts, shredded (I just sliced mine thinly)
2 T oil/butter (i used chicken fat)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c onion, chopped
pinch of red pepper
sausage links, sliced (I used 2 big Italian Turkey sausages--from Costco)
3 c cooked Brown rice (I use the fool-proof baked method since the pot always overflows and don't have a rice cooker)

1. Sautee onion and garlic in butter/oil
2. add shredded cabbage and dash of red pepper; sautee a few more minutes
3. add sausage and a little water. Stir and place lid on pan--stirring every few minutes until all is cooked evenly.
4. Place over warm brown rice on your plate.

Fool-Proof Baked Brown Rice

For those of you who don't own a rice cooker and don't want another random device in your kitchen that you have to fish out of your already over-filled cupboard....or for those of you who don't want to fish out the one you do have.... here's a handy tip for cooking brown rice in your oven.

6 c water
2 c brown rice (or half brown/half white rice and reduce water by 1/2 c)
2 t oil
1 t salt
other seasonings to taste

1. Place all mixed up in 9x13 glass dish and double cover the top with tin foil.
2. Bake at 400 for 1 hour. (or 350 for 11/2 hours)
3. Pull out and fluff. (I leave mine in until dinner is ready if I've only got 10 minutes or so left)

Super easy and you can add onions and garlic or curry powder or cumin or tomato sauce, etc. However you like to cook rice....and it doesn't burn. :) And it's great for leftovers!

Variations
Mexican Rice: add can of tomato sauce and green chiles and onions (you can throw in some full pieces of chicken too if you'd like).

Herbed Rice: add two table spoons butter and various italian herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil), plus garlic and onion.

Complete Meal: Naked Salmon Salad

Yes...the title is interesting. Let me tell you why I picked it. Paul and I are doing a two-week gluten-free, processed sugar-free, dairy-free nutrition experiment--kind of like a detox. So we needed to figure out what to eat for lunch on Saturday, since we were running around without much time. We popped salmon patties in the toaster oven and opened a can of kidney beans and grabbed some spinach. And then we had a salmon salad of sorts, but all separate on the plate. And I thought it was simply delicious--as in simple + yummy (nothing amazing in others' eyes, I'm sure...but soo healthy and easy). And since it was like a salad that wasn't put all together I thought of "Undressed Salad." And Paul said that would be a Naked Salad then. And that title stuck. :) We had it Sunday for lunch too, because I thought it so yummy.

1 Salmon patty (from Costco, or just a fillet)
2 handfuls spinach
1 dollop of mustard
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1/2 can kidney beans
dash of onion pwder
dash of garlic pwder
salt to taste

Optional:
1 serving of a grain (quinoa or millet, cooked)
dash of cumin
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1. Cook salmon in toaster oven 10 mins at 375.
2. Place fish on a bed of spinach on your plate.
3. Warm can of beans (if desired) and add seasonings. Then place next to spinach/fish (and on top of grain if you chose that addition to the meal).
4. Add the dollop of mustard on the plate somewhere.

We eat a bite of fish with spinach and add a bean or two, then slide the fork into the mustard sometimes. So you're basically eating it all together in a salad, but they're all still separate on your plate. :) With millet and the beans you're getting a complete protein! Paul chose how to season the beans....he's surprisingly amazing when it comes to playing with seasonings--he always smells them and decides. He must have an good nose for smells, because he always picks good spice combos.

Tuscan Bean Soup

I love this soup because there's no cream or milk in it and it's loaded with kale! This recipe is very versatile and measurements are quite forgiving.

2 T oil (I use butter or chicken fat)
1/2 c.  yellow onion, chopped 
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 cans drained cannellini beans (or I soak mine the night before and cook them all day in crockpot)
1 t fennel seeds
6-8 c broth ( i use homemade chicken broth)
1 c. tomatoes, diced
2-4 cooked sausages, in small pieces (i used the little chicken sausages at Costco, but any sausages or ground sausage works)
6 c. kale (just the leaves, remove hard stems)
1/2 c brown rice or barley, etc (opt)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Sautee the onion and garlic in oil/butter 5 mins. 
2. Add beans, fennel, broth, brown rice and tomatoes. Cook for awhile (about 20 mins if not adding brown rice, but 1 hour if you are. And I use dehydrated tomatoes sometimes)
3. Blend half of the soup (so it's thicker).
4. Add cooked sausage and kale and cook 5 more minutes.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Yum. 
I use dried beans and soak them overnight, then drain and cook all day in the crockpot. So I normally do about the amount two cans would be so I can blend up about one can's worth. Then I add the other stuff and cook from there if you want. And dried onion and garlic works well for that too.
Also, if you want to add celery or carrot or even more kale before you blend, then you get that much more veggies blended into the thickness of the soup (hidden). :)