(I know not all of the peppers shown were bell peppers. I used some bell and some Italian. Both were great. Also, you can substitute any sausage or meat. Just grind it and cook it. Delicious.)
For quick use, here is an image to save with all you need. It is as easy as 1-2-3...
Twenty minutes from start to finish. I kid you not.
Chop some veggies and fruit, throw on some salmon, sprinkle salt and pepper, and then broil. Drop some olives on top and... that's it! Dinner is done in flash.
Who knew healthy eating could be so fast -- and delicious?!
AFTER (below)...
Don't thank me, thank Everyday Food. Unfortunately, they no longer have a print version of their magazine (yes, a tear almost slid down my cheek...), but I hear they are keeping the love of good, wholesome food alive online. I will for sure be following along. You should, too. Either way, I will be eating good tonight... :)
Salmon with Fennel, Bell Pepper, and Orange
Recipe from Everyday Food, Dec. 2012
Prep: 10 Min Total Time: 20 min Servings: 4
ingredients
1 navel orange
1 large bulb fennel, cored and thinly sliced, 1/4 cup fronds reserved
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 skinless salmon fillets (4 to 6 ounces each)
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup pitted black olives, quartered
directions
Heat broiler, with rack 8 inches from heat. Grate 1 tablespoon orange zest, then cut orange into wedges. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together orange zest and wedges, fennel, bell pepper, and oil and arrange in an even layer. Add salmon and season vegetables and salmon with salt and pepper. Broil until vegetables are browned in spots and salmon is opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with olives and fennel fronds to serve.
(You can eat the cooked oranges (peel and all) or squeeze the juice over the fish.)
A few years back, while teaching on the island of Ebeye, I encountered a problem with words. It started while reading Encyclopedia Brownwith my 5th graders.
"Then Encyclopedia and... and..." the little girl stopped.
"Phoebe," I suggested.
"... and" then she dropped her voice down to a whisper, "Phoebe followed the trail.
Popcorn Manty." She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back into her chair.
It was Manty's turn to read, but he just looked at the book for a moment. Finally he read, "Fo-ay-bee and Encyclopedia..."
"Phoebe, it's Phoebe."
"Um, ok... 'she picked up her magnifying glass and looked down at the ground.' Popcorn Bokjuwa." Another sigh of relief, another body relaxing into a wooden chair.
Man, I thought, what is with these kids today? You would think that after me telling them it is Phoebe for the fifteenth time, they would get it. But no, Bokjuwa had the same problem. Except hers was pronounced like Foo-bay.
"Guys, it's Fee-bee. FEE-BEE. Say it with me."
Silence.
And then a hand shot up. "Miss?" Pamela called out, "Um, that name, that word, um..." She hesitated for a minute and then blurted it out, "In our language it means, you know, a girl's..." Then she glanced down at her crotch.
Oops.
I learned a valuable lesson that day. Don't name your daughter Phoebe if there is any chance she may live in the Marshall Islands some day.
It wasn't long after that my roommate and I were making some couscous for dinner. A neighbor girl, originally from the island of Pohnpei, was doing her homework at out table. Lisa and I kept talking, but every time we said "couscous" Dixie started to giggle. Finally, I asked her what was up.
"Oh Miss! Couscous," giggle giggle, "it means something kind of bad in my language." And then she giggled some more.
So, couscous. What does it mean in Pohnpeian? Like she said, something 'kind of bad'. Not anything I can repeat here, being family-friendly and all. I will let your imaginations run with that one. But let's just say that every time I cook couscous, I giggle.
But dinner tonight? No giggling needed. Straight-up good. Good for you, good tasting, and good on the wallet. Tilapia with bell pepper and some parsley spiked couscous.
Couscous.
*Giggle, giggle*
Recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray, March 2011
Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 7.6ounce box couscous
1/2cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil; remove from the heat, stir in the couscous, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a fork, stir in 1/2 cup parsley, salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden-brown and just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, squeeze a wedge of lemon over each fillet and tent with foil to keep warm.
Using the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the bell peppers and onion and season with salt and pepper; cook until softened and golden-brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon the vegetables over the tilapia and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Serve with the couscous and remaining lemon wedges.
If you are a lover of veggies, you have come to the right place.
Onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic... cook them up, drop eggs in the mixture, bake, and top with goat cheese and cilantro. Ta-da! It is really that simple, and quite amazing actually. This is a recipe I would have never thought of myself, which makes me appreciate all of those cooks in the food magazine kitchens all the more.
Let me warn you, however -- your house will smell like onion and bell pepper long after the food is gone. As I was driving to work I kept smelling this oniony-smell so I rolled down the window to see if it was coming from outside, and then I realized that it was I that smelled like onion. Or rather, my clothes did. Clothes that were tucked away in my closet while I was cooking. Curse of a small apartment, I guess. At least it wasn't the smell of fish, right?
This brilliant recipe comes from the January/February 2012 issue of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart.
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Yield Serves 4
Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), stemmed, seeded, and diced small
1 large yellow onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves, minced (I did six. We love garlic.)
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 1/2 ounces baby spinach (2 1/2 cups)
Red-pepper flakes (optional)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 large eggs
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and pinch of red-pepper flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer sauce to four 14-ounce gratin dishes or a 2-quart shallow baking dish. With the back of a large spoon, make 4 wells in sauce and crack 2 eggs into each. Bake until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 25 minutes, rotating dishes halfway through. To serve, top with goat cheese and cilantro.
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