Shrimp Quesadillas

Once again, you should feel liberal freedom to toss in whatever strikes you or is sitting on your counter. Don't feel constricted to following this recipe to the letter. You really can't go wrong with a quesadilla. These are often coined as "toss it in" or "clean out the fridge" nights at our house!

Shrimp Quesadillas

1. Saute shrimp (deveined and tails removed) and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil.

2. Toast tortillas over a warm griddle, pan, or grill.

3. Top one tortilla with shrimp/mushrooms, chopped avocado, chopped green onion, colby jack cheese.

4. Place another toasted tortilla on top and let sit until contents are warmed through and cheese is melted.

5. Carefully slide quesadilla onto a plate and cut into quarters (I find using a pizza cutter works best for this job!).

6. Serve with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or whatever you like!

Not Your Standard Tuna Casserole

This is my idea of comfort food. Warm, creamy, and carb-y :) This recipe soothes my nutritional side by packing a big punch of iron and protein with the added spinach and beans! This one is stolen directly from Ms. Rachel Ray a few years back, but since you can freely search and find it on her own website, I don't feel too bad posting it here as well.

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:
1 box whole wheat penne
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
2 garlic cloves, grated, minced, or chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbs flour
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. milk or half and half
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
grated parmigiano reggiano (or just shredded parm)
1 15oz can cannellini beans, drained
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water
2 6oz cans of tuna, drained
bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400.

Boil water and cook the pasta (sprinkle some salt in the water before dropping the pasta.) Once cooked to al dente, drain, and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium/high heat:
-Heat a bit of olive oil and the butter. Add garlic and onion and cook until tender (and fragrant!).
-Sprinkle in flour and cook for a minute, then whisk in chicken stock and milk.
-Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
-Bring to a bubble and thicken.
-Turn off heat and mix in cheese, beans, spinach, tuna, and penne.

Pour the contents into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake about 10 minutes or until the top is browned.

Enjoy!

Honey BBQ Salmon Salad

Super simple, healthy meal for busy people who like good food. 'Nough said.

Honey BBQ Salmon Salad

1. Lay out salmon fillets in a baking dish.
2. Mix 1/4 c. honey, 1/4 c. bbq sauce. Spread over salmon fillets.
3. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
4. Serve salmon over salad greens tossed with an asian-style dressing (we used sesame ginger tonight).

Fish Bake

My apologies, this photo does not do this quick and easy meal justice!

Fish Bake

In a 9 x 13 baking dish:
-Lay 3-4 frozen fish fillets (haddock, halibut, cod, tilapia, etc.)
-Drizzle with light italian dressing
-Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes

Pull it out of the oven and top with:
-sliced mushrooms
-mozzarella cheese
-Then return to oven and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve over rice, quinoa, couscous, etc.