Tilapia and a Chipotle-Orange sauce

I thought I would try something a little different tonight and make fish. I'm not a huge fish person, but we had some tilapia in the freezer so I thought why not? This dish is very good, but it's quite spicy so if you aren't a spice person I would skip this one. But, if you like things a little hot....

Sauce:

2.5 oz canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 TBS rice wine vinegar

10 oz orange marmalade

1 1/2 TBS fresh squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. fresh minced cilantro

1 TBS finely diced red onion

Blend the peppers and vinegar together in a blender. Put the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl and add the chiles from the blender. Set aside until ready for use.

Fish:

2 tilapia filets

flour

olive oil

Dredge the filets in a coating of flour. Heat some olive oil in a skillet on med-high to high heat. Sear the filets for 3-4 minutes per side until pink is just gone.

I served the fish over a bed of quinoa, but you can use steamed rice as well. Add steamed veggies of your choice such as carrots, zucchini, squash, or peas.

Sweet Potato Chowder

I love soup, all kinds of soup, but my mom especially loves this soup. There is a lot of chopping involved, but try not to be intimidated. Soup is generally easy as a rule, and especially this soup!

Ingredients:

8 large sweet potatoes, peeled, divided
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken stock
6 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1 Tbs ground coriander
2 cups half and half
2 cans (16 oz each) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (16 oz) creamed corn
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot add 3 diced sweet potatoes to some salted boiling water. Boil until the potatoes are done; soft but not mushy. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, add a few teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots and the rest of the 5 chopped sweet potatoes. Saute for 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are soft and tender. Remove from the heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, coriander, and half and half. Puree the soup in the pot using a hand blender or pour into a regular blender until creamy. Add the sweet potatoes in the colander, canned corn, and creamed corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Apple-Turkey-Curry Burger

This is an interesting take on a burger. Best of all it's low-fat with ground turkey! This burger is so full of flavor you don't even need mayonnaise, ketchup, or any of the other condiments you would normally put on a burger.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs mustard seeds

3 Tbs applesauce

1 Tbs plain yogurt

2 1/2 Tbs mango chutney

2 tsp curry powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 lb ground turkey breast

1-2 chopped scallions

1 tsp dried mint

3-4 Tbs peeled and freshly grated apple (Granny Smith)

Lettuce and sliced tomatoes

Hamburger buns

Put the mustard seeds in a frying pan over medium heat. Shake the pan over the heat until the seeds start to pop.

Transfer the seeds to a medium mixing bowl. Add the applesauce, yogurt, chutney, curry powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir. Add the turkey, scallions, mint, and apple. Mix together till just mixed. The consistency will be soft, but you should be able to shape into four patties.

Spray a frying pan with non-stick cooking spray and cook on medium to medium-low heat until cooked through. If the outside starts to blacken, turn down the heat. You can also grill the patties. Serve on a hamburger bun with lettuce and tomato.

Taco Soup

Sorry no picture for this one friends! But I promise it is real good. I never post anything on here that is just so-so. It is 43 degrees outside right now and pretty much freezing so this soup really hit the spot. It is so easy you can make it in ten minutes!

Ingredients:

1 diced onion

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 tbs. sugar

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans corn

4 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans beef broth

2 4 oz. cans diced chiles or 1 cup fresh salsa

2 packets or 6 Tbs. taco seasoning

Brown the onion and the meat at the same time and add the sugar. After the meat is browned add the rest of the ingredients and heat through. Yummy yummy yummy! This is such a hearty soup and will keep you warm on a cold day.

Yummy Yummy Burgers

Thanks to my good friend I was put on to thepioneerwoman.com. Her name is Ree Drummond and she sounds like a wonderful person. Not only am I obsessed with her website but I love her food! I have made this burger at least three times in the last three weeks. I urge you to try it and you will not be sorry. Not only does it taste amazing, it's also super easy!

Ingredients for four burgers:

2 pounds hamburger

2 red onions

blue cheese or gorgonzola crumbles

Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

Tabasco Sauce

hamburger bun

Start by carmelizing the onions. Slice them up and heat them in a pan over the stove with a little olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. Let them cook on low to medium-low heat for 20 minutes until they are caramelized.

Next start on the hamburger. Season the meat with some salt and pepper and a couple of dashes of Tabasco sauce to desired spice level. Shape hamburger into patties and grill. Toast the buns when you are almost done grilling.

You can have your mayo spicy or not spicy. I prefer it spicy because it nicely offsets the sweetness of the caramelized onions when it is all put together. Just put some mayo in a bowl and add a couple dashes of Tabasco until it's how you like it.

To assemble the burgers: spicy mayo on both sides followed by burger. Place caramelized onions and blue cheese crumbles on top of the burger with a slice of lettuce to top it off. Then enjoy! It is so awesome you will be grilling it the rest of the summer.