patty, cake, or burger?

I've been slightly pescatarian lately. I don't know if it's because of laziness or if it's because I'm trying to eat healthier. All I know is that I've been eating a lot of fish as of late and I don't know when it's going to stop.

Take these tuna burgers, for example. I could very well have baked or pan-fried some chicken to put on my salad, but canned tuna seemed way easier and more interesting to make. I liked that I could put veggies in my protein and that it was going to take me 10 minutes to make. See what I mean? Lazy or healthy?

When I made these patties (or is it cakes? or is it burgers??), I was originally going to make an actual burger like the title suggested, but I didn't really have any bread in the house. So instead, these "burgers" turned into patties that topped some spinach and arugula. I added some tomatoes for sweetness and slivers of red onion for bite. To finish this off, I made a thin, spicy ramoulade that doubled as a topping for the patties and a dressing for the salad.

Would I make these patties again? Maybe. When I made them, I knew that they were going to be slightly dry (which they were). I think if I added more breadcrumbs so that it had a slightly more cakey consistency, they wouldn't be so bad. Despite that, the flavors were actually quite tasty so I might play around with the recipe and see if I can improve the texture. Until then . . .

---- o o o o ----

Tuna Burgers
(slightly adapted from Spright)

2 (5.oz) cans chunk light tuna, drained
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 large carrot, grated
1/2 green onion, sliced
1 tbsp nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 pinch cayenne powder
2 pinches of salt
2 pinches of pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain bread crumbs

 
Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a medium bowl; mix with a fork or your hands until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Using your hands, take small handfuls of the mixture and form them into patties.

Pour the olive oil into a medium-sized pan and bring it to medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the patties in the pan.

Cook each side of the patties for 4-5 minutes, turning them over carefully with a spatula or tongs. Place on a paper towel for a few minutes on each side to drain excess oil then serve.

crabby imitation.

When I was younger, I discovered the wonders of seafood louis salad and, in turn, imitation crab. At the time, I was going to college and the louis salad they had at the campus grocery always had imitation crab. I got sooo hooked on that salad! I loved the flavor and texture of the imitation crab and find myself buying packages to experiment with at home.

Fast forward to now, and I still love the stuff. I particularly love Kanimi's Crab Smart brand as it's made with natural ingredients and doesn't have any added preservatives. Plus, it tastes great too! That's a winner in my book!

Anyway, back to the dish. The hubby recently bought some blue crab dip from Costco for New Years. It made for great snacking sandwiches with a little bit of onion and celery added in. For mine, I stirred in a little bit of lemon juice to cut some of the brininess that I sometimes get when I eat crab. So, since New Years was a few days ago and we had some dip left over, I thought I would experiment and make something with it.

At first, I wanted to make some crab cakes since it's very rare that we have actual real crab products in the house. However, I was concerned that it was going to be too mushy and wouldn't have enough texture to it. Then I thought, maybe crab-stuffed fish instead? Oh, wait . . . I didn't have all the ingredients. . . :/

In the end, I decided to mash the two recipes together. Invention is the mother of necessity, so I substituted with whatever I had in the fridge. And for my "Aha!" moment, I decided to add imitation crab to the actual crab in order to give some "meat" in the stuffing. Spinach was added in an "oh-my-god-I'm-out-of-parsley!" moment to make up the bulk of the green sauce. Oi . . .

In the end, though, this on-a-whim experiment turned out surprisingly really well! The lemony-herby "chimichurri" sauce was nice and "refreshing", as the hubby put it, and really made the dish bright. The stuffing turned out exactly as I wanted it with a great crabby taste and pieces of the imitation crab acting as nice fillers. With some salad, this made for a lovely light dinner!

---- o o o o ---- 

Crab Stuffed Flounder with Spinach Chimichurri Sauce
(adapted from Winter Monroe and QVC's In the Kitchen with David)

For the Sauce:
1 large handful baby spinach
1 large handful flat leaf parsley
1 scallion, cut into pieces
1 large garlic clove
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 to 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste

For the Crab Stuffing:
1/4 cup Inland Market's Blue Crab Spread dip
1/4 cup Kanimi's Crab Smart imitation crab flakes, lightly flaked
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup onions,, finely chopped
1 handful fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 rib celery, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 tsp lemon juice
pinch ground coriander
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

2 flounder filets
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
ground coriander
salt and pepper
olive oil

 
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Prepare a greased, foil-lined baking pan.

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients for sauce and blend until greens are finely chopped but not pureed. Season as needed (this should be lemony and herby with a hint of garlic) then set aside.

Drizzle olive oil on flounder fillets then season with spices, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In bowl, combine all ingredients for crab stuffing. Place the flounder filets flesh-side down on a work surface. Take half of the stuffing mixture and place onto the center of each filet. Roll each fish filet around the stuffing and place them, seam-side down, onto the baking pan.

Sprinkle each filet with salt, pepper, and paprika, then bake for 40 to 45 minutes. To serve, drizzle fish with chimichurri with additional sauce served on the side.

Makes 2 servings.

leftover remix: ham and spinach quiche!

Since making quiche was a great way to use up the ham, I decided to make another quiche again. This time, I changed up the flavors and made it a bit more savory. I thought shallots and mushrooms would be a great combination as well as having spinach and parsley for some healthy greens. Also, just to firm the quiche up a little, I went ahead and upped the Bisquick to one full cup just for the sake of easier measuring. Why not, right?

I'm so happy the quiche turned out super yummy! It was slightly more denser than the first time I made it, but in a satisfying kind of way. Man, I'm really loving this recipe!

---- o o o o ---- 

Ham and Spinach Quiche
(adapted from Farm Eats, City Streets)

1 ½ cups diced cooked ham
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 large handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced and roughly chopped
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup low fat milk
½ cup fat free half and half
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
3 eggs
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp black pepper
kosher salt, to taste
1 tsp olive oil

 
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a deep dish pie plate.

In a large pan on high heat, saute mushroom and shallot in oil until browned. Add spinach and garlic and cook until spinach has wilted and excess moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat and season with a pinch or so of salt. Add ham then set aside.

Beat the milk, Bisquick, eggs, paprika, and black pepper until fairly smooth. Stir in parsley, cheese, and ham mixture. Pour into the prepared pie plate.

Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown (about 35-40 minutes). Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

"what kind of sausage is this?" pasta.

the sweet thing about trying to get rid of stuff in your fridge, is that sometimes opportunity comes to do so. this i made on tuesday to feed the boys at work and that was the running comment. they were surprised it was chicken. :) it was definitely something a little healthier and different and, most importantly, used up some ingredients i had that was just sitting in my fridge: spinach, a can of diced tomatoes from a random shopping trip, sliced onions from last night's dinner, and sausage i bought on a whim.

i was actually kicking myself over this dish. i had made an excellent tomato sauce from scratch-ish and silly me, i added a dollop of ricotta cheese to the mix. this picture's before said dollop. it ended up muting the perfectly nice sweet taste of the tomatoes i was trying to go for. i fixed it a little and the boyfriend liked it a lot, but i think it would've been perfect sans the ricotta. *sigh*

 

Chicken Sausage Penne
(makes about 8 to 9 servings)

1 package savory-flavored chicken sausage, sliced diagonally
1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5oz.) can diced tomatoes with green pepper, celery, and onion
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups fresh spinach
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

1 lbs penne pasta
water

Start pasta by boiling a pot of salted water on high heat. Once it comes to a rolling boil, add some olive oil and drop pasta. Cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add olive oil and saute the sausage, onion, and garlic until the sausage has browned. Add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Drain pasta and fold into the sauce along with the spinach until combined. Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Note: for an optional cheesier note, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup ricota cheese before simmering and top with additional parmesan before serving.

polenta with egg and garlicky spinach.

quick breakfast for this morning. and good use of polenta that's been sitting in my fridge. mmm, tasty. :D