Cooking: Chipotle Lemon Cod

Do you like simple food? This is about as simple as it gets.

What you'll need:
1 cod fillet, frozen
To taste: dill, black pepper, chipotle pepper sauce, lemon juice
Cooking spray

Coat a skillet with cooking spray.  Then place your cod in the pan, season it, and bake it in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until a nice golden color.

Cooking: Tilapia Chowder

I thought I'd experiment with chowder, and I threw in some tilapia.  It came out pretty tasty.

What you'll need:
1 cup milk
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can white potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can cream style corn
2 tilapia fillets, frozen
Tarragon, marjoram, dill, and black pepper -- to taste

In a large pot, mix together the ingredients.  Be sure to use the liquid in the canned vegetables too.  Cook on medium heat until tilapia can be broken up into chunks.  If you think it should have more fish, add another fillet to the recipe.

This one was good hot or room temperature.  And it gave me such a feeling of comfort.

Cooking: Baked Sausage and French Toast Sandwich

Here's another variation of the French Toast Sandwich.  This time, the French Toast was baked, along with the sausage patty and the strips of bell pepper.

What you'll need:
2 - 3 strips of each color of bell pepper
1 Turkey sausage patty
1 slice of cheese
Mayonnaise, to taste
French Toast, but baked
Cooking spray

Spray two skillets with cooking spray.  In one, put the French toast.  In the other, put the sausage patty and bell pepper strips inside.  Bake both skillets at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until sausage and toast are both done.

Remove toast from skillet.  On one slice, apply mayonnaise.  On the other slice, place the cheese.  Stack the sausage and bell pepper strips onto the cheese and top with the remaining slice of toast.

Enjoy!

Cooking: Tofu Stir-fry

I was reminded that tofu is supposed to be good in stir-fry, so I decided to whip up some with a bag of stir-fry veggies from Wal-mart.

What you'll need:
1 brick of extra-firm tofu
1 bag of stir-fry vegetables (any kind that you prefer)
1/4 cup Kikkoman's stir-fry sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. Chicken or beef bouillon
Garlic powder, dehydrated onion flakes, and soy sauce -- to taste

Dissolve the bouillon in a little water and then add the other ingredients.  I tore the tofu brick into bite-sized pieces with my hands.  Cook until done.

Cooking: Cornmeal Coated Swai

Swai is one of those kinds of fish that smells a lot like catfish.  Tastes like it too. So I decided to "oven fry" a fillet.

What you'll need:

1 Swai fillet, defrosted

Enough cornmeal to coat the fillet

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders -- to taste

Brush olive oil on both sides of the fillet.

In a shallow dish, blend the cornmeal and seasonings.  Coat both sides of the fillet and place it in a pan.  Bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden.

The side dish is simply a box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice with a can of carrots tossed in.

Cooking: Wake Up in a Cup!

Okay, I was trying to make a knock-off of a Starbucks gingerbread latte, without tasting the new recipe.

As a copycat, it was a fail.  But as a drink that'll knock you awake when you hit the bottom of the cup, it's a success.  So put on your cowboy hats and boots, because this cup bucks.

What you'll need:
4 Tbsp. Coffee grounds (medium roast or stronger)
4 cups Water
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Ground ginger
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. Molasses
1 Tbsp. Creamer
1/2 cup hot milk

I set up my coffee maker to run the hot water.  It makes prepping this easier.

While the hot water is "brewing," I put the coffee grounds in my French press.  These things give more flavor from the coffee grounds.  When there's enough water, I put it into the French press with the grounds and let them steep for 4 minutes.

In the cup, I measure the spices and also add the creamer and molasses.

Now to heat the milk in a pan.  Once it's ready, the hot milk goes into the cup, and the coffee should be ready.

After pressing, I just pour the coffee into the cup and give it a good stirring.  I'd certainly recommend keeping the stirring stick, spoon, whatever with you while you drink this, because the sediment in the bottom will be quite strong.

Frankly, I think to make a better copycat of a gingerbread latte, it would help to have a sprinkle of nutmeg, instead of the teaspoon.  But I'll admit one thing, it had me alert in no time.

Kitchen Tip: Batter/Breading Trays

You know those expensive sets of trays used for battering or breading food before cooking it?  There's a way to do it on the budget-friendly side, with packaging items you can save.

I saved this plastic tray from the portobello mushrooms I've been using in recipes.  You could also save the plastic trays from TV dinners; some of the pasta dishes are single compartment like this.

If you don't feel like using these for breading or battering food, these trays are also good for serving canned pet food to your pet.