Blackened Mahi Mahi

Every week, we make a meal plan. I'm (Crystal) usually in charge of doing the meal plan every week, but for no particular reason, Tyson made one that week. He pulled up the sales ad for Kroger and went about making the list off of things that were on sale. My brain just doesn't work that way. After that week, I told Tyson he was in charge of doing the meal planning from now on because, 1) we came in way under our budget for that week and 2) we had some good eats that week! That week at Kroger, avocados and mango's were both $10 for $10 and Mahi Mahi was also on sale. I would have never thought to put any of that together, but that's why I'm not the cook ;) I do the baking. We follow the rules!

So, all that being said, we made Blackened Mahi Mahi with an Avocado Mango Salsa and Cilantro Lime Rice.

For the Mahi Mahi, we used the blackened seasoning from Big Daddy. It consists of:

3 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dried ground thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Tyson mixed everything together and coated the fish. He then seared it in a cast iron pan, skin side down, in a little bit of olive oil. Our specific fish only took about 2 minutes on the skin side and about a minute and a half on the other side but it could vary depending on the thickness of the fish.

You could use this on other types of fish as well, salmon, tilapia, ect...

Mr. Bobby Flay lent us the recipe for the Avocado Mango Salsa. Ok, so he didn't personally give it to us but foodnetwork did. ;) It's hidden inside of another recipe. Here are the ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 1 mango
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

To make the salsa: Put the avocado and mango in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, cilantro, and salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Spoon the mango mixture across the top of the Mahi Mahi and garnish with some more fresh cilantro.

For the rice, we used a recipe that we found a long time ago, that claims to be Chipotle's cilantro lime rice. Who knows if it really is, but it tastes pretty similar and it's super good! We follow this recipe exactly how is says...including the no peeking part! We also use long grain white rice because it's cheaper than basmati. :)

• 1 tbsp oil (canola/vegetable)
• 2 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• 1 fresh key lime (or ½ regular lime)
• ½ tsp salt (kosher or sea salt)
• 1 cup long grain white rice (or basmati, if you can bear the funky smell)
• 2 cups water
• Sautee the rice in oil until almost translucent (as if you are making a risotto).

Add water, bring to a boil.

As soon as the water begins to boil, turn the heat down low.

Simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed.

Turn off heat. DON'T PEEK. LEAVE IT COVERED for 30 minutes (this is the "steaming" part.... Chipotle steams rice every hour). This is what makes the rice fluffy. You won’t be happy with yourself if you don’t do this. Be patient. Good things come to those who wait.

Remove lid, let some of the steam out. It may be helpful to transfer rice into a mixing bowl for the next step.

Mix salt and juice of key lime together until salt is dissolved.

Pour it over rice, fluff with a fork.

Sprinkle in cilantro, and toss well to evenly coat with cilantro and lime mixture.

 

This meal was a super budget friendly meal! We figured it only cost about $7 to feed the both of us! Let us know if you give this recipe a try!

Dinner For Two...And No Tip

This year for Valentine's Day, we enjoyed a steak house dinner at our own table. We are alittle bit picky when it comes to going out for a special dinner and knew that it would not be in the budget to go out and get what we really wanted, so we made it for ourselves. And let me tell you, it was so delicious. I'm pretty sure it was just as good or better than some steaks we have paid money for...and OH, did I mention it only cost us about a quarter of the price!

Here's what was on the menu:

• Coffee Encrusted Filet Mignon
• Honey Glazed Carrots (adapted from here)
• Artichoke Risotto
• Bacon Fried Green Beans (from Rachael Ray)
• Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Filet Mignon

The Crust
1 Tbls of coffee grounds
1 Tbls of sugar
1/2 Tbls sea salt
1tsp of fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic powder

Mix everything together on a small plate. Then dip each side of the filet in the mixture. Set aside.

Heat a cast iron pan on high heat and also pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees. Dizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and sear one side of the filet for about 3-4 minutes. Then flip the filet and immediately place the whole pan into the oven.  Cook until desired done-ness. (if that's even a word. lol)

For a 2 inch filet cook for 4-5 minutes for a warm rare.

We eat our filets rare, but a meat thermometer will help if you want it more well done.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Salt

1 pound baby carrots

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and then carrots and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the carrots and add back to pan with butter, honey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Artichoke Risotto

2 cup of Arborio rice

4 tbls of olive oil

4 tbls of butter

1 cup chopped onion

About 4-5 cups of chicken broth

Marinated artichoke hearts and a little bit of the juice (add as many as you'd like)

1 cup of white wine

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Put the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat.

In a large skillet on medium high heat, add the olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted add the onions and carmelize. Then add the rice and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Don't burn the rice! Deglaze the pan with one cup of white wine and cook until about 1 tablespoon of liquid is left. Gradually stir in the broth 1 cup at a time, cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup. When the rice is starting to become tender and you add your last cup of broth, add the artichoke hearts. When the rice is fully cooked and there is only a little bit of liquid left, add the cheese and mix together and remove from heat.

This makes about 6 cups of rice. We like to cook a bunch so that we have leftovers. It's sooo yummy!

Bacon Fried Green Beans

• A drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1/4 cup cider or red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar

In a skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat, when hot add bacon and pepper and cook the bacon until crisp, 5 minutes. Add beans to bacon and cook about 3 to 5, tossing. Season with vinegar and sugar prior to serving.

Last but not least....

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Strawberries

Ghirardelli milk & white melting chocolate

Wash and dry the strawberries. Melt the chocolate according to the package. Dip the strawberries in the chocolate and set on wax paper until hardened. Then take the white chocolate and drizzle over the tops. We put the white chocolate in a pastry bag and cut a tiny hole the drizzle the white chocolate.

Welcome to the Dinner Bell's!

Hi there! Welcome to the Dinner Bell's!
(Thank you Debbye, for the witty blog name! I knew I could count on you ;) )  

Tyson and I have decided to start this blog as a way to keep a record of the food that we (more like he) makes and to also share some of the recipes. Most nights, Tyson will do the cooking while I try to keep the boys out of the way and entertained. If the conditions are right, I do like to be his "Sous Chef",but those opportunites are few and far between with two hungry toddlers running around waiting for dinner. We have been on a pretty tight grocery budget these days but have still managed to make some pretty tasty food.


We have been talking about starting this blog for about a month, so we will start by posting about some of the dinner's that we have had these past few weeks and eventually will get caught up to date.

Stay tuned for our first "real" post...you know, one about yummy food.