Tuna Cakes

Roman loves tuna and has since he was little.  He would quite happily demolish his tuna straight out of the can with a spoon, but something inside tells me I shouldn't feed my son this way.  Probably because it reminds me of feeding cats straight out of the can.  That being said, it would save on dishes....

Many moons ago when John and I were living in our first apartment we went through a crab cake phase.  We ate those darn things at least once a week and because of that I was a little leery to try this recipe.  I was presently surprised because these cakes aren't fishy at all, they are actually quite delicious! I even fought off Roman to have the last tuna cake for leftovers a few days later!

Tuna Cakes (Make 6 cakes)
12 oz. solid white tuna (3 - 120g cans), drained
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3/4 cup Panko
2t Old Bay seasoning
3 eggs

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  Measure out 1/3 cup patties and cook in a small amount of oil over medium high heat for 3 minutes on each side.

To Freeze:  Allow cakes to cool completely.  Flash freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag.
To Serve:  Reheat in the microwave or oven.

So it's probably not the most complicated recipe I've ever shared, but I promise that it is super tasty!  Easy recipes like this are awesome for freezer cooking days because you can make a lot of them in no time flat.  Your house might smell like a fish market, but your freezer will be full of delicious food!

These would be super easy to send with the kids to school or even to cut up and throw on top of a salad for a little extra protein.  This time I decided to serve them with a side of asparagus and a little tzatziki for sauce. Like most kids Roman loves sauce, specifically tzatziki, so adding a nice dollop on his plate always ensures that a good portion of his meal will be eaten.

Fillet of Fish Mornay with Vegetables

Quite a mouthful of a title I know, but I promise it's worth it!  First off, Wikipedia tells me that "mornay" is "a béchamel sauce with shredded or grated cheese added".  I will admit I had no idea what it meant until just this moment when I Googled it.  I can't be the only person that feeds my kid things when I have no idea what they are....  What I do know is that this is absolutely delicious!  Not just toddler food delicious but "I could eat an entire bowl myself" delicious.  Truth be told I finished off what Roman left in his bowl.  And begins a life of eating the kids leftovers.

When I first got the Okay from Roma's doctor to start solids I was so excited that I immediately ordered Annabel Karmel's First Meals cookbook from Chapters.  I haven't used the book much, but lately I've been in a bit of a rut with Roman's food.  He loves to feed himself but that only leaves a few options for things to give him. However, I've recently discovered that if the food is good enough he will let me feed him.  After cruising through the 9-12 month old section of the book I came across this delicious recipe.  Well actually it was the picture that got me, that's usually how I pick which recipes I'm going to make, but doesn't everyone?

Fillet of Fish Mornay with Vegetables (Makes approx. 2 cups)
1T butter
2/3 cup leeks, washed and thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
2/3 cup broccoli, cut into small florets
1/3 cup fresh/frozen peas
4oz white fish
2/3 cup milk
3 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
parsley

Sauce
1 1/2T butter
1T flour
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese *Roman LOVES cheese so I dumped a little extra in for him

Saute leeks in butter until soft.  Add the carrots, cover with water, and cook for 10 minutes.  Add broccoli and cook for 5 minutes.  Add peas and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until all veggies are tender.

Meanwhile, place fish in a pan and simmer in milk, peppercorns, bay leaf and parsley for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.  Remove the fish and the spices from the milk.  Discard the spices and set aside the fish and milk separately.

To prepare the sauce, melt butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in the milk the fish was cooked in.  Bring to a boil and cook until the sauce has thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese until it is melted.

Drain water from the vegetables and flake in the fish.  Pour sauce over vegetables and mix until well combined.  You can blend this mixture for a younger child or leave it as is for one that is accustomed to chewing.

Roman gives this meal one arm up!  He devoured his entire bowl and then some.  I don't think a drop landed on his bib, which is honestly shocking if you've ever seen this kid eat.  This recipe makes enough for 3-4 meals for Roman so I divided what was left between two mini loaf tins and popped them in the freezer.  This way I always have a delicious lunch or supper on hand and I don't have to dirty a single pan!  Happy eating!

Grilled Lemon Chili Shrimp

We love seafood in our house, so when summer comes it's only a matter of time before the shrimp hit the Bar-B.  I often prepare my shrimp this way but you could swap out the herbs and chili for any spices you may have in your spice rack.  Sometimes the most delicious spice combinations are discovered when you just start dumping things on! 

 

This is a light meal that just oozes summer.  To keep with the light feeling I decided to pair the shrimp with Grilled Vegetables and Fried Couscous.  This meal is super easy to prepare since the couscous just needs to be reheated and the veggies can be prepared ahead of time.  Citrus juice cooks shrimp so you would not want to let the shrimp sit overnight in the lemon juice because it would likely be cooked before it hit the grill, unless that is you want ceviche in which case soak away!

Grilled Lemon Chili Shrimp
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 lemon, juiced
3T oil *Use whatever kind you like.  I used melted coconut oil and it worked well*
2T chili powder
2T parsley

Mix together lemon juice, oil and parsley.  Toss shrimp in the lemon mixture until well coated.  Arrange shrimp on wood or metal skewers *TIP - if using wood skewers, soak them in water first to prevent burning.  Sprinkle chili powder over shrimp.  Grill shrimp until they are pink (time will vary depending on grill temperature).  You can also brush any of the excess lemon mixture on the shrimp as they grill to add more flavour.

Pecan Crusted Honey Mustard Salmon

 John did the last round of meal planning and I have to admit I was a little intimidated when I read the title of this recipe on the list of things we were making this week.  How was I possibly going to have time to make a crusted salmon while watching Roman during the day?  However, once I read the recipe all my fears melted away. 

This recipe is quick and simple but tastes incredible!  I prepared the breading and sauce in advance and left it in the fridge until I was ready to crust the salmon.  This way I wasn't trying to chop and measure with a kid hanging off my leg.  I decided to leave the honey out when I made it so that we could share with Roman, and instead used a bit of brown sugar to replace the sweetness of the honey.  I can only imagine how delicious this would be when made with the honey mmmm.

Pecan Crusted Honey Mustard Salmon
4 - 4oz salmon fillets
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
3T Dijon mustard
1 1/2T honey
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup bread crumbs
4t chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper to taste

In a small bowl mix together oil, honey and mustard.  In another bowl mix together bread crumbs, pecans and parsley.  I prefer to use Panko bread crumbs because they have a great crunch and don't become soggy when baked like traditional bread crumbs.

Place salmon fillets on a parchment lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.  Pour honey mixture over top.  Sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture.  Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

I know I found this recipe somewhere online (Once A Month Meals I'm guessing) but I can't for the life of me find it online anymore. This dish could easily be turned into a freezer meal by simply crusting the fish as the recipe says then popping the baking sheet in the freezer.  Once the fish is frozen you can wrap each portion in plastic wrap then pop them in a freezer bag.  When you want to cook the salmon just thaw and bake as the recipe directs.

I decided to serve the salmon on a bed of rice and vegetables and topped it with a hollandaise sauce.  Now that may sound fancy but in reality it was a package mix and all I had to do was add butter.  A restaurant looking meal that is super easy to make is always a win in my book!

Lemony Garlic Shrimp with Vegetables

This post is going to look a little different than most of my recipe posts because I didn't start out with the intention of making it a blog post.  This recipe was just one of many I was making in my latest freezer cooking day.  The smell of this dish cooking had wafted into the living room where John was watching Roman and he immediately came running into the kitchen to taste it.  Even scalding hot, John was immediately in love!  As soon as I tasted it for myself I knew I had to share!

The originally recipe was posted on Renee's Kitchen Adventures.

Lemony Garlic Shrimp and Vegetables - Serves 8
4 bell peppers, diced
2 bunches asparagus, diced
2 lemons, zested
3/4t salt
3/4t pepper
5t minced garlic
1/2 cup onion, diced
6 cups shrimp cleaned & peeled (thawed if frozen)
3 cups chicken broth
6t cornstarch
2 lemons, juiced
3T butter
3T chopped parsley

Cook peppers, asparagus and lemon zest in cooking spray on medium heat until tender crisp.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Spray pan again and cook garlic and onion for 1 minute.  Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink.  Whisk broth and cornstarch together until smooth and add to pan.  Cook stirring until the sauce thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, butter, vegetables and parsley.

To Freeze - allow it too cool and divide it into large bags.  Lay flat to freeze.
To Serve - Thaw and reheat in a pot on the stove.

We usually roast, boil or maybe even BBQ our asparagus.  Obviously I have been living under a rock because it never occurred to me to chop up asparagus and use it in a recipe like this!  The subtle crunch that they give to this recipes is absolutely perfect!  I will definitely be adding it to more recipes in the future!

Basa with Fresh Salsa

Over the winter I got into a bit of a rut cooking beef since we have a 1/4 beef in the freezer.  With spring on it's way so I decided our taste buds, and our waist lines, could benefit from a switch up!  I usually have fish in the freezer so I decided to whip up this summer favorite!

 

Because this is a simple dish, the spice on the fish is super important.  You can really change up the taste of the dish just by switching up the spices.  Let your imagination run wild and play with your spice rack and you might be surprised at the combinations you can come up with. 

 

Basa with Fresh Salsa
4 basa fillets (you can use any type of white fish)
4t coconut oil
3T chili powder
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lemon, juiced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2T parsley
salt and pepper

Lay fish on a baking sheet and smear 1t of coconut oil on each piece of fish.  Sprinkle chili powder over fish and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.  I also love to cook this type of fish on the BBQ.  It gives the fish a subtle BBQ flavour that is absolutely delicious!  I use a tin tray (as pictured above) and set it right on the BBQ.  This keeps the fish from breaking apart and falling between the grates!

In a bowl toss together, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper.  Top the fish with the fresh salsa and serve.

This dish is fresh and simple and a great addition to your weekly meal plan!  Quinoa or couscous would be a great pairing for this meal.  I remembered that I was going to make a side just as John was walking in the door, so instead he just had a heaping portion of salsa!  Who says you have to have grains at every meal?

Baby Food - Baked Salmon with Broccoli Puree

Since I started giving Roman solids at 4 months, I have fallen in love with making baby food!  Roman loves food and will pretty much eat anything I give him, which makes feeding him a joy!  Today I decided I was going to make some baked salmon and broccoli puree for him.  Roman loves broccoli but this will be his first time having salmon.

Now the wrench in this plan is that I only have about an hour to do this while Roman is napping.  So hopefully Roman will cooperate.  The clock starts now!

Ingredients

32 oz salmon
dill
pepper
3 heads of broccoli
formula/breast milk/stock to use when pureeing mixture

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place salmon on a parchment lined baking sheet and season with dill and pepper.
Bake for 1 hour.

While salmon is baking, cut broccoli into florets and steam/boil until tender.

Remove salmon from oven and allow to cool.  Cut into small pieces.
Combine salmon, broccoli and your liquid of choice in your blender and puree. I used my Baby Bullet and pureed in small batches as it would not all fit at once.  Roman likes his food fairly chunky, but if your little one likes a smoother puree add more liquid while pureeing.

 

 

Once you are happy with the consistency, transfer puree to ice cube trays and freeze. 

I store my purees in labeled sandwich size plastic bags, then put the small bags into a large plastic freezer bag.  I like to use my purees within 4-6 weeks so that they stay fresh.  To thaw, place as many ice cubes as you need (1 cube is approximately1 tablespoon) into an air tight container and store in the fridge over night.  Purees can be warmed prior to feeding.

 

Well it looks like my hour is up!  Making your own baby food doesn't have to be a dreaded and time consuming project if you plan for it.  Making sure meats are defrosted (if frozen), vegetables are washed and chopped (if needed), and beans/legumes are rinsed and soaked, will go a long way in saving you time.  Have fun and be creative, and you and your little one will have a great time exploring the delicious world of solid food!

**NOTE: I am not a dietitian or doctor.  Always consult a health care professional before changing your infants diet.