Bye Bye Carbs! Blackened Catfish

Josh and I decided we really needed to start eating better and losing some of this happy relationship weight that has inched its way into our britches!

We are trying a semi Atkins diet.  Pretty Low - carb, close to no carb, but it almost seems impossible to cut ALL carbs out of one's diet :/  A few years back, I remember that I tried a carb-free diet and lasted all of 2 days!  I simply could not give up my jasmine rice - I was soooo moody and felt completely depressed.  I am a lover of food, I never really over indulge, just hate to exercise!  So it's time to make a change and it's so much easier to have someone join you in the crusade against weight! Thanks JB <3

Last night I pan-fried catfish for our inaugural Lo-Carb supper!

Blackened Catfish is pretty easy!

You can usually find fresh, farm-raised catfish in the grocer's fish market (HEB). . . I bought 3 fillets (for myself, Josh and Jonah).  Jonah skipped out on us to meet friends at Myako's for there very awesome sushi happy hour!  Here is the recipe for 3 servings.

BUY:

• Catfish fillets (1/person)
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• olive oil 
• fish sauce
• blackened seasoning, Tony's cajun seasoning, or Lawry's seasoned salt
• black pepper
• cayenne

PREP:

• Rub 1-2 drops of olive oil on fish (both sides)
• Sprinkle onion, garlic, and cajun seasoning on fish (both sides)
• Depending on your desired level of spice, sprinkle black pepper and cayenne on fish
• very carefully, add 2-3 drops of fish sauce to one side of the fish (you do not need more than that)
• Let rest in fridge for 20-30 minutes to marinade

CUC:

• Heat nonstick pan on high, add olive oil to pan
• add fillets and turn heat down to medium high heat
• fish tends to cook pretty quickly, about 5 minutes on each side (depending on size of fillet)

**I added a little water to the pan when it looked like it was charring or smoking, this created a more darker golden color on the fish!

Squeeze some lemon on it and normally I would serve this with dirty or jasmine rice, but since we are not eating CARBS, we just had it by itself.

Here are the nutrition facts if you are curious.

Taken from FatSecret.com

My Famous Grilled Ribeye Recipe

I LOVVVVVE to grill!  When I opened Three Sheets, one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted a Steak Night!  A lot of places would have Steak Night, but the steaks were not as flavorful as I liked em!  Okay, so I am asian!  Our idea of steak was thin slices of marinated eye of round, pan-fried (well-done, by the way) and served with jasmine rice, soy sauce and sriracha . . . I didn't really start grilling REAL steaks until I was in my twenties.  And I never ate my steak the right way (MEDIUM - RARE) until my (ex) husband forced me to give it a try . . . boy was I missing out on flavor!!!!

Here's the recipe (Serving for 4):

BUY:

• 1/4in to 1/3in cut of Ribeye (lots of the fat on it)
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp white pepper
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• A few dashes of steak seasoning (McCormicks Spicy Montreal Steak)
• 1/2 cup oyster flavor sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcester sauce
• 1 Shiner Beer
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2-3 dashes of cayenne pepper

PREP:

• Place all ingredients in a plastic bag or bin large enough to hold all the steaks
• Best if you can marinade overnight in the fridge, but an hour should be okay.  Heck, it's always better to marinade overnight ;)

CUC:
Take the Steaks out of the fridge half an hour before you are ready to grill.  Use a half of an onion to clean the grill and oil the grill as it is getting hot.


I use a gas grill so it doesn't take very long for the grill to get hot.  This is where it gets fuzzy . . . I never pay attention to the actual temperature of the fire, I start the grill on a high fire to get it really hot, turn it down a notch when I'm ready to put the meat on.  I like to get the grill marks first, so starting it off on a hot grill will make those marks!  Once you put them on, don't move them around too much.  You should only have to flip them once.

I don't use a meat thermometer either, but it's BEEF!!!!  I can usually tell by the tenderness of the steak if it is medium-rare and ready to take off! So touch your meat! Getting a thermometer ain't such a bad idea :)

rare 120°F - 125°F; medium rare 125°F - 130°F; medium 130°F - 135°F

Always let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before serving or cutting!

For an even more Asian twist, serve it with jasmine rice, a few slices of tomatoes and cucumber, squeeze some lime on top of that ribeye and top it off with sriracha!  YUMMMMM in the tums!

Enjoy ;)

Beef N Broccoli

General Tso's chicken, shrimp fried rice, beef n broccoli!!!  These are a few all-time favorite dishes for a gringo to order from the local Chinese takeout or eat at the neighborhood Chinese restaurant.

Well, just because they are typical doesn't mean they can't be flavorful!!!   

First of all, please accept my apologies, work has been WORK lately and life hasn't slowed down enough for me to write . . . with late nights at baseball games and something always on the agenda, Josh and I have been eating out quite a bit lately.

Putting together supper requires planning, defrosting and/or major preemptive shopping! But sometimes, it can be as simple as a quick stop at the local Randall’s! 

So I actually cooked this meal on Monday night, after Josh's game . . . no planning, nothing defrosted--guided only by the desire to NOT EAT OUT AGAIN! 

I picked up some beef ( a butt roast, I usually buy eye of round, but they did not have any so I made due) and a few bunches of broccoli--all for under $10!!!

Here is the recipe (serving for 2): 

BUY:

• beef (1/2 lb eye of round, sliced for stir fry)
• broccoli (2 cups cut)
• olive oil
• minced garlic
• fish sauce
• oyster flavor sauce
• soy sauce
• onion powder
• black pepper
• garlic powder
• ginger powder
• sesame oil
• corn starch
• chili sauce  *if you have small kids eating, you may not want to use this

This is the sauce: 

PREP:

-Marinade for Beef - remember I am eyeballin' it!  And marinades are very forgiving on the quantities!

• Place sliced beef in a mixing bowl or ziploc bag
• Add 2-3 drops of fish sauce
• Add 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• Add 3 tbsp of oyster flavor sauce
• Few sprinkles of onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, ginger powder
• A splash of sesame oil
• tsp of the chili sauce

**You would typically marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.  On this particular occasion, it marinated for about 5-10 minutes while I was prepping the broccoli and making the rice.

-Rinse and slice Broccoli and set aside

-Thickening sauce

• 1 tbsp of cornstarch or reg flour
• a few drops of soy sauce
• a few drops of oyster flavor sauce
• 1/3 cup water

 CUC:

• Heat pan, add olive oil and minced garlic
• Add broccoli and sauté (I add a tiny bit of water, a few drops of oyster flavor sauce and cover for a few minutes to cook)  *If you prefer your broccoli al dente, you can remove it at the desired texture and set aside
• Add the beef and sauté until almost cooked the way you want it, add the thickening sauce and stir until the sauce has thickened
• Remove from pan, sprinkle with black pepper and serve with rice

It was pretty yummy this time!!! It's always been one of Jonah's favorites growing up!  Hope your family enjoys it!