For Liz and Jess

April 2, 2009

Okay, here are the recipes I told Liz I'd post and Jess apparently has in a book but she doesn't want to open it :op For all in need of losing a few pounds the South Beach Diet is the way to go. Last year my Dad lost like 85 pounds and my sister lost 35 in a few months. Enough propoganda here are two stage one recipes that were FABULOUS!

Baked white fish with Onions, Peppers, Olives, and Feta

(Makes 2-3 servings, recipe created by Kalyn.)
2 or 3 medium-sized Tilapia filets(for best results, use fish that is uniformly thick)
1/2 T olive oil (or less, depending on your pan)
1/2 cup very finely diced red pepper
1/4 cup very finely diced red onion (or sweet white onion)
1/4 cup very finaly diced green olives
1/3 cup crumbled feta (or less if you're not wild about feta)
1-2 T mayo or lite mayo (do not use fat free)

Preheat oven to 425. Spray small glass or ceramic casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Heat olive oil in nonstick frying pan and saute red pepper and onion about 3 minutes. Add olives and saute about 2 minutes more. Turn off heat.

Put fish in casserole dish and season with salt and pepper. Spread a small amount of mayo evenly over the surface of each piece of fish. Stir feta into red pepper/onion/olive mixture and spread that over the top of fish. (Pile it on so all the mixture is used. It doesn't matter if some falls off while it's cooking.)

Bake until fish is opaque and white throughout and topping is barely starting to brown, 10-15 minutes. The mayo and the topping will keep the fish moist. Serve hot.

FYI I used my mini cuisinart to chop the onions, peppers and olives.


Stir-Fried Green Beans with Lemon, Parmesan, and Pine Nuts

(Makes about 4 servings, with inspiration from A Veggie Venture)
1 lb. fresh green beans, preferably thin French green beans
1 1/2 T olive oil (or less, depending on your pan or wok)
2 cloves whole garlic
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 T freshly grated parmesan
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted in hot pan 1-2 minutes

Trim ends from green beans. Cut beans into pieces about 2 inches long. Put beans into glass bowl, cover with saran wrap (cling film) and microwave on high 2 minutes.

While beans microwave, zest the lemon and squeeze the juice. (You will not need all the juice, freeze the extra to use later.)

In a dry pan, toast pine nuts over high heat 1-2 minutes, until they barely start to brown. Set aside.

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add garlic cloves and stir fry about 1 minute. (This is a Chinese cooking technique called seasoning the oil.) Be sure not to brown the garlic or it will taste bitter. Remove garlic and discard.

Add beans and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until beans are barely starting to brown but are still slightly crisp. (I taste one to see if they are done. I prefer them slightly underdone.) Lower heat, then pour lemon juice over beans, and stir beans a few times. Turn off heat, then sprinkle lemon zest and parmesan cheese over beans and stir again. Remove beans to serving plate, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, and serve immediately.