No Recipe- Recipes

I probably have a couple hundred cookbooks, two filing cabinet drawers full of recipes and of course all the recipes I view daily from my favorite food blogs that I follow. Oops I forgot to mention my cooking magazines. I am little obsessed! 

As much as I love my recipes and cookbooks, I have really started going through them all and getting rid of quite a bit. I even went through my food blogs that I follow and really cleaned up in that area too. I think at one point I realized there was no way I was going to cook all the recipes I have in my collection, in my life time- yep- that much, gulp. 

Learning to read a recipe and follow the directions are crucial when learning how to cook. There are many skills and things I have learned over the years from using recipes. In fact, they have helped me learn how to cook without a recipe and there is such great freedom in being able to do that.

I thought it would be fun to start a new section called "No Recipe-Recipes"- Ha! Let me give you an example:

Last night I cooked tilapia for me and the two boys that were home. Cooking fish can be intimidating if you don't know how, but once you learn the technique (the recipe or really the method) the possibilities are endless on how you can make it your own and it's so easy!

I used lemon pepper seasoning this time and later added some freshly
grated Parmesan cheese on top!

First, I did not go to culinary school of any kind, so this is my way from all the things I have learned from reading recipes:

Sauteing Fish Filets

needed:

saute pan

fish filets, less than 1 inch thick (one per person)

oil or butter or a little combo of both

flour

favorite seasonings

vegetables, sliced (plan on about a cup or so of cooked veggies per person)

chicken broth

Rub fish on both sides with favorite seasonings*. Then pat fish filets in a some flour, shaking off excess (this helps to keep the fish from sticking to pan). Set aside.

Heat a saute pan to medium-high  heat. Add a little oil or butter or a combination of both until hot and sizzling. Place fish in saute pan and give a little shake. Cook fish for 5 minutes. Flip. Turn the heat down to low and cook for another 5 minutes. 

To check if fish is done, press finger down on the thickest part of the fish. It should feel firm and hot. You can also take a fork and kind of pull at it to see if the fish flakes. Done.

Remove fish from pan and place on plate; loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. 

Turn the heat up on the pan to medium-high and add a little chicken broth to the pan, just enough to barely cover the bottom (this is "deglazing" the pan- some use white wine which is fine). Stir, scraping all the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan from the fish.

Add favorite sliced veggies. Add seasoning if you want and cook until crisp tender. Pour veggies over the top of the fish. Done and Yum!

*Tomorrow I will post seasoning profiles you can use to make your food different each time.

Enjoy!

-Lisa