Lemon-Pepper Fish with Pineapple-Mango Stir Fry

I'm a BIG fan of Costco.  I don't belong with them, but my manager is a member and when the offer comes up--YES, I will come along as a guest! I hunt down food samples..  Recently, my manager and I took a trip to Costco during our lunch break, and we came across a display table with some type of Lo Mein.  It was delicious.  At that point I wanted something "Asiany" for dinner.  So I figured some type of Stir Fry sounded good!  Stir Fry is a very simple meal...but it's a lot of fun to throw in some personality!  That's where the Pineapple & Mango come into play. 

[TO BUY]
Frozen Fish (your choice)
Lemon (1-try to get one that is slightly squishy. You can get more juice out of it)
Unripe Mango (green in color, very firm in touch)
Pineapple Chunks (small can, 8 oz, drained)
Stir Fry Mix
Hoisin Sauce (can be found in the Asian aisle at most grocery stores)
Rice
Garlic Powder/Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Here's the end result.  And here's how you get there:

Gather up your ingredients.

Make sure to shave off the skin of the Mango (I just used a knife).  Then chop up the Mango in little cubes.  Cut up as many Mangos you want to put in the Stir Fry.

(At this point, it would be a good idea to start thawing out the Fish and cooking the Rice)

Make sure you drain out the juices from the can first, then add the Pineapple chunks with the Mango. 

 

Heat the skillet on Medium-High.  Throw in the Mango & Pineapple.

The goal is to brown the edges up.  Once that's done, set aside.

(They all won't brown up--just do as much as you can)

With the same skillet on Medium-High, add in the Stir Fry Mixture. 

You can take veggies and chop it up and make your own mixture, BUT if you want to save LOTS of time, just get a premade one :o)  Stir the mixture occasionally.  While its heating up--start on the Fish.

The frozen fish should be thawed at this point. 

Season each side of the fish with Garlic Powder, Lemon-Pepper Seasoning, then squeeze lemon juice all over both sides.

Now go back to your Stir Fry.  Once it'll all heated up, add in the Pineapple & Mango.

Pour in the Hoisin Sauce.  Add in as much as you want.  If you want a little flavor-just drizzle the top with the sauce.  If you want it to be more saucey-add more sauce.  The combination of the flavors is SO good!

Mix it up.

Change the heat on the stove from Medium-High to a Low setting.

We will come back to serve this up once the Fish is done.

On a different skillet, spray with cooking spray, and heat on Medium-High.  Once the skillet seems hot enough, add in the Fish.  I would Highly Recommend using: Orange Roughy Fish. That is by far my favorite!  It's a little more expensive, but it has NO fishy flavor.  It's like a light buttery flavor, almost like crab meat. 

Fish is really quick to cook up.  After about 1-2 minutes, flip the fish.  You want to brown each side.  I flipped it a couple times until it was at a desired color of brown.

A cool way to display your (cooked) Rice: Pack the rice in a small bowl.  Really squish it in there!  Then flip it over onto a plate.  It looks so cute!

And, dinner is served!

Hidden Valley Ranch Style Stroganoff

I bought a 5 lb bag of Wide Egg Noodles at GFS (Gordon Food Service) a couple months ago because it was such a great deal!  That MASSIVE bag is still sitting in my pantry and I cannot seem to get rid of it-haha!  It definitey saves me $$ in the long run, but I am now constantly trying to figure out meals that have anything to do with noodles!! 
I came across a recipe from, Hidden Valley Ranch, that caught my eye.  First of all, I LOVE Ranch-flavored anything, and second, it was EASY.  They called it, "Original Ranch Beef & Noodle Skillet".  I took that recipe, and put a little TPham twist on it: I gave it a little more flavor, and made it healthier.
--Hey, it's bikini season.

[TO BUY]
Wide Egg Noodles (12-16 oz)
Hidden Valley, Original Ranch Seasoning Mix (1 packet-powdered stuff)
Ground Turkey* (1 lb)
Sliced Mushroom (1/2 lb)
Sour Cream (Fat Free*8 oz)
Milk (3/4 cup)
Parmesan Cheese (~1/2 cup, grated or shredded)
Vegetable Oil (1 tablespoon)
Beef Flavored Bouillon Cubes/Beef Stock (OPTIONAL*)

Here is your end result.  And here is how you get there:

Gather up your ingredients.

Cook noodles as directed.  (I cooked my noodles in beef stock to give the noodles more flavor. You can cook it in plain water if you'd like)

Combine: the Fat Free*Sour Cream, Milk, and the Ranch Seasoning Mix.   Stir/whisk together until smooth.  Set aside.

Now, add 1 tablespoon of Vegetable Oil to a large skillet.  Heat the oil over Medium heat.  Then add in the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, or until nicely browned.  Remove mushrooms from skillet and set aside.

At this point, (using the same skillet) you will add in the Ground Turkey* (no need to add in additional oil).  Break up the meat, and cook until its completely browned.  NO pink color left!  You'll see excess liquid in the skillet from the meat.  Drain it. 

The meat should end up looking like this! :o)

Add to the meat: the cooked Egg Noodles, Mushrooms, Parmesan Cheese, and the Sour Cream mixture.  Stir all together.

Serve it up!!! 

Feel free to sprinkle more of the Parmesan Cheese on top!

SO DELICIOUS!!! 

ENJOY!

Coconut Shrimp

Who doesn't like Coconut Shrimp?!
Well maybe people who don't like seafood or are allergic...
Anyways, I had Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp at Red Lobster for the first time last month, and it was AMAZING!  Oh, and that dipping sauce..Mmm Mmm Mmm!  I don't normally deep fry my food, but for this meal--I am totally down for it.

[TO BUY]-
Jumbo Shrimp (1/2 lb-1 lb, Frozen-Raw, deveined, peeled)
Sweetened Coconut Flakes (1-2 cups)
(Panko) Bread Crumbs (1-2 cups)
Corn Starch (1- 1.5 cups divided-you're gonna split this amount up for the recipe)
Powdered Sugar (1-2 tablespoons)
Sour Cream (Fat Free*1/3 cup)
Small Can of Crushed Pineapple (drained)
Spiced Rum (1/3 cup)
Liquid Pina Colada Drink Mix (1.5 cups-divided)
Oil (Peanut or Canola ~3 Qts)

Here's the end result.  And here's how you get there:

Gather up your ingredients.

You want to use a pot that is at least 5 inches deep, and fill it about half way with the cooking oil.  Heat on Medium-High.

(At this point, it's a good idea to defrost your shrimp in the microwave)

Combine 1-2 cups of the Panko Bread Crumbs, ~1/2 cup of Corn Starch, and 1-2 cups Sweetened Coconut Flakes.  (This recipe is for 1 lb of shrimp..I only made 1/2 lb so I cut the recipe in half...ex: instead of 2 cups of coconut flakes, I only used 1.)

Once the bread crumbs are mixed up, I placed ~1 cup of Corn Starch in a separate bowl/dish.

Combine 1-2 tablespoons of Powdered Sugar, 1/3 cup of the Spiced Rum, and ~1 cup of the Pina Colada drink mix.  Mix those all together.  Set aside.

Once the shrimp is defrosted, make sure to get out any excess moisture.  Firmly pressing down on the shrimp with paper towels will work fine.

Line them up!!  Shrimp, Cornstarch, Spiced Rum mixture, then the Bread Crumb mixture.  This order will make things easier.

Coat in Starch. 

Rule of thumb is to only use one hand to coat the shrimp!  Gotta leave the other hand clean just in case you need to grab other stuff!

Then coat in the Spiced Rum Mixture.

Then coat that in the Bread Crumb Mixture.

Now, at this point, you want to re-dip this back into the Spiced Rum mixture, then one more time back into the Bread Crumb Mixture.  Gotta get that coating nice and thick!

Here's a side-by-side of the shrimps Before & After.

I don't own a Deep Fryer, so heating up oil on the stove is the next best thing.  How you can tell the oil is hot enough, is by taking a wooden

-something- and dipping it into the oil.  If you see rapid bubbles forming around and away from the wooden -something-, then you are ready to go!!

Important: Do NOT just drop the shrimp in.  The oil is extremely hot and may burn you if it splashes onto you!  Use some type of heavy stainless steel slotted spoon with a long handle while dipping in the shrimp.  Gently dip in the shrimp, but still keep it on the spoon.  Hold it down for a few seconds, and lift it back up and you'll notice the coating turning brown.  Keep dipping the shrimp into the oil until its a nice, dark, golden brown.

It's definitely helpful to have a cooling rack available.  I placed a paper towel on the rack to help absorb excess oil from the shrimp.

While the shrimp is cooling, make the dipping sauce.  Combine ~1/2 cup of the Pina Colada drink mix, 1/3 cup of Sour Cream, and 1/3 cup of the (drained) Crushed Pineapples.  (I would recommend refridgerating the sauce before serving it.  It comes out sort of liquidy, so the refridgerator will help thicken up the sauce)

This whole thing is SOO YUMMY.  Cococut Shrimp is great for an appetizer, and your guests will LOVE it!

ENJOY!!