Category Archives: Main Course

Honey, Mustard Sauce is lovin’ on that Tilapia.

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This recipe graciously inspired by the back of a package whose brand I have forgotten, oh yeah.

[Insert delicious picture here!]
[Please forgive us recipe thieves
for indulging in the dish before
taking any photos… ok seriously,
we were dying you guys! Trust
us, you have got to try it!!!!!!!]

The Goods
4 tilapia filets
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. Mustard
2 tsp. finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

*optional- 1/4 chopped pecans, lemon wedges and parsley for garnish*

The Gettin’
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place tilapia in a lightly greased baking pan.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. In small skillet or microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and honey together.
5. Stir in mustard to butter and honey mix and brush on fish.
6. Sprinkle parsley (and if desired pecans) evenly over fish.
7.Bake 8-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

The Take
Simple and satisfaction characterize this meal.  You know when you get home and you really wish you didn’t have to make anything AND you’re so hungry that the thought of waiting a second seems earth shattering?  Sometimes the best recipes come on the package itself, and well, credit is due to a package from Tom Thumb. When you don’t want to labor, but you want a sweet meal- Honey Mustard Tilapia.

Total Time:  23-25 minutes
Prep –  15 minutes
Cook–  8-10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Hamburger Help Me Stoup

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This recipe inspired and derived from Lauren’s Pop’s Hash, the concept of Hamburger Helper, and the new genre categorization by Rachael Ray.


*What’s thicker than a soup and thinner than a stew… STOUP!  Thanks Rachael Ray for our new genre!*

The Goods
1.5 lbs. ground beef (80/20)
4 large portabella mushrooms, cut into 2 inch chunks
handful of baby carrots
15 sprigs of fresh chives, chopped
3 springs oregano, leaves only
16 fluid ounces tomato juice (we used three small cans of Campbell’s)
salt and pepper to taste

The Gettin’
1. Begin cooking ground beef with salt and pepper in large skillet.
2. Once meat is browned add in tomato juice, chives, oregano, mushrooms, and carrots into skillet and let simmer with lid for 20 minutes.

The Take
Lauren liked this more than I did.  If I would change anything, I would use half and half tomato juice and SCD ketchup to give it an extra twang from the vinegar.  Or maybe I would just add vinegar…  or Tabasco sauce… hmm…

Total Time: 40 minutes
Prep – 10 minutes
Cook–  30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Easy

Crab Legs with Garlic Butter Sauce

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This recipe graciously stolen from allrecipes.com.

The Goods
1 pound Snow Crab clusters or legs, thawed if necessary
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. fresh parsley
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

The Gettin’
1. Cut a slit, length-wise, into the shell of each piece of crab (some packages are pre-cut, for convenience).
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic in the butter until translucent.
3. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper.  Continue to heat mixture until bubbling.
4. Add the crab legs, toss to coat; allow to simmer in the butter mixture until completely heated, 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Sprinkle fresh parsley and serve steamy.

The Take
Tasty, but a little work getting the meat out of the shell!

Total Time: 20 minutes
Prep – 5 minutes
Cook– 15 minutes

Yield:  6 servings

Level: Easy (Though admittedly, I burned the sauce. – Lauren)

Steamed Mussels

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This recipe stolen graciously from allrecipes.com.

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*Note: These are amazing.*

The Goods
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup shallots, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
ground black pepper to taste

The Gettin’
1. In a medium stock pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent.
2. Pour in wine and mussels. Raise heat to medium/high and steam mussels until shells open, about 7 minutes.
3. Pour mussels and cooking liquid into a serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

The Take:
These are good, but they require a bit of prep!  Letting the mussels sit in some water before you begin for 20-30 minutes lets them expel dirt or sand.  Don’t use any mussels that aren’t closed to begin with – they’re probably dead!  You can check by sharply tapping the mussel – if it closes, it’s still alive and safe to cook.  Any mussels that don’t open after steaming should be thrown away.

Total Time: 52 minutes
Prep – 45 minutes
Cook– 7 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Perfect Roast Chicken

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This recipe stolen graciously from Ina, Lauren’s fav.

The Goods
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
fresh Ground Salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemons, 1 halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges (Don’t be scared, it is GOOD)
olive oil

* Note, we enjoy doubling the vegetables and adding more lemon slices outside of the chicken. Sometimes we add mushrooms and green beans just for the heck of it. You can see what you like and adjust.*

The Gettin’
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.
3. LIBERALLY salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
4. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.
5. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
6. Tie the legs together with kitchen string (needle threads worked for us!).
7. Tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken (see her video for help).
8. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan.
9. Toss the veggies with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil.
10. Spread the veggies evenly around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
11. Roast the chicken for 1.5 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
12. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.
13. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

The Take:
The first time we made this, it turned out pretty dry.  We made it again for Lauren’s parents, and it turned out fantastic!  We don’t know what the difference was…

Total Time: 2 hour 10 minutes
Prep – 20 minutes
Cook– 1 .5 hours
Inactive – 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Lobster Tail, We Fancy

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This recipe stolen graciously from Giada.

IMAG0635

The Goods
1 cup water
4  lobster tails
salt and pepper
melted butter, for serving (you can clarify it if you want to be fancy)
nimble pinkie fingers

The Gettin’
1.  Add the water to a large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Rinse the lobster.
3. Open the lobster tail in butterfly form (fancy!)
4. Salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Place the lobster tail in the pot to steam (we used a steamer basket) and cover.
6. Steam cook for 8 minutes (it turns a beautiful red!)
7. Serve with hot melted butter, raise pinkies high and enjoy. 😉

The Take:
Lobster tails seem intimidating, but they weren’t hard at all!  And they were oh so tasty, despite looking a dull brown and unappetizing when we bought them from the local supermarket.  The trickiest part was the butterflying, but even a mistake still tastes good!

Total Time:  23 minutes
Prep – Realistically for Newbies like Recipe Thieves: 15 minutes
Cook– 8 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Garlic and Citrus Chicken

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The following dish was inspired by both ComfyBelly.com and Giada De Laurentiis.

IMAG0716

The Goods
two reg. size packages of chicken, or one large: thighs and wingettes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
3 garlic cloves, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves

The Gettin’
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Wash and dry chicken pieces.
3. Place chicken in a baking dish.
4. Brush extra virgin olive oil on each piece (both sides).
5. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of each chicken piece.
6. Squeeze the 1 quartered lemon and 1 quartered orange over the chicken pieces, toss in the lemon and orange pieces.
7. Sprinkle 3 chopped garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano leaves.
8. Place in the oven for 55 minutes or until the skin is crispy and browned.

The Take:
Boy, was this good!  I was expecting a dry, overcooked chicken (we kept it in longer to brown the skin), but the chicken exploded with flavor!  It really soaked up that citrus.

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Prep – 30 minutes
Cook– 55 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy