Flounder and Sauteed Mushrooms

This is a new dish that I developed from a variation of one of our favorites, sauteed mushrooms (as inspired by Agostino's Ristorante Italiano (or Agostino's By The Sea) in Capistrano Beach, California.  We want to eat more fish, and it dawned on me that this was a good way to do it.  The fish came out very tender and flavorful.  I believe that you can use virtually white fish here, say tilapia or whitefish (you may want to adjust the cooking time for thickness).  We had flounder.  Even though it was a bit freezer burned - but it came out great!  As a kid growing up in New Jersey, flounder was our everyday fish.  Things are definitely not that way in the Midwest.

I do not have the calories figured out - or even estimated, but I have to figure this is a pretty good meal for a low-calorie dining plan.  While you can serve this beautifully with a baguette, having a green vegetable to go with this would also be great.  It is a very nice way to prepare fish that is very different that what we normally do at home.  And it came out great.

Ingredients (serves 2)
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Butter
2 oz can Anchovies (with most of the oil drained)
2 cloves (or tsp) Chopped garlic
1 Shallot (small), chopped
1 tbsp Parsley, dried
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp Black pepper (adjust to taste)
16 oz White mushrooms, stems trimmed and larger ones halved
1/2 cup Chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup Sherry or cooking sherry
2 Flounder fillets (or other thinner white fish such as haddock or tilapia)

Directions
1. Heat oil and butter over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes (or until the butter is melted).
2. Add anchovies, garlic, shallot, parsley Kosher salt and black pepper.  Saute for 2-3 minutes, breaking up the anchovies.
3. Add mushrooms and saute until they are blended with the anchovies-garlic mixture.
4. Add the broth and sherry.  Saute for 5-7 minutes.
5. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms from the pan (leaving as much liquid as possible in the pan).  Put a piece of foil over the mushrooms to keep warm in a serving bowl.
6. Place the flounder in the pan.  Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes.
7. Lower the heat to medium and add the mushrooms back to the pan.  Cook uncovered for around 2-3 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mushroom and Sausage Mini-quiches

We have made these a few times and they are wonderful!  I adapted this recipe from Eating Well (one of my favorite sites).  We added more sausage to match with the package sizes we can easily get here.  These have (I think) around 150 calories and lots of protein.  We have one or two for breakfast or lunch - they reheat very easily - around 30-40 seconds for one and 60 seconds for two.  This recipe makes 12 mini-quiches (a full muffin pan's worth) and they are pretty sturdy.  These are great to have on hand for a quick breakfast or snack!

Ingredients (makes 12 mini-quiches)

12 oz Turkey breakfast sausage (removed from casing and crumbled into small pieces)
2 tsp Olive oil
8 oz Mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Swiss cheese, finely shredded
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
6 Eggs
1 cup Skim milk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a nonstick muffin tin generously with cooking spray.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until golden brown, breaking it up as it cooks, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. 
3. Add olive oil to the pan. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to the bowl with the sausage. Let cool for 5-7 minutes. Stir in Swiss cheese, Kosher salt and black pepper.
4. Whisk eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Divide the egg mixture evenly among the prepared muffin cups (to around 2/3 of the height of the muffin cup). Spoon in a heaping tablespoon of the sausage and mushroom mixture into each cup. 
5. Bake in oven for around 27-29 minutes, or until tops are just beginning to brown.  Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. The easy way to get the mini-quiches out is to flip the pan over a rimmed baking sheet and they should pop right out.

Enjoy!