Surf and Turf ($2.25 pp)

Last night "Surf an Turf" somewhat Colombia style. I love the restaurant The Columbian in St. Augustine and bought the cookbook. The first time I went there I was disappointed because I expected it to taste more "Mexican" but fell in love with the very fresh food and the more Italian/French style. Of course they have some Cuban influences but this dish is very (in my opinion) French. I made Tilapia Almandine ($5.50) from the cookbook and grilled steak ($2.50) and cast iron skillet potatoes ($1) that I saw on the Food Network. I had some old bananas and made banana bread (basically stuff I had in the house so FREE). The meal cost me $8 plus some basic kitchen supplies. By the way, I only buy meat on sale and then stock up the freezer. This would cost a little more if paying full price for meat but why do that? It was enough for my family of 4 to get nice and full and for $9 per family or $2.25 per person plus standard pantry items like flour, butter, flour, oil etc.

Tilapia Almandine Columbian Style ($5.50/3 filets)

Tilapia Almandine

1. Salt, lemon pepper, and garlic powder both side of the fish ($4.50).

2. Dredge or coat both side of fish in flour.

3. In a non-stick skillet on med high heat, melt 2 tbsp butter, and pan fry fish for 4 min per side until golden brown. Tip -try to only flip fish once to prevent breaking.

4. Place fish on serving plate.

5. Wipe out skillet of burnt flour or crumbs.

6. Add 2 tbsp butter to skillet over med heat. The recipe called for 4 Tbsp but trying to be healthier and it still tasted great.

7. Add 1/4 cup chopped or sliced almonds ($1) dreged in a little (1/2 tsp) flour and saute until golden brown (1 min). When the butter and flour cook together this is called a roux (pronounce "roo"). This will make the sauce a little thick when the lemon juice is added.

8. Add 3 tbsp lemon juice + 1 tbsp worcheshire sauce + 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley.

9. Saute for 1 min. Do not over cook or sauce will cook away.

10. Serve almonds over fish and serve.

Buon Apetito! (My husband is Italian, and I like to pretend that I'm Italian too)

As a nutritionist, I realize that butter taste good - PERIOD. But I usually try to cut the amount of butter or oil in recipe by half. When frying foods, use a non stick skillet and a small amount of canola or olive oil. It is easier to add oil than take it away. Also, make sure your skillet is hot, if your skillet is too cool, it will take longer for our food to cook and it will absorb too much unneeded oil. I also try to balance fried food with healthy version and thats why I made a served it skillet baked potato (instead of french fries).

Basic Grilled Steak ($2.50/pound)

My husband usually grills the meat but thought I would take the skillet into my own hands. Very easy and basic. I generally figure 1 pound of meat per meal or 1/4 pound per person. This portion may be a little smaller than normal but also served with fish this evening.

1. Sea salt, crushed black pepper, garlic powder, worcheshire and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on the steak ($2.50). Let sit for about 30 min.

2. I used this non stick grilling pan/panini press made by Mario Batali. I coated the grill with olive oil and place it on the stove top on med high. I cooked it 2 min and flipped it 4 times to make the decorative sear marks. Cooked a total of 8 min and it was a little pink inside.

3. Topped with a little butter. Would had done a blue cheese butter if I would had thought of it.

This steak turned out prerfectico!

As a nutritionist, I like to pick out a good steak with a little marbling of fat for flavor but definetly not a rib eye. The key, in my opinion, is pick a good quality steak and serve it in smaller portions. Most americans eat too much meat protein and that can cause your cholesterol to go up. Remember, anything that came from an animal has cholesterol (meat, cheese, eggs etc.). Remember, A serving of meat is the size of a deck of card.

Cast Iron Skillet Potatoes ($1 for 4 potatoes)

I saw this recipes on the food network channel. They used a non stick pan but thought cast iron would work. Looked pretty but didn't cut like a pie like it did on TV. That's OK. My family loved it. Some soft potatoes mixed with crispy parts. Very easy, just heated cast iron skillet in the oven as I was slicing the potatoes. Placed the potatoes in the skillet in a decorative design and baked until golden brown. Of course, it would have tasted even better with some grated cheese but watching our calories.

Banana Bread Experiment

Banana bread from bread machine that didn't quit get mixed up

vs. the same recipe and baked in the oven. No comparison!

I love my bread maker but never tried a sweet bread in it before. I don't think I will again. Not saying that I couldn't prefect this technique but why? The biggest benefit for me in using a bread machine is that it kneads the bread maybe 10 minutes and develops the gluten in yeast breads. I can do this by hand but it is a lot of hard work! Sweet bread, like banana bread, is leavened with baking soda, baking powder and butter milk (or a acid), so yeast isn't used. You also don't want to develop the gluten (flour protein), because we want it nice and soft and not chewy like bread or pasta. So it is just as easy to make banana bread in the over as it would be in the bread machine. I think it also looks prettier from the oven because there is more surface area in the oven pan and this allows the sugar to get nice and caramelized (brown).