7-1-2011 Puxa Vida Shabbat

This week has had a lot of ups and downs, from celebrating my birthday to attending my Grandmother's funeral. Friday snuck up on me, and I realized I hadn't planned a Shabbat menu or invited anyone over.

I decided to forgo having dinner guests because I always feel it is rude to invite friends last minute. Now, I am kind of regretting my decision, my dinner turned out amazing, and I wish we were having friends to share it with.

We are starting our meal with a Cabbage Vegetable Soup. A friend told me how much she loves this soup, suprisingly it is a Weight Watchers recipe.

For our main course: I have had my eye on this Puxa Vida Tilapia recipe for over a week now, and tonight I gave it a shot. Puxa Vida means "WOW!" in Brazil. This tilapia definitely has the wow factor. As an accompaniment, I made black beans and rice.

To finish our meal, I made Strawberry Cookies with Cream Cheese Glaze. These cookies are so so so easy to make.

Here are recipes and pics:

Cabbage Vegetable Soup

3 cups broth, beef, chicken, or vegetable

2 garlic cloves, minced  

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups chopped cabbage

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 cup chopped yellow squash

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

salt & pepper

Heat 1 T. olive oil in a soup pot. Saute onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for 5 minutes.

Add broth, Tomato paste, cabbage, yellow squash, zucchini, basil, oregano and Salt & Pepper to taste.

Simmer for a about 5-10 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Simmer for 30 minutes.

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Puxa Vida Tilapia

This recipe is from the blog http://www.cheekykitchen.com/

1 red bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno, seeds removed
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
2 (15 ounce) cans fireroasted diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of 1 lime
2 pounds tilapia
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Finely chop the red bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and garlic in a food processor. Drizzle the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the chopped vegetable mixture in the oil until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and honey to the mixture. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and allow the sauce to simmer until it thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Add lime juice to the sauce and remove from heat.

Place the tilapia in a deep baking dish. Pour the sauce over the fish, making sure it's all well coated. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily when pulled with a fork. Serve over rice with black beans on the side. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

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Strawberry Cookies

I spotted these cookies on keepitsweetblog.com's bake sale. I use to make these cookies when I was in my late teens all the time. They are nice and chewy and nothing beats the flavor of strawberry cake mix.
This recipe is from the blog http://www.espressoandcream.com/

1 box of strawberry-flavored cake mix (Duncan Hines)
1 large egg
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup water

Betty Crocker Cookie Icing, Cream Cheese Flavor (It is parve believe it or not!)
Sprinkles (I used mini pearls)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, egg, oil, and water. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Scoop out tablespoon size balls of the dough onto the cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Bake 12-15 minutes until done.

Remove from the oven, let cool on the baking sheet a few minutes. Remove to a cooling rack.

Decorate tops with icing and sprinkles.

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Here is a great idea for some adorable July 4th cookies, make the above recipe with a Red Velvet cake mix, use the same icing, and sprinkle on blue sprinkles or blue sugar to decorate.

I hope you have a puxa vida weekend! Pin It