Maple Mustard Halibut with Pecan-Quinoa Topping (in the air fryer or conventional oven) is ridiculously easy and absolutely delicious weeknight meal or special occasion supper.
First, I started with wild hook-and-line-caught Alaskan halibut. This hearty white fish is a personal favorite with tender flakes, a delicate flavor yet meaty texture that holds its own in any recipe. However, other firm fish can be used such as cod or salmon.
Next up an easy smear of stone-ground mustard mixed with maple syrup, just enough to make a layer between the fish and halibut topping of ground pecans and quinoa that crusts up so nice and crunchy while baking.
For a time-saving convenience, I keep a bag of COOKED quinoa in my freezer for recipes like this or to sprinkle in salads or soups. See my quinoa meal prep post HERE.
As far as a quick fish dinner, this pecan-quinoa crusted halibut recipe wins taking only about 10 minutes on 400F degrees. I use a toaster-oven style air fryer (the Omni Plus XL Toaster Oven – Air Fryer from Instant) because I like the spacious interior and front-opening functionality (it’s like a smaller-version of my big oven) but a basket-style air-fryer will work too.
If you are cooking in a conventional oven, the temperature remains the same, but you’ll just cook up to 5 minutes longer (keep an eye on it because if the pecan quinoa topping for fish starts to get too brown, you’ll need to loosely cover with a swatch of foil.
Such an easy fish recipe using halibut and nutritious too, with 275 calories, 7.7g protein, 11.4g net carb, and 40.1g protein per serving.
Deliciously flakey and moist with a satisfyingly crunchy topping, this easy halibut recipe only takes 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook in an air-fryer.
Course:
dinner, dinner, entree
Keyword:
15 minutes, air fryer, fish, halibut
Servings: 2servings
Calories: 275kcal
Ingredients
10 to 12oz fresh halibutor other firm fish like cod or salmon
1 1/2tbsp.stone ground mustard
1 1/2tbsp.real maple syrup
¼cupfinely chopped raw pecans
½cupcooked quinoa
1/2tsp.salt
½tsp.ground pepper
2tbsp.minced fresh parsley
Olive oil spray
Instructions
Pat halibut dry with paper towel. In small bowl, mix together mustard and syrup.
Slather mustard mixture on top only portion of fish. In small bowl, mix together pecans, cooked quinoa, salt, pepper and parsley.
Spoon onto top of fish and use hands to pat down into a crust, extended as far out to the edges of fish as possible.
Lightly spray top of pecan-quinoa mixture on fish with olive oil.
Pre-heat air fryer to 400F degrees.*
Transfer fish by large spatula to air fryer basket.
Air fry for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, until fish flakes and coating on top is turning lightly brown.
Remove immediately from air fryer and serve. With optional prepared honey mustard sauce or other condiment of choice.
(=*for conventional oven, heat to 400F and bake for approx. 14 to 18 minutes).
This post is sponsored by National Watermelon Promotion Board.
Watermelon warms the soul and spirit in any season! Simmer a pot of Mulled Watermelon Apple Cider for friends and family this holiday season, it’s a hot holiday punch that is naturally sweet and delicious.
Bejeweled with fruit and fragrant with seasonal spices, this easy-to-make hot punch is features watermelon juice. Fresh watermelon juice is available for purchase in the produce department of many larger grocery stores, or make your own by blending cubed watermelon and straining off the pulp. Check out Watermelon.org for a great demo on how to make watermelon juice.
This warm holiday punch is primarily watermelon juice, an amazing fresh juice that offers vitamin C, lycopene, l-citrulline, and other beneficial nutrients. I also added spiced apple cider and always use the fresh, no-added-sugar, 100% juice cider from the chilled section of my market.
Check out the Pinterest Video Demo at: <<LINK>>
For a show-stopping presentation (and to make a drink that you can also snack on), add a generous amount of fruit to the pot including diced watermelon, fresh cranberries, pears and apples. Is it a fruit salad, beverage or both? You decide!!!
While simmering on the stove top, add whole spices such as cinnamon sticks, star anise and whole cloves. Watermelon and cinnamon make magic together, you can even just sprinkle a little on a wedge for an instant flavor experience. Also, allspice, nutmeg and cardamon are additional spices that would work well in this hot watermelon drink, use all mentioned or any combination you prefer! Used frequently in in hot beverages, these warming, aromatic spices are called “mulling spices.” Add smaller bits, such as cloves and allspice, to a tea ball so that they can be easily strained out before serving. However, keep the whole cinnamon sticks in – they make fun stirrers!
Completely optional, but a nice add-in to this watermelon apple cider is a bit of brandy – it just blends in so nicely with the fruit juices and spices!
Pro tip: For a lingering brunch gathering or holiday open house, keep the watermelon punch warmed for hours in a slow-cooker set on low.
For more ways to enjoy watermelon during the holiday season, including more watermelon beverages and pairing suggestions perfect for a grazing tray, visit Watermelon.org .
Watermelon is wonderful in every season! Ladle mugs full of this warm watermelon punch that is bejeweled with fruit and steeped with mulling spices like cinnamon and cloves!
Mulling spices of choice*including cinnamon sticks, star anise, whole cloves, grated nutmeg, cardamon
1cupbrandyoptional
2cupsdiced watermelon
1small applesliced crosswise and quartered
1small pearsliced crosswise and quartered
1cupfresh cranberries
Instructions
In large pot or slow cooker, add watermelon juice and apple cider.
Add mulling spices. Cinnamon sticks and big pieces of star anise can be used whole, but smaller spices should be placed in a tea ball for easy discarding after simmering.
Bring juices to low simmer, for 15 minutes, allowing spices to steep. If using slow cooker, heat on high for 1 hour, then reduce heat to warm for serving.
If desired, add brandy in the last few minutes of cooking. Drink is equally delicious without alcohol, option is yours.
Ladle out and pour into mugs.
Recipe Notes
*During the holiday season, “mulling spice” blends are sometimes available in the bulk or spice aisle of store for convenience
Making Cranberry Orange Pecan Sheet Pan Pancakes is the perfect solution to holiday morning madness! Say goodbye to being sequestered in the kitchen, standing over a hot griddle flipping hot cakes endlessly while family and guests are having all the fun.
Just whip up the cranberry pecan pancake batter in minutes (or even the night before) and pour into a rimmed baking sheet and pop into the oven for 25 minutes. After that, your work is done! Easy pancake recipes using mix are one of my favorite Christmas morning breakfast ideas
I used a low carb pancake mix from Nush, it makes this type of sweet breakfast doable for keto, low-carb, sugar-free, Paleo, and gluten-free diets. However, three cups of any type pancake mix could be substituted.
These low-carb sheet pan pancakes feature cranberries to add a sweet-tart flavor and a pop of bejeweled color. A cup of raw cranberries has about 8g net carb, so spread across a keto cranberry pancake recipe with more than 12 servings, the result is almost insignificant. HOWEVER, do not substitute dried cranberries, they are more carbohydrate concentrated (100g+ per cup) and can have added sugars.
For a traditional recipe, some might add orange juice to the recipe. But, a bit of fresh orange peel removed using a citrus zester on top provides all the citrus-y goodness while keeping calories and carbs much, much lower. In a pinch, I also swear by Valencia Orange Peel from McCormick’s – it’s shelf stable, always read, and can be stored in the spice cabinet.
Are these cranberry orange sheet pan pancakes healthy and nutritious? I’m glad you asked – because YES, they are. Each serving has 336 calories, 29g fat, 10.7g total carbs (4.3g fiber, 0.3g sugar, 6.4g net carb), and protein 10.6g. I like to serve with some warm sugar-free maple syrup and sometimes even a little whipped cream!
Cranberry Orange Pecan Sheet Pan Pancakes | Low Carb, Gluten-free
Prep Time
5mins
Cook Time
25mins
Total Time
30mins
Minimize holiday morning stress with this easy sheet pan pancake recipe! In celebration of the season, it’s bursting with sweet tart cranberries and orange zest. Prep to plate in under 30minutes, and is made with a low-carb pancake mix (or traditional mix, too) for added convenience. Feed a crowd, or meal prep and store in single-portion servings in the freezer of busy day breakfast.
Servings: 12servings
Ingredients
12.3ouncepackage low carb pancake mixI used Nush. Recipe should work with appox 3 cups of any other type pancake mix
½cupvanilla collagen hydrolysateor protein powder
2 2/3cupswater
1 ¼cupsfresh cranberries
½cuppecan pieces
1tbsp.orange zest
Optional: syrupsextra nuts, whipped cram
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Mix together pancake mix and collagen hydrolysate powder.
Add water and stir until combined (a little lumpy better than over-stirring).
Mix in cranberries.
Pour into approximate 13” x 18” rimmed baking sheet
Sprinkle with pecan pieces and orange zest.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until set and top is turning golden. Remove and let cool in pan for 5 minutes.
Slice into 12 “squares,” and serve with syrup of choice and any extra toppings (or eat plain). Can be meal-prepped by freezing in single portions and thawed and reheating when ready.
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Recipe Notes
Per serving: 336 calories, 29g fat, 10.7g total carbs (4.3g fiber, 0.3g sugar, 6.4g net carb), protein 10.6g
This post is part of a blogger’s recipe contest sponsored by JSL Foods.
An egg, green noodles and tomatoes, oh my! It sounds kinda Dr. Suess-y, but your taste buds will enjoy the flavor fun! Spicy Avocado Noodles with Egg makes a well-round, hearty, delicious breakfast or, for that matter, lunch or dinner!
Nothing easier than making noodles for a meal . . . especially when they’re already cooked for you! I had a crazy, busy week and definitely needed to simply life and shave time of meal making – yet still eat well to fuel all my sports activities.
I started this breakfast noodle bowl with packaged fresh noodles from Fortune — the Hot & Spicy Yakisoba noodles. These fresh noodles are available in the refrigerated shelves of the grocery store. There are other flavors and noodle types available and these single-serve packages of noodle goodness come along with spice packets to add flavor (I actually incorporated the packet in my special sauce for this recipe). To prep the noodles, they simply need to be steamed in the fridge or stove for a minute or two with a bit of water – so easy and tender fresh!
Check out the IDEA PIN for the video instruction.
The avocado sauce for pasta is uncooked and blends up in seconds. The spicy avocado sauce that coats these noodles is simply water, the “hot & spicy” spice packet, spinach, lemon juice and ripe avocado!
The roasted grape tomatoes are thrown down in a toaster oven. Just slice them in half, spray with olive oil and let roast for about 8 to 10 minutes until softened. If you don’t have the 10 minutes to spare, throw on fresh grape tomatoes or even sun-dried tomatoes. This green noodle and egg recipe finishes up with a sunny side up egg placed on top – cook it to your preference hard yolk or runny!
This breakfast noodle bowl is a wonderful morning meal that offers veggies, protein and carbs to get you up and charging ahead for the day! You can use the same spicy avocado sauce and top with roasted shrimp for a fabulous dinner noodle bowl! The Fortune noodles from JSL Foods are so easy and versatile – and perfect for making meals for singles or couples (I’m a new empty-nester, so getting used to cooking on a smaller scale)! But, if you have a bigger family, they offer a larger-sized bags of pre-cooked plain yakisoba noodles, too!
With Fortune noodles and a few simple ingredients, a wonderful breakfast, lunch or dinner bowl can be made in minutes!
You can purchase Fortune products at: Safeway, Fred Meyer, QFC, Albertson’s, Associated Stores, Cub Foods, United Supermarkets, Roche Bros, Meijer, Shaw’s, Stop N Shop, Price Rite, Shop Rite, Wakefern, Price Chopper, Giant, HEB, Walmart and Grocery Outlet.
Make a nourishing, balanced noodle bowl for breakfast in just 10 minutes! Thanks to pre-cooked, fresh noodles and a no-cook sauce featuring spinach and avocado! Also perfect for lunch or dinner! Serves one, great on those solo days!
Course:
Breakfast, lunch
Cuisine:
Asian, fusion
Keyword:
avocado, egg, pasta, rice noodles
Servings: 1serving
Calories: 468kcal
Ingredients
6grape tomatoeshalved*
Olive oil cooking spray
1large egg
Salt and pepper to season
2oz.avocado fleshabout ½ of a small avocado
¼cupwater
1cuploose-packed spinach leaves
2teaspoonsfresh lemon juice
1single-serve package of fresh stir-fry noodleslike Fortune with seasoning packet.
Instructions
Place halved tomatoes on toaster oven pan, spray with olive oil spray and roast at 400F for about 10 minutes. This is the longest step, so start first. *Can skip and use fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes from jar, or marinated tomatoes from the olive bar at store.
Make sauce in small blender with spice packet from noodles. Add ¼ cup water, spinach, lemon juice, and avocado to blender pitcher. Blend for about 30 seconds until smooth.
Cook noodles according to manufacturer’s instructions (but without spice packet as it’s already been used ;-). Drain noodles if there is residual water.
Cook single egg, sunny side up, to desired yolk doneness, in small skillet. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over hot noodles. Top with roasted tomatoes and egg.
Seven Layer Italian Pesto Quinoa Dip is a quick, easy and elegant appetizer for holiday entertaining or just everyday munching. Made with flavorful, nourishing items convenient to keep on hand in the pantry and fridge, this simple-to-assemble party dip can be ready to serve in under 10 minutes – and stores beautifully overnight if you want to make ahead.
Inspired by easy party dips my mom used to make in the 80s as well as elegant molded and stacked tartare dishes, this layered dish features strata upon strata of marinated and bold flavors and various textures that play well together when scooped up with a chip, dolloped on a cracker or just eaten by the spoon! I like to use up any leftovers sprinkled on a green salad!
Many of the ingredients (such as the hummus, marinated artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes) can be conveniently purchased pre-prepared in the deli or gourmet aisle of your favorite market. To make things speedy, you can also pick up a pouch of pre-cooked quinoa on the grain aisle – or defrost a bag of frozen cooked quinoa that has been meal prepped (that is my economical way – see quinoa freezer and meal prep post here).
The flavor cornerstone of this Italian layered dip is pesto – but not just any ole pesto! I used Sea Artichoke Pesto from Foraged & Found. I must admit, when I was sent some jars to try out, I did have to Google “What is Sea Asparagus.” What I found out is that Sea Asparagus (Salicornia) is a sea succulent that has a salty, ocean taste when eaten raw and brined, mellower flavor when cooked — used as an ingredient it really maximizes the umami taste in so many dishes from pasta and pizza to seafood and grilled meats.
Sea Asparagus sustainably harvested in Alaska.
What I love about the Foraged & Found company is that they have found a way to share healthful Alaskan foods from the wild that have been sustainably harvested and transformed into some of my favorite kitchen staples – like this Sea Asparagus Pesto. The sea asparagus pesto tastes very similar to a traditional pesto (but better) made with additional ingredients such as almonds, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic and lemon. So clever and eco-conscious!
Sea Asparagus Pesto from Foraged & Found is mixed into quinoa.
Turning this pesto layered dip is a snap! Most of the pesto is soaked into the quinoa, and a generous dollop is saved for the top.
Use a 16-oz. container for a mold.
You’ll need a 16-ounce container to use as a mold – it can be cylinder-shaped (like a yogurt or sour cream container) or even a bowl – just make sure that the bottom (which will be the “top” when inverted) is narrower than the opening. I simply used the square plastic container that was provided at the olive bar when I loaded up on marinated tomatoes and artichokes for the recipe!
When layering this creative Italian dip, remember that each level loaded in goes in reverse of how it will look when presented. When inverting on a plate and releasing from a mold, the first ingredients put in at the bottom of the container become the items on top.
Order for Layers (press down lightly, as needed, after each layer):
Note: Start with 1 Tbsp. of reserved oil from the marinated artichokes or tomatoes (this helps release from the mold)
Pecans, chopped
Blue Cheese, crumbled
Garlic Hummus
Sun-dried Tomatoes, chopped
Marinated Artichokes, chopped
Fresh Spinach, shredded
Quinoa Mixed with Pesto
Chill a bit if needed to firm up and then, invert by placing a plate on top and flipping over quickly.
If your mold fails, just serve it jumbled up in a bowl — it still tastes great!
The cool thing about this Italian quinoa recipe is that if you have a “fail” when trying to release the mold, and it falls all over the place, you can just throw it all into a bowl and stir up! It tastes just the same, and still looks pretty because it’s so colorful – in fact, I’ve made it this way on purpose before! Also, you can just skip the inverting and stand-alone presentation – just layer it up how you want in a dish. The only downside here is that all the pretty ingredients can’t be seen at once.
Learn more about Foraged & Found and get more sea asparagus recipes:
Keyword:
appetizer, dip, party food, pesto, quinoa
Calories: 187kcal
Ingredients
¼cupchopped pecans
2oz.blue cheesecrumbled
4oz.garlic hummus
1cupfresh spinachchopped
4oz.sun-dried tomatoespacked in oil (mostly drained*) chopped
4oz.artichokes packed in oilmostly drained, chopped
4oz.Sea Asparagus Pesto from Found & Foragedreserve 2 Tbsp. for garnish
1cupcooked quinoa
* Reserve 1 tbsp oil from marinated tomatoes or artichokes to use as a “lube” for the mold.
Instructions
Use a 16-ounce square or round “mold” that is slightly tapered, meaning the bottom is narrower than the top – this will allow layered dip to slide out easily when inverted. A sour cream or yogurt container works nicely.
In medium bowl, mix together cooked quinoa with most of the 4 ounces of pesto (save about 2 tablespoons for garnish).
Add the approximate 1 Tbsp. of reserved oil from the marinated artichokes or tomatoes to bottom of mold container and swirl around. This helps release layers later).
Add layers in this order: Chopped Pecans, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Hummus, Chopped Sun-dried Tomatoes, Chopped Marinated Artichokes, Shredded Spinach, Pesto Quinoa Mixture.
If needed, stick in fridge for 10 minutes to firm up (sometimes the hummus gets too soft at room temperature).
Remove from fridge and carefully run knife around edges of container to help release layers when inverted (but taking care not to “smear” it all together).
Place plate on top of mold opening and quickly invert, gently pulling off mold container. ***
Dollop with remaining pesto.
*** If you have a failure when trying to release the mold, the nice thing about this recipe is that it can be served in a bowl stirred together as a jumble! It tastes just the same, and still looks pretty because it’s so colorful!
