Tilapia Milanese

This is the first of many upcoming tilapia recipes.  Reason being, I bought 6 large pieces of fresh tilapia for $7.00 (thank you buy one get two free from Albertsons).  The picture below is just HALF a piece of tilapia.  I was able to cut and freeze 12 pieces of fish.  Thankfully, I love tilapia and am looking forward to finding some creative recipes! This one was fabulous.  The lemon zest definitely made the meal.  I didn't use the flour, butter and bread in order to eliminate some calories.  Instead, I dipped the fish in egg then Panko crumbs before throwing it on the stove with a little olive oil.  Other than that, I followed all directions from the Food Network Magazine recipe. I served it with asparagus and brown/wild rice.  Enjoy!

 Ingredients

• 4 6-ounce tilapia fillets
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 6 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves
• Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon, plus lemon wedges for serving
• 5 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 cups baby arugula

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Soak the fish in a bowl with the milk and 2 cups ice, 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the flour with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly beat the eggs in another dish. Pulse the bread, parsley, lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until crumbs form, then transfer to a third dish.

One at a time, remove the fillets from the milk and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip in the eggs, then coat with the breadcrumbs, gently pressing to coat both sides. Transfer to a large plate.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Heat 2 tablespoons each olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 fillets and cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 2 fillets, adding 2 more tablespoons each olive oil and butter. Transfer the fish to the oven and bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Toss the arugula with the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve the fish with the salad and lemon wedges.

Tomato Walnut Tilapia

I've got lots of catching up to do on this blog.  I've made it a goal to start cooking healthy dinners again.  My Mister has been working late, so I haven't been making dinner as much as before.  I usually end up eating cheese and crackers or soup.  This is the first recipe I've made for dinner in 2011.  It was easy to make & came from a recent issue of Taste of Home Magazine.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 tilapia fillets (4 ounces each)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted

Directions

• Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. In a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray, cook fillets in butter over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
• Place tomato slices over fish. Combine the topping ingredients; spoon over tomato. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Yield: 4 servings.

Tilapia and Asparagus with Capers

I fell in love with capers on our honeymoon in St. Lucia. I bought some a few weeks ago and found a few recpipes with capers in them. For this dinner, I decided to start with the asparagus side from Cooking Light. Then, I made my own lemon butter sauce with capers to go on top of the tilapia we grilled with the asparagus. I served it all with some jasmine rice. I loved this dinner. I wish I wasn't afraid knew how to use the grill so that I could make it on my own. But, thankfully I have an AMAZING husband who is willing to grill any recipe I throw in front of him!

Grilled Asparagus with Caper Vinaigrette

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 4 asparagus spears and about 2 teaspoons vinaigrette)
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons capers, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup small basil leaves
Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Place asparagus in a shallow dish. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt, tossing well to coat. Place asparagus on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes or until crisp-tender, turning after 2 minutes.

3. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, vinegar, and next 3 ingredients (through garlic); stir with a whisk. Slowly pour remaining 2 tablespoons oil into vinegar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in capers. Arrange asparagus on a serving platter; drizzle with vinaigrette, and sprinkle with basil.

Lemon Butter Caper Sauce:
Ingredients:
3 tbs. butter
2 tbs. capers (chopped in small pieces)
1 lemon (for juice and zest)
1/2 clove and garlic

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, melt butter with garlic on med-low heat.
2. Once butter is melted, add in capers.
3. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add lemon juice and stir.
5. Just before serving, add lemon zest.

Parmesan Tilapia with Zucchini & Squash

Happy July!!! I can't believe that this year is already more than half way over. It's gone by so fast. One thing July means to me is that football season is just around the corner. Not only do I like love football, but it provides many opportunities for baking and trying out new recipes!
On another note, one of my goals for July is to make recipes off of boxes or containers from items I buy from the store. I hope to post an "Hot off the Box" recipe at least once a week this month. With that said, this is a recipe I got many years ago off of the wrapping on my fish from Publix. Derek and I love this recipe, we usually make it once a week.
Parmesan Tilapia:
2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs **I used Panko
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 large egg (lightly beaten) **I used Egg Beaters
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
In shallow bowl, whisk egg. In a large zip-lock bag combine, bread crumbs, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper. Rinse/pat dry four 8 oz fillets of tilapia. Dip fish into egg mixture and then place in bag with crumb mixture. Shake off excess crumbs and place on baking sheet. Cook for about 15-20 minutes. Fish will flake easily with a fork when done.

Zucchini & Squash
Ingredients:
3 zucchini
3 squash
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (graded)
1-2 tbs. olive oil **I used extra light olive oil **I start with 1 and eyeball it to see if I need more
2 tsp. herb provence seasoning (any herb seasoning will work)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Wash veggies and cut into discs. Place all discs into a large ziplock bag. Pour olive oil, parmesan cheese, seasoning, salt and pepper into the bag. Coat veggie with mixture. Spread onto an already greased large baking sheet. Cook with the fish at 400 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Citrus Tilapia Almondine

This recipe comes from The Food Network Magazine. The original recipe calls for trout, but I had tilapia at home so that is what I used. I included the original recipe from the magazine below. Here are my changes: I used tilapia instead of trout and I cooked only one piece in the foil (not a sandwich of 2). That is about it as far as changes go. Now, when I make it again I will use an additional orange and squeeze it over the fish. I will also use some zest from the orange over the almonds. This recipe is very light, fresh and sweet. I could definitely taste the orange in it and would recommend eating the orange with the fish (minus the peel). I served this fish with Jasmine rice. The hubby gave it an 8 out of 10. Enjoy!

Directions
Drizzle 2 sheets of foil with olive oil; sprinkle each with 1/4 cup sliced almonds and 3/4 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds. Brush four 6-ounce trout fillets with more olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Place each fillet, skin-side down, on top of the nuts. Top with a few orange slices (leave the peel on), then add another fillet, skin-side up, to form a trout sandwich. Sprinkle with more almonds and coriander seeds. Fold up the foil sheets and grill over high heat until the fish is just cooked through and the almonds are toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully loosen the almond crust from the bottom of the foil with a spatula.

Pineapple Baked Tilapia

One of my favorite gifts from my bridal shower was a book of recipes from all of my family and friends. I adapted this recipe from a recipe from my friend, Breana. Originally the recipe was for chicken, but I forgot to thaw some! So, I decided to make a few changes to the amounts and use it on tilapia. There was a little bit of clean up with this recipe because of the pineapple juices. Nothing too bad, and the taste of the fish is worth it. This is a perfect summer tilapia recipe, light and fresh!
Ingredients:
2 tilapia fillets
8 oz. crushed pineapple
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbs. lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs. mustard (I used brown)
2 tsp. soy sauce
aluminum foil (2 square pieces)

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Season tilapia with salt and pepper.
3. Place tilapia on one piece of aluminum foil. (one piece on each)
4. Coat tilapia with pineapple mixture.
5. Fold foil around tilapia.
6. Place foil on cookie sheet, ready to bake. (My juices leaked a little, so I recommend using a cookie sheet underneath)
7. Bake on 400 for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes apart. ]
8. Unwrap foil and enjoy.
**I recommend serving it with jasmine rice and pouring remaining pineapple over rice. Delicious!

Tilapia and Sweet Potato Fries

Tonight was a big step in my cooking career, I made a meal without a recipe! I've been making sweet potato fries for a while now but I've always used a recipe for cooking fish. Tonight, I wanted to create a healthy recipe with ingredients I already had at home. Overall, I was a quick meal to prepare, inexpensive, and yummy! Derek said the tilapia tasted like fish sticks! The sweet potato fries were the perfect combination of salty and sweet. This dinner will make an appearance again very soon!

Tilapia
Ingredients:
2 pieces of Tilapia
4 Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers
4 Tbs. Egg Beaters
2 Tbs. Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp. Paprika
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Lightly spray pan with cooking spray.
3. In a plastic bag crush Ritz crackers. Mix in paprika and salt.
4. Dip fish in eggs beaters and coat with cracker mixture on both sides.
5. Place on baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:
2 med. Sweet Potatoes
2 Tbs. Light Cooking Oil
1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/8 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt

Directions:
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch wedges.
2. Place cut sweet potatoes into an empty bowls.
3. Stir in the oil, spices and salt into the sweet potatoes.
4. Place sweet potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Tuna Cakes

Here is another healthy and fabulous recipe for the week from Kraftfoods.com. I was a little apprehensive about this one, but I loved the way it came out. We omitted the carrots because we didn't have any, but I still thought it was great. It was not too fishy and went perfectly with steamed veggies. If you are looking for a filling but healthy meal, this is it!

what you need!
2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup water
1 carrot, shredded
1/3 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. CLAUSSEN Sweet Pickle Relish
make it!

1MIX all ingredients. Refrigerate 10 min.

2HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Use ice cream scoop to add 1/3-cup portions of tuna mixture, in batches, to skillet.

3FLATTEN into patties with back of spatula. Cook 6 min. or until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning patties over after 3 min.

**We cooked our on a griddle to eliminate some calories.