Moroccan-Style Tilapia with Cumin, Mango and Cilantro

(Food Network - Robin Miller)

Ingredients

* 4 (5-ounce) tilapia fillets
* Salt and ground black pepper
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 teaspoons ground coriander
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 ripe mango, diced
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Season both sides of tilapia fillets with salt and black pepper. Rub cumin and coriander all over both sides of fillets. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tilapia fillets and cook 3 to 5 minutes per side, until fish is fork-tender. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine mango and cilantro. Top tilapia with mango mixture just before serving.

*I added red onion, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, garlic and salt (I would have added jalepeno if I'd had one!) to the mango mixture to make a salsa. Then I served the fish as tacos. Delish! My kids even liked it!

Grilled Salmon with avocado salsa

Original recipe found here.

If you don't like avocados, the rub is delicious on the fish even without the salsa. Last time I made it I tripled the rub and put it in a small tupperware up with my spices, so next time I'll just pull that out. Sorry for all the foot notes, the salsa is a very flexible recipe. It's really kind of like guacamole, but with diced rather than smashed avocados.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

2 lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt (I found this to be a little salty, and use 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp black pepper

Avocado salsa

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced (I love avocados, so I use 2)

1 small red onion, sliced (red onions are huge! Adjust to taste)

3 mild hot peppers, seeded and deveined, diced or sliced (adjust to taste. I would consider an Anaheim a mild pepper. I've used way less hot peppers, or even left them out since my kids hate spicy food.)

Juice from 2 limes (I've used only 1 before and thought it was plenty limey)

3 tbs olive oil

2 tbs finely chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Mix the salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, onion and black pepper together, rub the salmon fillets with olive oil and this seasoning mix, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Pre-heat the grill. (If it's not grilling season, you can bake the salmon)
   
3. Combine the avocado, onion, hot peppers, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt in a bowl and mix well, chill until ready to use.
4. Grill the salmon to desired doneness.
5. Serve the salmon topped with the avocado salsa. Rice makes a good side.
   

Thai Pork and Shrimp Wrap

1 Tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons yellow curry
1 lb. ground pork
10 prawns in pcs.
1 - 2 teaspoons of red chili pepper (you can also use dry crushed pepper)
1/4 C coconut milk
2-3 tsp fish sauce
1-2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp grated lime zest
1/4 C creamy peanut butter

Heat the pan.
-Put oil, onion, curry in heated pan (stir for 2 minutes over medium heat)
-Add pork and sautee until it's brown; stir in pcs. of shrimp until it cooks; add chili pepper and coconut milk (stir for 3 minutes)
-Add fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime zest.
-Stir in the peanut butter and let it simmer until it thickens.

Serve in lettuce wraps or over rice.

I got this from a friend and it turned out awesome! I'm not a huge shrimp fan, so I just made it without it and it still turned out great!

Bagel Chip Crusted Tilapia

So, the other day we were wandering through Sam's Club and one of the samples was this Tilapia. I fell in love with it! It was so good that I grabbed one of their recipe cards and made it for dinner a few days later. For those of you who are fish lovers - or are kinda so-so about fish, you gotta try this recipe! Even Eddie thought it was pretty good and he HATES fish.

Bagel Chip Crusted Tilapia

4 fresh Tilapia fillets (I used frozen ones that had been thawed, they're cheaper)
6 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup New York Style brand sea salt bagel crisps
2 Tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup lemon juice

1. roughly crush bagel crisps.
2. mix crushed bagel crisps and lemon pepper seasoning in a bowl.
3. coat Tilapia fillets with 3 Tbsp olive oil and coat generously with the bagel chip mixture.
4. heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in saute pan on medium-high heat.
5. cook tilapia on both sides for 3 minutes.
6. sprinkle fish with lemon juice and top with parsley flakes.

serves 4

Lemon Fettuccine with Smoked Salmon

This if from the back of the Chicken of the Sea smoked salmon pouch. You can buy it in the tuna section. It's really yummy. Serves 2-4

2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 t minced fresh garlic (i use my garlic press)
1/3 C sun-dried tomatoes, drained and julienne cut
Zest and juice from 2 small lemons
1/3 C cold butter cut into pieces
2 T chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1 3oz pouch smoked salmon
1/2 lb fettuccine, cooked according to package

Top with:
3 T-1/4 C toasted pine nuts (we usually mix these in)
grated Parmesan cheese
fresh chopped basil

Heat oil in large skillet. Saute garlic. Add tomatoes and lemon juice; saute one more minute. Add cold butter, lemon zest, parsley, and oregano. Stir until butter has melted and mixture has thickened slightly. Remove from heat. Gently fold in salmon, flaking it into bite size pieces as you go. Toss mixture with pasta until coated. Sprinkle with pine nuts, cheese and basil.

Lime-and-Honey Glazed Salmon

Sorry I've been posting lots lately! But I have been trying lots of new things recently, and I figured I'd share the good finds! I have 2 Rachael Ray cookbooks so I've been doing lots of recipes out of her books and they always turn out fabulous! This recipe is from her 365: No Repeats cookbook. The full title is "Lime-and-Honey Glazed Salmon with Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad." I substituted Caesar salad for the Bean and Corn salad because I knew my family wouldn't eat it - although personally I think it sounds good! Kyle and I modified it a little, but it's the same general recipe. I am NOT a seafood person. Usually I won't go near fish, but this recipe was FABULOUS! Especially with my husband's suggestion to top it with guacamole.

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin (1/3 palmful)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Juice of 2 limes
3 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 (6-oz.) salmon fillets

In a shallow dish combine the lime juice, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the salmon and allow to marinate about 10 minutes.

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat with 2 Tablespoons of the EVOO. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Once the salmon is done marinating add it to the hot skillet and cook until just cooked through (about 3-4 minutes on each side).

Top with guacamole and cilantro.

Shrimp alla Pasta

Shrimp alla Pasta

This is a dish that I made up and served for dinner last night. I thought it was good but there are definitely some things that would make it even better. I don't know exact amounts but here are the ingredients:

3-5 Tbsp - olive oil
2 cloves - chopped fresh garlic
2 handfuls - shrimp
1 Tbsp - lemon juice
5 shakes - basil
3 cups cooked pasta (any kind)
fresh parsley - as much as you want
garlic powder - to taste
salt - to taste
freshly ground pepper - to taste

(had I thought about it at the time I probably would've also added crushed red pepper flakes to add a kick and parmesan cheese)

All you do is sautee the ingredients by adding them to the pan in the order that they are listed. You definitely don't want to add the parsley at the beginning since it can lose a lot of its luster the more you cook it. Also, it would've been better to use fresh basil leaves but my basil plant isn't quite mature enough for me to be hacking off leaves so I used dried.

For those of you who want exact amounts I have estimated them...don't hate me if it's not exact though.

I loved it and Eddie even liked it and he's not a big seafood fan. It's just another way to make a one-pan meal without having to go out and buy a bunch of stuff.

*note if you know anyone who would like to joint this blog just send me their email address and I'll send them an invite - my email: librarian.e@gmail.com