Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia

Continuing on the fish meal experiments. This recipe is from Martha Stewart.

It was tasty but very heavy and made a bit more of a mess than I wanted to deal with. I also think it would be better if I had made some veggies to go with it. I forgot to separate the thick part from the thin part of the fish so the edges were a bit overcooked so that the middle part would be cooked.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia
serves 4

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons paprika
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 (6 to 8 ounces each) skinless tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup prepared tomato salsa

In a shallow dish, combine cornmeal and paprika; season generously with salt and pepper. 

Separate fillets into thick and thin sides. 

Dredge each piece in cornmeal mixture, patting it on to coat completely.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. 

Cook as many pieces as will fit (without crowding) until golden brown and firm, about 2 minutes per side for thin pieces and 4 minutes per side for thick ones. 

Transfer to a plate; sprinkle with salt, if desired, and cover loosely to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and fish. Serve with salsa.

Salsa Poached Chicken

I was looking for a new chicken dish to go along with the leftover rice, limes, cilantro, etc. I was inspired by the Salsa Poached Chicken recipe from here.

This took about 15 minutes to cook as I had sliced the meat up prior to poaching. I think next time I would use a similar technique... but saute the chicken in the pan with the salsa to see if it still brings all the taste with even less time. But poaching it in the salsa had great flavor for such a short cooking time.

I did add in some lime to the salsa while cooking the chicken to try and help tie the meal together.

I served the chicken with cilantro lime rice, homemade yogurt, and fresh tortillas.

Enjoy!

Salsa Poached Chicken
Serves 4-6

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped onion
Water

Add chopped onions to a pot with a lid with about 1 tbl olive oil until slightly opaque. Add the salsa, chicken breasts, and water to cover the chicken, place lid on pot.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 min or until chicken is cooked.

Remove chicken from pot and set on a cutting board until cool enough to handle. With two forks, shred the chicken breast and place shredded chicken breast into the pot with the fresh salsa mixture.

Tacos

Who doesn't love tacos? This recipe combines some spicy refried beans with the ground turkey. Tacos are a great really fast dinner to make, probably under 20 minutes. 

Sometimes I will make my own taco seasoning because it is fairly straight forward, but this time I used the Trader Joe's taco seasoning which has quite some kick to it! I used the Trader Joe's flour tortillas which once heated up for about 15-20 seconds in the microwave are quite easy to fold. We tried the Brown Rice tortillas and those don't fold very well for burritos or wrapping the tacos. They would be good for quesadilla though!

This heated up well as leftovers for lunch the next day too. 

Tacos
4 servings

1 package flour/rice/corn tortillas
1 lb Ground Turkey
Seasoning packet - Trader Joe's Taco Seasoning
1 can refried beans (see recipe below)
1 head lettuce
1 small can black olives
Salsa
Cheese
Guacamole
Sour Cream
etc

Heat skillet. Add ground turkey, cook until all the meat is browned. Add refried beans and taco seasoning packet (to taste). If it is too thick add in water, about 1/4 cup at a time. Slice up the lettuce and put the olives, salsa, and cheese into respective bowls. Assemble by taking tortilla or taco shell,  add meat and then your toppings!

Semi-Homemade Refried Beans 
Adapted from PinchMySalt 
 
1 Tbsp bacon drippings (or vegetable oil)
2 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
Sprinkle some taco seasoning into the beans, or a tsp of chili powder
1 cans (15 oz) pinto beans

In a large skillet, heat bacon drippings over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for a minute or two. Add the drained beans smash them with the back of a wooden spoon. Keep stirring and mashing until the beans are the consistency of soft mashed potatoes. Taste and season with salt if needed.

The Easiest Guacamole

I made nachos with my Guac!

Seriously. The. Easiest. Guacamole. This is great for when you are looking for a quick snack to assemble and don't want to buy or find lots of ingredients.

Avocados are ripe when the skin is
starting darken and when you gently
squeeze it it is soft (similar to a peach!).

Cut in half, remove the pit

Slide a spoon around the edge to separate out of the skin

 


Put the avocado insides into a bowl and then mash it up with a fork.

Add in salsa (little less than 1/4 cup) and continue to mash/mix until combined.

And you are done!! This might not be the prettiest as the salsa juice makes it a little muddy since I didn't/don't bother to strain it. However, get some good quality salsa because that adds the spices and the onion and tomatoes and everything else!

I like the Trader Joe's salsa since it has quite a kick to it. 

Yum!