Baked Salmon

After just recently trying salmon for the first time (and really liking it!), I was excited when Kim told us she would be making some salmon for one of our meals! I was definitely inspired to try it on my own after trying her delicious "recipe". It was so simple, yet the salmon was so flavorful. Mmmm, this makes me want more!

recipe from Kim
Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cut salmon into single serving portions and lay on paper.
Thinly coat with olive oil.
Generously season with Old Bay.
Lay sliced lemon on top, then pop in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Cracker-and-Parmesan-Crusted Fish Fillets

This Rachael Ray recipe for breading fish was my favorite yet I think. It turned out crunchy and light tasting and was packed with subtle flavors. It was a huge hit with the whole family!

Ingredients:
* 1 cup oyster crackers (I used saltines)
* 1/3 cup Ritz crackers, a generous handful
* 3/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese
* 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
* 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (I used 1 t dried thyme)
* 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning (I used Tony's Creole)
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic
* Flour, for coating
* 2 large eggs, beaten
* Splash heavy cream or half-and-half (I used 2% milk)
* Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for frying
* 4 sole or tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry (I used some tilapia and some catfish)
* Salt and pepper
* Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:
1. Using a food processor, grind the oyster crackers, Ritz crackers, parmigiano-reggiano, parsley, chives, thyme, Old Bay seasoning and garlic powder, if using. Transfer to a shallow bowl. Place the flour in another shallow bowl. In a third shallow bowl, beat the eggs and cream.
2. Fill a large skillet with enough EVOO to reach a depth of 1/4 inch and heat over medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 200°. Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Coat the fish with the flour, shaking off any excess; coat with the egg mixture, then with the cracker crumbs. Working with 2 fillets at a time, fry the fish in the skillet, turning once, until deep golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer each batch to the oven to keep warm.

Fish Tacos

Mike has made some really great versions of these in the past but it was long before I started my recipe blog and we never wrote them down unfortunately (and now he of course has no recollection of what he used for his sauce, etc.). I went to Allrecipes.com and this one had the best ratings so I went with it. The original recipe calls for fried fish, but I grilled ours instead and just heated the tortillas instead of frying them. I'm sure it's even better the fried way, but these were still super yummy and better for us! They hit the spot for sure! (also, the sauce makes a lot, so you could probably half the recipe)

Ingredients:
* lime juice
* chili powder
* salt and pepper

* 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used FF Greek)
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
* 1 teaspoon minced capers(I didn't have, so left out)
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
* 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

* 1 pound cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions (I used tilapia)
* 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
* 1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded (I used a cole slaw mix)

Directions:
* To make white sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny. Season with jalapeno, capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne.
* Dust fish pieces lightly with chili powder, salt and pepper, and sprinkle with lime juice. Grill until the fish is done. Heat tortillas so they are soft. To serve, place fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce.

Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies & Tartar Sauce

We had a couple catfish fillets in our freezer so when I saw this recipe in April's Cooking Light, it was a perfect fit. This was definitely my best frying experience to date! I think the mixture of flour and corn meal may have been the secret. I was especially proud of the hush puppies! They were nice and soft on the inside but crispy on the outside...SO good. And the tartar sauce was my favorite part of the meal! I used the batter on one piece of chicken too (the girls love fish so I knew there wouldn't be much left of my fillet) and it turned out great as well, so you don't have to use fish if you aren't a seafood person. It was a bit messy to prepare (as battering and frying always is), but definitely a fun and tasty meal to eat!
Ingredients:
* Tartar Sauce:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon dill pickle relish (I just chopped a dill pickle up)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Catfish:
8 cups peanut oil (I used canola)
6 (6-ounce) catfish fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
Hush Puppies:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 Tablespoons grated onion
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
1. To prepare tartar sauce, combine first 6 ingredients. Cover and chill.
2. To prepare catfish, clip a candy/fry thermometer to a Dutch oven; add oil to pan. Heat oil to 385°. (I just used a large, deep saucepan)
3. Sprinkle fillets evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place 1 cup flour in a shallow dish. Combine remaining 1 cup flour, cornmeal, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Combine 2 cups buttermilk and 2 eggs in a shallow dish. Dredge fillets in flour; dip in buttermilk mixture. Dredge in cornmeal mixture; shake off excess breading.
4. Place 2 fillets in hot oil; cook 5 minutes or until done, turning occasionally. Make sure oil temperature does not drop below 375°. Remove fillets from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Return oil temperature to 385°. Repeat procedure twice with remaining fillets.
5. To prepare hush puppies, weigh or lightly spoon 3/4 cup flour in dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and remaining ingredients. Drop batter 1 tablespoonful at a time into pan; fry at 375° for 5 minutes or until browned, turning frequently. Remove hush puppies from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.

Chicken and Vegetable Skewers with Peanut Sauce

A few weeks ago I won a giveaway from Real Mom Kitchen...Hooray!!! When I received my package in the mail it included a bottle of Xagave (a sweetener made from agave nectar) along with a cookbook. This is the first recipe I have tried and we LOVED it! I can't wait to try some more and to try replacing the sugar in some of my other recipes with the Xagave to see how they turn out! We served it with our leftover onion rice and I poured some of the sauce on top...delish!!!

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. meat (we used chicken, but the recipe called for salmon, you could also skip and just grill the veggies...also, I used this rub on the meat)
-1 lb. mixed vegetables (we used mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and onions)
-wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 2 hours)
Sauce:
1 T. Xagave
4 T. peanut butter
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. fresh minced ginger
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 c. low fat coconut milk
3 T soy sauce
crushed red pepper to taste
*Place all ingredients for sauce in blender and puree for 1 min. Pour into bowl.

Directions:
-Slice salmon in 1"x4" strips and skewer length-wise. (I cut chicken into chunks and put on skewers in between veggies).
-Cut veggies into cubes and skewer.
-Broil at 500 degrees or grill for 5 minutes or until cooked through (we grilled and it took longer than 5 in for our chicken to cook through).

Potato Fish Fry

I adapted this recipe from my Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites cookbook. My mom gave it to me a few years ago and I have found lots of easy and tasty recipes in it. I think the best thing about fish is how fast it cooks! Love that! We all loved this recipe... The girls both LOVE fish and asked for seconds. I loved that it was crunchy and had the "fried" taste, but was still gluten-free! (I served it with Onion Rice and Sweet Braised Yams...recipes coming)

Ingredients:
2 fish fillets (we used catfish because it was on sale)
1/2 c. instant mashed potato flakes
1 T. sesame seeds
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 c. canola oil, divided

Directions:
-Combine potato flakes and sesame seeds in a shallow dish.
-Combine egg, lemon juice, salt and pepper in another dish.
-Dip fish in egg mixture; dredge in potato mixture.
-Heat 3 T. oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.
-Fry fish in oil 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Repeat with second fillet.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

I bought some Tilapia and Catfish that was part of a promotion at one of our grocery stores this weekend. I froze the catfish and started looking online for a good recipe for the tilapia. I came across this little gem on All Recipes to use as my base recipe. The sauce is SOOO good! It was easy to make, cooked in just a few minutes and I LOVED it! I made all the sauce and had 1.25 lbs of fish, but thought the amount of sauce was perfect. I think I'm becoming a fish lover :-)!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds tilapia fillets

DIRECTIONS
-Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
-In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Add spices: dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt (and garlic powder and red pepper flakes). Mix well and set aside.
-Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. (I sprinkled fish with Goya seasoning salt before putting under broiler)
-Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Lemon Herbed Fish Fillets (Freezer Meal)

Sorry for the bad picture, I nearly forgot to take one before we started eating. This was the first freezer meal we tried that someone else prepared and we all really liked this one. It was a nice change of pace to have the fish and it was healthy too (not to mention easy to prepare and easy to serve). I served it with a mushroom rice mix and moms green beans. Even the girls ate theirs up! The recipe I'm posting says it is to make 4 servings, but it was barely enough for our family (and is another from the 30 Day Gourmet).

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. fish fillets (these were tilapia)
- 1 t. lemon pepper
- 1/2 t. garlic powder

Freezing Directions:
-Place fish in quart sized freezer bag. Sprinkle seasoning in bag. Make sure it is well distributed and not in clumps. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions: (write this on bag)
- Allow fish to thaw completely in refrigerator or thaw in microwave. Place fish in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with foil. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until fish flakes easily.