Puxa Vida Tilapia

Here's a recipe for tilapia that I found here. It sounds amazing, so will try it soon!

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno, seeds removed
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
2 (15 ounce) cans fireroasted diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of 1 lime
2 pounds tilapia
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4-5 cups short-grain brown rice, cooked

FOR THE BLACK BEANS:
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup diced onions
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt

directions:

FOR THE TILAPIA:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Finely chop the red bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and garlic in a food processor. Drizzle the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the chopped vegetable mixture in the oil until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and honey to the mixture. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and allow the sauce to simmer until it thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Add lime juice to the sauce and remove from heat.

Place the tilapia in a deep baking dish. Pour the sauce over the fish, making sure it's all well coated. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily when pulled with a fork. Serve over brown rice with black beans on the side. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

FOR THE BLACK BEANS:
Combine all ingredients in a small slowcooker and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.

Asian Tuna

Chris has been a long time fan of tuna steak. Unfortunately, given my only experience with tuna growing up (aka tuna salad sandwiches...yuck)...I have been very hesitant to jump on board. I've had blackened tuna a few times and liked it, but never think "Hey, I want tuna!"

But, I went ahead and got some at the store tonight, and cooked up just 2 little pieces, along side our regular spicy tilapia! :) That way, if we like it, we can cook again for a meal, if we don't, n0 worries, because we have tilapia! LOL!

It was so good! I need to make this a lot more often!

The original recipe said to broil on high for only 3 minutes per side, but I prefer mine cooked a little more than that...don't want to eat fish that is sushi inside! So, I'd probably go for 5 minutes on each side next time, as I had to recook these once we started eating b/c they were too underdone, even for Chris!

But man, the flavor was awesome!

Asian Tuna 4 tuna steaks, about 1 inch thick (2 lbs. total weight) Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste 4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped or 1 tsp. dried 1 tsp. fresh grated or dried powdered ginger 1 sliced clove garlic 2 tbsp. soy sauce 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 2 tbsp. olive oil In a mixing bowl blend the salt, pepper, ginger, garlic, thyme, soy sauce, lemon juice and olive oil. Brush the mixture all over the tuna steaks. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 1/2 to 1 hour until ready to broil. Broil on rack under broiler about 4 inches from heat source, about 3 minutes per side, or grill on high (cover closed) 3 minutes per side. Leftover marinade can be heated and served over steaks.

Chipotle Lime Fish Tacos

I've been saying "ew, gross!" about fish tacos for YEARS! Never willing to try them. But lately I've really, REALLY started loving spicy tilapia dishes. So, when I saw this recipe I knew I'd have to try it. I finally got around to doing it last night for our first night of summer dinner themes...Mexican Mondays. And it was a GIGANTIC success! Not only did I love them, but the kids did too! They each at THREE tacos! This will become a new regular part of our diet here!!!

Oh, and we did try with flour tortillas too. I figured we could have some corn and some flour so that we weren't having as many corn (with oil)...but TOTALLY worth the extra calories to do all corn tortillas! They were fantastic!

I made these tacos with these black beans and this mexican rice. Great sides for the fish tacos!

Ingredients:
1 pound white fish such as tilapia, cod, etc. 2 tablespoons oil 1 lime, juice 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground salt and pepper to taste 12 (4 inch) corn tortillas
Optional toppings: sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheddar cheese, etc.

Directions:

1. Mix together chili powder and cumin in small bowl. Preheat grill until it is hot. Place foil on grill, and drizzle with olive oil (so fish does not stick to it!). Place fish filets on hot foil. Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Sprinkle half of the seasoning mixture onto filets. Grill the fish over medium-high heat until cooked, about 4-6 minutes per side. When you flip the fish over, sprinkle with the rest of the seasoning mixture. The fish will be cooked when it flakes easily and it is no longer translucent.
2. Heat about 1/2 cup canola oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Place one corn tortilla in skillet. Cook for approximately 10-12 seconds. Flip tortilla over and immediately fold in half. Cook for another 10-12 seconds, flip, and cook another 10-12 seconds. You want them firm but not hard. Remove from skillet, allowing extra oil to drip off. Lay out upside down on paper towels, spreading open a little (so easier to fill later). Sprinkle with dash of salt. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
   
3. Flake the fish and serve in tortillas garnished with your favorite toppings.

Chili-Rubbed Tilapia with Asparagus and Lemon

Chris made this for the second time tonight and let's just say it's...out of this world good! Not only that, but I have been craving hot spicy cheese dip (for those who know me, this is NOT news! This has been pretty much a daily thing for the last 5 years!), and this rediculously healthy FISH dish has totally satisfied that craving! Weird!!!
It came from here

Ingredients
2 pounds asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 pound tilapia, Pacific sole or other firm white fish fillets
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Put asparagus in a steamer basket, place in the pan, cover and steam until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large plate, spreading out to cool.

Combine chili powder, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt on a plate. Dredge fillets in the spice mixture to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook until just opaque in the center, gently turning halfway, 5 to 7 minutes total. Divide among 4 plates. Immediately add lemon juice, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and asparagus to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the asparagus is coated and heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve the asparagus with the fish.