Tilapia Parmesan

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• Mmmm..cheesy...buttery fish.  So yummy.  This recipe is so simple, yet so delicious.  Many people find tilapia recipes bland and boring...well, not this one.  I absolutely love it served over rice because of the amazing sauce...the rice soaks it up and tastes sooo yummy.  This is super easy and better than anything you'd order in a restaurant.  Everyone in my family had seconds, and we didn't end up with any leftovers!  The texture is perfect, and the zing of the Parmesan and spices were also perfect.  The blend of flavors is truly incredible. This recipe is sure to impress!
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• 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
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven’s broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder, celery seed, paprika, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper flakes. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. 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.

Sweet and Spicy Honey Grilled Shrimp Skewers

My mom wanted to have a healthy, low fat meal a few days ago, and she said she was gonna grill up some barbecue shrimp.  This "cooking" she speaks of means she uses bottled barbecue sauce to baste shrimp.  And since I've turned into a little chef over the years, and really do not prefer bottled/store bought items, I insisted that I make a light sauce instead.  She agreed, of course.  I looked up a few of the top grilled shrimp recipes throughout the web, and came up with this delicious marinade.  I absolutely LOVE the flavors that combine in this dish!  The slightly spicy kick from the red pepper mixed with the sweet honey and fruity flavors, and mixed with the tart flavors from the vinegar, lemon juice, and shrimp were totally out of this world.  I never would have thought of using "fruity" flavors like applesauce and strawberry jam, but the result was so refreshing...the {perfect summer meal}.  I recommend serving this over rice, noodles, or salad.  I had this over a salad with chopped strawberries and goat cheese.  Best salad I've ever had.  My mom told me she'll definitely make this recipe instead of her "bottled" barbecue shrimp for now on.

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons honey
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or two teaspoons dried)
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons applesauce
• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:

1. Whisk together the honey, olive oil, basil, strawberry jam, red pepper flakes, garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and brown sugar in a small bowl. Place and shrimp into a large resealable plastic bag or a large container with a tight lid. Pour the marinade over the shrimp, seal the bag or container, and shake to coat (if lid of container isn't very sealed, you can just stir the shrimp/marinade mixture well); refrigerate for 1.5 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.
3. Thread the shrimp alternately on 8 metal or soaked wooden skewers.  Reserve sauce.
4. Cook the skewers on the preheated grill until the shrimp are opaque, about 5 minutes per side, basting every 2 and a half minutes with the reserved sauce.  Serve hot.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

 

I will never again order chicken nuggets at a restaurant (unless it's Chick-Fil-A of course...I just can't get enough of those), because I can now make them just as good at home!    I wanted to create a much more healthy alternative than deep fried nuggets and these baked ones actually taste better!   They are so much better than any fast food place or frozen nuggets. The milk really tenderizes the chicken and makes them super juicy.  And broiling them for the last five minutes makes the outside perfectly crisp.  Who says chicken nuggets are just for kids?  My mom and I finished all of these off in one sitting; [we just couldn't stop popping them into our mouths!] We had them as a main dish for dinner, but they would be great as an appetizer too. Serve these with ketchup and/or honey mustard...Mmm Mmm Mmm...

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put milk in a bowl or dish for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the milk first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Set the oven to broil, and bake for 5 more minutes.  Immediately remove cooked nuggets from cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack.  Place the cooling rack over the used cookie sheet to prevent crumbs from falling and to keep nuggets warm.

Tapenade Turkey Meatballs

When I was at the state fair last year, I picked up some recipe cards from The Pampered Chef, and this was one of them (you can view the video here). These are the best meatballs I've ever had!! They're packed with so much flavor, yet much easier to whip up than you think.  My mom and I made this together last night and served it over pasta.  It was absolutely incredible. And get this: they're made in the microwave.  Yeah.  Because they're cooked in the microwave, they only cook for 7 minutes!!  Usually meatballs are cooked in the oven for like 30-45 minutes; these are way less time consuming.  I can't believe how tender and juicy the meat was, and it was lean turkey, too.  I now like turkey meatballs better than beef ones.  Way better.  I don't think I'm gonna even like beef meat balls the next time I have them.  And the Spinach & Olive Tapenade in this recipe - SO flavorful!  I don't like olives, and I'm not a big fan of capers, so I didn't think I'd care for this recipe too much.  But the olive and caper flavors blended really well with all the other ingredients, so it tasted amazing.  I served the remaining tapenade on sliced french bread and melted some cheese on top.  I also had it as a dip with red pepper slices - so delicious.  Another thing my family did with some of the meatballs was make a meatball sandwich.  Ohmygoodness everything was just so good!!  My dad said we're never going out to eat again because everything I make is ten times better than anything he's ever had in a restaurant.

Yield: About 20 meatballs

Ingredients:

Spinach & Olive Tapenade:

1 package (6 oz/175 g) fresh spinach leaves (about 8 cups/2 L)

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons drained capers

1/4 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-in pieces

3/4 cup (175 mL) pitted green olives

1/4 cup (50 mL) loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Meatballs:

1 slice soft sandwich bread (whole wheat or white)

1 cup prepared Spinach & Olive Tapenade (see above), divided

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 lb (450 g) 93% lean ground turkey

Instructions:

1.  For tapenade, place spinach into a large bowl.  Microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.  Carefully remove lid; press spinach to side of bowl (I just drained it in a colander).  Blot excess moisture with paper towels.  Place garlic, capers, bell pepper, and olives in food processor; cover and pump handle until coarsely chopped.  Add spinach, basil, cheese, oil, lemon juice and salt; process to desired consistency, removing lid and scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.  Use 1 cup for meatballs.  Set aside remaining tapenade for another use.

2.  For meatballs, tear bread; place in food processor.  Cover and pump handle until finely chopped.  Combine bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of the remaining tapenade, egg, and salt in a medium bowl; mix well.  Add turkey, mix well.

3.  Using slightly mounded medium scoop (I used an ice cream scooper), scoop 20 meatballs directly into a pan in rows.  Cover with parchment paper and microwave on high 7-9 minutes or until internal temperature of meatballs reaches 160 degrees F (71 degrees C)

4. Place remaining 1/2 cup tapenade in large bowl.  Transfer meatballs to bowl using tongs and toss gently to coat.  Serve with pasta if desired.

Tomato Bruschetta

This is the absolute best bruschetta out there.  It makes me sad that I will never like any other bruschetta recipe because this one is so freaking good.  I didn't think that bruschetta could be all that great before I made it - I mean really...it's like salsa on bread, right??  But oh my goodness gracious: this is to-die-for.  I adapted this from a recipe on allrecipes found here.  This is my favorite non-dessert recipe on that site.  The only change I made was adding some parmesan cheese in place of mozzerella to give it even more flavor from the already enormous amount of flavor it had...but this totally isn't necessary.  It's superb even without any cheese.  I served this as an appetizer with pasta, but my family was so full from eating all this bruschetta that we didn't want much of the pasta.  My mom has been asking me every single weekend to make it.  The sun-dried tomatoes add a fantastic flavor that other bruschetta recipes just can't compete with. 

Yield: about 12 slices

Ingredients:

• 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 French baguette
• 1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
2. In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4. Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.