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-Salty Tomato Chicken

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• This is the best chicken recipe I've ever made!  What I love the most about it is it's so unique; I've never tasted anything like it before.  It tastes like something prepared at a five-star restaurant.  The tomato sauce has the perfect amount of sweet and salty, and the red wine makes it oh-so savory.  It's light, but tastes rich and comforting all at the same time.  And the result is so incredibly tender.  It broke apart very easily; I didn't even need a knife!  Oh -- and the sauce is the best part.  The sauce is awesome dipped with bread, or poured over rice.  Mmmm...so yummy!  Add the amount of cayenne and red pepper flakes based on how spicy you like it.  I served this with a side of green beans and some crusty, french bread, and it was a phenomenal meal.
• Yield: about 4 servings
• Ingredients:
• 4 boneless chicken breasts 
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 T butter
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 14.5 oz can plain, diced canned tomatoes, with liquid
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 T brown sugar
• 2 T white vineger
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
• cayenne pepper to taste
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Directions

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown chicken on all sides. Remove from skillet, and drain on paper towels.
2. In the same skillet, combine the tomatoes, wine, chicken broth, brown sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, chili powder, mustard, celery seed, garlic and hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and return chicken to skillet. Cover, and simmer for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender, no longer pink and juices run clear.

Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw

I do not like coleslaw with mayonnaise...yuck.  Mayonnaise in coleslaw is so heavy and gross, in my opinion. However, I love vinegar based coleslaw, and this is the BEST Cole Slaw recipe ever!!  America's Test Kitchen has yet another success.  I served this with barbecue sandwiches and it was such a delicious, southern meal.  This is now my go-to coleslaw recipe.

Published May 1, 2011.  From Cook's Illustrated.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

To keep our coleslaw recipe crisp, we needed to find a way to make the cabbage shed its excess water. Our usual technique involves salting the cabbage for a few hours, but we were determined to speed up the process. We discovered that sugar, which we were already including in our coleslaw recipe, has the same effect on cabbage that salt does. Microwaving a batch of shredded slaw that we’d tossed with salt and sugar made it shed the same amount of liquid that it had taken three hours to release at room temperature. Cooling down our cabbage was easy: We simply chilled the dressing and then refrigerated the finished coleslaw for a few minutes. 

SERVES 4

Do not use a pre-shredded coleslaw mix with this recipe; its texture and flavor are inferior to fresh cabbage. If you don’t have a salad spinner, use a colander to drain the cabbage, and press with a rubber spatula to remove all excess liquid. When it comes to the sweetness level of coleslaw, tastes vary. For this reason, prepare the coleslaw as directed and then season to taste with up to 2 teaspoons of sugar or up to 2 teaspoons of vinegar, adding one teaspoon at a time.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4cup cider vinegar, plus extra for seasoning
• 2tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2large green cabbage (about 1 pound), cored and shredded fine (about 6 cups)
• 1/4cup sugar, plus extra for seasoning
• Table salt
• 1large carrot, peeled and grated
• 2tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Combine 1/4 cup vinegar, oil, celery seed, and pepper in medium glass or metal bowl. Place bowl in freezer until vinegar mixture is well chilled, at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
2. 2. While mixture chills, toss cabbage with ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with large plate and microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir briefly, re-cover, and continue to microwave on high power until cabbage is partially wilted and has reduced in volume by ¬one-third, 30 to 60 seconds longer.
3. 3. Transfer cabbage to salad spinner and spin cabbage until excess water is removed, 10 to 20 seconds. Remove bowl from freezer, add cabbage, carrot, and parsley to cold vinegar mixture, and toss to combine. If desired, adjust flavor with sugar or vinegar. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes. Toss again before serving.