Cooking in Pajamas

Even those people who do not like fish, will love this recipe!  There is not a hint of "fishy-ness" in this dish.  Tilapia is a beautiful, meaty, yet mild fish.  By marinating it in a flavorful mix of citrus juices, cilantro and garlic, you are adding a lovely sweet and sour tang to it.  Then, the fish is set atop a rice mixture that is loaded with spicy-sweetness.

My son, Joey, who is not a huge seafood fan exclaimed, "I don't really like fish or cilantro or fruit mixed in with my food, but this is really good!" Well, I like fish, cilantro and fruit in my dinner, so you can imagine how much I liked it!

This dish is quick and easy enough to have on a busy weekday, but it is also elegant enough to serve to company.  Not to mention, it is very  healthy.  I know you are going to love it!

Baked Costa Rican Style Tilapia with Pineapples, Black Beans and Rice

(based on the recipe of Ingrid Hoffman)

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 (5 to 7-ounce) tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry

2 cups jarred or homemade tomato salsa

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups diced fresh pineapple

2 limes, thinly sliced

Directions:

Combine the rice and chicken broth in a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid, about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, oil, 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, the garlic, and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Add the tilapia fillets to the marinade, turning to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, turning occasionally.
Stir together the cooked rice, salsa, beans, pineapple, and remaining 2 tablespoons of the cilantro in a 2 or 3-quart baking dish. Remove the tilapia from the marinade, reserve the marinade, and lay the fish fillets over the rice mixture, overlapping if necessary. Pour the reserved marinade over the fish. Shingle the lime slices over the fish. Bake until the fish flakes easily, is opaque, and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.

Recommendations:

Cut the pineapple into a small dice so you do not get huge hunks of pineapple on your fork or used canned crushed pineapple.

Use brown rice to more fiber and nutrition.

Add some fresh corn to the rice mixture.

Double the amount of the marinade so you will have more to pour over the entire dish before cooking.

Make the rice mixture and the marinade early in they day.  Save until you are ready to cook dinner.

Need to lighten up a little after a Thanksgiving weekend overindulgence?  I have a dinner menu for you.  These recipes are from Cooking Light's 5 Ingredient Cookbook.  This meal is colorful, delicious, easy and quick to prepare, and perfect for a bust weeknight dinner.  This is good enough to serve to guests as well.  Plus, it will be on the table in about 20 minutes.

Tilapia with Warm Olive Salsa

courtesy of Cooking Light

Squeeze a lemon wedge over the fish before drizzling with olive oil to tie together the components of this dish. Any thin white fillets, such as sole or flounder, can be substituted for tilapia.

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1  cup  chopped plum tomato (about 1/3 pound)

12  small pimiento-stuffed olives, chopped

2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley

1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh oregano, divided

4  (6-ounce) tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

4  lemon wedges

1  tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add tomato; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Combine cooked tomato, olives, parsley, and 3/4 teaspoon oregano in a small bowl; keep warm.

2. Wipe pan dry with a paper towel; return pan to medium-high heat. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle fillets evenly with 3/4 teaspoon oregano, salt, and pepper. Add fillets to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Squeeze 1 lemon wedge over each fillet; drizzle each evenly with oil. Top evenly with olive salsa.

Lemon Couscous with Pine Nuts

courtesy of Cooking Light

Ingredients:

1  cup  water

2/3  cup  uncooked whole wheat couscous

1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind

1/4  cup  pine nuts, toasted

2  teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil

1/4  teaspoon  salt

Directions:

1. Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in couscous and lemon rind. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Add pine nuts and remaining ingredients; fluff with a fork.

I have a new favorite product...Kerrygold Garlic and Herb Butter.

It has become my secret ingredient in everything from pasta to roast chicken to vegetables to sauces.  It is available in the dairy aisle of the grocery store, right next to the regular butter.  Not every grocery store carries it, so when you find it, buy a few sticks and put them in the freezer.

When you are in panic mode, with 15 minutes until dinner, and absolutely no idea what to make, having a stick of this in your fridge can almost always be the solution.  I purchased a couple of tilapia fillets in the morning because they looked beautiful, they were fresh and they were on sale.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them.  All of a sudden it was 7:00 and Phil and I were hungry (it was Friday night and the kids had ditched us for more exciting dining companions).  I made a salad earlier in the day, so all I had to do was cook the fish.  I pulled out my Kerry Gold, added a few ingredients to the softened butter and made a delicious rub to put over the top of the fish. I then broiled it for 3 minutes on each side.

OMG...it was amazing!  The Kerrygold has lots of herbs in it, so you don't even need to anything to it.  Just a tablespoons over a piece of fish will add a ton of flavor.  I have used it on roasted chicken, stirred it into pasta, added it to pan juices to make a sauce, stirred it into rice, used it to make garlic toast... I could go on and on. You only need a tiny bit, because it is rich and delicious.

One of my favorite dinners to make myself when Phil and the kids are out, is to cook up some angel hair pasta. Immediately after draining it, I put the pasta in a big bowl, and add a few tablespoons of the Garlic and Herb butter, a handful of Parmesan or Romano and lots of freshly ground pepper. If we have fresh buffalo mozzarella, I'll throw a few cubes in too.  Then I pour myself a glass of my favorite white wine and watch the most mindless thing on TIVO I can find.  Heaven!

Broiled Herb Tilapia

printable version

4 large tilapia fillet

Old Bay seasoning

1/4 c. Kerrygold herb and garlic butter ( about 1/2 stick), softened

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

2-3 T. light mayonnaise

2 T. fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven’s broiler. Spray a broiling pan with non stick spray or line a pan with aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, mix together the herb butter, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Mix well and set aside.

Sprinkle both sides of the fish lightly with Old Bay.

Arrange tilapia 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.

This dish is from a great magazine my friend Melissa recommended to me, "Cooking Light 5 ingredient 15 minutes Cookbook".  It's a special edition version of Cooking Light magazine, that seems more like a paperback cookbook, but was on sale in the grocery store, near the magazines, in the check-out aisle.  So far, it has been the best $10 I have spent this summer.  Every recipe in this magazine looks amazing!  You would never know they were "light" recipes, and you can't beat the '5 ingredient, 15 minute' concept!  It makes dinner planning a 'no-brainer'.  Not only is grocery shopping a breeze (you can make your list in one minute), almost all of the recipes come with a suggested side dish.  Only bringing home a greasy burger is easier!

I made a few minor changes to the original recipes.  I like my versions better, so I am giving you the revised recipes.

Tilapia with Warm Olive Salsa

Pam

1 c. chopped plum tomatoes (about 1/3 #)

2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

3/4 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped

12 pimento stuffed olives, chopped

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

4 6oz. tilapia fillets (or any thin white fillet such as sole or flounder)

4 lemon wedges

EVOO

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 T. EVOO.  Add tomato and cook for 1 minute.  Add some salt and pepper, then parsley, oregano and olives.  Transfer to a small bowl.  This can be done ahead of time.

Wipe the pan dry and return back to medium high heat.  Brush the fillets with 1 T. EVOO, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add fillets to pan, and cook 3 minutes per side or until desired doneness.  Squeeze lemon wedges over fish, then drizzle with a little EVOO.  Spoon warmed up olive salsa over the fish and serve.

Serve with:

Lemon Couscous with Toasted Pine Nuts

1 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. uncooked whole wheat couscous

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/2 c. toasted pine nuts

2 tsp. EVOO

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan.  Stir in couscous and lemon zest.  Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Add pine nuts, EVOO, salt and pepper; fluff with a fork.