Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

We try to eat fish at least once a week at our house, and this is one of our family's favorite.  It is so easy and quick  This recipe will feed 4 people.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking pan with foil, and spray the foil with cooking spray.

You will need:
1 pound of Tilapia fillets, (this will be 4 fillets)
1/3 cup bread crumbs
2 teas dried parsley flakes
1/4 teas paprika
1/4 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper
1/4 teas dried dill
2 Tabs spicy brown mustard
4 teas grated Parmesan cheese
cooking spray
(I also add 1/2 teas of "hot shot" - but that's optional)

In a small shallow dish mix together bread crumbs, parsley, pepper, paprika, dill, and salt, (and here is where I add the "hot shot", it's a pepper blend that you can purchase in the spice section of the grocery store)

Now brush both sides of the fish fillets with mustard

Coat both sides of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture, (I also press the mixture into the mustard to make sure it sticks real good).

Place the fish fillets on the foil and sprinkle each with 1 teas of Parmesan cheese

Carefully spray the top of each fish fillet with cooking spray.  (This helps with the crispiness)   Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, until fish is cooked and flakes easily, (an internal temp of 145 degrees).

And there you have it, an easy, quick main dish that you can serve during the week without much work.   Add a side dish and a salad and you are all set.  Tonight I am serving this with my freshly made black bean, corn, and mango salsa and a zucchini pasta with fresh roasted tomatoes.

Enjoy - it's time for dinner.

Oriental Salad Dressing

Summertime means more salads at our house.  And one of our favorite dressings is my Oriental salad dressing.  It so easy, inexpensive, fast to assemble, and so versatile to use with different dishes.  It only takes a couple of minutes to whisk up.

 For this recipe you will need these 5 ingredients:
3 Tabs honey
1 1/2 Tabs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise

 In a small bowl combine honey, rice wine vinegar, mustard, and sesame oil

 Whisk together well

Now add in mayonnaise

Whisk well

And there you have it!!  Oriental salad dressing!!

Store in a sealed container in refrigerator.  This makes enough for 3 or 4 salads.

Tonight I grilled a chicken breast and made a modified version of a grilled chicken Oriental salad, (grilled chicken breast, romaine lettuce, head lettuce, small yellow and red tomatoes, onions, shredded carrots, sliced almonds, crispy rice noodles, and orange slices), topped with my Oriental salad dressing.  YUMMY.

It's a great dressing to use on Oriental chicken wraps, (lettuce, shredded carrots, orange slices, onions, crispy rice noodles wrapped in lettuce or tortilla).

My husband likes to carry this dressing in his lunch and use in on a tossed salad.

If you grilled up some chicken and make grilled chicken tacos and use this dressings with some shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes and avocado - yummy.

Let me know how many ways you found to use this dressing.

Enjoy.

Fresh Peach Cobbler

The peach tree has been producing like mad, and I've been canning all week.  But I decided to take a break and make a fresh peach cobbler for my family.  This recipe has been in our family for years, and it's a good southern type cobbler, (using self rising flour, a staple in all southern kitchens).  This recipe will easily feed 6 - 8 people.  It's great warm, cold, and extra delicious with ice cream on top.  Let's get started.

First preheat your oven to 350 degrees

You will need:
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 teas vanilla
1 teas cinnamon
1/2 teas cloves
1/2 teas all spice
1/2 teas ginger
4 cups peaches
1/2 cup chopped pecans

 Cube the butter, and place in a 2 quart baking dish.
Melt butter in the preheated oven  Watch your butter so that it doesn't burn.

Clean, peel, and slice your peaches

 Combine together in a large bowl:  flour and sugar.  Stir well.

Add in your vanilla, and milk. There might be some lumps, but that's OK, just make sure the large lumps are broken up.

Pour the flour batter over the melted butter.  DO NOT stir!!.

 Sprinkle the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves over the peaches.  Stir spices into peaches.

Stir in the pecans into peaches.

Spoon the peaches over the flour batter.  DO NOT stir!!  Bake for 40 - 45 minutes until the batter is nicely browned.

Remove from oven and cool on rack for about 20 minutes before serving, or wait until it is room temperature.  Store in refrigerator.

This is great warm with ice cream or as they serve it in the south with some milk over it.  I like to just eat it plain, warm or cold.   Enjoy this inexpensive way to use your extra peaches.

Mashed Turnips and Potatoes

The other day I dug up this beauty of a 2 pound turnip, and when I showed it to some of my friends, one said "I don't like those things".  I replied, "you haven't had them cooked the right way".  Another friend said, "I wished I knew how to cook them, so they tasted good".  Maybe more people are saying these same things!!  Let me show you how I converted my family into turnip lovers.  First, let me go dig some potatoes.

For this dish you will need:
Salt and pepper - to taste
sugar - to taste
butter - depending on how much you are making
milk - depending on how much you are making
turnips
potatoes

Cut the top and root bottom off the turnips and using a peeler, remove just the outer layer from the turnips.  Cut into cubes.

I like to leave the peel on my potatoes, so I just wash and cube my potatoes, but if you want to peel your potatoes, that's fine.  Cut the potatoes into cubes the same size as the turnips, (so they cook in the same amount of time.)

Note:  the first couple of times you feed your family this dish, use 2 or 3 times more potatoes than turnips.  As they start enjoying the taste, add more turnips.  We like an even ratio of turnips and potatoes.

Place the turnips and potatoes into a large pot, with enough water to cover and cook until tender.  Usually about 25 to 30 minutes.    Remove from the heat and drain off the water.

Now turn on the oven to 375 degrees and spray coat a baking dish.

 Now your going to just basically make mashed potatoes.  First mash the turnips and potatoes until slightly lumpy.

Next add in your butter.  For this amount I added 3 Tabs of butter.

Next add in salt, pepper, sugar, and milk to taste.  Stir into potatoes.  For this amount, I used 2 Tabs of sugar and 2 Tabs of milk.

Note:  The first couple of times you make this for your family, you may want to add more sugar to sweeten it up for their taste.  As they get used to the flavor of the turnips, add less of the sugar.

Go ahead, give the potatoes and turnips a taste.  Does it need a touch more salt, pepper, sugar?  Adjust it to your family's taste.   It will still be lumpy, (or as I call it "rustic").

Now transfer the mixture to your baking dish

 Dot the top with some butter.  Cover and bake for about 20 minutes.

 And there you have it!!  Mashed turnips and potatoes.  YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!!

It is so good.  Tonight, I'm serving this with chicken and a tossed salad.  The next day, we'll just heat up the leftover in the microwave.

Hope you enjoy turning your family on to something new and healthy for them.

Zucchini with Roasted Tomatoes

A quick trip to the garden brought forth a couple of handfuls of yellow and red cherry tomatoes, a couple of zucchini, and several bunches of basil.  Just what I needed to round out our fish dinner.  Let me show you a quick and very inexpensive side dish to use up all the zucchini that's starting to show up in your garden.

First preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with baking spray.

Like most people, you probably have one of these devices for cutting vegetables into noodles, (there are hand held - like the little white on on the right side / free standing - like the one in the back of the photo / and the good ole' finger slicing mandolin with it's ever sharp blades - in the front of the photo).   Of course you can always use a good sharp chef's knife and hand cut your vegetables, (as I often do - I call it cooking with love for my family, since it takes much more time.  So first chose your weapon of choice!

OK, today we're going to need the following:
zucchini
a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic
some basil (I love lots of basil with tomatoes)
olive oil
a light vegetable oil
salt and pepper
dried oregano
Italian seasoning
1 lemon

SO - get your zucchini sliced into spaghetti noodles.  Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes.  You want just slightly cook the zucchini, and it remove from the microwave and let it steam under the plastic wrap for another 5 minutes.

(I only need 1 large size zucchini for all of this)

Mince your garlic cloves

Chiffonaud your basil, (I used all 3 bunches), because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fresh basil with anything tomato.

On the baking sheet, pour 1 Tabs of vegetable oil.  Toss together the cherry tomatoes, Italian seasoning, oregano, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, (until the skin on the tomatoes begins to wrinkle and pulls away from the flesh)   Remove from oven and let cool.  OH MY GOSH - this smell wonderful, like a spaghetti sauce or maybe a pizza sauce.

Grate 1 Tabs of zest from the lemon

Next juice the lemon and whisk in 3 Tabs of olive oil, the lemon zest, and the minced garlic

WOW does this smell so good.  Now let's add a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and 1 teas of the fresh basil.

 OH BOY - now it's really smelling good.  Can't wait to put this over the tomatoes and zucchini.

Now that the tomatoes and zucchini have cooled down, in a large bowl combine the zucchini, tomatoes, and lemon dressing along with the rest of the fresh basil.  Stir well.

An there you have it.  Simple and very inexpensive.  Yet so good.  It reminds me of our trip to Italy several years ago.

And a perfect side dish for our fish.  It's carbohydrate free for those wanting to cut back on calories.  And very tasty.  And the next day - leftovers are so good.  If you want to add a little protein for those who are vegetarians, you can always throw in a couple Tabs of nuts at the very end.  This dish will easily feed 4 people generously.

Let me know what you think of this zucchini side dish.  Enjoy!