Pan-Seared Tilapia with Tomato & Avocado Salsa

Let’s not forget fish as a quick cooking dinner option.  In this recipe, I use tilapia, a mild-tasting fish that yields to the flavors of other ingredients in the dish.  I served it on a bed of mixed spring greens that were dressed with a vinaigrette.  You can certainly serve it with the salad-on-the-side, if preferred.  It’s a dish that’s beautiful to the eyes and pleasing to the taste buds!

5, 4-ounce tilapia filets (This recipe serves 5 instead of my usual 6 since I have a non-fish eater in the family, but he is always required to ‘take a bite’)

1 cup milk, placed in shallow bowl.

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, placed in a second shallow bowl

1 large lemon, cut into quarters

1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

4 scallions, sliced

Dip fish filets in milk and then into the bread crumbs.  Heat a small amount of olive oil in a medium skillet.  Place half the filets in the pan, squeeze the juice of 1/4 lemon on the filets and cook about 4 minutes on each side or until fish is cooked through (the flesh turns opaque and white- not translucent and pink).  At very end of cooking, add half of the tomatoes, avocado, and scallions and squeeze in the juice from another 1/4 lemon.  Transfer to a plate and cover with foil while the recipe is repeated for the other half of the filets.  Serve the tilapia on top of mixed spring greens tossed lightly with your favorite vinaigrette.  Divide the salsa evenly to the top of each filet.

The salsa here is mild.  You can ‘spice’ it up with some jalapeno or add ‘saltiness’ with some capers.  Please let me know what your family likes!

Lemon Dijon Salmon with Potatoes and Spinach

As February and Heart Month come to a quick end, I am reminded of my Hearth Health  post and the recommendation to eat fish twice a week.  Fish is a great source of heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids. It is recognized by health experts that the US diet does not include enough omega 3′s.   Since the body cannot produce these fatty acids, we need to get them from our food (other good sources include flaxseed, walnuts, soybeans and soybean oil).

Truthfully, I am not an expert at cooking fish but because I am determined to heed my own advice…Myplate2yours proudly presents:  Lemon Dijon Salmon with Potatoes and Spinach!

This amazing meal is made in individual foil packets and cooks in 30 minutes.  It is adapted from one I found on The Scrumptious Pumpkin.

Here it is:

3 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices (1/16inch or less)

1 small yellow squash, cut into thin slices (1/8 inch)

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

10-ounce package fresh baby spinach

3 lemons (or 6 tablespoons lemon juice)

6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons white wine

2 to 2-1/2 pounds salmon

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Tear off 6 squares of aluminum foil, each at least 16 inches long.  Place equal amounts of the potatoes, squash, onions, and garlic in the center of each piece of foil.  Pull up the sides of the foil to create a ’bowl’ containing the vegetables.  Place the spinach on top and to each packet add: 1 teaspoon of olive oil, the juice of ½ of a lemon (1 tablespoon) and season with salt and pepper.  Cut the fish into six individual portions and place on top of the spinach.  Season the salmon by spreading 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard on top of fish.

Finish each packet by adding 1 tablespoon of white wine.  Match up the opposite corners of the foil and fold over to create a tightly sealed packet.  Place the packets on two baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes until fish is cooked through.

You are sure to enjoy this delicious dish and the easy clean up, as well.  Here’s to a healthy heart!

Salmon Pesto Pasta

My kids encouraged me to write about this one.  It’s fast and wonderful!  Sweet & savory!  I’ve adapted it from Allrecipes.com to make it lower in fat.  Here it is:

1 can of salmon (5.5-7.5 ounces), drained

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove crushed garlic

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2/3 cup prepared pesto

2/3 cup tomato sauce

1 tablespoon fresh basil (or 1tsp dried)

1 pound spaghetti

Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta for 10 minutes (or as directed).  While pasta is cooking, saute mushrooms, onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent and mushrooms are soft.  Stir in tomato sauce, pesto sauce, basil and salmon.  Cook 5 minutes.  Serve over drained noodles.   (Just writing this makes me hungry for another serving!!)