Panko Tilapia with Black Bean Salsa

I must start this entry with the words that rushed out of my husband's mouth when he came up for air as he was inhaling this meal. "Awesome". He said it three times. Then he called it "superb"! He said it was the second best part of the weekend. The first being our 20-week old daughter took a 3-hour nap today! I couldn't be happier!

I adapted this recipe from Kraft.com. Since it's a Kraft recipe, they call for lots Kraft products. I choose to use whatever I prefer. My husband loves seasoned Panko breadcrumbs like it's God's gift to the culinary world, so I chose to use it instead of Ritz crackers. He love that the fish was flaky on inside and slightly crunchy on the outside. A friend of mine highly recommended Duke's mayonnaise, so I used that instead of Kraft Real Mayo. I also used "spicy" black beans from Whole Foods.

Although the use of mayonnaise makes this a less than healthy dinner, it is simple to make and full of flavor! You could use light mayo or dredge the fish in egg instead of mayo. I will definitely be making this often.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups seasoned Panko breadcrumbs

2 tilapia fillets

1/3 cup real mayonnaise, divided

1/3 cup pickled jalapeño slices, chopped

2-4 tbs olive oil

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed

5 cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 green onions, sliced (optional)

Juice from 1 lime

Directions

1. Brush fish with mayo. Dip fish in crumbs, turning to evenly coat both sides of each fillet or toss in a plastic bag with panko. Mix remaining mayo and jalapeños.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add fish; cook 3 min. on each side or until fish is golden brown on both sides and flakes easily with fork. Remove from skillet. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients.

3. Top fish with mayo mixture. Serve with bean mixture.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/breaded-tilapia-black-bean-114985.aspx

Homemade Mozzarella Sticks

So I feel like I'm on a bit of a roll after recreating that amazing Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese and now recreating this tasty appetizer. Neither item is healthy but both are incredibly tasty and super easy to execute.

I found this lovely recipe on Pinterest. I might spend a few hours here and there on the site, but it's quality time! I made this yesterday afternoon and surprised my husband with this treat while he was outside playing with our son. We ended up tailgating in the truck of my SUV in our garage. It was a fun time.

After reading the recipe and combing over other people's reviews I came up with a game plan on how to execute this. I felt pretty confident using these egg roll wrappers after overcoming my fear of frying wonton wrappers a couple of weeks ago.

The outcome was fantastic. I fried them as the recipe called for, but I might try and bake them next time. I hesitate to though because I worry about the texture. Texture is really important for this treat. The flavor is mild so you need the texture to compensate a bit. Serve it with a really good quality marinara sauce. This also helps compliment the mild flavor. I had no issues with the cheese melting out of the egg roll wrapper.

I've adapted the recipe.

Ingredients

• 12 pieces string cheese
• 12 egg roll wrappers
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-2 cups Italian flavored Panko breadcrumbs
  
• Oil for deep-fat frying
• Marinara or spaghetti sauce

Directions

• Place a piece of string cheese near the bottom corner of one egg roll wrapper. Fold bottom corner over cheese. Roll up halfway; fold sides toward center over cheese. Moisten remaining corner with egg; roll up tightly to seal. Brush egg all over the outside of egg roll wrapper and roll in panko. Press down firmly to make sure panko sticks, as needed. Repeat with remaining wrappers and cheese.
• In an electric skillet, heat 1/2 in. of oil to 375°. I set the dial to 6.
• Fry sticks, a few at a time, for about 1 minute or so on each side or until golden brown. Keep a close eye on them so they don't over cook. Drain on paper towels. Serve with marinara sauce.
  
• Yield: 1 dozen.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Mozzarella-Sticks-2?pmcode=IKLDC05S&_mid=838832&_rid=838832.650200.781355/

Golden Lemon Panko Tilapia Sticks

I buy my son breaded fish sticks. I've tried to be a "good" Mom and bread my own fish sticks, but he has yet to give a recipe the thumbs up. I always use tilapia because of the mild flavor. How do I, being a vegetarian, know that the flavor is mild? Because my husband tells me so...and since he's eating it and I'm not, I'll trust him. So I use a mild flavored fish to try and win my son over. I found this recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine (November 2008). The fish sticks are pan-fried so I thought my little one would be more open to giving Mommy a "happy plate". Ya know...I didn't even attempt to get him to try one. Why not? Because I started dinner too late in the evening and I just quickly tossed something together for him. "Bad" Mommy.

My husband gladly ate it and he actually raved. I had the biggest smile on my face after hearing him describe the flavors and texture. At first he said it was really good (even though it wasn't hot because I took photos of it for 8 minutes). Then after a few more bites he said it was fantastic! He loved the panko coating and the lemon zest in the breading. He squeezed a little more lemon on it too. The batter is made with dark beer but it seems as though that flavor might have gotten lost as it competed with the lemon and cayenne pepper. When he went on to describe all of the effort it must take to pull off my dinners, I got the sense that he really appreciated the work that went into this meal, which to be honest wasn't any big deal. Overall, hubby gave it two thumbs up and asked me to make it again. Yay!

Adapted

Ingredients

2 pounds tilapia fillets, cut into rectangular sticks
3 ounces panko breadcrumbs
1 tbs finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp coarse kosher salt
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup dark ale
3 tbs EVOO

Directions

1. Sprinkle fish with salt & pepper. In a large bowl, combine fish sticks with next 5 ingredients.
2. Whisk egg whites and ale in a medium bowl. Add fish to ale mixture and toss to coat. Shake off excess, then toss fish in panko mixture to coat all sides.
3. Heat 3 tbs EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the fish sticks. Cook until golden and just opaque in center; about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining fish. Adding more oil as necessary.
4. Transfer fish to paper towels on a plate. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Serve immediately (don't take 8 minutes to take photos of it!).

Serve with lemon slices on the side and sweet potato fries.