Parmesan Tilapia - Another FETR

This Parmesan coated tilapia recipe from Allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/broiled-tilapia-parmesan/)  is another nice Fast, Easy, and Tasty Recipe. It is a 4.5 star recipe with over 6,000 reviews. It serves 8 and takes about 15 minutes.  The one caution I have is to make sure that the fillets you use are the same thickness. If not, the thinner ones should be cooked for a shorter time than the thinner ones.

Although this recipe is designed to serve 8, I prepared it for three of us, using three fillets. The only thing I changed to the recipe below was the amount of tilapia.

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 salt
2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line the pan with aluminum foil.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Add the dried basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Mix well, and set aside.

3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes. (In other words, the oven shelf where you place the pan with fish should be at the top of the oven) Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes.

4. 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 the fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook the fish.

Glazed Carrots with Ginger Ale - Fast & Easy Side

I used this tasty and easy carrot side dish with a tilapia entree I prepared last night. I found the recipe, created by Alton Brown, at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/glazed-carrots-recipe/index.html. It serves 4 and takes about 25 minutes to prepare. It justifiably receives 5 star reviews.

Ingredients

- 1 pound carrots, approximately 7 medium carrots, peeled and cut on the bias 1/4 inch thick
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Heavy pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup good quality ginger ale
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley leaves (I left this out)

Directions

- In a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat, combine the carrots, butter, salt, and ginger ale. Cover and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, remove the lid, stir, and reduce the heat to low.
- Cover again and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid, add the chili powder, and increase the heat to high.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the ginger ale is reduced to a glaze, approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Spicy Tilapia - Tasty, Quick, & Easy

In my quest for quick, easy, and tasty dishes, I made this very nice, mildly spicy tilapia recipe last night. I found it at http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/seasoned-tilapia-fillets. While the recipe is for two fillets, I found that it worked fine for three fillets. I just added another tablespoon of butter.

The side dish I prepared was carrots with butter, ginger ale, & chili powder.

Total preparation time is about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

2 - 3 tilapia fillets (6 ounces each)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon steak seasoning (I used Montreal Steak Seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper (I used lemon pepper)
dash garlic powder

Directions

Place fillets in a greased baking dish.
Drizzle with butter.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over fillets.

Preheat oven to 425°.  Cover and bake for 15 minutes.
Uncover and bake 5-8 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork. (7 minutes worked perfectly for me.)

Chicken Breasts in a Date, Caper, and Mascarpone Sauce with Couscous

This delicious and easy dish, with Mediterranean - Middle Eastern flavors, was created by "the Wicked Chef," a California native who was living in Myanmar (Burma) when he posted the recipe on allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-breasts-in-a-date-caper-and-mascarpone-sauce-with-couscous/detail.aspx). It serves two and takes about an hour total to prepare and cook.

Instead of following the couscous directions below, I followed those on the can of Marrakesh Moroccan-style couscous I used.

I also used a grill pan on our gas stove rather than our outdoor grill to cook the chicken.

Ingredients:

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half

1/2 cup couscous

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon salted butter

1/4 cup capers, drained

3 dates, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream

salt & ground black pepper to taste (optional)

1 additional date pitted and chopped

1/4 cucumber, diced

1/2 tomato, diced

1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

1.	Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.
2.	Grill the chicken breast until the meat is no longer pink inside and shows well-defined grill marks, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Cut the chicken breast in half, and set aside.
3.	Bring the water, unsalted butter, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Remove from the heat, and stir in the couscous. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
4.	Melt the salted butter in a skillet over medium heat, and gently stir in the capers and 3 dates. Stir a few times to heat the capers and dates, then stir in the mascarpone cheese and cream, stirring until the cheese and cream have melted together. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 3 minutes to reduce slightly, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
5.	Place the couscous on a serving platter, and sprinkle with a chopped date. Arrange the 2 pieces of chicken breast onto the couscous, and cover with the mascarpone sauce. Sprinkle the dish with diced cucumber and tomato, and drizzle lemon juice over the top to serve

Mushrooms with Soy Glaze - Nice & Easy Side

Thanks to allrecipes.com for another nice and easy side. This one only takes a couple of minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook. It works well with salmon, chicken and other dishes. This version, which I found at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mushrooms-with-a-soy-sauce-glaze/detail.aspx, serves two. You can easily scale it up.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

1 8 oz package sliced white mushrooms

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp soy sauce

ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in skillet over medium heat; add the mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic; continue to cook and stir for 1 minute.

Pour in the soy sauce; cook the mushrooms in the soy sauce until the liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes.