Fish Tacos with Watermelon Salsa

This is the fish recipe that I tried the other night with the Cilantro Rice (under Side Dishes) and it was amazing!  We especially loved the Watermelon Salsa!  I think it was even better the next day and it was delicious on tortilla chips!  For my boys, I just left the salsa off.  They said the tacos were a little spicy - but they did eat them!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

FISH TACOS WITH WATERMELON SALSA

4 cups diced seedless watermelon
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 2 limes, plus lime wedges for serving
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Kosher salt
1 pound skinless wild striped bass fillets
1 teaspoon chipotle Chile powder
1 romaine lettuce heart, thinly sliced
8 corn tortillas
1 avocado, sliced

1)  Make the watermelon salsa:  Combine the watermelon, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno in a bowl.  Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and set aside.

2)  Preheat a grill to high.  Sprinkle the fish on both sides with the Chile powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt; drizzle both sides with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil.  Brush the grill with olive oil, then add the fish and grill until marked and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Transfer the fish to a plate and break into bite-size pieces.

3)  Meanwhile, toss the lettuce with 2 tablespoons of the juices from the watermelon salsa and a pinch of salt.  Warm the tortillas on the grill and fill with the fish, watermelon salsa, avocado and lettuce.  Serve with lime wedges and cilantro rice (under the "Side Dishes" tab).

NOTES:

~I happened to have some Mahi Mahi in the freezer, so I used that instead.  You can change out the bass for your favorite white fish.

~Make sure you do brush the grill with oil or you'll never get the fish off without breaking it apart!

Tuna Noodle Bake

Tried this recipe tonight for dinner and it was awesome!  My kids ate it too, they complained a bit about the peas, but you really couldn't taste them, so they did eat it.  If you can have dairy, adding some cheese to it would be yummy, but I kept it per the recipe for this first time.  It's definitely comfort food.  I served it with corn bread muffins (Pamela's gluten-free mix) - yummy!

Enjoy,
Kirsten

PS:  The recipe comes from the Recipes For Gluten-Free Kids (fun eats from breakfast to treats) cookbook.

TUNA NOODLE BAKE

4 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (mochiko)
1 1/2 cups soy milk or other dairy-free milk
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups cooked gluten-free macaroni, rotini or other small pasta shape
2 cans (6 ounces each) tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups peas
1/2 cup crushed potato chips

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in small skillet.  Add onion and garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes or until softened.

2)  Melt remaining 2 tablespoons margarine in medium saucepan over low heat.  Whisk in rice flour; cook and stir 2 minutes without browning.  Stir in soy milk; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, mustard and thyme.

3)  Combine pasta, onion mixture, tuna and peas in a large bowl.  Add sauce and combine.  Transfer to a shallow baking dish or casserole.  Sprinkle with potato chips.  Cover; bake 15 minutes.  Uncover; bake 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

NOTES:

~If you are dairy-free, follow the ingredient list above, I did use butter when I made it.

~I stay away from soy, so I used vanilla almond milk.  Yes, the sweetened one.  It tasted great, but you could also use unsweetened rice or almond milk, or the unsweetened almond/coconut milk blend would be good too.

~I always use kosher salt for savory recipes.

~I used Schar gluten-free rotini, but any small noodle would be great.

~I used white albacore tuna, that is my favorite type.

~I used frozen baby peas and I thawed them in the microwave for just a minute before adding them in, but probably just throwing them in frozen would work too.

~I didn't measure, but I'm thinking I used more like 1-1 1/2 cups of potato chips.  I thought that would make it appealing to my boys.  I put it in an oval casserole dish, so 1/2 a cup of chips wouldn't have even come close to covering the top.

~I didn't do this, but I think it would be yummy to drizzle a little bit of melted butter over the chips before baking, however, if you're trying to keep it lower cal, then skip that for sure!

Grilled Tilapia With Pineapple Salsa

This is one of my favorite fish dishes.  It is SO flavorful and delicious, and the presentation is great too, so it's perfect for serving to company!  I don't make this one for my kids though because it's pretty spicy, but if you wanted to make this for dinner and you have little ones, you could just make theirs plain with just a little garlic salt and butter.  You could also use another whitefish of your choosing for this dish.  I don't recommend buying tilapia that is farmed in Asia, you can read more about tilapia in my post "Tilapia, is it good for you?" in the Information Station tab.

Enjoy!
Kirsten

PS: This recipe comes from The Pampered Chef 29 minutes to dinner cookbook.

GRILLED TILAPIA WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA

Pineapple Salsa
1/2 medium pineapple
1/4 small red onion
1 Serrano pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 lime

Tilapia
1 packet (1.25 oz) taco seasoning
3 tablespoons garlic oil or olive oil
4 boneless, skinless tilapia fillets (about 4 oz. each)

1)  Heat grill pan over medium-high heat 5 minutes.  As pan heats, peel pineapple half; cut lengthwise into two pieces and remove core.  Slice each pineapple piece lengthwise into three strips.  Arrange strips in a single layer over grill pan; cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear.  Set aside.

2)  While pineapple cooks, chop onion.  Cut Serrano pepper lengthwise in half; remove and discard seeds.  Chop Serrano pepper and cilantro.  Combine onion, Serrano pepper, cilantro and salt in a small bowl.  Zest lime to measure 1 teaspoon zest.  Juice lime to measure 1 tablespoon juice.  Add zest and juice to bowl; mix well.

3)  Whisk taco seasoning mix and oil in mixing bowl.  Add tilapia; turn to coat.  Place two tilapia fillets onto grill pan.  Cook 2 minutes or until grill marks appear.  Turn tilapia over and cook 2 minutes or until tilapia flakes easily with a fork.  Remove tilapia from pan.   Wipe out pan and repeat with remaining fillets.

4)  As tilapia cooks, chop pineapple and add to onion mixture in small mixing bowl; mix well.  To serve, top tilapia with pineapple salsa.

NOTES:

~I wouldn't recommend using canned pineapple, fresh is much better!

~I use olive oil because I don't keep garlic oil on hand.

~You could also do this on your outdoor grill if you don't have a grill pan.  I'm sure a frying pan would work too, but you won't have the nice grill marks.

~I spray my grill pan with a non-stick cooking spray before cooking the fish.

 

Crab Cakes

Made these tonight for the first time and they were super yummy!  My boys didn't like them very much, but they did eat them.  My little guy liked them a little bit I think.  ; )  I thought they were outstanding!  I didn't have time tonight, but next time, I think I will make a sauce to serve along with them.  Maybe something a little sweet, since the crab cakes are a bit spicy!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

PS: This recipe comes from Carol Fenster's cookbook called "100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes".


CRAB CAKES

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dried minced onion or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 large egg
1 tablespoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound lump crab meat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 cup plain gluten-free bread crumbs
2 tablespoons canola oil, for frying

1)  Place a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 300F.

2)  In a large bowl, combine the mayo, onion, parsley, mustard, Old Bay, egg, Worcestershire, lemon juice, salt and cayenne.  Gently fold in the crab meat and bread crumbs.

3)  Shape the mixture into 16 cakes, about 1 inch thick.  (The crab cakes can be refrigerated overnight at this point, if needed.)

4)  In a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the crab cakes and cook over medium heat until golden and crisp, 2-3 minutes per side.  Transfer the skillet to the oven to keep the crab cakes warm until serving time.

NOTES:

~I used real lump crab meat from Woodman's.  It comes in a can and it is about $19.00 for a pound, but it is worth it!  If you went out to eat, you'd be hard pressed to spend that little on dinner for 4, or even two!

~Mayo is actually dairy-free, but it does contain eggs.

~I didn't have any cayenne, so I left it out and they were still great, and even a little spicy from the mustard and the Old Bay!

~I don't think I got 16 cakes, and I did make mine small, at the thickness she recommends.

~I used cracker crumbs that I make from the Glutino Original Crackers.  That is pretty much my stand-by for bread crumbs.

~You can make Southwestern Crab Cakes by varying the recipe as follows:
In step 1, replace the Old Bay with 2 teaspoons Spice Islands Smoky Mesquite Seasoning and replace the lemon juice with lime juice.  Stir in 1 (4-ounce) can drained chopped green chiles with the crab and bread crumbs.

Maple Pecan Salmon

Very yummy recipe from my cousin Marianne.  She is the cook/baker that I aspire to be.  She has 4 children at home, home schools them all, bakes her own bread and is a wonderful wife and mother!  God is her strength, as He is mine, and she is as humble as can be.  If you asked her, she would say that she is far from having it "all together", but I think she is awesome!!

Okay, back to the recipe - this is a great way to dress up salmon!  It's simple with only a few ingredients, and the best part, my kids love it too!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

MAPLE PECAN SALMON

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 salmon fillets

Topping:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1)  Preheat oven to 400F.

2)  Place salmon, (skin side down if it has skin on), in an aluminum foil lined baking dish.

3)  Mix the mustard and syrup together and spread the mixture on top of the fillets.

4)  Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of the salmon.

5)  Bake for 15-20 min. or until salmon flakes with a fork.

NOTES:

~Wild caught salmon is healthier than farmed, but it is very pricey.  I recommend it if you can afford it, otherwise, using the farmed fish will be fine.

~I also recommend using 100% pure maple syrup, but again, if cost is an issue, use your Log Cabin or your syrup of choice!

~You can buy gluten-free bread crumbs or you can make your own with some dried up g-free bread.  If you are not gluten-free, the original recipe calls for seasoned bread crumbs.  If you find seasoned g-free crumbs, go for it!  I usually make my own, so I haven't looked for them.

Butter Herb Baked Fish

This is by far one of my favorite main dishes!  My kids and hubby love it too!  I am sad that I have to omit the parmesan now because I am dairy-free, but it doesn't take much away from it - it's still delicious and the kids and my husband didn't even notice the difference!

I have been using Costco's tilapia for a few years now, but I have recently read some disturbing things about it, not just Costco's, but tilapia in general, so if you might want to do some research yourself and perhaps go with another white fish.  To read what I found about tilapia, look for my post "Tilapia - is it good for you?"

Enjoy!
Kirsten

BUTTER HERB BAKED FISH

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup crushed Glutino crackers - Original flavor
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsely
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb. fish fillets (recipe calls for cod or haddock)

1)  Heat oven to 350F.  Melt the butter in the microwave in a dish that each fillet will fit into.  Drizzle a little of the melted butter into a 9x13 pan and set the rest aside.

2)  Combine cracker crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, basil, parsely and garlic powder in a dish that each fillet will fit into.

3) Dip fish in butter then in crumb mixture, then place in buttered pan.  Repeat with each fillet.  Drizzle remaining butter over the fillets in the pan (optional, but it makes it taste that much better).

4)  Bake 25-30 min. (depending on the size of your fillets) or until fish flakes with a fork.

NOTES:

~Like I mentioned above, I have been using Tilapia, but may be changing that.  I like it for it's non-fishy taste and light texture, but it may have some negatives that outweigh the positives.

~If you are dairy free, omit the parmesan cheese.

~If you are not gluten-free, the original recipe calls for saltine crackers, and I have also used oyster crackers, either works great!

~I normally use 4 fish fillets, sometimes 5 if they are small.