Tilapia Fish Tacos

Want a quick and healthy meal? This is the one for you. It took me less than 30 minutes all together and was surprisingly very delicious! I say surprisingly because Taylor and I aren't huge fish fans, so trying a new fish dish is risky, but we really liked it!! The lime dressing was the perfect addition to the tilapia. I hope you like it too. :)

Tilapia Fish Tacos- recipe from Giada

Ingredients

3 Tilapia, cubed
Arugula, 3 cups- chopped
3 Green onions, finely chopped
1 Avocado, cubed
1 Mango, cubed
2 Tablespoons Lime juice (2 Limes)
Zest of 1 lime
Olive Oil
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Hard Taco Shells
Feta, Sour cream, or your choice of cheese (optional)

First, cube Tilapia and set it aside to cook later. Then prep everything else. Cube the mango and avocado and dice the green onions. Chop the arugula and place in a medium sized bowl. Then in a small bowl, mix 3 Tbs olive oil, lime juice, zest of 1 lime, dash of red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper in a bowl.

Heat oven to 300 degrees to warm up your taco shells (don't place them in the oven until your about to eat, it doesn't take long).

In a medium sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Place the tilapia down, making sure each piece is touching the pan. Salt & pepper the top of the tilapia. Let the tilapia cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. When your ready to flip them over carefully flip each one individually.. it can/will fall apart, so be patient when doing it. Once cooked, remove the tilapia from the pan and set aside to cool off.

While your tilapia is cooking, toss avocado, mango, green onion and dressing together with the arugula. Don't over toss, you don't want the avocado to become mussy.

As the tilapia cools, heat up the taco shells. Takes only a couple minutes.

Putting it together is very easy. Just place the salad mix down in your taco shell, top with tilapia, and then top with your choice of cheese (if desired). Now, the taco doesn't need cheese... I put feta on one taco to try and I really enjoyed it, but had my other one plain and it was just as delicious. Taylor used cheddar cheese in one of his to try and said he could have done without it. So that's all up to you.

Taylor and I really liked this meal. We never had fish tacos before, so it was exciting making this meal and knowing we both enjoyed it. Taylor would prefer having soft tacos over hard, so next time I'll try soft shells, but I like the crunch of a hard shell. Luckily taco shells cost next to nothing, so you can do both easily.

This meal is healthy, light, and super easy to make and cooks quickly. I tend to go toward quick easier meals these days and I was impressed with how simple and easy this was. So have fun and enjoy!!!

Parmesan- Crusted Tilapia

My desire is to find different ways to cook tilapia because it's healthy, and the only fish I'll eat. So, we tried this new recipe by Rachel Ray and it was delicious! The only thing I'd do different is add Old Bay!! Who doesn't want that on their fish? It's one of my favorite seasonings! Do you have any tilapia recipes? I'd love to try them. :)

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia - Rachel Ray

What you'll need:

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbs paprika
1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
4 tilapia fillets
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Olive oil
 Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Add cheese, parsley, paprika, salt & pepper [to taste] in a medium bowl. Mix together.

2. Place each fish on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil.

3. Cover fish with dry ingredients.

4. Warp aluminum on top and sides, so oil doesn't drip out.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

6. Plate with lemon wedge. Serve with Trader Joe's Polenta and a french baguette.

Delicious!

Eating Fish

All my life I have hated fish! I mean never ever wanted to try it all my life - hated! With the exception of Crab [Mmmmm] & Shrimp. [I grew up eating crab all.the.time]. A few years ago, while staying with a friend, I tried Tilapia for the first time. I didn't want to be rude, and plus, she said if I didn't like it I could eat something else. I tried it, and liked it! Go figure ;)

So now, I will eat Crab, Shrimp, & Tilapia. That's it! I tried Salmon... not for me. It is now 8 months into our marriage and we have had tilapia twice! We had it the first or second month and then again recently. I enjoyed it! [With enough old bay, it sort of tastes like crab- that's my secret!!]

With being so picky on eating tilapia, it has to be cooked a certain way. Here's how we do it. :)

You will need:

Tilapia [I make 3- 1 for each of us at dinner and 1 for Tay's lunch the next day]
3 tbs butter
1 green pepper
Sea salt
Red pepper flakes
Old Bay :-D

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degree.

2. Tear pieces of aluminum foil to hold each fish.

3. Place about 1 tbs of butter on each piece of aluminum foil.





4. Cut the green pepper into slices. Then place the tilapia on top of the butter and cover with your green pepper.

5. Sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt, red pepper flakes, and old bay to season. [Be careful not to over season, a little bit goes a long way with this meal].

6. Fold the edges of the aluminum foil up around the fish, place in the oven. Bake for about 8-12 minutes, or until the fish is white and easy to pull apart with a fork.

7. Enjoy!! 


[ Add more Old Bay if your like me ;) ]