Fried Fish

OK, not really, but alternatively it's a really cheap, fast, easy, and tasty dinner (all of my basic requirements) and on top of all that, it's pretty healthy too!

So first off, I'm in love with fish because it cooks in like 1/10th of the time as chicken (and unlike chicken, it's hard to overcook). While my top choice is a delicious salmon (see pan-seared salmon recipe...), the problem with having salmon (or most fish vs chicken, say) is that it's often pricey and hard to find fresh...this is why I sometimes prefer white fish. Catfish in my opinion tastes kind of like mud. Tilapia on the other hand, while flaky and deliciously tender, doesn't really have much taste at all. Bad if you're making Tilapia Steaks, but great if you're making practically anything else as you can flavor it yourself to fit about any dish. Also, it's dirt cheap and available in almost every grocery store. Score!

A really common way of cooking fish is to fry it, but as I am afraid of hot oil: a) because I think I could really hurt myself, b) because it's super messy and takes a lot of effort to work with, and c) because I don't really like to see how much fat goes into making a really tasty restaurant dish. So I LOVED this fast, easy, healthy alternative: Oven "Fried" Fish

Ingredients (per 80z fillet):
1 Tilapia Fillet (defrosted and cut into 2in 'chunks')
3 tbs milk
2 tbs cornmeal
1 tbs salt
1/2 tbs pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
(optional: hot sauce)

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Prepare cookie sheet lined with parchment paper -- You can use a regular cookie sheet and just spray with cooking spray, but the parchment really helps the fish from sticking.
3. Pour milk into small bowl (add a few shakes of hot sauce if preferred).
4. In a plate, mix dry ingredients: cornmeal, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder
5. Dip fish chunks in milk mixture.
6. Dip fish in dry mixture, turning and sprinkling to ensure fish is evenly coated. Try to coat as much as possible, although it's ok if fish is a bit wet to touch.
7. Arrange fish on cookie sheet, bake for 10-15 minutes (turning once if desired) or until golden brown.

You can eat these "fish sticks"...plain with ketchup, hot sauce, tartar sauce, and/or lemon...in a sandwich...or you can use these as the basis for a crispy fish taco! For fish tacos, I would add some mexican hot sauce or jalapenos to the milk mixture and maybe some chili powder to the dry mix. For toppings, see my post on fish tacos!

Enjoy :)

At-home Southwest Chicken

Aside a massive (turkey) burger) or swimming in garlicky dressing, I love salad, but without all the bad stuff it usually just awakens my appetite, rather than suppressing it. That said, a salad which is massive, filling, healthy, affordable, and my go to meal in airports is (surprisingly) McDonald's Southwest Chicken Salad. It's pretty affordable (especially compared to other airport options), filling, and with grilled chicken it's healthy (the chicken has this delicious glaze that pretty much takes the place of dressing).

Conveniently, my love for mexican flavors (and Nachos in particular) means I tend to have most of these items on hand in my refrigerator. My other gripe is meals that take too long (marinating and cooking, etc) and too many ingredients. So, I put together some of the components and whipped up a tasty meal that was done in 5 minutes, tasted great, and was only 360 calories to boot!

Ingredients:
- "Chicken" - Morningstar Farms Meatless Buffalo Wings (altho Trader Joe's Frozen Chicken Strips would also work well)
- 1/8 - 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
- 2 tbs fresh pico de gallo salsa
- 1-2 tbs ranch dressing (I used Kraft Fat-Free Ranch)
- 1/4 c Black Beans
- 1-1 1/2 c Chopped Romaine Lettuce

(optional toppings - crumbled tortilla chips, sour cream, guacamole/chopped avocado, lime wedge)

Microwave "chicken" as directed by package. Chop into small pieces. Combine with other ingredients in bowl. Mix. Eat. Delicious.