Lime Garlic Tilapia with Roasted Carrots

We haven't had fish in a while, so we thought we would make this. It was quick, easy and delicious. We served it with garlic whipped mashed potatoes. We let the tilapia marinade in the sauce for about 30 minutes (mainly because we got distracted with children during that time). This recipe could be made with lemon just as well as lime, but we just did not have any lemon on hand. The carrots turned out really sweet and delicious, none were left for leftovers! We made this in a little dish because our oven broke and we only had our toaster oven to cook in for a while, but it turned out awesome!

Lime Garlic Tilapia

Served

Ready to eat!

Roasted Carrots

Tilapia with salt and pepper

Tilapia and lime butter sauce

Garlic Lime Butter Sauce 

Ingredients:

Tilapia:

2-3 full tilapia filets
1/2 cup of butter, melted
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
5-6 garlic cloves, chopped or thinly sliced

Roasted Carrots:

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into about 1" pieces
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Tilapia:
1. Place tilapia into an oven safe dish,  we used 11" x 7" dish, but ours overlapped a little.
2. Combine melted butter, lime juice, zest, and garlic in a bowl. Mix and pour over the tilapia.
3. Bake at 375 F for 15-25 minutes until fish doneness is reached. The cooking time may depend on the thickness of your cut of fish.

Carrots:
1. Place carrots on a cooking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour olive oil over them.
2. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. 

What we liked:

The fish came out perfect. The carrots were amazing as well. 

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

He loved the carrots. Astrid loved EVERYTHING; enough to put the mashed potatoes in her hair!

Next time:

Pecan Crusted Tilapia with Garlic Whipped Potatoes and Asparagus

We've never made pecan crusted tilapia before, but none of the recipes we saw were exactly what we wanted. So, we made up our own way to make it. It turned out really good, but it really needs this Golden Rum Butter Sauce (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/golden-rum-butter-sauce) to complete it. Without the sauce, the fish turns out a little dry.
We also made two different types of asparagus to see which one is better. We made Asparagus with garlic and balsamic reduction (not so good). This turned out kinda blah. Here is the recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asparagus-garlic-balsamic-reduction. We will not repeat it below as it did not turn out very good.
The other asparagus we made was Asparagus with bacon and shallots. This turned out really excellent and is probably the best way to eat asparagus. Here is the original recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asparagus-bacon-shallots. The mustard and maple syrup went surprisingly well with the asparagus.

Served, with the bacon asparagus

With the Balsamic/Garlic Asparagus

Asparagus with Bacon and Shallots

Asparagus with garlic and balsamic reduction

Golden Rum Butter Sauce

"Pecan-ed" tilapia

Asparagus with the butter and shallot sauce

Asparagus Sauce

Ingredients:

Pecan Crusted Tilapia:

2 Tilapia fillets, thawed
1/4 cup of pecans chopped in a Magic Bullet (or similar)
1 egg, whisked
1/4 cup of corn starch
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

Garlic Whipped Mashed Potatoes: 

6 golden yukon yellow potatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder to taste
1 teaspoon salt to taste

Asparagus: 

1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
Cooking spray
2 center-cut bacon slices
2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
3 tablespoons unsalted chicken stock
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Golden Rum Butter Sauce: 

3 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons rum
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Tilapia: 
1. Dredge each piece of fish in cornstarch, then egg, then the pecans.
2. Heat up a pan with oil and butter
3. Cook fish until done about 6 to 7 minutes per side, depending on the cut of fish. The pecans seem to make an insulating layer, so more heat is required than non-pecan-coated pan fried fish.

Mashed Potatoes: 
1. Steam the potatoes for 30 minutes
2. In a stand mixer, whip together all ingredients

Asparagus: 
1. Steam Asparagus for 8 minutes
2. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Remove from pan; crumble. Add shallots; cook 30 seconds. Add chicken stock, vinegar, mustard, and maple syrup; cook 1 minute. Drizzle over asparagus. Sprinkle with salt and crumbled bacon.

Golden Rum Butter Sauce: 
1. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat; add shallot and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until shallot is tender. Reduce heat to low, and slowly whisk in rum, next 4 ingredients, and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute; serve warm.

What we liked:

The fish turned out really good and the sauce was perfect with it. It would not have been the same without the fish. Tonight's dinner required a lot of coordination and both of us cooking at the same time. We steamed the asparagus first, then the potatoes. While Nick was making the fish, Alona made the sauces for the asparagus dishes, the mashed potatoes and the golden rum butter sauce. It was fun cooking together and making up the fish recipe. 

What we didn't like:

The balsamic asparagus was not very good, especially in comparison with the bacon shallot one. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He wanted bacon and mashed potatoes only. No suspicious fish or asparagus for him. 

Next time:

No modifications that we can think of at this time. 

Week 1, Day 1: Fish Nuggets

Today we made easy 5 ingredient Fish Nuggets using tilapia.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
3 Tilapia Fillets
1/2 cup of corn starch
1 cup of bread crumbs - we used Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

Cooking spray and oil for the pan

1/2 cup of mayonaise
2 tbsps of prepared horseradish
1 stem of green onion

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 F and put a large baking sheet into the oven to heat it up
2. Wash the fish fillets and cut them up into 1 inch squares, approximately.
3. Get three bowls - one for cornstarch, one for bread crumbs, the other for the egg and milk mixture (whisk milk and egg together)
4. Dredge each piece of fish in corn starch
5. Dip each piece of fish into egg mixture, coating all sides
6. Dredge each piece in the breadcrumbs, coating all sides
7. Place onto a plate
8. Get out your hot baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray, then coat it with some oil - we used olive oil
9. Put the fish pieces onto the baking sheet and place into oven for 12 minutes

While the fish is cooking, make the sauce.

For the Sauce:
Mix together 1/2 cup of mayo and 2 tbsp of prepared horseradish. Mix in finely chopped green onions.

This recipe is quick and easy and takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Just remember to defrost your fish if it's frozen!

What we liked:
Super quick and easy. The fish was just as good as pub fish and chips. The sauce complements it extremely well. Using the cornstarch for the pre-breading allows the fish to be coated evenly and comes out golden and well cooked on all sides. It works much better than flour.

What we didn't like: 
It could have used a side, maybe English chips (french fries) next time. This would have added a lot more prep time.

What Kaspian thought about it: 
"I don't like your fish nuggets. I want dinosaur chicken nuggets" It did not warrant a try. We tried to sneak one onto his plate, but it was promptly ejected with squeals of "I don't want that on my plate!".

Next time: 
Use beer instead of milk to mix with the egg. Specifically Guiness draught would go well for more of a pub fish taste. Do a side such as potatoes or broccoli. Chop the green onions more finely. We just did rough circles but it was hard to get them onto the fish pieces.