Pan-Seared Five-Spice Tilapia with Hot Orange-Ginger Sauce

Recently I snatched a few free Cuisine at Home magazines from the Library.  I found a Tilapia recipe I wanted to try, weeks went by and I kept looking at it thinking I am going to make a menu this week, then the week would pass. Finally, I did it. It was scrumptious! A new 5 Star recipe at my home to add to the "fish" file.  Jack gave it 5 stars the kids agreed with lots of "yummy" and "MMMmmm's".

Mom! I think you are going to love this!

Pan-Seared Five-Spice Tilapia with Hot Orange-Ginger Sauce
Source: Cuisine at Home Issue no. 73 February 2009, p 35
Yields 4 servings       Total time 15 minutes

Five-Spice Tilapia

1/2 tsp. Chinese Five-Spice Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
3 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil, divided
1 lb. Tilapia Fillets (4-6)
2 Tbsp. minced Scallions (I had to omit because I didn't have them on hand)

Mix five-spice powder, salt, cayenne pepper with 2 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl.
Pat fillets dry, brush both sides with spice mixture. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high hear until skillet is lightly smoking.  Add fillets; sauce 3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with scallions. Serve with Hot Orange-Ginger Sauce.

Per serving 201 cal; 13g total fat (2g sat) 57 mg chol; 1 g carb; 205 mg sodium; 0g fiber, 23 g protien

Hot Orange-Ginger Sauce
-Vary the amount of red pepper flakes to adjust the heat of the sauce to your liking.
Makes 1/3 cup ; Total time 10 minutes

1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (I used mixed from concentrate)
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Whisk marmalade, orange juice, vinegar, ginger root, and pepper flakes together in a small bowl.

Saute garlic in sauce pan with oil over medium-high heat for 30 seconds. Add marmalade mixture and simmer, stirring continuously, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt


Mandarin Spinach Salad
This colorful Asian salad can be garnished with store-bought chow mien noodles or homemade fried wonton strips. (This salad dressing is light and fresh! A good Spring/Summer dressing to mix things up.)

Makes 8 cups (4 servings) Total time 25 minutes

For the Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. rive vinegar
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. minded fresh ginger root
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
Pinch of salt

Whisk together oil, vinegar, honey, ginger root, dijon, sesame oil, and salt for the vinaigrette in a small bowl.


For the Salad
8 cups baby spinach
1 can mandarin orange segments drained (11 oz.)
1/4 cucumber, seeded, sliced thinly into half moons
1/2 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced almonds toasted
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup chow mein noodles or Fried wonton strips (optional)

Combine spinach, oranges, cucumbers, mushrooms, almonds, and scallions in large bowl. Toss with vinaigrette just before serving. Garnish with noodles

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon

This recipe is one inspired from my recent Turbo Fire program menus. This marinated fish with a homemade Teriyaki sauce was to die for fish! This like all the fish we grill at home beats most fish dishes we have had at most restaurant for the fraction of the price!

If you enjoy fish. You are going to LOVE this recipe! It was worth standing in the snow and the dark to enjoy this healthy and tasty fish. The marinade is not over powering and gives the fish a well balanced dose of Teriyaki. (Sometimes Teriyaki dishes can be to sweet for me, but this was perfect.  I am going to try it on other meats as well.)


Grilled Teriyaki Salmon

Salmon fillets (fresh or frozen)
If fish is frozen thaw prior to placing in marinade

For the Marinade (from allrecipes.com)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 1/4 teaspoon white vinegar
2 1/4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon grated (or minced if you hate cleaning the grater ;-) ) fresh ginger

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together until sugar dissolved. ( It was taking to long for me to dissolve that sugar so I put it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to heat it up a little. This did the trick.)
Voila- homemade marinade!

I used half the marinade and poured it into a gallon ziplock bag over my thawed fish.  (I used 3 frozen salmon fillets from Costco). Let fish marinade at least 1 hour. (You can let it marinade over night too.)

Grill the fish for 5 minutes on each side.

Grill canned, drained pineapple rings for two minutes and sear.

Serve grilled fish and pineapple with your favorite side of rice and vegetable.

 **Again no picture! Keeping up with my new business jillcarpenter.myitworks.com, my four darling munchkins and my handsome hubby. I am finding less and less time to take my pictures and blog about our good eats. (Which seem to be random at best lately too. Enjoying the season of life which I am in is my goal at this point and time in my life.)

Grilled Mahi Mahi, Rice Pilaf, Veggie Medley

This was a simple throw together dinner with items we have on hand. I used the Lion House Recipe for the Rice Pilaf and the Vegetable Medley. My little family ate it with no complaints.

Rice Pilaf

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup uncooked rice

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup minced celery

3 cups hot chicken broth

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Melt butter in hot frying pan. Add rice, onion, and celery; stir and cook until slightly brown. Add chicken broth. Cover and simmer on low heat until moisture has been absorbed and rice is tender. Add parsley and almonds just before serving. Toss lightly. Makes 8 half-cup servings.

Vegetable Medley

2 medium carrots (again I always add more because my kids love them)

3 small zucchini

3 ribs celery

Water

2 Tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel carrots; was and clean zucchini and celery. Slice vegetables diagonally. Place 1/4 inch water and butter in saucepan and bring to a boil. Add carrots and simmer covered for 4 minutes. Add celery and simmer an additional 2 minutes. Add zucchini and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender-crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at once, retaining remaining liquid in serving dish.

Makes 4 servings. (These servings seem really big!)

Mahi Mahi

Nothing to it! Thaw, Olive oil both sides, Salt and pepper to your liking and toss it on the grill!

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

It was a warm winter day today--high 40's/low 50's so what do you do...Get and itch to Grill!! is a food network--Bobby Flay recipe. Every time I make it Jack can't get enough. My boys love it too. Tonight Cameron said, "Mommy, this is very NUMMY!" Everyone cleaned their plates and asked for seconds. This is definitely a keeper!

3 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoons butter

Melt together in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and whisk in 

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon finely grated ginger

Salmon 8 salmon fillets, 6 oz each (I buy frozen Salmon at Costco which is skinless or I buy their fresh fillets if I can swing it right.  We use three of the prepackaged fillets)

Vegetable oil (I use olive)

salt and pepper

I lightly coat the salmon with oil, then salt and pepper on one side. 

Preheat your grill to medium heat (10-15 minutes). Place the salmon skin side down (I just look at the fillet and try to pick which side I thought the skin was on ;-) ) Coat the flesh of the salmon fillets with the brown sugar mixture. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes to medium doneness, turning once, then cook 5 to 6 minutes more. 

I like to serve this with green beans, and wild rice.

Jack and Jill's Tuna Salad on Crackers

Jack, the kids, and I love this quick meal for lunch.  It is relatively healthy if you don't go wild with the mayonnaise or over do it with crackers. We always eat a lot of crackers when we make it. It would be a good party food.

2 cans Tuna

1 avocado diced

1 tomato diced

2-4 Tbsp minced onion

A few drops Lemon juice

2 Tbsp Mayonnaise or to your liking 

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of Garlic salt (optional) or Salad Supreme seasoning --to taste

Combine the tuna, mayonnaise, onions, and lemon juice. Add the avocado and tomato and stir gently.

Serve on top of your favorite cracker or bread. Our favorite is crackers!

We enjoy trying new things on the grill. This one taste good and always get good reviews from our guest. Jack prefers the Salmon without the Pesto, but he also approves of the pesto.

Cedar Plank-Grilled Salmon with Cilantro Pesto
Recipe courtesy Pandee Pearson, Executive Chef of Windows on the Water
Recipe SummaryDifficulty: Easy Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings

4 (6 to 8-ounce) portions salmon preferably local wild King salmon -skin on or off Olive oil, to taste Salt Fresh cracked pepper

This recipe is for OUTSIDE gas or charcoal plank-grilling.
For the Cedar Planks: I use UNTREATED 1 by 8 construction grade cedar cut to the length of the amount of salmon you wish to cook. (I cut mine in 10-inch lengths for 2 (8- ounce fillets)
Soaking the planks: Pre-soak cedar planks for at least 1 hour, preferably longer or overnight. Weigh down planks with heavy cans or stones to completely submerge the wood in water.
Lightly coat the salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon on cedar plank skin-side down.

Turn on your gas grill to high heat. Place planks (loaded up with salmon) on the grill and close lid. Your grill will now turn into an oven/smoker. Cooking time required will vary depending on the size of the salmon. Be careful when you are lifting the grill lid because the burning plank will produce a lot of smoke. Try to keep the lid closed as much as possible as not to lower the temperature inside the grill. When salmon is cooked, remove fish from plank and plunge wood into a bucket of cold water. Serve the salmon immediately with the Cilantro Pesto.
Cilantro pesto 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves 1 clove garlic 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) lightly toasted 1/2 lime, juiced Jalapeno, to taste Salt and pepper

Place first 4 ingredients in blender or small food processor and completely puree. Add lime juice, jalapeno, and salt and pepper, to taste

SIDE: Rice and Spinach fruit salad with citrus or poppy dressing.