Tilapia Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa

This weekend is what people are calling “San Francisco’s Spring Break.” The weather was incredible. A group of us spent the entire day in Fort Mason park lounging on blankets, sipping white wine out of solo cups and nibbling on grapes and pretzel crisps. I forgot one little thing…sunblock. *Except for my face, thank God.

That’s a lot of exposed skin Ugh.

Alanna (brunette in the stripes) invited me to her client’s family/friends appreciation party at House of Shields for an open bar and Aztec dance performance. Keeping on theme, I made us fish tacos for dinner inspired from this recipe. The mango avocado salsa was a homerun, and would be great served with tortilla chips.

The Aztec dancers were very impressive, and apparently have free Aztec dance classes free to the public twice a week…

The trendy new workout?

Tilapia Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa

2 tilapia filets
1 + 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
dash oregano
salt and pepper
lemon or lime juice

1/2 avocado, diced
1 cup frozen mango, thawed and diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
handful cilantro, diced
1 green onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper
4 corn tortillas
Greek yogurt (optional)

Pat filets dry and rub with olive oil. Toss together the spices on a plate and coat fish in spice rub. Heat pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and add in fish. Sautee 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Break filets into chunks.

Mix salsa ingredients together in a medium size bowl, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat corn tortillas in pan until warm, and pile with fish, salsa and Greek yogurt (if desired).

Apple Crisp with Oatmeal Crumb Topping

Another test run for the Thanksgiving feast – apple crisp! We had a friendsgiving on Monday and I brought the apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Classic and American.

The entire meal was incredible. Michaela and Laura outdid themselves: roasted turkey chicken, homemade cranberry sauce, butternut squash soup, green beans, sweet potato gratin, kale salad, gravy, on and on… I didn’t eat breakfast until 10:30 am the next morning.

Apple Crisp with Oatmeal Crumb Topping

3 apples (2 gala, 1 granny smith), sliced thinly
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt
4 tablespoons cold butter

vanilla ice cream (optional – but not really)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine apple slices through lemon juice and toss to coat. Dump into non-stick cake/pie pan or 8x8 baking dish. In the same bowl, combine remaining ingredients and crumble together with your hands until mixture forms a cohesive crumbly mixture. Pat crumble on top of apple slices and bake for about 50 minutes, or until browned on top and bubbly. Let cool for at least 15 minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream!!

Squash, Apple & Andouille Baked Crepes

I thanked God and MLK when I woke up this morning for giving me the day to sleep in. Travelling 800 miles in 48 hours takes it out of you. I managed a whole 15 minutes at the gym before getting too exhausted and calling it a day… I don’t have the resilience I once did. Regardless, I felt like I deserved a comforting dinner before reality comes back to bite me tomorrow.

 Squash, Apple & Andouille Baked Crepes

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup regular flour
1/3 cup wheat flour
1 pinch salt
vegetable oil

1/2 tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Andouille sausages
1 cup leftover cooked squash, mashed
1/2 apple, chopped
dash cayenne
dash cinnamon
salt and pepper
mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400. Mix first 5 ingredients together until smooth (ideally in a blender). Heat lightly oiled nonstick skillet and pour about 1/4 cup mixture into pan, spinning to cover entire pan. Flip after 1-2 minutes, or lightly brown on the bottom. Repeat with remaining batter.

Heat butter in skillet, add garlic then crumbled sausage, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add squash mixture to pan and cook until warmed through.

Fill crepes with squash mixture and place in a greased baking dish. Top with mozzarella and bake 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Apple Pie Pancakes with Maple Yogurt

These revolutionary pancakes are healthy and super satisfying. I’m the queen of breakfast for dinner and these fit my nutritious requirements: chunky, hearty and sweet. And isn’t everything better topped with Greek yogurt?

This recipe serves one.

Apple Pie Pancakes

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/6 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
tiny pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 apple, diced
1 large egg white
1/2 cup coconut milk (or regular milk)
scant 1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon maple syrup
dashes cinnamon

toasted coconut
toasted pecans

Mix ingredients from wheat flour to brown sugar together in a bowl. Melt butter in a large skillet and fry large dollops of batter flipping once. Top with yogurt, pecans and coconut.

Peach Salsa

Tomorrow is our office’s wild and crazy end-of-fiscal-year party at my boss’s house. I’ve heard rumors of margaritas, karaoke machines, and most importantly, free dinner. I couldn’t pass this opportunity up to make something for the group. 

During my daily blog trolling, this Summer Peach Salsa recipe jumped out at me. It’s easy and yummy and colorful. The trick to the recipe is blanching the peaches to make the skin easier to peel off.

“X” the bottom and throw it in some boiling water for 1 minute, then immediately into ice water.

The skin comes right off! Unless it’s not ripe like one of mine, then its still a pain in the neck to peal.

I bet this would be delicious on top of fish, or in shrimp/fish tacos. But it works just fine with chips.

Recipe:
3 ripe peaches, about 1 pound
1/4 cup red onion, diced small
1/4 cup red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
1/2 - 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint (or more to taste)
Juice from 1/2 lime
Kosher salt, to taste

First you need to peel the peaches. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. Cut a small X into the bottom of each peach. Drop the peaches into the boiling water for approximately 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the peaches and immediately submerge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Gently peel the peaches using your hands or a paring knife (the riper the peach, the easier this will be). Dice the peaches into small cubes.

Combine the chopped peaches, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, mint, and lime juice. Season with a pinch of kosher salt. Chill for one hour to allow flavors to combine and serve immediately.