Breaded Baked Tilapia with Raspberry Salsa

So I had to fend for myself for dinner. Being a little under the weather, I didn't feel much like eating but sucked it up to see what my options were. I'd just recently bought some raspberry salsa from the outlet store in Leeds, AL and was itching to try it out on something. The fastest thawing meat in the fridge was fish, so I hit up recipe.com for some guidance. I found a recipe that looked good, but tweaked it a bit to fit what I actually had in the house:

Breaded Baked Tilapia with Raspberry Salsa

Ingredients:

4-6 tilapia fillets 

lemon pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup almond slivers

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese

3  tablespoons preferred oil (olive, canola, peanut, etc.)

3/4 cup mustard

3/4 cup natural honey

1 cup of Black Patch raspberry salsa for topping

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleaning) and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, almond slivers and oil together in a bowl.

3. Place tilapia on prepared baking sheet. Mix the mustard and honey together in a separate bowl and glaze both sides of each piece of tilapia. 

4. Sprinkle the lemon pepper onto each side of the fillet.

5. Smother Cover each fillet with the bread crumb mixture. 

Can't see the fish? That's how I like it...

6. Bake at 425 degree F for 15 minutes or until tilapia flakes easily with a fork. 

7. Top each breaded fillet with raspberry salsa to taste.

8. Serve with your side dish of choice. I went with pasta noodles seasoned with Parmesan and garlic salt :)

Y’all…

There was so much flavor in this dish! And the crunchy almonds…good grub, I love almonds! You can totally substitute them with chopped walnuts or pecans, but you really can’t go wrong with either option! Unless you have nut allergies, then you might want to skip that part...

I have to admit...I didn't think it would be that good! I don't consider myself a chef...I just like to eat! But there was so much flavor! If you like a dish that has a perfect balance of sweet and tangy, the raspberry salsa and homemade honey mustard together is just awesome! I can't wait to try this salsa in another dish soon :)

We're Baaack! No, For Real This Time...

Y'all...

I'm so excited! I've missed this blog so much, but life certainly has a way of making you prioritize things...

And what we've been doing in the mean time that caused me to have to put this on hold?

Worth. It.

I didn't stop eating. Obviously...and detrimentally...but it's all good lol Maybe I'll just have to incorporate some workout plans into the blog...

I've got a lot of posts and news to share with you:

• We participated in Downtown Dining Week for the first time this year and we tried some new spots. 
• I started a whole other business...ended up baking and being featured in several magazines! *high fives*
• I met some other culinary genuises and am super excited to partner with them and share their work. I'll be spotlighting and sharing their creativity.
• I became friends with a winery owner #winning
• The blog is being revamped in the next 4+ weeks, but I'll keep posting here until that happens :)
• There will be some secrets spilled about some neat things that can help enrich your life and experience in the kitchen...
• The hubby and I are adopting!!

The next big thing on my calendar is the Guilt Free Pastries tasting, which is going to be amazing! I've tasted the desserts that came out of this shop and Good Grub, I was just picking them off the table. Like hover mode. 

If you're in the Memphis area, don't miss out on this one: Guilt Free Evening tickets...it's going down Friday, December 5th!

I'm going to get the posts up soon, but in the meantime, you can follow me on the Facebook page...I'm on Twitter and, if you are so inclined, have a Foodspotting account that I share delicious pics on all of the time!

Can't wait to see you soon! 

This is Why I'm Fat

Wow.

It's been almost a year to the day since I last blogged here. I certainly didn't mean to be gone for so long, but life sure has a way of happening despite one's best intentions.

Since the last blog, I've certainly been eating, but life also decided to throw in marriage, among a plethora of other events... I apologize for the unintentional hiatus; I will certainly be making up for it.

So yesterday, we arrived in Miami. As we made our way to the hotel, we passed a restaurant that offered Venezuelan cuisine. It looked interesting enough. We had to drive to the job site to find where hubby would be working, so we made that trip and came back for dinner. After navigating the insane parking situation, we made it into the restaurant.

We walked in to El Arapazo 2. I heard the hostess say "Hola! Something, something, something else..." Oh crap. Mi habla un pequito Espanol. I had no idea what was going on. I just said "Si!" and hoped for the best. We were seated and given our menus. They were written in Spanish. Oh well. And then a glimmer of hope...our waiter was fluent in English! And also, our menus had translations. *whew* My apprehension caused me to overlook that little caveat.

So I asked our waiter David what he recommended. He went through every course and we attempted to make a decision. I pretty much went with what he suggested. I supposed I could have saved him the trouble and time.

For the appetizer, we ordered Tostones Loaded. This consisted of green plantains covered with coleslaw (dry shredded cabbage,) shredded white cheese, pink sauce, garlic, mayo-deli and we added shredded chicken to the mix. Meh. I don't like cabbage or mayo. I still don't know exactly what the pink sauce is.

Mystery sauce makes it better

So I tried it. It's a new experience, right? OMGoodness... I didn't expect it to be that good!  I was excited that there was more of it! The hubby liked it too. He just happens to be more efficient. I savored every bite with my knife and fork. He picked them up and ate them off the plate with his fingers. I thought there were four and I was happy to share. I was wrong.

Must. Eat. Faster.

For the main dish, David recommended the Cachapas. He had to explain it again because, of course, I was screwing up the order. This one was made of shredded beef, sweet plantains, avocado, yellow cheese, wrapped in a "pita" made of sweet corn.

Good. Grub. Almighty.

The picture does the dish no justice...at. all. When I say that this dish brought me out of hiatus, I am not exaggerating. It was so freaking good! There was the perfect mixture of appropriately seasoned beef and sweet ingredients wrapped in sweet corn. And then I got some plantain in the bite. My dear Father in Heaven... David brought out some guacamole sauce and butter sauce for me to sample with the cachapa. My brain commenced to have a flavor shut down. I was so full and couldn't stop eating. I had to take small breaks to let the food digest a bit, and I did share some with my better half. I can't promise that it wouldn't have gotten messy if he put his fork in my plate. I'm just saying.

Warning: Selfishness ahead!

I wish I could go back. I physically can, but after the wedding, we lost some weight. We worked really hard on that and I have to recognize my limitations. Halfway through my meal, I looked over to him and said, "This is why I'm fat." I think I meant it too. I love food. I hate exercise. But adulthood is about accepting responsibility and making good choices. I choose to eat, so I'll have to exercise.

I guess I'll get a nice walk in to try out this marinated pork sandwich for which I just saw a commercial...

Westy's on a Whim

So our first pre-engagement dinner was with two friends from church who are a younger couple like us, but have been married for some time and have 3 children.  It was very interesting to speak with them, but the night in itself started off a bit more hectic than we anticipated...

We originally planned to finally make good on our reservations to Itta Bena, but thanks to the awesomeness and ensuing pandemonium that was Bon Jovi, we weren't able to get close to the restaurant and had to quickly decide upon another location.  As the night would have it, there was also a graduation ceremony taking place and we couldn't get close to the restaurant.  Finally locating a parking space a block away, we headed over to Westy's.  The mister and I had been there before, but our friends hadn't, so I was very much looking forward to their reactions about the place.  Going into our first "session," no one really knew what to expect , but the food and the game made for a very relaxing atmosphere.

If you've never been to Westy's, it would seem like there are literally a million things to eat on the menu and for someone as indecisive as myself, this can be a bit daunting.  But not to worry, they're open until 3 am, so you can feel free to take as much time as you need.  There was a Grizzies game on as well, so we had plenty of incentive to sit and talk...before we actually "talked"...

We ended up ordering a variety of things...mostly burgers, but there was a medley of jalapeno poppers, bacon-wrapped shrimp and catfish thrown in there for good measure...


Jalapeno peppers...I don't mess with these things...


 

One-eyed Bacon Cheeseburger.  Yes, that's an egg on a burger.



Catfish and Fries.  I'd been craving catfish for months and couldn't even finish this.  Sad face.



So we gave ourselves time to eat our meals and then jumped into the conversation.  Quite humorous and thoroughly informative, the talk in which we engaged was the first of several to come. 

The purpose of our talks was to realistically and openly discuss the things we might expect to encounter during our marriage to each other and how to successfully navigate those issues and remain married.  But I shall not bore you with the details of those conversations and will try to stick to the food.  For dessert, the four of us shared the Ultimate Hot Fudge Pie, which is french vanilla ice cream covered with strawberries, raspberry sauce, roasted peacans and whipped cream.  I swear they should have prizes for people that can finish it off by themselves.

Oh caloric goodness, how I love thee...

Located at 346 N Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103 Westy's is a great spot for relaxing good fun and conversation with friends.  Even if you check it out solo, they are guaranteed to have something on the menu to fit your appetite's fancy!  And there's free wi-fi to sweeten the pot...

Cat's out of the Bag

So if you missed it, or aren't my friend on Facebook, I got engaged!!  My boyfriend of 1 year, 51 weeks and 2 days proposed last Wednesday!  This past Monday, July 4th, my fiance and I celebrated 2 years together of growth, laughter, happiness, even some tears and trials...  We plan to be married soon and have been planning all of this for some time now.  I say that to say this...my bad for not writing in a while...

I've been slightly incognito because we've been going through what he calls "pre-engagement counseling."  We met with 5 married couples whom we hold in high regard, took them out for a meal and sought out their advice on things that we might expect in our own marriage, taking note and being reminded that every marriage isn't and will not be the same.  The sessions were full of laughs and complete honesty...nothing was off topic and when talking to adults about adult things, that can get real interesting, real fast...

So the next series of blogs will be centered around these sessions and the local restaurants at which we were able to dine (one meeting was at a chain, so I won't blog about it).  I really wanted to write sooner, but wouldn't really be able to do that without spilling the pre-nuptial beans...

I hope that you enjoy it!

Breakfastaholics

Ok, so I'm going to admit something bad.  I enjoy a good imbibing every so often and while I believe there's nothing wrong with that, even basing your food choice around alcohol is considered apropos (think wine pairing.)  I guess it could be a little out of the ordinary when the meal is at 830 in the morning, but in my defense, someone else started it.  And also in my defense, Bryant's has really good food...

So remember that blog I did a while back, for the Cerebal Palsy fundraiser?  Well, the mister, a friend and myself came across a person who said they had a friend who added a substance to their coffee every morning.  While hilarious to envision, our curiosity was genuinely peaked.  The Rum Chatta smells a bit like coffee and looks like creamer, so it was inevitable as to what we were going to do...especially with the forehand knowledge that it functions so nicely as a substitute for cafe au lait.  Of course we made sure that we were still sober...we had just enough to change the color and taste of the coffee.  As someone mentioned, put some sugar in the cip and it's just like a regular cup o' joe...as long as you don't have 10 cups.

But the food...the Rum Chatta was just an excuse to get to the restaurant...the food was great!  Every morning on my way to work, I turn south at the intersection of Summer and Graham.  In the years that I've driven that route, I've never noticed Bryant's.  Located at 3965 Summer Ave, the restaurant is located approximately 50 feet from the intersection.  I suppose I'm focused on coming in and working like a maniac for 8 hours a day.  Or maybe not.  Either way, I was stunned that it took so long for me to get here. 

We entered fairly early, literally beating the crowd.  By the time that we placed our order, the line was along the counter and wrapped back around to the other end of the restaurant.  If that's any indication of the quality and desirability of the food, by the time we finished, that continuing line was wrapped out of the restaurant and down the side of the building...before 10 am...

There is quite an extensive menu to choose from and they sell lunch in addition to the breakfast for which they are famous.  It was difficult for me to decide, because everything looked so delicious, but I quickly settled on the Breakfast Special:

Yes, this breakfast was special!

The Breakfast Special consisted of homemade biscuits, two eggs in any style you like (#teamscrambled), grits, gravy, hashbrowns and your choice of meat.  I chose the hickory smoked bacon, cooked extra crispy.  The only regret that I expressed was that I did not get any cheese in my eggs, but that wasn't a legitimate complaint because they were still great.  The only downside that I could see is that this establishment is not very large, so most patrons have to come in, eat and leave to make room for the next wave of customers.  And trust me, they were certainly coming in waves.  So if you're tired of the chain breakfast, scoot on over to Bryant's for some hometown, made-from-scratch goodness.  To be warned, unless you're with me, they only serve decaf and regular coffee.

This is only a test...

I'm already wondering how many people are gonna comment on this one...but I just wanted you to stay tuned...  I have a series of blogs coming out about some of the insightful dinners that the mister and I just concluded.  We've been meeting with friends for food, laughs and pre-engagement counseling.  There have been 5 dinners total (4 of which I'll blog about) but mostly to let you know I've been absent from the blog for just a little bit...we've been busy :)