Salsa Tilapia Fillets

My friend Amira had us over for a lovely dinner, and it was amazing. This is was just one of the super good dishes she made, and I got her permission to post it because it qualifies as (a) simple ingredients, (b) easy to make, and (c) DELICIOUS!

I'm not a huge fan of fish, and since I thought this tasted great, I was really excited to share it with you guys!

Ingredients

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Salsa:
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-1 can diced tomatoes (large size)
-3/4 c. parsley
-3/4 c. cilantro
-5 cloves minced garlic
-½ diced onion

-2 tablespoons of olive oil
-1 tablespoon cumin (or more, you can taste the salsa as you go along)

-juice of 1 lemon
-salt and pepper to taste

-tilapia (1.5 lbs) or 6 tilapia fillets

-salt and pepper

Assembly

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-Combine the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl, taste and adjust measurements.

-Spread a very thin layer of salsa on the bottom of pyrex dish. Layer tilapia fillets and season with salt, pepper and cumin. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

-Spread the rest of the salsa on top of the tilapia.

-You can cover and marinate this overnight if you have the time.

-Bake UNCOVERED at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.

-Serve with freshly squeezed lemons.

Mexican Salad

I made this with chicken on top for dinner. Great news everyone: It's almost fat free! The only fat comes from the chicken, and chicken breast add lots of protein without too much icky fat. The dressing goes well as a sauce for chicken or meat dishes too!

I didn't include measurements for the ingredients because you can alter the quantity to fit your liking.

Ingredients

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-shredded romaine lettuce

-diced cucumbers

-diced cherry tomatoes

-finely diced green onions (use the white part in the salad and save the greens for the dressing)

-black beans

-corn (optional, I didn't use it)

-cooked chicken breast strips (or a shredded rotisserie chicken)

-fresh salsa (this comes in a container, found in the refrigerated section of a grocery store, NOT the jar)

Dressing

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-1 cup fat free plain yogurt

-1/2 cup packed cilantro

-1 clove garlic

-green tips of green onions

-salt to taste

-seeded jalapeno (optional)

**you may want to use 1 tablespoon sour cream or mayonnaise to thicken dressing**

Assembly

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-Layer the ingredients in the listed order: lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, black beans, corn, chicken, fresh salsa

-Blend dressing ingredients using an immersion blender (or use a normal blender). If the sauce is too liquidy (yes, that is a real word in kitchen talk), add a tablespoon of sour cream or mayonnaise. Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad

-Garnish with optional shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla strips (I didn't do this, because it will obviously add fat :P)

Spinach Stuffed Chicken

I've been making this recipe for years, I got it a while ago from a KRAFT foods magazine. The presentation of it is beautiful, and it is an elegant dish to entertain with. I often change the filling, but this is the simple version I originally learned. The actual recipe calls for stuffing, but that always comes out overly soggy so I stopped using it.

Ingredients

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-8 chicken breast tenders

-1 cup spinach

-1 can diced tomatoes (the kind mixed with garlic and basil is super yummy)

-1 cup cut up mushrooms

-3 cloves minced garlic

-1/2 cup fresh basil, or a bunch of dried Italian spices

-salt and pepper

-fat-free Italian dressing

-mozzarella cheese for garnish

Assembly

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-Place the chicken breast tenders into a Ziploc bag and pound with a meat tenderizer to thin it out. If you don't have one, make your life easier and get one. If you insist on doing this the hard way, then use a can or anything hard and pound the chicken.

-Mix the spinach, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, basil and salt into a bowl.

-Spoon 1/4 cup of filling onto one end of the chicken breast. Roll up and place seam side down into a baking dish. Continue with the rest of the chicken. Season tops of chicken with salt and pepper.

-Drizzle the Italian dressing over the chicken breasts and bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the cheese on top of each piece of chicken.

I served this alongside the pesto and goat cheese rice bake.