Baked Tilapia

From the time we started shopping at Costco, Tilapia has been a regular at home. This is a very simple and easy recipe with everyday ingredients. I think it will work well with any meaty fish. I usually make it without mayonnaise, but I saw an ad on TV sometime back where they used mayonnaise on chicken and decided to use it on the fish and see how it turns out...it was super moist and yummy :)

Ingredients:

• Oil - 3/4 of a table spoon (I used Olive oil)
• Skinless tilapia fillet - As required.
• Salt - to taste
• Chili powder/ pepper powder - to taste (I used chili powder)
• Bread crumbs - 2 handfuls (I made my own. Will update recipe soon)
• Mayonnaise / mayonnaise style sandwich dressing - 1 1/2 tsp for each fillet of fish.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F
• Wash fish and pat dry it using a clean kitchen paper towel.
• Sprinkle salt and rub chili powder on both sides of the fish.
• Take a baking sheet, line it with parchment or foil (if you like), it makes cleaning easy. Drizzle some oil over it. Place the fish on it.
• Now apply a thin layer of mayo on fish only on the side facing up. (make sure to take enough mayo out first, don't put the spoon back in the jar after it has touched the fish)
• Then add the bread crumbs on top of the mayo, until it covers the whole fish. Drizzle oil on top again.
• Bake for 12-15mins.
• Broil on high for 1-2 min, just to crisp up the top layer. This step is optional, and watch out, you don't want to burn the fish. I talk from experience.

Coconut Macaroons

I suddenly remembered that I had saved a recipe for Coconut Macaroons (biscuits) somewhere last year. I had found it after I baked a fruit cake for Christmas and had some dry shredded coconut left. So I decided to find the recipe and bake it. It turned out really well, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside :) 

Its a very easy and simple recipe. If you've read my previous blogs you'll realise I bake or cook that which requires minimum ingredients and steps. Not becos I am lazy, its becos I have a little son running around. He can do some serious damage if left unattended for a long time. So I tend to simplify recipes to suit my time constraint.

Ingredients:

• Shredded sweetened coconut (dry)- 1 1/3 cups
• Granulated sugar - 1/3 cup 
• All-purpose flour - 2 tablespoons 
• Egg whites – 2
• Vanilla extract – 1/2 teaspoon

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a bowl, combine coconut and flour.
• In another bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and vanilla.
• With a spoon or spatula, mix in the coconut-flour mixture to the egg mixture. It will be dense mixture. Now your ready to bake.
• On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, scoop the mixture with a spoon and place it 1 inch apart. I used a 1 tablespoon rounded measuring spoon. 
• Bake until golden brown, must be for 15-18 minutes, based on the oven. Let macaroons cool. When hot it will not be crispy on the outside.

Tip: Once cooled, transfer to an air-tight container. Or it will loose its crispiness.

Banana Bread

This is an easy and low fat banana bread. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com some time back. I make this every time I have some bananas that don't look pretty enough to eat :) Those dark brown ones are apt for this recipe. Next time you have some uneatable bananas lying around, don't waste them, make yourself a banana bread and enjoy :)


Ingredients:

• Ripe bananas -  2 or 3 large ones mashed
• Baking soda - 1Tsp
• Plain yogurt - 1/2 cup 
• Oil - 1/4 cup
• Light brown sugar - 3/4cup
• Sugar - 1 Tblsp (if u like it sweeter, I don't use it)
• Egg  - 1
• Vanilla extract - 1tsp
• All-purpose flour - 1 cup
• Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Ground cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
• Baking powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Coco powder - 1Tblsp (Optional, for rich color)
• Walnuts - Chopped 1 handful (optional)

*Tip - you can replace 1 whole egg with 2 egg whites and use low fat yogurt for even less fat. I haven't used it like this, so I'm not sure of the taste.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix the mashed bananas with the baking soda and yogurt. Allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the batter.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, egg or egg whites, and vanilla.
4. In another large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, ground cinnamon, coco powder and salt.
5. Then combine the banana mixture with the oil mixture and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until all the ingredients are moistened. Stir in half the walnuts. 
6. Pour into an oiled  loaf pan or a cake pan of your choice. Add remaining walnuts on top.
7. Bake for about 35- 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.