Zesty Mediterranean-Style Baked Tilapia Recipe

 By R Ayite Okyne 

Photo: thumbs.ifood.tv
 
An easy recipe for one of the dishes I make that always gets a standing ovation and requests for encores is my Zesty Baked Tilapia Mediterranean-Style. It is a pretty easy to make baked fish recipe, can be prepped ahead of time and assembled "lickety-split"! What makes it so fragrant and tasty is that it is infused with flavor both from the top and the bottom and this style of baking keeps the fish moist throughout. I made it the other day and thought I'd share the recipe with you...
For this, I used ingredients from the Target Stores brand Market Pantry. You will need:

• 1lb Market Pantry® tilapia fillets (or 4-6 pieces)
• One large tomato or two medium tomatoes, sliced crosswise
• Grated zest and juice of two lemons
• Two tablespoons Market Pantry® chopped Kalamata olives
• ½ cup Market Pantry® mayonnaise
• ½ cup Market Pantry® grated Parmesan cheese
• One tablespoon olive oil
• Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lay the sliced tomatoes in a rectangular glass dish and sprinkle with the chopped olives and lemon zest and drizzle with olive oil.
Season the fillets with salt and pepper and lay them over the bed of sliced tomatoes, olives and lemon zest and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese together with some of the lemon juice. Add just enough lemon juice to achieve a pleasant balance of flavors, and a medium-thick consistency. Start with two tablespoons of lemon juice. Coat each fillet with the mixture and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the topping turns a golden brown.

When I'm entertaining, I usually assemble the dish and prepare the mixture, wrap them in plastic film and keep them in the refrigerator. While my guests are having cocktails, I coat the fish with the topping and put in the oven right away. It's best served fresh out the oven. This dish should taste citrusy on the top with the olive flavor as the middle note, and the cheese and mayonnaise following in close order, but less distinct. The rather bland fish is infused with the lemon zest and olives from below and the lemon in the topping, giving it that piquant taste. The citrus flavor is tempered by the tomatoes and the cheese and mayonnaise. The topping also helps keep the fish moist and seals in all the flavors.

I have served this with couscous and vegetables, a brown and wild rice medley, saffron rice as well as rosemary roasted potatoes and it works well. Whatever you choose to serve with this should not be too flavorful or acidic - there can only be one star at this table! My favorite wine to pair with this tends to be a Pinot Grigio, but a Chardonnay works just as well.
Try it and let me know how you like it - more importantly, how your guests like it! I can't wait to get your feedback! Many Thanks to Target Stores.

R. Ayite Okyne is The Lifestyle Maven - a style guru, epicure, lifestyle expert and cultural ambassador with a quest for the inspired life. He authors a blog http://ayiteokyne.blogspot.com and hosts a series of web episodes http://YouTube.com/TheLifestyleMaven. Send your questions to ayite@thelifestylemaven.com and he'll be happy to answer them!

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Step By Step Recipes - Chinese Fried Wonton and Shrimp Balls

 By Rienzi F 

Photo: rasamalaysia.com
 
Chinese culinary history is believed to have dated back to a thousand years already and over time it has also incorporated and blended with the cuisines of other cultures and traditions too. However, the styles and tastes of Chine vary with each region, which has wonderfully led to a dazzling array of techniques, ingredients and even eating styles. Here's a look at two of the most popular Chinese step by step recipes, fried wonton and shrimp balls.

Fried Wonton

To prepare fried wonton, you will require the following ingredients - 1/2pound minced pork, 12 chopped bay scallops, 1 pack wonton skins, three peeled and chopped water chestnuts, 1lightly beaten egg, two coriander sprigs, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon corn flour, ½ teaspoon fish sauce, salt, white pepper and oil for deep frying.

To cook this easy to follow recipe, mix bay scallops, minced pork, water chestnuts, corn flour and chopped coriander into a bowl, and then add half of the beaten egg (the other half will be used for wrapping the wonton). Mix these ingredients properly, and then and the white pepper, salt and fish sauce. Set aside, and wrap the wontons with the wonton skins, and fry these in a wok filled with cooking oil. Serve hot, and season with chilli sauce or ketchup.

Fried Shrimp Balls

To prepare fried shrimp balls with wonton skin, you will need the following ingredients - one teaspoon salt or fish sauce, one pound raw shrimp, one teaspoon sugar, 1 table spoon corn starch, 1 lightly-beaten egg white, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, one table spoon oil, wonton skins and a few dashes of white pepper.
To cook, de-vein the shrimp and toss it aside. Then, using a mini food processor, beat the egg white until it becomes frothy, and add the raw shrimp, along with the other seasonings. Carefully blend these ingredients until they form a shrimp paste. Next, cut the wonton skins into very small strips and place them on a flat surface.

Form the shrimp paste into balls and roll them in a bed of wonton skin, but ensure that the wonton skin will evenly coat the shrimp balls. Next, deep fry the shrimp balls in a wok, until they get golden brown. Serve with hot sauce, or preferably Thai sweet chilli sauce.
To find more delectable Chinese, and oriental-style step by step easy recipes with photos, log on to the Internet, and type "step by step Chinese recipes" on your search engine.

Additional Fact:

According to most food experts, most salad are served cold, but some especially the South German potato salad, are warm when served. Have fun serving this truly tasty Salad Nicoise and learn more step by step recipes at ( http://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/ ).

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How to Make Pineapple and Coconut Banana Bread

 By Rachel L Salazar 

Photo: kraftrecipes.com
 
I've always loved recipes that look complicated and involved, but are actually easy and quick to make. This is one of my favorites. You can just about mix everything in a bread pan and throw it in the oven. This weekend I had a craving for something sweet yet chewy, so I threw some pineapple chunks, coconut and oatmeal into my banana bread recipe and it turned out fantastic!

Served with a dollop of greek yogurt, this turned out naturally sweet, chewy and most of all moist. I think my banana bread will have to give way to this Pineapple and Coconut Banana Bread I threw together.
This bread we've enjoyed eating for breakfast is simply stuffed with yummy bites of banana and pineapple. You just can't take a bit without tasting one - which is exactly what I was going for, so I'm happy. OK, I've been squealing around the house all day; I'm just so proud of myself.

I put a dollop of greek peach yogurt on the top, and fresh strawberries to compliment our breakfast, and wow, did it! All the natural sweetness melded together and really created the perfect breakfast dish.
I had hoped to make the leftover pieces into thick french toast, but we nibbled them down to crumbs. I'll have to try that another day.
Pineapple Coconut Banana Bread
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup oats
• 3 mashed bananas
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup drained pineapple chunks
• 1/4 cup coconut

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Combine banana, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Add pineapple, nuts and coconut, gently stir to mix.
6. Spoon batter into a bread pan.
7. Sprinkle coconut on top of the bread to garnish.
8. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Cool on a wire rack, in the pan, for about 15 minutes
10. Remove the bread from the pan after 15 minutes and cool thoroughly on the rack.

The easiest way to mash a banana, is to do it in the skin. Slightly break open the top, and gently squeeze the banana until it feels mushy. Peel off one side, and finish with a fork. I took one banana and sliced it for nice big banana chunks in the bread.

If you liked this recipe, join us at Enjoying Simplicity, http://enjoyingsimplicity.com. Enjoying Simplicity is our vision that cooking can be healthy, simple and it can be done at a low-cost.

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Garlic Bread on Texas Toast Recipe

 By Becca Knight 

Photo: 4.bp.blogspot.com
 
Popular in Texas and the states surrounding it, Texas toast is generally served toasted as a side. Texas toast is a type of pre-sliced bread packed in bags, not sold toasted as the name implies. What sets it apart from other bread is that it is that the thickness of the slices is double the thickness of typical sliced bread. It is especially useful for dishes in which the bread is used to soak up liquid ingredients. Extra thickness can improve the finished product, such as in French toast.

Texas toast was reportedly first served at The Pig Stand drive-in restaurant in Beaumont, Texas, after a bakery order for thicker slices of bread resulted in slices too thick for the toaster and the cook suggested buttering and grilling them as a remedy in 1941. Although The Pig Stand's story is not contended, they failed to patent this invention. Producers of Texas toast in the United States include Wonder Bread, Mrs. Baird's, Franz Bakery, and Safeway's Lucerne foods.

In this recipe, you may use margarine or butter, whipped or not, as long as it is spreadable. The main detail to adhere to is the proper technique for producing the garlic bread on Texas toast.

Ingredients
Texas toast bread, unfrozen
Butter or margarine, softened
Granulated garlic powder
Paprika powder
Dried parsley

Directions
Heat oven to 400º F

Select the desired number of slices from the loaf - or loaves if you are doing a large quantity. The most important thing you need to know about making Texas toast right is you need to butter both sides. Using plain, unseasoned butter or margarine coat each side of each slice of bread evenly paying attention to cover the edges so that they do not burn. Place on an un-greased shallow baking sheet as you go.
Next sprinkle as much granulated garlic as you wish onto the upward facing side of the buttered bread and follow with paprika and parsley. The paprika and parsley have a mild flavor so that the garlic will stand out, and are mainly used for the added colors. Red paprika, green parsley and white bread together represent the colors in the Italian flag. So here we have a marriage of Italy and Texas, time to "toast" the newlyweds.
Put the toast into the pre-heated oven or broiler. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until butter is melted and bread is golden brown. This will be a richer toast than a garlic toast on a French loaf with warm buttery goodness top and bottom.

Place the toast on a plate or basket and serve warm.

Becca Knight lives in Texas and writes about it on her blog "Don't Know Much About Texas"

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Simple Tips For Making The Perfect Smoothie

By Tracy J Elmore

Photo: http://tnt802.files.wordpress.com

Smoothies are seen as a perfect way of maintaining good health. Making a smoothie can be pretty easy but there are certain tricks that one needs to keep in mind to in order obtain the best smoothie. Some of the tips used in making the best smoothies include:

Use Yoghurt as your Base

Making a smoothie normally requires a semi liquid. Normally milk is usually used or sometimes soy. Yoghurt is seen to be the best base as it contains certain beneficial bacteria. Yoghurt is also good because it is low in calories.

Freeze Your Fruits

Frozen fruits are the best when it comes to making smoothies. Frozen fruits normally make your smoothie to be extra thick and cold. Large fruits like melons normally need to be chopped before being placed in the freezer.

Healthy All the way

If you intend to lower the content of calories in your smoothie, you can either use skimmed milk or soy milk. You can also increase the nutrition of your smoothie by using protein powder, brewer's yeast or wheat germ.

Cocoa is normally packed with lots of flavanols. These are the compounds used in making chocolates. Unlike chocolates cocoa is seen to be virtually fat free and low in calories. Adding just one teaspoon of cocoa will go a long way in boosting the health of your heart. Cocoa powder is good for butter and banana smoothies.

Extra Tips

It can be really irritating when you make a smoothie and realize that's its not thick enough. If your smoothie is coming out extra thin you can make it thicker by adding ice cubes.

When blending, it is necessary that you add the liquids first. This prevents the fruits from binding up with the liquids. Blend everything on high until it is highly blended. If the smoothie is too thick it means that you've used too much ice cubes or frozen fruits. Thinning can be done by using water, a splash of coffee or green tea. Coffee perfectly matches with smoothies made of butter, cocoa powder and bananas. Green tea on the other hand particularly goes well with peaches and strawberries. In addition, coffee and tea are seen to have beneficial antioxidants which have numerous health benefits.

The ingredients used in making smoothies are never sweet for the tongue. One can sweeten the smoothie a little bit by adding maple syrup or honey. Keep this sweeteners at a minimum in order to keep the calories level down.

Some of the ingredients used in making a punchy smoothie include:

• 1 cup of milk

• 1 cup spinach

• 1 teaspoon of honey

• A quarter cup of frozen peaches

• A quarter cup of frozen strawberries

Finally just because your smoothie has ingredients like spinach, peaches and soymilk doesn't mean that it's healthy. A healthy smoothie is one that has a low count in calorie. You need to keep an eye on the calories level of your smoothie. This will help you understand how your smoothie fits perfectly in to your diet plan. To learn more about how to make the perfect smoothie, visit http://www.mainstreetclinton.com.

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A Delicious Honey Bee Cocktail Recipe

 By Laurel P Abell 

Photo: honeybeesrecipes.com
 
Honey can be easily used in many different ways without making too many efforts. It is not only a natural sweetener, but also has many other benefits. According to numerous studies and researches, honey protects your body against infections and also prevents many diseases. Usually, natural honey bee food contains royal jelly, bee propolis and bee pollen.

Daily intake in an appropriate amount means good health. Moreover, it can be easily incorporated into your diet via simple and delicious recipes. To start with, you can simply eat one tablespoon of honey with your morning tea. In the afternoon, iced tea can also be a good choice. At night, a honey bee cocktail will completely relax your mind and body. While making food for your family, you can add taste as well as health by adding just a few drops of honey.
Honey is quite healthy for your body. However, you should consider a few things while using it in home recipes.

You should not heat raw honey over 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This is because excessive heat causes honey to lose its medicinal properties. Honey is a natural sweetener. Therefore, you should use it in less quantity than sugar. In other words, one cup of sugar is equivalent to half or three-fourth cup of honey. Moreover, honey turns food into brown color quickly. Therefore, cooking temperature should also be low.

As mentioned earlier, natural honey has many benefits. It affects your health as well as beauty. Moreover, it can be consumed by everyone. Honey can be easily used for a lot of home remedies, home recipes and many other purposes. In fact, it can be easily bought at affordable rates. Honey also acts as a good cure for many different types of skin problems.

A Delicious Cocktail Recipe

Almost all of us attend parties or even host them on a regular basis. Most of the time, guests just want to sit back and relax. For many people, relaxation means having a few drinks and enjoying themselves. However, people are usually confused about the choice of drink to be kept in a party. As a host, a person has to keep in mind different preferences, likes and dislikes. A cocktail is often a good choice when you are confused in such circumstances. Let us tell you about the recipe of a delicious and easy-to-make cocktail:

Honey Bee cocktail.
Preparation Time - Approximately 15 Minutes
Ingredients
¾ oz lemon juice
1 Bottle non alcohol champagne
½ oz Honey
½ water
Lemon twist to garnish
Ice Cubes to add to the drink

First of all, you have to take a saucepan and fill it with honey and water. Heat them for some time until the mixture thickens. Once the mixture has thickened, let it cool for some time. After this, add honey syrup, lemon juice, bottle non alcohol champagne to a punch bowel. You should also add ice. Mix. Pour the drink in a cocktail glasses with ice. Garnish it with a lemon twist. Your Honey Bee cocktail is ready to be served. It will taste as sweet as honey, with some sourness from lemon and just a hint of champagne.

http://www.hiveandhoneyapiary.com

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A Simple Meal For Garlic And Asparagus Lovers

 By Dan Lefevre 

Photo: mommyaloha.com
 
Anyone who knows me knows that I love garlic. I usually eat four or five cloves a day. And not little ones either! I crush medium to large sized cloves and find a way to include them with at least one meal. And before you ask, the answer is NO: despite all the garlic that I eat, I don't smell like garlic! I guess I'm lucky that way.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love fried potatoes and over-medium eggs served alongside sausage patties or a pile of crispy bacon. Yum! There's no better way to start the day than breakfast at a local, greasy-spoon diner. However, the problem with breakfast at the diner is there aren't any breakfast dishes that contain garlic. Not a single one. And there's never anything on the menu that contains asparagus either (another one of my favorite foods). So, I took it upon myself to dream up a very simple meal that uses garlic, potatoes, asparagus, and fried eggs. After preparing this meal several times, I finally figured out how to make it perfect for my taste buds. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do!

First, wash a medium sized potato and cut it into small cubes. I prefer to leave the skin on, but you're welcome to peel it. Drop a tablespoon of butter into a frying pan, set the heat on medium, and throw the potato cubes in there.

When the potatoes are nearly cooked, it's time to crush your garlic. I use two to three medium sized cloves but that might be too much for the average person, so maybe start with just one small clove the first time you cook this meal. Crush the garlic and dump it into a small bowl. Very important: let the crushed garlic sit for at least ten minutes all by itself before you mix it with anything. Use an egg timer if you have to (I have three in my kitchen!).

Next, wash and cut eight stalks of asparagus into 1/4 inch pieces. I generally use the top six inches from each piece and toss the lower portion into the trash. In another pan, sauté the asparagus in a tablespoon of butter, and remember to keep stirring them so they don't burn.
By now, your potatoes should be done. I'll usually crank the heat up for at least three to four minutes in order to brown them and make them crispy, and then I'll turn the heat off altogether. Cook the potatoes to your liking, and then turn the heat off.

I prefer to cook the asparagus until they almost lose their crispiness, and then I pour the asparagus into the pan containing the potatoes and mix them together (remember to turn the heat off!).
In the same pan that you cooked the asparagus, fry a couple of eggs. Flip them once and cook to your liking. I prefer over-medium eggs: fluid yolks but thoroughly cooked whites.
The last couple of steps are pretty simple: add the crushed garlic to the pan of potatoes and asparagus, and mix together. Then pour the potatoes and asparagus and garlic mix onto a large plate. Sprinkle a little salt across everything, and then plop the fried eggs on top.

I eat this meal at least three or four times a week, and I love it every time. I like the texture of the egg yolk mixing in with the crispy potatoes and asparagus. Although you can certainly add a sauce to the top of this, I don't think you need to. The blend of flavors and textures makes this meal perfect the way it is.

Some day, somewhere, a restaurant will start serving this meal for breakfast, and when they do, I'll be there!

The listed ingredients will serve one person:

1 medium sized potato
3 medium sized cloves of garlic, crushed (use less if you're new to garlic)
6 spears of asparagus cut into 1/4 inch pieces (use the top 6 inches; discard the rest)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of butter (add more butter if necessary)
Salt

Red Shell Foods offers a variety of delicious salad dressings that can be ordered straight from their website. Please visit their site at: http://www.RedShell.com.

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