Grilled Tilapia Fiesta Foil Packs

Yes, people.  I swear...This is real and this is awesomeee!  LOVEEEEE!!
For my Crack an Egg friend, this dish's score was 15/10! :)
Fish haters, start here.  Nothing fishy about this dish, and so good for you!  So easy! 

Ingredients:

4 fresh Tilapia fillets

1 cup sweet corn

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 a red bell pepper, diced small

1 heaping tablespoon of {canned} diced green chiles

1 small handful fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 ounces of pepper jack cheese, freshly grated

2 teaspoons Creole or Cajun seasoning

FOR THE RICE:

2 cups water

1 cup long grain white rice

2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled {not chopped}

A couple of pinches of Kosher salt

Directions:

For the Rice: Place (whole) smashed and peeled garlic in a sauce pot. Add the rice, two cups of water and the salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and place a heavy lid into place. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes and remove off of the heat once the time is up. Let sit for at least 5 minutes or until you are ready to serve. Remove the garlic pieces before serving! (I used brown rice.  Follow package directions.  Cooking time is twice as long for brown rice.)

For the Tilapia Packets: In a bowl, combine the corn, diced peppers, black beans, green chilies, chopped cilantro, and the olive oil. Stir.

On a couple pieces of foil, {one piece if using heavy duty} place the tilapia in the center. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of Creole seasoning. Top with 4 or so tablespoons of the veggie medley and sprinkle with another 1/4 teaspoon of the seasoning {totally optional}. Top with a quarter of the shredded cheese.

Bring up the sides of the foil and crimp and then fold the ends up to make a foiled handbag. 

Set the foil packs on the grates a preheated grill set at medium-high and close the lid to cook for 15 minutes.

With a hot pad or tongs, remove the foil packs from the grill. Carefully open and remove the tilapia with a spatula. Place the tilapia on a couple spoonfuls of the rice and squeeze a wedge of lime over top. And serve with a little more of the chopped fresh cilantro if desired.

For a step-by-step, see: *www.simplyscratch.com

Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa Pockets

Ok, seriously yum and a piece of cake.

Ingredients:

1 large sheet puffed pastry, thawed

1 ripe avocado, halved and mashed

1/3 cup cream cheese

1/3 cup salsa

salt and pepper, sprinkled to taste

1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and spray one baking sheet with cooking spray. (You can also  with foil and then lightly spray with cooking spray.)

2. Thaw puffed pastry for about 10 minutes. With a knife, slice the pastry into approximately 2-inch by 2-inch squares. (I only used one of the two pastries that came in the box, and made 9 squares, or 4 pairs for pockets. You'll have one "square" left over.  Or....you can get 18 squares, or 9 pockets if you use the whole box of puff pastry.)

3. On half the squares, place a dollop of avocado, then cream cheese, then salsa. (I used a 1/2 tablespoon as my dollop.)  Season with salt and pepper. (*I seasoned my mashed avocado with salt and pepper and mixed.)  Use the remaining squares as the tops and place over top the filling. Seal the pockets by pressing the edges with a fork. Seal well so no filling oozes out during cooking.

4. In a small bowl beat an egg with a fork and apply an eggwash to each of the pockets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until desired browning and puffing has occurred.

5. Let cool for a few minutes or, like me, you will have a very burned roof of your mouth.

*www.navywifecook.com

Ice Cream Crunch Bars

*Read my modifications in purple before making!!!  

I learned after making these, there are some slight steps I would have changed...

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Rice Krispie Cereal
1 cups chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
3/4 cups brown sugar
optional: a few shakes of cinnamon
8 tablespoons real butter (1 stick), melted
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (or one "carton"), softened to the consistency of soft serve


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a 9×13 inch pan with foil, extending a little over the edges of pan. (Okay, I suggest USING PARCHMENT PAPER INSTEAD of foil.  I would first spray the glass pan with cooking spray, and then lay the parchment on top, still extending a little over the edges of the pan.  My FOIL stuck to glass pan after frozen and was not fun to pry off the finished bars.) 


2. Place Rice Krispies, pecans, coconut, and brown sugar in another 9×13 inch pan, jelly roll pan, or baking sheet.  Drizzle butter over mixture and combine well (a fork, or clean hands work well.)  If desired, sprinkle in a few shakes of ground cinnamon and mix in. (I definitely used the cinnamon...yum.)  Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking time.  Remove from oven when toasted and golden brown and let mixture cool completely.


3. Remove half of crispy mixture and spread remaining half in an even layer on the bottom of the foil (parchment-lined) pan.  (I pressed down lightly to make a firm base.) Gently spoon softened (soft-serve consistency) ice cream on top of mixture.  Use a spoon and very gently spread mixture, being careful to not lift up crisp from bottom of pan.  Spread ice cream out evenly and then top with remaining crisp mixture.  Spread, then gently press top crisp into ice cream with hands.  Cover pan with plastic or foil and chill until firm (preferably overnight.)  When ready to serve, use foil (or parchment paper) to completely remove ice cream from pan.  Slice into squares and serve.


*www.ourbestbites.com

Turkey-Cheddar Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for grilling
• 1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds ground dark turkey
• 3 tablespoons plain dried breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices sharp cheddar (8 ounces)
• 8 hamburger buns
• Toppings, such as mayonnaise, mustard, tomato, and lettuce (optional)
• Vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and saute until translucent, 6 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and add turkey, breadcrumbs, mustard, and parsley. Gently mix until combined and form into 8 thin patties.
   
2. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill. Season patties with salt and pepper, then brush with oil. Grill, covered, until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side; during last minute of cooking, top each burger with cheese and cover grill. Serve burgers on buns with desired toppings.
   
   *Everyday Food Magazine, June 2012
   

Grilled Chicken Sausage, Spinach, & Mozzarella Pizza

Ingredients:

• 3 garlic naan flatbreads (or any other prepared crust)
• 3 chicken sausages, any Italian flavor
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 12 slices fresh Mozzarella, thinly sliced, or 1 cup shredded
• a heaping handful of fresh spinach, chopped
• fresh tomatoes, diced (about 2 tomatoes)
• fresh basil (I julienned mine.)
• olive oil, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill to medium high. (I preheated my grill to medium and followed the "M.O.M." philosophy...grates set at medium, off, medium.)
2. In a skillet, cook sausages until browned and cooked through. *You can also grill them and then slice, casing on, or take them out of the casing and cook in a skillet. (I like it better out of the casing).
3. Spread naan with pizza sauce (1/3 cup per pizza). Top with chicken sausage, fresh spinach, tomatoes, and then cheese. Once again, I used this to finely chop up the spinach.  Works wonders.  Seriously.
4. Grill for 15-25 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is brown and crispy and the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with fresh basil and drizzle with oil. (I didn't drizzle with oil.)  *Also, you may notice that naan browns faster than the cheese melts.  Check on the bottom of the naan after about ten minutes.  If the charring happens to you, simply turn the grill to low and take the naan off direct heat.  If you follow the "M.O.M." philosophy, place in the center of the grill, where the grate is on the "off" setting.

*www.pinchofyum.com

Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

 

Tastes like summer!

Ingredients:
 

          Chicken:

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
  
  Salsa:
  
• 1 cup chopped plum tomato (about 2)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• (I also added about 1 tablespoon of cilantro.)
• 1 avocado, peeled and finely chopped 

Directions:

1. To prepare chicken, combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss and let marinate 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done.
2. To prepare salsa, combine tomato and next 4 ingredients (through pepper)...[also add cilantro if desired] in a medium bowl.  Add avocado; stir gently to combine. Serve salsa over chicken.

*Cooking Light Magazine, April 2009