Friday, July 8, 2011

Cider Butternut Squash and Parm Crusted Tilapia

I know that those sound like a random combination (I agree that they are) but individually they were both really good! Together with some salad they made a nice meal.

Cider Butternut Squash

This recipe was a total experiment but turned out to be really good! It reminded me of yams…which are one of my favorite foods so I was happy.

Ingredients:

4 large carrots cut into half moons
2 butternut squash (mine were pretty little) peeled and cut into cubes
2 packets apple cider mix or 2 cups apple cider

First peel all of your carrots and the squash:

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I got this peeler at Bed Bath and Beyond for 1 dollar. It is my favorite! It slides over your finger and fits in the palm of your hand. It is so nice compared to the ones you just hold.

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Next comes the chopping:
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Once everything is chopped put it in a skillet. Add your 2 cups apple cider. (I used the packets below) Simmer on the lowest temperature your stove will simmer until the squash and carrots are soft-About 30 minutes.

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While that is simmering make:

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

This is something that we love and we have a lot. This is my variation of the recipe and you’ll find many that are pretty similar. I just tweaked and tweaked this until I came up with what I liked the best.

Ingredients:

4 Tilapia Fillets

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons light butter melted
1 tablespoon light mayo
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
A couple shakes pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Mix the above ingredients together in a bowl. Spray a baking dish with Pam. Put your fillets in the baking dish. Smother with the above mixture.IMG_2524 Bake at 400 degrees until the fish flakes with a fork. (and they will turn white) This was about 20 minutes for me in my little old-school oven. In a regular oven it is going to be around 10-14 minutes.

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The cheese on top will also be nice and brown and delicious looking.

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Make a nice salad to go with it and there you have it:

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Tips from Kj:

This isn’t really a tip but a fun fact-Both of these foods are really low calorie! :) Using only apple cider vinegar to simmer the squash and carrots eliminated oil or butter that would normally be used. I also use light butter and mayo as often as I can when I’m cooking and normally you can use LESS than the recipe says and it will still be yummy!

You’ll find on here that sometimes I will post recipes with a healthy twist and sometimes I’ll post artery clogging recipes with no ounce of health in them. This is because I feel like life just needs to have a happy medium when it comes to food. I try to be healthy most of the time but an artery clogging treat or dinner every now and then is a MUST! :D

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