Crab-Stuffed Baked Cod

Happy July 1st! July is my favorite month. I generally don't have work or school. I get to lay in the sun all day. And it's my birthday month. Yay!

Anyway... onto the food! I really want to try to eat more fish. I think I have always just assumed that I don't like fish because I don't like plain baked salmon. It's just too fishy and it's ugly and it smells weird. Not for me. So I never bother trying, ordering out, or cooking any other kind of fish. Well, that's silly so I'm making a change.

I decided to try crab-stuffed cod because it's something that I always contemplate ordering when I'm out to eat but then I chicken out. I'm glad that I finally tried it because it was great! The cod was thick and flaky. I think the sauce was a perfect combination of olive oil, butter, lemon juice, and parsley because you can really taste each ingredient. The stuffing made the fish more filling and was really tasty. The only change I might make is to decrease the bread crumbs and to use fresh crab rather than canned for a more crab-y and less carb-y stuffing.

This recipe definitely changed my mind about fish and I CANNOT wait to try more. So be on the lookout for more seafood recipes on the blog. And in the meantime, give this a try :)

Crab-Stuffed Baked Cod (4 servings)

• 1 ½ lbs cod

Sauce

• ¼ cup Chicken Broth
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 ½ Tbsp Butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp parsley
• salt and pepper

Crab Meat Stuffing

• 4 oz Crabmeat (I used canned)
• 3/4 cups Italian style bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 1 ½  Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp parsley
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Topping

• bread crumbs
• parsley

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.       Combine all the sauce ingredients and pour into an 8x8 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

3.       Make a cut into the fillet length-wise, almost all the way through (almost as if butterflying it). Peel back the top layer of the fish and put stuffing on the bottom layer of the fish. Put the top layer of the fish back over the stuffing (see the picture below, if this is confusing).

4.       Place stuffed filets in the baking dish. Drizzle olive oil on the filets. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned and fish is flaky. Garnish with parsley.

the sauce

the stuffing

stuffing the fish!

ready to be baked

all baked!

Fish Tacos with Mango, Peach, and Pineapple Salsa

 Hi everyone! I've been sort of out of touch for the last week because I have been finishing up my LAST FULL SEMESTER OF SCHOOL EVER! How exciting! So I've been really busy with finishing up work and trying to pack up some of my things. I'm basically living between my apartment at school and my mom's house for the summer, which is hectic because my stuff is everywhere. I hate moving. I feel like I have just been shuffling my things around for about a year now, without having a permanent place for anything. I'm about ready to shred all of my teaching binders because they are so heavy and huge and I just keep shoving them in awkward places like under my bed and random bins in my mom's basement.

Anywayyyyy, here is the final recipe from the Cinco de Mayo festivities earlier this month! This was my first attempt at making fish tacos, and I think they came out pretty great! I love fish tacos because they are a lighter option than the usual meaty and cheesy tacos. These are perfect to have on a hot day with a fruity adult beverage. I think the highlight was the salsa. I was just eating it with chips. And maybe a couple spoonfuls.

The only change that I might make to this recipe is to infuse a little heat by either seasoning the fish with some chili powder/cayenne pepper or by adding some diced jalapenos into the salsa. I just love hot food and the combination of sweet and heat is always a winner in my book. However, in a party setting, I think it might appeal to greater number of guests without the spice. 

Also, sorry about the lack of pictures of the ingredients and process. We had SO much going on and not enough time/space for adequate picture taking!

Fish Tacos with Peach, Mango, and Pineapple Salsa (6-8 tacos) adapted from Mother Thyme

• 3 6oz tilapia fillets
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 round soft flour tortillas 

For the salsa

• 1 cup peaches, peeled and chopped (fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned are fine; I used canned)
• 1 cup of pineapple, peeled and chopped (fresh or canned are fine; again, I used canned)
• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup red pepper, diced
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Mexican cheese (optional)
• avocado (optional)

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place fillets on baking sheets and season both sides with salt, pepper and lightly pour lemon juice.

2.       Cook in a preheated oven for 14 minutes or until fish is cooked thru and flaky.

3.       While the fish is cooking, prepare the salsa. In a bowl combine all ingredients and stir until mixed thoroughly.  Chill for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to settle.

4.       Remove from oven and using two forks, gently shred the fish in to large pieces.

5.       Warm tortillas by placing in tinfoil in the oven for 10 minutes.  Remove tortillas from oven and place on platter.

6.       Assemble the tacos by placing the fish on the tortillas and topping with a generous helping of salsa as well as Mexican cheese and avocado if desired. 

the finished salsa

uncooked tilapia

cooked and ready to be made into tacos!

assembled fish taco!