Food Week! Day 1

I have been cooking up a storm at our house when I have time. Although if my dad is reading this he will laugh because last week we did not eat one meal at home in the night (I either skipped dinner or was out). But I realize if I have the time to do it right cooking is something I enjoy. I hope my mom sees that!!!

But for the most part I have been focusing on making wholesome meals. (Mostly vegan or vegetarian) I have pictures saved up and have enough material for a WHOLE WEEK of posting! WOW! For today I will start with what I made for Saturday lunch.

Saturday lunch is my favorite meal of the week. It is one of 5 times during the week that we can eat as a family. But it is only 1 of 2 times that I have time to make something special and can clean up all the dishes.

So I must confess something with out going on....I love Rachel Ray. I love how she cooks and her weird sense of humor EVOO anybody?. Just to defend my self I have like her sense JR of college so it is not a new obsession. The way she cooks makes sense to me. I can remember her recipes with out having to look them up. Most importantly she never really measures so when you recreate the recipes you feel like you did it yourself with her ideas!

I usually do not get to watch daytime TV anymore, due to the fact the TV is invisible when Matias is awake. This past Friday, Matias took a weird nap so I had an afternoon to myself and watched the Rachel Ray show. By the end of it I was so hungry for the Tilapia "Sammies" she put together I went out, bought the ingredients and made them up for lunch on Sat. Luis was seriously impressed!
With out further ado if you like HUGE sandwiches with lots of ingredients and a yummy crust with a little spice try these (Luis loved the sour cream with Chipotle peppers, plus I added some extra peppers to his portion. *Warning they are super hot for him. So use with caution)

Here is the recipie and what I did is in bold, cooking for 2 1/2 makes a difference!
via rachelray.com
4 tilapia filets (about 6- to 8-ounces each) I bought a packet that comes with 2 4oz filets
4 limes, 1 zested and cut into wedges plus 3 left whole, divided used the lime juice in the plastic container
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour, for dredging
2 eggs, lightly beaten I just used one
1/2 sleeve saltine crackers, ground up in the food processor (about 2 cups of crumbs)
2 teaspoons (about a small palmful) smoked paprika
Added chili powder
1 tablespoon (about a palmful) seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay did not use.
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus additional as needed, divided
4 whole wheat hoagie rolls, split in half lengthwise I used bread we had
1 cup sour cream I used only about 1/4 cup
1 chipotle in adobo, finely chopped plus a teaspoon or so of the adobo sauce
A few dashes hot sauce Did not use
3 tablespoons honey Did not use
1 head Bibb or Romaine lettuce, core removed, cleaned and leaves separated
1 large beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced I use a roma
1 ripe avocado, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
1 half-sour deli pickle, thinly sliced lengthwise no pickle


Preheat oven to 400ºF or a broiler to high.

Season the filets with lime zest, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set up three dishes on the counter: One with the flour, one with the eggs and the third with the ground saltines, smoked paprika and seafood seasoning. Bread the seasoned fish filets by first coating them in the flour, then in the egg, and finally in the seasoned cracker crumbs (give each filet a little press once it's been through all three dishes to make sure everything sticks well).

Once all of the filets have been breaded, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Once the oil is hot (test it by sprinkling a small amount of flour into the pan – it should fry up a little rather than just sit on the surface), place the breaded filets in and cook until golden brown on each side and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side (depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook the fish in batches – if so, add more oil to the pan as needed). Remove the cooked filets to a paper towel-lined plate and squeeze the wedges of lime over them so they soak up the lime juice while they're still hot.
While the fish filets are cooking, place the split rolls onto a baking sheet and toast them in the hot oven until golden brown (don’t forget about them or they'll burn!).
Combine the sour cream, chipotle and dash of adobo sauce in a small bowl and reserve.
Once the fish is cooked, assemble the sammies by spreading some of the chipotle sour cream onto each roll. Place a few leaves of lettuce, a few slices of tomato, avocado, onion and pickle on each roll. Top the veggies with a fish filet and serve with a scoop of slaw alongside or over the top.

So good!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy or come over and I will make these bad boys.