Potato Chip Topped Baked Tilapia

This is a really inexpensive, good for you "Easy Breezy" dinner.

Tilapia is easy to find and inexpensive. It's a great fish for a novice cook because it is easy to season and cooks quickly.

I am still learning to work with seafood. But this dish is so simple, fast and yummy.

You can put any seasonings on it. I will use any of these 3 usually. Lemon Pepper, Asian Lemon Ginger and Caribbean Jerk. You can also marinate in some orange juice or any of the store marinades that go on sale all the time.



Pat the fish dry.

Dry season or marinade at least 5-10 min before you cook. This allows the seasonings to soak into the fish.

I am using the dry jerk seasoning in this dish.

Preheat oven to 350. For easy clean up I lined the baking sheet in foil and lightly greased it.

For fun, I topped the fish with some crumbled potato chips. You can also crumble the chips and coat the fish this way on both sides for a crunchier coating.

Put in the oven for 15-20 min. You can also fry on each side for 2-3min depending on the thickness of the fish. I baked it to make it healthier.

15 min later you have a beautiful crunchy dish. I add a $2.00 bag of salad. Cut cucumber, tomato and an onion into it and walla! Dinner well under $10 and made in under 30 min. With the foil lined baking sheet, it's super quick clean up too!

5 min breakfast....Cream Cheese, Tomato and Onion Bagel ......sooooo good ....

This is quick, healthy and inexpensive yet fancy enough to be served at brunch and sooooo good!!

You can put the two together wrap in a paper towel and run out the door in the morning too!

Toast any bagel you like to desired crispiness. I am using an "Everything Bagel" and crispy.

Cover with cream cheese. I am using Fat Free.

Cover with onion. If you do not like onions skip this step.

*You can also add cucumbers with this and it's delicious!

Top with a slice of  tomato, salt and pepper to taste.

*If you have and like oregano you can sprinkle a little on top too!

Presto! Breakfast is served. " Easy Breezy"! : )

Bang Bang Shrimp deliciously sweet and sour....

There are many Oriental inspired restaurants that I have tried a similar version of these. They have been known as Bang Bang Shrimp, Mayo Shrimp or Sweet Chili Shrimp. They have a delicious creamy sweet and sour flavor.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs shrimp
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons shiracha or your favorite hot sauce
1/4 cornstarch or flour
oil to fry





Here in Vegas at Round Table Pizza they have a sweet chili sauce called "Polynesian sauce" that I am using in place of the grocery sweet chili sauce.

This is the perfect sweet, hot and sour. I buy these for $0.75 and use them in sauces and to dip a different bunch of options.








I use a baggie to coat the shrimp, it makes for easier clean up, just throw out the bag! I add a little flour at a time to insure that I do not over coat the shrimp and that would make them doughy.


I am using cornstarch instead of flour as many tempura and Oriental deep crispy fried items use cornstarch. And it worked great. Regular all purpose flour is just fine.













Heat enough oil in the pan on med/high heat to cover the shrimp.I am using my deep fryer. You are looking at about 3-5 minutes.






I put them on a paper towel to drain any extra oil.







In a bowl put all of them in and coat with the sauce of you can use the sauce for dipping.

Bang Bang! "Easy breezy" and all under $10! This would be at least $15 or more at the restaurant.

How-To: Peel a Cucumber Super Fast

Today on A FoodDiva we are going to try something different. Today I will show you how to peel a cucumber super fast. You can also do this with carrots. Hope you guys like it.

How-To: Stuff a Chicken Breast

You can stuff chicken with anything. Ham and cheese and veggies. In this post I am using goat cheese and kalamat olives chopped and stuffed.

Make sure the breasts are dry so they will not be slippery Using a sharp kitchen knife slice into the thicker breast part as pictured. Cut only about 2/3 of the way.
















It will look like this, ready to stuff once it is sliced.









Once cut, stuff with desired mixture and close. You can use toothpicks and even cooking wire to wrap around them as well. Depending if the stuffing will ooze or not.

                     Happy Stuffing!























Once cut, stuff with desired mixture and close. You can use toothpicks and even cooking wire to wrap around them as well. Depending if the stuffing will ooze or not.

                     Happy Stuffing!

Lemon Parmesan Oven Roasted Mushrooms

These oven roasted mushrooms are so delisious and so "easy breezy!" I bought a huge container at Costco for about $6.

Prep time 10 min. Cooks in the oven in 15-20 min!



Ingredients:
2-3 cups of mushrooms
Parmesan Cheese
1/2 lemon and zest(optional)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt/pepper to taste






Slice the mushrooms lengthwise.

 In a bowl, squeeze the half lemon Discard any seeds. And grate a little zest into the juice (optional).

Add the Parmesan cheese, olive oil and rosemary into the bowl.

I used the bigger chucks by the Frigo brand (any grocery store). Powdered Parmesan or preferred cheese is fine too.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the mushrooms into the bowl and put in the backing pan.

Sprinkle extra cheese on top and bake for 15-20 min.

Fabulous!

Learning to cook from a Food Diva

I have recently gotten some great comments on my blog, thank you for those! This blog has really become a labor of love for me and I welcome any and all input from you all.

Several had mentioned that they do  not cook or do not know how to. Let me tell you that there really is nothing to it.

I started out with just opening a package of this and cracking a can of that , then adding my own seasoning or veggies to kick it up a notch.

They I would watch tv shows or even watch Youtube on how to..... In this age of technology if you want to know how to do something; I am sure there is a video or a website for it.

Cooking really is not hard. Most of the recipes I use, I eyeball and do not measure. Now baking is a whole other story! (But once you get the hang of cooking, backing is a cinch too.)

Get out there, try it! If you burn it or have to throw it out, it's part of the learning curve. But you will be surprise at what you really can do!

There are also sites out there (not cheap) like BlueApron or Plated where they send you everything proportioned and a recipe to follow to make some really fancy schmancy stuff.

In the meantime keep checking out my blog. If you would like me to try something or would like to know something leave a comment. I will try to accommodate all requests.

Happy cooking!

From A Food Diva

Trader Joe's Product Review and Easiest Eggplant Parmesan Ever!

These eggplant cutlets from Trader Joe's are amazing!! Pretty much most of their food is. Why mess with the whole hassle of working with the eggplant, the mess of dredging it and frying it when you can have it the "Easy Breezy"way and all for under $10 to feed the family! These are about $5-$6 at Trader Joe's in their frozen food section.




I wrapped my baking sheet in foil for the easy clean up and sprayed with Pam to grease the pan. I put these cutlets single file on the sheet and in the oven 350 degrees for 15-20 min.



I left mine in a little longer because I wanted them crispier.



This was a quick meal night so I used jarred sauce. This is Von's Private Selection Montanara sauce. But any favorite canned or jarred pasta sauce will work.


Once everything was ready, I topped with cheese and honestly was better than any restaurant Eggplant Parmesan  I have ever had, not to mention healthier and less expensive. All under $10 and we had leftovers for lunch.

Rotisserie Chicken use #1 Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Rotisserie chicken is a godsend to busy people like me. I can make a few meals out of one. Here is use #1 for a rotisserie chicken.







"Easy breezy" chicken soup in the crock-pot. Set it and forget it; my favorite kind of cooking!

 

I usually put aside some for dinner that night with a salad and maybe a starch such as a rice or potato. Sandwiches for the next day's lunch, some for some sort of soup and of course some for the dog...

For the soup base I use the chicken carcass I picked as clean as  possible, add a few pcs of chicken such as the drumsticks, wings and a few pcs of white meat.

 

You can skip all the ingredients and put in the parts of chicken including the carcass, stick 2-3 boulin cubes into the pot and veggies and you are good to go. And you can adjust seasonings to your liking. I do not like celery so you do not see any here, but the classic recipes all use celery.

 Ingredients:
Chicken carcass and chicken pieces
2/3 cup carrots
12/3 cup mushroom
1 onion
2 teaspoons Magi (or soy sauce)
1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika (optional)

I use the Reynolds Crock-pot Liners for super fast clean up. Put all the chicken, seasonings, veggies in and enough water to cover. Set on high for 3-4 hrs and low 6 up to 8hrs.

You can take out the carcass and add noddles to the broth last 10 min but they will be soggy. I suggest cooking noodles separately and then adding the broth.













I add a little fresh parsley right before serving. (I try to sneak a green or veggie any chance I get and with this it is delicious.)

If you are using rice or barley which are both delicious, add then about 30 min before the dish is to be done. Super easy, healthy, delicious and under $5 to make!

Stuffed Peppers

 I found these gorgeous peppers at the Mexican market. You normally do not see them with these beautiful green stems. When I saw them I knew that I wanted to make stuffed peppers. These are red peppers and pasilla peppers. They have a slight kick but are not hot. Very flavorful.




I used brown rice but you can use any grain such as white rice, quinoa, barely. 1 1/2 cup rice 3 cups water, and a little butter While this cooks, I will do the rest of the prep.






If you live in the US chances are you have some sort of Mexican market or Carniceria in your neighborhood. I bought 1 1/2 lbs ground pork already marinated. It was on sale $2.99 lb. You can use chicken, beef, chorizo. This recipe is very versatile. If you do not have a Carniceria in your town take any meat and season it to your liking.

When meat is done, drain all the liquid.



This step is optional. Leave out if you have any nut allergies. I tried this in a recipe a few months ago and you did not taste the nuts but it gave the peppers a great crunchy texture.


I took about 8 almonds and chopped them into little pieces.

Once rice, meat, and optional nuts are ready put that in a bowl and add your favorite bean. I used pinto. You can use black, or kidney. Drain and rinse the beans prior to putting it in the bowl.

Using a spoon stuff the peppers. I use the back of the spoon to push all the stuffing in.









If need to know how to clean a pepper please see my " How to clean a pepper."

 Do the same with the pasilla peppers.

No  foil is required. I use  it for an "easy breezy"clean up.


Put enough water in the pan to cover about 1/4 of the peppers. This keeps them from getting dry.




Peppers that do not lie flat such as the pasilla. I used the tops to lean them on.


Heat oven to 425 and cook for 25-30 min. Last 5 min top with your favorite cheese. I used low fat shredded Mexican cheeses here.




If you have any stuffing left, it makes great bowls for lunch the next day. All this and still under $10 for the meal!

Enjoy!