Island Tilapia with Mango, Kiwi Salsa

This dinner was inspired by a conversation at work yesterday. After telling a friend at work, how much I love mangoes, she told me about how her family eats them. She said they dip them in a mixture of Sriracha sauce and sweet soy sauce. So today as we huddled around a desk to try a sample that she had brought to work, I knew I would love it! Oh and love it I did!! Sriracha and sweet soy sauce is like a marriage made in heaven. The sweet soy sauce, which has an almost molasses type flavor, blends perfectly with the spiciness of the Sriracha sauce. So after I left work, I kept thinking about how much I loved that flavor combination. I already knew I was going to fix Tilapia for dinner and I knew I could incorporate this flavor profile into my meal. So I began the search through my kitchen for anything I could find that I thought would work well in a mango salsa. I guessed at the blend of sweet soy sauce to Sriracha and I even surprised myself that the combo seemed perfect. I guess I need to start up food conversations more often to keep myself inspired!

*This recipe is for 2 Tilapia fillets


3 Tbsp Sweet soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
1 Kiwi, peeled and chopped
1 mango, chopped
3 Tbsp red onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped, cilantro
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tilapia fillets
salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine the sweet soy sauce and the Sriracha sauce. Stir to mix them together and set aside.
In another small bowl, combine the kiwi, mango, red onion, bell pepper, cilantro and lime juice. Stir together to mix. Add 1 1/2 Tbsp of the soy mixture to the fruit salsa mixture in the bowl. Stir to mix. Set aside.
Season the Tilapia fillets with salt and pepper. 
In a medium skillet,, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil on med-high heat. When oil is hot, add the fish. Brush the soy sauce mixture onto one side of the fish with a pastry brush. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn the fish over using a spatula and brush the remaining soy sauce mixture onto the fish. Cook for 2 more minutes or until fish is cooked through. Serve with the fruit salsa on the top!

Mango and Black Bean, Quinoa Salad

Well, I'm not sure who "Mel" is over at www.melskitchencafe.com but I'm pretty sure she is brilliant. I love her blog, her recipes and can't wait to try more of them. This recipe is straight from her blog. I did not even alter it one bit, which is a huge surprise since I hardly ever leave recipes intact. That's how awesome this sounded when I read about it. It's super healthy, super quick to fix and oh my goodness, it's oh so yummy!

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooked in vegetable or chicken broth, at room temperature or chilled
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium mango, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper



Place 3/4 cup uncooked  and rinsed quinoa into a pot with 1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth. I used chicken broth for my recipe. Bring to a slow boil and turn fire down to low and cover the pot. Cook for 30-35 minutes. Let sit until it's at room temperature.
Place the cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add black beans, mango, red pepper, green onion, and cilantro.
In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice. Whisk until the dressing is smooth and pour on top of salad. Toss to combine and add salt and pepper (add more to taste if desired). Chill the salad for at least one hour before serving.

Tilapia with Cucumber Mango Salsa

Ssshhhh don't tell anyone but I actually uttered the words tonight "I don't feel like cooking dinner." It's very rare to hear those words come out of my mouth since I love to cook so much. After taking my walk with my friend, I found myself not looking forward to cooking tonight. Could it be because no matter how many walks I took this week, they weren't nearly enough to wipe out all the calories consumed from the extra chocolate peanut butter rice krispy brownies (an earlier post this week) that I had eaten? Or could it be that for some reason this week, I have just been extremely tired. Yes that must be it.....menopause has absolutely nothing to do with it, I'm sure! *sigh* Anyway, I was glad I had laid out Tilapia to cook for dinner. Now what was I going to do with it? I whipped up a mango cucumber salsa for the top of it and wow....easy, super quick and tasty dinner!

 4 Tilapia fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper

For the Salsa:
1 cucumber, chopped
1 mango, chopped
1/2 a red onion, chopped
1 tsp ginger, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped and deseeded
1/8 cup red bell pepper, chopped
 2 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped (1/8 cup or a handful)
1/2 lime, juiced
salt, to taste

In a bowl combine all ingredients for the salsa and stir well. In a skillet, sprayed with Pam, cook Tilapia until completely cooked. This should only take a few minutes for thin Tilapia fillets. Top the fillets with the salsa and serve!