Breaded Fish Fillet

Convenience foods aren't really all that convenient, because they rarely taste as good as food made from scratch. Sure, you can save time, but at the cost of taste, texture and nutritive content.

I was able to wean my kids off fish sticks with these homemade, breaded fish fillets. No more paste-textured breaded fish-bits from some undefinable fish, these fillets have a golden-brown crunchy coating encasing a most, delicate, tender fillet of white fish. Plus, they take so little time to prepare, it takes about the same time as fish sticks. Just prepare the fish fillets as the oven preheats and you're good to go.

Seriously good eats.

Breaded Fish Fillets

Ingredients:

• 4 fish fillets cut into thin strips - haddock, tilapia, whiting
  
• mayonnaise - I like Vegannaise
  
• Old Bay seasoning
  
• shredded pecorino romano
  
• panko bread crumbs
  
• cooking spray
  

Directions:

1. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Mix Old Bay, shredded romano and panko in a pie plate.
3. Spread the fish with mayo. You don't want huge oozing gobs of mayo, you want a thin layer for the crumbs to adhere to.
4. Dredge the mayo-coated fish through the crumbs, coating nicely.
5. Place in the baking pan.
6. Spray with cooking spray.
7. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 minutes.

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Crab-stuffed Mushrooms

These make a nice appetizer if you use the smaller cremini/baby bella mushrooms, but I like to make these with large portobello caps and have them for dinner with a green salad.

Crab-stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 8-oz container crabmeat
• 1 package of shallot and chive flavor Boursin® cheese
• 2 T mayo (or more to achieve the desired consistency)
  
• ½ onion, finely diced
• Old Bay® seasoning
• ½ cup of soft bread crumbs or cracker crumbs (Ritz or saltines work well)
• 6 large portobello mushroom caps or 20 smaller cremini/baby bellas
  
• Panko crumbs
• freshly grated parmesan or romano
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. In a large bowl, mix together the crab meat, Boursin® cheese and mayo. Mix well.


3. Fold in the diced onion and cracker or bread crumbs, stirring until everything is incorporated well.


4. Clean the mushroom caps by removing the stems and gills and brushing off any accumulated dirt.


5. Place the caps on a baking sheet.


6. Put a healthy dollop of the crab mixture in the cavity of each mushroom cap and sprinkle generously with Old Bay®. Top with grated cheese and panko crumbs.
   


7. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the tops are nicely browned and the filling is slightly bubbly on the sides. The larger portobello caps take longer.
   


8. Serve hot.

Note:

• If watching carbs is a concern for you, omit the bread crumbs or cracker crumbs to the crab meat mixture in the bowl and top the mushrooms with just the freshly grated parmesan and no panko bread crumbs.
  

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Baked Haddock with Crumb Topping

This is another dish I've tried out to broaden the kids' palate. Great success. They absolutely loved it.

I served it with Rainbow Fries (roasted root vegetables cut into fat matchsticks - 2 beets, 1 parsnip and a sweet potato sprinkled with olive oil and Old Bay) accompanied by a dipping sauce (mayo, whole grain mustard and a few splashes of Frank's RedHot Pepper Sauce), kale ribbons sauteed in olive oil and garlic, and a rice and quinoa pilaf which the girls absolutely inhaled.

My 10 year-old, who does not usually like rice, said as she dished out her 4th serving, "This is damn-good rice, Mommy."

So there ya go.

Baked Haddock wth Crumb Topping

• 3 haddock fillets
• mayonnaise
• Old Bay seasoning
• shredded pecorino romano
• panko bread crumbs
• cooking spray

1. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place haddock filets, skin side down on the dish.
   
3. Spread the fish with 1-2 tablespoons of mayo, depending on how large your filet is. You don't want huge oozing gobs of mayo, you want a thin layer for the crumbs to adhere to.
4. Sprinkle some Old Bay and pecorino romano on the mayo.
5. Top with a generous coating of panko, pressing down firmly.
6. Spray with cooking spray.
7. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 minutes or until the fish flakes nicely with a fork.
   

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