Lemon Pepper Tilapia with Wild Rice

This is more of a meal suggestion than an actual recipe. There is something about the marriage of each element and flavor in this dinner that just works. You know how some things just jive? Peanut butter and jelly. Peas and carrots. Wine and cheese. You get the idea.

If you decide to try this meal out, you must promise me that you'll do it exactly as I've posted. Raise your right hand now, and promise.

No, you can't use white rice. Or brown. Or any kind other than long grain and wild rice. You are also forbidden to use any seasoning that's not lemon-pepper. I will allow the substitution of a green vegetable item of your choice. See, I'm not too bossy. You can see I served broccoli (that I toss with garlic salt and butter spray), but this meal is also very good with asparagus or green beans. Enjoy!

Lemon Pepper Tilapia

•  wild rice (the box kind works just fine at my house!)
• tilapia fillets
• lemon pepper seasoning

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450.
Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray (I also line with foil) and lay tilapia on sheet.
Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning, turn and season the other side.
Bake for 10-15 minutes and serve with wild rice.

Tilapia Tacos with Baja Sauce

Have you ever had a Baja Fish Taco from Long John Silver's? If not, you should run (don't walk) to your nearest LJS and try one immediately! They are comprised of battered fish, lettuce, baja sauce and those "crunchies" pieces, wrapped in a flour tortilla. It's like heaven! Its also, like, 22 grams worth of fat. That's something I just can't afford on a regular basis, so...you guys know where I'm going with this right?

Behold, my version of the fish taco! Which I have renamed Tilapia Taco because frankly, its more appealing. I use baked fish instead of fried (although if you want a really easy way out, buy some frozen, breaded fish fillets and bake them up!), and I paired it with a homemade baja sauce. This sauce is so good, I'm already brainstorming other ways I can use it. I like a lot of spice so I put in quite a bit of cayenne pepper, but you can adjust it to your taste. I also used crunchy taco shells instead of flour tortillas, but they would be delicious either way. If you decide to use tortillas, you might consider crushing up a couple tortilla chips and adding them in the wrap so you still get that crunch. That's part of what makes these so good (LJS accomplishes the crunch with those little fried crunchy things), so you need to add some crunch in there somewhere (obviously if you're using a hard shell you don't have to worry about that). I know these seem a little strange, but I wouldn't steer you wrong! Give them a try!

Tilapia Tacos

• 4 tilapia fillets
• 1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
• hard or soft taco shells
• accompaniments: lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, avocado, cheese - whatever you like!

 Directions:
Rub each fillet with about 1 teaspoon of the taco seasoning and place on a greased baking sheet.
Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
(Now, you can just eat these as is and forget all about the tacos, this fish is wonderful all by itself!)
Flake fish into chunks and assemble tacos with your toppings and baja sauce.

Baja Sauce

• 1/4C light mayo
• 1/4C light sour cream
• 1/8-1/4t cayenne pepper
• 2T lime juice
• 1t taco seasoning
• 1T ketchup

Whisk together and chill until ready to use.