BAKED CRISPY FLOUNDER/TILAPIA

Ingredients:
1 lb white fish, we use flounder or tilapia
1/3 cup mayonnaise (not the sweet kind)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp fresh Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Pat each fillet dry and place on covered cookie sheet.

Combine mayonnaise and Dijon in a small bowl and coast each fillet in mixture. Season with salt and pepper (easy on salt because the parm with add some saltiness too).

Combine panko and 1/3 cup Parmesan in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over each coated fillet. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbsp of Parmesan over each fillet.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Baking time with depend on thickness of fillets. We usually by the prepackaged frozen fillets from Aldi, they are not very thick. If you buy from a fresh seafood counter they may be thicker and require a little more time to cook through and be flaky. Just watch the closely. I usually broil mine (on high) the last few minutes to help them brown and crisp up on top.

Served this time with a side salad. Can also serve with roasted, steamed or grilled veggies, a light cole slaw, a light potatoe salad (I have 2 recipes to share eventually) or a small baked potato (easy on toppings or top with a low fat topping such as chopped onions, chopped fresh mushroom and chicken broth cooked on stovetop until onions and mushrooms are done, you won't miss the butter I promise).

EASY BAKED CHICKEN

This is one of our go to meals that is easy and quick to fix.

Ingredients:

2 lb bag boneless, skinless chicken breast

Italian dressing (make this yourself so you can control the fat - recipe follows)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Trim chicken of any skin or fat still on it. Tenderize chicken (the above photo is another of my fave things my Deni meat tenderizer - has 36 small blades that pierce the meat) if you do not have a tenderizer like mine use a couple forks and poke the breast all over and very well. 

Pour Italian dressing all over chicken (about 1 cup worth), you do not have to cover the chicken with dressing. Season breasts with salt and pepper to taste. and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, turning breasts over half way through so other side can soak up dressing. 

When ready to cook remove from fridge and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake chicken for 20-30 minutes until cooked through and juices run clear. 

Served with Sweet Roasted Carrots and purple hull peas.

BROCCOLI CASEROLE

This is the other dish we made for the International Ministry Thanksgiving dinner. It is one of my mother's go to dishes to make for almost any occasion. 

Ingredients:
1 pkg microwave steamer-type broccoli florets
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup mayonnaise (not the sweet kind it will not be good)
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1 stick margarine, thinly sliced
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Topping:
Crackers, your choice, crushed

Cook broccoli according to package directions, allow to cool and drain thoroughly (depending on brand you may need to squeeze excess water out of the broccoli).

 In a large bowl combine eggs and mayonnaise until smooth.

Add soup, onions, margarine and cheese and mix thoroughly.

Cut cooled, drained broccoli in half or fourths depending on how large the floret is. Add cut up broccoli to soup and cheese mixture and stir well.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and  pour broccoli mixture into it. Put mixture into refrigerator for at least 4 hours, overnight is better.

After 4 hours or the following day when ready to cook. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put casserole in oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
In the meantime place an entire sleeve of your favorite cracker (we use Ritz, Townhouse or Cheezit usually) in a zipper storage bag and seal. Using a rolling pin or small pot crush the crackers very well.

After 40 minutes of baking remove casserole from oven and spread crackers over top evenly.
Place back in oven and bake another 20 minutes until cracker are golden and casserole has set.

BAKED APPLES

Tomorrow my church is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for international students from a local college. Many of those students don't know what Thanksgiving is and have never eaten or seen a turkey. Many of the men and women in the church will spend time tomorrow cooking food for students from all over the world. My mother and I started tonight and will finish tomorrow. I am cooking baked apples and she will be cooking a huge broccoli casserole in the morning.
My baked apples taste like apple pie but without the crust.

 Sorry left the cinnamon out of my picture.

Ingredients
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 giant can apples in water (104 oz)


Open apples and pour into colander to drain. In a sauce pan over medium low heat melt margarine and both sugars. Once most of the sugar has dissolved add the cinnamon. Turn heat up to medium and allow to come to a slow boil while stirring constantly. Do not leave the pan while sugars are dissolving you can burn the sugar very easily. When all sugar is dissolved remove from heat and add vanilla and stir well.

Set sugar mixture aside. Sort through apples, they will have some peeling or pieces of core left on some slices. You will want to cut those off.

Pour the sugar mixture over the apples.

 Stir apples to coat well.

Refrigerate apples overnight.

Tomorrow I will put the apples in the crock pot and cook them on low for 4-6 hours.
They are delicious with vanilla ice cream or just by themselves.

I will take a picture of the finished product tomorrow as well as my mothers broccoli casserole. I cannot wait to hear how many international students attended the dinner and how many different country's we introduced to Thanksgiving and turkey.

NOTE: Yes, this is not a healthy recipe. But I wanted to share it because it is a easy recipe to make when cooking for a large crowd or pot luck meal.