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Tuna Croquettes

October 21, 2010 By Kate 8 Comments

I am so fortunate to have a husband that is absolutely NOT a picky eater. He’ll gladly eat anything I make! So I find it amusing that he is so picky when it comes to what I call the food I make. For example, while he’ll gladly eat a pasta skillet meal, he’ll refuse a goulash. Brown bag burritos are a favorite, as long as they are called beef and bean burritos instead. I’m sure you can guess that the name Tuna Croquettes doesn’t go over to well either. But a plate full of tuna cakes will be licked clean within minutes. Men!

I am not ordinarily a big fan of tuna, but I love these Tuna Croquettes. They are crispy and tasty and great for dipping. I like to make a big batch and freeze the cooked croquettes. When we want some for lunch or for an appetizer, I just throw them in the oven for a few minutes so that they stay nice and crispy.

Tuna Croquettes

  • 2 cans tuna, well drained
  • 1/2 small onion, minced
  • 2 stalks celery, minced
  • 1 c. bread crumbs, divided
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 t. paprika
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 1/4 t. garlic powder
  • Oil

1. In a large bowl, combine the tuna, onion, celery, 1/3 c. bread crumbs, eggs and seasonings. Stir until fully combined.

2. Pour remaining 2/3 c. bread crumbs into a shallow dish. Pat about a tablespoon worth of tuna mixture into a round patty. Cover both sides with bread crumbs.

3. Pour enough oil into a skillet to cover the bottom. Heat over medium heat. Add the breaded patties and cook until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Our favorite dip to serve with these Tuna Croquettes is a simple sauce of mayonnaise and mustard. Use about 1 tablespoon of mustard for each 1/4 cup of mayonnaise. So simple but so good, and it is perfect with the tuna!

Also, this mixture tastes great formed into larger patties, fried as described above  and served on a bun as a tuna burger.

Stop by $5 Dinners for more $5 Dinner Challenge.

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Cornmeal Dusted Tilapia with Tomato Basil Sauce

April 26, 2009 By Kate 3 Comments

Fish is not something I prepare very often and I’ve really been working to change that. Now that summer is just around the corner (hopefully), I’ve been starting to think of ways to incorporate fish on at least a weekly basis. This dish will be perfect for that, especially since it uses two fantastic summertime items.

The kids loved this too. I think it helped that the fish looked like a chicken dish. In fact, they didn’t even realize it was fish until we told them.

I used tilapia since that is what we had on hand. (Those big bags of frozen tilapia from Sam’s Club are a great deal!) However, I’m sure you could replace that with any other delicate white fish and get equally fantastic flavor.

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Cornmeal Dusted Tilapia with Tomato Basil Sauce

For the sauce:

  • 2 large, ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • Handful fresh basil leaves, cut in chiffonade or torn into small strips
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 2 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made up to 24 hours ahead.

For Fish

  • 6 tilapia fillets, about 1 pound
  • 1 c. cornmeal seasoned to taste with salt & pepper
  • 4 T. butter
  • 1/2 lemon or 2 T. lemon juice

1. Lightly cover both sides of tilapia fillets with seasoned cornmeal.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter. Cook tilapia in melted butter, 3 minutes per side.

3. Place fish on plates and squeeze lemon over the top. Add tomato basil sauce on top to that. Enjoy!

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Tilapia & Pepper Packets

April 3, 2009 By Kate 5 Comments

Tonight I’m just posting a super easy recipe. I spent the day cooking with my step-mother-in-law and my aunt-in-law. We had a fantastic time and we each ended the day with 7 freezer meals, plus some extra sides and breadsticks. Now I am tired, but it’s a good, productive tired.

This cooking session is part of an exciting project that I am working on for Sam’s Club. I’ll fill you in on that some more next week.

This dinner is definitely easy, but I appreciate it’s simplicity. Sometimes a simple dinner without lots of complex flavors is a great way to end the day, especially when you are in the mood for something light.tilapia

Tilapia & Pepper Packets

  • 6 Tilapia (or other white fish) fillets, fresh or frozen
  • 1/4 c. olive oil
  • 1 T. lemon juice
  • 1 t. Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 t. rosemary
  • 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. black pepper
  • Bell Pepper slices (I used some slices from a tri-color package of peppers since I had that on hand.)
  • 1/4 onion, sliced

1. Fold a double layer of aluminum foil into a square. Place 1 tilapia fillet into the middle of the square. Repeat the process for each fillet.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings. Place pepper and onion slices on top of each fillet, then drizzle with olive oil blend, about 2 teaspoons per fillet.

3. Fold up the edges and close each packet. Freeze or cook immediately. To cook right away, place packets on a cookie sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until the fish is fully cooked. (Increase cooking time if using frozen fish fillets.) Or, place packets on a grill and cook until done.

4. If you freeze the packets right after putting them together, cook as above straight from the freezer and increase the cooking time about 10 minutes.

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