BASA FISH FILLET

 After deciding to eat fish every week, we bought a few bags of different frozen fish fillet at COSCO.  One of these fish fillet are the basa. Basa is a fresh water fish in the same family as the catfish. I found this recipe on the Internet. It is very good. The only thing, that I used one already prepared fish condiment which was to salty for us, as we are not using salt at all.

Ingredients:
2 tbsps of cornmeal
2 tbsps of Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp of flour
1 kilo (2 pounds) of basa fish fillets
2 tbsps of lemon pepper (or some other herbs/spices you enjoy)
2 tbsps of fresh, chopped, parsley 
1/2 cup of roasted almonds (you can use other nuts, such as pine nuts, if you don't like almonds)
lemon juice

1. Mix the almonds, cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, flour and lemon pepper in a bowl.
2. Dip the basa fillets in the bowl and coat them throughly with the mixture.
3. Sprinkle some lemon juice over the fish fillets
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake the fish at 400F (200 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes.

Serving Tip: Garnish with parsley and serve with some tartar sauce

SAUCY APPLE CAKE

This is from the "Smartshopper" publication. It sounds very good, and the picture with whip cream it is very appetizing.
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1/4 cup (50 ml) butter, cubed, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1ml) salt
2 cups (500 ml) chopped peeled apples (McIntosh or Gala)

Sauce:
1/2 cup (125 ml) each brown sugar and white sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) 18%cream
1/4 cup (50 ml) butter

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease a 9 inch (2.5 L) square cake pan.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar, butter and  eggs until light and fluffy.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir into batter with apples. Spread in prepared pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until centre of cake springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick comes out clean.
Sauce: Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring until slightly thickened.
Serve cake warm with warm sauce.
Serves eight.  

MAPLE PEAR BREAD PUDDING

1 Tbsp (15 ml ) butter
4 eggs
1 c. (250 ml) milk
1/3 c. (75 ml) whipping cream (35%)
1/4 c. (50 ml) maple syrup
1/2 tsp. (2 ml) cinnamon
5 cups (1.25 L) slightly stale bread
1 pear, peeled and diced
1/4 c. (50 ml ) raisins

Butter six 6 oz. ramekins. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, whipping cream, maple syrup and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
Add the bread, pear and raisins to the mixture and stir until completely combined. Let sit for a few minutes or until the bread soaks up most of the egg mixture.
Divide among the ramekins, making sure to use all the egg mixture.
Place the ramekins in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold all six.
Place in a preheated 350 F oven. Carefully pour enough boiling water into the baking dish to come about 1/3 way up the edge of the ramekins.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until puffed and light golden.
Remove from oven. Serve warm with additional maple syrup.

Serves six. Use leftover crusty Italian or French bread. If the crust is to hard be sure to trim it off. 

AVOCADO BANANA BREAD

I did not have time to make it yet but, I think is an excellent breakfast bread. It has only good, healthy, tasty ingredients. I have to make it soon.

2 cups (500 ml) whole wheat flour
1 tbsp (15 ml) baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 avocados, pureed
2 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup (175 ml) honey
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt. In a large bowl, combine avocado, banana, honey and vanilla.  Fold dry mixture into the avocado-banana mixture. Once combined, spoon into greased  mini-loaf pans, spreading evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle of loaf comes out clean. Let cool then run a knife along the edges and and invert to release.
Make 8 mini loaves. Will keep fresh covered in a container for up to five days. 
Per serving: one mini loaf:
308 cal, 6 g pro, 8 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 59 g carb, 8 g fibre, 0 mg chol, 249 mg sodium.

MEDITERRANEAN BAKED CHICKEN AND RICE

This is a really moreish dish, which no one will believe is low in fat.  It is very, very tasty.  I found it in the "Top 200 low fat recipes" by Judith Wills.  We loved it so much that we eat it before taking a picture for my blog.  This means that I have to make it again and make sure I take a picture of it, before oil eating it again. (-:  (-:  


1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless chicken breast  fillets, halved
1 large mild onion, thinly sliced
2 red peppers, deseeded and thinly thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 orange, peeled and segmented
8 black stoned olives, halved
dash of Tabasco
 6 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dried herbes de Provence or
1 tbsp mixed chopped fresh herbes
salt and black pepper
225 g long-grain rice
400 ml chicken stock
 
Heat half of the oil in a flameproof casserole and saute the chicken over a high heat,  turning halfway through, for about 3 minutes until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Add the rest of the oil and the onion and peppers, and saute over a medium-high heat for 5 minutes until softened and turning slightly golden. Add the garlic for the last minute of cooking.

Add the orange, olives, Tabasco, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs and seasoning, and stir well, then add the rice and stir again.

Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to a preheated oven,  170C/337F/Gas 3 1/2 , for 45-50 minutes until the chicken and rice are cooked and the stock is nearly completely absorbed. (Check about 10 minutes before the end of cooking time that there is still enough moisture left in the casserole. If not, add a little more hot stock or water.
 
Serves 4, 505 calories per portion, 10 g fat per portion
Serving suggestion: a green salad or green beans are good with this dish
Tips: you can use parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano in this dish; if using rosemary, chop very finely; you can use brown rice or wholewheat grains, if preferred, in which case add another 20 minutes to the cooking time.