Would you believe that delicious fish took only 2 ingredients?  It’s true!

The secret is Kraft Fresh Take.  They are a cheese and crumb (some have panko crumbs, some bread crumbs) mix.  You can do all kinds of things with them.  I chose to do a simple coating on tilalpia and then bake.  It made a crispy crust on the fish and added lots of flavor too.  My family loved it! 

On the back of the package I found a recipe for Crab Cakes that sounded marvelous.  I’m going to have give that one a try soon.

You can find many other recipes for Kraft Fresh Takes on their site.  They all look easy and delicious (and they aren’t all for fish either, those are just 2 that caught my eye).

$50 VISA gift card giveaway!

Kraft Fresh Takes is going to give one reader a $50 VISA gift card!  Awesome, right?

To enter:

• Leave a comment telling me which Kraft Fresh Take recipe you’d like to try.
• For a bonus entry, leave a comment on one of the Kraft Fresh Take recipes, then come back here and comment to let me know you’ve done that.

Winner will be chosen randomly on Monday morning 4/16 and announced on the Eat at Home Facebook page.

Disclosure: I am one of several bloggers selected by Kraft Foods to participate in the KRAFT FRESH TAKE recipe program. While I have been compensated for my time, my opinions are my own, and I have not been paid to post positive comments.

Last summer, we spent time in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  We ate most of our meals at the beach house, but we did go out once.  After taking a quick survey on Facebook and seeing several readers recommendation Sea-N-Suds, we decided to try it.

Great choice!  It was inexpensive, casual and right on the beach.  I chose to try the Shrimp Sandwich, which was loaded with breaded, deep-fried shrimp.  Delicious!

This pan fried version is simple enough for a weeknight dinner.  It probably rings in at a few less calories than the deep-fried version too.

Here’s what you’ll need to make it: 

Sometimes, you’re just not in the mood to find a recipe and yet, dinner has to be made.  If you know it’s going to be fish and need some ideas for how to fix it, this post is for you.

Here are 10 tasty fixes plus a few cooking methods to choose from too.

Cooking method 1 – Oven  

Place your choice of fish on a rimmed baking sheet.  You can drizzle with butter if you like.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

You can also use a foil packet in the oven, which is a nice way to add veggies.  Wrap the foil loosely around the fish and veggies and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Cooking method 2 – Skillet

Use a large skillet.  You may have to cook in batches if you’re cooking quite a few pieces of fish.  Melt butter and cook the fish over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how thick the pieces are.

Coking method 3 – Grill

I usually use and indoor grill (George Foreman).  It’s probably my favorite way to cook fish because it doesn’t add any fat (like the skillet method) and it’s super quick.  The fish is done in about 5 minutes, depending on the thickness.

There’s only one outdoor grill method I’ve used and that’s foil packet.  I’ve done individual as well as one large packet.  Both ways work fine.  Use heavy duty foil to avoid scorching the fish.  You can add veggies to the packet too.  I’d love to try a grill basket or cedar plank sometime.

10 ways to add flavor:

1.  Greek seasoning – sprinkle on fish and cook with your chosen method

2.  Lemon pepper seasoning

3. Italian seasoning

4. Old Bay Seasoning – a classic!

5.  Cajun seasoning

6.  Italian dressing – Use in a foil packet or oven on a baking sheet

7.  BBQ sauce – Especially good on salmon.  Use in oven in foil packet or the oven with a baking sheet.

8.  Add veggies in a foil packet – Use veggies that cook quickly like zucchini, yellow squash, thin onion slices, mushrooms, tomatoes etc.

9.  Garlic butter – Cook minced garlic in butter in a skillet and then add fish.  Or melt butter and add minced garlic, then pour over fish and cook in oven on baking sheet or in foil packet.

10.  Top cooked fish with diced tomatoes, red onion and cilantro (or basil, parsley or other herbs).

If you’d like to have a fish recipe, check out the Fish Category.  There are lots of easy recipes listed there, just keep scrolling to see them all.

Sometimes, when I sit down to write up a recipe post, I can’t find anything to say.  This is one of those times.

Because, really, the beauty of this sandwich is that it’s so simple.

Grilled fish that cooks up quick on a George Foreman or other indoor grill.

Cajun seasoning  kicks the flavor up a notch or three.

Homemade tartar sauce that is just mayo with a little sweet relish stirred in.

Put it on a bun, serve it with fries and carrot sticks or salad.  It’s a little out of the ordinary, but casual and easy enough for a weeknight supper.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

The fish is in a bowl of water to thaw.  It takes about 15-20 minutes to thaw like this.

I thought the sandwiches would be great with lettuce, tomato and red onion.  Sadly, I didn’t have any of those.

How often do you eat fish?

This is one of those dinners that tastes special, like you’ve gone to extra trouble.

Good news!  This dish is quick to fix.  I had it finished in about 30 minutes and that included time to line up ingredients, take photos and jot down my recipe.  Not bad.

I did start with another recipe as inspiration.  I wasn’t sure what should go into the Pineapple Salsa, so I searched Tasty Kitchen and came up with a recipe for Tropical Chicken and Coconut Rice Bowl.  It’s from Katie at The College Culinarian.

I wanted fish instead of chicken, so I turned the marinade into a sauce for the tilapia.  And I tweaked her salsa recipe a bit too.  The result was delicious!

Here’s what you’ll need: 

This is not your typical tuna salad.  There’s no mayo.

Instead, the tuna is served over avocado slices and topped with tomatoes, cilantro and a simple vinaigrette dressing.  The flavors are out of this world.  For complete happiness, serve it with good, crusty bread.

Oh yeah, you don’t need to turn the oven on for this dinner either.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

This is more method than recipe. Trust your taste as you fix it.

*tip* If you’re only making one serving, leave the skin and pit in tact on the extra half of avocado, pop in a baggie and store in the fridge.  This will keep it from turning brown too quickly.  It should last at least until the next day and possibly another day.

Salmon patties are healthy, inexpensive and a quick dinner to make.  I like to serve them with mac & cheese that’s kind of runny so I can dip the salmon patties in the cheese sauce. You all know my love for cheese, so this is probably no surprise.  My kids like to have ketchup with their salmon patties.

This recipe is adapted from Whole Foods for the Whole Family.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 can salmon
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• oil for browning

Pour the salmon into a mixing bowl, along with the liquid in the can.  Use a fork or pastry blender to mash the salmon and bones.  Stir in all the other ingredients.  If the mixture seems to wet, work in a bit more flour.  Shape into 8 patties.  Fry in oil in a skillet over medium heat, about 7-8 minutes on each side.

Serves 6-8 people.

On a side note – do you consider a meal of fish to be meatless?

Oh my goodness!  Please go to your kitchens and make this for dinner tonight.  It is soooo delicious.  And it’s easy.  (If I had a nickel for every time I said that a recipe is easy, I would be rich.  Or, at least I’d have an extra 30 cents a week.)

The tilapia is seasoned and cooked in garlic butter with a splash of lime juice.  Divine!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Serves 4-5 people, depending on how much they eat.  We had enough for 5 of us, but we all would have eaten more because it was so good.  Next time I’ll double the recipe.

I’ve done tilapia in a foil packet before, but this time I wanted to use the grill and more veggies.  Instead of making individual packets, I made a large one.  The fish and vegetables cooked perfectly in just 15-20 minutes.  Even though the foil was charred around the edges, the food didn’t burn at all.

Here’s what you’ll need, but feel free to substitute any vegetables and seasonings you like.

• 6 tilapia fillets, thawed (I used one bag of frozen fillets)
• 3 leeks, sliced thin
• 1 yellow squash, sliced in thin half moons
• 1 zucchini, sliced in thin half moons
• 3 Roma tomatoes, sliced thin
• 1-2 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning or to taste
• non-stick cooking spray (not in photo)

You’ll need heavy duty foil for this dish.  If you don’t have that, try doubling regular foil.  Spread a large piece of foil on the counter (about 15 inches long).  Spray with cooking spray.

Place the tilapia in a single layer on the foil.  Lightly sprinkle with lemon pepper. Cover with the veggies and sprinkle more lemon pepper using as much or as little as you like.

Rip off another piece of foil, about this same size as the first and cover the fish and vegetables.  Fold all of the sides of the foil together so you end up with a loose packet.  Slide the packet onto a cookie sheet or cutting board to transfer it to the grill.  Cook over low to medium heat for 15-20 minutes.

I made this on our old grill, which was not reliable at all, so I’m not exact on the best temperature to use.  That grill had hot spots and cool spots and burned things, even on low.  We just got a new grill though and it cooks much better.  In future recipes I’ll be able to give better grilling instructions.

Here are some photos of the assembly process for the packet:

I have the best neighbors.  I asked my boys what they wanted for dinner the other day, and they both requested Fish Tacos.  The Chipotle Dressing calls for cilantro.  I have some growing in the garden, but there wasn’t much.  I took it in the house, determined to make it work and then the phone rang.  It was my neighbor asking if I needed cilantro.  She had a bunch that she wouldn’t be able to use up and offered it to me, not realizing that I needed some at that exact moment!  It’s such a blessing to have neighbors like that!

Back to the tacos – I had 1 bag of Tilapia fillets in the freezer and also a bag of shrimp, so I decided to make both kinds.  I seasoned the shrimp with plenty of Old Bay Seasoning and sizzled them in a hot, iron skillet.  This time I only had romaine lettuce, instead of the slaw mix or cabbage, but it made a good substitution.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 lb. medium raw shrimp, deveined with tails removed
• Old Bay Seasoning
• 2-3 Tbs. of oil for frying
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbs. lime juice
• several teaspoons of adobe sauce from chipotle peppers
• palmful of chopped fresh cilantro
• chopped romaine lettuce, cabbage or slaw mix
• corn or flour tortillas

Thaw the shrimp, if it’s frozen and drain it.  Generously sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and put a couple tablespoons of oil in it.  Add the shrimp, but don’t stir.  Let the shrimp get very browned on one side before flipping.  Remove from the skillet when cooked.

For the sauce, stir the sour cream, cilantro, adobe sauce and lime juice together.  I just used a spoon to dip out the sauce from the can.  I used about 3 spoonfuls.  The adobe sauce is spicy, so add according to how much heat your family likes.  I froze the rest of the sauce and peppers for another dish.

Warm the tortillas and assemble the tacos.  This recipe will feed 3-4 people.  I fixed it, along with Fish Tacos and had enough for 5 people, plus some leftovers.

Note: The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can be frozen and used for another time.