Smoked Mahi Mahi

I love mahi mahi. It's healthy, delicious, more firm than other fish, and lacks that fishy taste (and super easy to make). My kids LOVED it, too! You can season anyway you like; the lemon pepper is a suggestion. Serve with sliced lemon, coconut rice and a steamed veggie. Serves 6. 

 Smoked Mahi Mahi 

 6 mahi mahi cuts 

 Olive oil, for coating 

 lemon pepper 

 garlic salt 

 1. Preheat smoker to 250 degrees; make sure the grates are clean. 

2. Pat mahi mahi cuts dry and coat in olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with lemon pepper; set aside until smoker reaches temperature. 

3. Place oiled and seasoned steaks on grill and close lid. Smoke 45 minutes to an hour, or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Serve immediately.

Tuna poke bowl meat

Poke bowls are so healthy and delicious*! For those of you who don't know, they're warm rice with cold, raw (marinated) fish and veggies on top. It's basically a sushi bowl. We ate them as often as possible while we lived in Japan. This tuna recipe was SO GOOD. Next on my to-do list is find a sticky rice recipe. (For the first go-round we used sticky rice bowls you heat in the microwave from Costco.) Use any veggies you want, really, but my favorites are avocado (pretty much a must-have), shredded/thinly sliced carrot, diced cucumber, and sliced green onion. One restaurant in Japan even cracked a raw egg onto the hot rice. It was...kinda good, but I'm not trying it at home. Be creative! The kids don't love raw fish but they ate what they "had" to. Serves 4.

Tuna Poke Bowls
1 lb. sushi-grade tuna
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. honey
4 c cooked sticky rice (warm)

Spicy Mayo
1/4 c. light mayonnaise
1 tsp siracha

Toppings
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
1/2 c peeled, shredded/sliced carrot
1 c peeled, diced cucumber
1/4 c sliced green onion
1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds

1. Dice tuna into 3/4" cubes. Add tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and honey to a medium bowl. Toss to combine; let sit (marinade) while preparing veggies and spicy mayo.

2. Spicy Mayo: Add mayonnaise and siracha to a small bowl. Stir to combine; season with salt and pepper. If you want it spicier, add more siracha. Spoon into a plastic bag; cut a small corner tip off. Set aside.

3. Divide evenly between 4 bowls: cooked rice, top with tuna, sliced avocado, carrot, and cucumber. Sprinkle green onion and sesame seeds over top. Squeeze spicy mayo over all. Serve immediately.

*1 bowl has 490 calories, 60 g carbs, 10 g protein, 25 g fat, 4 g sat. fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 649 mg sodium, 754 mg potassium, 12 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 147 vitamin A, 12 mg vitamin C, 63 mg calcium, 3 mg iron.

Smoked Salmon Sushi Roll

I am on a sushi kick. I crave it fort nightly and it gets pretty pricey. The thought of making it myself has intimidated me far too long. These rolls were SO incredibly easy and delicious! Tempura style makes it 200x better. And it cost $20-something for 6 rolls. Cheaper than a restaurant and just as good. Note that you have to cook the rice ahead of time so it can cool off. I only had one choice of seaweed wraps that I could find and thankfully they were awesome. Makes 6 rolls. Serve with soy sauce with a dollop of wasabi for dipping.

Smoked Salmon Sushi Roll

2 c Japanese sushi rice
2 c water
1/4 c brown sugar
6 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
6 seaweed sheets
8 oz smoked salmon, cut into long, thin strips and separated into 6 portions
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, sliced thin and separated into 6 portions, optional
1/2 cucumber, peeled, sliced thin and separated into 6 portions
1/4 c 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cut into thin slices
wasabi sauce or paste, optical
soy sauce, for dipping

1. Cook rice in rice cooker or on stove according to directions with 2 c water and brown sugar. Add rice wine vinegar to hot rice. Spread on large plate to cool. Cut into 6 equal wedges like you would a pie.
2. If using bamboo mat, place plastic wrap on top of it. If not, just use plastic wrap. Place 1 seaweed sheet on plastic wrap. Place 1/6 of rice on top and press as flat as possible, leaving at least 1/2 inch on top and bottom uncovered for sealing. At this point you can carefully turn wrap over so the rice is on the outside (sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds first, if desired), or leave the rice on the inside. Add a line of salmon, avocado, if using, cucumber and cream cheese to the rice, close to the bottom for easier rolling. You could even add a thin line of wasabi to add some spice. Otherwise, serve a dab in your soy sauce for dipping.
3. Slightly wet top of seaweed with wet fingertips. Roll from bottom, closing as tightly as possible. Cut roll into pieces (about 10); repeat for all 6 sheets. Serve immediately.

Fried Flounder

I've been experimenting a lot with fish and came upon this pan-fried flounder recipe. Adapted from the food network. It was one of my husband's favorite fish recipes so far. My kids loved it too! Serve over rice, make sure to pour the lemon butter sauce over the rice, too. DIVINE! Serves 4.

Fried Flounder

4 4-oz flounder fillets
salt and pepper, to taste
flour, for dredging fish
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
juice of 1 lemon, or 3 Tbsp
small bottle of capers, optional

1. Wash fillets in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle both sides with flour, or dredge in bowl of flour.
2. Place oil and 1 Tbsp butter in flat, heavy-bottomed skillet and heat on medium-high until butter melts. Place fish in oil-butter mixture and cook fish about 3 minutes each side, or until brown and crispy. Turn fish only once.
3. Remove fish to serving platter; set aside. Turn off burner. Whisk remaining 1 Tbsp butter and lemon juice into hot skillet. Pour in capers if using, liquid and all. Whisk. Pour sauce over fish fillets and rice; serve immediately.

Baked Salmon Dijon

I love salmon and this is a fun variation. We're trying to incorporate more seafood into our diet and this was a hit! My boys loooooved it. You can use whatever type of seasoned salt you like, or just use plain salt. Serves 4.

Baked Salmon Dijon

4 4-oz salmon fillets
juice of 1 lemon, or 2 Tbsp
Seasoned salt pepper, to taste
2-4 Tbsp prepared Dijon-style mustard
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c Italian-style breadcrumbs
1/4 c butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line shallow baking pan with aluminum foil. Place fillets in pan and sprinkle lemon juice over top. Sprinkle season salt and pepper, according to taste. Spread thin layer of Dijon-style mustard on each fillet with brush baster or back of spoon. Add parsley and breadcrumbs and press down gently to stick. Mix garlic into melted butter and pour evenly over the top.
2. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Tilapia Parmesan

I like seafood to an extent, but this breaded tilapia is super savory. And it's easy! My kids and husband loved it! My kids kept saying, "Mmmmmm, I love this FISH." (They're learning that all meat isn't called chicken.) Serve with rice and a veggie. Tweaked a recipe from MOMS2398. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Tilapia Parmesan

4 4-oz tilapia fillets
2 Tbsp Sazon Completa*
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp celery salt

1. Set oven rack 6-inches from heating element and preheat broiler. Line a broiler pan with aluminum and lightly grease with cooking spray.
2. Arrange fillets on broiler pan and sprinkle with Sazon Completa. Broil in preheated oven until fish is barely opaque, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
4. Mix butter, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, ground black pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Spread over fish and return to oven until topping is golden brown and fish flakes easily; 3 to 5 minutes more.

* I found Sazon Completa (Badia brand) in the international aisles of my supermarket, but you can substitute 1 tsp each of: salt, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, cumin, corriander.

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

I'm not a HUGE seafood person, but I love a good salmon steak. This recipe is tasty and is perfect alongside my mushroom rice pilaf recipe and a veggie. My husband even suggested cutting each fish steak into three pieces so the fish gets covered in more glaze. My little ones even loved it! Serves 4. Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

4 - 6 oz salmon steaks
1/3 c brown sugar
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c olive oil
2 tsp lemon pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning*

1. Mix brow sugar, soy sauce, olive oil, lemon pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning in an 11x7 baking dish. Add salmon, turning to coat. If salmon has skin attached, lay skin-side up. Allow to marinate in refrigerator 4 to 8 hours, turning every 2 hours or so.
2. Set oven rack 6" from heat source and preheat broiler. Meanwhile, line baking sheet with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place salmon fillets on foil 1" apart. Discard marinade.
3. Broil salmon until lightly browned and fish flakes easily with a fork; time depends on thickness of salmon steaks. Let salmon sit 5 minutes before serving.

* If you don't have Italian seasoning, you can replace with 1/4 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp dried basil and 1/4 tsp dried parsley.

White Fish Salad

I used tilapia and it was soooo tasty! :D My husband and I made noises as we ate. I also used spinach because we didn't have Romain lettuce. Halibut, or any white fish, would work well with this. And my kids LOVE fish this way! The dressing makes it spectacular! It's best to marinate the fish for at least one hour before cooking, but it's not absolutely necessary. I marinate less and it's still great. Serve with crusty bread (I've served with quesadilla wedges even). Serves 4.

White Fish Salad

Fish
2 large fish (halibut or tilapia or any white fish) steaks
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt, or seasoned salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tsp olive oil

Salad
4 - 6 c Romain lettuce and/or baby spinach, chopped
1 can garbonzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed
1/4 c shredded carrots
1/4 c shredded cucumber
any other veggies you might like

Dressing
1/4 c olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin


1. Place fish in bowl or airtight container or zip-lock bag with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Let marinate up to two hours. Heat 3 tsp olive oil in small fry pan over medium-high heat. Add fish, DISCARDING THE MARINADE, and cook through, about 4 minutes each side. Let sit a minute, then cut into pieces or flake apart. Set aside.
2. Add lettuce or spinach to individual serving bowls. Set aside.
3. In small bowl, mix dressing ingredients. Stir until well mixed. Pour over each bowl of lettuce, add carrots and cucumber and any other veggies you might want and toss to coat. Sprinkle flaked fish pieces and garbanzo beans on top and serve immediately.