Fish – Foodologie

As we’ve previously discussed, dinner is a struggle for me. Waking up at 5:15am to workout, then going to work all day leaves me little motivation to make a meal when 5:30pm rolls around, especially if it’s just for me. I’m one of those people that prefers to cook for others. Cooking for myself is extremely unappealing.

When Jesse has dinner with me, it’s awesome. I tend to make an actual meal, but most days, on my own, I tend to snack. So I’m trying to come up with better solutions. My number one solution right now is to keep it simple.

So in my quest to keep things simple, yet flavorful, I discovered a Moroccan Spice Blend that is so versatile you can basically kick up any plain dish without adding fat. The best part is you can control how much salt goes in it.

Moroccan Spice Blend

Adapted from Epicurious

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt (or less if you’d like)*
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp mace

Combine all ingredients until well blended. Store in an air tight container until ready to use.

*Feel free to adjust the amount of salt. You can completely omit it, if you’re trying to go low sodium. You can also add more if you like things salty (the original recipe calls for 1 tsp of salt, but I tried that and thought it was too much. 1/2 tsp was more to my liking).

I mixed up a bunch to keep on hand for easy meals. So far using this blend I’ve made: Moroccan Spiced Chicken Thighs and Moroccan Spice Tilapia.

Super easy! In both cases, I sprinkled the chicken (bone-in thighs, skin and excess fat removed) or fish generously with the spice blend and baked. Both times it turned out awesome! I can’t wait to keep making this. If you’re interested, I can do a full recipe post on either of these. Let me know if you’re interested.

Tonight, the ultimate quick dinner for 1: I took a piece of tilapia, covered it in moroccan spice blend, then roasted it along side some asparagus for 17 minutes at 400F. Done in less than 20 minutes, and easy clean up. I like it.

Give this Moroccan Spice Blend a try! It’s a great way to add a ton of flavor while still keeping things healthy.

What’s your favorite quick and easy weeknight meal?

Cinco de Mayo just happened. You’re probably tired of Mexican food, but let’s be honest Corona and Guacamole don’t really qualify as Mexican food. That doesn’t really qualify as food. That’s a snack.

And it’s Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. How about some tacos?

Trust me. You need these tacos in your life.

I remember the first time I ate these tacos. Jesse made them for me, pretty early on in our relationship, and I was skeptical. But I swear it was love at first bite. I’m talking about the tacos here.

Ever since that first time, I’ve probably had them a dozen times with a million variations: shrimp, chicken, etc.

But these are the best.

Chipotle Fish Tacos

3 pieces of tilapia, cut into small pieces
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 an onion, diced
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper
1-2 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
1 diced tomato
1/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp sriracha*
a few lime wedges
1 avocado sliced
6 tortillas

Heat oil in the pan. Add 1/4 of onion (so you’ll have 1/4 of onion left for putting on the tacos) and cook for a few mins. Add fish and chipotle (depending on how hot you want it use 1-2 or more, for less spice just use the adobo sauce, not the chile itself), cook for a few minutes until fish is no longer translucent. Stir in juice of 1/2 lime, about a tablespoon of cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Stir together sriracha and mayo. Thin out with some lime juice or water. Depending on how spicy you like it, the ratio of sriracha to mayo might be different for you. Add a bit, try it and add more if you’d like.

Now you can start assembling your tacos (this recipe will make about 6 tacos). Heat up your tortillas. Start by laying some fish in the center.