If you live in Michigan, you know you can wear a full-on parka one day and then just a regular jacket within the same week. Super excited that we are no longer restricted to the confines of our house and now actually able to run errands without worrying about frostbite! I find it funny that for us 49 degrees feels fabulous. Today I thought I’d create a meal that had a refreshing taste not only to brighten up our plates but also our day!
To be real and honest, my kids made a giant mess while I was trying to get the ingredients prepped and they also played the ever so popular “I’m not touching you!” Game. I’m sure you all understand how delightful that can be. I find that when the kids get a little (or a lot) out of control, my best reaction is to take a deep breath and ignore them. As long as no one is hurting each other, often they’ll sort it out themselves. If not, the big scary mom voice helps!
How many of you have little ones that pout and turn their head to anything that isn’t chicken nuggets? Well as diverse as my kids' food palette is, there are days where they act like they are food network judges and if you didn’t use the key ingredient "McDonald’s" then you're chopped! Some days I resort to yelling “eat it or starve,” but then I realize that I suppose I should have them eat something. What I’ve found works for my kids is to refer to items as chicken nuggets, and cut them into small pieces. Yes, I’ve resorted to lying and tricking my kids, but in my defense, it’s so they can get some nutrients in their bellies.
Our mock “chicken nuggets” today will consist of breaded baked tilapia. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. I whisked the two eggs and added some salt and pepper to them. Coat both sides of the tilapia with the egg. You will place the fish on top of the bread crumb mixture making sure to get both sides. I used Meijer brand Italian bread crumbs for this. Any flavor or brand will work. Place the coated fish on a cookie tray lined with aluminum foil. Your future self will thank you for having fewer dishes to clean. You will bake these for about 20 minutes making sure to flip halfway through.
This shrimp pico de gallo will lighten up this dish perfectly. I would even encourage you to complete this step the day before so that dinner is complete even quicker. Chop up the red onion, one Roma tomato, one jalapeno, and a handful of cilantro. Mix all the items in a bowl and add your pre-cooked/peeled shrimp if you have raw shrimp make sure to cook your shrimp about 3-5 minutes or until your shrimp are pink and firm. I decided to cut my shrimp into three pieces so that when you take a bite, there is more shrimp. You will then squeeze the juice of half a lemon and half a lime and mix that in with the rest. I did not add this in the picture but, I used garlic powder in the pico de gallo with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside, this is what you will put on top of your tilapia.
Since I did not have any rice on hand, I used frozen cauliflower "rice." This option is great if you're looking to eat fewer carbs. I sauteed that in a pan with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. You don't have to add cumin to the cauliflower, but I like the flavor it adds. If you were making plain rice, I would still add those seasonings. The cauliflower rice should only take about 10 minutes to warm up. You want the cauliflower to be a little firm still, but you need to give the spices time to infuse into the cauliflower. Once you take out your tilapia, it's time to do a little dance and celebrate this fancy looking meal you just made! I like to cut a piece of tilapia into little square pieces to further give the illusion that they are "chicken nuggets." I'm off to enjoy a nice bowl of ice cream because... well we parents don't need a reason to indulge a little right? Making it another day is a victory in itself.
With love,
Carolina
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