Monthly Archives

February 2014

Food

Culinary Pursuits: Seafood Quesadillas

February 22, 2014

Oh my goodness guys, have I got a treat for you. So a couple of weeks ago after my first day at work, my sister and I went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I ordered this unbelievable seafood quesadilla with tilapia and shrimp and it has been on my mind since. While delicious, I know that it probably wasn’t the healthiest so I set out to make a much healthier but equally yummy version. I’m pretty sure I succeeded. Without further ado I present to you my seafood quesadilla made with jerk tilapia and jerk shrimp, goat cheese, diced red onions, low-fat part skim mozzarella, fresh mangos, and a tiny bit of fresh marinated mozzarella. As usual this dish was pretty quick to make, but oh so incredibly good. It’s my favorite concoction thus far. It’s perfect for my spicy food lovers, my vegetarian friends, and meat-eaters too. Pretty much everyone!

Ingredients:
Medium-sized shrimp
2lb bag of individually wrapped tilapia fillets (I only made 5; the bag has about 10 or so)
1 container pre-diced red onions
Olive Oil
Grace Jerk seasoning, spicy (from Walmart)
Goat Cheese
Low-fat Part skim mozzarella
La Tortilla High Fiber Low Carb Whole Wheat Tortillas (from Publix)
Fresh marinated mozzarella (from Trader Joe’s)
1 mango
Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Spray pan with non-stick canola oil
  3. While the oven is preheating take 1 tablespoon of jerk seasoning and evenly apply to each tilapia fillet (I cooked 5 at once, but feel free to cook as many as you like and adjust cook times accordingly).
  4. After all of the fillets are covered sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of diced red onions in the center of each fillet.
  5. Drizzle on olive oil over each fillet (about 1 teaspoon).
  6. Place fillets in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.
  7. While the tilapia is baking, remove the tails from shrimp.
  8. Pour the shrimp into a bowl along with three hearty teaspoons of jerk seasoning and mix together (I used my hands).
  9. Cook shrimp stovetop for 7-10 minutes at medium-high heat.
  10. While your shrimp is cooking slice and dice your mango into small cubes and set aside in a bowl.
  11. Once the tilapia and shrimp are done cooking, begin assembling your quesadilla.
  12. Cut up one tilapia fillet and take several pieces of shrimp and add them on your tortilla wrap.
  13. Then add two teaspoons of diced onions, two tablespoons of goat cheese, 1/4 cup of low-fat part skim mozzarella, two tablespoons of diced mangos, and a small chunk of fresh marinated mozzarella (I didn’t measure this but it was probably no more than a tablespoon’s worth).
  14. Place your open faced tortilla in the oven for 3-5 minutes (or until cheese begins to melt)
  15. Take out, fold over and slice in half.
  16. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Food Style

New Place, New Space!

February 14, 2014

It’s been almost two weeks since I moved into my new place and it has been a whirlwind. I must have offended Mother Nature somehow because she was not trying to work with me. I was supposed to move into my apartment on Wednesday, the 29th, but because of snow I had to push that back to Friday, and then because of indirect effects of the snow I wasn’t able to move in until Saturday. Everything worked out in the end though so I’m very grateful. I started my new position on the 3rd and so far it’s been great. The people I work with are really nice and that’s helped make my transition much easier.  Funny thing is we just dealt with another bout of snow, so my office was closed for a couple of days. I think Atlanta officials wanted to be extra cautious this time after how disastrous things were a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, I’ve had my fill of snow. It was fun for a little while but now I’m ready for warm weather. Fortunately the forecast for next week looks very promising, sunny and in the sixties, so I’m all smiles. Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:

Moving day attire! Who says you can’t be cute and comfortable?!
The Sunday after I moved in my sister and I hit up this brunch spot and I ordered this insanely delicious Cajun Shrimp and andouille sausage hash and she had the equally delicious apple pie stuffed french toast.

After my first day of work we went to a Mexican restaurant and for dessert I had to order churros with ice cream! I’m always down for some churros.
Getting ready to go out and buy yet more stuff for my apartment.
The first thing I made in my new kitchen was baked chicken and squash.