Blackened Tilapia Fish Burgers

Ahoy, Matey!  There's fish in them thar burgers! 

You bet your sweet little fins there's fish in there.  Tilapia, to be exact.  My quest for fun, tasty food without any commas in the calorie count has led me here.  The fish isn't square and there is no giant blob of white goo oozing out of the bun.  That may sound blasphemous to some, but I'm sure you'll forgive me.  In fact, one bite of this baby and you'll vow never to eat faux fish again, square or any other shape.

Here's what you'll need:

4 tilapia fillets (about 4 ounces each)
1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt

½ - 1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Onion Powder

½ - 1 tsp Cajun Seasoning

½ tbsp butter

4 tomato slices

1  red onion slice, chopped

4 pepperoncini peppers, sliced

2 slices of Boar’s Head muenster cheese, halved

4 tsp mayo

4 tsp mustard

4 homemade buns (see my recent bison burger post for the recipe)

Melt the butter in a skillet on medium high heat.  Combine seasonings and rub onto each side of fish.  When the butter is sizzling, add the fish to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side until the fish flakes easily with a fork (cook time will depend on the thickness of the fish).

Toast the buns lightly and spread 1 tsp of mayo on each bottom half and 1 tsp of mustard on each top half.  Tear the fish and spread evenly across all four bottom buns.  Top each with ½ slice of cheese, 1 tomato slice, ¼ of the chopped onion and ¼ of the pepper slices.

357 calories per burger

Serve with a small salad and a glass of lemonade to round out the meal without a drastic calorie increase.



Bison Burgers w/Homemade Buns

Is anyone else having visions of Kevin Costner crawling around in the dirt with his jacket stuffed into the back of his shirt?  Tatonka!  Tatonka!  Ok, maybe that's just me.  I do love that movie.

Did you know that bison is lower in fat and higher in protein than beef?  I learned that recently from my buddy in the meat department at Earth Fare.  It's also widely sold in stores now so you don't have to join a band of Sioux and kill your own buffalo.  I knew that already.

I don't know the name of the meat guy, but he is always so helpful.  He's made several recommendations and, so far, he's batting a thousand.  The bison has a slightly different flavor than beef, but it's tasty.  Season it just like you would ground beef.  Cooking the burgers is exactly the same, too.

The buns you see here are homemade and, like any freshly baked bread, they are super yummy!  The recipe is below.

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/3 cups of water

2 1/2 tablespoons of butter

2 2/3 tablespoons of sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons of salt

4 cups of bread flour

2 1/2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast

1 egg, beaten

Sesame seeds, optional

When the dough is ready, divide it in half.  Then divide the halves in half.  Keeping doing that until you have 16 pieces.  Roll the pieces into balls and flatten them completely.  Place them on a cookie sheet with 1/2 to 1 inch of space in between the buns.  Cover them with a damp kitchen towel and let them rise for about half an hour in a warm place.  Brush the tops lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you want.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  The buns will be light brown on top when they are done.  Cool them on a wire rack.  Wait until they are completely cooled to split them.  I recommend a bread knife or some other heavy, serrated knife.  You also need a steady hand.  I don't have one of those.  I recommend my friend Emmy.  She's a first rate bun splitter.