Blue Corn Encrusted Tilapia with a Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

As I mentioned in my previous post I was planning to have a Red, White and Blue meal for the 4th of July. However my family decided they wanted to grill some steaks today so that's what we'll be doing.

However, since I had planned to prepare Blue Corn Encrusted fish with a homemade Raspberry Chipotle sauce I decided to make it yesterday.

The dish turned out delicious and everyone loved it. However, I was the only one in the mood for fish so I made mine with Tilapia while I made the rest of the families with chicken breasts encrusted with blue corn chips.

Since we are out of town in Colorado I don't have all the tools I do at home so I decided to grill both encrusted chicken and fish on the bbq pit since the oven was in use and I was running short on time.

As I've mentioned in the past I'm in desperate need of taking a food photograhpy class. I'm sure I could have plated this dish to look more appealing but trust me it was delicious, tender and red (sauce), white (fish) and blue (corn chips).

The small towns in Colorado don't typically have the best fish but you can't really go wrong with Tilapia since it comes in frozen anyway. So, I purchased some Tilipia for myself while I got 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the rest of my crew.

To encrust the chicken and fish this was all that was needed:

1 bag of Blue Corn Chips
egg whites or an egg (I used egg whites since we had those in the house)

Crumble or puree in the food processor the Blue Corn Chips. I divided the crumbled chips into 2 zip lock bags, one for the fish and one for the chicken pieces.

I then took some egg whites and brushed it over the chicken and fish. After coating with egg whites I took the chicken pieces one at a time and placed them in one of the zip lock bags, sealed and shook each piece until coated.

I placed each encrusted piece of chicken on a foil lined jelly roll pan coated with non-stick spray. Then sprayed the top of each piece of encrusted chicken with the non-stick spray. This helps for moisture and to brown the coating.

I did the same for each encrusted piece of Tilapia only placing them directly on the sprayed heavy duty foil sealing the top and sides.

Since I only had one oven to work with that was already in use I decided to put these all on the grill outside to cook. I placed the chicken on for about 15 minutes and the fish on for at most 6-8 minutes. All turning out perfectly cooked and moist.

Prior to preparing the encrusted fish and chicken I made the Raspberry Chipotle sauce. This made about 2 cups and was so tasty. It had a bit of a kick to it but if spice isn't a problem then go with the recipe I have posted below. Otherwise you may want to use a little less of the Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce.

This sauce would also taste great over Salmon, as a dip for chips or veggies or whatever else you can think of. It was so delicious and beats purchasing the ready-made jarred versions with as simple as it was to prepare.


















Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
makes 2 cups

2 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1 red tomato, diced
1 tbsp. brown sugar or agave nectar
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. raspberry jam
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Heat all ingredients in a saucepan for approximately 15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and place in a food processor or blender to puree or rough chop (whichever consistency you prefer)

Serve warm or chilled.

Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July Celebrations!

Well I have to apologize for not posting anything for over a week. I had good intentions to post a video that I made but had some computer problems and was unable to post it before going out of town. So if I can figure it out I will post it at a later date.

In the meantime I am spending some time in the Colorado Mountains and loving the view here as I blog.

I spent the day yesterday biking for 4 hours through the mountains and decided that I'd take a break this morning for a much needed post on my blog.

It's hard to believe that the 4th of July is just 3 days away. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about the new year arriving.

I know most of you will be celebrating the holiday with family and friends for lunch or dinner then going out to see fireworks. I love to watch fireworks. In fact when my kids were younger we would go down to the riverfront and watch a HUGE display. My favorite of course was always the finale. The worst part was if you had to use the restroom especially with small children. Having to wait in line to use a port-o-potty was not my idea of fun especially in 100 degree weather with the humidity to match. However, that is what the 4th of July is all about.

Now of course we go to a local golf course not far from our home where we could get there just before the fireworks started and be home in minutes to use the potty.

This year we will watch them in the mountains, a beautiful backdrop for all the fireworks with little humidity.

Anyway, I've been thinking of all the fun things to prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July from fun treats, breakfast ideas to entrees. I came up with a list of things in the event you're still trying to come up with ideas.

For fun festive treats:


















Pretzel Sparklers - To make these just take pretzel rods and melt some white chocolate in a double boiler. Dip 1/2 of the pretzel rod in the chocolate and then sprinkle with red, white and blue sprinkles. Lay on parchment to dry. Then stack together in a nice vase for everyone to have.















Red, White and Blue Strawberries - To make these melt white chocolate again in a double boiler. Then dip 2/3 of the strawberry in the chocolate and dip the bottom 1/3 that's been covered in the white chocolate in blue sanding sugar. Now you've got a red, white and blue strawberry. Arrange on a platter with your sparklers in the middle if you like.

If you're more of a breakfast person why not make some pancakes using a large star for the mold. Add some blueberries to the batter and cook. After cooking you have a blueberry star pancake and top with strawberry or raspberry syrup. Now you have a fun festive 4th of July pancake.

If pancakes are too heavy for breakfast a simple healthy parfait with vanilla yogurt layered with blueberries and strawberries is always beautiful and delicious.


















For dessert - make some sugar cookies either in a star shape, iced and covered with red, white and blue sprinkles or make butter cookies in the shape of a rectangle, covered with royal icing and then decorated with gel colors to make the american flag. The kids would have fun making any of the above with you.

Trying to come up with a 4th of July entree?

I was trying to come up with something different this year and I decided I'd make fish. Of course I love fish and so does my family. So I've decided to take Tilapia, Snapper or whatever light white fish I can find here in the mountains and encrust it with Blue Corn Chips.

I'll either bake it lightly sprayed with non-stick spray or put it on the pit covered in foil to cook.

For the topping I'm going to make a homemade Raspberry Chipotle sauce to go over the top. I'll post the photo after I make it. However, I know Uncle Bob's also makes a great Raspberry Chipotle Sauce that you can heat up and put over the top of the fish as well if you don't feel like making your own.

If fish isn't something that appeals to your family then use this same idea and coat chicken or chicken fingers and use the same Raspberry Chipotle dipping sauce.

Be creative this 4th of July with your menu. Of course don't forget those star ice cube trays to add to any of the beverages you serve.

Have fun coming up with your own ideas or feel free to use any of mine.

Have a safe and festive holiday!