Nut Tilapia with Red Quinoa-Tomato-Avocado Salad

Not only does this meal come together extremely quickly, it features some of my favorite foods (hello avocado and tomato!), packs in a ton of nutrients, and can even make use of leftover ingredients from past meals. If you're like me you frequently end up with handfuls of this or that which was purchased for a specific recipe. Finally, at some point, I always have to dive into my cabinets, pull everything out, and get creative out about how to use it up. This meal helps with just that - using up whatever leftover nuts you have sitting around.

Once again, I'll need to thank Wegman's for this meal since they contributed (most) of the recipe for the red quinoa-tomato-avocado salad. I tore it out of the annual magazine I get from them, excited to try it, and it has quickly become a staple in my house. While here you see it as part of a dinner meal, we'll also mix up a double batch and use it for lunches for the week. My husband loves it paired with some grilled chicken for a healthy meal at work.

Time: 25 min

Red Quinoa-Tomato-Avocado Salad
Time: 20 min

Ingredients:
1 box red quinoa (7 oz)
12 oz sweet frozen corn
1 c cilantro, chopped
2 bunches green onions, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 c Wegman's Organic Lemon Vinaigrette

Cook the quinoa and the corn, following the directions on the bag.... mostly. I don't actually bother rinsing my quinoa but just get to the boiling water part! Combine the two in a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Toss well to combine. I serve it immediately, warm, but it also works at room temperature or even chilled!

Time saver: as the quinoa and corn cook get everything else ready - just add the lemon vinaigrette at the end as the last ingredient so it coats the other pieces evenly.

Nut Tilapia
Time: 10 min

Ingredients:
1/4 c nuts - no shells!
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tilapia fillets (or 1-2 per person)

Find some nuts in your cupboards or choose your favorite variety - you can even combine multiple nut varieties. Just make sure they are in ready-to-eat form, so no shells. I've used macadamia nuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, and even pine nuts plus combos of all of those to make this in the past.

Put the nuts in a small food processor (I actually use my coffee grinder, it works perfectly) and process just until finely chopped. Put the nuts in a flat bowl or slightly curved plate and mix with 1 tsp olive oil. Dredge both sides of the fillets in the nuts to coat fully.

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tsp olive oil, swirling to coat. Place the fish in and cook 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes or done. Enjoy!