My children 10 and 13 will pretty much try anything you give them.  When we were on vacation a few weeks ago my son wanted to try the Garlic Scallop ceviche at the restaurant.  Of course we let him.  He ate it all but said he would probably order something else next time.  I love that they will try anything once, or twice.

For the most part my family really enjoys eating seafood.  What they do not like is the smell of cooking fish so I tend not to serve it as much as I should because I hate the whines of, “We’re eating THAT for dinner?  It smells disgusting!”   But once they get beyond the smell of the cooking fish they always ask for seconds on whatever I have made.

So, I have decided I will make one fish or seafood dish a week from now on.  I need to keep expanding all our palates.

This is the simple Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe that has been on Hellman’s Mayonnaise jars and all over Pinterest for the past year or so.  I changed it up a bit to make it a bit crunchier for my family.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of skinless Tilapia or other white fish (Mine were frozen and on sale for $3.00 a lb)

1 cup of Hellmann’s or other mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)

1/2 cup of Kraft or Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 tsp. Lemon Juice

Salt, Pepper and Hot Sauce to taste

1 sleeve of crushed Ritz Crackers

Directions:

1. Pre heat oven to boil.
2. Stir , mayo, cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce together in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the salt, pepper and hot sauce to your families taste.  We used just a splash of hot sauce but quite a bit of black pepper in ours.
3. Place Tilapia in a single layer, on a cookie sheet, covered with aluminum foil, with the dark side of the fish facing up.
4. Place the pan in broiler for 3-4 minutes.  My fish  was frozen solid when I put it in the oven so it took longer but once the fish has started to turn white and set slightly firmly – poke it with you finger and it will give a bit but not feel “hard” remove the fish from the broiler and flip each piece over.
5. If you have several thick pieces of fish return the fish to the broiler for 1-2 minutes to start the cooking on the second side of the fish.  If your fish is fairly thinly slice go to step 6.
6. Now that the white part of the fish is facing up spread a couple of teaspoons of the mayonnaise mixture over the top of each piece of fish.   When all the piece have the mayonnaise mixture spread over the top sprinkle the crushed Ritz crackers over the fish.   Press lightly to set the crackers into the mayo.
7. Return the fish to the broiler.  You will need to watch your fish carefully!  Mine stayed in just a few seconds to long and started to burn around the edges.  You want a golden brown crust on your fish not a burnt mess.
8. Remove from oven and let sit 2-3 minutes before serving.

We served our fish with green beans and white rice.  There was only one small piece of fish left at the end of dinner.  The children have both asked for this dish again.