Ellie Goes Camping - Parentless, + Almond Crusted Tilapia

Ellie's theme for the summer seems to be having adventures. Much to my surprise, she talked her dad into letting her go on a parentless camping trip. By the time he was 15 he and his friends were going on multi-day, deep woods camping trips, so he thought it would be okay.

He had a few conditions. One was that they had to camp at the campgrounds in the White Ranch Open Space park where my husband knows the ranger. Larr arranged for Dave (the ranger) to drive by the camping spot a time or two just to make sure that the kids were okay.

Since Kohlton went with the girls there were many promises made about sleeping arrangements and the amount of physical affection. They kids had not problem with those guidelines.

Kohlton slept wound up in a tarp like a human taco while the girls slept in our tent.

So off they went, with an arrangement to meet up the next morning at noon.

It rained a bit as we drove away. We had hoped it would cool down, but it did not. The kids had fun despite the scorching temperatures. Next time they want to go for a longer time period.

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Here's a recipe that we all really enjoyed:

Almond Crusted Tilapia
via: APinchofYum.com

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 2-4

1/2 cup salted almonds (I used raw. unroasted and unsalted almonds)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, plain or seasoned (I used massa)
2-4 tilapia filets
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter
parmesan cheese and fresh lemon

Place the almonds and breadcrumbs in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground into a crumb-like mixture. Place the crumb mixture on a plate or in a shallow bowl.

Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Spread each tilapia filet with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard on both sides. Press the tilapia into the crumbs to get it coated on both sides. I usually do this several times to make sure the whole thing gets covered.

Place the fish into the frying pan and cook for several minutes on each side, until the outside is browned and the fish is fully cooked. I usually just check the middle of the fish for doneness – pieces will flake off easily when it’s done.
Serve with parmesan, sea salt, or lemon.