from the husband: veggified tilapia
Okay, guys! I have a special treat for you today. My husband, Drew, has agreed to contribute a series to my blog that I'm calling "From the Husband." Not long ago, I realized that I would love to post recipes and gardening tips, however, my better half is the real cook in our house, the funny one, and the expert on growing things. I am typically killing our plants and burning our dinners. So, instead of me pretending to know what I'm doing, Drew is going to be creating some posts on recipes and plant life for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy!
Hello, blog world! I’m Jenny’s husband, Drew, and I am afraid
that you all know a lot about me already which feels a little bit awkward, but
such is life. You may all be wondering why you’re hearing from me and not my
beautiful and significantly more interesting wife. Jenny told me she would like
it if I wrote a couple posts for her blog and I thought if it makes her happy, I’ll do it. You just all have to promise that you won’t un-follow or defriend
or #tweetnasty because she posted something I wrote.
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I am under the assumption that most of you who are reading
this are probably artistic, talented, polite individuals with a free spirit and
warm heart (i.e. not much like the current author). But worry not. I have been
told that a post on target shooting, biological process, ecology, aquariums,
corporate sales tactics, and misunderstood dog breeds would probably not be
what the followership of this blog is interested in. However I have found one
area where I might be able to offer something!
FOOD! Let’s face it. Food is awesome. It doesn’t matter if
you are right wing or left, classical or rock, refined or rough, or smart or…
well … not. Good food makes us all happy and sometimes gets us to shut up long
enough to remember that we are all just people and that we have far more in
common than we will ever have that is different. People always poke fun
because I am always the LAST one to finish a meal. This is because I view meals
as an activity designed to connect us to each other! Usually this means I am chatting
up my friends at the table, making jokes, or enjoying the people I am eating
with, and occasionally forget to keep feeding myself. Frequently I end up in
the embarrassing situation of noticing I am the only one left with food on my
place and end up having to stuff my gullet as everyone is leaving the table to
avoid being left behind.
Now the reason for this post! Good food. Currently one of my
favorite meals is one of the easiest I have ever made, is healthy, and
delicious! This meal (see a really pretty picture courtesy of my darling wife)
is simply baked tilapia. Yumm! So are you ready for the first easy part of
this? Here are the ingredients:
- As much tilapia as you and your friends, loved ones, or guests are willing to eat :)
- 1 bell pepper...or 2 or 50. Get as much or as little as you’d like!
- Red onion, again the amount is your preference
- Tomato
- Salt, pepper, butter
That’s IT! Can you believe it?! Now before I go on I should
clarify one thing. I am typically not a ‘recipe’ guy. I usually cook by feel,
taste, and smell. To me, recipes are cute suggestions that are intended to be
changed, manipulated, and otherwise adapted to your taste for that day! That
being said don’t expect specific measurements, but I will try and make this
dish as recreateable (#newwords) for you as possible.
- Preheat your oven to 400ish degrees (like I said, this just feels right).
- Put the tilapia on a lightly greased baking sheet and hit em with a little salt and pepper. I put 2 thin slices of butter on each fillet but hey if you like em lubricated, lather em' on up. Then put them in the oven.
- Dice as much of the red onion, and bell pepper as you’d like. Feel free to add whatever other veggies suit your fancy. Garlic, corn, and chopped celery are a couple of good choices but what the hey, go nuts! (unless you have a nut allergy in which case going nuts would not be advised).
- Once the tilapia have been in for about 8-10 minutes pull em out and flip them CAREFULLY. They’ll try and fall apart. Cover them with your chopped veggies of choice and stick them back in for round 2.
- After about 5-8 minutes or so check the fish. If it easily falls apart when you pull it with a fork and it is an opaque white on the inside it’s done! If you’re a stickler with fish, cook the tilapia to 155-160 degrees, but in my opinion you’re losing flavor. Anything that you would ever worry about is good and dead at 120-125 but I like mine at about 135-140. This keeps the fish juicy and tender without over cooking it.
Well, now you can plate it and add the sides of your choice!
I like to garnish the tilapia with a few slices of fresh tomato.
Well, that’s it, folks. If you made it this far you are a good
sport and I appreciate your ferocious dedication to reading this post. If this
goes over well maybe we’ll try another recipe. I do have this cheesy, garlic,
spinach & pasta dish that is super yummy. And there is this great thing I
just discovered called top ramen. Those easterners sure know their freeze dried
noodles! Remember, meals = love and love on those that enjoy the time at the
table with you!
Thank you, Drew, for this yummy recipe!
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Thank you, Drew, for this yummy recipe!