Parmesan Tilapia...

One thing I've learned about myself since getting married and being forced to cook on a regular basis (more so since we moved an hour away from the comforts of Mamaw's kitchen... boohoo!) is that a) I am not terribly adventurous and that b) I tend to find things that are good and that I'm good at making and make them over and over again. On Sunday, I decided to break outside my little unimaginative box and try not one, but TWO new recipes. Gasp!

 In an effort to avoid processed/chemical laden foods (not entirely, but cutting down bigtime) I've been looking for recipes that don't call for "cream of" whatever or a ton of canned goods. (Clearly I'm not opposed to such things since nearly every recipe I've ever posted on here requires a mountain of cans, but... since it's for Jonathan's health I'm trying not to be lazy about it.) Anyway, both recipes were insanely delicious and didn't involve as much "unhealthy" stuff, so I felt pretty good about them. (By the way, I know that I could make my chicken broth or shred fresh cheese that I've made my from my milking goat or whatever. I'm just going with baby steps, okay?)

I'll get to the recipe in a second. I was going to share the full recipe for this cheesy rice, but I'll just give you the link from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. (By the way, Janssen regularly pins recipes from there and if she endorses a recipe I know it's good.) Basically, you just cook rice with chicken broth instead of water and then add cheddar cheese when it's done cooking. Holy Yum, Batman. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven... it's that good. Also, the original recipe calls for zucchini, which I had the best of intentions to add, but... I didn't. Next time I'll definitely try that or maybe broccoli, but it's glorious by itself. 

Shared on Instagram, naturally.

Three paragraphs? No recipe?

Patience is a virtue, dears. (Or you skimmed ahead... your prerogative.)

Parmesan Tilapia (adapted from Spend with Pennies)

-3-4 thawed tilapia fillets (we used three with a pretty thick layer, but I think you could do a thin layer and have enough for maybe 5)

-1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

-1/8 cup butter

-1 1/2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (I could be wrong but I think Greek yogurt might work as a healthier sub for this? Maybe?)

-pepper to taste

-Turn the oven broiler on high. Combine all the ingredients except tilapia to form a creamy mixture. 

-Place tilapia on a foil-lined pan and broil for three minutes.

-Remove from oven, flip the fillets, and spread a generous amount of the cheese mixture onto the top surface of each. Return to oven and broil for another 3-4 minutes (maybe even five... just watch.)

The original recipe calls for lemon juice which I forgot to buy, but it was great without it.

Seriously, this was so good... I'm not a huge fish person but these don't have a strong "fishy" flavor and the parmesan masked it anyway. If you prefer a strong fish taste I feel like this would work just as well with another type of fish. With the cheesy rice and maybe some broccoli or other vegetable on the side, this was a really yummy (and easy!) meal. Those are my favorite kind. =)

Happy cooking!

Ash