What's for dinner tonight? Baked Tilapia with Roasted Broccoli-If you would have asked me 2 months ago what my favorite healthy meal was--Tilapia wouldn't have made the Top 100, but I have created a new recipe that definitely pleases the palate!
"Hate" is such a strong word... let's say dislike. Broccoli and its kin contain compounds which are closely related to those in mustard gas, the original chemical weapon. However, it can be delicious when cooked properly! So, No fear...Trisha is here! I have a no-fail way to make broccoli yummy beyond belief! Using dry heat (or roasting) to cook broccoli has the ability to trigger chemicals that intesify the natural sugars in broccoli which can balance out any possible bitterness. (Feel free to try this with other green veggies as well-I've done fresh green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, etc. You name it...It's delicious!)
Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients:
Broccoli Florets* (Frozen or fresh-I prefer frozen because I'm lazy and it tastes just as good!)
1-3 Cloves of Garlic (Depending on how much you like)
Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Salt & Pepper
Preheat Oven to 425
Spread broccoli florets on a baking sheet (with a rim)
Smash/Whack some garlic and rough chop it-dump it on broccoli
Drizzle Olive Oil over broccoli (Approx 1-2 Tbsp) Toss to coat
Salt & Pepper
Put in oven for 25-30 Minutes (stir half way)
(Broccoli should get a little brown on the edges--it makes my mouth water just thinking about it!)Zest your lemon over the broccoli and then cut the lemon and squeeze lemon juice over broccoli. Stir and enjoy!
Side Note--Broccoli contains almost as much calcium as milk. It has more vitamin C in it than an orange. It also contains vitamins K and A, it's an excellent source of dietary fiber, folate, riboflavin, iron, potassium, manganese, and phosphorus. It also contains some very special antioxidants that can jump-start what's called "phase II detoxification enzymes", which have the power to kind of flush potentially harmful free radicals from your body. And that qualifies broccoli as a bona fide super food! Be aware though: A study in The Journal of Food and Agriculture found that microwaving broccoli reduced it's antioxidant compounds by 74-97%.
One thing I have always been scared of cooking is fish. I know, I know, everybody's doing it-so I created this little marinade and jumped right in!
Baked Tilapia
Ingredients:
Tilapia Fillets*
2 Garlic Cloves
Salt & Pepper
2 Lemons
Grab a gallon size zip lock bag=easy cleanup (or a container with a lid=more dishes)
Fill with 1-2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 Smashed/whacked cloves of garlic
Salt & pepper your tilapia- drop them in the bag. Massage them around and let them sit on the counter about 30 minutes. (While you are making your broccoli!)
HEAT OVEN TO 375
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil=easy cleanup (or not=more dishes), spray with non-stick spray. Place the fish on the pan and bake for 8-12 minutes (fish should flake with a fork)Zest lemon over fish and squeeze half of lemon over fish- DONE! Perfection...
NOTE* I didn't put "amounts" on here. I usually cook larger quantities of broccoli approx 2 lbs at a time, it re-heats beautifully and tastes great the next day or two. I use about 1-1.5lbs of Tilapia. It tastes great the next day too!
Lemon is one of those ingredients I enjoy using. Sure...I have a lonely bottle of lemon juice in my fridge - But using a fresh lemon and lemon zest is SO much tastier! Lemon adds a great deal of freshness and flavor without adding Salt and Fat! So zest away!!
And as I always like to say, this meal will definielty be YUMMY-DELISH!
