My father-in-law comments every time I come home from work and cook dinner – “It doesn’t seem fair that you get up and go to work and then come home and cook dinner.” And that, folks, is why I only cook meals that take 30 minutes or less. I prefer to grab fresh ingredients on the way home. Today was an oddity in that I found a grocery store that doesn’t stock any type of stuffing – not Stove-Top, not Pepperidge Farm . . . nothing.
Today, I chose to cook tilapia with a side of steamed broccoli and sweet corn. Nothing real exciting by any means, but delicious all the same.
4 tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry
salt
pepper
1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
1/2 c. flour
2 t. Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 a fresh lemon or 1 T. lemon juice
Parsley to garnish
Directions
Salt and pepper tilapia fillets on both sides. Heat olive oil and butter in a large frying pan. Mix the flour and Old Bay seasoning together on a shallow plate. Dredge the tilapia fillets in the flour, coating both sides evenly and place in the hot oil. Fry on both sides for 4-5 minutes. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon across the fillets before removing from the pan. Garnish with parsley.
Cooking fish doesn’t really get much easier than the above recipe. Depending on the thickness of the fillets, you may have to extend the cooking time to 6 minutes per side, but once the fish flakes, it’s ready. I used the garlic and herb Old Bay Seasoning only because you cannot have too much garlic.
Place the broccoli florets, water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook on medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Turn heat down and cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir in garlic butter, replacing cover until it melts. Broccoli should be a vibrant green.
It has come to my attention that many younger folks have not been taught basic cooking skills. Since high schools have done away with basic life skills classes and replaced them with computer coding classes, many young folks don’t have a clue how to cook basic, simple fresh foods. Perhaps this is a major contribution to fast food and obesity today – if you don’t know how to cook fresh food, it may be thought of as harder than it is in actuality.
1 10 oz bag of frozen corn, thawed (if it’s still frozen allow an additional 5 minutes for cooking)
1 T. butter
1 T. cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 T. honey
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Melt butter in a small skillet. Stir in the corn, cover and cook 8-10 minutes on medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cream cheese and honey, stirring until cream cheese has melted and been incorporated fully into the corn.
Again, this is an easy way to prepare corn – a simple vegetable. Frozen corn is always better and less mushy than canned corn. It doesn’t take much effort to cook simple, tasty meals using fresh ingredients.
Here’s a breakdown of tonight’s dinner costs:
Corn – 1.89
Broccoli – 3.00
Tilapia fillets – 7.30
Spices – on hand
Butter & olive oil – stocked in house
Honey – stocked in house
Lemon – 0.89
Flour – on hand
Total cost – to feed 4 people fresh food – $14.38 (including 10% tax)
Where can you go to feed a family of 4 for the same price? You can’t – that’s my point.
Mudd Street Chronicles 