November 22, 2011
Everyone enjoys a good Sunday Funday. What better way to wind down the weekend than by hanging out with friends and enjoying yourself before you have to jump back into the work week? This past weekend, I spent all day Sunday at a friend’s in Delray watching football and just hanging out. We were going to grab dinner from one of the many restaurants nearby, but decided it’d be more fun (and better for our wallets) to stay in and cook. After a quick fridge & pantry raid, we had our menu planned: pan-seared tilapia with cajun spice seasoning, parmesan asparagus, garlic parmesan broccoli, and wild rice with a sun-dried tomato seasoning.
Zach and Bruce were in charge of the tilapia, and I took the reins on the veggies. It was such a simple recipe and took barely any time at all. I cooked the two vegetables separately and then we tossed them together in one platter when it came time to serve. For the asparagus, I mixed together parmesan cheese with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper, then poured about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over top of the asparagus and sprinkled on the parmesan cheese until the asparagus is covered to your liking. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Super easy; anyone can do it! I steamed the broccoli on the stovetop. First, I poured about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into the pan, along with a tablespoon of garlic and a quarter cup of water and filled the pan with as much broccoli as it could hold (or as much as you’d like to cook). Make sure the broccoli is just about fully coated with the olive oil and garlic mixture and then sprinkle a little parmesan on top. Cover the pan and let steam for about 8 minutes. After both veggies were done, I threw the broccoli in with the asparagus and put it all back into the oven to keep warm until we were ready to serve dinner. Both side dishes came out so good! The parmesan softened up the asparagus a little, but they still had a bit of a crunch to them. It’s hard to go wrong with steamed broccoli, but sometimes it can be bland so the garlic and parmesan really added some great flavor to the dish. You can modify these two recipes in so many ways, using whatever spice, cheese, etc. you prefer!
The boys did an awesome job preparing the tilapia with cajun seasoning. I’ve had tilapia in many different ways, but never with cajun seasoning. I normally shy away from things that seem too spicy, but this was the perfect amount of spice! It complemented the light flavor of the fish and gave it just the right amount of kick. Paired with a white wine, this dish was perfect!
Dinner was served just in time to sit down for the Eagles Giants game, which ended up being a great game for my birds! Proud to be an Eagles fan! 🙂
