Fake Gourmet Chef!

Hey, everyone! Tonight, I made what I call "fake gourmet!" Todd LOVED this meal and the kids ate it, too!


Baked Tilapia with Cream Sauce and Cajun Potatoes

Here is a list of ingredients you will need:

4 Frozen Tilapia Fillets
Olive Oil
Tony's Cajun Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
Seasoned Pepper Blend
Aluminum Foil
Red New Potatoes
Margarine
Minced Garlic in a jar
Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
Chicken Broth (canned or boxed)
Parmesean Cheese

Here's how to look like a gourmet chef & domestic diva!

For starters...you'll need to thaw your tilapia. I buy the package of 4 tilapia fillets that are frozen and INDIVIDUALLY wrapped. The total cost for the bag of tilapia is less than $4. To thaw, take each fillet out of the vaccum pack sealing and place into the large bag that it came in. Place the BAG into a large bowl filled with warm water. It will thaw within the hour.

Then, you take each fillet and rub gently with olive oil. Then, I seasoned mine with Tony's Cajun Seasoning, Garlic powder, salt & pepper & seasoned pepper blend. This is "to taste". If you like it a little spicier, go for it! I made the kids with just salt and pepper and garlic powder and they ate it all! As you do this....place each fillet on it's piece of aluminum foil. ****You will need 4 12x12 size foil sheets. Just aluminum foil torn into large squares. Do this BEFORE you are ready to season your fish! See the photo of the seasoned fish below....


After seasoning, you will need to wrap your fillets into foil packets. Do this by folding over as shown and then rolling up both ends of the packets.

The photo below shows finished foil packets!

The Cajun Potatoes are EASY, too! AND DELICIOUS!

For these, I cube up the desired amount of red potatoes needed. Melt 1/2 cup of margarine in bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and stir up. Pour over cubed raw potatoes. Sprinkle with tony's cajun seasoning and bake at 350 covered with foil until tender. Then, remove foil and stir. You can now salt & pepper the potatoes. Turn heat up to 450 and bake until brown and braised! The photo below shows them ready to be placed in the oven. See finished photo for how they look when they are done.Bake the tilapia after you turn the potatoes up to 450. It will only need about 12 minutes or so in the foil packets. Then, CAREFULLY undo packets and slide tilapia fillets onto a baking sheet. Put in oven with potatoes again and turn oven on BROIL for about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on them, though. When they look done, turn the oven off. Leave them sitting in the oven while you make the cream sauce. The photo below shows a fillet after you cook it in the foil packet.

The cream sauce is SO easy and DELICIOUS! Now, it's not "low-fat" but you only use a little bit on the fish to add to the flavor so it's okay. To make it, you pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan and heat. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth until boiling. Add container of Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread until melted. Mix in 1/4 cup of parmesean cheese and wisk until smooth on medium heat. Remove from heat when smooth. If it is too thick, add a little more broth and wisk it.

To complete our meal, I opened a can of asparagus spears and 1 can of green beans and cooked over medium heat adding about a tablespoon of margarine and some salt & pepper. The flavor of the asparagus infuses the green beans and it is truly delicious! Below, you will see photos of the finished meal ready to eat! My whole family LOVED this meal and couldn't get enough of it!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and try it sometime! It was fun to make and I felt really good about serving it to my family!

NOTE: If you do not want to make the potatoes, another great pairing with this would be brown wild rice!