Week 1 - Monday tilapia

Welcome to day 1 of my 4 week (weekday only!) recipe challenge. Last night's recipe was Roasted Tilapia, Potatoes, and Lemons. This was a good recipe to kick things off, except I don't like fish, so I cooked a couple of chicken tenderloins for myself. I briefly sauteed them on both sides for less than 2 minutes per side but finished cooking them in the oven, to ensure they were done at the same time as the fish. Step 1 - roast potatoes, lemon, thyme in olive oil in oven. Step 2 - prep next step - add olives, fish, (optional chicken), sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper. Try not to splatter open magazine containing all the recipes.

Step 3: finish roasting everything

Was the recipe easy to follow?
Yes, super easy. The write up says total time 45 minutes, hands on time 10 minutes and that was a slight underestimate. I started at 5:50 and thought it was done at 6:38 (so 48 minutes) but not all the potatoes were cooked through, so we were able to eat but the pan had to go back in the oven. And I like recipes where there is downtime, to have a break to go check on the dynamic duo who might be wreaking havoc in the living room.

Did it taste good?
It did. A teeny bit bland, I'd say, but overall it was good. Roasted olives are yummy.

Kid-friendly?
Eh. Elizabeth likes fish so she ate most of her serving. Andrew said he was hungry before he sat down, but he didn't eat much.

Adjustments?
This was a mighty simple meal - white fish and potatoes. I had to add a vegetable, green beans. And adjusted a chicken tenderloin for me.

Would I make it again?
Eh. Maybe. Since I don't like fish I wouldn't have much motivation, except maybe during Lent. It was easy.

Tilapia is generally a decent seafood choice from an environmental and health perspective. Nearly all of it is farm raised, but the label on this fish says wild caught. Um, doubt it - more than likely farmed-raised in South America. Not a perfect choice, but not terrible.

Here's the Real Simple blogger's take. If I made it again, I'd go with her suggestion of broiling for an extra few minutes at the end to crisp things up, and I'd have to add a few minutes extra at the beginning for the potatoes. I never, ever find the time to roast potatoes to be accurate in recipes. Maybe my oven is not hot enough.