A quick, light meal for a hot day




Today it was a sweltering 36˚C, with a humidex of about 42˚C. Holy smokes, who wants to cook under those conditions?! It'll have to be something quick and effortless in the kitchen today. Something light on the tummy, too.

I looked through my freezer, and I still have some tilapia leftover from my last recipe. Great. A nice, light fish would be perfect for a day like today, and tilapia is such an easy meal. It can be cooked straight from frozen, in the oven. That means, I spend NO time in front of a hot stove, except to take the rice off, once it has boiled. So tonight, it's fish, rice, and fresh salad.

Here's my dinner tonight, with prices:

2 tilapia filets (left over from my pack of $6.99): $2.80
side of rice (1/2 a cup, and I have left-overs for the fridge): $0.30
pack of mixed greens: $1.99 (I added the full price to the total, but I only used $0.40 of it, with lots left-over)
an english cucumber: $1.00 (I used about $0.20 of it, with lots left-over)
a lemon: $0.33

You will also need:
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
a teaspoon of either butter or oil
a touch of vinegar, if you want to lightly dress your salad (optional)

TOTAL: $6.42 to serve 2. Lots of left-over greens and cucumber for the rest of the week.


Instructions for tilapia:

Heat oven to 425˚F.

Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze out the juice from one-half of the lemon only. If you like your fish lemony, then use all the juice from the one half. I cooked 2 filets with half a lemon's worth of juice. More than that would be overkill.

Mix oil, lemon, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Cover frozen tilapia in marinade. Place frozen tilapia in aluminum foil, sealing entirely so that the fish is fully covered and juices stay in.

Place in oven, and cook for about 25 minutes. Tilapia should be white and flaky when it's done.

See previous post for basmati rice instructions. It will take 10 minutes to make.

Serve with rice and salad. Done.

And I would add.... 'twas delicious, seasonal, and perfectly filling. :-)

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