Baked Parmesan Tilapia

I had a craving for fish and had planned to make it for us tomorrow night (Friday) for dinner, but plans changed and I got to make it last night! I was supposed to have a meeting last night, but it got canceled because of the snow. We didn't get much snow...just around one inch, but it was beautiful. I was happy to have an evening at home to cook and spend time with my husband and fur-babies. :) One the menu was easy Baked Parmesan Tilapia, baked kale "chips," and rice. The tilapia was soooo yummy and fixed my craving. The kale chips were new to me...I have been reading many blogs that posted the recipe and thought I'd give it a try. They were so good! Extremely crisp and paper thin, but very crunchy and great flavor. We also had some rice leftover in the fridge, so to fancy that up I toasted some walnuts on the stove on a pot, then threw the rice in the pot to warm it up and added craisans...a fun variation to boring old rice. Enjoy the recipes below!


Easy Baked Parmesan Tilapia

(makes 4 tilapia filets)
4 tilapia filets (I used fresh, but I think frozen should work too)
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup grated/shredded parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
lemon slices for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pat tilapia dry (if frozen, it should be thawed first) with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Lay on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 10-12 minutes. While fish is baking, mix butter with garlic, thyme and parmesan cheese.

Remove fish from oven and gently flip. Spread about 1/2 tablespoons of butter mixture on the fish, and heat the broiler in your oven. Set fish under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes, or until cheese gets golden and bubbly.
Serve with lemon.

Baked Kale Chips, recipe found here

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
3 large handfuls lacinato kale, torn into shreds
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparing to bake. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Combine the salt, smoked paprika, and garlic in a small bowl.

Wash the kale. Rinse the kale leaves, then put them in a salad spinner and spin until the green becomes a blur. Round and round, spinning and spinning — let the kale dry. After it comes out, dry it even more with paper towels. Those leaves should be bone dry.

Oiling the kale. Put the kale leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Massage the oil into the leaves. You might need more. You might have larger hands than I do. Use your judgment.

Bake the chips. Arrange the kale chips onto the sheet try and slide it into the oven. Bake until the leaves are crisp to the touch but still a dark green. (When they turn brown, they turn bitter.) Check at the 12-minute mark, to be sure.

Remove them from the oven. Sprinkle with the garlic smoked paprika salt.

Let them cool a bit. Eat.