Tangy Blackened Tilapia

Tonight I made my "famous" Blackened Tilapia for dinner. It's so easy, and so good, Jen suggested I add a new section to the blog for cooking, since it's something we've been doing more and more of. Done.

I got 2 good-sized Tilapia filets at Hannafords for only $1.32! We already had all the seasonings (they are common), add some brussel sprouts (or your favorite greens) and a $0.59 box of Jiffy biscuit mix (I add shredded cheddar cheese to my mix), and you've got a gourmet meal for about $3.00 per plate. Not even Obama can provide this kind of economic recovery plan ;)

This recipe is a hybrid of 2 that I've used in the past, one from somewhere unknown, and one from tilapia.com, which is where I first learned about tilapia and how great it is and where it comes from, etc. Yada yada.

Anyway, here's the recipe, and hopefully we'll be posting a fun and simple recipe every once in awhile in the future.

Ingredients:

Tilapia filets
a little garlic salt
generous lemon pepper
ground red pepper (i use a ground red & black pepper mixture)
dried, crushed basil
onion powder (optional if you don't want onion burps)
dried thyme
1 c. salted butter, melted (to dip the filets in)
a lemon or lime

(feel free to sub your own spices or take out what you don't like. it's the technique that counts, not so much the ingredients.)

Instructions:
1. Heat your skillet on high for 5 minutes or so.
2. While that's heating, mix all seasonings in a flat bowl.
3. Dip fillets in melted butter (both sides) and coat well with seasoning mix.
4. Turn skillet heat down to med, then place fillets in skillet and cook 2-3 minutes on each side.
5. Be careful removing the filets after the Tilapia is cooked - it practically falls apart ;)

Give 'em a little squeezy-squeeze with the lemon/limes to taste after you get it on your plate. That's what makes it "tangy". Enjoy!