Garlic Filled Dinner!

So...we arrived in Scottsdale yesterday (full blog on the drive down later). Our condo is super cute and best of all has a nice big kitchen. I have missed cooking and was just dreaming about what our first meal in our new home would be. I decided in addition to this being a blog about my life and I would also make it a cooking blog and detail what we eat and the recipes!

SO....here we go....I was reading on my friends blog (Good Eats & Sweet Treats) about this delish lemon garlic tilapia and baked garlic rice. I knew I had to make it!

The garlic inspired meal actually started a little earlier in the day with some homemade hummus and fresh baked seasoned pita chips. The hummus was OF COURSE made in the ol' magic bullet.

Hallelujah Hummus

1/4 cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
14 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans),drained
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. tahini (sesame paste)
sprinkle with paprika

First ... Add all ingredients, except for paprika and olive oil, into the Tall Cup.
Next ... Twist on the Cross Blade and blend until smooth.
Then ... Salt and pepper to taste.

******

Next up came the main course. I just want to preface these recipes by saying that my husband never ate fish before knowing me. I slowly broke him in by cooking a little salmon and recently have brought him into the world of tilapia.

Both of these recipes were from my friend Jaime's blog that I link above. My pictures are not as pretty as hers but boy was this meal good. Eric ate 2 pieces of fish and the rice was to die for. This is definitely going in the "make again" pile!


Lemon Garlic Tilapia
from allrecipes.com

4 tilapia fillets
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped (I used 4 - I do not think one would be enough)
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
pepper to taste (I seasoned with salt as well)
red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a pan, melt the butter and sauté the garlic and parsley on low heat. While the garlic is cooking, rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place fillets in baking dish and season with pepper (and salt and red pepper). Pour lemon juice over fillets.

Drizzle garlic butter over the fish.

Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 15 minutes. (I baked mine for about 25 minutes.)

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf

from Good Eats & Sweet Treats

2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, crushed (I used 4 cloves)
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat butter in a skillet; add garlic and rice and cook until both are golden brown. Add 1 cup of broth and the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and pour into a covered casserole; bake for 25 minutes.

Stir in remaining 1-1/2 cups broth; cook for another 45 minutes. This recipe can be doubled without increasing the cooking time.