Need Dinner in 15 or less? Broiled Tilapia is the answer!

No lie, this fish recipe takes less than fifteen minutes. Start to finish. Beginning to end. Including prep time, cook time, and sliding that sucker on a plate.

Just saying, steaming some broccoli and carrots takes less than fifteen minutes, too, so theoretically you could get a healthy dinner turned out in no time.  However, I usually like rice with my fish (not sure why, I feel like it just goes well together?...), and that takes at least 25 minutes, so now we're up to half an hour.  But hey, don't say I didn't give you options!

This recipes is only for 2, so if you are feeding more, just double, triple, etc. it, and there shouldn't be any problems.  The best part?  It is only 5 WWP+ per filet!  For something as flavorful (not to mention that includes miracle whip & parmesan cheese) as these tilapia filets, that is amazing!

Here is another reason to keep that bag of frozen fish in your freezer: quick meals, like this one, for when you're not sure what to fix!

Ingredients:
2 5-oz Tilapia Filets, thawed
1 tablespoon Butter, melted
1 tablespoon Parmesan, grated
1/2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 tablespoon Miracle Whip (or fat-free/light Mayo)
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
Cooking spray

simple simple.

Turn Broiler on to high.  Line a broiler-safe pan with foil (optional, just makes clean-up easier) and lightly grease with cooking spray.

Pat fish dry and lay in pan.  Broil for 3 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients.

easy peasy

Remove fish from oven and flip filets over.  Spread mixture over the top of the fish and return to oven. 

the butter will start to get all melty. 

Broil another 3-4 minutes, until the fish is flaky.

Ta-da!  That is literally it.  So simple!

Yummmmyyy! 

Roasted broccoli & cauliflower make a great accompaniment for any meal.

Crockpot Split Pea Soup

I'm not sure why, but I until a few months ago, Jess and I had never had split pea soup.  Seriously, though, why not? We both love peas and love soups, so I'm not sure how it had never crossed our bowls before...

So a few months ago, shortly after starting Weight Watchers, during one of my three-hour-long trips to the grocery store that ran my phone dead from using the barcode scanner on the WW app...geez this sentence is getting out of control...I found a package of "just add water" split pea soup.

It was amazing!  It is Alessi brand and literally you just boil 4 1/2 cups water, dump the package in and cook for about 15 minutes.  Jess seriously loves it!  I usually add a piece or two of bacon to his, just because he gets pretty grouchy with vegetarian meals, but I will eat it just as it is.  And the best part? Only 3 points per cup! WHATTT?  This is a seriously heavy, filling, starchy soup and is so low in points.  I added it to the rotation and we would eat it every few weeks, usually on weekends when we were busy.

And then it happened.

I went to Kroger and my beloved Alessi Split Pea Soup was on "final mark down."  I bought all the packages that they had (7, and I'm hoarding them for hard times), and hoped for the best.  Our Kroger was undergoing a big move and they were rearranging everything, so I hoped they were just trying to downscale their inventory.  However, the move has been finished for over a month now and they have yet to restock the Alessi soups...I'm sad.

In the midst of the chaos when I thought I'd never have my beloved soup again, I decided I needed to learn how to make it myself...to Pinterest!  I found several recipes, nabbed my favorite one, changed it a bit, and this is how it turned out.

I am going to just go out and say this: I don't like this homemade recipe as much as the bagged kind. Weird? Maybe, but it is true.  Second, it is not nearly as healthy (and I'm not sure why...), coming in at 7 points per cup.  However, it is REALLY filling, and 1 cup to 1 1/2 cup is plenty for me, so that is good. You can leave the meat out or substitute for something like ham hocks, leftover ham from Thanksgiving, bacon, etc.

Ingredients
16 oz dried Split Peas
1 small Onion
2 small/medium Carrots
2 cloves Garlic
12 oz Ham Steaks
7 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 teaspoon Ground Mustard
1/4 teaspoon Ground Thyme
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 to 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Did I mention this was cheap?

Heat oil to medium heat in skillet.  Brown the ham steaks to form a nice crust.  This took me like 10-12 minutes, flipping them every few minutes to check the other side. Remove and put on plate, do not drain oil or wipe pan.

Finely mince your onion, carrots, and garlic.  I ran mine through a food processor, but you don't have to.  They will pretty much break down and get super soft in the crockpot, so it isn't necessary to make them really small, it is probably more personal preference.

Add the vegetables to the hot skillet and saute for a few minutes.  I just let them brown a little to soak up some of the ham & oil flavor.

I'm not sure what happened to this photo...sorry! I need a new camera...

Add ham, vegetables, peas, chicken broth, and seasonings to crockpot.  Set to low and cook for 8-10 hours.

Haha, this doesn't even look appealing at all, but it is! 

Remove the ham steaks, cut into bite-sized pieces.  You could probably have done this before putting it all in the crockpot, I just didn't.  My ham was so soft it didn't even really need cut, it could pretty much be shredded with two forks.

Feed some ham pieces to anxious puppies.

Mix the ham back in.

Serve!  The great thing about this is that it will literally stay in the crockpot forever on warm.  Ok, not forever, but all day and evening.

The texture is amazing, too.  Such a thick, hearty soup for not many ingredients or much effort. 

Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya

I feel like I should have named my blog something about hearty, comfort food...because those are all my favorite recipes and this one is no different!  It combines some of mine and Jess's favorite things into one, big throw together meal: shrimp, sausage, spiciness, rice, peppers...the list goes on!  Have you guys ever been to New Orleans?  I have and wasn't too impressed, EXCEPT for the food...oh man, I love cajun/southern/whatever-it-is food.  Jambalaya is one of my meals, either to order at a restaurant or to fix at home, so thanks, Louisiana! (If it originated somewhere else, sorry!)

I have altered this same recipe a few different ways, either adding or removing peppers, proteins (sometimes I add chicken, or do only one kind of protein), adding more broth and making it a gumbo (soupy-Jambalaya!), you get the idea.  But all in all, this is the way I like to make it, more tomato-saucy than dry, but less brothy. 

It is plenty of food on its own, but you can never go wrong by adding a few pieces of crusty bread to dip in the tomato-ey goodness.  Or serve with a salad for a well-rounded meal...we don't do that, but you're welcome to!  We also like it pretty spicy, so feel free to cut back the amount of cayenne and replace jalapenos with bell pepper.

Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya -
1 large Onion, diced
2 medium Jalapenos, diced
1 red Bell Pepper, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
13 oz Smoked Sausage, cut into rounds or bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
3 cups Chicken Broth
1 lb Okra, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt, lots of salt...
1/2 cup DRY Rice
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
1 teaspoon Ground Sage
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Parsley
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground Thyme
10 oz raw Shrimp, peeled & deveined

If your okra is frozen, thaw it.  If not, cut into bite-sized pieces, discarding ends.  I think you can eat the ends, but I don't like them, so I always toss 'em.  In a large bowl, combine a few cups of water and quite a bit of salt.  Almost until it stops dissolving, so several tablespoons. Add your cut okra to the bowl, adding water to cover if needed.  Let sit while you continue preparing.  This will take some of the stickiness out of your okra. 

In a large soup-pot, heat up your oil to medium-low heat.  Meanwhile, dice up all your veggies and sausage.

Brown the onion, peppers, and sausage for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.  Add garlic and cook another minute or so. 

Add chicken broth and crushed tomatoes, bring to a boil.

Add rice, okra, and all the seasonings.  Turn heat down, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Add shrimp, stir together, cover, and cook another 5 minutes or so, or until the shrimp are opaque and pink.

Remove lid, cook off any additional liquid.  If at any point it needs more liquid you can add additional tomato sauce or chicken broth.

Yum!