Creole Cookin'

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Yesterday was an incredibly balmy 45 degrees!! In celebration, I went on a walk through the U-W Arboretum, a 1200-acre park full of forest, prairie, savannah, and wetlands. It was wonderful! I can't wait for spring so I can use the currently snow-covered trails and smell all the new growth.

Looking out over Wingra Lake towards the AOS building, where I work (way far off in the distance, with all the hardware on top); from the UW Arboretum.
Weekends around here are devoted to cooking and preparing meals (mostly soups) for the week ahead. Since I was lazy and ate eggs this Friday, I decided to cook up some fish today instead. I found a great recipe for Creole Red Snapper, which I figured would be just as good with some of my tasty frozen tilapia. It totally was.

Creole Tilapia
Ingredients
- 4 fish fillets (typically about 4-6 oz per fillet)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 c. chopped onion
- 1/4 c. chopped green pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- basil, salt, pepper, and/or hot sauce to taste (I used Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning)

If you have the time, let all this good stuff simmer for a while!
Directions
- Heat oil in a large, nonstick pan and saute onion, green pepper, and garlic for 3-4 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, Worcestershire, vinegar, and spices, and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5-10 if you're not in a hurry, to let the flavors mingle.

I didn't do so great covering the fillets with sauce, but they turned out well anyway!
- Put the fillets in the pan and spoon sauce over them. Cover and simmer about 12 minutes.
- Serve with some roasted broccoli and a roll for a complete dinner!

Creole tilapia: highly recommended from yours truly.

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