Blackened Tilapia (Inspired by Cooking Light)

Blackened Tilapia and Southwestern Corn

I'm skeptical. It's true I'm a strong believer everything happens for a reason, but I also have a hard time believing things that just plain sound too good to be true. Tonight's dinner was exactly one of those instances. I had absolutely no faith our dinner would be ready in less than 15 minutes. Thank you for proving me wrong, Cooking Light! You helped me see I really need to let this skepticism go a little bit.

The husband and I planned to take the big brown dog and little brown dog to the park tonight, so we really needed a dinner that would come together quickly. After eating pounds of pulled pork last weekend, I still don't have much interest in meat just yet. Lucky for me the husband was up for fish tonight. Just for him, I thought I'd try out a blackened fish recipe.

Cooking Light's recipe for blackened catfish sounded simple and the photo in the cookbook  dish look delicious - I was hooked. I still didn't really believe the fish, no matter how thin, would cook in nine minutes on the stovetop, though. (I'm used to baking fish for at least 10 minutes and that's after preheating the oven.) But I was so wrong.

I mixed up the spices, rubbed the fish a little, threw a bag of steam-fresh veggies in the microwave (yes, vegetables in a bag are OK when you're pressed for time!) and heated up a fry pan. I cooked the fish for exactly three minutes and flipped it as the recipe instructed. Another three minutes on the other side and our fish was done. I was shocked! The husband thought dinner smelled fantastic, and when he ate his fish he was impressed. I actually made something with a little spice!

Overall, this dish really made up for last night's mediocre meal, and I know I'll be making this again soon. It got us fed and off to the park to enjoy a beautiful evening with the doggies. Could I ask for anything more? 

Blackened Tilapia
Inspired by Cooking Light

1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, divided
8 ounces tilapia fillets

Mix the spices in a small bowl while you heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat.

Mmmm ... spicy!

Wash the fish and pat dry. Rub the fish with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and the spice mixture.


Spray the pan with a little cooking spray and drizzle in 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Add the fish to the pan.


Cook the fish for three minutes on each side or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

According to Cooking Light, their blackened catfish has 200 calories, 8.3 g fat, 1.9 g carbs .5 g fiber and 28.2 g protein. I know I didn't make this dish with catfish, but at 100 calories for 4 ounces of tilapia, I'm confident this dish was just about as healthy.