Dinner in 15: Baked Garlic Parmesan Tilapia

I’ve got the perfect “dinner in a pinch” recipe to share with you all that only takes 15 minutes and a few common ingredients to prepare. My long holiday weekend was filled with pool parties and lots of cooking, and consequently, I neglected to plan mine and Ryan’s dinners as thoroughly as I usually do. At around 8PM on Monday after a long day back at work and two hours of intense workouts to follow, I needed to think of something quick and simple for dinner.

My freezer had three basic options: Tilapia, chicken tenders, and a big cut of steak (which I want to save for later this week). I opted for the fish and decided to make a dinner that is a staple in my weekly meal prep for friends — Garlic Parmesan Tilapia. The pickings in my kitchen for sides were very, very slim, but I happened to have a couple of pre-made dinner rolls, a steamable bag of broccoli, and some cooked/seasoned spaghetti squash to use up. Convenient! If you don’t have the luxury of pre-cooked sides sitting in your fridge/pantry, you can cook up some vegetables, quinoa, rice, and/or any other easy side as the fish is in the oven. The point here is that your sides can be plain and super-simple because the Tilapia has enough flavor to carry the whole meal.