Baked Tilapia, Brussel Sprouts, and Coconut Milk Sweet Potatoes

I wasn't up for much of a culinary adventure tonight because I'm GRUMPY, but that doesn't mean I didn't whip up a healthy and delicious little dinner. It was super easy and only took 45 minutes from start to finish. Let's see what's going on:

First, preheat the oven to 375˚.

The first thing I did for efficiency was prep my:

Brussel Sprouts (serves about 4)


 because they came like this:

I mean, seriously, what is that? 

So I pulled them off the stalk(?), trimmed them up so they were all a uniform size, and rinsed 'em off. I probably had about 3 cups of sprouts here. Then you'll want to put them in a bowl and add:

1 Tbsp balsamic

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

pepper to taste  

a little bit of seasoning goes a long way with these guys. Toss to coat evenly and spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Pop them in the oven (top rack) for 15 minutes, flip them over, and bake them for about 15 minutes more until they start to brown.

Once you have those in the oven, prepare your fish:

Baked Tilapia (serves 2)

2 tilapia filets
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp garlic
pepper to taste

Combine the lemon juice, oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Using a spoon, spread half the mixture onto each filet (your fish should be on a baking sheet). Sprinkle with pepper.

Pop this into the oven. If you're also cooking the brussel sprouts, these can go on the bottom rack. The fish will take about 25 minutes to bake, check for the edges to brown and the fish to flake easily.

Once you have those baking, it's time to make your:

Coconut Milk Sweet Potatoes (serves about 4)

1 large sweet potato
3 tsp fresh ginger root
1/2 C coconut milk

Poke holes in the sweet potato and put it in the microwave for 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Check to see that it's super soft throughout. If not, put it back in for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, grate the ginger into a bowl. When the potato is ready, let it sit until you can handle it, then pull the peel off. Throw it in the bowl and add your coconut milk. Mash it or use a hand mixer for super creamy potatoes. You could also throw everything in the food processor. Add more milk if necessary for creaminess.

And that's all there is to it. Once you do that, you will have a beautiful, delicious plate of food that looks like this:

And you will be very happy that you made the effort. 

By the way, I'm totally obsessed with brussel sprouts now. Hated them when I was a kid, but decided to give them another go because I really love vegetables and would hate to miss out on something delicious. They are so good this way, not mushy like I remember from childhood (how the hell were my parents cooking them, anyway?).