A few weeks ago, I was asked to participate in the Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off at the Charleston Cooks store here in Charleston. The premise of the event was similar to Iron Chef or Chopped, and I was excited to be part of it.
Here’s the gist of the event:
You’ll be paired with another blogger and will have 45 minutes to cook a dinner for 4 on a budget of $15 (protein excluded). There will be a “pantry” of Food Lion brand products for you to cook with and your protein will be a surprise! The dishes will be presented to the judges and scored by its taste and your ability to stay within the budget!
Easy peasy! I do that kind of thing all the time! Oh, wait, no. The opposite of that. Anything I cook usually takes me 2 hours and most of the dishes in my kitchen. I was freaking out, but luckily I have lots of people in my life to encourage me and keep me from having a full on panic attack. Thanks guys!
When I got to Charleston Cooks, we were greeted with a buffet of items from the Food Lion deli, along with beer and wine. I got a sweet lime green apron with my name and Queen of the Food Age embroidered in it, and I got to meet a lot of really cool people.
I was partnered with Lisa, whose blog Charleston Treasures is really great and you should go read it. I had a great time working with her, and she was a wonderful partner to cook with!
At the beginning of the event, we were presented with 4 cuts of meat (pork chop, tilapia, chicken breast, and ground turkey), hidden under aluminum foil. Lisa let me do the honors of picking, and we ended up with tilapia. Although I was really hoping for the chicken, I was glad not to have gotten the turkey or pork. We had the perfect idea for our tilapia: fish tacos! The only problem: no tortillas. So we scrapped that idea and came up with about 15 others before finally settling on a crispy Greek-inspired baked tilapia with rice pilaf and cucumber salad.
When we presented to the judges, I was a bit of a blathering idiot, I even called it chicken by accident, which I followed up with “Oh crap. Sorry, I meant tilapia.” Classy. But I was pleasantly surprised and excited when we ended up winning second place!
Here’s the full video from the event! You can find me at the 0:36 mark, struggling because MATH IS HARD YOU GUYS. I especially love the part at the end where they “highlight” all of the dishes we made. Literally there were 4 dishes and they only named 3 of them in the video. Guess whose dish got left out. SPOILER ALERT: it’s mine.
You can view the rest of the event photos below. Thanks for being such loyal readers! Be sure to take a look at all of the other participants’ blogs because they’re all really great!
- Lisa Caplinger – Charleston Treasures
- Katie Perkinson – The Perks
- Jessica Paulsen – Local Goodness
- Brittany Greer – Counting my Cupcakes
- Valerie Kirkland – LiveFit Journey
- Megan Baker – Fried Green Pickles
- Shelby Hanchey – Recent Somethings
And here’s Lisa’s and my video! I especially love my quote at the end where I announce to the world that I’m basically a crazy cat lady. I don’t know why I’m so awkward, you guys. I just am.
As a reward for participating, Food Lion sent me home with a nice swag bag of their products, as well as a $100 gift card. I decided that I would reward you, my loyal followers, with another giveaway. Enter below for your chance to win a $100 gift card to Food Lion! Just post a comment with your favorite tilapia recipe to enter. You also get additional entries for following me on my various social media channels. Good luck!
I like this blackened tilapia recipe–http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/blackened-tilapia-buttered-carrots-00000000057126/
This looks delicious! Thanks and good luck!
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Thanks for following on Instagram!
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Oops I didn’t see the rafflecopter form until now. Please disregard the last 2 comments.
My favorite is Baked Tilapia with Garlic Butter
I think most recipes are infinitely better with the addition of garlic butter. Great choice!
This is so cool, congrats! I love it.
Also, here’s my favorite tilapia recipe that I just discovered when I googled it 5 minutes ago: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tilapia-with-Balsamic-Butter-Sauce-Thyme-Mashed-Potatoes-and-Sugar-Snap-Peas-236885
I live a block away from Food Lion and I’m broke. Me me me pick mee!
I love your method of picking a favorite tilapia recipe. Very resourceful. That’s the Elimy I know!
You guys nailed it! I enjoyed meeting both of you and sidenote: I just bought some glitter Toms for myself.
Glitter Toms are the best kind of Toms. I literally have 3 pairs. It’s a problem.
“I don’t know why I’m so awkward, you guys. I just am.” <– and this is why we love you. 🙂
This recipe is nearly identical to my favorite fish tacos: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-fish-tacos/. I just add avocado because I'm obsessed with it.
Hope you're well and congrats on second place. #proud
Thanks Sean! Glad to know my awkwardness isn’t too off-putting! 🙂
I can’t wait to see you at A Charleston Affair! It’ll be so fun!
Fish Tacos are like my #3 favorite food. My #2 favorite food is avocado. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I like Lemon Garlic Tilapia.
Everything tastes better with garlic! Yummm
I like lemon seasoning with a hint of almond.
How do you do a “hint of almond?” Do you use actual almond or almond extract?
I like to make Parmesan Almond Tilapia
You definitely can’t go wrong with parmesan almond! Do you use grated or shredded parmesan cheese?
garlic sauce tilapia
Oooh, yummy. How do you make your garlic sauce?
I like a baked Parmesan tilapia recipe that I found on pinterest!
Would you mind sharing the link? I’d love to take a look!
I love Baked Parmesan Talapia.
Baked parmesan tilapia seems to be the popular consensus on here. Yummm!
I like Tilapia with macadamia nuts.
I never would’ve thought of macadamia nuts! Great idea!
I like it with a creamy garlic butter sauce.
“Creamy,” “garlic,” “butter,” and “sauce” are some of my favorite words.
I like Baked Parmesan Talapia.
Mmm… I’m getting hungry just reading your comment!
I love to bake tilapia with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder!
Entered the rafflecopter as “Wild orchid”
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
I use garlic powder and olive oil like a wild woman. Thanks for entering!
I love CHipotle crusted tilapia!
That sounds scrumptious! How do you do the chipotle crust? Do you buy the peppers in the adobo sauce? Now I’m really wanting your recipe!!
I like lemon and lime juice on mine. Then I add seasoned salt, pepper, and lemon pepper seasoning. I bake it in the oven for best results.
Thanks!
Citrusy tilapia sounds divine! Great idea!
I like Tilapia tacos with tomatoes, sour cream, lemon juice, sriracha, shredded cheese and cilantro.
I love, love, love fish tacos!
I love a Tilapia Fish Sandwich
Yields 2 Sandwiches, but recipe can be doubled or tripled easily
12 oz. skinless tilapia fillets (6 oz. each)
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. bread crumbs
Olive Oil for the pan
2 soft sandwich buns
2 slices cheddar cheese
1. First, place the eggs, flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow containers and line them up next to each other. Working with one fillet at a time, dredge the fillet in the flour, making sure each side is coated. Then, dip in the egg until the entire fillet is wet. Transfer to the breadcrumbs and lightly press the fillet into them on each side to make sure they are completely coated. Repeat with second fillet.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Cook the fillets for 3 minutes per side, or until just cooked through and brown and crispy on the outside.
3. Transfer sandwich to toasted bun. Immediately top with slice of cheese and serve.
I love a good fish sandwich. Thanks for sharing and entering!
i like the Broiled Tilapia Parmesan
Is there a reason you prefer broiling it to baking? I’ve never tried broiling it, but I’m curious if it is better that way
My husband makes a dill tilapia which is so good
Oooh, I’ve never tried a dill tilapia. Great idea!
I like it fried so this is one of my favs http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/pan-fried-tilapia-recipe.html
I love Sandra Lee. She’s a kitchen wizard.
I like Panko Breaded Parmesan Tilapia
Panko is my favorite kind of breadcrumbs. I like that it gets crispier than traditional bread crumbs do.
We love dipping our tilapia in crushed bread crumbs and baking it then drizzling a homemade honey mustard sauce over the top!
That sounds delicious!
My favorite tilapia recipe is to broil with lemon, butter and garlic, my mother’s way of making a variety of fish. I serve with steamed broccoli and a salad 🙂
Broccoli AND a salad? Now I’m feeling guilty for that slice of pizza I ate last night!