Crunchy Mahi Mahi Dinner

So we haven't been grocery shopping yet, but I couldn't wait to share our dinner from tonight. We bought frozen mahi mahi at Sam's Club a few weeks back and haven't had a chance to have any yet. Here's what I cooked up!

Crunchy Mahi Mahi Dinner

Ingredients

     -2 Mahi Mahi Fillets
     -Panko Bread Crumbs
     -Parmesan Cheese
     -Garlic Powder
     -Cayenne Pepper
     -Salt and Pepper






Directions
1. Thaw frozen mahi mahi fillets
2. Pat dry fillets then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl mix together equal parts panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, then add ~1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch cayenne pepper.

4. Cover fish in bread crumb mixture on both sides making sure to press the crumbs on pretty well. Warning: The bread crumbs fall off really easily.
5. Meanwhile, cover the bottom of a medium skillet in olive oil and heat over med/high heat.
6. When the olive oil is hot enough to make the topping sizzle place both fillets in the pan and cook for ~4 minutes on each side

7. Pat off excess oil on fillets before serving. (Ours weren't greasy but if they are don't forget this step).





In addition to the crunchy Mahi Mahi we had leftover sweet corn from Brad's parents back in Ohio and a side salad.  Such a delicious dinner and so much less expensive than eating out!



Cost of Dinner For 2:
2 Mahi Mahi Fillets $3.33
Corn                       FREE
Romaine Lettuce     ~ $0.50
TOTAL= 3.83

Even Stark thought it smelled great and couldn't stay out of the kitchen!

Tiny Budget Cooking

When we first moved into our first apartment we had the smallest kitchen physically possible and we started a blog called "Kait and Brad's Small Kitchen Cooking." While we made a ton of great food in that dark tiny kitchen, with fresh ingredients from the farmers' market in Kerrytown, we failed to update our blog much, if at all. Since then we have moved into our first home and finally have a great kitchen where we can both cook, unfortunately it's further away from the farmers' market and it seems that we have less time to actually cook because I have been spending much more time at work/school.

The biggest problem though is that our grocery bill has gotten bigger and I feel like we are throwing more food out. So we have decided to start this blog and document how much we are spending on groceries every week and what good eats we are cooking. This way you, our readers, can help hold us accountable for being healthy and eating on a budget.

Here are our goals
     -Stop buying prepackaged foods for breakfast (cereal bars/cereal)
     -Make lunch less boring
     -Cook as much as possible for the week on Sunday to avoid the temptation of just picking up something fast on the way home
     -Avoid wasting/throwing out food
     -and most importantly, SAVE MONEY! Our goal is going to be to spend $40 a week. Our actual bill may be more $40 but only when we stock up on meat/bulk items that will feed us for a while.  Therefore, we'll be calculating how much each serving we eat costs us. It should be interesting, last week we spent $26 on just breakfast and lunch for both of us so it will definitely be a challenge.

Sunday (tomorrow) is our grocery shopping and new cooking day so check back for an update!