About the Author: Olivia Bryant is a born and raised Arkansas native. She graduated as a marketing student at the University of Central Arkansas in May 2026. Olivia grew up learning to cook at home with her family, and she completed the culinary arts program at Conway High School in 2022. She considers herself a foodie and a home chef!
Do you ever find yourself struggling to come up with new meal ideas at home? There are so many factors that go into planning a meal. Is it healthy? Is it cost-effective? Does it taste good? Is it easy or complicated to make? Well, I am going to see if Arkansas TV’s newest cooking show, “Arkansas Taste Kitchen,” can solve this problem!
Hosted by local Arkansas personality Craig O’Neill, local master chef and University of Arkansas at Pulaski Tech culinary instructor Dr. Robert Hall and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Culinary Medicine nutrition expert Alyssa Frisby, “Arkansas Taste Kitchen” has promised to deliver healthy and affordable meals that “actually work in real kitchens.” I have downloaded those recipes to try for myself. As someone who cooks very often, I find these recipes very easy and hard to mess up. I am going to judge these recipes on affordability, ease and taste.
PRICE BREAKDOWN
The first recipe is “Sheet pan tilapia with red onion, squash (and) zucchini.” The recipe calls for four 6-ounce tilapia filets, one red onion, one yellow squash, one zucchini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, dried red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. If you regularly cook at home, you probably already have these spices, but if you don’t, they are all relatively affordable.
As for the main ingredients, you can find all these things at your local grocer for a reasonable price. The most expensive thing in this recipe is the tilapia. You could buy fresh or frozen. I opted for frozen because it’s cheaper, ringing in at $6.28 for four frozen filets. I bought just enough for what this recipe called for to keep the cost low, so that frozen bag is exactly the amount the recipe calls for. The cost of all the produce is also relatively low. Altogether, the squash, zucchini, red onion and lemon (getting one of each), is about $3.50. So, with the fish and the produce, that’s $9.78 for the entire meal, give or take a couple of dollars if you must purchase the spices. I’d say that’s a pretty great price for a meal that probably serves two to four people.
Moving on to the next recipe: “Healthy Mac and Cheese.”
As someone who lives in an “ingredient household,” so to speak, I actually had all the ingredients for this recipe at home. The only thing I had to purchase was milk, but again this is something most of you will likely have at home. This mac and cheese is pretty standard, as someone who has made homemade mac and cheese before. The ingredients are cheddar cheese, milk, butter, all-purpose flour, elbow macaroni pasta, salt and pepper. If you don’t have all of these ingredients lying around, there are multiple ways to buy these ingredients to make things more affordable. You can buy a quart of milk instead of a gallon or half gallon, and an 8-ounce block or bag of cheddar cheese. If you did have to go to the store and buy all the ingredients for this recipe, it would be about $8.95. Mac and cheese is usually considered a side dish, but if you have kiddos at home, they would definitely be satisfied and full with just this.
COOKING THE MEALS Next, let's get down to the ease of cooking these recipes. The tilapia takes a little bit of prep but is overall very easy. All you’re going to need is a knife, cutting board, measuring spoons and a decent-sized sheet pan. If you’re handy with a knife, you’ll have no problem chopping up your veggies. All you need to do with your fish is defrost, pat dry and rub with your marinade. The only way you can mess this up is if you forget you put it in the oven! If you’re a beginner at home cooking, this is definitely the recipe for you.
As for the mac and cheese, you might want to watch the episode as you cook, especially if you’re a beginner. For this recipe, you’ll need a pot for your pasta, a saucepan, a cheese grater (unless you buy pre-shredded), a whisk and a medium-sized baking dish. There’s a little bit of trouble shooting for this one, but this isn’t a difficult recipe overall.
When it comes to making the cheese sauce, here are a few tips for you. Make sure your butter and flour mixture (a roux) is smooth before adding in your milk, AND make sure your milk is room temperature before SLOWLY adding it to your saucepan. Don’t forget to be constantly whisking as you add your milk to the pan to make sure everything is incorporated properly. Wait until your milk starts to bubble, then go ahead and add your cheese. Everything else from there is very simple; just combine your cheese sauce and macaroni and bake! The baking time is 15-20 minutes for this recipe. I recommend 20 minutes for that extra crispy crust. By the way, I did use shells for this and not macaroni noodles because it’s what I had; can’t blame a girl for using what she’s got! However, the macaroni would probably work best; the shells aren’t the best cheesy vehicles.
OVERALL TASTE
Now, for the most important factor of these meals: the taste! I thought both meals tasted great. The tilapia is fresh and light but still fills you up plenty. The squash and zucchini were tender with just the right amount of bite. The onions added a little bit of sweetness after getting slightly caramelized. The fish just falls apart in your mouth, and the marinade is the perfect citrusy complement that ties it all together. My roommate and I definitely enjoyed it! And as two girls trying to stay healthy, this met all our requirements.
The mac and cheese dish is everything you could want and more. If you’re craving mac and cheese, it won’t be the kind from a packet after you’ve had this. This stuff genuinely tastes like home. It’s so simple, but it had me going back for seconds! And I would like to go back on my previous statement: this can most definitely be a meal on its own. This is also such a customizable dish. I can’t wait to make it again and try different add-ins like bacon, green onions, or maybe different kinds of cheese!
These recipes are absolutely worth trying, especially for you beginner cooks at home. Whether you’re a parent trying to come up with healthy meals for your family, or a student who just moved away from home and you’re trying to cook on your own, these recipes will work for you! “Arkansas Taste Kitchen” is off to a great start, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Try For Yourself!
Visit Arkansastv.gov/ATK to download these recipes and try them yourself! And don’t forget to watch the premiere episode of “Arkansas Taste Kitchen” on Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m. on live broadcast or on YouTube.