A New Dinner

I've gotten busy really quickly after returning to school, and we have Open House this week, so I'm spending most of my time trying to accomplish all my tasks for home and school. I'll have some shots of my decorated classroom for you guys later this week.


In the meantime, I threw together a dinner last night that was surprisingly delicious, and I wanted to share it!



It took about 20 minutes start to finish, which is my favorite kind.



On Saturday, we made these tilapia tacos (and my "we," I mean me and my best gal Liz, queen of delicious healthy meals).

Photo by FitnessMagazine.com

They were very tasty, but we had some leftover fish. I'd pan-fried the tilapia in chili powder, salt and pepper, and I had dreams of some kind of creamy sauce with the shredded fish over pasta dancing in my head.



Two days and 20 minutes later, I had this delightful concoction.



I adapted a spicy cream sauce recipe from a favorite dish, Confetti Chicken. I shredded the tilapia and tossed it into the sauce at the last minute so it warmed through, and served it over whole-wheat pasta with sauteed spinach.


Here's my adapted cream sauce recipe:


2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk (I use 1%)
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Whisk until combined, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour in the milk and half-and-half and whisk until combined.  Let it simmer for another minute or two, then add the cheese, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir until melty and fragrant.

This is where I shredded the fish and added it to the sauce. It added some nice texture, along with protein, but the fishy flavor was pretty minimal. I had about one filet of tilapia.



Dan was actually pretty enthusiastic about this dinner. It had a nice spicy kick, without being overwhelming. Quick, easy, and delicious!



What's your favorite thing to make when you're strapped for time or energy?