Day 2- Tilapia Packets with Squash

Again, dinner was a rushed affair tonight- the summer side-track. There's always something, right? So tonight's meal is Steamed Tilapia with Wine and Tomatoes, Yellow Squash Sasserole, and Sauted Spinach. When I first typed that, I saw that I typed "Sasserole" instead of "Casserole." I like it so I'm leaving it. Sasserole. New word. Love it.

I had some yellow squash on hand from a friend- it was getting pretty old so I figured I'd better use it! I sliced and cubed it and threw it into a microwavable casserole dish (Marshall's has my favorite Le Creuset ones for super cheap- perfect size too!) I added a few slices of yellow onion that I diced. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the dish (not the squash) and zap in the microwave for 10 minutes on high. Take it out (WITH oven mits!) and melt a tablespoon of butter in a small bowl. Add a dash of milk to the butter and 1 egg and stir it up. Add to the squash and toss to coat. Shred some chedder cheese, just enough to add a thin layer on the squash. And then crunch up some crackers into crumbs into a thin layer on top of that. I use those cheap Captain's Wafers, you know, the kind your grandmother steals from Picadilly. They are good to have in the pantry for various dishes and it doesn't matter if they get stale since you are essentially crushing them into crumbs anyway. Pop that in the oven at 400 and bake about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, I defrosted some tilapia fillets in some water in the sink- it takes no time at all. Lay out a foil sheet for each fillet (2 for us) and plop the fish down on each one. Salt and pepper. Put a pat of butter on each as well as some diced tomato. I split a tomato from the garden between our 2 fillets. I chopped up a few cloves of garlic for each. And I grabbed a basil leaf from the herb garden for each, rolled it up, and sliced it. Then I gathered up the foil to make little packets for each and before closing up, added a liberal splash of cheap white wine, which I always keep in the fridge for cooking. Seal up and bake at 400 (with the squash) for about 10-15 minutes- check and make sure the fish flakes and it's done.

I also sauted some spinach in a pot on the stove with a dash of olive oil and a diced up clove of garlic to round out the meal. You pretty much throw it all in the pot, turn the stove on medium, and let it do it's thing. Should be done in under 10 minutes.

Tonight's meal was accomplished with the very capable help of my lovely assistant, Mollykins. That's her new thing- standing on a stool and "helping" cook, though all she wants to make lately is cakeballs. Me too.