Feeling like some Creative Fish!

So I’m at the store and they have beautiful big tilapia filets on sale… So… I got some… but for some reason thinking of all the normal ways I usually fix it were not making me happy… I just got the notion of wanting to make it “stuffed”.  So I decided I was going to make stuffed fish and set about to see what I had here in the house to stuff it with!  It was fun!  AND it turned out great!

I started with some thick Tilapia filets that were thick enough that from the center I was able to slice a flap on either side so when I stuffed it, it was open on top not the side…  the size and thickness of your filets will determine how you slice it to later stuff….any way you do it is fine…

Next I sauteed some

pancetta ( you can get it in little blister packs at Trader Joes already diced up)

some diced up zucchini

chopped sweet vidalia onion

chopped sun dried tomatoes

(all these things were chopped to be rather small and uniform in size)

Then while that was all sauteeing together,

I took about a pint of heavy cream and half a package of cream cheese and beat it together until lightly fluffy (not necessarily to full whipped cream stage) and then I added a hefty dollop of some leftover zinfandel I had but you can use any white or pink wine…and whipped some more.

I then added cream mixture to sauteed mixture and stirred all together and sauteed a bit more.   I added a little white pepper and I am telling you that I added JUST A PINCH of salt…the pancetta added enough saltiness and everything else had plenty of flavor..

Then you just scoop out the filling and stuff inside of fish halves and then pour remaining sauce on top.

Bake in 350 degree oven 20-30 minutes

Serve with some roasted potatoes and another green vegetable and you have a healthy meal with just a little “cream” fat and the pancetta is so little for flavor that it isn’t that bad either… but if you make sure you have some greens it helps the health factor a LOT. 

If you eat a lot of good things like this… with fish, veggies, etc, then a little cream or bacon isn’t horrible as long as you keep EVERYTHING IN MODERATION (and LOTs OF greens!!)

I really hope you enjoy this dish because according to my husband it was REALLY good…

Peace, Love and Happiness!

♥Dorina

MY Stuffed Zucchini

One of our favorite dishes in my house is my stuffed Zucchini.
Some years ago, I overdid it with the zucchini in my garden, and had so many zucchini that I didn’t know what to do with them all. I make this “Italian vegetable stew” that I grew up eating, fried zucchini, zucchini bread, but I soon became obsessed with coming up with new and better ways to use up ALL THAT ZUCCHINI!!!
OK…so stuffed zucchini isn’t that original, but my recipe is very simple, very tasty and the KIDS LOVE IT! Which for a green vegetable when they were still very young was an accomplishment!  On top of all that it is a meatless/vegetarian dish that I always know will be a hit with my few vegetarian friends when they come over!

Well last nite, I used 12 zucchini, which made 24 pieces and they were all gone by the end of the nite even tho they weren’t all finished at dinner! The boys walk thru the kitchen and just grab one off the pan sitting on the stove til they are gone! And I was thinking I’d send some to work with Pas today!!! Oh well, he got a wrap like the kids did instead!

But…when I do have some left over zucchini , they are great hot or cold the next day and they freeze well also to be heated up in a toaster oven or in a small pan on the stove with a smidge of water and a lid and it steams up real quick.

SO…
All I do is…

• First I chop an onion and saute in some olive oil on the stove til soft and clear…(I get this started while I am then getting the zucchini ready)
• Wash the zucchini, cut the ends off, and cut in half lengthwise.
• I then take a big spoon and scrape out the flesh in the middle and put it all in a big bowl.
  *now you can experiment with how thick or thin you want your “boats” , but I leave some flesh on the inside …so they will hold together, but not so thick that the kids are getting “too much” zucchini in a bite. Make sense?
• Once the flesh is all in the bowl, I cut it up into smaller pieces or “squoosh” in my hands…but don’t go crazy with it… they don’t have to be perfect…some big some small makes it easier and more “rustic”!  You never know what you are getting in any bite!
• I throw in a good amount of bread crumbs–up to almost half of the amount of the zucchini, (which I made in my food processor—not the powdery fine, way too dry ones that you buy! )
• a couple handfuls of grated Romano or Parmigiano cheese and then
• a handful or two of shredded Mozzarella —but when I have it I will shred a little sharp Italian cheese like some romano, sharp provolone or the like so there are a few little extra “bites” of flavor!
• by this time the onions are ready and I add them plus the oil they cooked in into the bowl also.
• add a pinch of salt and two pinches of pepper
• So now I have all this stuff in the bowl, –zucchini flesh, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, shredded cheese, sauteed onions, S & P and I mix it all together, (you can use a big spoon or your hands…might as well use your hands because you are going to be getting dirty momentarily when you begin stuffing!!)
• Add just enough olive oil to the mix so that it binds and sticks together …but not mushy.
• Then by hand fill each zucchini shell…I usually start making them just barely full and then once they are all filled I take the remainder of the filling and top them all off.  Make sure you use all your filling!!!
• Now bake on a cookie sheet or baking dish in a hot oven, for about 1/2 an hour.  Again, this you can experiment with because some people like their zucchini a bit “al dente” or a little firmer and others like it softer.  So test one out with a fork to see.  The tops will be lightly browned (the olive oil helps in that area!!) and then you just take them out,  let cool a bit and serve.

Last nite I served this with a fun new potato dish we made up on the spur of the moment.  It was a fully  vegetarian meal but had plenty of vitamins, fiber, protein  and “good for you stuff” in it!

Watch for the “Twisty Potato” dish next! 

Let me know if you like this zucchini dish!!!

Enjoy!

❤  D