Have we had a beautiful week or what?!  I’m not sure I have ever seen such a long stretch of “perfect” weather.  Clear blue skies, perfect temps, and sunshine sunshine sunshine!   And it looks like we are in luck Iowans, we are forecasted to see a beautiful weekend as well.  Woohoo…bring it!

I recently came across an interesting quote, “A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”  I, quite frankly, couldn’t agree more.  After a weekend of entertaining with wine, chocolate mousse cake and fish tacos, I was left with fun memories, extra fish in my freezer, and a bottle of sauvignon blanc on the counter.   Staring into the refrigerator on Monday night, I decided I would bake up that left over tilapia, add a few of my favorite flavors, and a healthy drizzle of sunshine…errr, I mean, wine!  🙂

TILAPIA w/Sauvignon Blanc & Couscous

• 4 (8-ounce) tilapia fillets
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 Red Onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Cloves minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons EVOO
• 3 medium on-the-vine tomatoes, thinly sliced
• Sprinkle of Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 Lemon
• Box of Roasted Garlic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Couscous (made as instructed on the box)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.   In a baking pan, drizzle EVOO so the fish doesn’t stick to the bottom.  Lay the tilapia evenly in the pan and sprinkle with crushed red pepper, basil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic.

Add some red onion and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.  

Arrange the tomato slices evenly over the fish, drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc. 

Bake until fish flakes easily with fork, about 20 to 25 minutes.

SAUTEED SPINACH

• 1 1/2 pounds baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 3-5 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Lemon

Rinse the spinach well in cold water to make sure it’s very clean.
In a large pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, but not until it’s browned. 

Add all the spinach, the salt, and pepper to the pot, toss it with the garlic and oil, cover the pot, and cook it for 2 minutes. 

Uncover the pan, turn the heat on high, and cook the spinach for another minute, stirring until all the spinach is wilted. 

Using a slotted spoon, lift the spinach to a serving bowl and top with the butter, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of sea or kosher salt. Serve hot.

Once spinach and couscous are ready, remove the tilapia from the oven and plate your meal.  Squeeze the lemon juice over fish and serve immediately.  Enjoy with a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc!

Ryan and I agree that this was a super fast, easy meal….and yet, light and delicious!  Move over chicken and potatoes…

Enjoy your weekend!

Indulge.  In Life. In Love. In Food.