Tasty Tuesday: Tilapia in a Jalapeno Cream Sauce with Rice

I've been completely uninspired to write anything lately.  It seems like every time I have a decent idea for a blog post, I'm unable to write it down immediately (like while I'm driving or working).  Then when I finally have an opportunity to sit down and write, it's like my mind is completely blank.

Fortunately, my lack of inspiration and creativity hasn't completely taken over all areas of my life.  I've been making some amazing dishes lately (if I do say so myself), and I'm excited to share one of them with you today (assuming anyone is actually reading this, of course).

I love the color in this meal, but the real star is the flavor.

Tilapia in a Jalapeno Cream Sauce with Rice 

Adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com.

Ingredient List:

• 4 tilapia fillets
• 6 tbsp low fat margarine
• 3 cloves garlic (or, if you're lazy like me, the equivalent of jarred, pre-minced garlic)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (I mostly seeded the jalapeno because Eric isn't a fan of really spicy foods, but you can always use more and/or leave more seeds in the pepper if you want more of a kick)
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 cups cooked basmati rice

Instructions:

1.  Melt the low fat margarine in the microwave using a microwave safe bowl.  Stir the garlic into the melted margarine.

2.  Pour the flour onto a separate dish or plate.  This will be used to coat the fish.

3.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

4.  Dip each tilapia fillet on both sides in the margarine/garlic mixture and then coat evenly on both sides with flour.  Once coated, place each fillet in the large skillet.  Turn each fillet to ensure even cooking.

5.  After cooking both sides of the tilapia, turn the heat to low and add the white wine to the skillet.

6.  While the fish is simmering, melt the unsalted butter in a small saucepan.

7.  Add the heavy cream, juice from the lemon, diced jalapeno, fresh spinach leaves, chopped tomato, black pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper to the saucepan once the butter has completely melted.  Turn heat to medium low and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly until well mixed.

8.  Once the sauce is completely cooked through and well blended, pour over the fish fillets in the large skillet.  You can either opt to keep the fillets whole, or shred them in the sauce.  My tilapia was incredibly tender, so I just shredded it into chunks in the sauce.  Eric and I really liked it this way, but it's really personal preference.

You can see the chunks of perfectly flaky fish in this picture.  Yum!

As you can see from the pictures, I served this meal over cooked white basmati rice.  And, although the pictures don't show this, we also had a side of steamed sugar snap peas.

If you like fish at all, you should definitely try this recipe.  It's incredibly flavorful and, though it does contain heavy cream and quite a bit of butter and low fat margarine, it's fairly healthy and quick enough for a weeknight meal.