Lemon Spinach Tilapia

This past weekend was absolutely glorious! Not only was it the beginning of the peak of the fall colors, but it was 75 degrees. A summery time to hike around outside and appreciate all the lovely scenery and watch lazy leaves fall to the ground. Despite my bastardly allergies, I love this time of year. I was able to spend some quality time with my family for the first time since the crazy business of our wedding, so we didn't have to talk centerpieces or RSVPS or anything, just hang out with a  little wine and enjoy the weather.

 In my efforts to cut down on the cost of food I have started buying lots of things in bigger sizes if its more cost effective, which has resulted in a large surge of new recipes.  Has anyone other than me noticed the maddening increase in food lately??? A package of the cheapest butter a person can find was almost 5$ the other day! It seems as though literally every single thing has gotten more expensive. Good thing we all get a hefty cost of living raise every year right?  Wrong! Well, maybe some of you do.....  I absolutely refuse to throw away food, when I think about how much of my hard earned money goes towards it. One thing that's been a staple on the grocery list is those big containers of organic  Earthbound Farm spinach. They're pretty inexpensive, and if you don't eat it all fresh it freezes well or can be cooked in about a million ways by my estimation. As much as I try to save money at the store, I refuse to compromise on dirty dozen produce. I've also become a big fan of Tilapia, a tasty and thrifty fish. I love me some salmon or walleye, but when everything else has gone up by several dollars a pound, the fancy fishes and proteins become more scarce. I had more than one huppie in a 600$ windbreaker lecture me about food sustainability when I worked at the Co-op, like I was too obtuse to understand something I'd worked at for years and been trained extensively in. The fact of the matter is many of us can't afford a lot of the stuff we're supposed to eat all the time, and unless we grow it ourselves, there will be some compromises. And I for one will be getting creative with the odds and ends in my fridge to come up with stellar dishes like this one:

Lemon Spinach Tilapia

-6 tilapia fillets

-1 T. butter, melted

-1 lb. spinach

-2 t. minced garlic

-1 medium red onion, sliced

-1 T. lemon zest

-lemon juice

-1 t. olive oil

- 1 t. garlic powder

-2 t. lemon pepper

-1 t. salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat tilapia fillets with melted butter and sprinkle garlic powder, salt and lemon pepper on them and bake 10-15 minutes or until fillet flakes slightly. In a medium sauce pan heat olive oil, and cook onion and garlic until translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add spinach and cook until just wilted, about a minute. Toss in lemon zest. Squeeze desired amount of lemon juice on fillets and spoon spinach mixture on top.

*6 servings depending on size of fillets, some are very small.

I served this with some brown rice with parsley and a little chicken broth. I like a lot of lemon juice on mine, it brings out the flavor in the veggies and the meat quite nicely!