Easy Peasy Baked Fish in Spaghetti Sauce

A word about this recipe: The original recipe (Baked Fish in Spaghetti Sauce) came from the source noted below. In the book there is a recipe for spaghetti sauce that you can make from scratch to accompany this recipe and the recommendation to use Tilapia fillets. While I like to occasionally make my own spaghetti sauce, honestly, if you can find a great sale on sauce, why not save yourself some time and money and pop open a bottle of store bought sauce? For some reason sauce always seems to be on sale lately so I stock up so I have it on hand. My favorite (in terms of cost and taste) is Ragu Traditional Spaghetti Sauce Flavored with Meat. But honestly, there are a ton of choices out there, so it really depends on your individual tastes and budget.

To make it more of my own, I typically add a tablespoon of Italian seasonings, a smidge of sugar and about 2 tablespoons of Manischewitz Blackberry Wine, but you can use any red wine and play with the amounts. I got started on the Manischewitz Blackberry Wine (www.manischewitzwine.com) because my mom always used it her cooking and to me the Blackberry wine adds an added “kick” over red wine.

In terms of what type of fish you use for this recipe, really you can use whatever you like. Larry and I like Tilapia because it always seem to taste light and fresh, not “fishy.” I love seafood, but anytime fish smells or tastes too fishy I recommend not eating – it’s just a sign that it’s not too fresh – believe me, I’ve been burned a few times, so I’ve learned my lesson!

Personally I recommend Tilapia loins over the fillets. The loins just tend to be lighter in flavor and not fishy.

Larry and I tend to have our Tilapia with just olive oil and sprinkled with Old Bay Seasoning, but this recipe offers an alternative with sauce – just to mix things up so you don’t get bored with having the same old thing all the time. This was excellent - very moist and light in taste.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1½ lbs Frozen Tilapia (I recommend using loins - not "fishy" tasting)
2 C Spaghetti Sauce (make your own or buy)
2 T Italian Seasoning, smidge of sugar and 2 T Manischewitz (or to taste) – Jill’s recommendation

Directions:

1. Take desired number of fillets out of the freezer an thaw in refrigerator.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 350

3. After fish is thawed, pour ¾ C spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a baking dish and then use the remaining amount of sauce to cover the fish..
Bake at Dredge chicken through the flour mix.

4. Bake fish for approximately 20 minutes or until fish is flaky.

5. Serve with a side salad and brown rice.

For Freezer Meals: Keep frozen Tilapia loins and spaghetti sauce on hand for this quick, easy and healthy meal.

4 servings:

Source: [Adapted from] Once-a-Month Cooking, Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg