Tilapia and Vegetable Packets

I LOVE to cook. It became a passion of mine after I discovered the Food Network. When I cook for myself, everything I cook is vegetarian. I have been a vegetarian for 15 years. No meat. No poultry. No fish. I always had a few non-vegetarian meals that I could whip up for friends and family, but I really ventured out into the non-vegetarian world when I met the man that I eventually married. He is a hunter. He loves to eat meat. And yes, he eats all. of. his. game. {Say what?! A vegetarian marries a hunter. God must be playing tricks on us! Ha! (My husband and I say this all of the time). Seriously! You really couldn’t pick two more opposite people to put together, but as they say, opposites attract. My strengths are his weaknesses and his strengths are my weaknesses. We balance each other out. Most of the time. 🙂 } Anyway, back to cooking……..so once I dove into the non-vegetarian world, I discovered Tilapia and Vegetable Packets. I love to make this dish in the summer when we have fresh vegetables and herbs from our garden; nothing beats them. Since we observe Lent, I thought this would be the perfect meal for a Lenten Friday. My husband gobbled it up. My kids ate some too, but prefered the vegetarian chili, which I also ate. 🙂 (recipe for the vegetarian chili will be coming soon)

* I had 10 pieces of talapia and 4 total fish packets, so the amount of vegetables I used was based on the amount of fish. (I like to cook large amounts so we have leftovers. Less work the next day)!

Total Recipe Time = 30 minutes; 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake

Let’s get started with what you will need:

HEAVY DUTY Aluminum Foil. You could use regular aluminum foil if you double up on the sheets when making the packets. One sheet of regular aluminum foil will not be strong enough and will more than likely tear.

Cooking Spray

Tilapia (seasoned with salt & pepper) arranged on heavy duty aluminum foil (approximately 20 inches long) that has been sprayed with cooking spray. 2-3 pieces of Tilapia per sheet of aluminum foil.

Capers

2 lemons, 1 red onion, 2 zucchini, 1 pint of grape tomatoes, 6 oz of black olives.

You will also need a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano (preferably fresh, but dried will work too)

Let’s get started on the preparation:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Quarter the zucchini and chop it up. Coarsley chop the black olives. Rough chop the red onions. Place the grape tomatoes, zucchini, red onion and olives in a bowl. Add approximately 2 tablespoons of rinsed capers into the bowl. Cut the lemons in half. Squeeze the juice of two lemons (cut side up to keep the seeds out of the bowl) onto all of your veggies. Add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and season with salt, pepper and oregano.

Give your veggies a good mix so they are coated in the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and seasoning.

Top the fish with the vegetable mixture. (I made 4 packets, so I put a quarter of the veggie mix into each packet).

Bring the sides of the foil together, leaving enough room for steam to collect. Pinch the sides together to seal. Bring the ends of the foil together. Pinch the ends together to seal. The foil packet doesn’t have to look pretty, just make sure all of the seams are tightly sealed to keep the steam from escaping. (Remember, the steam is cooking the food.) I arranged my packets on a baking sheet to prevent any juices from dripping in my oven. It’s easier to transport the packets that way too. Place in a 425 degree oven or on a grill with medium heat for about 20 minutes.