Set the stage for a Quick and Easy Dinner

I am such a fickle cook. My preferences and tastes change like the weather in Texas: quickly and without warning. Today, it is fish. Tomorrow, it could be soup, or pasta or Mexican. Each day produces a new favorite and so tomorrow under different circumstances and frame of mind a whole new set of dishes will volunteer to come forward. The pages of my cookbooks are strewn with bits of paper to mark a favorite page. Each merrily standing guard for my return visit. The page itself splattered and stained as beautiful as a Monet. The special recipes, though, are those lucky enough to be hand-written and stored in a three-ring binder. Those are allowed more frequent visits. They are the lucky few…the chosen ones.

Today, I am tired after working all day, but yet I don’t want to succumb to “fast” food. I want sustenance; I want comfort. So the menu is a “big” salad with grilled fish: Tilapia, the catch of the day. Actually, it is still frozen, but not to worry, the grill will be the stage tonight: thawing and cooking all in one scene.

These are the days I love bagged salad: convenient and, well, mostly convenient. I have chosen the Mediterranean Blend starring Romaine with his sidekicks Arugula and Radicchio because I am feeling sassy and little bit of a tart tonight. I’ll add chopped carrots for sweetness and color; tomatoes because they are good for me, and red onions, well because I love onions. Humm….how about some diced cucumber? Throw in some sliced Kalamata olives (I think I see a Greek emerging!) and top with Feta cheese. I have some homemade vinaigrette (recipe below) for the dress rehearsal. Meanwhile, the gas grill has been heating. I coat my nonstick grill pan with a little olive oil and place my frozen fish. A little sprinkling of lemon pepper and we are ready to pay homage to the heat. Since my fish are thin (1/2-inch), it takes only about 5 minutes per side---thawed and cooked, ready as my salad comes together. Tonight crushed Saltine Crackers will play the part of Croutons. Just my luck when the curtain goes up I get the understudy. Not too worry, though. Crackers are good stand in, almost as good as the real thing and I am tired.

Greek Vinaigrette
yield: 1 cup

1 (0.7 ounce) packet Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
1 clove garlic, finely crushed (1/2 teaspoon)
1 pinch dried oregano
1/2 cup oil (canola or olive oil)

1. Mix Good Seasons mix with vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and oregano by shaking together in a jar until thoroughly mixed.
2. Add oil and shake until mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Best when made ahead.

Lasagne

Ingredients