Spicy Tilapia with Creamy Asparagus Pasta

The other night was one of those nights.  Josh worked late and I was in charge of making dinner and entertaining Max.  Not such an easy task!  But thanks to another simple and delish weeknight meal, all was well in our household!

Spicy Tilapia

You Need:

Tilapia filets

2 tbsp butter(i use land o' lakes light butter)

1 tbsp olive oil

LOTS of Old Bay(or a little, whatever ya like)

line a baking pan with foil and place your filets on the pan

top the filets with pats of butter and generously season with the Old Bay

top with another layer of foil and fold in your edges so it's nice & tight.

Bake your fish at 375 for about 10-15 minutes.  There are a few variations you can do for this, well actually a LOT of variations.  But a few that are my go-to's are to nix the Old Bay and do the butter with thyme and lemon juice.  Another good one is to season with lemon pepper.  There are a million and one ways to do this, so do what you like.  Pretty much any spice and butter works, add some lime or lemon juice, be creative!  This one is always a hit in our house because we're Old Bay freaks!

done to perfection, light & healthy - and it was totally delicious.  

Creamy Asparagus Pasta

You Need:
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
lemon juice
cooking spray
1/2 box elbow noodles, cooked
1 c chicken broth
2 oz neufchatel cheese(lower fat version of cream cheese)
1 clove garlic, minced

line a baking sheet with foil, spray with cooking spray(I use canola), layer your asparagus  and season with salt and pepper, drizzle with lemon juice and spray with a little more cooking spray

mmmm, I heart these pretty green spears - roast them at 375 for about 15 mins

while your asparagus is roasting, add your macaroni to a saucepan(ours was leftover macaroni from the other day, but if you're cooking yours just use the pan you boiled the pasta in).  add 1 cup chicken broth, salt, pepper, garlic clove and your cream cheese and let is cook on medium high until the cheese is melted and creamy.

last, add your lemon juice and give it a stir.  let it cook on low until your asparagus is done.

cut your roasted asparagus up into bite size pieces and add it to your macaroni.

This is another thing that can be varied SO many ways.  Don't like asparagus?  Use broccoli!  Wanna add mushrooms, go ahead.  Make it how you(and your family) prefer!

so easy, so fast, and goes with anything(or can be a main dish all by it's lovely self!)

delicious weeknight meals in a flash - what's better?