Beef Negimaki

I love foil packet dinners. They're quick to cook, and clean-up is a breeze (toss the tinfoil!).  This healthy recipe came from the Self website.

Of course, you can only eat out of the tinfoil if your tinfoil isn't the cheap kind that punctures easily with a fork. Because then you have a soggy mess on your lap...  We tend to dump them out onto plates once they've been removed from the grill and cooled a bit.

INGREDIENTS

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 lb top round, thinly sliced and cut into 12 strips (6 inches by 2 1/2 inches each)
• 8 scallions, cut into 3-inch-long pieces
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup instant brown rice
• 1 lb broccolini
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS
Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray.

Combine hoisin, soy sauce, vinegar and oil in a bowl; coat beef with marinade. Place a handful of scallions and carrots on end of 1 strip of beef (tips should hang over edges of meat); roll up beef to enclose vegetables and secure with a toothpick.

Repeat with remaining beef, scallions and carrots. Place 1/4 cup rice in center of 1 half of each piece of foil; top rice with 3 beef rolls each. Surround rice and beef in each packet with 1/4 of Broccolini; season all with salt and pepper.

Fold foil to close and crimp 2 sides of each packet, leaving 1 side open; pour 1/4 cup broth into each packet. Crimp third side of packets to seal; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Carefully cut foil to open; serve.

VERDICT

My husband complained about the amount of time it took to put these together.  And it was a little labor intensive- but it wasn't that bad!  And the results are definitely worth it.  They look so fancy!  The taste was great- although next time I think I'll add a little more filler to them aside from the carrots & scallions.  Maybe long sticks of zucchini?

NUTRITION

381 calories per serving, 7 g fat (2 g saturated), 44 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 34 g protein