Tilapia & Shrimp Hoisin Packets

My husband was working late one night so I decided to make a meal he doesn't really care for.  And in spite of it being Friday night I was actually in the mood to eat healthy.  I based this loosely on Hosin Shrimp Packets but decided it was too cold outside to light up the grill.  If it can be done on the grill it can be done in the oven, right?  Read on...

INGREDIENTS

Random vegetables from the refrigerator (I used zucchini, asparagus & carrots) cut into bite-sized pieces.
1/2 cup instant brown or white rice
1/2 cup white wine (um... a good white wine.  See verdict)
1/4 cup Hosin Sauce
1 tilapia fillet
1/4 - 1/2 lb. uncooked shrimp

DIRECTIONS

Pour the rice onto a piece of tinfoil.  Next add the seafood, then the vegetables.  Pour hoisin sauce on top. 

Make a packet with the tinfoil, pinching in the sides to prevent leaking.  Carefully add the wine before sealing up.  Poke the top a few times with a fork to vent.

Grill for 20 minutes, or bake for 45, or until fish is flaky and shrimp are pink. 


VERDICT

I'm assuming this would have been better with a good white wine.  Or at least a white wine that didn't taste like cat piss.  But I used this bottle.

And then it took forever in the oven.  Forever!  White I waited for dinner I moved on to this bottle of wine.  Much better.  After three glasses of red wine dinner was finally cooked through.  And it tasted like it had been cooked in cheap wine.

Sigh.  I tried.  I really tried to eat healthy.  And the recipe was healthy.  Three glasses of red wine, alas, is not.

Skinny Cheesey Bites

This recipe should be posted with the subtitle "Cooking While Drunk."

After a short night out on St. Patrick's Day this year we returned home to drink at home.  Because honestly, who needs to be out on the roads with a bunch of drunks driving around?  Around 10 o'clock I got ridiculously hungry for mozzarella sticks.  So I brought out a great recipe that was also somewhat healthy (even with a buzz I am thinking about the calories!)

The recipe.... perfect.

The execution.... not so much.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

INGREDIENTS

Mozzarella Sticks (as many as you want to make) cut into 3-4 pieces each
Panko crums (as many as it takes to cover those cheese sticks
Garlic powder (a bit, whatever you like)
1 egg
1 TBS water

(So you can tell these directions are extremely precise.  Don't deviate from amount prescribed here...)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut cheese sticks int 3-4 pieces each.  Coat with water/egg mix.  Cover with bread crumbs/garlic.  Cook as long as it takes to make them soft, but not melted all over your pan.  About 5 minutes.  Don't go off and start up a Wii golf game and forget they're in there.

VERDICT

These little cheesy bites are so good... and only a hundred calories or so for two full cheese sticks.  But when you leave them in the oven too long.... chaos ensues.

It's important to note thought that they still tasted terrific.  And I beat my husband at Wii Mini Golf.  That is equally important to note.