After guacamole, crawfish, potatoes, fried shrimp, french fries and cokes, I needed to eat something healthy! This past week hasn't been my, er, best effort at cutting away the calories. Normally we eat very healthy at home, but we'd both found ourselves being invited to crawfish boils or having to grab food on the go. So in my effort to make something good, and avoid the typical approach to steaming everything, I stuck it all in the oven. The results? Delicious!
Red Pepper Tilapia
Garlic powder
Dry red pepper flakes
Fresh ground sea salt & black pepper
Olive oil
Fresh lemon, halved
Roasted Veg
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar or dressing for drizzling
Baby carrots, halved
Asparagus, trimmed and washed
Zucchini, chopped into medium-sized pieces
Golden potatoes, thinly sliced
(Can add or subtract any other veggies you want, just chop or slice them first)
Acorn Squash
1 acorn squash, halved
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp each of cinnamon and sugar
Add about 1/4 inch of water in a glass oven-proof pan and place acorn squash halves face down in the pan. Bake at 425 for 40-45 min.
At about the same time, you'll want to prepare the roasted veg since they can take as long to cook. I took a large metal baking sheet and loaded it up. I think I used one bunch of asparagus, 3-4 small potatoes sliced, 1/2 bag of carrots and two zucchinis. As long as everything can be spread out fairly evenly over the pan, use however much of your favorite bites you want! Drizzle the pan full of vegetables with a teeny bit of olive oil then squeeze a lemon half over it. Next, drizzle balsamic vinegar over them (I probably use about 1/3 cup) and sprinkle liberally with a dry herb mix of things like rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil and oregano. If you don't have a pre-mixed bottle of Italian seasoning, you can concoct your own in a small bowl then use. Top off with a healthy dose of the sea salt and pepper. Bake for about 40 minutes at 425 degrees, or until veggies are soft to the touch.
Prepare the fish once you've placed the vegetables in the oven. I baked mine in a small metal baking pan. Lay out the fish, drizzle very lightly with olive oil then douse with the remaining half of lemon and sprinkle liberally with the spices. Bake for about 20 min at 425 (I crammed everything into the same oven).
Once it's time to plate your dinner, melt the butter and mix with cinnamon and sugar then pour sparsely over the acorn squash halves.