Tilapia Ficcata and Zucchini Boats

As much as I hate cooking for one, I am trying to eat better and not eat frozen packaged meals all the time. So, alone, I am working on trying recipes that I have pinned. I meant to post this about 2 weeks ago, but I tried these two new recipes.

The first one I made was the Zucchini Boats. You can find the original recipe here.

(Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees). First crush up a clove of garlic and mix it in with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Take whole zucchinis and cut them in half. Then, slice the bottom so its level and it doesn't roll around in the pan. Scoop out  all the seeds from each zucchini. Brush the olive oil mixture on the zucchini boats.

The recipe suggested using grape tomatos. I don't believe that the kind you use actually matters, I think she suggested it because of the size. I used the tomatos from my dad's garden (aka the best tomatos ever!), and arranged slices along the boat. If you have bread crumbs, I did not at the time, sprinkle them on now. Stick in the oven for about 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, take them out and place your cheese, I used mozzarella, in between each tomato slice. Place back in the oven and broil until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown.

I used the toaster oven and it turned out great! I enjoyed my zucchini boats with garlic butter rice. Not the healthiest choice but it was delicious!

The next recipe I tried was Tilapia Ficcata, this is another one I found on pinterest. The original recipe from Proud Italian Cook, can be found here.  

I have always been a fan of fish, mostly in the fried form during a camping trip, but I will eat it whenever. I have only made it myself a few times, but when I found this recipe I knew I had to try. Fish is very good for you and low in calories and fat (I am still trying to lose the baby weight!).

Here are the directions from Proud Italian Cook:

"In a saute pan heat some butter and olive oil. Dredge your fish in some flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Nicely brown both sides of your fish, I prefer tilapia in this, I think it holds up really well and I like the "non fishy" taste.

Gently remove your fish, deglaze your pan with some white wine scraping up the brown bits. Squeeze a half of a juicy lemon in, more if you like, a nice splash of chicken stock, a couple tablespoons of capers, and a little more butter. After it reduces a while, put your fish back in along with some sliced lemons and fresh parsley. Cook a couple minutes more just till the fish is done, and the all the flavors blend together." 

I did not have capers. It is just not something I have in my kitchen. I don't mind them and I am sure they work well with this recipe, but I did not add them or the parsley in. But this was seriously SO FRICKIN' GOOD! I loved it. I am a huge fan of lemon so this was perfect! I highly recommend trying this sometime. 

Once again I had rice in my meal, this time adding the green beans! It was so good! I need to make it again!

So that is a few of the meals I found on pinterest that I have tried and enjoyed. Hopefully I will be able to try a few more in the next couple of weeks and let you know how they go!