Fish in Foil

Today I was inspired by the Crock-Pot Blog, but I didn't want to make a fish recipe that involved a mayonnaise sauce. So I followed the commentors and created my own recipe. Do not overthink this recipe - put a mess of stuff in, and food comes out.
Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of tilapia (its fine if they are still frozen, but you will have some excess water when you take them out)
• olive oil
• half a lemon
• vegetables of your choice (I used green beans and red peppers)
• 4 potatoes
  
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Oregano
• Basil
  
• Thyme

Equipment

• Cutting board & knife
• Crockpot (I used the 6qt)
• Aluminum foil

Procedure

1. Tear off two pieces of aluminum foil, larger than the fillets.
   
2. Chop up the vegetables.
3. Put half the vegetables and one fillet on each piece of foil.
   
4. Drizzle some olive oil and lemon juice on the fish. Add pepper, salt, and spices. Fold foil.
   
5. Chop up potatoes. Throw into crockpot with some olive oil and all spices.
   
6. Add foil packets on top of potatoes.
   
7. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or, if your crockpot cooks everything on Maximum Hot on low, cook for 2 hours.
   

This was pretty good, but next time I'll make it with more spices and flavor, and less time - the fish was a little dry, and the veggies were a bit soggy. Definitely recommend for anybody looking for an easy way to cook fish.

Turducken

Mr. Barefoot's friend's have a tradition of making a Turducken. Last year they did a TurGooDucken, but the chef has complained that the cost is too high and the labor too difficult, therefore this year will mark the return of the plain old turducken.
The first year I made baked ziti - pasta stuffed with three types of cheese sounded good. Last year I made peppers stuffed with peppers stuffed with peppers. (Red pepper, green pepper, jalapeno. Stuffed with a rice-pepper mixture.)
This year I could branch out - I could do peppers stuffed with stuffed mushrooms, but I need a third layer. I could do peppers stuffed with peppers stuffed with peppers again, but this year mix up what I use as filler stuffing. I'm thinking a mix of rice, quinoa, and cous-cous. There was some discussion of deep frying the peppers to add an extra layer. I am pretty sure this would end in disaster, my friend thought it was a great idea.
I would love to find a good way to mix sweet and savory in this mix somehow, but I don't think that is possible. I also want to mix flavors and textures. I also don't want to spend $30 on peppers again...

Vegetables

I have a new thing - mushrooms. I've been starting to eat them slowly, usually preferably marinated in some balsamic vinegar or something. They're still slimy and the same Kingdom as the stuff that grows between your toes, but every once in awhile I do like to try something new.
But here is a good roasted veggie recipe for the mushroom, pepper, and onion person in your life.
Ingredients:

1. 1/2 lb mushrooms
2. 2 red peppers
3. 1 sweet onion
4. 2-8 cloves garlic (depending on taste)
5. Garlic powder
   
6. Balsamic vinegar
7. Olive oil

Equipment:

1. Oven at 350
2. Jelly roll pan
3. Cutting board/knife
4. Bowls for marinating
5. Saute pan

Procedure:

1. Wash all vegetables.
2. Chop mushrooms and put them in the bowl.
3. Combine 1/6 (eyeball it) cup olive oil and 1/6 cup balsamic vinegar and pour over the mushrooms. Turn mushrooms to coat and allow to marinate.
4. Chop red peppers. Put in a bowl and coat with a little olive oil. Set aside.
5. Chop onions and garlic.
   
6. Prepare a saute pan and pour in some olive oil.
   
7. Saute onions until fairly tender, but not brown. (Transparent is good.)
   
8. Combine marinated mushrooms (with the marinade), red peppers, and onions in jelly roll pan.
   
9. Spread vegetables to be about one to two vegetables thick.
   
10. Bake in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until tender, delicious and the red peppers have become yellow-orange in color.