When I went grocery shopping, I picked up asparagus and tilapia. (Although the fish proved to be an issue. More about my grocery shopping issues on Thursday.) If you check out the recipe, you'll see the fish needed to be wrapped in tinfoil. This proved a little problematic too.
The first tinfoil problem arose during the wrapping stage. I had to fold the edges to keep the lemon juice in while I finished putting the packet together. I had one that started leaking even after being carefully wrapped and I had to double up with a second sheet of tinfoil, but at last everything was wrapped and put in the slow cooker.
It was when I took the fish out that problem two surfaced. Leakage. The bottom of the crockery was filled with lemony sauce. I'd figured there'd be a small amount seeping out, but I wasn't prepared for the volume. My culprit was the fish on the bottom. The heat must of ripped a gash the length of the packet. Can a slow cooker do that to tinfoil? It was super torn, not like a hole.
But the big question was how did it taste?
Yummy! The asparagus was so soft and I loved that. The fish was slightly dryish. (but not bad!) I think the problem was that the fish was half frozen because I'd had it in the refrigerator overnight. I decided to cook it as if it were frozen. I probably should have split the difference and done 2.5 hours instead.
I'm not a food photographer or professional chef who knows how to plate food, but here's a picture of my dinner. I served with a quarter cup of brown rice.
Lessons learned: I'm not a fan of pepper, so I would cut back a little on the lemon pepper seasoning the next time I make it. It was a little bit too peppery for me, but not by much.
Buy more asparagus. I picked up a small bundle and it wasn't enough for four fillets.
Double wrap all the fish packets and put a liner in the slow cooker. I always, always line my slow cooker before using it, but I didn't this time. Next time I will.
I'd do the fish frozen. The pieces that were more solid were easier to work with while I built the packets. The fillets that were partially thawed were messier and just a pain.
I give the recipe two thumbs up. It was super good. Prep time was relatively quick and even for me, someone who hates to cook with a passion, it was an easy meal to put together. Certainly worth the effort for the results I got. :-) Recommended if you like lemon.
