I went grocery shopping today, and planned out the week for dinner right?
I wanted to make Dragonfruit Maui Maui with Jasmine Rice and Salad. Well don't you know I found everything but the Dragonfruit! The hell is this nonsense?! It's ok, because any true common sense warrior knows, have a plan b! I threw together some steak and potatoes real quick, and plan on making the other dish today!
Of course, I'm sharing it with you for New Dish Sunday(even though it's Monday)!
My kids can't stand fish, unless it's fish sticks, or fish tacos, so this was made in mind for my mom, brother and myself. We are trying to lost weight, as my kids don't need to. I found dragonfruit by accident, drinking some Sobe once. I wondered, 'what could I do with dragonfruit if I had it?'. Well, Maui Maui, is pretty flavorless, and will soak up pretty much anything you pair it with.
Why not try it out, right?
I researched what it takes to make a marinade from scratch, and oddly enough, it's not that hard! You can make anything into a marinade if you pair the right foods and spices.
I decided with the dragonfruit, and added mango. It gave it a sweet flavor. The same as Welch's juice flavor, so I needed to tone the sweet flavor with citrus. Add in the lemon and lime. Then added olive oil, pepper, and italian seasoning. I wanted basil, but didn't feel like going back out.
My mom and I were on ther hunt for dragonfruits. Found one at Whole Foods, and let me tell you, didn't like the price, but eating healthy is not cheap. Of course, the store, Von's, had them in their produce area. Figures.
Back to the point. When you are using dragonfruit, it's like kiwi. You eat the insides only. The skin is very poisonious. Scoop out the meat and discard. It took all the ingredients, blended them in my blender, and boom! Done!
I made the kids chicken witht the same marinade, let the meat marinade in the fridge for two hours, or longer. The longer the better. Once ready to cook, layer orange and yellow pepper strips on the bottom of the dish with non stick cooking spray. then lay the fish and chicken flat into the pan. Pour the marinade on top and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. When the fish is flaky and the chicken is cooked throughly, you're good to go!
The point is to let the marinade do the work for you. One big rule to the 'Common Sense Movement' is don't make things harder then it has to be. Any way you can make the job awesome without stress, do so. In the case of food, it's research, and working with what you got, and what you know.
The pairings was a hit! Now, here's the awesome side to this dish. It's under 500 calories! Ya girl is trying to lose this weight, and if you're small, I'm trying to keep you that way. This is why I say research and experiment. Great way to find new ways to try new foods with your favorites. Try out the marinade and let me know what you think!
I would have never thought to pair dragonfruit with fish or chicken. Or any meat. LOL This sounds so good.