Miss Healthypants, Paging Miss Healthypants

There is a woman in Chicago. If I am interpretting the chicken innards correctly she is variously referred to as Miss Healthypants or as The Hag. The latter owes not to her being old, haggard or in anyway unpleasant. Just to do with a gay she knows. Right.

So Miss Healthypants, who clearly comes by that moniker honestly, was asking if I had any "quick, easy, healthy, spicy" recipes. Do I have recipes? If a tree falls in the woods and there's no one to hear it does it make a sound? Of course I have such recipes, you little vixen. These two were originally from my friend BBB although they've been tweaked a smidge because that's what I like to do. I happily share them now and I'll poke around for some more. Here's what we ate this week while Childless.

Mini Red Curry Burgers

¾ lb. extra-lean ground beef (10% fat or less)
1 medium zucchini, grated
salt & pepper
1 bunch green onion, chopped (white and light green)
1/3 cup low fat yogurt
2 tsp. Thai red curry paste (2 t. is the original recipe amount but frankly, and I like things spicy, a rounded teaspoon is plenty. Unless you actually enjoy having the back of your head blown off).

For the sauce:

Combine 2 T. grated zucchini with yogurt and 1 T. onion plus salt & pepper to taste

For the burgers:

Combine hamburger with remaining zucchini and onion, salt & pepper (to taste) and Thai red curry paste. Form into eight 2” patties. Grill on non-stick pan over med-high heat, about 4 min per side for medium.

Pop the tiny little burgers into mini pita pockets with 2 T. sauce.



Now, I realize that butter isn't the first thing that springs to mind when one is being healthy but a) it is not a trans fat, b) if St. Paul was right about anything he was right when he said "all things in moderation" and 3) life without butter is a like a day without sunshine.

Pan-fried Snapper with Chipotle Butter

½ stick unsalted butter, softened
½ to 1 T. finely chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo plus 2 t. adobo sauce
½ teaspoon salt
4 red snapper fillets (or any firm white fish)
1/3 c. flour
2 T. veggie oil

Mash together butter, chipotles, adobo sauce and salt to taste until blended.

Pat fish dry and season with salt and pepper. Spread flour on a plate and dredge fish, knocking off excess.

Heat 1 ½ T. oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, the panfry fish, turning over once, until browned and just cooked through, 4-6 minutes. Transfer as cooked with a slotted spatula to plates and add more oil to skillet as need. Top fish with dollops of chipotle butter.

Extra chipotle butter (and you will have it) can be plopped onto some plastic wrap and then rolled up like you would for sugar cookies. Wrap that up with foil (don't forget to mark it) and you can keep it, pretty near indefinately, for subsequent healthy fish dinners.