Cod Filets with Herbed Bread Crumbs & Cheddar Cauliflower

I was looking through my freezer the other day...I mean REALLY looking through it...and I was amazed at all the stuff I had packed in there.  It just seemed like everything I moved or shifted had MORE stuff behind it.  I said to myself, "Wow!  I seriously need to get rid of some of this stuff.  I'll bet I can make a whole month's worth of meals out of all this." Thus was born the 30 Day Food Challenge.  The objective: To create 30 different dinners in 30 days with as much on hand as possible, only buying the minimal necessary iteams as well as replenishing perishable items at the grocery store.  This should be fun...I love getting creative in the kitchen.  So I sat down with my pen, paper and internet. 

I started by taking an inventory of the contents of my freezer.  I have discovered the new found knowledge that I am apparently a freezer hoarder as well as a very efficient organizer ONLY when it comes to matters of packing food because this is what I found (amongst a few other misc things):

• 2 whole chickens (Why 2?!?  No idea!!)
• 1 package bone-in pork chops
• 1 package beef steak
• 1 large beef roast
• 1 smaller beef roast
• 1/2 lb ground sausage
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground sage sausage
• 1 lb breakfast sausage links
• Some cod fillets
• A few leftover pre-packaged fish sticks
• 5 sweet Italian sausages
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• A whole LOT of chicken breast
• 3 frozen Cubanos
• 2 c. frozen shredded zucchini

Also found that I would like to use up:

• 1 turkey rope sausage
• 4 all beef, nitrite/nitrate free hot dogs
• 2 packages of fresh smoked salmon
• Some canned tuna
• A General Tso's seasoning packet
• A chicken flavor rice seasoning packet

Yep...that's right....ALL that!  I should have no problem making it to day 30.  So with my inventory in hand, I started to divide and conquer the huge list.  It did take quite some time and I had to get creative and do some searching on the internet for a few recipes, but overall I'm pretty happy with the menu.  Let's see just how low my grocery bill can be this month!!  I do have to say, that when I made my grocery list for this week and it only had like 15 items on it, I started to feel a little panicky.  It just seemed wrong when usually I set off with a HUGE page full of "necessities" and hit up 3 different grocery stores!  I had to take a deep breath and tell myself that this was REALLY all I NEEDED.  Today is grocery store day...it should literallyy take me 15 mins in and out.  What am I going to do with the extra hour and 45 mins I normally allot to grocery shopping?!?  I know...laundry!  Hip Hip Hooray!

I decided that I would start with the beef steaks because they looked like they might be starting to suffer a small amount of freezer burn along the edges.  I just sprinkled on some Montreal Steak Seasoning and served them with loaded baked potatoes and green beans...nothing particularly blog worthy.  So I present to you Day 2: Cod Filletswith Herbed Bread Crumbs & Cheddar Cauliflower.  I didn't have enough fillets for everyone, so I made the fillets for my husband and I and used the leftover fish sticks for my kids.  I did make them take a bite of the fish fillets which went over so so with them.  I think had their not been the alternative fish sticks sitting on their plate it would have been better received.  Despite having onion, chives and mayo in the recipe, my husband commented on how the fish was really good!  I would consider this to be a HUGE WIN since my husband openly detests onions and mayo!!  I LOVED the cheddar cauliflower, but surprisingly it didn't go over well with the kids.  Tyler said it was "okay".  Brenna and Aiden wouldn't touch it after the first bite.  Ethan just happily ate his rice cereal.  I think they thought it was macaroni and cheese and the disappointment of it NOT being so was enough to make them shun the cheesy goodness sitting before them.  Oh well...more leftovers for me!  I'm going to make up some rice, cut up some ham and throw some peas in and mix it all in the leftover Cheddar Cauliflower for lunch today.  2 days down, 28 more to go!  Please note I was cooking solo yesterday...my Assistant Chef was not interested in assisting because Tyler was home from school all yesterday and she was playing trains with him.

Cod with Herb Bread Crumbs (adapted from Epicurious.com)

2 tsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp very finely grated onion (I ran a whole onion along my box grater)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 c fresh white bread crumbs

2 tbsp dried chives

2 tbsp dried parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cod fillets (defrosted if they were frozen)

juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp paprika

I was going to go to the store yesterday because I needed white bread for the topping, but it was pouring all day and I didn't feel like dragging all the kids to the store.  I decided to be resourceful and bake my own instead. 

Once the bread was cooled, I ground the bread in my mini processor to get 1 cup soft bread crumbs.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the onion and garlic and saute over medium high heat for 1-2 mins.

Add the bread crumbs and stir until the butter is absorbed.  Remove from heat and stir in the chives, parsley, salt and pepper.

Place the cod fillets in a greased baking dish.

In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice, mayonnaise and paprika.

Brush mixture over the top of the cod fillets.

Top the fillets with a generous layer of the bread crumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere.

Bake in a 450 degree oven until the fish is cooked through, about 20 mins.  This would be awesome with chicken too, but I would bake it at a lower temperature for a longer time!

Cheddar Cauliflower (this is from my white Rachel Ray binder)

1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
2 c grated cheddar (her recipe called for sharp white cheddar, but I used regular cheddar)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 min.

Whisk in the milk and bring just to a boil.  Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 5 mins).

Add the cheese and stir until it is melted.

Remove from the heat and stir in the nutmeg, salt and pepper.  I didn't add any extra salt because I think the cheese is salty enough.  Cover to keep warm and set aside.



In a large pot, bring one inch of salted water to boil.  Add the cauliflower, cover and cook until tender, about 10 mins.



Drain the cauliflower and return it to the pan.  Add the cheese sauce and mix well to coat.  The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.

Cod Fillet with Herbed Bread Crumbs and Cheddar Cauliflower.  A nice alternative to fish sticks and macaroni & cheese!!

Cheddar Cauliflower.

Cod Fillet with Herbed Bread Crumbs

Recipe for: Cod Fillets with Herbed Bread Crumbs

www.momsaysjustonebite.blogspot.com

Adapted from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Scrod-with-Herbed-Breadcrumbs-2700

To prepare: Preheat oven to 450°.  Grease a small baking dish.  Recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

Directions

2 tsp. unsalted butter 1 tbsp. onion, very finely minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 c. soft white bread crumbs 2 tbsp. dried chives 2 tbsp. dried parsley Salt and pepper to taste 2 cod fillets, fresh or defrosted if frozen Juice from ½ a lemon 1 tbsp. mayonnaise 1 tsp. paprika

1.       In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. 2.       Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 1-2 mins. 3.       Add the soft bread crumb and stir until the butter is absorbed. 4.       Remove from heat and stir in the chives, parsley, salt and pepper. 5.       Place the cod fillets in the prepared baking dish. 6.       In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, mayonnaise and paprika.  Brush over the cod fillets. 7.       Top the fillets with a generous layer of bread crumb mixture and press gently to adhere. 8.       Bake in the preheated oven until the fish is done, about 20 mins.

Recipe for: Cheddar Cauliflower

www.momsaysjustonebite.blogspot.com

To prepare:  Recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients

Directions

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour 2 c. milk 2 c. grated cheddar cheese Salt and pepper to taste 1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1.       In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. 2.       Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute. 3.       Whisk in the milk and bring just to a boil, and cook stirring often, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 5 mins). 4.       Add the cheese and stir until melted. 5.       Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Cover and set aside. 6.       In a large pot, bring to boil one inch of salted water.  7.       Add the cauliflower, cover and cook until tender, about 10 mins. 8.       Drain the cauliflower and return to the pan. 9.       Add the cheese sauce and mix until cauliflower is well coated.

Parmesan Breaded Chicken and Cheesy Puffed Potatoes

For the most part, my husband and I coexist in a pretty democratic relationship.  We generally agree on almost every decision we make...and on the rare occasion we do eventually just agree to peacefully disagree.  I will fully admit though that in the kitchen I am a complete and total Dictator!  I usually don't take my husband's taste...or lack there of...into consideration when planning dinner.  To his dismay, I expose him to all sorts of crazy experimentations and continue to put evil things like green peppers and onions into the dishes I make.  I am a believer that if you eat something enough times you can make yourself like anything.  My husband believes that I will never change his taste in food.  So our silent battle wages on...I keep hiding things he doesn't like in the food I prepare, he finds them and picks them out.  My husband and I are both extremely stubborn people, but I WILL win!!

I will admit though, that the rice/bean dish I made for Cuban night did have an awful lot of green pepper and onion in it, so I decided to have mercy on my poor husband who is quite possibly the most boring eater in the world.  It seems like every time I ask him if he likes a certain food or ingredient the answer is almost always not really, no or NO!  I'm not sure how I ended up with someone so far on the opposite end of the food spectrum.  I guess it's a good thing for me that he NEVER cooks...not so much for him.  Sorry for his luck. 

I decided that I would put my homemade whole wheat breadcrumbs to good use and make something I know he likes...oven baked Parmesan breaded chicken.  And in honor of my "meat and potatoes" hubby some cheesy puffed potatoes to go along with it.  He recently told me that he is tired of mashed potatoes (seriously?!?), so I went with this as a kind of meet in the middle potato dish.  Adding the egg to the potatoes really makes them nice and puffy...the kids loved them!  Even my husband finished his without any complaints!  Success!!

So in honor of my plain Jane (is their a male version of this saying...Plain Joe or something like that maybe?) husband, I present to you a non-ethnic and unexciting, yet very tasty dinner.  

Parmesan Breaded Chicken

1 - 2 lbs chicken breast

1 1/2 c bread crumbs

1/3 c panko bread crumbs

1/3 c Parmesan cheese

3 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

In a shallow bowl, combine both bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

In a second shallow bowl, combine the egg and milk and lightly beat.

Dip the chicken breast in the egg mixture and then dredge in the bread crumb mixture.  Press firmly to coat well.  Place in a large greased baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 mins.

Cheesy Puffed Potatoes

6 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 c shredded Cheddar cheese + 1/4 c for topping

1/3 c milk

3 tbsp margarine

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

In a large pan of salted water, boil the potatoes about 20 mins until tender.  Drain the potatoes and place in a large bowl.  Add the milk, butter and salt.  Using an electric hand mixer, beat until smooth.

Add the 1 c. cheese and mix well until cheese is blended in and slightly melted.

Add the egg and blend well.

Place in a greased 8.5" x 11" baking dish.  Bake, uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30 mins.

Top with remaining 1/4 c cheese and return to oven fir an additional 5 mins.

Parmesan breaded chicken and Cheesy puffed potatoes.

I also served with a salad..no meal is complete without at least ONE thing my husband won't eat!! The Dictator rules!! =)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

One of my favorite vegetables is broccoli....I have always liked it and luckily for me, so do all of my kids.  Well, Tyler isn't a huge fan, but he'll eat it without too much complaining aside from the initial, "Oh man, not broccoli".  The "Mom Look" is usually the only "response" needed which telepathically sends the message, "Please do not complain about the meal I have spent an hour cooking you especially when there are kids in other countries who are starving and would gladly take your seat at this table" to him.  It's green which is not only my favorite color, but also means it's healthy (it has Beta-Carotene, Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium and is a good source of fiber).  I probably make it at least once a week.  Whenever it's on sale I always buy fresh.  I think frozen broccoli is just as tasty as fresh, but the problem is that the bag of frozen cut broccoli is almost completely full of pieces of nasty broccoli stems with maybe a few florets thrown in.  My family doesn't like the stalk all that much because it has such a tough texture.  So I end up buying the more expensive bag of delicious broccoli florets.  Unfortunately, the florets are sold in 12 oz bags which is barely enough to give each person a serving.  Last week, the frozen florets were pretty much the same cost as the fresh, so I threw one in my cart. 

So, I bet you're wondering why buy the fresh when it has a huge stalk on it?  Didn't I just say that my family won't eat the stalk?  Well, let me tell you.  Up until a few months ago I found no use for the nasty stalks and would just sadly pitch them in the trash.  I HATE throwing food away.  I was watching the cooking channel and the lady was using some broccoli in a stir fry dish.  She cut the stalks off, set them aside and said, "I'll turn these into soup for lunch tomorrow".  Wow...why had I never thought of this before?!?!? GENIUS!! 

Although the stalk is tough on the outside, if you peel off the tough outer layer, the inside is nice and tender and still tastes like broccoli.  So, now I always turn my stalks into delicious broccoli cheese soup, which just happens to be in my Top 5 favorite soups of all time.  This time, since I had opted to eat leftovers the night I made spaghetti, I had the added bonus of some leftover florets thrown in!!  If you don't have any florets, no worries...it's still creamy and delicious!  This soup could easily be made as a cream of broccoli soup if you omit the cheese.  You could also easily substitute another vegetable if broccoli isn't really your thing.  Cauliflower, potato, celery, mushrooms or any combination of those vegetables would probably be quite tasty!!  So here's to you, Mr. Nasty Broccoli Stalk....thank you for shedding your tough exterior and allowing me to see your tender (and might I add delicious) side.

Broccoli Cheese Soup:

Leftover broccoli stalk, peeled and chopped

Leftover broccoli florets (if you have them, if not, that's okay too)

3 tbsp butter

1/3 c onion, diced

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

3 c milk

1 c shredded cheese (I used colby-jack this time.  Really any cheese would work.  You could also use more or less cheese depending on how cheesy you want it, or like I said, none at all if you just wanted a cream of broccoli)

    

Using a potato peeler, peel off the tough outer layer of the stalk.  For the smaller pieces I used a knife to trim.  Using a peeler for this would have probably resulted in the removal of my skin, which is not an ingredient in broccoli cheese soup!!

Chop the peeled stalk into small pieces.

Boil the broccoli stalk pieces in a small pan of boiling water until soft.  Mine simmered about 10 mins.



Drain broccoli pieces and place in a food processor with 1 cup milk and, if you have them, half of your leftover broccoli florets.  I used a mini processor so I did it in 2 batches (half the broccoli and 1/2 c milk each time).



Puree until smooth, transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.

Chop remaining broccoli florets into small pieces.

I had a chunk of cheese I needed to use up, so I grated it using a box grater.  Feel free to use the pre-shredded kind, I won't judge, but I think shredding your own tastes better.  The pre-shredded kind has additives to keep it from clumping together as well as something to prevent it from molding.  If you don't believe me, next time your at the grocery store compare a package of chunk cheese with the pre-shredded kind.  You might be surprised!!

In a saucepan, melt butter.  Add the diced onion, garlic, salt and pepper.  Saute until the onions are soft, about 5 mins.



Make a roux by adding the flour and cooking another 3 - 5 mins, stirring constantly.

The finished roux.  This will make the soup nice and thick!!

Add the pureed broccoli mixture and remaining 2 cups milk.

Heat over medium-high heat, stirring until soup starts to thicken.  Add in the chopped broccoli florets at this time if you have them.

Stir in the shredded cheese, stirring until melted.

Lower heat and simmer, stirring until desired thickness is reached.  If your soup turns too thick, you can always thin it out with more milk.

Finished soup served with a piece of my leftover Irish soda bread.



Vegetable Beef & Barley Soup with Whole Wheat Bread

For the past two weeks or so we have pretty much had one type of weather here in Ohio and that has been rain.  What is better to have on a cold, rainy day than homemade soup?  And what is better to accompany soup than homemade bread? The plan was actually to make the soup and bread yesterday, but due to my last minute Mardi Gras dinner party, the soup got pushed back a day.  No biggie.  Usually I plan my dinners out a whole month in advance, which takes a lot of work, but is well worth the time.  It never fails that this month of menus actually turns into a month and a few weeks because I'll have an extra leftover to use or my husband will offer to cook (aka order a pizza). 

I love making soup. It's so easy....you can really just throw anything in a pot and TA DA...a delicious meal. When I say anything, I mean anything.  Any combination of  meat, vegetables, grains, beans, babies (not really babies...just making sure you're actually reading!!!) can be added to a liquid/broth base with whatever spices you like.  It's so amazingly versatile!  Soup has this magic quality to make your stomach and heart happy at the same time.  It warms you from the inside out and just makes you feel content.  Why do you think it's what people eat when they are sick?  It's comforting!!  Soups are great especially when you have small children because you can really cook it anytime of the day and just reheat it later.  You can cook your soup when the baby is napping at 10:00 am, that way when 5:00 pm rolls around and the baby inevitably starts crying you don't have to frantically try throwing a meal together with one hand.  Trust me, I've tried and it's no easy task!!  There is always a ton leftover (usually enough to eat for lunches the next couple days plus enough to freeze for a second meal) and soups are almost always guaranteed to taste better on day 2, or 3 or 4 in my house!!  I really do believe anyone can make a good pot of soup.

A friend of mine was over the other day and she told me she wasn't a "soup person".  What?!?  Who isn't a "soup person"?!?  Lucky for her I was making a pork and vegetable soup and I was determined to change her opinion of soups.  After the meal she happily declared that the soup was quite tasty and that she probably just didn't like soup because growing up all she had was soup from a can.  Ding, ding, ding....we have a winner.  Soup from scratch will always, I repeat ALWAYS, trump the pretend soup that comes in a can.  So, as promised I am including the recipe for the soup I made tonight.  I normally don't measure things and just throw stuff in as I go, but just for her, my very first soup convert, I will try to so she can duplicate it and pass on her new found love of soup to other naysayers who may be in doubt.  I'll just consider this my small gift to the world without the bows and wrapping paper.  The one note I will make is that usually you can never duplicate a good soup recipe because they always taste slightly different.  That is the beauty of good soup!

Vegetable Beef & Barley Soup

1 c. yellow onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

4 carrots, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Leftover crock pot beef** 

1 small can diced tomatoes

32 oz. beef broth

46 oz can tomato juice plus 1/2 can water.

1 c. barley

3-4 potatoes, diced

1 can green beans

1 can great northern beans

1/2 c. frozen corn

1/2 c. frozen peas

Whatever spices you want to taste.  Tonight I used parsley, basil, oregano and black pepper...and no, sorry I didn't measure these.  I would never add salt since I think a lot of the canned stuff has plenty of salt for my liking.  If you are in love with salt though, add away...I'm not going to judge!!

**I almost always use the last of whatever leftover crock pot meat I have.  The night I cook the roast, I always strain the broth the meat has been cooking in all day through a fine mesh strainer and skim the fat off the top.  I then put it in a container and save it for my soup.  Once it cools in the fridge it turns into this scary looking, almost Jello consistency semi solid.  I'm sure there is a technical name for this, but I just call it Meat Jello and chase my kids around with it to gross them out.  I think it gives the soup a delicious flavor...plus I hate throwing ANYTHING away!!

Place the first 9 ingredients plus spices in a pot and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 25 mins.  Add potatoes, return to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer another 25 mins.  Add the last 4 ingredients, return to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer another 15 mins.  Taste soup and add any additional spices you might need.  That's it.  Eat and enjoy!!

I was cooking solo today since my Assistant Chef decided she would rather watch some ballet thing on TV than dump stuff into a pot.  I guess at 4 years old I really can't blame her!  So I approved her a vacation day.

Diced onion, carrots and celery are a MUST in all my soups!!

Cold leftover meat and the "Meat Jello".  Scary!

I love barley!

Normally I go with the russet potato in soups, but I had nothing better to do with the last 4 red potatoes.

Soup in the pot pre-cooked.

Cooked Soup.  Very tasty!  Thanks for the ladle again Mom!

My dinner (and my lunch for tomorrow).

Good for the soul! =)

I'm not sure there are many smells in the world that can fill your home like that of fresh baked bread right out of the oven or bread machine. My Uncle Billy will contest that making bread with your hands and baking it in the oven is the best way to go and honestly I can't argue this.  I can argue, however, that with 4 children I don't have an extra set of hands to spare or the time to knead the dough, let it rise, punch it down, knead some more, etc, etc, etc...especially when the bread machine can do it for me.  Bread machine...much like Charlie Sheen right now...is the WINNER!!  I bought my bread machine off Craigs List a few months ago for $10 and to date, I have only used it for dough and the french bread recipe that came in the manual.  No offense to the kind person who was willing to part from their machine at such a reasonable cost to me, but it is clearly obvious from the huge gouges in the Teflon coating they left by using a knife to pry their bread out, that they didn't really love the machine all that much.  I really do love the machine so I'm glad I could give it a second loving home.  I do have to admit that every time I have made the french bread it has stuck to the sides resulting in a complete massacre of the bread when removing the loaf.  This is okay though because when serving it with soup I don't really need slices.  Chunks work just fine!  Since the first of the year I have really been trying to switch over all white flour products we eat to whole wheat.  So I tried the whole wheat recipe and wouldn't you know, to my delight, the loaf popped right out.  After 15 mins of cooling I was even able to slice it.  I was so excited I had to do a small victory dance right there in the kitchen while holding my plate of sliced bread.  I love you bread machine!!

Whole wheat bread fresh from the "oven".

Trying to steal a piece before dinner.  Sneaky Tyler!!  You wouldn't blame him though if you were here to smell it.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT CAME OUT WHOLE!!

This is what made me happy the rest of the evening! 

I love to put Parmesan cheese on my soup.  Usually I use a generic store brand because it's cheapest.  I could buy the Kraft brand for a few dollars more, but who am I kidding?  It doesn't taste a few dollars worth better.  I will save my money for the King of all cheeses which can only be obtained by making a 6 and 1/2 hour drive all the way to a little store called Latinas in the thriving metropolis of Niagara Falls, NY.  Lucky for me, my grandparents live there so the drive isn't JUST for the cheese.  That would be silly.  They have THE best cheese...I am sure my readers from NF will vouch for me!  It's actually Pecorino Romano cheese imported from Italy, which up until about 2 years ago I had no clue was actually made from sheep's milk.  Once I got over the initial shock, I realized this cheese is what makes all my grandma's food taste so amazing.  It's that special ingredient that makes your own food have the label "It's not like Grandma makes".  And all these years I thought the special ingredient was love!!  So, if you are ever traveling to Niagara Falls, hunt down Latina's and get some cheese.  Then do yourself a favor since you're already there, walk next door to DiCamillo's Bakery and get some of the best Italian bread anywhere in the world.  This last paragraph was brought to you by the Council to Revive Pine Ave. Economy. Thank you. =)