One of the best things about a nor’easter is that it’s a perfect time to make fish chowder (assuming the storm doesn’t shut down your electricity!). This weekend we had our second – or maybe it’s the third – storm so far this season and it’s looking like we’re in for a bad winter, so we officially welcomed the cold weather by chowing down on chowder. This dish is a blend of two authentic New England recipes – my husband’s grandmother’s recipe and John F. Kennedy’s recipe that was published in a newspaper years ago. It’s definitely a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meal that will warm and fill you up with delicious, real, ingredients. Enjoy!
New England Fish Chowder
Author: Carrie Saunders
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
2 lbs firm white fish (Pollock, haddock, etc.)
2 cups fish stock
4 large potatoes – peeled and cubed (Yukon Gold are good)
1 vidalia onion – chopped
1 celery stalk – finely diced
4 slices bacon cut into 1/4″ pieces
2 1/2 T flour (I use white whole wheat)
1/4 c white wine
1 t salt
1 bay leaf
black pepper to taste
3 cups half and half
2 T butter
Instructions
In a large pot simmer the fish in the fish stock for about 15 minutes, or until just under done.
Remove fish to a plate and cut into bite sized pieces, removing any bones at the same time.
Transfer stock to a separate bowl.
In the same pot add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.
Add diced onion to the bacon grease in the pot and sauté until translucent – about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir to make a roux. Stir constantly to slightly cook, but not burn, the flour.
Stir the stock back into the pot, stirring constantly until the flour mixture and stock are well combined.
Add the celery, salt, pepper and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil and add the wine.
Reduce heat to medium and add the potatoes.
Cook at a low boil for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Add half and half and stir to combine.
Add butter and stir while melting.
Add fish and slowly heat until all is warm.
Crumble reserved bacon on top and serve with crusty bread and salad.
Every week my inbox fills up with delicious looking recipes from companies like Betty Crocker. The not so delicious part of the recipes are all of the artificial ingredients! However, being a busy mom, I can see the appeal of trading real food for the real convenience that pre-packaged products provide. So, every week I challenge myself to do a real meal makeover with one of the recipes by swapping out the fake food but keeping it a quick and easy meal. This week was Chicken a la King and it turned out so well I actually made it on Thursday and Sunday! Continue reading
My hubby surprised me with this breakfast for Mother’s Day and it was delicious! He also did a great job picking out ingredients to make this healthy and m’organic (which was a bit of a surprise!). I think it’s a great example of how easy it can be to eat real food and make good choices. You don’t need to be a nutrition expert, or spend all your time in the kitchen, to pick up a few changes along the way and really transform your diet. Continue reading
When I had my 4th child some friends arranged to bring dinners over to our house every Thursday. It was so great while it lasted (almost enough to make me want to have another child — just kidding, honey!) and, in addition to some yummy meals, I got a bunch of amazing recipes. My friend Sarah brought this chicken pot pie and I loved it for 3 reasons: it was delicious, she cut the top crust into an “L” for Liam’s name, and she brought 2 pies – one to eat, one to freeze.
I am so excited to share this simple, magical, “un-salad” recipe that has changed my kids into salad eaters (although, weirdly, they do not even realize this is a salad). To be honest, salads have never played a starring role in our family dinners, mostly because even a small amount on the kids’ plates is usually enough to completely freak them out and start an all out eat-your-veggies war – which I’ve learned almost never results in them actually eating their veggies.
BUT, an amazing thing happened when I made this salad the other night Continue reading
These were a hit with everyone (including the kids, who can sometimes turn their little noses up at eating fish). It can sometimes be hard to find tortillas that don’t have a lot of preservatives in them. I’ve tried making my own, but they just didn’t turn out that great. The La Tortilla brand is great because they make organic corn tortillas with only a few ingredients (water, organic stone ground corn flour, guar gum and lime).
Total Cost for 8 tacos with a side of rice and beans: $19.69
Ingredient
Amount for recipe
Price per package
Cost per Meal
Leftovers?
TOTAL COST FOR 4 SERVINGS
$19.69
Tilapia (wild caught)
1 lb.
8.99/lb.
8.99
no
Shredded cabbage (I used a bag of presliced coleslaw mix)
2.5-3 cups (about 1/3 of the bag)
1.99
.66
yes
green onions
1/4 cup
.99 (bag from Trader Joes)
.29
yes
plum tomatoes
2 chopped
1.49/lb.
.54
no
limes
2
.50/each
1.00
no
black beans (organic)
1 can
1.19
1.19
no
cilantro
1/2 bunch
1.99/bunch
.99
yes
corn tortillas - organic
8
5.00 / pkg of 10
4.00
no
brown rice - organic
1 cup, dry
4.99/bag
.83
yes
sour cream - organic
8 oz.
2.49/16 oz trader joes
1.24
yes
Fish Tacos
Author: Carrie Saunders
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2.5-3 cups shredded cabbage (I used a bag of coleslaw mix)
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 plum tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 bunch cilantro (about 1/2 cup chopped)
2 limes
1 cup organic brown rice
1 lb. Tilapia (wild caught)
1 can organic black beans
8 oz. organic sour cream
8 organic corn tortillas
– Pantry / Spice Ingredients –
5 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp salt (divided)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander (divided)
1/2 tsp cumin (divided)
dash cayenne pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Prepare the taco slaw: combine cabbage, green onions, tomatoes and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro. Cut lime in half and squeeze about 2 Tbs. of juice onto slaw. Add 1 Tbs. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix well and set aside.
Cook the rice according to package directions.
Heat remaining oil in a large skillet. Sprinkle the fish with 1 tsp. chili powder and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook fish for about 4 minutes on each side until it flakes easily. Remove from pan and cut into bite sized chunks.
Drain and rinse the black beans and heat them either on the stove or in the microwave. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, dash of salt (to taste).
In a small bowl combine the sour cream with the remaining 1/4 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp. cumin and a dash of cayenne pepper. Squeeze juice from 1/2-1 lime into mixture and stir well. Gently fold in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.
Heat tortillas according to package directions.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of slaw mixture into each tortilla. Divide the fish evenly among the tacos and top each with sour cream mixture.
Serve with 1/4 cup of rice topped with black bean mixture. Squeeze extra lime over the rice/black beans.
My hubby surprised me with this breakfast for Mother’s Day and it was delicious! He also did a great job picking out ingredients to make this healthy and m’organic (which was a bit of a surprise!). I think it’s a great example of how easy it can be to eat real food and make good choices. You don’t need to be a nutrition expert, or spend all your time in the kitchen, to pick up a few changes along the way and really transform your diet. 
