smoky fish chowder

We need to eat more fish. So I keep looking for fish recipes. I think this one is a keeper. And my husband says it is because it contains sausage.

smoky fish chowder
adapted from Real Simple, January 2010

prep time: 20 minutes; total time: 30 minutes; serves: 4

4 oz Spanish chorizo or any sausage
2 leeks (white & light green parts)
¾ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, about 2 medium
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
salt & pepper
smoked paprika
1 pound frozen cod pieces
¼ cup fresh parsley

In a large pot, brown the chorizo over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally until beginning to soften, about 3 to for minutes.

Add the potatoes, tomatoes (with their juices), 1 ½ c water, ½ t salt, ½ t pepper, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the fish and simmer gently until opaque throughout, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in parsley before serving.

If you have more time – cook longer after adding potatoes. After adding and cooking fish, remove pot from heat and let sit 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Reheat if necessary before serving and adding parsley.

suppers

I'm continuing through the orange folder. Some recipes from last week went into the recycling bin and few will be saved...those recipes coming soon.

This week we're having:  
   Monday -- onion & mushroom soup
   Tuesday -- fish sticks, cole slaw
   Wednesday -- garlic & oil pasta
   Thursday -- sandwiches
   Friday -- lazy lasagna
   Saturday -- out
   Sunday -- bbq cob salad

pork lo mein

I had this recipe for pork lo mein, but I didn't follow it. Other than the sauce. And it was tasty enough so I'll keep the sauce, but do what I want for the rest of the dish.

lo mein sauce


Whisk together:
3 T soy sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1 ½ T cornstarch
1/3 c water
1 c chicken broth

Poor over cooked meat (or tofu) and veggies. Mix with noodles.

orange folder

I started this blog with the vague notion that it would help me organize my recipes. The ones I've torn out of magazines or marked online. Forty-six posts later, it has not. So I've started a new project. I'm actually going to go through my orange folder of recipes. The orange folder contains recipes that I've torn out, made at least once, and decided to keep. But I've done nothing with them since. Or maybe I've made the recipe over and over again. But I still haven't moved it to my recipe binder. Enough. I'm going through the recipes again, making them, and doing something with them -- into the binder or into the recycling bin.

the (faded) orange folder

I'll post my weekly supper plan. On Sundays. Then any recipes that make it into the binder, I'll share here on my blog.

So for supper this week we'll have:
   Monday -- curried eggplant with tomatoes & basil
   Tuesday -- family night out
   Wednesday -- pork lo mein
   Thursday -- smoky fish chowder
   Friday -- taco pasta toss
   Saturday -- Moroccan chicken
   Sunday -- cornbread dressing with sausage & apples

Starting a trend here...posting my weekly meals on Thursday? Not good. Or at least not very timely.

Somehow I always seem to have too much food in the house. Never mind that I hardly have the room to store it. And then my cabinets begin to get cluttered and it stresses me out a little. So working on that this week, again.

   Monday -- salad with (leftover) chili and tortilla chips
   Tuesday -- big holiday here so we went to a party
   Wednesday -- bulgar salad, salad, and corn on the cob
   Thursday -- hamburgers, potato & green bean salad (finally good enough weather to grill!)
   Friday -- golden bowl
   Saturday -- fish
   Sunday -- lamb (maybe) fusilli

Right. It's Thursday. Here's what we've eaten this week and what we'll eat for the rest of the week.

   Monday -- black bean, corn & rice casserole and salad
   Tuesday -- sloppy joes, steamed broccoli, baked beans
   Wednesday -- crock pot chicken, roasted potatoes, sautéed zucchini, cauliflower & onion
   Thursday -- hot & sour soup, lettuce wraps
   Friday -- veggie pizza
   Saturday -- hamburgers
   Sunday -- layered salad 

Cinco de Mayo

I made a mistake when planning last week's meals. I forgot that Thursday was Cinco de Mayo. I'm not one to let a holiday pass without marking it with some sort of special holiday-appropriate food. Luckily I realized this mistake on Tuesday. So I switched vegetable soup to Wednesday and began looking for something holiday-appropriate for Thursday.

Found! Thanks to a Jamie Oliver tweet. Mexican Street Salad from Jamie's America, a book I happen to have.

I left the onions and peppers out, served my daughter's salad, and then added them in. We had our salad served over tortilla chips with salsa, tomatoes, and avocados. It was tasty.

But really, it didn't seem worthy of a main dish salad. So if I make it again, and I might very well, I'll use it as filling for fish tacos.