Cormeal Crusted Fish

A couple months ago I went deep sea fishing with my husband, brother-in-law and sister-in-law.  We caught 9 striped bass!  It was a lot of fun and at the end they filleted all of the fish and packed it up for us.......so now we have a freezer full!  I'm always looking for a new way to cook it and I've recently found a new favorite.  So easy and oh so good!  Here it is...

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
salt and pepper
about 1 1/2 pounds of fish (of course you can adapt it for different amounts of fish.  I find this recipes works with any white fish)

Set up a breading station with the flour first, then buttermilk, and then cornmeal.  Season all three with salt and pepper. Then season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Add canola oil to the bottom of your frying pan until it thinly coats the bottom.  Turn up the heat so that the oil is spitting hot.  Pass the pieces of fish through your breading station making sure they are fully coated with cornmeal at the end.  Place each piece in the frying pan (make sure you place it away from you so oil doesn't spit on you).  After about 3-5 minutes flip the fish.  Continue cooking for 3-5 minutes on the other side (cooking time depends on the thickness of the fish.  Best way to know if it's done is to use a fork and put it in the middle of the fish.  If you can turn the fork and the fish flakes away you know it's done.  Enjoy!

Canobie

What a day!  Yesterday was a family fun-filled day at Canobie Lake Park.  It was amazing, but the best part was being all together.  Family just makes the park better.  Not only my little family of my husband and son, but also my parents and my sister's family.  A big crew to bring around a park but it was great.  My nieces were able to go on rides with my son.  My parents were able to watch my son while my husband and I rode some rides.  And we all just enjoyed each other's company!  I highly suggest going to Canobie before the season's out and bring the whole family!

Money-saving tip: Getting into the park is costly for sure, so to save on money we actually had someone in the family go pick up subs at subway which is so close by and then we picnicked out in a grassy area on the other side of the parking lot.  It was fun, a good refreshing time to get away from the craziness of the park, and also much healthier, cheaper, and actually yummier than eating inside.  Plus we brought out own drinks and snacks so we were all quite satisfied!

Food Tip of the Day

Quesadillas!  What a great go to meal. I always have tortillas stocked in my pantry just in case I need a quick, yummy hot meal.  The best thing about quesadilla is that you can just use leftover meat and it will still taste great.  Grilled steak on Monday?  Steak quesadilla on Tuesday.  Baked chicken on Sunday?  Chicken quesadillas sometime that week.  I made quesadillas last night with a little leftover chicken from a recipe I made earlier.  Added some mexican cheese with sides of salsa and sour cream and dinner was on the table in about 5 minutes!  Try it this week :)

Get out of the boat!

On Sunday we visited a church near our new home and I have to say the message was great.  It was so relevant to what we are going through right now!  The story was on Jesus walking on water and how the disciples were on the boat and saw him.  All around them the waves were crashing and they were in the midst of a storm.  The disciples were scared to see a man walking on the water.  But Peter knew it was Jesus and he got OUT of the boat!  He walked on water too!  Then of course the storm around him distracted him and he started to sink but Jesus held out his hand and pulled Peter up out of the water.  The message gleaned from this story was, in order to experience the miracle you have to get out of the boat!  The disciples on the boat were able to watch the miracle.  They probably thought, wow, that's cool, Peter is walking on water.  Wish something like that would happen to me!  How many times are we on the boat watching other people's miracles?  I have heard a number of stories of the miraculous ways that God has provided for his faithful.  I've always thought, wow, that's cool...wish something like that would happen to me. But I would do nothing.  I'd stay in my same situation.  And I'd watch the miracles go by.  Until recently!  The storm of life was swarming around.  And instead of sitting in our comfortable situation, a house paid for by the church, a job that my husband loved (minus the leadership of the church), and the ability to actually stay home with my son and not work........we got out of the boat.  We knew it was time.  God was nudging us...no rather pushing us to get out and finally we did.  Not one foot at a time.  No, rather we kind of jumped right out onto the water and right away we stood solid on the water.  God had it all planned out for us.  In less than a weeks time he provided a new house and my husband a new job.  We experienced our miracle.  It's amazing and we are still in awe each day.  But it makes me hungry for more.....what's the next miracle I am to experience?  What other boats do I need to get out of???

Food Tip of the Day

When in doubt.......use the crock pot!  I've been intending on making a certain WW (weight watcher's) grilled chicken recipe for over a week now.  I bought all the ingredients two shopping trips ago.  I wrote it in my calendar a few times now.  But something always comes up....it's raining so we can't cook outside, or my husband is working late so I need to whip something up quick so my son isn't eating at 7:00 at night or whatever else might happen.  So, yesterday I decided, "no more excuses!"  So last night while my husband watched my son for a bit I made the marinade for my chicken, de-skinned my chicken and cut it in the correct portion size.  I wrapped it up and put it in the fridge over night, all ready for the grill today.  Except when I awoke today I realized....it's Tuesday.....We don't have time to grill today either!  Already have plans that are going to make us late for dinner......can't start grilling at 6 o clock!  So, I rummaged through my cupboards and dusted off my small crockpot, piled in the chicken and set it on low.  Now my kitchen smells divine and my chicken, though not grilled, will be ready to be eaten when we are ready!  No More Excuses! :)

Here's the recipe:
To make the marinade combine in the food processor....
5 green onions chopped
1 lime (zest and juice)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon water
cumin, ground fennel, salt and pepper (about a tsp of each depending on what you like)

Blend these ingredients together in the food processor and then slather it all over some bone-in chicken breasts (skin removed). Let marinate over night.  Place in small crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.  I'm planning to serve it with brown rice and green beans on the side.  Enjoy!

Food, Family and Faith

Food, Family and Faith......the three things that make up the foundation of my life.  Each has its own special significance and impact on my life.  Through my blog I want to share these three through recipes, tips, personal experience and scripture.  My hope is that through my posts I can help others whether its organizing their time to get hot meal on the table for their busy family or learning to rely on God even more.  Thanks for reading!