Parmesan Pesto Broiled Fish

Welcome to a brand new week!  

Hope that your weekend was fabulous and you are re-charged for a new week!

Mine was a great combination of all of the wonderful things in my life!  

Friday night was our annual mom's Christmas shopping adventure, 

which is one of the best gifts in itself, to just have time together!  

In general, we are a pretty low key group, so the fact that we didn't get home until midnight 

speaks volumes about this tradition.  

Good clean fun and lots of laughter!  

The kids formed an assembly line on Saturday to help me with Christmas cards.  

They excitedly stuffed, stamped and labeled the envelopes, 

but no one was willing to seal, so that job came back to me.  

It was so great to see them all smiling and working together,

 even as they called 'switch' to change tasks. 

Another weekend highlight included the Nutcracker collection display at Milton College, 

where we saw a friend's collection along with a couple of the kids' classmates.  

It was also super cool to check out a bit of Milton College, 

something I had only seen or heard of from afar. 

Saturday was also a beautiful winter evening for the Janesville Jolly Jingle Holiday Lights Parade.  

To the best of my knowledge, this was Janesville's first holiday parade and 

we can't wait to see this grow!  

We were excited to check out the holiday events that were planned and 

see lots of familiar faces along the way.  

The flat tire when we got back to the car, however, was not part of our evening plans! 

While the tire was being changed, Alayna and I brainstormed the silver linings, 

including that we were with some wonderful friends who came to the rescue.  

He helped Jerry put on the spare while she dropped off another friend, scoped out dinner spots and ultimately picked up pizza to just hang out at home.  

Just can't complain about those little bumps in the road, when blessings are so abundant!

Now, here we are, back at the start again with another week of meals ahead of us.  

This broiled fish recipe was a huge hit with my whole family!  

The creaminess of the sauce along with the crispness of the cheese was a perfect combination 

to go with any white fish of your choice. 

Best part…it is quick! Ready in just about 10 minutes!  

The fillets of fish are just lightly seasoned with salt and pepper on a baking pan.  

I prefer to line my baking sheets with foil for ease of clean up. 

Pop the fish under the broiler for just about 5 minutes. 

While the fish are getting started, 

so shall the sauce. 

One half cup of mayonnaise, 

one tbsp of Pesto

(this can be store-bought or click here to make your own!)

and one quarter cup of grated Parmesan. 

Finally, add 2 tsp of lemon pepper seasoning.

After the first 5 minutes of broiling, 

top the fish with the sauce and spread into a thin layer, 

then back under the broiler it goes. 

While broiling, 

the sizzling of the cheese could be heard…

music to my ear! 

Love the gorgeous color and texture that came out of the broiler after just 

2-3 minutes. 

Just serve it up with some rice and edamame for a quick, fabulous, healthy weeknight meal!

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time: <10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1# of fish fillets of your choice

Salt and Pepper - to taste

1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 

1 tbsp of Pesto

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan

2 tsp Lemon Pepper seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil. 

Lightly season thawed fish fillets with salt and pepper. 

Broil for 5 minutes or longer for thicker fillets. 

While broiling, mix up mayo, pesto, parm and lemon pepper sauce for topping. 

Remove fish and spread a layer of Parmesan Pesto sauce on top. 

Return to the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned. 

Serve up with your favorite veggie and starch for a healthy, balanced, quick and easy meal.  

Naked Fish Taco Bowl

These naked fish taco bowls were another amazing meal.  Perfect for all seasons and occasions.  

I love making up all the parts of a dish and letting everyone put their own finishing touches on their meal.  Something about that lets everyone feel like they had a hand in the cooking.  

The rice, the beans, the corn, the fish, the toppings...just keeps getting better and better!

I won't keep you waiting any longer….

Started by grilling 4 - 6 oz cod loins over medium heat

then seasoning with chili power, cumin, salt and a little bit of ground red pepper.

(gotta love me some SP.403)

Flip and continue to grill on the other side until the fish were sufficiently 

opaque and flaky.  

Probably about 5-7 minutes on each side.  

Once the fish were done, they were plated and set aside…

in my favorite warming box, the microwave.

Next, it was time to grill up the veggies, right in the same pan.  

One tablespoon minced garlic, 2 cups of corn,

 1 medium onion and 2 medium tomatoes - chopped 

and 1 can of rinsed black beans 

were all tossed together and seasoned with the leftover fish seasonings.  

As for a dressing, just stir up

 1/3 cup sour cream with 1/3 cup salsa and juice from 1/2 of a lime 

for the perfect consistency and flavor. 

To put it all together, this bowl started with about 1/2 cup of cooked rice

and a healthy layer of grilled veggies.

Then the chunks of seasoned and flaky cod…

Finished with a couple of spoonfuls of the creamy salsa dressing, 

as well as some chopped avocado and cilantro.  

So good!

So fresh!

So healthy!  

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

4-6 oz cod loins

Chili power - to taste

Cumin - to taste

Salt - to taste

Ground red pepper - to taste

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 cups of corn

1 medium onion - chopped

2 medium tomatoes - chopped 

1 can of black beans - rinsed

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup salsa

Juice from 1/2 of a lime 

2.5 cups of Spanish Rice - cooked

1 avocado - chopped

1/4 cup cilantro - chopped

Directions:

Grill the fish over medium heat, season with chili power, cumin, salt and a little ground red, to taste. About 5 minutes per side. 

Once opaque and flaky, remove from pan and keep warm in microwave. 

Then add garlic, corn, onion, tomato and black bean to the pan to grill up. 

While that is grilling, mix up the salsa, sour cream and lime juice dressing.

In a bowl, layer rice, veggies, fish, dressing, top with avocado and cilantro.  

**We can't wait for Naked Fish Taco Bowl night again in our house!**

Lemon Dill Baked Cod

Happy Sunday, if the rain stays away, even though it is cloudy, cool and windy, I will be one happy lady!

More soccer today...and while it is bad enough for the players who have to overcome the elements to play their games, it might be worse for those of us on the sidelines, since we are just sitting there, soaking up the raindrops.

I think it is fair for me to make that statement as I have completed my fair share of runs and rides in the rain and once you get started, it's not so bad to just keep going.  Perhaps invigorating to push on, whatever the conditions.  I have some very fond memories of biking with my dad in the rain, those are the kinds of stories that come up year after year.

Whenever returning from a brisk day in the outdoors, I'm always looking forward to a nice warm, healthy, home-cooked meal and today I've got just the one to fit the bill.

This perfectly flavored Lemon Dill Baked Cod recipe dates back to the days, or should I say, nights right after college when the girls and I would get together for dinner.  My friend Pam would make this dish.  She was always more advanced in her skills...while I was still making ramen noodles for dinner, she was serving delightful meals.

Without further ado, start by layering the baking dish with slices from 2 lemons.  I love how when the lemon juices boil, they burst the perfect amount of flavor into the cod loins.

Layer in the loins over the lemon, I used about 2 lbs of cod to feed my family and there weren't any leftovers...there's a shocker!

Top the fish with coarse sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and butter, before adding the fresh dill sprigs as the finishing touch.

Cover with foil and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes, which is when the cous cous and salad were whipped up.

It really is that easy to have a fresh, healthy meal for your family.

The biggest challenge, at least for me, is in the planning stages, having everything on hand and ready to go.  So, I put the frozen cod loins in the fridge the day before and then picked up some lemons and fresh dill at the store after work.

I can't wait to have my own dill, basil and mint growing on my deck this summer.  Do you grow your own herbs?  What are your favorites?

RECIPE

Ingredients
2 lemons  - sliced
2 lbs of thawed cod loins
1/4 cup butter, in thin pats
Coarse Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper - to taste
Fresh Dill Sprigs

Directions
Layer the bottom of the baking dish with the lemon slices. 
Next, add the thaw cod loins. 
Top with salt, pepper, butter and dill. 
Cover and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. 

Serve with Tzatziki sauce (which I'm working to perfect) and a fresh lemon wedge.