Fish and Chips…and the Week’s Menu

If I haven’t mentioned it before, these menus are actually what we had for dinner the preceding week.  I don’t want y’all to plan something for your own families that isn’t perfectly delicious, or that kids won’t eat. I’m determined that, despite the continued winter-like weather here, we WILL begin to eat as though it’s actually spring!

Monday: Drip Beef Sliders with Oven-roasted Potatoes, Onions, and Peppers

Tuesday: Three Peas in a Pasta with Strawberry Romaine Salad

Wednesday: Marinated Grilled Chicken with Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter Sauce and Baked Potatoes

Thursday:  Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Quesadillas with Chopped Vegetable Salad

Friday:  Homemade Fish and Chips with Raw Veggies and Dip

Marinade for chicken: Combine ingredients in large Ziploc bag.  Marinate chicken breasts in frig at least 30 minutes and  for no more than 2 hours (or it will be WAY too salty)

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Quesadillas:  Chop leftover grilled chicken and place on tortilla with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and green onions.  Drizzle with ranch.  Top with another tortilla and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Each quesadilla serves 2 kids or 1 adult.

Strawberry Romaine Salad:

• 1 romaine heart, chopped
• 2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
• Dressing:  Combine 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp sugar, 1/3 cup buttermilk, and 1 Tbsp poppy seeds.  If you don’t have buttermilk, substitute 1 Tbsp vinegar and 1/4 cup milk.

My hooligans have already planned our first meal when we move back to Washington…Steamers on the beach overlooking the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  It’s a tiny little place with water on one side and train tracks on the other, so the kids think it’s all that and a bag a chips.  In the meantime, we make do with my homemade version (which is much healthier and less expensive, but nowhere near the water OR a train track).

This takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, but it’s really very little hands on time.  While the fish and fries are baking, I cut up some fresh fruit or make these individual veggie cups.  I place about a tablespoon of ranch dressing in the bottom of small bowls or cups, then stand the veggies up in it.  That way, everyone can double dip to their heart’s content!

Oven “Fried” Fish

Serves 4

• 4 or 5 tilapia loin fillets (ours are from Costco)
• 1-1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• ½ cup egg substitute
• ½ cup flour
• 1 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
• Alessi Waffle Fries

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. You’ll need four shallow bowls, such as pasta plates. In the first, mix the flour and seasoning. In the second, pour the egg substitute. In the third, place the panko. Cut the fish in half both length- and widthwise, making four “sticks” from each fillet.

3. Line a large rimmed pan with foil and place a wire rack in it. Spray the rack with cooking spray. Roll a piece of fish in the flour mixture, then the egg, then the panko to coat. Place on the pan, and repeat with remaining fish. Spray the coated fish lightly with cooking spray if desired. (It makes them brown a bit better.)

4. Place the fries on another baking sheet and place both the fish and the fries in the oven. Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily and the fries are golden and crisp.

Click here for the printable recipe