Battered Fish

Traditionally this deep-fried battered fish would be served with 'chips' (fat french fries), but I actually prefer to do onion rings, because I use the same batter for both fish and rings.


Cut white fish into fillets and make sure there are no bones. (If you buy it it should already be this way, but if you caught your own then obviously you'll have to do it yourself!) I like to make them on the smaller side--I slice thick fillets in half depth-wise (so I have two thin fillets), and I cut them down to about 4x4inch pieces. I like a high batter-to-fish ratio. ☺


Batter:
In a wide and/or shallow bowl, put 1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup white flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt). Slowly add water until it is about the consistency of pancake batter...maybe 2/3 or 3/4 cup of water usually. If it is too thin it will all drip off the fish (or onions)!

Heat oil in a wok, saucepan, or deep frying pan (I like using a lid to avoid oil splatters, but an oil screen works too). You can deep fry the fish, but I find that using a high-sided frying pan I can 'deep fry' them in only about an inch of oil, I just have to turn the fish over halfway through the cooking. It uses less oil, and seems to get less oil into the fish as well.

Put battered fish pieces into oil and fry until golden and cooked through--about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the pieces and whether the fish was frozen or thawed. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove fish and set on a paper towel to drain. Serve hot!


*This does NOT reheat very well (it's ok in the oven but terrible in the microwave), so if you have leftovers I recommend eating them cold.

French Bread Pizza

Recently I had some leftover pizza sauce and toppings from family pizza night. I wanted to use them up, but didn't feel like going to the full effort of making pizza, so I did this instead. (Conveniently I had a leftover loaf of french bread as well!)


serves about 4

1 loaf leftover french bread, cut into slices
pizza sauce (tomato sauce with garlic powder, basil and oregano)
shredded mozzarella cheese
pizza toppings--cut into little pieces

Spread the slices of french bread on a cookie sheet. Put a generous amount of sauce on each (the bread slices are thicker than a typical pizza crust, so you'll want the extra moisture). Then put a generous amount of cheese and whatever toppings you like best.
Bake at 400 for about 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Pizza Pasta

This is a pasta dish inspired by pizza...it's just much faster to make!

Serves about 4

• 4 c cooked pasta (about 3c dry), I recommend penne or macaroni or some other firm/small piece pasta, not spaghetti or linguini.
• Favorite pizza toppings, such as pepperoni, sausage chunks, olives, peppers, onions, etc Pre-cook anything that is raw.
• 1 can stewed or diced tomatoes and/or 1 small can tomato sauce
• about 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• (optional) basil, oregano, garlic powder
  

Cook the noodles and drain off excess water. Return noodles to a wide saucepan (or a high-sided fry pan). Add tomatoes/sauce and stir a bit until the juices release into the pasta. (If the stewed tomatoes are in large chunks, chop them up before adding.) Add spices and all other pizza toppings, and sprinkle in cheese. It should be a little cheesy but not stuck together in one big gob.
Serve immediately.

New Sections

I just want to take a moment to point out some new sections on the "cookbook tabs" section in the sidebar.
I already had categories for food types, meal types, allergen-free/friendly recipes, kid-friendly recipes (stuff my kids love anyway!), quick & easy recipes, things that reheat well, and International flavors.
I have now added a section for "Food Storage Foods" which is recipes made almost exclusively from items that would (should!) typically be found in food storage. They use canned, frozen, or dry goods rather than fresh (or canned/dry/frozen could easily be substituted). I certainly believe that fresh is the ideal from a nutritional standpoint, but we all know that unless you live in a temperate climate you can't get fresh year-round. Having a food storage, whether it's 3 months worth or a full years worth, is a good idea. A lot of people get some wheat and beans but then have no idea what to do with it all...hopefully some of these recipes will be helpful.
I also added a section for budget-friendly foods.
Finally, I've added a tag called "pack-it" which is foods that are good for packing, whether it's for picnics, vacations, school lunches, or eating at work. Most of the 'reheats well' recipes are already great to take along to work or school if you have access to a microwave or oven, but the 'pack-it' foods are things that do not need to be reheated, and for the most part are packed with nutrients for kids like mine who rush through lunch so they can get out to the playground. ☺ (You know you're doing something right when your 9 year old son comes home from school one day and says "I don't like hot lunch anymore, I'd rather take leftovers.")

Black Bean & Brown Rice Veggie Burgers

I may give up ground beef now. If you leave off the cheese these are easily vegan as well. If you just stack the patty with the veggies and no bun, then it's gluten-free. ☺
Rice + beans = a complete protein, and we find these just as filling as meat burgers. For variations, add barbecue sauce to the mixture, top the burgers with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole instead of traditional burger toppings.

• 1 can black beans rinsed and well drained or about 1/2 cup dry, cooked until soft (alternately, use refried black beans)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice, (1/2 cup dry) cooked until soft (drain any excess liquid)
• Cheddar Cheese (we like grating about 1/2 cup of cheese and mixing it right in with the beans and rice, it helps everything stick together...alternately place a slice of cheese on top of the burger while it's cooking on the second side)

Mash up beans with a fork. Add rice (and cheese if desired) and blend well. Pack into tight balls--I use a round scoop like this --->
and then smoosh them out a bit in the pan, but the scooper compacts them nicely. Fry in a little oil (a cast iron skillet works wonderfully). Cook 4-5 minutes per side, or until the surface of the patty gets a bit browned and crunchy. Don't try to do it faster--they will fall apart!! I put a lid on the pan to melt the cheese. Put on a bun and accessorize as desired. ☺

This makes about 2 1/2 cups of mixture, and the original recipe said that made 4 patties, but we don't make them quite that big or that thick or something, because I was able to get 5 or 6 patties (4-5" across) from a batch. We normally make slightly smaller burgers so I could get 6+ of those.

Leftover bean/rice mix is great rolled up in a tortilla with some sour cream and guacamole by the way. ☺

40-Minute Hamburger Buns

from Best of Country Breads cookbook--many thanks to Maria for giving me this recipe, we use it constantly! I love how fast they are to make--they really are just 40 minutes. My husband says he thinks he likes it better than my grandma's rolls (which might be blasphemy). These buns are nice and hearty, so I do a wheat/white blend for plain eating, but most (or all) white when we use them for burgers. I don't think I'll ever want to eat a purchased burger bun again though. I am going to start experimenting with making these oblong for hot dogs and hoagies.
Makes 10-12 buns (the recipe says it makes 12, but I usually do 10, and they are still on the smaller side (I like smaller burgers so that works fine). If you want big 'quarter pounder' size buns, expect this recipe to make 8-9 buns.

2 Tbs active dry yeast
1 cup + 2Tbs warm water (that's 1 1/8 cups)
1/3 c oil (vegetable or olive)
1/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3-4 cups flour (can be done whole wheat, although tastes best at about 50/50 white/wheat. You will need more flour for higher white content, less for higher wheat content)

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar, let stand for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, salt, and enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise! Divide into 12 (or fewer) pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 2-3" apart on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes (they will rise). Bake at 425* for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.