Fish (or Chicken) with Veggies & Green Sauce

I couldn't decide what to call this so I enlisted the help of some facebook friends. They suggested "Halibut Fishatore," "Pesce Verde" and, inevitably, we wound up at "Green Fish." Call it what you like, it's yummy!
I had thawed some halibut to make another dish, but when I got ready to begin cooking I realized I had forgotten one of the parts of the recipe (which involved marinating the fish for two hours prior to cooking!). So I had to scrap that recipe and just threw this together on the spot. It may look a little complicated because it has several parts, but really they are all pretty simple. The only thing that's complicated is the sauce (which can burn), but so long as you keep an eye on it and stir it a lot you should be fine.
For those of you who for whom halibut isn't your 'cheap, always-on-hand' meat, you can use tilapia or another white fish, or chicken will also work nicely.

Serves about 6
Prep time--about 30-60 min, depending on whether you use canned/frozen veggies, and whether your meat is thawed.

MEAT

• About 2-3lbs thawed halibut (or chicken breasts/tenders/pieces)
• olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Breadcrumbs

Put about 1/4inch of water in the bottom of a baking dish (1/2" if using chicken since it will cook longer). Put the fish in the dish and shake a little olive oil onto the fish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and breadcrumbs. Put in the oven to bake (about 15-20 min for halibut, 30-45 for chicken, depending on size of pieces...just check it periodically)
Once the meat is in, start on the veggies.

VEGGIES

• 2 potatoes, chopped into 1/2in cubes (peel first if they have tough skins)
  
• 3/4 c peas
• 3/4 c chopped carrots (I used a frozen pea/carrot mix)
• other veggies if you prefer (asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, etc)

Put everything in a little water and steam it until soft/warm. (About 7-10 min should be plenty.) Once that's in, make the sauce. 

SAUCE (this is a homemade version of Costco's spinach-artichoke-parmesan dip, so you could use theirs, just warm it up and thin it with a little milk...but of course homemade always tastes better)

• 4Tbs butter
• 4Tbs flour
• salt, pepper, garlic powder (I did about 1/2tsp salt and 1 Tbs garlic powder...I don't measure.)
• 1 1/2-2 cups of milk (whole is best of course, or cream would be good...)
• 3/4-1 cup of grated cheese (parmisan is ideal, but I didn't have any so I used monterey jack and it was good)
• 2/3-3/4c chopped spinach (I used frozen)
• 1/2-2/3c chopped artichokes (I used canned)

Mix the butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat to make a rue. Be careful not to let it burn! Mix in spices. Slowly add about 1/4c of milk at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the cheese a little at a time, mixing often. Reduce heat to med-low. Add the chopped veggies and mix well. Let it sit on low heat if the other parts are not ready yet, otherwise bring it all to the table and serve immediately.

Serve the meat and veggies side by side, with the sauce poured over the top of everything.
It's pretty much awesome. All my kids liked it and the four-year-old asked for thirds.

Pitas

I got this recipe from ehow here, however it was lacking in specifics (such as how much yeast to use) so here is my modified/improved version. ☺
These are very simple and easy to make, but do require some patience. Plan to start them at least a couple of hours before you want to eat them.

1 cup warm water
1 pk yeast (2ish tsp)
1 tsp salt
2+ cups of flour

Put warm water into the bowl and carefully sprinkle the yeast over the surface, trying to make every grain get wet. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve the yeast. (I often let it sit for 10-15 min, just until it's a bit bubbly)
Add 1 tsp. salt to the yeast mixture. You may choose to add herbs at this point to flavor your pita. Mix until well incorporated.

Add 1 cup of flour and mix until batter cascades down the back of a spoon (or just until it's smooth but not terribly thick--you can use a whisk up to this point). Then, carefully mix in about 3/4 c. flour (you'll need to switch to a wooden spoon) until all the four is absorbed.

Gradually add more  flour 1/4 c. at a time until dough is no longer sticky. You many have to use your hands at this point.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes. Pour a small amount of oil into a bowl and toss dough in the bowl until lightly coated. (Really, do this, it's worth it.) Cover bowl and let sit in a warm place free from drafts for about 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size.

Punch down dough and knead a couple of times to work out air bubbles. Divide into 12 equal parts.

Dust each piece with flour and roll into circles about 6 inch diameter and 1/ 8 inch thick. Dust each side with flour again and set aside. Allow rolled dough to rest about 10 minutes.

Do NOT stack up the rolled-out pitas for their 10 minute rest. They will stick to each other like crazy! I just roll out a few at a time, setting them in a row on the counter, and as I cook each one, I roll another and stick it in its spot. DO make sure you make it into a ball before rolling it, otherwise you'll get some really weird shapes...

Heat pan on medium-low to medium heat. Allow to reach full heat before you start cooking.

Back off, don't touch it yet!!

Place a pita round on the skillet. When it begins to bubble, rotate it slightly.

NOW you can flip it!

Allow the pita to puff up completely before turning it over to cook on the other side for a minute.

Cool on wire racks.

Summer Garden Pasta Primavera

I adapted this from a recipe I found online, and it was yummy!
Depending on whether you use the chicken broth or not, this can also be a vegetarian recipe.

I always do these things slightly different each time, based on what veggies I have in the house...but here's what I did this time:

2 carrots, chopped into matchsticks (about 1 c)
1 sweet onion (walla walla) chopped in strips about 2" long
1/4 c olive oil
3 Tbs chopped garlic (a couple of clusters)
2 Tbs basil
1 c broccoli--bite size pieces
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved (or chopped tomatoes, or stewed tomatoes)
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1-2Tbs cornstarch
(opt) 1/4 cup chicken broth (I used two frozen cubes--ice cube size)
mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese
about 1/2 package of linguine or fettuccine noodles, cooked

Get the noodles cooking.
Put the olive oil in a cast iron skillet and get it warm, then add the onion, garlic, and carrots. Stir and saute for a few minutes until carrots begin to soften. Add basil and stir. Add tomatoes, zucchini, and broccoli, and broth (or a little other liquid--unless you used stewed tomatoes, then you won't need extra liquid) along with the cornstarch, and stir and cook for about 5 more minutes, or until everything is well mixed and seems to thicken a little. Sprinkle in about 2/3 c cheese (I used mozzarella), and stir until all melted together.
Serve over noodles, sprinkle Parmesan on top.

These proportions serve about 4 people.