Breaded and Baked Catfish Nuggets

I shop as cheaply as possible these days, so when I saw a 3/4 pound package of fresh catfish nuggets for less than $2 I scooped it up. I'm not a big catfish fan, but it is fish so I figured it'd be healthy. It might not have been as fresh as I first thought, as it tasted really fishy, but for catfish I think this recipe was surprisingly good. It also afforded me the opportunity to cook and feed the baby her first egg yolk, which she enjoyed quite a bit.

Ingredients:

1 lb. (or so, give or take) catfish nuggets
1 egg white
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2-3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp dill
1/8 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp parsley flakes

Spray a cookie sheet/baking pan with cooking spray. Add the lemon juice to the egg white and stir. Combine bread crumbs and spices, mixing well, then dump onto a sheet of waxed paper.

Rinse off the catfish nuggets and dry with a paper towel. Dip each nugget into the egg mix, then roll around in bread crumb mix until well coated. Place on baking tray and bake for 13-15 minutes at 400F. Feeds 2 people if seved with a veggie side dish.

Fried Cod and Sweet Potato Baked Fries

My own take on fish n' chips, making due with whatever ingredients I had available. I got some frozen "True Cod" for about $3 and add in the 60-cent sweet potato and I've got a really cheap meal! My daughter sat next to the kitchen trying to scoot forward on her butt while I made this.

Sweet Potato Fries:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into thin strips
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
3 Tbsp olive oil

Cut potatoes then toss in a bowl with the olive oil. Spread on a large cookie pan and sprinkle the seasoned salt over all. Bake at 425F for 20 minutes, then turn fries over and bake an additional 8-10 minutes.

Fried Cod:

2 large cod fillets
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
1/4 ts ground black pepper
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup (or so) olive oil*

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat.Once oil is hot, rinse fish under water and dip into dry mixture. Drop carefully into the frying pan and fry about 2-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Feeds up to 3 people. Yum!

*Please remember that in every recipe where I use "olive oil", I mean Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The brand doesn't really matter.

Hearty Fish Chowder

Finally, I have something to cook! I seriously spent all of $5 on this recipe, so as long as you have a few staple foods at home you can make it just as easily as I did. It just takes about 45 minutes overall to put together and cook. Sorry I haven't added anything until now; I've been surviving on dishes that I've already blogged about. This idea came to me after I bought a package of Tilapia at a regular (not even Super) Wal-Mart, as a last-ditch effort at eating something healthy before I could afford to go buy groceries this week.

Ingredients:

3 frozen or thawed Tilapia fillets
5 red potatoes, washed and cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup frozen corn (you can add more if you like, this is just what I used in this particular recipe)
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 Tbsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp basil

Put all the chopped vegetables (potato, onion, garlic and carrots) into a large pot and just cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are almost fork-tender.

Add all other ingredients, covering the pot with the lid tipped to let out a little steam. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes, until fish is cooked and soup is well-mixed into the broth. The fish will break apart and distribute itself nicely into the soup, as long as you mix it well a couple of times as it's cooking.

This is my bowl of hot fish soup served with a buttered slice of my artisan bread. Yum! I estimate this batch of soup will make about 8 servings.

Super Easy Lemon Pepper Fish

I'm a little embarrassed to actually be blogging this recipe, but I feel bad for not posting anything lately. I've been living off leftovers, freezer food, and cucumber sandwiches all week. This "recipe" only takes a couple minutes to throw together, and can be modified for as many fish fillets as you have available. I just bought a big pack of frozen Tilapia fillets and thawed them in the fridge as needed.

Ingredients:

Tilapia or other white fish fillets
olive oil
lemon pepper

Spray olive oil all over a baking sheet/cookie pan, and set the fillets on top. This works best if the fish pieces have been thawed in your fridge over night. Spray olive oil over the top of the fillets to coat lightly, then sprinkle generously with lemon pepper. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Serves however many people you have fish fillets for.