at home with ann

I bought cod.  Cod can be so boring, and sometimes, kind of fishy.  Why did I buy cod?  It was on special and had that little "wild caught" sign in front. I picked up a filet and decided I'd figure out what to do with it once I got home.  Plain baked or broiled sounded exceedingly boring, and my basil plants weren't quite ready to be harvested for pesto.  I asked google for some suggestions and came upon cod cakes.  Always a fan of food in cake form, I went with it.  Good reviews from big and little diners, alike.  Jon and I ate them with snap peas done in the lemon-garlic style .  Cod Cakes Yield: 12 cakes 1 small onion, chopped 1/4 cup parsley (about 8 sprigs), chopped 2 cups potatoes, mashed (I used red potatoes and didn't peel them) 2 eggs, beaten 1-1 1/4 pounds cod salt pepper Old Bay (optional) 3/4-1 cup breadcrumbs canola oil Lightly saute or steam onion and mix with parsley, potatoes and eggs. Season cod with salt, pe...

This is one of those meals you make when you don't feel like cooking.  Easy, healthy, and made up of all pantry/freezer items.  You might even have everything on hand. The potatoes give this a creamy texture, without any cream.  Leaving half the broccoli and cauliflower as florets gives you something to chew on so it's not just a puree soup.  Add the bacon for a little extra smokiness and baconess.  Leave it out and you've got a vegan soup.  Broccoli, Cauliflower and Potato Soup Ingredients: Olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 large carrot, chopped 4 Yukon gold potatoes, or about a pound and a half of any potatoes, chopped 1 lb. frozen broccoli florets 1 lb. frozen cauliflower florets 1 teaspoon dried thyme 4-6 cups vegetable broth Hot sauce Salt and Pepper Crumbled bacon, for topping In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium. Add in onion, celery and carrot and cook for a few minutes...

If, like me, you ate far too many jelly beans or peanut butter eggs this weekend, you might also be ready for a healthy, filling, and very nutritious dinner.  This is one of those meals that I love making because once you've done the prep chopping, it's easy, delicious and even better the next day.  You can certainly customize it based on whatever vegetables you like or are quietly sitting in your produce drawer on their last legs.  Vegetable Chickpea Curry Serves 6 Ingredients: Olive oil 2 cups potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 28 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice 1/2 small can tomato paste (about 1/3 cup) 2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed) 1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces A few handfuls of fresh spinach leaves 2 teaspoons coriander 2 teaspoons cumin 1 teaspoon garam masala 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated...

This is another pantry recipe.  At any given time, you probably have most, if not all, of these ingredients on hand.  As such, it's a great idea to have in the back of your mind for an easy lunch or supper.  While I was watching Rachael Ray the other day I took note of her garbage bowl.  If you haven't seen it, the garbage bowl is just the bin she uses to dispose of scraps, containers, etc. while she's cooking.  You can go online and purchase your very own garbage bowl for the reasonable price of $19.99.  Or, you can just use one of the many bowls you already have.  I take it one step further and use produce bags.  For any given recipe, I am usually emptying some produce bag, so I leave on the counter, put all my cooking scraps and trash in it, and toss it when I'm done.  This isn't any genius idea, but it does save me a lot of time because I'm not turning to throw things out all the time.  Back to the soup.  Potato Soup with ...

A couple years ago we were out to dinner and Jon had a loaded baked potato along with his steak.  It was huge, topped with all the good stuff: bacon, cheese, scallions and sour cream.  He's been talking about it ever since, so I knew I would make it for the birthday dinner, with my own twist. Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes russet potatoes, scrubbed (I baked two so we could have leftovers.  No one is going to eat more than one half of these at a time.) olive oil kosher salt milk cheddar cheese bacon scallions sour cream Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick potatoes with a fork several times. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about an hour, or until the skin is crispy and the inside is soft. Allow to cool until you can handle the potato. Cut in half and scoop flesh into a bowl. Add milk, sour cream or greek yogurt, and stir until creamy.  I used milk.  Season with salt and pepper. Refill potato skins with mashed filling, top ...

It's baseball season!  That's a pretty big deal to those of us who live around Boston.  I've been to many Red Sox games, and while the quality of the ball-playing can vary greatly, the food is never very good.  Yet, for some reason, I often feel compelled to eat it because it's part of the experience.  And because by the end of the game, it's late and we've been drinking overpriced beer. In honor of the Red Sox home opener this past weekend, I made sausage grinders.  These are no street cart food, though.  Organic chicken sausage, fresh vegetables, and whole wheat buns make them better. Sausage Grinders Ingredients: 1-2 onions, thinly sliced 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 12oz. package chicken sausage.  I used Al Fresco brand Sweet Italian.  Cut into 1/2 inch slices. 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes rolls Heat olive oil in a large saute pan or frying pan.  Slice your veggies and sausage.   Saute for about ...

I am declaring this recipe a work in progress, and might repost when I've made it again.  This came together as a result of things left in the fridge for more than a week.  Not glamorous, but practical. Broccoli Potato Soup 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 onion, diced 3 cups broccoli 1 pound potatoes 2 Tablespoons flour salt pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 2 cups vegetable broth 1 cup skim milk 1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese Start by heating the olive oil in your soup pot on medium heat and sauteing the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Next chop your potatoes to about 1/2-1 inch pieces.  I used red potatoes because that's what I had around, and opted to leave the skins on.  Any kind of potato would work, though. On to the broccoli.  Anytime I use broccoli florets, I trim the bottoms off the stems and toss them in a bag  in the freezer.  They are a perfect addition to soups.  I would have also added some fresh florets, but I accident...

Frittatas are great.  They are healthy, easy to make, and reheat reasonably well in the toaster oven. Broccoli and Potato Frittata adapted from McCormick Ingredients 2 cups cubed potatoes (I used baby red) 2 cups chopped broccoli florets 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion (I used red onion) 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon salt (I always use kosher or sea salt) 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 6 eggs 1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk, any kind will do) 1/2 cup chopped or sliced tomatoes 1/4 cup grated cheese (I used sharp cheddar, any kind that melts well is fine) Directions Put cubed potatoes in a saucepan.  Fill with enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cook until almost tender (about 6 minutes).  Add broccoli, cook 1 minute more.  Drain. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  I used a 10 inch All Clad stainless steel skil...