Fish Baked in Foil (or a Casserole Dish)

Recipe: Fish Baked in Foil

Page: HTCE p. 571

Rating: *****

This is a terrific summer recipe to have on hand. Cooking time is minimal and the dish can be assembled ahead of time! I followed the suggestion to "toss it all together in a covered casserole" because I was feeling too lazy to wrap everything in little packets. It was delicious. My camera's memory card is full, or I would have snapped a pic of this recipe for sure; it's very pretty.

I used frozen cod fillets. I used fresh oregano instead of the parsley or basil--I think the parsley and/or basil would have been more flavorful and next time will go with those. I also put some thin lemon slices on top as suggested under the "Fish Baked in Foil with Vegetables" variation (I used almost one whole lemon for this). Definitely added a nice touch.

Oh--and my kids ate it up like crazy! Added bonus.

We ate it with salad, peas, and leftover pita bread with hummus. Next time, I'll serve some good bread with it instead of the pita (unless I have it leftover again!).

Coffee Cake Muffins (Variation)

Recipe: Muffins, Infinite Ways--Coffee Cake Muffin variation

Page: HTCE, p. 833

Rating: *****

These were yummy--every bit as good as the quick coffee cake. I didn't mix the topping in the batter; I wish I had done that and left a bit less for the tops of the muffins because the topping crumpled some as I removed the muffins from the pan. I used half of the quick coffee cake topping since I had it left over. I also used half white whole wheat flour and added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter (since I knew I wasn't using the topping in the batter).

A definite Sunday morning option in our "coffee cake tradition" that we've begun.

Blueberry Muffins (Variation)

Recipe: Muffins, Infinite Ways--Blueberry Muffin variation

Page: HTCE p. 833

Rating: ****

I don't always use muffin cups anymore, but these muffins could have benefited! They're heavy on the blueberries, and trying to remove them from a warm pan was a challenge... one I failed (although the bits of muffin left in the pan were good to nibble on...).

I didn't use the cinnamon or the corn meal. I did use the lemon zest and used half white whole wheat flour. These were great! Perfect for everyday blueberry muffins. The lemon zest really adds a nice hint of flavor. These aren't Otis Spunkmeyer giant streusel topped blueberry muffins, but, frankly, I'd rather have the smaller, not-too-sweet muffins here. My kids didn't eat them up as much as the cranberry ones, but I really liked them.