5 Quick Dinner Ideas {Menu: Fish}

June 21, 2013 By

If you have a busy schedule and are in need of some super-duper quick dinner ideas, fish can’t be beat in terms of getting a healthy meal on the table in no time flat. Filleted, frozen, and canned seafood are all great options that not only come together quickly, but are delicious and nourishing.

Note: Not all fish are created equal, and not all fish are healthy. The topic is far too complicated for me to delve into here, but I will point you instead to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s excellent resource, a printable guide (or app!) that tells you at a glance which types of fish are the best. And since that chart is not particularly helpful in regards to tuna, I found this very informative resource that details what to look for in tuna and where to find it.

So if you need some super quick dinner ideas, I’ve got 5 great recipes for you that should be on the table in 30 minutes or less. I can personally vouch for each recipe, as these are the ones I turn to time and again whenever fish is on the menu (or I need dinner STAT!).

5 Quick Dinner Ideas

{When Fish is on the Menu}

super fast fish fingers

Perfect for lunch OR dinner: cornmeal-crusted fish fingers that come together in a jiffy and taste delicious!

 

toasty salmon melts

A hot open-faced sandwich with melty cheese... what's not to love?

tuna pasta salad

To avoid the issues presented by canned tuna, switch it out for canned salmon in this yummy pasta salad that's perfect any time of year.

Lemon and fish just seem to be made for each other, as exemplified in this super simple recipe for Lemon Garlic Tilapia that can be made with just about any kind of fish.

Garlic Dill Salmon: This is the first recipe I ever tried with salmon... and I keep coming back to it!

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Quick & Easy Fish Fingers

January 27, 2013 By

I don’t have a lot of fish recipes on this blog because, frankly, I didn’t really cook fish until about a year ago or so: Canned tuna and salmon were pretty much the extent of my fish-cooking repertoire. Also, since I didn’t really grow up eating a lot of fish, I hadn’t really developed a taste for it and honestly knew nothing about it.

But for the past year or more, I’ve been slowly learning more and more about fish and how to prepare it, and I’ve realized it’s a busy mama’s secret weapon for quick and easy - but healthy - meals. Fish fillets cook up so quickly no matter which method you choose and offer a lot of great nutritional benefits to boot. Currently, we eat fish once a week, and I’ve enjoyed trying many different recipes and experimenting with different cooking methods.

Typically, I buy the individually quick frozen wild-caught fish fillets because they are the most reasonably priced. I can typically get them for around $4 a pound, and many types of fish are available in this manner (tilapia, cod, whiting and perch, to name a few).

This particular recipe is one of my early experiments, and one that turned out perfectly. It was so simple and so yummy; my kind of recipe! I recommend using stone-ground non-GMO cornmeal for optimum nutrition.

Recipe: Cornmeal Crusted Fish Fingers

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fish fillets (I used perch; probably cod or other fish would work just as well)
  • 1/2 cup milk (any kind)
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal
  • 1 TBSP Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 TBSP olive oil

Instructions

  1. If the fillets are large, cut them into pieces about 1 1/2″ wide.
  2. Pour the milk into a shallow bowl. Stir together the cornmeal and Old Bay in another shallow bowl. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan (like cast iron) over medium heat on the stovetop.
  3. Dip the fish fillets into the milk and then into the cornmeal.
  4. Pan-fry the fillets in the pan over medium heat until the crust is lightly browned and crisped, about 5 minutes on each side (the timing varies with the thickness of the fillets; make sure your fish reaches 140F internally).


How do you like to cook fish?

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Toasty Salmon Melts

January 13, 2013 By

I’m always looking for great recipes that make use of canned salmon because it’s an inexpensive way to incorporate more of that healthy wild-caught fish into our diets. I don’t really love canned salmon, to be honest, but along the way I’ve discovered some great ways to cook it that are truly delicious. Our whole family enjoys eating fish, which I love!

I stumbled across this recipe for grilled salmon and cheese when searching for more canned salmon inspiration. I changed it up a little bit and turned it into these hot and toasty open-faced sandwiches that are great for lunch or dinner, served with a green salad and/or some fresh fruit. Easy, quick, and healthy. (There’s a reason my blog used to be called Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy!)


Toasty Salmon Melts

Ingredients

  • 8 slices whole grain sourdough bread
  • 1 14.5oz can salmon, drained
  • 1 D’Anjou pear, grated or finely chopped
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp. dried dill weed
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Set the slices of bread on a stone or cookie sheet.
  2. Remove the skin and bones from the salmon, if desired. Stir in remaining ingredients.
  3. Scoop a generous spoonful of the mixture onto each slice of bread, and spread it to the edges in an even layer.
  4. Bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes, or until bread is toasty and cheese is melty.


You could also eat this fresh and raw, without baking, but please don’t tell me if you do. Blech.

What’s your favorite way to prepare canned salmon?

 

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