Cod Piccata

That troubling question, “what’s for dinner?” troubles no more! Of late I’m feeling quite confident about answering this question, having built up a decent repertoire of main dishes for the family.

Here’s a list of entrées that are getting us through the dinner hour with ease:

• Chicken Parm
• Chicken Piccata
• Rosemary Apple Chicken
• Peach Chicken
• Cod Piccata
• Fish Sticks
• Salmon with Olive Anchovy Tapenade
• Salmon with Tomato Basil Relish
• Pasta with Parsley Pesto and Sundried Tomatoes
• Sesame Noodles

I can see that the seafood department needs a bit of work, we are definitely chicken heavy. However, this chicken “heaviness” probably reflects the fact that my favorite taste tester (husband) loves chicken and eats seafood mostly under duress. He is basically a meat and potatoes kind of guy and has been amazing about compromising and eating more kid friendly foods and things that work well for me.

I make adjustments as well. When we have chicken parm, I bake mine in a separate dish, omitting the cheese. While this might not seem monumental, it is for me, a former cheese-a-holic. I’ve now been completely dairy-free for almost a year.

Even the boys compromise, eating their share of “adult” foods. How does that work? I usually argue and negotiate with them for a bit, until ultimately they try what is in front of them. They are great sports and actually have learned to like the foods I serve.

Of course, there are nights when I simply make them a big bowl of mac-n-cheese with a side of broccoli while we eat salmon. However, if I can get my younger guy in my lap, he will usually try anything on my plate (food always tastes better when it’s on mom’s plate), then he’ll scoot back into his chair and ask for a helping of his own. That’s what happened recently when I made the dish below.

Adding one more option to the dinner menu, I recently converted my chicken piccata recipe into cod piccata. The capers and parsley complement this mild fish quite nicely and I often find myself slurping up the sauce and last slivers of fish with a soup spoon.

My original piccata recipe is based on one from simplyrecipes.com, a favorite site of mine. So to give credit where it is due, I must thank Elise! I love her recipes and ideas.

Tastespotting.com also keeps me creative during the dinner hour. I check out the beautiful photos on this blog daily. It is constantly updated, featuring the best recipes and pics from food blogs around the globe.

All in all, I am so thankful for the creativity of other bloggers and the abundance of organic, delicious food in my home!