Oven Roasted Lemon Caper Cod

Fresh week- fresh menu and fresh fish recipe! I almost always do my grocery shopping on Mondays and we almost always have fish on Mondays. No special reason, it's just become habit! 

I posted last night's dinner on my Instagram stories and got tons of questions about my fish and how I cooked it. I always have hopes of having time to photograph dinners with my big girl camera but it almost never happens. I snapped this photo quickly before we ate so this is what we are rolling with. 

We LOVE cod in our house. It's a flaky and mild fish and it takes on pretty much any flavor you cook with it (it's also mu favorite fish for fish tacos!) This is wild caught fresh cod from Harris Teeter and it was delicious. I've done previously frozen fillets before and though they are a little more budget friendly, it's just not as good. This recipe couldn't be easier! I'm a lemon lover and it's my favorite flavor with fish. The capers get slightly roasted and crunchy at the end adding in the perfect salty bite. I served this with sauteed broccolini and roasted red potatoes. Easy, simple and healthy!

Oven Roasted Lemon Caper Cod

1 lb. fillet fresh cod
Salt + pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. butter (I like Kerrygold), cut into thin slices
2 Tbsp. capers
Olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet or baking dish with parchment paper.

Place fish fillet on prepared baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Top with minced garlic, followed by butter slices and finish with the lemon slices on top. Add a quick drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and add capers on top, then cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flaky. 

Paleo-ish + National Margarita Day

Popping in on this gorgeous Thursday to say hi! The weather here has been insane this week and you would think we are in the middle of Spring. We are Olympics obsessed in our house and it's strange watching these Winter sports while wearing shorts and flip flops! I wouldn't be upset if Brad Panovich said that we were getting one more snow storm to round out the Winter next week but if it stays like this, I definitely won't complain. We all need a little more vitamin D!

Nearly two months into 2018 and we are crushing the dinner menus in our house! Our eating is by no means perfectly clean, but the majority of our dinners during the week are either Paleo or Whole30. This works well for us and is easy to stick to. We always have leftovers, too which is perfect for lunches. Breakfast for me us usually two eggs over easy with fruit. And my giant mug of coffee. I've tried tons of new recipes the past several weeks and am linking some of our favorites below. The salmon cakes were the surprise hit this week and I'll post the recipe next week. These would be a great item to make ahead and have throughout the week for lunches. I'm obsessed with them. 

Defined Dish Basil Thai Beef

Paleo Turmeric Chicken Meatballs with Green Tahini Sauce

Pan Roasted Greek Chicken Thighs

Paleo Chicken Piccata

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Pasta

SALMON CAKES!!! (posting my recipe next week but this recipe from No Crumbs Left is sure to be a winner)

And while we are on the Paleo kick, I've been using NutPods in my coffee and I have to say, I'm a fan! It doesn't add that thick and creamy consistency like my beloved half and half, but I'm getting used to it. With the NutPods and a scoop of my Collagen Peptides, I'm good to go in the mornings! I order both my NutPods and Collagen Peptides on Amazon (linked above).

Lastly, today is National Margarita Day! I can get behind this random food holiday. This recipe that we fondly refer to The Markarita in our house will always be our number one favorite drink to make. If you're celebrating today, try my recipe! It's so fresh and SO GOOD. 

Happy Friday Eve!

Cookbook Club: Cooking for Jeffrey

Happy love day and happy first day of the Cookbook Club linkup! We're so excited to have you here and see what you all have cooked from Ina's book. Don't forget to use the linkup tool at the bottom of this post to participate in the linkup and share your recipe! 

This Maple Roasted Carrot Salad has been on my radar for awhile and I was excited to give it a try. Ina is my go-to girl in the kitchen, especially when it comes to salads. Ina said this may be her "favorite salad ever". Twist my arm! Ina, all of your salads are my favorites ever. I love that her salads are always filled with simple ingredients and TONS of flavor. Fresh greens, sweet roasted carrots and a simple vinaigrette? What's not to love.

I served this with a roasted pork tenderloin and roasted baby red potatoes. It was the perfect salad and added beautiful color on our plates. This would be a great salad to serve at a dinner party. I skipped on the goat cheese and almonds because I forgot to add them to my grocery list this week but it was still delicious! I also added some chopped romaine to thicken it up. There are so many layers of flavor going on here and I'm completely smitten with this salad. You better believe I will add those in the next time I make this- which will be soon! 

The recipe below comes straight from the book. I cut back on the amounts as I only made enough for two servings. I also subbed baby carrots for the regular size ones because that's what I had on hand. Enjoy!

Maple Roasted Carrot Salad
recipe via Ina Garten's Cooking for Jeffrey

2 pounds carrots
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup pure grade A maple syrup
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
3 Tbsp. sherry wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, grated on a Mircoplane
6 ounces baby arugula
6 ounces goat cheese
2/3 cup roasted, salted Marcona almonds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Trim and scrub the carrots and cut them in half lengthwise, then cut them into large diagonal slices. Place them in a bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Transfer to a sheet pan, making sure they have room to spread out. Use two sheet pans if necessary. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through. 

Once they are done, toss right on the sheet pan with the maple syrup and roast for another 10-15 minutes until the edges are caramelized. Be sure to watch them every few minutes. Toss them with a spatula and let them sit aside for 10 minutes. 

Combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer, then set aside for 10 minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Whisk in 3 Tablespoons of olive oil. Place the arugula in a large bowl. Add the cranberries (with their liquid), goat cheese, almonds and the vinaigrette. Toss together and sprinkle with salt if needed. Serve at room temperature. 

In case you are planners like we are, we have chosen the cookbooks for the next two months! March's book will be Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.  April's book will be Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. I'm so excited to cook from both of these books! 

Thank you for participating this month and we look forward to meeting you all back here in March! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

An InLinkz Link-up

{Cook}Book Club

I'm excited to kick off February with a little something new I'm doing in collaboration with my friend Allie over at Key Ingredients! We have been talking about doing a link up for awhile and we are finally making it happen. Allie is a dear friend and we met almost five years ago when our oldest children were just tiny babies and we instantly bonded over our love of food. 

We both have a passion for cooking and making healthy meals for our families. A cookbook link up was a no- brainer when we started talking about this idea of creating a link up!

Here's what we'll do. Every month, we will choose a cookbook to cook from. If you want to participate, pick your favorite or new recipe from the book and make it! On the second Wednesday of each month, we will all link up to my blog or Allie's and share what we've made! Don't have the specific book? No problem! So many of these wonderful recipes can also be found online. Take photos of your finished dish and tell a little bit about it. Add in a review of the recipe and any notes on changes or anything that you may have done or would do differently. Post the recipe if you would like and make sure to credit the book/source!

To kick off our Club, we are turning to one of our very favorites- Ina Garten! Her recipes are some sort of magic and she is a favorite among the both of us. It only seems fitting that we use her newest cookbook, Cooking For Jeffrey, as our pick for the month of love. This cookbook is packed full of delicious recipes and even better stories. If you are a fan of Ina and Jeffrey, you will LOVE this book. It focuses so much on them as a couple with beautiful stories intertwined with the recipes. It's a book you can use in the kitchen AND curl up on the couch with. The stories are wonderfully written!

We hope to see many of you here next Wednesday, which also happens to be Valentine's Day! This gives you a week to find something yummy to make and post. We can't wait to see what everyone is cooking! 

- Nina and Allie