Hannah asked earlier in the week if she could make dinner. She went grocery shopping with me and got the ingredients she needed.
I put my menu on the board in the kitchen. Um, I think someone was a bit skeptical about the meal!
But first we have to see my breakfast and lunch eats!
I totally did not want to work out yesterday. Why is it that I try to talk myself out of it?? I have never once finished exercising and said “that was a waste of time!” But I thought of all the 101 Days of Summer Challengers and got my ass to the gym! I did 20 minutes on the stair master, while watching Rachael Ray. She made this recipe called Puttanesca with Tuna Polpette – tuna steaks mixed with herbs and then rolled into “meatballs” that simmered in tomato sauce and served over penne pasta – it looked so good!
Then I did a 25 minute ride on the bike machine – I was sweaty and happy when I was done!
I hadn’t fixed anything for my lunch yesterday – yesterday morning I actually work up late – 7:50 in the morning! Yet in that time I was able to do my blog post, put breakfast together and shower and was out the door by 8:25! 😀
So I picked up McDonald’s Southwest Salad. I love this salad – although realized when I put int into calorie count, that while not bad in calories, it does have 1100 mg of sodium!
And later in the afternoon, I had an ounce of pretzels with mustard – again, 1 tablespoon of mustard has almost 300 mg of sodium!
So I come home and Hannah announces – “hope you are hungry!” On her menu? Lemon peppered tilapia and cheese broccoli with fruit salad.
Here’s the thing though – Tony and I don’t really like fish. But it was a dish she had in Germany, so we went with it.
The recipe she saw said to bake the fish for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Even after 20 minutes the fish wasn’t half cooked so she finished it off on top of the stove. Only one problem, the pan that is oven safe is not non-stick, so first flip of her fish I hear “shit!” I walk into the kitchen and she says “I don’t know why you cook Mom!”
Then I look over at her broccoli dish – she’s mixed sour cream, parmesan cheese, cottage cheese and salt and pepper over microwaved broccoli. Interesting!
The verdict? Tony and I actually loved the fish! While it was a bit under seasoned (she was afraid of too much seasoning), the fish was flaky and not fishy at all. Um, the broccoli dish? For some reason after sitting on the plate for a few minutes, the cheese sauce became like glue. So while one dish failed, the other was a success!
But Hannah declared her fruit salad her best dish!
Needless to say, I was a bit hungry in the evening, so I went with my go-to: pickle salami crackers!
After dinner Hannah and I took a quick 20 minute walk around the neighborhood – we need to do that every night.
Thanks for dinner Hannah! 😀
Stats for Wednesday:
- 1371 calories, 142 carbs, 101 protein, 45 fat and 7.3 fiber
- 20 minutes stair master
- 25 minute 6 mile bike ride (beat the pacer bike by 3:00 minutes!)
- 20 minute walk with Hannah
Hannah and I are going out to lunch today to Egg Harbor Cafe. What would you order?
Hannah, please come cook me dinner!! Actually both of you would be better!!
I love cooking for my family 🙂
hehe “hope youre hungry mom!”
xoxo <3
I love lemon pepper on my fish! Especially tilapia. Yum!
Great job Hannah! Come cook for me? Haha
That fish looked and sounded delicious!! I have to agree that the fruit salad did look divine!! She is so darling. I am still laughing at the puke comment. Reminds me so much of my own family!! What a sweet post!!
Love what Tony wrote! Too funny. Pickle salami (or whatever deli meat I have on hand) is also a favorite of mine but I don’t think I’ve had them in like 5 years! I totally forgot about them. And I also like the southwest chicken salad from McD’s–it’s my favorite that they have but like you, I’ve been noticing the high sodium counts on foods. I bought some beef jerky and one serving had half of your daily sodium allowance. 1 ounce has half my daily sodium?!!! I need to start making it at home.
“But I thought of all the 101 Days of Summer Challengers and got my ass to the gym! “….that was the whole idea of this wasn’t it? Works well even for the devious mind behind it?!
I noticed people keep posting at her age. How old is Hannah? I assumed she was over 18 but that isn’t young to cook. So I am just curious.
Anyway, it looked great and even as an experienced cooker (whatever the word is), I sometimes have failed dishes. Sometimes they are a hit and sometimes they miss. And sometimes you have to cook them a lot longer than you thought.
Hannah turned 18 in March. She cooks a lot for herself when I make dinners she doesn’t like, but its just been a while since she’s cooked a whole meal herself 😀
“Tony Pukes” – LOL! Wrong, Tony!! The fish looks wonderful! Glad he conceded that Hannah can cook!
Awesome job Hannah! For cooking and making a fish dish that didn’t make Tony puke! LOL
And go Biz for forcing yourself to the gym. You will never regret it! Just benefit! 🙂
Hmm, that 350 degrees might have meant 350 degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit. Although 662 degrees Fahrenheit sounds a bit high…..
If I ever get a chance to visit Chicago, I’m going to dine chez Biz. 🙂
You are always welcome! 😀
even if the cheese was like glue, I’d still eat it! haha LOVE cheese!
And your go-to snack is such a great idea!
Good for you for going to the gym even though you didn’t feel like it! That’s where the strong are divided from the weak! 🙂
The fish really does look good. WTG Hannah 🙂
aw, what a great idea! learning to cook is such an important life skill and i’m sure she’ll appreciate that she had the opportunity to learn while still living at home! 🙂
– Beth @ http://www.DiningAndDishing.com
I have the same Alaskan Ulu! I love it and use it all the time, mostly for cutting pizza.
The Chilaquiles look delish and different!
Good job to Hannah for trying to cook, and trying to cook fish no less! I like to think I’m a pretty good cook and I’m 100% terrified of cooking fish!
How sweet of her to cook for you guys! And taking on fish…that’s impressive! I’m not a huge fan of eating fish, but this sounds good! And that fruit salad looks awesome!!
And…if you like pretzels with mustard, I should dig up a mustard dip for pretzels I have that is AMAZING!!!
People keep telling me to try that fish (I HATE FISH!) because it is less fishy. lol I dont wanna cook it myself…or touch it…lol I also dont wanna order it out at a restaurant and be disappointed. So I gotta get someone else to order it or make it. 🙂
Good for her! She’s gotta learn some time! I sure wasn’t cooking stuff like tilapia when I was her age!
How sweet of Hannah to cook for you – what a sweet daughter! That fish looks SO delicious. I don’t make fish often enough at all, and I really should because I love it so much. The fishy smell sometimes scares me….:-)
How nice that she made you dinner! Can she come to my house and make me dinner too?
I also like the southwestern chicken salad and McD’s. Sodium content is HIGH in just about all food places.
Oh those breakfast tacos look so yummy!!
How do you get such beautiful food pictures???? I’m impressed!
I am looking forward with trepidation to the day when my daughter is old enough to cook us dinner – I can remember as a 7th grader making Macaroni and Cheese for my Dad and forgetting to drain the noodles, so it was more like Macaroni soup. Ah, good times.
Hannah will come around to loving cooking…once she’s out of the house, she’ll want that Biz inspired home cooking!
Success and failure–the making of a great cook!
The only place I’ve found the frozen edamame (and that’s what I use) is Whole Foods. Where do you shop? It certainly isn’t 99 cents a bag at WW!!
Best,
Bonnie
It’s a place called Joseph’s Marketplace and its in Crystal Lake. 😀
Good on Hannah for cooking without a recipe! She will be a gourmet chef soon…love that she tried because that’s what makes for interesting meals!
As for lunch, I’d do the Healthy Benedict…they had me at avocado and salsa!
Nice work beating the pacer on the bike! And yes, it’s hard some days to get to the gym, but like you, I never regret a workout.
Hooray for Hannah! Obviously, you and I are twins separated at birth. That’s exactly the kind of snack I would eat!
Oh those pickle and salami crackers look really good!!!!!!
Way to go Hannah for making some yummy fish!! I’ll have to try that out and the fruit salad is gorgeous!!
It took me a lot of tries to feel confident cooking fish! Tell Hannah the next time she wants to make that dish, she should cook it at 450, not 350. Fish needs to be done in a hot oven. Believe me, the crumbs will come out crispy and yummy.
At least she tried and that’s what counts!!
Thanks Helen – I’ll let her know!
Way to go Hannah! Fish is hard to cook – I’m impressed 🙂 And the fruit salad looks awesome.