Halibut: Chowder or Baked?!

The dark days of winter are upon us and I find that I tend to spend more time in the kitchen when it is dark outside. My family loves it because there is definitely some culinary magic that happens in that room. Since our activity level has been a little different than usual over the past year I am trying to cut out the junk and eat healthier. I don’t know about all of you but I can only eat salad so long before I need something a little more hearty. In my defense, I do have a vegetable with every dinner, well, mostly I do.

I have tried to cook fish more this winter, using different recipes, aside from our go to “fish tacos”, and it has been a hit, most of the time. (Fish Tacos are always a hit at our house and are one of my go to meals.) You know how it is, sometimes you lose track of time and then the fish is over cooked, dry and yucky. I think people don’t like fish because it gets over cooked. Anyhoo...I have tried to make healthy recipes that have good flavor and are hard to mess up. Seriously, with 4 kids and all the fun and chaos, I need a recipe that is hard to mess up. I found two that my kids have immediately declared do again recipes and so I figured I better share them with you. I will be honest, some of the ingredients are substituted with lower fat options, see the activity level above... =). Halibut Chowder calls to me on snowy nights and “Halibut Sitka” is my new go to when we don’t know what to have for dinner.

Halibut Chowder

This is a great comfort food meal. If you don’t have fish easily turn this into a potato chowder, you will not be disappointed!

Serves 4 3 cups Potatoes, peeled and diced 4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped 4 TBS butter 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 C onion, diced 1/2 C red bell pepper, diced ~ I leave this out, kids turned their nose up 1/2 C carrots, grated ~ I diced mine small because I like a heartier chowder, and my knuckles. 1/2 C celery, diced 1/2 C flour 4 C chicken broth 1 1/2 pounds halibut, cut into bite size pieces ~ you can substitute salmon or rock fish 2 C half-and-half cream ~ I use 2% milk because that is what we have in the house and I have to cut a few calories somewhere, just to make myself feel better because I ate 2 bowls of this stuff! 2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped ~ I have used dried and fresh, both are delicious 1/4 tsp ground sage 1/4 tsp salt or more to taste 1/8 tsp pepper Directions: 1. Boil potatoes until tender, drain and set aside 2. In soup pot, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan, save for later, leaving bacon grease in the pan. 3. Add butter to the pot and then add garlic, onion, red bell pepper, carrots and celery, sauté until tender. 4. Stir in flour

5. Add chicken broth, bring to a slow boil, stirring frequently , until thickened.

6. Add reserved potatoes, halibut, bacon, spices and half-and-half.

7. Gently simmer until the fish is cooked through and the flavors come together.

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Halibut Sitka

This recipe is so easy, fairly forgiving and is becoming a family favorite.

Serves 6 2 Pounds halibut fillets, cut into 6 pieces Salt and pepper to taste 1 bunch green onions chopped - I use yellow onion finely diced because that is what I always have at my house 1/2 C mayonnaise 1/2 C sour cream 1 tsp dried Dill Weed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Prepare 9x13 dish by greasing the bottom

3. Season halibut with salt and pepper

4. Place halibut in baking dish

5. Combine green onion, mayonnaise, sour cream and dill weed

6. Spread green onion mixture over the halibut evenly

7. Bake until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, about 20 minutes

8. Remove and let stand 5 minutes before serving

Garnish with fresh dill or lemon slices or give it a pop of color with some paprika. You could even try seasoning the fish with old bay before you add the sauce for a little more pop of flavor. It is versatile and amazing!

Enjoy ~ Momma Mary