Food, Recipe

Easy Weeknight Marinara Recipe

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To me, nothing tastes as delicious as homemade marinara. Trust me, I won’t ever turn down a jar of Ragu, but sometimes it doesn’t hit the spot like fresh spaghetti sauce. However, I always thought marinara was complicated to assemble and had to spend an entire day simmering on the stove to turn out delicious. How wrong I was! My sweet friend Anne shared this delicious recipe with me, and I’ve since shared it with my mom and sister…we all love it! With only 5 ingredients and 30 minutes cook time, it really couldn’t be easier!

Ingredients

  • 1 large can whole peeled tomatoes (I always check to see if these are from Italy…no clue if that makes a difference, but it can’t hurt, right? 😂)
  • 8 garlic cloves diced (I typically use an entire head because you can’t ever have too much garlic, right?)
  • 1 TBS Italian Seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp Salt (or more to taste)
  • Basil (1 spring of fresh basil or 1/4 tsp of dried basil)

Directions

  • Crush up the tomatoes with your hands.
  • Heat 1/4 cup of Olive Oil over medium heat in a large pot
  • Add garlic and cook until fragrant (just about a minute)
  • Add in tomatoes with their juice
  • Add salt, Italian seasoning, and basil
  • Simmer covered for 30 minutes
  • Serve over your favorite pasta!

You can also add in ground beef, Italian sausage, or ground turkey (yuck.) if preferred. Note that you may need to adjust the salt or spices. I love to serve this marinara with homemade pasta, and I’m sure it would work wonderfully in baked ziti or lasagna as well!

Are there any recipes you thought would need tons of time and effort that turned out to be easy and quick? Let me know below! Also, it’s definitely not as quick and easy, but would you like a post all about my homemade pasta? It’s pictured above, and IT. IS. DIVINE.

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on these links or make a purchase using these links, I may receive a small percentage of the profit at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Hoots of a Night Al!

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Food, Recipe

Healthy Baked Fish & Chips

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Baked Fish and Chips 0

A little over a year ago, Louis and I visited England (you can read about our trip here), and while there, we ate fish and chips for basically every meal. No regrets. However, with our 2016 goal of becoming healthier, I can’t exactly fry up fish and french fries anytime we crave it. My solution? Bake it!

Baked Fish and Chips 1

For the fish, you will need:

  • 1/2 lb of cod (cut into 2 equal portions)
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I typically use Ragin’ Cajun, but feel free to use your favorite!)
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large egg whites, beaten
  • 2 cups cornflakes, crushed

For the “chips,” I use my Simple Homemade Baked Fries recipe. You can find that here. I bake my fish and chips together in the oven at 425 degrees. I put the potatoes in first, prep my fish, and put the fish in for the last 20 minutes.

Baked Fish and Chips 2

To prepare your fish, crack two eggs and beat the egg whites. Next, use a blender or food processor to crush 2 cups of cornflakes. These don’t need to be extremely fine, but definitely make sure there are no large chunks. Finally, thoroughly mix together your flour, Cajun seasoning, and salt. Place the egg whites, flour mixture, and cornflakes each on a separate dinner plate or shallow dish.

Baked Fish and Chips 3

Dip the fish into the egg white, then dredge it in the flour mixture, dip into the egg white again, and finally coat all sides with the ground corn flakes. Don’t be discouraged if the flour or cornflakes aren’t sticking all over your fish. Feel free to use your fingers to press the coating on to help it stay better.

I bake our fish on a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet. This helps prevent the fish from getting soggy on the bottom and allows it to bake evenly all over. Make sure to spray the wire wrack with nonstick cooking spray as well. You don’t want to lose any of that delicious crunchy coating when you take it off!

Baked Fish and Chips 4

As I mentioned above, the potatoes need to be baked for 30 minutes, and the fish needs to be baked for 20 minutes, both at 425 degrees. I typically put the potatoes in, prep my fish, and pop it in the for the last 20 minutes. I’ve cooked several filets of cod for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, and they’ve all been totally cooked at that point! You want your fish to be white and flaky and have an internal temperature of at least 135 degrees.Baked Fish and Chips 5

I think a delicious dinner of fish and chips can’t get much easier than this! Everything can cook at once in the oven, and you don’t have to deal with the mess and extra calories of frying anything! I hope you enjoy this tasty, healthy meal as much as we do!

Siggy paint

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