So... what's for dinner?: Commence Moving Week

So, hubby and i are moving sometime this week. As in... as soon as we get a closing date. Hopefully by Thursday at the latest [cross your fingers for us!]. Well anyways, we have a whole apartment [and a half, it feels like] worth of stuff that we need to pack, so we started early. Well, *I* started early. I was on break this week so I started packing - 59 boxes of stuff - pretty good. Then today, hubby & I continued to pack including most of the guest room and the kitchen. Which means... it's paper plates, green solo cups, and red plastic forks. Plus, limited cooking utensils, pots, pans, and prep bowls, and zero shopping trips this week. We need to use up our fridged/frozen goods.

So, with my limited kitchen, I have to figure out what to make for dinner. I started thinking about it this morning, which is WAY earlier than I usually do, but we decided to do some frozen fish - Halibut, tonight. We buy frozen fish instead of fresh fish because we live in the middle of NYS and are not near any major fishing ports. Therefore, frozen fish is actually fresher for us. Don't feel bad about buying frozen fish - it's pretty good plus, it's pre-portioned so you know exactly how much you're eating and can compare it to exactly what you should be eating.

Anyways, Halibut for dinner, I also have some cranberries in the freezer and sliced almonds so I think I'll throw them in together for some tangy & tart with our halibut steaks. I also have a load of brown rice and some red & green bell peppers so I'm going to make a rice & pepper mixture. I like to reference epicurious for ideas when I cook because some days I'm just not as confident as I should be. So I got some good help from them with this meal too.

Ok, so started with my rice cause it'll take the longest to cook. Chopped some onions, and 1 1/2 medium bell peppers. Chopped the peppers first then melted half a stick of butter in a sauce pan while I chopped the onion. Put that in and letting it saute. Problem one of moving week: only one cutting board left out. oops. Problem two: packed the spray oil for greasing pans. dang. Problem three: packed all measuring cups. Whoops. Good thing I don't measure a lot anyways.

Ok, so Hubby is making lunches while I make dinner. Score. Now, oiled a baking pan for the halibut. Am going to dredge it in cornmeal, salt, & pepper before it goes into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes - a little longer if you're doing more than 2 filets or if they're pretty thick. Mine are from the "Full Circle" brand and each filet is about an inch thick and weighs 6 oz. So, my rice mixture just came to a simmer so I'll let it go for about 8 minutes before I put my halibut in, this way everything finishes at the same time. In the meantime, crack open a bottle of wine and decide where you're going to eat dinner! [Hubby & I don't always eat at our kitchen table, and today, def can't because of all the boxes]

Ok, we're drinking Chateau St. Michelle, a vintage 2005 Syrah and eating in the living room because we DVR-ed Bones from Thurs evening. Great trick for wine drinking... wrap a paper towel around the neck of the bottle - it catches drips when pouring. We learned it from our new fave restaurant, although they use a cloth napkin... this works just as well.

Side Note: Greatest purchase ever: Dishwasher. I'm not lying when I say I think it is the appliance that has helped our marriage. A close second: The Coffee Maker. But really? we bought a "portable" one - so it's on wheels and hooks up to the sink - but it's amazing. Totally worth the $500 we spent on it. I highly recommend one if you have ya know, 2x2 ft on the floor and it's like, 3 ft high. So worth it.

Ok, so just put the halibut in the oven. Now to make a sauce. Why? Because Bobby Flay always makes sauces and I heart him. So melting butter in a sauce pan, gonna add some cranberries and chicken stock, cause that's what I have in my kitchen. I added about 3/4 cup of cranberries and I eyeballed 1/4 cup of stock. Once it boils, I'll reduce heat and let the cranberries soften. I'm also toasting some sliced almonds in our toaster oven [another FANTASTIC appliance that you should have]. Actually, Hubby is toasting almonds...

Ok, once my sauce is ready, I'm going to add some parsley, lemon juice, and the almonds. Hopefully this will turn out well. When my rice mixture is done, I'm going to add some blue cheese too. Halibut is looking good in the oven... should be about another 2-5 minutes. I just flipped it. I'm not sure if I was supposed to, but I thought it needed it. Whoa! Cranberries are poppin'... that's good, it means they're softening a bit. But it's a little scary...

Ok, it's time for the final push, rice is about 2 minutes out, sauce is almost ready for the almonds, lemon juice, parsley, and halibut's about ready to come out in 2 minutes. So... I'll update later tonight and let you know how it turns out... until then, though, bon appetit!