No time to cook from scratch?  A common complaint I hear.  I’m well aware that most people need easy recipes and time-saving ideas.  This recipe will illustrate one way that I simplify getting dinner on the table two nights in a row.  Try to always keep the basics on hand—onions, garlic, dried herbs, olive oil, carrots, celery, potatoes–so that it’s easy to pull this off without a lot of planning.  I also always  have zucchini in the refrigerator because we love having a side dish of zucchini noodles (made with the vegetable spiralizer).

Both recipes are gluten-free.  Both could be dairy-free if the butter is left out.

We bought two pounds of flounder that was on sale.  We baked it with olive oil, butter, onion and herbs.  After we ate half of it with an avocado salad and zucchini noodles, I put the rest of the fish with all its juices (scrape the pan well with a spatula) into a pyrex storage container and  place in the fridge for soup for the next day.   The soup can be prepared quickly and is very flavorful.

2 pounds of flounder or cod

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 Tbsp. butter sliced in thin pieces

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. dried sweet basil, or dried herb of your choice

salt and black pepper

Oil large baking pan with olive oil.  Add crushed garlic and stir around well.  Wash fish in water and pat dry with some paper towels.  Place each piece of fish flat in the pan rub it in the oil-garlic mixture and flip it over placing flat in the pan again.  This coats the top of the fish with oil and garlic.  Dot fish with butter slices.  Sprinkle salt, black pepper, and basil over fish.  Spread the  chopped onion over the fish evenly.  Bake in 400 degree F pre-heated oven for about 7 minutes or until fish flakes when pierced with a fork.  Do not overbake or the fish will not be tender.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.  Save the juice in the pan (as described above) with any leftover fish.

The next day prepare the fish chowder soup:

1 large red onion, chopped fine

1 carrot, chopped fine

1 medium-sized red potato, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 quart of water

leftover fish mashed with a fork and its juices (which will have hardened)

salt and black pepper to taste

2 Tbsp. mellow miso

Saute onion in olive oil until soft.  Add water and carrots, celery, potato, and corn.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer with a lid on the pan for about 15 minutes or until carrots and potato are cooked through.  Add mashed leftover fish with its juices.  Rinse container out with warm water and add it to the soup (don’t waste any of that flavorful stuff!).  Bring to a simmer again and then heat for about 5 minutes.  In a bowl, mix the miso with some of the broth.  Add this mixture back to the soup pot.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serves  4.