Oven Fried Fish Sticks & Roasted Butternut Squash

This morning's start here in Atlanta was a chilly one!  We actually got down to 49 degrees last night -- which is great.  Maybe it will finally get rid of some of these "mosquitoes gone wild" this summer.  I think I've gotten more mosquito bites in the last few months than I probably have in my whole lifetime.  Ugh!  Tonight's dinner made me forget all about the mosquito bites -- it was that good!

This past weekend I picked up some fresh wild caught fish at Costco -- I cooked the Mahi Mahi for Sunday night's dinner (and enjoyed the leftovers again last night).  Tonight I decided to tackle making something with the other fish I got -- what I thought was Haddock actually turned out to be Halibut instead (well, at least they both start with an "H").  No problem because what I wanted to do with it was make home made oven fried fish sticks.  Fortunately, either of those fish would have worked well for that.  The Halibut I used was between 3/4-1 pound.  I cut it up into "sticks" and made a "breading" with almond flour, some unsweetened coconut flakes and seasonings.  They were so simple to make (and so good), I'm not sure why I never made them from scratch before when my kids were little.  I'm so sorry to inform both Mrs. Paul's and Mr. Gorton's Fisherman that it's time for them to go back home...because these fish sticks definitely put theirs to shame!  ;-)

I also picked up a container of cubed fresh butternut squash this weekend and decided to add a little "fall flavor" to our dinner plates this evening -- and oh my, was it good!  It too was simple to make.  I  found lots of recipes for butternut squash that used brown sugar, maple syrup, etc., which I didn't want to use...so I just tossed the cubes with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkled with a little Celtic salt and freshly ground black pepper; spread them out on a foil lined cookie sheet and popped them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or so.  I tossed them around a few times so they would brown more evenly.  Why anyone would ever want to put something sweet on these is beyond me...they were absolutely delicious in their "almost natural" state.  Since hubby likes tartar sauce with his fish, I made a quick and simple tiny batch of tartar sauce by placing a few tablespoons of mayonnaise in a little bowl and adding 1 diced slice of kosher dill pickle and 1 diced slice of bread and butter pickle (sugar free) and added a dash of cayenne...and "voila" we had a simple spicy tartar sauce.  It made them seem a little more like "grown-up" fish sticks than a "kids meal"!  :-)  I added some green beans with almonds to our plates and dinner was ready!  It was quick, easy and more importantly...it was absolutely delicious!  I snapped a few photos for you to see as well as the easy peasy recipes for the fish sticks and roasted butternut squash.  Enjoy!

Voila!

BOOM!

Oven Fried Fish Sticks

INGREDIENTS:

About 1 pound of firm white fish (like haddock or halibut), cut into 1" sticks
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt or sea salt (or to taste)
Few good grinds of freshly ground black pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Couple dashes of cayenne, optional
1 teaspoon dried parsley, rubbed between your palms until powdered
Olive oil, to brush fish sticks and pan with

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Brush a foil lined cookie sheet with about one tablespoon or so of olive oil (I use Reynolds non-stick foil).  In a shallow bowl, mix almond flour, coconut, and the remaining spices and seasonings and mix well.  Place fish sticks on a large plate or cutting board and brush with olive oil; turn over and brush the other side with oil too.  Roll the fish sticks, one at a time in the breading/coating mix until completely coated.  Lay fish sticks about 1 inch apart on the oiled cookie sheet.  Place in the oven and bake about 10-12 minutes; flip over and bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown and sizzling.  If desired, run briefly under the broiler to brown further.  Be careful not to overcook the fish sticks.

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Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

4-6 cups of cubed fresh butternut squash
Celtic salt or sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and place the cubed butternut squash in a single layer on it.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste; toss squash cubes with olive oil and spread back out in a single layer.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until lightly browned; stirring a couple of times to evenly brown,  Remove from oven when squash is tender on the inside and browned on the outside.