Oh My Cod!!!

It is no secret that I cannot cook.  I do not cook.  I do not go to the grocery store.  I do like to eat though.  A lot.  My personal chef, aka my husband, knows this and keeps me happily OUT of his kitchen.

So I came home from working late on Friday and my cook was sitting on his buns watching TV. That was the second thing I noticed.  The first thing I took note of was the clean, fresh scent of hardwood cleaner and the sight of shiny wood floors and tile.  Over 2600 square feet of flooring so clean you could eat off of it.  

Well then.

No wonder he was relaxing!  He'd spent all day scrubbing floors!  

This man deserved a break.

I decided right then and there I was going to cook my maid man some supper.  Luckily, a good friend and co-worker had given me a box of three meals from Home Chef the day before.  She was headed out of town and had forgotten to cancel the shipment.  They send you everything you need to make a gourmet meal except for an apron and one of those tall white hats.  

When I told him I'd be cooking, he ran into the kitchen with a thermometer and some Advil, sensing I was being ravaged by sudden illness and fever.  I held up his my large kitchen knife and anunciated firmly, "Back away from this stove thing.  Do not come near me. I WILL cut you!"  I flicked the blade so the light would catch it.  He squinted as it flashed in his eyes and he slowly backed away, knowing I meant business.

He took the Advil himself.

I laid all the ingredients out on the counter and made sure to read the directions on the card seven two times so I'd be comfortable with each step. 

 I had to cut mushrooms, slice zucchini, zest a lemon and then squeeze it, mince an onion, EXCUSE ME, mince a scallion, finely chop cloves of garlic and parsley, refill my wine glass twice, and pat dry and salt and pepper two pieces of cod fish. 

I was completely worn out by the time I poured two tbs of olive oil into a non stick skillet.  (Note: tbs is a little spoon, not a big spoon.)  

 

Things started to happen quickly.  Sear cod, cook mushrooms, take another sip, add this, add that, do a little dance, make a little...SIMMER DOWN NOW!  

Before I knew it, I was out of wine again but this meal was coming together!  And the entire house, probably the whole nieghborhood in fact, smelled divine!

 

Finally, my fine Cod en Cocotte was ready to plate.  

(Or we could just eat it out of the skillet.  While it's still on the stove.  I do not care at this point.  I am starving.  And buzzed.  Mostly buzzed.)

Mr. Holt was not sure if this one pan of food would be enough to feed the both of us so he whipped up some white rice.  I almost knifed him but refrained because I wanted him to be able to do the dishes after supper.  I did not have any of his rice because I was not about to cheat on the meal that I lovingly prepared from scratch in six easy steps.   

I must say.  It did not disappoint.  Even my somewhat of a food snob groom was surprised and showered me with compliments that were as fresh as all those ingredients I pulled from that Home Chef box.  

So would I recommend ordering your ready to prepare meals from Home Chef?  Yes!  Yes I would! Give it a try.  www.homechef.com.  

Having said that, I will most likely refrain from placing an order.  I have a perfectly good husband who goes to Publix and Costco on a regular basis, knows just what to buy and makes fine meals every time he cooks.  And you know what?  I never see him reading directions or having to Google the difference between tsp and tbsp.  

Still, I cooked an entire, delicious meal.  By myself.  BY MYSELF.

And nobody got cut.