Time for a 'proper' dinner

I have been feeling so uninspired and uninterested recently. The home cooked meals I tend to cook for myself include Bacon Carbonara, Tuna pasta, Bolognaise (either with pasta, tacos or if I'm feeling enthusiastic, lasagne), Alfredo or Fish cakes with mash and peas and that's about it. It's so difficult cooking for one that when I make any of the above I tend to have enough to last the next evening or two and that just becomes boring and dull! Many times I get home late or I'm too tired or uninterested that I end up eating cereal (which is SO bad to have for dinner), toast or crackers with cheese.

But now I've decided enough is enough! It's now time for a change. Not only are most of the above unhealthy but they're all full of carbohydrates and I'm tired of feeling sluggish and fat, it's time for inspiration and health.

With the guidance of my kind housemate, today I decide I'm going to cook myself a 'proper' meal for dinner. I went to Sainsbury's at lunch and bought a piece of skinless, boneless cod loin and a packet of stir fry vegetables (this is a major step for the vegetable despising eater that I am). I get home from work and it's a simple dish - simply coat the fish in egg and breadcrumbs before lightly pan frying, and for the vegetables, lightly pan fry in some stir fry oil and add teriyaki sauce once done. Serve and enjoy.

Well.... doing the fish was fine, but it's trying to balance the timing of the two parts which is so tough. I coat the fish as instructed and place in the pan to pan fry, then throw the vegetables in another pan to heat through... haha... the pan is clearly far too hot and because I can't multitask two dishes at once, the vegetables burn, the whole house is smoking because I've forgotten to turn on the extractor fan and then the smoke alarm starts screaming so loud I can't even think straight. Eeck!

Nonetheless, I turn off all the pans, calm myself down from a mild panic attack, open the windows, switch on the extractor pan and magically manage to save my fish. Phew!

After the alarm stops blaring and I manage to recompose myself, I keep the fish on low heat while attempting to stir fry a new serving of vegetables, this time only heating for a few minutes. After a short time, I dished up the fish and vegetables, eat and somehow enjoy at the same time. :)

It was a good experience for me, entertaining and quite fun. Not bad tasting either. Will be trying it again sometime, just need to remember the extractor pan... :)

xx