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I’m one of those people who tends to always order the same thing at my favorite restaurants. If there’s a dish I love and I know I will enjoy, I stick with it. When we visit my husband’s hometown of Hamburg, Iowa, that favorite dish is catfish nuggets at the Harvest Inn. They serve them every Friday night, and they are unbelievable. Hand-battered, fresh pieces of catfish (fried, of course) are accompanied by quarter fries (battered and fried potato wedges), creamy coleslaw, tartar sauce, garlic butter for the potatoes, a roll, and red jello with whipped cream on top — served first. It’s home cooking at its best and is tough to beat. See for yourself:
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The meal is delicious, no doubt. It’s also loaded with fat and calories. It had been a while since we were in Hamburg, and everyone was craving catfish nuggets. I decided to attempt to recreate our favorite hometown meal, but with a healthy twist.
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Instead of deep-fried catfish nuggets, I bought unbreaded, frozen nuggets. After thawing them under cold running water, I dipped them in beaten egg, and then coated them with a mixture of Panko bread crumbs and Old Bay seasoning. They went onto a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray, and I baked them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the thickest piece of fish would flake when tested with a fork.
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Rather than the tasty quarter fries, I cut some red new potatoes into chunks, drizzled them with olive oil and Italian seasoning, and roasted them on a cookie sheet at 475 degrees for about 40 minutes.
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In lieu of creamy potato salad, we had a lettuce salad. We skipped the rolls and jello altogether. And my husband whipped up some tartar sauce using light Miracle Whip, pickle relish and Old Bay. Here’s our made-over meal:
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So, there you have it. Our made-over catfish nugget meal. Was it healthier than the restaurant version? By far! Was it tastier? I’d be lying if I said it was. The meal was good. Everyone cleaned their plates. I’d make it again. The potatoes were actually a much bigger hit with the kids than anything else, and we reheated the leftovers with scrambled eggs the next morning.
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I guess the meal was a success, but it won’t replace our trips to the Harvest. We’re only in town every so often, and the occasional splurge is OK. I’m going to try making over some other restaurant favorites in future blog entries. If you can make a meal at home healthier and for less money than you could get it in a restaurant, why not give it a try?
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