Simple and Super Salmon

Last night we had the best salmon we have eaten in a long time. I don't know if it's because we now are yuppies and shop at the PCC for organic salmon (I tend not to think that this makes a difference), or if it was just the recipe.

It was a recipe from Real Simple that I tore out when I was back in CT. It was also so good that I ate it so fast that I couldn't take a picture!

What you need to make this:
- At least on pound of salmon (we made 1.5 pounds) - Ideally already with the skin removed, but I'm not sure it truly matters. I was able to remove the skin QUITE well if I do say so myself.
- Cilantro (big bunch - enough for 1/2 a cup chopped)
- One lemon (ok here Tom and I do agree that the organic ones are just so much juicier than the non-organic ones that we feel we have been missing out for years.)
- Scallions (3-4) chopped
- A few tablespoons of olive oil
- Cous-cous (and by default....broth to cook the cous-cous with)

How to make this:
1. Chop up the scallions and the cilantro.
2. In a bowl mix the juice of one lemon with the scallions and cilantro and two tablespoons of olive oil. Stir it all up and set aside.
3. Remove the skin from your salmon (I did this with a combination of cutting and pulling)
4. Make your cous-cous (I made the whole box and I made it with chicken broth for flavor)
5. In a frying pan add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. On both sides of your salmon (Unless one side has skin) sprinkle a little bit of salt, pepper, and paprika. When the pan is hot add the salmon. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side. This obviously depends on how fat your salmon is. Our skinnier pieces were done in about 8 minutes and our giant ones took 10-12 minutes.
6. Put the cous-cous and salmon the plate. Drizzle with the lemon/oil/cilantro/scallion sauce.

One last plug for lemons...I almost wrote an entire post about how much I adore organic lemons. Seriously they juice amazingly and have less seeds and are all around worth the money. I squeezed the heck out of mine and then I proceeded to eat what was left (yep mom...I still eat lemons! So much for my tooth enamel).

Ginger, Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

So I have been following some other food blogs. Ok I would not necessarily call mine a food blog yet....but if I ever learned how to catalog things by recipe type and season etc then maybe.

Anyway, the blog is http://www.dailyunadventuresincooking.com/
I made cinnamon rolls from there but they were not so great.
This soup however was/is FANTASTIC. Nichols - I give it an A+ and Tom agrees.

It is super simple and takes 30 minutes to cook about ten minutes to make.

Things you need to make this: (and let me tell you...I would immediately double it!)
5 big carrots
1 tablespoon (or more) of ginger - from a jar or grated and peeled
1-2 teaspoons of garlic (I didn't measure)
1 cup of red lentils
handful of cilantro
some cheese (for garnish)
4 cups of chicken or veggie broth (I used both!)
Salt and pepper
1 T of olive oil
3 scallions
1 lemon

How to make this recipe:
1. Peel and grate all of your carrots.
2. Peel and grate your ginger (or scoop from a jar)
3. Peel and mince your garlic (or scoop from a jar)
4. Chop scallions
5. Heat a big pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat.
6. Add ginger, garlic and scallions. Stir for 1 minute.
7. Add grated carrots, salt and pepper, red lentils and all of the broth.
8. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes.
9. Add a bit more salt and pepper.
10. Squeeze one lemon into the soup and stir
11. Scoop into bowls and add some chopped cilantro leaves and a little bit of cheese (we used mozz...because that was all we had)
12. EAT

Bean Burritos

Beware - if you follow this recipe you might (like 98% chance) have some gas. Just beware.

Other than that, these were a cinch to make and tasty tasty tasty. Following with my rating system I would say I give them an overall A. Tom also gives them an A. That goes for taste and ease of making. There were also more than enough for lunch leftovers, which is always a win in my book.

Bean Burritos (adapted from Chipotle Bean Burritos in Cooking Light - Jan. 2010)

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  canola oil
• 1  garlic clove, minced (you know I like mine from the jar!)
• 1/2  teaspoon chile powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/3  cup  water
• 1  (15-ounce) can organic black beans, drained (obviously it does NOT have to be organic)
• 1  (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (once again, organic is not necessary)
• 3  tablespoons  refrigerated fresh salsa (we used Green Mountain...doesn't make a difference!)
• 6  (10-inch) reduced-fat flour tortillas (such as Mission)
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese (poo on the reduced fat part!)
• 1 1/2  cups  chopped plum tomato (about 3)
• A few leaves of shredded lettuce
• 6  tablespoons  thinly sliced green onions
• 6  tablespoons  light sour cream (I probably used 6 Tablespoons on each of my burritos. Don't hold back!)

Guacamole:

Please don't buy it pre-made. I think that's gross. Buy one avocado, one lime and a handful of cilantro. In a bowl squeeze half of the lime and add a little garlic powder. Then chop up some cilantro and add it to the lime juice mixture. Stir with a fork and squish it a little to get it all mixed up. Then scoop in your avocado and mash it as much as you like with your fork (sometimes I chop it with a fork and knife too). Add some salt (you just have to!) and then if you want, add a bit of chopped tomato and onion. Tom's brother (the master of guacamole) now uses shallots instead of red onions. I used some scallions and that was good too. 

I think my mom once bought this avocado pitter slicer thing and I vaguely remember using it. I also think I might have bought one for Tom's brother Dan. Worth a shot. On my first day in Mexico with Becca I happily sliced an avocado and cut right into my palm! You never know!

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chile powder and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.

2. Warm tortillas. I like to put them in my amazing pancake/fajita cast iron pan. I turn the heat up high and let them sit on each side for about 10 seconds or so. Then they are soft enough to be folded. Spoon about 1/3 cup (if you use a measuring cup for this,  bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with some cheese, some tomato, some lettuce,  some green onions (scallions), as much sour cream as your heart desires (mine desires a lot) and then plop some guacamole on top. Roll it all up and try to eat it without spilling everything back onto your plate.

Are you in the mood for nachos that you can call dinner? Look no further.

Finished product on a lovely Fiestaware plate. Just know that I would have used 10 times more sour cream if we had not been about to run out.

This is called "Mexican Casserole", but I call it "The meal to go along with a Bulls or Bears game".

The only change I made is that I used REAL ground beef instead of meatless crumbles. I guess this would make a good recipe for you Veggie-Eaters! Especially if you crave bar food as often as I do.

Ok so first I sprayed my 13 x 9 inch rectangular baking pan with PAM. Then I sort of crushed 24 tortilla chips. I did not used baked ones, sorry. I think I probably crumbled more like 30 chips. I'm a rule-breaker.

Then I pre-heated the oven to 375.

Next I heated 2 teaspoons of oil in a big frying pan over medium heat. I added the onion to the pan and cooked 4 minutes or so. The add the garlic and jalapeño and cook 1 minute. Stir in chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and crumbles (or the BEEF) and cook 3 minutes - for the crumbles, or until thoroughly cooked through for the BEEF. Add the beef/onion mixture on top of the tortilla chips - spread as evenly as you can.


In the same pan add the pinto beans and mash them with the back of your spoon. This is a serious workout for your forearm, so don't lift weights beforehand. Stir in the lime juice. I used 1/2 a juicy lime rather than measuring the lime. Add the bean mixture on top of the meat or crumbles.


In a small bowl combine the tomatoes, cilantro, and salt. I squeezed in the other 1/2 of the lime because I love lime. Layer the tomato mixture over the beans in the dish. Top with the remaining tortilla chips, pressing to slightly crush. Sprinkle evenly with cheese.

Bake for about 13 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with the scallions. Then spoon as much sour cream as your body can take, and eat! You will need a fork and knife. Extra cilantro on top would be yummy too.

Peanut noodles make everything better

It's so odd. I have never been a fan of peanut butter. When all my friends would bring PB&J sandwiches to school I don't remember what I had. I pretend that it was bagels and cream cheese, but that would mean I ate a bagel and cream cheese for lunch from 1st grade THROUGH the present. That seems extreme, but as you can tell I do like my bagels.

Anyway the point is that I have always liked sesame/peanut noodles. I can remember my brother going through a phase where he was obsessed with ordering them at Chinese restaurants.

This recipe is for SURE not truly Asian, but it is Asian inspired.

It's from Cooking Light, but I have slightly adapted it to make it my own.

Ingredients you need to buy before getting too excited: Please note that the first measurement is what the magazine says. After it in parentheses is what I used.

8-12 oz uncooked spaghetti (I say go for the whole package!!)
1/2 cup chicken broth (maybe a little more...like 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter (closer to 1/3 cup!)
2 TB sesame seeds, divided into 1TB piles
1 TB brown sugar (overflowing and packed in there)
2 TB rice vinegar (plus an extra shake or two)
2 TB low sodium soy sauce (plus an extra shake or two)
1 TB fresh lime juice (just cut the lime in 1/2 and squeeze the heck out of it)
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (or siricha if you want spicier
2 TB canola oil
3/4 lb chicken tenders, cut in one inch pieces (I do more like 1 - 2 lbs)
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups matchstick carrots (true!)
1 1/2 cups sliced green onions (true!)
The recipe does NOT call for ginger....but it would be good in the peanut sauce so you can add it if you want.

Ok so first you trim the heck out of your chicken so that it is not fatty. Then you cut it up into small chunks. Cooks Illustrated recently said that it doesn't matter what kind of cutting board you use for your chicken as long as you use diluted bleach water to rinse it all off. Tom likes to yell "AH! Uncle Sal is here!!" whenever I cut chicken. "Uncle Sal" is salmonella. I found it amusing at first but now it's just getting old. Put your cut chicken aside.

Now you can kill yourself by peeling and chopping your carrots into matchsticks, or you can just buy 1-2 packages of matchstick carrots at the supermarket. Let me warn you though that those packages are often sort of dry and borderline almost going bad. So if you don't want to buy them, but baby carrots (which are always juice??? Why?) and slice those up. At least then you don't have to peel or cut as much. Really do 2 full cups - especially if you are opting for more chicken and more noodles like I do. Put carrots aside.

Now chop up a whole bunch of green onions/scallions. Put those aside.

Put the water on to boil for the pasta. While you wait for it to boil, get a bowl and add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, peanut butter, sesame seeds (1 TB), chicken broth (I recently used beef broth and all was good), lime juice and hot sauce. I would use a whisk, but a fork works well too. One trick my mom told me (or maybe I read it) is to spray the measuring cup with some PAM before you add the peanut butter - then it will slide out lickety-split. Also here is where you might want to add a bit of ginger if you like it. It gives a nice tang to the sauce.

Now the sauce is made and the water is heating up. Put a frying pan on over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken, sprinkle with some salt, and saute until it is cooked. Then dump in the carrots and green onions and cook a few more minutes.

Drain your pasta, but save a few tablespoons of the water. Now dump the pasta into the pan with the chicken and carrots and green onions (or dump the chicken mixture into the pasta bowl) and then re-whisk the peanut sauce and add that too. Stir it all around and then sprinkle the rest of the sesame seeds on top.

I like to squeeze lime over my bowl too, and while I haven't done it, I bet some chopped cilantro would be delish on top too. Cilantro is amazing on everything.

Sorry no pictures - I just made this at a friend's house.