Salmon Non-Salmon Eaters will LOVE

The first time I made this meal, my husband told me it was "restaurant quality."  Now that is not a review that I often hear from him.  My husband always gives his review at the end of the meal.  And although he enjoys my cooking, I don't always take home the Gold medal when I make dinner.  Because I don't just get rave reviews, I believe he is honest and I feel that I can always trust his reviews.

This salmon is a bit sweet, a bit Asian, and totally easy to make.  I have adapted it from Great Food Fast a recipe book written by The Martha Stewart. I have made it for my family and served it with white rice and green beans.  My four year old and two year old only make yummy sounds when eating it.  My son ALWAYS says, " Oh, thank you Mommy ... I love this" when I place his salmon filled plate on the table for dinner.  I am telling you if you love salmon, you will love this .... and if you don't like salmon, it is possible you might not hate this salmon.  It is pretty darn good.  And the best part is it is so easy to make.



Sweet Salmon that makes Non-Salmon Eaters say," Ohhhhhhh
Maybe I do like Salmon"

The ingredients you will need:

salmon
orange juice
Hoisin sauce (you find this in the Asian section of your store)
honey
sesame seeds

Place your salmon in a baking dish that just fits your salmon (in other words you don't want there to be too much room in the dish because you want the sauce you make to really sit on and around the salmon)

In a small bowl mix

3 Tablespoons of orange juice
2 Tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
1 - 2 teaspoons of honey (the truth is I am not sure about the measurement; I just squeeze some in)


And that is it!  Pour the mixture over the salmon.  Put it under the broiler for 5 - 8 minutes (400 or 450 degrees) depending on the thickness of the salmon pieces.  Sometimes if I am not ready to serve my salmon right away, I turn the oven down to 300 degrees and leave it in there another 2 minutes and then shut the oven off.

I serve the salmon with rice and green beans.  And just before I serve the salmon, I sprinkle it with sesame seeds.  It gives it that restaurant look. Buon Appetito!

Stuffed Green Peppers or Stuffed Any Vegetable

I get a loud and honest Yummy out of my son every time I make my stuffed green peppers.  There is nothing that warms my heart more than a long "mmmmm"  or a "yummy" from my kids.  And the sprinkles on top of my sundae is hearing my husband enjoy the meal too. If your family doesn't like green peppers, you can use any vegetable you want.  The really yummy stuff is the "stuffed" part.  That is the part of the meal that gets all the accolades. So if your family doesn't like green peppers, try large hallowed out tomatoes, zucchinis cut lengthwise and hollow out, eggplant cut lengthwise and hollowed out, or red peppers which are high in vitamin C and much sweeter than their green brother the green pepper.  But in the end, if they only eat the inside and a little bit out the outside, it is still a great easy weeknight meal.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice  (white or brown)
1 package of ground sirloin (about 1.5 pounds more or less) 
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (dried basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and sage)
* mommy hint - if you don't have a pre-made Italian seasoning -- just use a couple of dashes of oregano -- or skip this step
 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
salt/pepper to taste
14 - 16 oz can of tomato sauce (depending on brand you use size varies, and it doesn't really matter)


Directions:

First step -- start making rice (white or brown your choice).  Now start making the meat part of the inside.  Get your pan hot over a medium flame.  Add olive oil and chopped onion.  Once they are translucent, add chopped garlic.  After a minute and before garlic turns brown, add ground sirloin and brown. Add cinnamon *mommy hint - the cinnamon doesn't add sweetness; it adds a great warmth to the background of the dish.  Add Italian seasonings and salt and pepper. Once meat is cooked, take off stove.  In a large bowl mix meat add rice (just enough so that there is a good ratio of meat to rice -- eyeball it.) Then add tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese.  Once mixed, it is time to stuff your peppers or family prefered veggie.  First prepare your veggie to stuff.  If you are stuffing peppers, cut top off and take out seeds and ribs.  After preparing veggie, stuff them.  Place stuffed pepper like little soldiers in a high sided casserole dish. If you have extra stuffing, place yummy meat and rice mixture around the peppers.  To help keep dish moist, add some water (about a 1/3 cup give or take) to bottom of casserole -- right on top of extra meat and rice mixture.  Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese to top of peppers.  Cover casserole.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour -- depending on how crunchy or soft you want your peppers to be.  I cook them for 45 minutes then take the cover off for the last 15 minutes of cooking -- I like to have a nice crust on the top.

Buon Appetito -- I hope your family enjoys it too.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

My husband loves chicken pot pie.  Trying to perfect this recipe took quite a few times.  One time the potatoes inside were raw.  One time the inside was too dry and not creamy enough.  One time I needed more veggies and the wasn't enough pie crust. I used a frozen pie crust, but apparently I didn't use enough my husband said, "to qualify this recipe as a pot pie."  So I tried again -- and triumph.  This recipe was a big hit with my triumvirate: husband, son, and daughter. All three loved it; the final recipe I am sharing has enough veggies, solved the potato issue, and has plenty of the pie crust.


Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients: (this makes two pies or one 9x13 pan)

3 Chicken breasts/ or roasted chicken from the store/ or turkey breast
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion
1/2 cup flour
4 cups of chicken stock (one box)
frozen veggie mix (I use sweet peas, carrots, corn, lima beans)
frozen green beans
3 small potatoes, diced / or use frozen breakfast potatoes (this way you don't have to peal and cut)
salt and pepper

2 packages of refrigerated pie crust (each package has two crusts) 4 crusts in total ( I use Pillsbury)

Directions:

First thing you have to do it start cooking the potatoes.  The first time I made this I tried to use uncooked potatoes, and they weren't cooked by the time the crust was finished.  So I had to choose par cooked potatoes or burnt pie crust. Hence it is a good idea to start to cook potatoes in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Once cooked, put potatoes off to the side in a bowl. Next, if you have raw chicken, cook the chicken in that same pan with some olive oil.  If you bought roasted chicken from the store or are using left over chicken or turkey from a previously dinner, cube it up.  *mommy hint-- this meal is something I usually make to reuse left over chicken or turkey.  But you could start from scratch if you would like.  Once chicken is cooked, cube it and place in potato bowl.

Now it is time to make the sauce. Place 2 Tablespoons of butter, 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, and diced onion in a pan.  Once onions are translucent, add flour -- it will form a paste.  Slowly add warmed chicken stock until you have a sauce that is the consistency you like.  If you want it to be thicker, add some cornstarch, but the sauce must be bubbling at that time so to not have a lumpy sauce.  If you want it to me thinner, keep adding stock or a bit of water if you used all your stock (no need to open a new box).  Add salt and pepper. * mommy hint - Taste it!  You have to see if you like the taste of the sauce.  You may need more salt.  This is the time to make adjustment.  Once you decided on your sauce taste, add chicken, potatoes, and frozen veggies (add as many as you feel like your family wants or needs).  I also add frozen green beans.  The inside is finished.

Lastly, it is time to assemble pot pie. If you are making this recipe in a pie pan, cover the bottom of pan with crust.  Then fill with your pot pie mixture and cover the top with a pie crust.  Pierce some holes in the top of the crust to vent pie. *note -- this filling makes 2 pies, so if you want one pie - cut recipe in half.  If using a 9 x 13 pan, cover the bottom with 2 pie crusts (this takes some geometry -- don't let anyone tell you high school geometry doesn't play a part in cooking -- every once in a while I have to whip it out) Fill your pan with your yummy filling.  Then top with two more pie crusts.  Pierce top to vent your pot pie. 
* mommy hint - you can make it all the way to this point a day ahead of time and then 
cook it. This is the perfect make ahead dinner.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

This is a corner piece - look at this beautiful crust -- yummy!

Tuna Casserole Upgrade

Did your mom make Tuna Casserole?  Mine did.  I think one of the reasons a lot of people don't want to make this 1950's casserole is we think of it as outdated.  But in part it is also one of the reasons we want to make it;  it's a classic.  But I think there are a few tricks to updating this 1950's classic. First toss out the idea of using Elbow Macaroni noodles from Creamette - I mean this part of the recipe deserves an upgrade. Try a bigger thicker noodle with a bit of substance - Barilla Pipette or some Rigatoni.  Simply by changing the pasta, you are already off to a nice start in the upgrading process.  Below is the recipe that I have stuck with for the past few years. 

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound box of Pipette or Rigatoni
3 cans of chunk light tuna in oil (the oil has more taste than the water)
*hint #1 use chunk light - it has less mercury than Albacor tuna, and you are using 3 cans
* hint #2 DON' T drain the tuna if it is packed in oil.  If packed in water, drain it.
1 can cream of chicken (I use Campbell's healthy request)
1/2 can of water (use the can from the soup) 
1 cup frozen peas
salt/ pepper
olive oil
2 Tablespoons of butter / plus 1 Tablespoon for the topping
10- 15 Ritz crackers (crushed) *hint use more or less depending on how much crust you want

Directions:

Start by making your pasta. While the pasta is cooking, place the three cans of tuna in a bowl along with the frozen peas (still frozen), one can of Cream of Chicken Soup, and water *hint I fill the soup can half way with water and add that in to help keep the casserole moist. Plus I use the can so to help clean it out. Once the pasta is finished, add it to your bowl with your waiting mixture.  Also add 2 Tablespoons of butter (which will melt with the heat of the pasta), some olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in an oven-safe casserole dish with a cover.  Crush up 10-15 Ritz crackers and spread over the top of your casserole. Lastly, dab small pieces of butter across the top of casserole to help the crackers form a buttery topping.  Cover your casserole. Heat in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy.
*hint cover your casserole; it helps to keep it moist.  If you want some crunchy noodles on top, uncover the last 5 -10 minutes. If you prefer to keep it all moist, you must keep it covered. 

This recipe entry is dedicated to my dear friend Marian who always supports me. I am Blessed by her friendship. She asked me for this recipe -- so here it is -- sweet friend -- enjoy. 

Successful Easy Meals for Kids using Veggie Burger

I know you have been there -- it is lunch time, and you aren't sure what to make the kids. This was one of my shinning mommy moments. So I thought I would share my great find, so my success can be your next success. The reasons this lunch was successful are it was fast, easy, I had the ingredients, it contained the elusive veggies, and ooooh did I mention -- they loved it. Now all of us have made a pizza on an English muffin before. The shinning mommy moment isn't the pizza; it is the addition of the veggies. Because of the texture of the veggies, the kids have no idea they are eating them.
Dr. Praeger's California veggie burger is the key to the story of my success.

Veggie Pizza

Ingredients
 • English muffin/ or bite sized pitas/ or a tortilla (switch it up - they are tots -they will think it is a different meal they love every time you make it)
• Pizza sauce
• Dr Praeger's California veggie burger
• Olive oil
• Mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Heat some olive oil in a small pan and warm California burger. As you are cooking the burger, break it up into a veggie paste consistency. Toast English muffin lightly because you are going to continue cooking it once other ingredients are on it, and you don't want it to burn. Kids usually don't like anything that has burned spots. Once English muffin is lightly cooked, add some pizza sauce, spread a layer of veggie mixture, and top with cheese. Heat pizzas in a toaster oven or your regular oven until cheese is melted. I hope your kids enjoy it as much as mine did. If you want to use the bite size pitas there is no need to warm them ahead of topping them.  If you want to use the tortilla, cook your pizza in a 400 degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes in order to get the tortilla a bit crispy.

I would also suggest using Dr Praeger's California burger in other ways. Get creative; this is an easy way to add veggie to many different meals. Another success I had with these veggie burgers is making a veggie tortilla wrap.

Veggie Tortilla Wrap

Ingredients:
• Tortilla
• Olive oil (you would be hard pressed to find recipes I put together without this golden liquid from heaven -- well, that is just what I call it)
•Dr. Praeger's California burger
• Cheese of your choice
• You could even use ham or turkey or any deli meat you like (if you want to add meat)

Directions:
Heat olive oil and California burger in a pan. While heating veggie burger break it up into a veggie paste consistency. Warm tortilla. Once veggie mixture is ready, it is time to put the wrap together. Take tortilla add cheese, meat if you want, add veggie mixture --- then roll the tortilla into an easy to eat kiddie wrap. It is yummy, warm, healthy, and filled with tasty veggies (with a texture that hides from the kids).

Lastly, I would say I have also been successful adding that same crushed up veggie burger to pastina (any kind of small pasta). I make the pastina. Once boiled and drained, I add a bit of butter, a dribble of olive oil, some Parmesan cheese, and the crushed up veggie burger. This adds some veggies to a simple buttered noodles and cheese lunch or dinner.

And the kids enjoy all of these variations to the veggie burger. It is very versatile -- I am sure you can come up with other ways of incorporating this easy to use veggie burger into dished you already make that need a little veggie addition. Oddly enough, I have never served my kids this veggie burger as a burger --- go figure. Now go out there and get creative with this veggie burger. Here is my veggie pizza cut in half and decorated to look like a monster.  Have fun with your kids food.

They say we need to eat more fish.... (Salmon and Beans)

I am not a big fish eater -- but they say we should eat more fish.... the people in charge say this.  So I try to eat more fish.  This is an easy fish recipe.  The best parts of this recipe are it is easy, fast -- you can put it together literally 20 minutes before you eat, and it is very healthy -- beans and fish -- the foods we should eat more of.

I usually use salmon because of its high omega-3 fatty acids and high vitamin D content. But you can use any fish. 

Salmon and Beans

2 medium sized leeks
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
2 cans of Cannellini beans
salmon (2-4 pieces)
salt / pepper to taste

serve over rice


Directions:
Start making your rice -- that is the longest part of this meal.  In a medium sized pan with a lid, saute leeks (only use the white part - toss out the greens) in olive oil and lightly salt and pepper. After about 3 -4 minutes add the garlic for about 1 minute.  Then place salmon in the pan.  Drain both cans of beans and place them in the pan. Put olive oil and salt and pepper over entire dish and cover.  Let salmon cook for five to seven minutes on one side then flip and cook for another five minutes. It is done! -- Yes, it is that easy and fast.

Crock Pot Chicken Chili

My neighbor Kristy doesn't love cooking.  She likes it --- and she loves the idea of cooking for her family.  She knows I love cooking, so she asked me to give her some ideas for good family dinners.  Now let me start off by saying that her crew isn't the easiest to cook for -- they have some food -- shall I say dislikes.  They don't like eating vegetables.  And Kristy is endlessly trying to get veggies in their tummies.  They are a meat and potato family. But I told her that the vegetables and beans can always be hidden in the meal. Last week she asked me to come by and cook dinner with her.  I thought I would show her an easy chicken chili recipe.  This recipe has a bit of sweetness to it because of the marmalade, and it can have as much heat as you can take. 

What is great about this recipe is it is easy and when I say easy, it is EASY.  This is a great meal to go to when your day has been too crazy to even make yourself and peanut butter sandwich. There is nothing better than smelling a crock pot dish coming together.  The end result is warm and fills your belly.  The crock pot allows the flavors to become fully married, and oh the best part -- only one pan to clean up after dinner.


Chicken Chili -- (with Mommy hints)

2 -3 chicken breasts
1-2 Tablespoons of taco seasoning (Mommy hint -- use your favorite kind -- if you want more heat use 2 Tablespoons -- my  favorite is La Preferita)
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of salsa (Mommy hint -- use your favorite -- my favorite is Newman's Own all natural medium salsa.  If you want the chili to be spicier -- use a hot salsa)
1/2 cup orange marmalade (Mommy hint --  if you don't like orange marmalade don't worry - you don't taste the orange - all you taste is the sweetness in the background.  My husband hates orange anything -- and when I tried to make it with another preserve for him, he didn't like it as much -- the marmalade is the best of the different fruits that I have tried.  But take a chance and change it up with any fruit you want)
1 can black beans (Mommy hint -- my neighbor's husband doesn't like beans, so we pureed the beans.  We were able to keep the nutrients and fiber and hide the scary beans from Mike)

Directions:
Brown cubed chicken in a saute pan with olive oil, taco seasoning, and garlic. Once browned place chicken mixture in crock pot.  Then deglaze pan (Mommy hint -- get all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pan) with salsa and marmalade. Once deglazed, place mixture in crock pot with chicken. Cook on low for 2 - 3 hours.  Mommy hint -- don't put beans in until last half hour before serving. 





I like to serve this over noodles. Use a short fat noodle.

Mommy hint -- If you don't want to use the crock pot, and you want to go from refrigerator to stove to table quicker, you can.  Do this whole process in one pot.  Cook on low for 45 minutes and serve. 

Big A** Meatballs

Big A** Meatballs - so, that is what my husband used to call my meatball dinner BEFORE we had kids.  This is one of my husband's favorite dinners that I make -- you know a stand-by dish. They are flavorful meatballs that have been cooked in tomato sauce, which makes the meatballs soft and tender.  I serve the meatballs and sauce over rice with a side of fresh green beans.  But what do we call this dish now that we have a two year old?  We certainly cannot call it Big A** Meatballs anymore.  Can you hear my two year old at preschool saying it -- I can.  So, I told my husband we have to rename this dinner.  We decided the easiest thing to call it is Big Meatballs -- I know this seems obvious and easy, but it was as hard as changing your child's name.  So what does my husband call it -- Big (long dramatic pause) Meatballs.  It sounds so ridiculous.  And the sad part is I call it this too.  At some our kids are going to repeat this with the dramatic  pause.  And no, they will not be cursing.  But they are going to sound odd -- I love mommy's Big (wait for it) Meatballs.

Here is the recipe -- Mommy Tip call it whatever you want, but remember you will be stuck with whatever you select. 

Big Ass Meatballs

(a bit more or less of these ingredients will not matter - cooking is an art not a science)

1 package of ground sirloin
1 onion chopped
1- 2 cloves of garlic minced
salt
pepper
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup graded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup more or less breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 Tablespoons olive oil (additional for browning meatballs)

flour
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
water

rice
green vegetable (green beans go great with this meal)


Place all of the ingredients: ground sirlion, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, ground cinnamon, graded Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, olive oil
into a bowl.  Wet your hand (this is key -- meat doesn't stick to wet hands, so you have a few minutes to mix ) and mix the ingredients with your hands.  Don't over mix so to keep meatballs soft -- just mix until ingredients are incorporated.

Create 4 to 5 Big Ass Meatballs. (Mommy Tip -5 meatballs means my husband and I have two meals.  My son has his own meatball, which I mix with the rice and sauce and split up into several meals)  Flatten the meatballs some so they are more like puffy hamburgers. Dredge meatballs in flour (this too helps keep meatballs moist and tender).  Place olive oil in a high sided skillet that you have a cover for.  Heat the oil on medium high.  Once oil is hot, place meatballs in pan - don't move them for 2 - 3 minutes to create a nice crust. Then flip them for about 2 minutes. Turn heat down to low.  Then pour tomato sauce over meatballs.  Fill the can half way with water and pour that in the pan. Stir sauce and water around and cover.  Cook for 25- 30 minutes -- flip over once half way through the cooking. Sauce will thicken with time.

In the meantime, make some white rice. And start your green vegs.  Once meat is finished, place some rice on your plate with a meatball half on and half off the bed of rice. Take fork and slightly break meatball open and pour sauce over meatball and rice. Plate green beans Enjoy!