Sweet and Salty BBQ Salmon

This is great on the grill or in the oven. Watch out, the brown sugar on the grill will burn a bit. Fillet of salmon 2-3 tbs of paste (brown sugar, Chachere's Cajun seasoning, McCormick BBQ seasoning) Mix in a few drops of water and stir to form a paste Cut small slits in thickest part of salmon and spread on seasoning paste. Top with 1-2 thin slices of jalapeño pepper. Cook on grill (flipping until evenly cooked). Or in oven (preheated to 400 degrees) for 20-25 minutes.

Leftover Turkey Empanadas

What to do with dry leftover turkey white meat and the last pie crust (a result of making one two-crust pie and one single-crust pie...



Turkey Empanadas

Ingredients:
- 1 cup turkey meat
- 1 pre-made 9" pie crust
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp sage
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- salt/pepper

1. Warm milk in microwave
2. Add butter and flour to a saucepan and cook on medium low heat stirring often
3. Whisk in warm milk and cook until it thickens (whisking often).
4. Season with nutmeg & sage
5. Add chopped turkey until warm. Set aside to cool.
6. Slice pie crust into quarters, then trim the corners to form circles.
7. Scoop turkey filling into pie crust circles and fold into semi circles. Pinch edges closed
8. Bake on a cookie sheet for 25 min at 350 degrees.

Risotto with Broccoli

After reading this article about a Broccoli Rabe with Parmesan, I wanted to try something similar (unfortunately, my grocery store doesn't sell broccoli rabe)...also, hearing Parmesan made me think of a creamy sauce, as opposed to the recipe's crispy texture.

Although I've done risotto from scratch before, this out of the box method was great, especially jazzed up with some garlicky broccoli and toasted garlic. I had to post the recipe so my roommate could copy it!

Ingredients:
- Frozen broccoli spears
- 4 cloves garlic
- olive oil
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1 box risotto (or homemade)
- Grated parmesan

1. Remove broccoli and place in microwaveable container. Cover with saran wrap and microwave on high for 3-4 min.
2. Finely chop garlic cloves and saute on med-low heat in 2-3 tbs of olive oil.
3. Remove broccoli, drain slightly, and chop into bite sized pieces (do not throw out the stalks!).
4. Add broccoli to garlic and cook 1-2 min in a saucepan. Season generously with salt & pepper. Remove broccoli and garlic and add 1 tbs oil to pan.
5. Cook risotto according to directions (in this case: Toast rice in oil for 1 minute or two. Then add 2 cups water & seasoning packet. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmering. Cook for 20 min, stirring occasionally. Once rice has absorbed liquid, remove from heat.)
6. Mix risotto with broccoli.
7. To finish, stir in 2-3 handfuls of grated Parmesan.

Tacos 2-ways

Ever since I got this serving platter, I've been wanting to make some tacos, so here they are...considering all of the preparation for each topping, these were relatively quick (since the chicken and shrimp cook so fast and didn't take too much marinating). I want to try these with a cheat...picking up cooked meat and salsas from Chipotle and preparing them nicely for a meal. I wonder if they would give you a burrito bowl with just meat?

Chicken Tacos
Ingredients:
- 2 boneless chicken breasts
- 1/2 packet McCormick's fajita seasoning
- 3 canned chipotle chiles (chopped)

1. Chop chicken into small cubes. Place in 1qt ziplock bag.
2. Add fajita seasoning and ancho chiles.
3. Seal bag and massage until seasoning is distributed. Leave in refrigerator to marinate (10-15 min).
4. Add chicken to pan and cook at high heat. 2 min. Turn chicken and add 2 tbs water. Lower heat and continue to cook 5 min.

Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound shrimp (diced)
- 3-4 garlic cloves chopped
- juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
- 2 tbs jalapeños chopped
- 3 tbs cilantro chopped
- 1tsp oil
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- salt/pepper

1. Add shrimp and marinade to ziplock bag.
2. Cook at high heat until shrimp are pink and warmed through.

Crema
Ingredients:
- 3tbs sour cream
- 1 tbs mayonnaise
- 4 tbs chopped cilantro
- juice of 1/2 lime
- salt/pepper to taste

1. Mix together and serve atop tacos

Prepare meat and toppings (crema, salsa, cheese, iceberg lettuce).
Heat tortillas (place 6 small corn tortillas in microwave safe plate. Top with a damp napkin. Heat 2 min)
Serve!

Lemon Garlic Fish

Ingredients:
- Tilapia fillets
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 3 lemons (juiced)
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tbs capers
- 1/2 onion sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- Salt/Pepper
- Flour
- Rice
- fresh flat leaf parsley

1. Combine juice of 2 lemons, olive oil, salt, pepper and cajun seasoning and whip with a fork to emulsify.
2. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper and cover with marinade. Set aside.
3. Cook rice (bring equal parts rice/water to a boil, season with salt, pepper, 1 tbs olive oil, juice from one lemon. Cover and cook until liquid is absorbed 15-20 min).
4. Slice onion and bell pepper and cook in a skillet until softened. Remove from pan.
5. Reserving marinade, dredge fish fillets in flour.
6. Heat pan on high heat (adding more oil if necessary). Gently add fish fillets and cook for 2 min on each side.
7. Remove fish fillets from pan. Add peppers and onions and capers. Place fish fillets on top of pepper/onion mixture. Pour remaining marinade on top stirring to incorporate.
8. Lower heat and cook for 5-7 minutes, covered.
9. Remove rice from heat and stir in flat leaf parsley.
10. To serve, plate a few spoonfuls of rice. Top with fish fillet, cover with pepper/onion mixture. Garnish with flat leaf parsley.

Spaghetti with Chicken Ragu

I haven't blogged them yet, but after making spaghetti sauce and a thai noodle soup, I had some whole canned tomatoes and chicken thighs in the freezer...why not cook them up into a chicken tomato sauce for some pasta...



Like many poultry dishes, the key here is layering flavors.
Using the base of braised chicken thighs adds flavor to the tomato sauce. Here I used skinless, boneless chicken, while the fat from the skin and flavor from the bones would add a lot more flavor, here I went for a healthier style, especially paired with a hearty whole wheat pasta.

You can make this sauce your own. I love a good garlicky taste, so I added it two ways: First, simmering garlic with the onions will add a sharp garlicky bite to the sauce, second mixing in some roasted garlic to the cooking mixture add a mild, sweet flavor to the sauce.

If it's in season, I would recommend a few leaves of fresh basil as well, although it's fine without. Also, a sprig or two of fresh thyme.

Ingredients:
- 3skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 12 cloves garlic (i prefer buying it already peeled)
- 4 diced
- 8 roasted (put garlic cloves into the center of a sheet of aluminum foil, add salt, a bit of olive oil, fold closed and heat in 350 degree oven for 15min, about until you smell the garlic cooking)
- 1/2 onion
- Wine (2-4 oz, of whatever you're drinking the meal with)
- salt/pepper
- 1 pinch red bell pepper flakes (more if you like it spicier)
- 1 pinch italian seasoning or oregano
- 1/2 can whole tomatoes & sauce
- whole wheat pasta
- parmesan cheese (i prefer shredded to grated as it adds a better bite of flavor)
- olive oil



1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (you can do this while roasting the garlic). Season chicken thighs with salt/pepper. Cook for 2-3 min on each side in a med pan of olive oil.



2. Remove chicken and place on a sheet in the oven to finish.
3. Deglaze pan with a bit of wine, scraping off all of the cooked bits from the chicken. Heat for 4-5 min to cook off the alcohol.
4. Add chopped garlic and cook through 2 min.
5. Add onion and cook through until soft and translucent. Add 1 tsp of salt & 1/2 of pepper.
6. Add tomatoes (and sauce from can). Stir in together and crush tomatoes with a fork. Add red pepper flakes, herbs, and roasted garlic. Simmer on low-medium heat.
7. Put pasta on to boil in salted water and check chicken. It should be cooked through. Remove chicken and pour juices into simmering pasta sauce. Shred remaining chicken meat and add to pasta sauce.
8. Continue to simmer sauce until pasta is ready. Ladle 1/2c of pasta water into sauce. Strain pasta and add to sauce. Check for taste, if necessary, add salt/pepper.
9. Heat through and top off with parmesan cheese

Shrimp Avocado Salad

This dish is doubly inspired by Claire Robinson of 5 minute fix...1st off, No Cook Dinner, 2nd 5-ingredient Taco Night. With the way we've been sweltering in this NYC heat, this was the perfect cool bite for a hot summer night.

It's also a great, inexpensive use of shrimp, and a dish that would cost a lot in a restaurant, but is pretty affordable and goes a long way at home :)

Ingredients:
- 1 avocado (diced)
- 1/2 tomato (diced -- seeds and membrane removed)
- 1/2 lb shrimp (pre-cooked, frozen is fine)
- 1/4 jalapeno pepper (minced)
- 1 lime
- lemon pepper
- salt
- olive oil

1. Dice shrimp (cut each into 3 bite sized pieces) -- If frozen, rinse with cold water to thaw and let sit til unfrozen; squeeze out excess liquid.
2. Season shrimp with salt, lemon pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Set aside.
3. Chop avocado, tomato (removing seeds), jalapeno (the green skin only). Season with salt/pepper, squeeze 1/2 lime.
4. Add shrimp. Stir (or mash for a smoother salsa) and season to taste with lime salt/pepper.

Serve with Tortilla Chips.

Goes great with...Mojitos!