Home Maid Simple

Tag: Recipe

  • Thai Salmon Fillets with Cucumber salsa

    Thai Salmon Fillets with Cucumber salsa

    Mmm, it’s what’s for dinner tonight! Well, was for dinner, I should say. It turned out so good. I am a salmon lover. I could eat a good cooked salmon every day. Unfortunately Mark is not, so it is a rare treat for me. When Grandma P was in town she took me grocery shopping and insisted I get some Salmon…I wasn’t going to say no to that!
    The recipe comes from Pampered Chef. I’m not sure what gadget I bought to get this recipe, but it must have been a good one.
    So without further rambling, here is the recipe. Enjoy
    Ingredients
    1 TBS peeled fresh ginger root, finely chopped (I substituted crystallized ginger and just crumbled it)
    2 TBS sesame Oil
    1 TBS snipped fresh cilantro (I used basil..why is there no cilantro in my house?)
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp black pepper
    1 1/2 lbs salmon fillets
    1 cup Cucumber, chopped
    1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
    1/4 cup red onion, chopped

    1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I left this out)
    1 garlic clove, pressed
    3 TBS Rice Vinegar (I used white vinegar)
    2 TBS vegetable oil
    1/4 tsp sugar
    1/8 tsp salt

    Directions
    Combine Ginger root, sesame oil, cilantro, salt and pepper; mix well. Place Salmon Fillets in a resealable bag, and pour in marinade (I just put them in a bowl, and drizzled the marinade on top). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 6 hours. 
    For Salsa, place all the vegetables in a small to medium sized bowl. Press the garlic into the bowl. Add vinegar, oil, sugar and salt; mix well.
    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the salmon from the bags and place in a baking pan (I used an 8X8 pan). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the Salmon is opaque and easily flakes with a fork.
    If yours is still frozen like mine was, you may need an extra 20 minutes to completely cook. Serve with Cucumber Salsa.
    I made mashed potatoes for a side, but I served mine on top of the potatoes. It was extra yummy!

  • Chicken Cordon Bleu

    Chicken Cordon Bleu

    I’d have to say this is one of my absolute favorite dishes ever. I could probably live off this goodness. Growing up, we shared a duplex with my Aunt, Uncle and Grandma. Holidays were great because we had so much family under one roof. Every year for New Years, my Aunt would make home made Chicken Cordon Bleu. 

    When I was in high school we moved, and no longer lived near my Aunt. We still had CCB for New Years, but it was the frozen kind. It worked, but just wasn’t the same anymore. So when I got married, a few weeks before New Years I called my Aunt, and got her recipe.  Now 6 years later, I make it more often than just New Years. Tonight for example, it was just what was needed to overcome my evening nausea (and thank goodness it didn’t add to it, or I would’ve been very sad!)

    *Updated 11/2/2013  The picture has been updated. We also decided to try topping it with a fresh avocado, and oh my. You will enjoy!  Also served on top of stuffing, which completely enhanced the flavor of the whole meal.  
  • Menu Plan Monday 8/15

    Menu Plan Monday 8/15

    I’m back to menu planning. We’ve had some crazy fun this summer, and some interesting dinners. I’m ready for set plans, so that it’s easier for me to have dinner on the table each night. Morning sickness (which happens at night for me) has not helped in the food making process, but Mark has been a trooper! I am very excited about this weeks line up. I may actually feel good enough to eat, just because of these recipes!!
    Monday – Chicken Cordon Bleu, recipe from my Aunt J!
    Tuesday – Hot dogs and burgers with my Sister-in-law and her new boyfriend.
    Wednesday – Chicken scalliopine (ok it was turkey, but I’m making it chicken)
    Thursday – Thai Salmon Filets. I’m hoping the mix of ingredients on this one, will help Mark overlook the Salmon part of it 🙂
    Friday – Chicken Fajitas
    Saturday – Creamy Chicken Salad
    Sunday – Lemon dill chicken popovers (can you say YUM!)
    Also throughout the week we’ll be eating Sesame Onion Braid Bread, and chocolate cream cheese cupcakes.  

  • Whole Wheat Banana Mango Bread

    Originally this would’ve been my Tuesday tip, but it’s now thursday. Life gets busy when you’re trying to move!  
    I went late night shopping with my neighbor yesterday.  She shops sales, and pretty much has prices memorized. So she KNOWS what a good deal is.  We left the kids at home with the dads, which really made for a peaceful shopping trip.  Whoa, little ramble there. Back to the point!
    There was a basket of overripe bananas on sale (ok apparently ripe bananas are cheaper elsewhere, but that didn’t stop me).  I love buying overripe bananas! It means instant banana bread, no waiting and hoping no one eats the ripe bananas before I can make the bread.  Now I purposely bought one less banana, because I wanted to experiment! 
    Here is the recipe I created, with my mom’s recipe as a base. See if you can find my cooking tip!

    Whole Wheat Banana Mango Bread
    Ingredients
    – 1 cup shortening
    – 2 cups sugar
    – 4 overripe bananas
    -4 eggs
    – 3.5oz banana mango baby food
    – 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
    – not quite 2 tsp baking soda
    -1 tsp salt
    Directions
    1. Mix the first 5 ingredients together.
    2. In a separate bowl mix the last 3 ingredients.
    3. Add the dry to the wet, and mix well
    4. Grease 2 loaf pans. Pour batter in. Bake at 350 F for 75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean
    Did you find the tip? It was an ingredient in the wet mixture.  That’s right, baby food!  We have an 11 month old who has decided to stop eating most baby foods.  She much prefers “real” food.  Last fall we stocked up, and I mean stocked up on baby food.  So what in the world was I going to do with all this baby food? Cook with it of course.  It will add some extra nutrients to our food, and works great when missing a simple ingredient (like one banana).  The plus side, I couldn’t taste the mango, but the banana flavor popped out more.