Salmon Tacos with Zesty Orange Slaw and Cilantro Lime Corn

So, so, so good. I used to be one of those people (86% of the population) that does not think fish and tacos should join forces to make one dish. I am a believer now. Especially in this particular dish. I could have easily over indulged on this. Oh wait...I did. This is a little bit more time consuming and detail involved so I'll get straight to it.

First things first, you will want to make the slaw so it has time to chill over and marinate.

Here's the list for that!

1/2 cabbage head

3 green onions

1 TBS cilantro

Zest of 1/2 an orange

Juice of 2 oranges

Salt and pepper to taste

Finely chop up cabbage, green onions, and cilantro. Toss together with zest, juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate. 

Now the salmon.

1 Salmon filet

TBS olive oil

Salt and pepper

Lime peel garnish

Preheat oven to 425. Place filet in a coated glass baking dish. Rub filet with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish with lime peels. Bake for about 25-30 minutes.

And last, but not least is the corn!

1 stick of butter, softened

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Juice of 2 limes

1 garlic clove, minced

4 ears of corn

Heat up the grill on medium-high heat. Mash together butter, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice.

Cover corn with mixture and wrap in aluminum foil. Put on the top rack of the grill turning periodically over a period of about 20 minutes

As for the taco shells, I decided to bake them to crisp them, rather than frying them. When the salmon is finished cooking, remove the garish and flake meat away, removing the skin. Serve on taco shells with the slaw with your corn on the side.

SO

Who knew that making dresses and planning for a wedding, planning a birthday for my soon to be 4 year old, buying a house, working, and entering back into school would make life so busy? Hah! Well, I have news for you life. I prevailed! Seriously though, I don't think I have ever had so many projects going on at once buuuut, I STILL managed to put together a few recipes (I just never got around to posting them) Now though, yes now, I finally have a day off and enough time to post! (:


Lets get to it!


A few weeks ago I found myself drowning in cilantro. Determined to not waste any of it, I went on a binge of summery dishes all featuring it in some way or another and boy, did I use it all! 
Today, I am channeling summer because it is pouring outside and I would like to pretend that it isn't. I am ready for sun. Seriously, I would like to make it to a beach this year. So, where is the sunshine? In this light and delicious pasta dish of course!

What you will need:
2 1/2 lbs prawns
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, finely cut
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
Juice of half a lime


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic, green onions, and cilantro. Cook over medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes. Add in white wine, lime juice, and prawns. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Serve over cooked noodles tossed with olive oil and sea salt.
Simple, quick, light, and tasty!

Chickpea chicken flat bread

This was an experiment (then again most things I make are). My cooking habits mostly involve me giving the fridge and cabinets the once over, grabbing an armful of things and going to work. Impromptu just works for me!

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts  sliced to 1/2" pieces
• 1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed well
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
• 1/2 sweet onion peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp red pepper flake
• 1/2 cup white cooking wine

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add garlic, onion, sun dried tomatoes, and red pepper flake. Cook until onion is translucent; stir in chickpeas. Add chicken and white wine and cook thoroughly. Serve on warm flat breads with spinach.

For the sauce I mixed 3 TBS of mayonnaise and 1 TBS Sriracha hot chili sauce together with a dash of sea salt.

Chicken Tacos

This is actually a dish that came from my mom. It is the dinner I remember the most from when I was a kid. I'm busy all of the time and some days my prep time for meals is very limited so I am a big fan of quick and easy. So here is what you'll need:

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 head of cabbage finely chopped
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 cups of sweet teriyaki cooking sauce (I prefer to use Yoshida's original.)
• Small flour tortillas
• Vegetable oil 

Start by mixing together the cabbage and mayonnaise in a bowl, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cover and put in the fridge while you begin cooking everything else. 

Cut chicken into 1" pieces, toss it into a skillet with the Yoshida's, and cook over medium heat.

In a separate skillet pour just enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom and heat.

After the oil is heated start by laying the tortilla out flat to get what will be the inside of the shell crispy (but not so much that when you try to shape the shell it breaks in two on you).

This is where the fancy fork work comes in (tongs are handy too, if you have them).  Flip the tortilla over. I take one fork and put it in the middle of the shell, then use the other fork to fold it over into shape. Fry it on each side poking the air bubbles down as you go along. Drain excess off and set aside on a plate as you repeat this process for as many shells you need to prepare. I usually make 8.

Afterwards fill the bottom of the shells with the cabbage mixture, then chicken, top with sour cream and your favorite taco/hot sauce.

Stuffed portobellos

Okay, so one of my biggest food weaknesses is stuffed mushrooms. Not just any mushrooms, big portobello mushrooms. I make them in my house often. They are fast, easy, versatile, and delicious. I change the filling up all the time but this recipe is by far my favorite, so here goes!

• 4-5 large portobello mushrooms rinsed and stems pulled
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 5 slices turkey bacon cut into thin slices
• 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
• 1 cup fresh spinach chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts
• 8 oz cream cheese
• feta and cheddar to top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute mushrooms on medium heat, turning occasionally. In a separate skillet cook turkey bacon. Then add artichoke hearts, garlic, bell pepper, and spinach until tender. Add cream cheese to mixture and when mushrooms are tender, transfer to a baking sheet. Fill mushrooms with mix, top with feta and cheddar, and place in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted.

These mushrooms are pretty rich so I usually just pair mine up with a salad and am more than satisfied with that.

Rosemary walnut butternut squash

I made this to pair up with a chicken dish I made a few weeks ago, and it was the perfect cure for my winter blues. 

You will need:

• 3 butternut squash (on the smaller side) seeded, peeled, and cubed into 1/2" pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts
• generous amount of fresh rosemary sprigs
• Salt & pepper to taste 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add in the fresh rosemary and cubed squash. In a separate skillet toast walnuts stirring frequently until fragrant. Combine walnuts to dish and continue to cook over medium high heat until the squash is tender throughout. Salt and pepper to taste and  enjoy!