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Monday, August 10, 2009

I don't want to jinx myself...

...but I dare say I'm enjoying cooking something new every week. I used to hate to cook.
I've always loved to eat:)
I've mentioned before that we are on the Dave Ramsey plan, and food is one item in your budget that has a lot of give. To feed my husband and I and four of our children, we have a budget of $150 a week on groceries.
We do cut some coupons, but I save the most money by planning my meals for the week and shopping for those items only, aside from fresh fruit, veggies, and the normal neccessities (milk, bread, eggs, etc.)
I also try to "use what I have" all week long.
Since I've been participating in Jen's Tasty Tuesdays, I've been challenging myself to try one new recipe a week. It's actually been a fun challenge for myself. I've also noticed that my kids want to help me cook, and it's something new we've enjoyed doing together. I've been trying to get fish in once a week, so here is a recipe I got from Rachel Ray:
Ingredients:
  • 4 tbls extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion (chopped)
  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • salt and pepper
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 2 tbls honey
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 4 6 oz salmon fillets
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 10 oz. box of frozen corn (or fresh)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbls fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 6 cups of baby spinach

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat with 2 tbls of EVOO. Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, preheat a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining 2 tbls of EVOO. In a shallow dish, combine the juice of 1 lime, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the salmon fillets to the lim-honey mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Add the seasoned salmon to the hot skillet and cook unitl just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

To the cooked onions, add the bell peppers and corn kernels and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the black beans and cook until the beans are just heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the juice of the second lime, the cilantro, and spinach. Toss to wilt the spinach and then taste to adust the seasoning. Serve the salmon on top of the warm black bean and corn salad.

My husband and I loved it, but the kids thought it was...ok at best.And they aren't what I consider picky eaters.
I would make it again, but it definitely won't be a "regular" item on my menu.
(oh, and cutting those red onions are a booger! I cried and cried...what's the trick to that?)

2 comments:

Jill said...

Oh My! that looks so yummy!
now I know what we will have tonight! :)

Cami @ Creating Myself said...

Sounds delcious...did much honey flavor come through? I like my salmon sweet so that it masks it's flavor.

as to your question about the onions...my mother used to hang a piece of bread out of her mouth to absorb the odors, before it reached her eyes, but I just feel stupid doing that! So I rinse & peel mine in cold water, leave the roots intact & I use a very sharp knife. You can also put them in the freezer for 30 minutes before chopping & that helps...the cold helps to retard the release of those "fumes".