Salmon Patties

I am so thrilled to have married a man that loves to cook. Tonight I had another one of my migraines and didn't feel like doing anything for dinner. So Jeff stepped up and, as usual, created something delicious and healthy!

I'll put the half recipe that he did tonight. To make the original 6-serving amount, just double everything.

Salmon Patties
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed saltines (about 33 crackers)
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 can (14.75 oz) salmon, drained, bones and skin removed

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, lemon juice, saltines, onion, salt, and pepper. Add salmon and mix well. Shape into 6 3-inch patties. Place in a greased baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. 1 serving=2 patties.

We served these with a variety of salad dressings - Greek Vinaigrette with Oregano and Feta, my homemade Creamy French Italian dressing, and Asian Sesame with Ginger. They would also, of course, be fantastic with tartar sauce, but we didn't have any of that on hand this time.

Our Cinco de Mayo Festivities

Cinco de Mayo is another one of those slightly, but not entirely, random holidays that Jeff and I like to celebrate with an all-out meal. I started planning tonight's meal around lunchtime today, and started preparing right away. Now, hours later, we've eaten and enjoyed our meal, and I can say that all my work (though it wasn't really hard) has definitely paid off!

Our Cinco de Mayo Menu:

• Appetizer: Chile Onion Polenta
  
• Main Course: Soft Tacos with corn tortillas, taco meat, homemade salsa, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, cheese, and Creamy French Italian Dressing
• Side: Spanish Rice
  
• Dessert: Leche Quemada

The recipes:

Chile Onion Polenta
3 cups cold water
1 cup cornmeal
1 envelope onion soup mix
4 oz. can green chilies, drained
1/2 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Bring the water to a boil in a 3 qt. saucepan. With wire whisk, stir in the cornmeal and onion soup mix. Simmer uncovered, stirring constantly for 25 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the chilies and corn.

Spread the mixture in a lightly greased 9" baking pan and sprinkle with cheese. Let stand for 20 minutes or until firm. Cut and serve.

Taco Meat
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder

Combine meat and seasonings. Cook until meat is browned. Drain off fat.

Simple Salsa
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 4-oz. can green chilies, drained
2 tbsp. dried minced onions
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried parsley

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Process for a few seconds until mixture is blended but still chunky. Let mixture stand at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 1 cup.

Creamy French Italian Dressing
3 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup

In a blender, process all ingredients until completely incorporated. Pour into 2-cup container with tight-fitting lid. Let stand at room temperature several hours. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Spanish Rice
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup salsa

Combine rice, water, and salsa in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the water reaches the level of the rice. Shut off heat, cover pan, and let sit for 20-30 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed and rice is done. Fluff with fork and serve.

Leche Quemada (Burnt Milk)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Whipped topping

Divide milk between 3 4-oz. ramekins. Cover each ramekin with foil. Place in shallow baking dish, and add water 1 inch deep. Bake at 425 for 1 hour. Serve warm or cold with whipped topping.

Another recipe for this is as follows: Place unopened can of milk on a rack in a large pot. Cover with water. Boil for 4 hours. Carefully remove can from pot and chill in refrigerator. When cold, open top of can and invert onto serving plate. Open bottom of can and push out the milk, now a firm custardlike burnt milk dessert.

Buen provecho!

Parmesan Baked Potatoes

This is a recipe I got from a Taste of Home recipe booklet. I adjusted and added some things, as I usually do. This is a really good version of baked potatoes - fancier and more flavorful.

Parmesan Baked Potatoes
6 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
6-8 small baking potatoes, halved lengthwise

Pour butter into a 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Place potatoes in pan with cut side down. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until tender.

The original recipe calls for 8 potatoes, but I was only able to fit 6 in the pan. I calculated the calories based on 6 potatoes, and 4 tablespoons of butter (there was about 2 tbsp. left in the pan, having not been absorbed). You can reduce the calories by using margarine (80 calories/tbsp. versus 100 for butter), and reduced fat Parmesan cheese.

1 serving (2 potato halves) = 200 calories.

George Foreman's Southwest Rub

Jeff put together this rub for a steak dinner that was supposed to be at our church. Due to some miscommunication, however, either the dinner never happened or we got the wrong day or time, or something, because we showed up and there was nothing there. So we took our rubs home and Jeff made a delicious chicken dinner with this one.

Southwest Rub
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground coriander (we didn't have this, and substituted a packet of Sazon Goya)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Makes 1/2 cup.

Jeff used about two tablespoons of this rub on a couple chicken leg quarters. He simmered them in a covered skillet with chopped onion and about 1/2 cup leftover rice from the fridge. He added lots of water and cooked it all until the chicken was done (juices run clear), and the water had simmered off. It was so flavorful, a bit spicy, and just very good!

Delicious Dessert Quesadillas

This post is all about how I'm a genius. I have invented the best dessert that can be made in five minutes. And this is how it goes:
Dessert Quesadillas
1 flour tortilla, soft taco size
2 tbsp. crunchy peanut butter
2 tbsp. miniature marshmallows
1 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips

Cut tortilla in half. Spread peanut butter over half of tortilla. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Top with other half of tortilla.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray. Cook quesadilla a couple minutes on each side, until crisp and golden brown. Then eat it!

Another Great Food Quote

I pray that death may strike me in the middle of a large meal. I wish to be buried under the tablecloth between four large dishes.
~Marc Desuagiers

Tuna Pot Pie

We have a very large amount of tuna. I get four cans every month from WIC, but we don't use tuna quite that often. I've been trying to use tuna more often, because we have, like, 15 cans of the stuff. Tonight's dinner was inspired by my quest to use the tuna. I looked up "tuna" in my Betty Crocker cookbook and was led to a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie, with a tuna variation. Score! I love pot pie! I was additionally motivated to make this because I was running low on my calories for the day, and could definitely fit in something as calorie-rich as a pot pie. This ended up being about 380 calories per 1/8 slice. I had two.

I adjusted all the ingredient amounts because the original recipe called for a 9-inch square pan and I wanted to use my 9-inch round pie dish, which of course has a different volume.


Tuna Pot Pie
5 oz. frozen peas
1/2 can sliced carrots, drained (the recipe originally called for a bag of frozen peas and carrots, but I believe in the philosophy that you should just use what you've got)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 can (6 oz.) tuna, drained
Pastry for 9-inch double-crust pie

Rinse frozen peas in cold water to separate; drain.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, onion, salt, and pepper. cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in tuna, peas, and carrots; remove from heat (During the steps in this paragraph I really appreciated the wisdom of pre-measuring your ingredients. There's so many things to add all at the same time, and it really helps to have it all ready to go beforehand).

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Make pastry. Roll half of the pastry into a 12-inch circle; ease into ungreased 9-inch pie dish. Pour tuna mixture into pastry-lined pan.

Roll out remaining pastry. Cut designs or slits into crust (I chose to do a fish, because I like the design to match what's inside the crust. Isn't it cute?). Place crust over tuna mixture; trim, seal, and flute edges.


Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown. I had to cover the edges with foil after about 25 minutes because they were browning too quickly. You could cover them before baking, and uncover them about halfway through the baking time. It works either way.

To make this into a chicken pie, substitute 2 cups cut-up cooked chicken for the canned tuna.

My pie didn't really hold together well. The crust was great, but the filling was just very wet. Next time, we'll let the pie set for about 20-30 minutes to allow the sauce to solidify a bit. Or I'll just reduce the milk and chicken broth. Anyway, despite being all fall-apart-y, this pie tasted fabulous!