Salmon Croquettes

 

I was born in a beach town, and then later moved to Portugal where the ocean was always just a few minutes away.  That meant that the availability of fresh fish, was something we just took for granted.

Fish and seafood have always been something I love but don't eat much of, primarily because I prefer fresh to frozen, but also because I find it so expensive at the grocery stores.

When I lived in South Africa, we had a few fresh fish markets that we would always go buy from.  Anything from cod to mussels, crab and huge prawns, clams, calamari, you name it, we had it, so not having that anymore is quite sad at times.  I miss it, and so once in a while that craving comes in and I try to answer the best way I can.

 

This past grocery trip, I picked up some Salmon.  It's not something I buy ever, I find it extremely expensive and for a family of four, it just isn't enough unless I really splurge.  But I found a small package for $7, it only had 4 small pieces in there.  Clearly not enough to make it a main part of the meal, so I opted to make it stretch and turned it into some Salmon croquettes instead.

It was so good, so so good.  My 18 year old devoured them and asked if we can have them again soon.  We will see son, we will see.

Anyway, here is the recipe, hope you enjoy it.

Salmon Croquettes

Ingredients 

1/4 cup diced onion

1 pound fresh salmon, skin removed and diced

Salt and pepper, to taste 

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

1/4 cup of bread crumbs

Minced garlic, to taste

1 teaspoon mustard

1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning 

Parsley and Cilantro, to taste

 

 

Directions

 

In a small skillet, add a little bit of olive oil and fry the onion until translucent.  Transfer to a big bowl.  To the onion, add the salmon, salt and pepper to taste, mayonnaise, bread crumbs, garlic, mustard and old bay seasoning  and parsley and cilantro.

Mix well, then form into small croquettes.

In a small bowl, add some breadcrumbs, then roll each croquette in the crumbs and set on a tray.  Repeat with remaining croquettes.  Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

When time is up, remove from fridge, and fry over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side.  Serve immediately!

Beef Burrito Skillet

 

 

I've been trying to make simpler meals, using what I have on hand.  The prices of everything has gone up, and meat is starting to be quite difficult to buy around here.  Long gone are the days where I could get a pound of ground beef for 3 dollars at the base commissary.

 

It makes it harder to meal plan, but it's also quite fun to try and make delicious meals, that stretch, that fill our tummies but don't break the bank.

 

 

Using just one pound of ground beef, and a few other pantry ingredients, this meal comes together pretty quickly and when paired with a side salad, it makes for a filling dinner that is sure to please everyone.

 

Recipe is adapted from Life in the Lofthouse.

 

 

 

Beef Burrito Skillet

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef (I use 7% fat)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 can (10 ounces) Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies) undrained
• 1 can (15 ounces) corn drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans drained
• 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
• 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Colby-Jack cheese

Instructions

• Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Turn heat to medium-high and then add ground beef to skillet. Crumble beef and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Then add garlic, diced bell pepper and onion. Continue to stir and cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain any grease.
• Add salsa, Rotel, corn, black beans, jasmine rice, taco seasoning and chicken broth. Stir gently to combine everything. Bring to a boil, once it starts to boil reduce heat to low. Cover with lid.
• Let mixture simmer, covered, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until rice is tender and thoroughly cooked.Remove skillet from heat and sprinkle the top evenly with shredded cheese. Let stand a few minutes for cheese to melt then serve.

 

Amish Chicken

 

   

Amish Chicken

 

 

Ingredients: 

6 -8 chicken pieces, cleaned 

1 cup flour 

2 teaspoons garlic powder 

1 tablespoon salt 

1 teaspoon pepper 

2 teaspoons paprika 

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 

1 1/2 cups water 

 

 

Directions: 

Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour and spices and arrange skin side up in a baking dish. Mix the cream and water and pour over the chicken. 

 

Bake at 350* for 1 1/2 hours or until the skin is golden brown. Review from my followers: Excellent recipe! I love Amish food and this really hit the spot! 

 

Chicken Broccoli Divan

This is one of those easy weeknight meals, that you can get in the oven real quick.  It is filling, delicious, pretty sure your whole family will enjoy it, and when paired with a salad, it makes the perfect dinner.

Many people have made this dish, for many many years, and I think there are so many variations out there, but this specific recipe comes from Spend with Pennies.  There really is nothing to this dish, no extravagant ingredients, and everything is found in our pantry.

 

Chicken Broccoli Divan

 Source:  Spend with Pennies

 

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds fresh broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 cups cooked chicken cubed
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
• ½ cup milk
• ⅔ cup sour cream
• 10 ½ ounces can condensed Cream of Mushroom or chicken soup
• ½ teaspoon each garlic powder onion powder, dry mustard and pepper
• ¼ teaspoon seasoning salt

Topping

• 3 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

 

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place broccoli in a large pot boiling water and cook 2-3 minutes or just until tender crisp.  Drain well.
• In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup cheddar cheese, milk, condensed soup, sour cream and seasonings.
• Stir in broccoli and chicken and spread into a 3qt casserole dish (or a 9x13 pan).  Top with remaining cheese.
• In a small bowl, mix the butter and bread crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the chicken mixture.
• Bake 18-20 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned and the mixture is bubbly and hot.
• Serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes, as desired.
  

 

Italian Beef and Sausage Pie

Meat, cheese, in the form of a pie.  That is basically my definition of a perfect meal.  I'm an easy to please gal, meat and potatoes, cheesy, bacon, whatever, and if it is shaped like a pie even better.

 

I came upon this recipe one night, while browsing different food blogs.  I immediately thought, that has to go on the menu, and very soon.  

 

It did not disappoint.  I made it a few days after bookmarking the recipe, and oh my goodness, was it delicious.  It was really easy to throw together, it was filling, and we got to enjoy some leftovers too. 

 

Italian Beef and Sausage Pie

Source:  A Family Feast 

 

 

Ingredients:

Vegetable shortening or butter to grease a 9-10 inch spring form pan (pan should be at least 2 ½ inches deep)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 pound ground beef

½ pound Italian sweet sausage removed from casing

1 large sweet onion, diced into large half inch pieces, about 2 ½ cups

1 large green Bell pepper, diced into large half inch pieces, about 2 cups

1 teaspoon dry basil

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

 

Batter

3 large eggs

1 cup Greek full fat yogurt

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup all-purpose flour

 

Other

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ pound provolone cheese sliced

1 large bunch scallions diced, about one cup

1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

---

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. with rack in center of oven.

Open a 9-10 inch springform pan and lay a piece of parchment over then snap the ring over so that the parchment covers the bottom and gets held in place by the ring. Use scissors to cut the outside parchment overhang. You should now have a round piece of parchment tightly held in place at the bottom of the springform pan.

Use vegetable shortening or butter and grease the bottom parchment and inside ring sides. Set the pan aside for now.

In a large saute pan, place two tablespoons of olive oil and over medium high heat and brown the beef and sausage meat. Pour into a strainer but save the liquid. Pour the liquid into a glass and remove and discard the fat that floats to the top with a spoon but save the liquid for later in the recipe.

In the same pan over medium heat, add the last tablespoon of olive oil and add the onions, peppers, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and pepper flakes and cook for about four minutes or until the vegetables are no longer crunchy but are still firm.

Add the garlic and cook one minute.

Make a space in the center and add the tomato paste and cook one minute.

Stir in two tablespoons of the reserved meat liquid and add all of the cooked meat and stir to combine. Set aside for now.

In a medium bowl with a whisk, beat the eggs then add the yogurt, salt, baking powder and flour and whisk to combine. The batter should resemble pancake batter.

Pour half of this batter into the bottom of the prepared springform pan and spread to the edges.

Add in half of the cooked beef mixture, again, spreading to the edges.

Sprinkle on all of the Parmesan then layer on all of the provolone cheese, overlapping the slices.

Add the remaining meat on top of the provolone and spread to the edges.

Add the scallions and mozzarella to the remaining batter and spread this mixture all over the top, spreading to the edges.

Cover a medium sheet tray with foil and place the pie in the center and bake 45 minutes. Spring form pans are notorious for leaking so the foil lined pan will save your oven from drips.

After 45 minutes, brown under broiler if the top needs it. I broiled ours for two minutes to brown the top further than it was.

Let sit 10 minutes in the pan.  If you press lightly on the center, it should feel firm like a quiche would feel when baked. If not, let sit five more minutes.

Run a small sharp knife around the inside edges to loosen.

Release the spring form outer ring then cut into eight pieces using a sharp serrated knife to cut through the top layer then down through the pie.

Serve hot.

 

Bang Bang Chicken Kabobs

 

It's been years since I've made kabobs. It's not something I make a lot, and thankfully I had some skewers left over for this meal. Just shows you how long it's been since I've bought wooden skewers. 

But while looking through some food blogs a few weeks back, I came upon this recipe and knew I had to make it.  It's summer time, I love using my grill and this is the perfect meal to throw on, and get on the table in no time.

 

  

 

So where does Bang Bang Chicken originate? 

 

It is a typical street food sold in the Szechuan Region in China.  Basically the sauce is made of mayonnaise, sweet chili and sriracha.  It is delicious and really easy to make.

This meal came together pretty quick, aside from the hour that I left the chicken marinating in the fridge, everything else was quick and in no time we had a delicious summer meal on the table.

By the way, if you don't have a grill, or can't grill for some reason, you can pop these in the oven, I would say maybe at 375 F, until done, then just turn on the broil to give it a nice charred look.

 

 

Bang Bang Chicken Kabobs 

 

 

 

Ingredients 

Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tbsp mayonnaise

4 tbsp sour cream 

1 tsp mustard 

1/3 cup sweet chili sauce 

1/2 tsp sriracha 

1 tsp honey 

Wooden skewers

 

 

 

Instructions 

Soak the wooden skewers for at least 10 minutes, to prevent burning.

 

In a big bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, sweet chili sauce, sriracha and honey.  

Add the chicken cubes, and stir well to combine.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about an hour.  

 

Add the chicken pieces to the wooden skewers.  Preheat your grill, make sure to brush on some oil on the grates so the chicken won't stick.  

 

Cook about 5 or 6 minutes on each side, until cooked through.  

 

Drizzle on any remaining sauce over the chicken, and serve immediately. 

 

 

Recipe adapted from:  4 Sons 'R' Us