Pecan Crusted Dijon Salmon

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, spicy brown, or stone ground mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees .  
2. In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard, and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.
3. Brush each salmon fillet lightly with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture.
4. Bake salmon 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Schnitzel and Spaetzles

 Schnitzel
Ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 Tsp dijon mustard
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup dry bread crums
• Parmesan
• 2 tsp pasley
• 2 tsp chives, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• olive oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Pound chicken until 1/2 inch thick, sprinkle with salt and pepper
3. Place in 3 shallow dishes: flour- eggs, mustard- breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, chives and garlic
4. Dredge chicken through flour then egg then breadcrumbs
5. Heat oil over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook until brown on bottom.
6. Flip chicken over and place skillet in oven.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.

 

Spaetzle

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Bring salted water to a boil.
2. Sift together flour and salt.
3. Add eggs and milk and beat well.
4. Pour batter into colander over boiling water.
5. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Drain.

Season with butter and salt/pepper.

Beef n' broccoli

 

• 1 pound boneless beef chuck roast
• 1 cup beef consumme
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cooled sauce from the crock pot after being cooked
• Fresh broccoli florets (as many as desired)
• Hot cooked brown rice

Directions
1. Place beef in a crock pot.
2. In a small bowl, combine consomme, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour over beef. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. In a cup, stir cornstarch and sauce form the crock pot until smooth. Add to crock pot. Stir well to combine. (If your sauce is not thickening, try bringing your sauce to a boil on the stovetop with the corn starch mixture. Boil until your desired consistency is reached).
4. Add broccoli to the crock pot. Stir to combine.
5. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes on high (the sauce has to boil for it to thicken).
6. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Fish Tacos

Don't let the multi-step directions scare you off. These are well worth making and add a nice variation on Mexi-Cali food. As always, dial down the jalapeno if you don't like it hot. As made, we get two generous tacos and one generous tostada from the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 T sour cream (for the crema)
• 2 T light cream  (for the crema)
• Hot sauce to taste  (for the crema)
• 1/2 C thinly sliced cabbage (for the slaw) 
• 4 or 5 scallions, thinly sliced (for the slaw) 
• 1 red jalapeno, half finely diced and half left whole  (for the slaw and for the fish) 
• 1 T fresh lime juice (for the slaw) 
• 2 T sour cream  (for the slaw) 
• 3/4 pound firm white fish like tilapia (for the fish, well duh this IS the fish)
• A bit of flour for dredging (for the fish)
• 1 to 2 T olive oil (for the fish)
• Tortillas (for assembly)
• 1/2 C finely diced fresh cilantro (for assembly)

Directions:

Crema:

1. Mix the sour cream and light cream together. It should be fairly thick.
2. Add hot sauce to taste.

Slaw:

1. Mix the lime juice and sour cream together in a small bowl.
2. In another bowl, combine the cabbage, scallions and diced jalapenos.
3. Add the lime juice/sour cream mixture to the cabbage mixture and toss well.

Fish:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet large enough to hold all the fish in one layer.
2. Add the half jalapeno to the oil and move it through the oil. Leave it in the pan to continue cooking.
3. Dredge the fish in flour (or toss the flour in a plastic bag, add the fish and shake gently to coat).
4. Sauté the fish in the skillet along with the jalapeno and cook until done.
5. Remove from heat and put the fish in a bowl. Shred the fish with a fork or knife.

Assembly directions:

1. Heat your tortilla.
2. (If you want cheese, add it now)
3. Place some diced cilantro on the fish.
4. Top with slaw.
5. (Add sliced avocadoes if you want)
6. Drizzle crema over your masterpiece.
7. Enjoy!

Cheater Chicken Soup

I almost didn't post this recipe because
the soup is not in a bowl. Silly, huh. 

Sometimes we’ll pick up a grocery store rotisserie chicken for dinner. To alleviate the guilt of not having made dinner from scratch, I stretch that bird to cover a few meals and then use the carcass as the basis for what I call cheater chicken soup. It’s cheating because it’s not entirely made from scratch but boy is it tasty. I prefer pasta in the soup because the pasta ends up behaving like dumplings. Use potatoes if you prefer that instead.

This is not a complicated recipe in terms of hands on time but does take two days just so you can get your broth properly made.

Ingredients: 

• The carcass of one rotisserie chicken OR the remnants of a whole chicken you’ve previously roasted
• Two carrots, peeled and diced
• About half of a medium white onion, coarsely chopped
• One small potato, diced into cubes OR a handful or two of your favorite uncooked pasta
• Two stalks celery, diced
• A liberal sprinkling of Italian seasoning
• One bay leaf
• Lots of water

Directions:

Day 1

1. Simmer the carcass and seasonings in enough water to fill a large stock pot for several hours.
2. Cool overnight.

Day 2

1. Strain and discard the fat from the surface of the broth.
2. Pick off any meat remnants from your carcass and toss into the broth.
3. Add the vegetables.
4. If you are using pasta, add the pasta.
5. Simmer for another couple of hours.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste to your individual bowls.
7. Enjoy!