Salmon and Salt for Dummies and Dhani

I don't like salmon. There, I said it. And I know that makes me a bad person blah blah blah. BUT I have a husband-to-be that LOVES salmon so I am constantly cooking it even though I don't like it.

You know what I do like, though? Dhani Jones

Dhani Jones, the love of my imaginary life, used to play football at Michigan and now he plays for the Bengals. He has a show on the Travel Channel called "Dhani Tackles the Globe" (Mondays at 8pm I think....Tivo it) where he travels around the world to different countries and plays their sports. He played water polo in Croatia, beach volleyball in Brazil, and this week: Lucha Libre in Mexico City. Ha! I can't wait. He's awesome. And dreamy. And I love him.

Enough about that....back to the food.

FYI: Albertsons grocery store must have read my post about going to Trader Joe's for olive oil because when I went there today, PRESTO! olive oil at drastically reduced prices.

So I can't remember where this salmon recipe came from but it is soooo easy and everyone tells me it is amazing. We are having it for dinner this evening with my dad's pea pods and mushrooms recipe (salt lovers paradise) and one of those Near East long grain and wild rice mixes. Well, that's what James is having. I will be having my beloved red meat.

Dummy factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1 (if you can stir and push buttons, you can cook this)
Cheesy factor (1 no cheese, 10 cheesiest): 1 (Boooooooo)
Time factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): marination (is that a word?) takes a while, but quick cook time

Salmon for Dummies
- Salmon (6 oz. piece per serving)
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/3 cup Water
- 1/3 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
- Lemon Pepper seasoning
- Garlic Salt (or powder)

Mix oil, water, soy, and brown sugar in bowl until sugar dissolved. Season salmon with lemon pepper seasoning and garlic salt. Put salmon and marinade in plastic ziploc, and marinate in fridge for 2-3 hours. Then bake, broil, or grill.

If you broil, do it for like 2 minutes, then pull out and brush on a little more marinade, and put back under broiler for 2 more minutes, flip, and repeat until it flakes. Or bake in foil with some of the marinade at like 375 deg for 30 minutes (less for rare fish, more for well-done fish).


Pea Pods with Mushrooms
- Sugar Snap Peas (maybe 10-15 per person? eye-ball it)
- Brown or white mushrooms (2-3 per person)
- Olive oil
- Salt

Slice mushrooms, season with salt, and saute in olive oil. Be generous with amount of oil as you will want some extra in the pan. Boil water in pot, then cook pea pods in boiling water for like a minute or two (just long enough that you think they are hot). You want to keep them super crispy, so error on shorter side of time in water. Then take out of water, and toss in the mushroom/oil mixture, and season with salt again, serve immediately.

And if you can resist the urge to drink the excess oil/salt mixture on your plate, then you are a better human than I.


On a side note: some of you told you made comments, but for some reason, I don't see any. Granted I am a blogging novice, but I will look into this. Oh, and my dad, the teacher, wanted to give me some grammar advice, of which I, respectfully, declined. A writer I am not. I use commas like my seasonings: in excess. I just type as I would say it. And if I don't know the answer, sometimes I just make it up. Love me for me. Or for my stellar personality and charm. Not my mediocre writing capabilities.

And finally, my random thought of the day: blogging is great, I realized, because it feels like a socially acceptable way for me to talk to myself.

Next post topic: Over-Seasoners Anonymous. The story of Abby, the Salt and Pepper Monster. Stay-tuned!

Easy and Cheesy Enchiladas

I am so hungry right now and I would probably give my right arm to have these immediately. For those of you that know me well, you know I get cravings for food that will NOT go away until I satisfy them. I am going to be the worst pregnant person ever. I also get extremely cranky when I am hungry so as soon as I am done writing this post, I will be going to eat.

So this recipe is from my friend Francoise. Her and her husband Mark came over for dinner one night, and Francoise made these. They are SO easy. And SO delicious. I literally licked my plate when done. This is a great first posting I think because those of you that don't or can't cook, will have an easy time making these. And they are delicious.

Oh, and my favorite food is cheese. All cheese. Except fontina I recently discovered, which I think is disgusting and actually made me gag. Lot's of my recipes will have gobs of cheese. So if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy, make sure to pay attention to my "cheesy factor" to see if you can eat it. Not probable, but I will make sure to mix in a few here and there without cheese.

Dummy factor: (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Cheesy factor: (1 no cheese, 10 cheesiest): 8
Time factor: (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4

Chicken Enchiladas:
- Tortillas (I like flour but get what you like)
- Can of corn kernals (you should already have these in your pantry, thanks to me)
- Can of black beans
- Can of green chili enchilada sauce (get the big big one, and a medium temp. Don't get mild, you wuss. Trust me.)
- Shredded Cheese (probably a blend of some sort)
- Fresh Cilantro (chopped)
- Chicken Breasts (for herbavores, try grilled or sauted shrimp. I haven't tried it but I bet it's good. Let me know if you try it.)
- Sour Cream (optional. Kind of. You want it.)

Preheat your oven t0 350.

1. Season your chicken breast with a little salt and pepper, and cook in saute pan, or however is easiest and quickest for you to cook chicken. Then slice it. Or cube it. However you like.
2. While chicken is cooking, drain the corn and black beans, then pour into a small pan on stove and heat up.
3. Pour half of the green chilli sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish.
4. Make an assembly line of enchiladas and get to filling: tortillas, then some shredded cheese, chicken, black beans and corn, and finally fresh cilantro. Roll up tortillas with goodies in them and place seam side down on the green chili sauce in the casserole dish.
Repeat until your dish is full.
5. Pour the remaining green chilli sauce over the top of the enchiladas and then put some more shredded cheese over the top. The more cheese the better if you ask me.
6. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Booyah! Serve with sour cream.

P.S. If you become obsessed with these as I have, you will soon realize that they are excellent reheated with a side of scrambled eggs for breakfast. Yes, I said it.

Let's get this pantry started!

I'm not a chef. I'm not an expert cook. But I do love to share my tried and true recipes with friends and family. And I love to talk. So why not start a blog to do both??

The gist of it is I will post a recipe here and there that I have tried out. It will probably be accompanied by a pointless story so beware. I really hope you try them and I promise to try and not lead you astray. And definitely let me know what you think of them if you try them please!

Let's get this pantry started!

So my friends often tell me that they don't cook a lot because they don't have the ingredients necessary. Cooking is an investment. And so is your pantry and your fridge. There are some basic essentials you should have to get started.

Here are the pantry basics. I don't care how small your space is, you have room for this stuff.

Spices
When I said cooking was an investment, I meant it literally. An investment which requires start-up money. Get these spices. Just do it. Yes, I know it is expensive to do all at once. But get what you can immediately, then just add one each time you go to the store to soften the blow to your wallet.
- Dried Basil
- Dried Parsley
- Dried Oregano
- Cumin (ground)
- Chili Powder
- Garlic Salt (or powder)
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper

Cans
- Tomato Sauce
- Stewed tomatoes
- Tomato paste (small one)
- Diced tomatoes
- Mushrooms
- Cream of Chicken Soup
- Corn
- Crushed Pineapple
- Mandarin Oranges
- Pears
- Jalapenos

Everything Else
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for cooking, you don't need to buy the super expensive stuff. Save that for the dipping. The best value I have found so far was you can get a pretty decent size bottle at Trader Joe's for like $8....and with the amount I cook with, you are going to need a lot)
- Vegetable Oil (just get a small one. Unless you bake a lot)
- Canola Oil (just get a small one)
- Worchestershire Sauce (just because you can't pronounce it doesn't mean you shouldn't have it)
- Sugar (smallest bag you can find)
- Balsamic Vinegar (If you like to dip things in this, get the good stuff. But like the olive oil, get a middle of the road one for cooking and salad dressings)
- White wine vinegar (small guy)
- Cidar vinegar (small guy)
- Tobasco

Fridge These are the things I usually try and have in the fridge at all times. And my best advice: buy veggies. If they are there, you will eat them. And they last longer than you think.
- Onion (sweet)
- Garlic Bulb
- Green Bell Pepper
- Red Bell Pepper
- Lemon (at least two)
- Lime (at least one)
- A1 Sauce
- Soy Sauce
- Butter
- Eggs
- Milk (small one if you don't drink it)
- Sour Cream (small one if you don't eat it)


I am sure I have forgotten some things here in there. But for the most part, these are the building blocks for easy cooking. Most of the recipes I cook have ingredients that are already in my fridge/pantry which makes cooking a LOT easier. And after the initial expensive grocery store trip, you are just filling in holes here and there.

Now go to store. Make the investment. And then let's get cooking.