Adobo Salmon with Raspberry Orange Mango Salsa on Coconut Rice

 

A new orange is in town. THE RASPBERRY ORANGE!!! I've haven't seen them in our neck of the woods until now, so of course, I had to play...enthusiastically!! They're absolutely wonderful, charming and very interesting. They're intensely plump and juicy and contain the normal orange flavor but they also have another compotent of sweet and tart raspberry flavor. They're lovely. If you don't have access to them you can still do this recipe. Just sub out the oranges for limes. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a large cookie sheet, line with foil and lightly spray with oil. Place salmon skin side down on the cookie sheet. Next prepare the wet rub for the Salmon.

Place all rub ingredients in a bowl and whisk together to make a wet rub. I love these canned Chipotles in Adobo. 

Spread wet rub evenly on top of Salmon.

 Set aside while you make salsa so the Salmon can come down to room temp. 

Mix all salsa ingredients together in a bowl. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking. Set aside. 

Tip: sub limes out for raspberry orange if not available. 

Place Salmon in oven on the center rack. Cook for approximately 15 minutes depending on thickness. I like my internal temp at 125 degrees at this point. Turn oven on broil and broil for 3-4 minutes and remove from oven. The goal temp here is now 130 degrees F. Rest for 5 minutes because it will continue to cook to perfection. You can also check flakiness with a fork. If it doesn't flake it needs to cook longer. 

While Salmon is cooking prepare rice to package directions. Use whatever you have on hand but I have used Jasmine, Basmati, Jade, Red, Forbidden, Tricolor...they are all wonderful. 

Time to plate!! Scoop Coconut Rice on plate. Cut your Salmon into filets and place one filet on rice. Top with Mango salsa. Enjoy this healthy, energy packed, feel-good meal. Absolutely delicious!

RECIPE:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a large cookie sheet, line with foil and lightly spray with oil. Place salmon skin side down on the cookie sheet. Next prepare the wet rub for the Salmon.

SALMON RUB:

2 TBS butter

Zest from one Raspberry Orange

Juice from half of Raspberry Orange

2 Chipotles in Adobo Sauce, diced

1 tsp Adobo Sauce

2 TBS honey

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp onion powder

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together to make a wet rub. Spread evenly on top of Salmon. 

Make the Raspberry Orange Mango Salsa next. 

SALSA:

1 mango, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup cucumber, chopped

1 Avocado, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

Handful of cilantro, chopped

2 garlic cloves, fine dice

Zest from 1/2 raspberry orange

Juice from 1/2 raspberry orange

1 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper 

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking. Set aside. 

Tip: sub limes out for raspberry orange if not available. 

Place Salmon in oven on the center rack. Cook for approximately 15 minutes depending on thickness. I like my internal temp at 125 degrees at this point. Turn oven on broil and broil for 3-4 min. Rest for 5 minutes.  

While Salmon is cooking prepare rice to package directions. Use whatever you have on hand but I have used Jasmine, Basmati, Jade, Red, Forbidden, Tricolor...they are all wonderful. 

COCONUT RICE:

4 cups of cooked rice

1/2 can of unsweetened coconut milk (5-6 oz) 

1 TBS salt

Once rice is cooked mix in a half a can of unsweetened coconut milk and salt. Mix to incorporate. Taste and adjust salt to liking. 

Time to plate!! Scoop Coconut Rice on plate. Cut your Salmon into filets and place one filet on rice. Top with Mango salsa. 

Smothered Shrimp Etouffee

 

I'm going to tell you how to make this wonderful dish from scratch and I'm going to also suggest alternatives for making it quicker and still super delicious!! Let's first talk about shrimp. I get in the habit of making stock when I have certain ingredients available even though I may not need stock at that very moment. I make it and freeze it. So anytime I make shrimp for dinner, I use the shells to make stock! Yum! So you may see me cooking fried shrimp for po'boys one night, but you will also see my stock pot boiling away off to the side. I'm a great multi-tasker!! I do the same with chicken, steak or lamb bones. So, back to shrimp. With my lovely stock making habit, guess what I had on hand? Yep! Shrimp stock ready to go. If you don't have any pre-made you can make your own on the spot with the shells from this recipe. Just plan to add 1 hour of prep time. Alternatively, you can use store bought chicken stock for a quicker meal. Still wonderful, but just a little different flavor. 

Shrimp Stock:

Shells from 1 lb of Shrimp

1/2 bell pepper

1/2 onion

1 celery stick

1 carrot

2 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Handful of fresh mixed herbs like parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, dill, sage etec.

1 gallon of water 

Optional: plus pretty much any vegetable in my fridge that needs to be used like a tomato, fresh herbs, jalapeno, red onions, a little cabbage, a couple of brussels sprouts, shallot, mini sweet peppers, potato etec. 

In a stockpot add all the ingredients halved. No need to cut small as liquid will be strained. Add water to cover and boil for 1 hour or more. Add water as it evaporates during cooking time. Make with ingredients listed only or add the optional vegetables if you have some on hand that need to be used. More vegetables equals more flavor. No fresh herbs on hand? No problem just use dried herbs 1/2 tsp of each. 

Reserve 3 cups for the Etouffee and freeze the rest. 

What is Etouffee? Etouffee is french for suffocated or smothered. It is similar to Gumbo but thicker and less soupy and served with one type of shellfish (typically, but I break the rules sometimes 😉) and like gumbo, comes with a side of rice. 

Let's prep the rice. I had Jasmin white rice on hand and followed the package directions.  While that cooks lets make the roux! 

INGREDIENTS:

6 TBS butter

5 TBS All-purpose Flour

1 white onion, chopped fine

1 red bell pepper, chopped fine

1 celery stalk, chopped fine

4 garlic cloves, diced

3 tsp cajun seasoning

1 lb of cleaned and peeled shrimp

Salt and pepper to taste

4 cups cooked white rice

Garnish: green onions, parsley and fresh squeezed lemon wedge

Serves 4

Melt Butter in a large saucepan over med heat. Add flour slowly while whisking making a smooth texture. Continuously whisk for 10 min or until it turns a beautiful caramel color. Next, add the (unofficial) holy trinity (fine chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery. We use red bell instead of a green bell because of sensitivity. Feel free to use green, yellow or orange.) Mix and cook for 10 min, stirring often. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 

Slowly add 3 cups of shrimp stock, whisking to incorporate.  Stir in cajun seasoning. 

Add cleaned and peeled shrimp and cook until shrimp is pink and cooked throughout and curled. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper to taste. 

Add 1 cup of rice to each bowl. Top with Etouffee and garnish with sliced green onion fresh parsley and a squeeze of a fresh lemon wedge. Enjoy with your favorite New Orleans beer like Andygator. Yum! 

Smoked Morada (Verde) Sauce

 

Well, I call this Morada Sauce for obvious reasons. It's like Verde Sauce but with purple Tomatillos and smoked. I also make a Blanco Sauce with our White Tomatillos. Whatever color you can get your hands on, this recipe will be super delicious!!! We had a wonderful Tomatillo season last summer so I made this sauce in batches and froze them in quart size bags for later use on all our Mexican dishes like Taco night, Enchiliadas, Quesadillas, Chalupas, Nachoes, Burritos, and Chips and Dip. There are so many uses for this amazing sauce. 

Smoke approx 6-8 cups tomatillos, 1-2 serranos, and 1/2 white onion on the smoker until a little charred. Remove and let cool. 

Place in blender with 1-2 serranos or more (depending how hot you want it 😨 and its ok to use jalapeno or poblano) one squeezed lime, handful of cilantro and your fav mexican spice blend. Or use 1/2 T cumin, 1/2 T chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/ tsp mexican oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Add a shot of tequila to make it even better, but that's optional. Blend until chuncky like salsa. Taste to adjust seasonings to your likings. Enjoy! 

Raspberry Chili Lime Frozen Margarita

 

Don't just celebrate National Margarita Day on National Margartia Day. Celebrate all the time!!! And have fun making different concotions! I just made this one up. Cheers!

Ingredients:

8 oz Tequila

1 oz Chamborg

12 oz can of frozen limeade

4 cups of ice

Add all ingredients to blender and puree. 

Garnish with Raspberry Chili Lime Salt, fresh lime wheel and raspberries.

Serves 4

Marsha's Favorite Banana Bread...mine too

 

"Good morning, Sunshine!" My dad would always say in his chiper happy morning-person voice as I zombie-walked through the kitchen. I was NOT a morning person so I either just gave him the death stare or with an ugly snarl I would mutter, "morning" as I imagined crawling back into my cave to hibernate forever. My dad was always the morning person and it seemed no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't change and he loved to poke the fire. Things haven't changed much in adulthood and my husband knows to avoid conversation. However, there are some things that make it a bit more tolerable like strong coffee and homemade Banana Bread!! Oh yum!! Mother to the rescue with the BEST Homemade Banana Bread I have ever eaten. Everything in the early morning still makes me grumpy, but devouring a slice of her Banana Bread with a strong cup of coffee makes it just a little bit better. 

My mother, Marsha, has a 1980's cookbook that she cherishes and inside is the Holy Grail of all Banana Bread Recipes. 

As I was looking it over I noticed an ingredient I didn't recognize. Oleo. "What the heck is that?" She explained it was a diet butter in the 80's kinda like margarine. It's rarely used today so we just substitute real butter back in, where it should be. 😉 Also, soda means baking soda! It's a good thing she told me that or I would be adding club soda or something! Ha! I'm obviously not a baker. 😆

Another secret we use...over ripe bananas!! Not rotten, but very ripe. 😀

Recipe credit goes to Ann Sellers of the Tuscaloosa Council! Thank you for sharing this recipe and for making my mornings just a bit brighter!

Beef Stew with Sweet Mash

 

Hello beautiful! I'm so glad you're here. Slurp. You bring so much warmth on this freaking, freezing day. It's you and me babe, all cuddled up with a blanket next to the fire. Let's not forget these super thick and soft winter socks. Thank you, slurp, for being my friend. I don't mind sharing my friend so try this stew and it will be your life-long winter friend too. 

In a dutch oven, heat 2 TBS of olive oil over med heat. Season the beef chuck roast with 3 tsp salt and 2 tsp of pepper on top, bottom and sides. Brown meat on top for 8 min, bottom for 8 min and sides for 6 min each. You may have to balance the meat on its side against the dutch oven. 

 Remove meat and set to the side to cool. 

Chop carrots and onions and add to the brown bits and oil in the dutch oven. Cook until soft.

Stir in garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme and cook for about 3 minutes. Next add beef stock, coffee, lager beer (I used Yuengling,) chocolate (this will not make it sweet,) steak sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce and Balsalmic Vinegar. Bring to a simmer. While this is heating cut cooled Chuck Roast into 1 inch cubes, removing fat and gristle as you go. The inside is still very rare.

Toss cubes with 2 TBS of all purpose flour and add to dutch oven. Add frozen vegetable mix. I picked up a mixed pack of roasted greenbeans, mushrooms, carrots, pearl onions, and red bell peppers and it was a wonderful addition!

While the stew cooks, peel the sweet potatoes, cut into chunks and boil in a pot for 10-15 minutes in water until tender. Drain and add back to pot. With a potato masher, mash sweet potatoes. Add 4 TBS butter,  Orange Rum Vanilla Turbinado,  Cinnamon and stir. To serve ladle stew in bowl. With an ice cream scoop, fill scoop with sweet potato mixture and gently place scoop in center of stew. Garnish with fresh rosemary and fresh ground pepper. Grab a beer, a blanket and pile up by the fire. Slurp until your heart's content. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs of beef chuck roast

2 TBS olive oil

3 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp black pepper

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 white onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 bay leaf

2 TBS fresh rosemary

2 TBS fresh thyme

1 cup beef stock

1/2 cup black coffee

2 lager beers

1 oz bittersweet chocolate

3 TBS Steak Sauce

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Balsalmic Vinegar

2 TBS All Purpose Flour 

10 oz frozen veg mix

4 med sweet potatoes

4 TBS butter 

1 tsp Orange Rum Vanilla Turbinado 

1/4 tsp cinnamon  

In a dutch oven, heat 2 TBS of olive oil over med heat. Season the beef chuck roast with 3 tsp salt and 2 tsp of pepper on top, bottom and sides. rown meat on top for 8 min, bottom for 8 min and sides for 6 min each. You may have to balance the meat on its side against the dutch oven. Remove meat and set to the side to cool. 

Chop carrots and onions and add to the brown bits and oil in the dutch oven. Cook until soft. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme and cook for about 3 minutes.

Next add beef stock, coffee, lager beer (I used Yuengling,) chocolate (this will not make it sweet,) steak sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce and Balsalmic Vinegar. Bring to a simmer. While this is heating cut cooled Chuck Roast into 1 inch cubes, removing fat and gristle as you go. The inside is still very rare. Toss cubes with 2 TBS of all purpose flour and add to dutch oven. Add frozen vegetable mix. I picked up a mixed pack of roasted greenbeans, mushrooms, carrots, pearl onions, and red bell peppers and it was a wonderful addition! Simmer for 30 min.

While the stew cooks, peel the sweet potatoes, cut into chunks and boil in a pot for 10-15 minutes in water until tender. Drain and add back to pot. With a potato masher, mash sweet potatoes. Add 4 TBS butter,  Orange Rum Vanilla Turbinado,  Cinnamon and stir. To serve ladle stew in bowl. With an ice cream scoop, fill scoop with sweet potato mixture and gently place scoop in center of stew. Garnish with fresh rosemary and fresh ground pepper. Grab a beer, a blanket and pile up by the fire. Slurp until your heart's content

Fried Shrimp Po' Boy

 

So simple, fast and delicious!! Po' Boys are one of our go-to's for quick nightly dinner. When we go to New Orleans we seek out the best reviewed Po'Boy's and they never disappoint!! To me, the bread is what makes it!! So if you have the time  to make your french Po' Boy bread, it will make your sandwich 5000 times better!! If not and you want something super fast, a good source bakery can solve that! 

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs of medium or large shrimp, peeled, cleaned and tails removed 

1 cup all purpose flour

4 TBS creole or cajun spice of choice

2 eggs

2 cups panko

1 cup mayo

1 tomato, sliced

1/2 purple onion, sliced in rings

4 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded

4  six inch french po'boy bread loaves

Garnish- salt and fresh ground pepper, fresh squeezed lemon juice and Louisiana Hot Sauce

Heat peanut oil to 350 degrees. Prepare shrimp and set to side. Line 3 bowls on your counter. In the first bowl add flour and creole/cajun seasoning. Mix. In second bowl, crack 2 eggs and scramble, in third bowl add panko. With tongs add shrimp to first bowl and coat with flour mixture. One shrimp at a time, dip in egg to coat and then into the third bowl of panko. Work in batches about 10 at a time and fry until golden brown. Place on draining rack. 

Time to assemble!! Slather mayo on both sides of bread. Add shredded lettuce, onion rings and tomato slices. Sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Load with fried shrimp. Squeeze with fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with hot pepper sauce to taste. Devour!