Salmon With Yellow Rice

Quick and easy salmon dish!

I went to the North Carolina Ale House this past Saturday with my son.  We had a wonderful conversation about his latest mission trip; just a total blessing all the way around!  And then, we ordered.

I decided to try salmon, at a sports bar of all places, and I was pleasantly surprised!  It was a great dish that really hit the spot.  So, no great surprise to those that know and follow me here, I tried to duplicate the meal as best I could; with a few changes, of course.

First of all you need a couple of good fresh slabs of salmon.  I laid each on top of a nice salty slab of Amish butter, put a little salt and pepper on top, and set the baking sheet aside.

I opened a box of Zatarain's New Orleans Style Yellow Rice and cooked it as directed.  I opened a small can of peas with carrots and started them to boil at the same time. 

I then cut up a piece of onion and a hunk of red pepper and sauteed them in coconut oil.  When the rice was finished I dumped in the onion, pepper, and peas and mixed thoroughly.

Meanwhile I had the salmon baking in the oven at 350.  I took it out after about 18 minutes; just to check it, and put it back in for another 5 minutes under the broiler (550).

I plated the rice mixture and put a piece of salmon on the side.

It was really good, and I had fixed the meal in about 30 minutes total.  My wife was really pleased with me too! 

QUICK CHICKEN SOUP

Life is pretty easy around the old homestead these days.  We're retired...just watching grandchildren grow up!  So, we don't put a lot of effort into big meals anymore, except for special occasions.

That's what brought about this quick-n-easy chicken soup.

Okay, so the photo isn't up to my usual standards!

Judy was tired of everything, so soup was the only thing she thought she could stomach last week.  She found some canned chicken chunks, a can of mixed vegetables, a can of hominy, some kidney beans, an onion, and a big container of chicken broth.  That's about it...except for some additional seasoning to taste!

Throw it all together in a big deep pan and let'er simmer for a couple of hours. 

Serve it with your favorite cracker, or like we did, some tasty cornbread!  Yummy!

It's no fuss, one pan, and lots of comfort food!

A TAKE ON YATSOBI!

Yep, Yatosbi, Yakisobi, or some call it Yakasobi!  What ever!

We didn't know it was called either until I wanted to make sure of the ingredients on the Internet and discovered the recipe.

Well, ours came out of a local Baptist church recipe book, and it was simply called "Beef and Cabbage"!

Yatosbi has a couple more ingredients that didn't make it into ours, and, I'm tellin' you, it's still delicious.  Don't sound delicious at first glance, but, try it, you'll like it, and want more!

Here's the traditional Yatosbi dish ingredients that we left out:

6 slices bacon, cooked and torn into bite size pieces (reserve 2 tbls bacon fat)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cup)
2-4 tablespoons light soy sauce
light soy sauce, to taste
crushed red pepper flakes (about 1/2 to 1 tsp) (optional)

It sounds good too, so you might won't to try it, especially since it has BACON...I probably will soon!

However, here's one I found on the net similar to ours, AFTER having made it from the church recipe:

Beef & Cabbage

1 lb ground beef

1 head shredded cabbage*

2 packages ramen noodles, beef flavor=crushed

3 shredded carrots

4 c. water

Brown beef and drain grease. Add remaining ingredients, including seasoning packets from soup. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Season to taste. *I {original net recipe maker} used 1/2 head. You can also use slaw mix, rather than shredding the cabbage yourself.

Leave the lid off a few minutes for excess liquid to evaporate.

Judy did it exactly like that, except she did add on chopped onion, and I think it made a difference!

The picture does nothing to make you want to try it, but the taste is wonderful!  

So, it's a another quick meal that even I could have made, and it does satisfy the palate!

MESSING WITH "FLAVOR BOOST"

My wife was feeling poorly this afternoon, and we know now that she probably has strep throat!  Anyway, someone had to cook, and it was obviously going to be me!

We usually keep frozen chicken tenderloins in the freezer, so the protein was a given.  We had also been snacking on carrot, squash, and turnip slices for the last week, so the vegetables were also chosen for me!

I fried the chicken in olive oil, letting one side heat up and then flipping it so the thawed and oiled side would hold the  sprinkles of cayenne pepper, sea-salt, and black pepper seasonings.  I then rolled each over and season the opposite side and continue frying.

When the chicken is tender enough to break into bite size pieces using the spatula, pour in the vegetables you've already chopped into stripes and pieces, and add a teaspoon of minced garlic.

When the vegetables are done to your liking (I like mine crisp) add in the Swanson's Chicken Flavor Boost.  I only used one for this recipe, but I may add two the next time.

The Flavor Boost packets are a great way to quickly add flavor to a dish where a lot of liquid is not needed.  It's basically chicken bullion with special seasons, so it works perfectly when you're in a hurry.

If you wanted, you could add a side of rice, but we enjoyed it just right out of the skillet with a cold glass of milk!

See ya next time!

MOM’S COUNTRY SUPPER

Judy and I ate supper with my little momma this afternoon. It was her standard meal, one which I ate many times over the years I’ve been blessed with her. It was a great meal that always filled me up and yet left me wanting to push in just one more bite of everything.

Judy loves mom’s pinto beans, or as she says it “beantos!” Another thing Judy likes with her “beantos” is chocolate cake! Yes, it is good, I’ve been forced to try it, but it was not something I have to have, but to her it is the dessert taste she craves. So tonight, after waiting for the beans to cook all day, she gave in to the “chocolate force” and enjoyed herself.

There is nothing better than a good tender beef roast, with carrots, potatoes, and onions all cooked up in the same beef juices! Yes, there is something green, kind of, it’s in the slaw, and man does the juice from the slaw make cornbread taste even better.

I have been cutting back on my eating for the past two weeks, so tonight I splurged and loaded my plate. When it was all over, I had a hard time deciding between one more bite of the hominy, the beans, the slaw, or the cornbread…so, I ate a little more of each!

Thanks mom for the great meal and love and warmth I’m feeling inside right now.