salmon patties

This is still the week that we are leaving for Hilton Head, making it still the week where I'm trying to not buy groceries.

This time I decided to finally use a couple of the cans of salmon I've had in the pantry for awhile.  While I love fresh salmon, canned salmon is Quite different and harder to use, but still a great source of those wonderful omega-3's.  Turning it into salmon patties or salmon salad is about the best thing I can think of doing with it - any other suggestions?  

salmon burgers with rice pilaf & basil yogurt sauce

Salmon burgers

2 6 oz. cans salmon

1/3 c. finely chopped red onion

1 egg

1/4 c. chopped fresh basil or 1 T basil pesto *

2 T plain nonfat yogurt

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp paprika

zest from 1 lemon

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients and form 4 patties with your hands.  Cook in canola oil in a pre-heated skillet for 3-5 minutes on each side or until browned and cooked through.  Place cooked patties on paper towel to soak up extra oil.  Serve with diced fresh tomatoes and yogurt sauce (recipe below).

Rice pilaf

1 c. rice pilaf (or quinoa, farro, couscous, brown rice)

1 medium zucchini, chopped into small pieces

3 c. fresh spinach 

2 cloves garlic minced

white wine

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook rice or other grain according to package instructions.  While rice cooks saute zucchini and garlic in a little olive oil with salt & pepper 3-5 minutes on medium high heat until just a little tender, letting the zucchini brown a little while cooking (this is accomplished by not stirring very often).  De-glaze the pan with 1/2 c. dry white wine (I used Chardonnay) to soak up all the browned zucchini bits.  Add spinach and cook until spinach wilts.  Turn off heat and set aside.  Add to rice once it is done cooking.

Yogurt basil sauce

1 8 oz. container plain nonfat yogurt (used same container for yogurt in salmon patties)

1 T basil pesto *

1 T olive oil

2 T lemon juice 

1/4 - 1/2 tsp sugar

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients.  You might need to add a little more oil or water if you use greek yogurt and the sauce is too thick - it should pour easily.

* hint:  As a substitute for fresh basil or pesto, I like to buy the tubes of fresh basil you can find in the produce section.  The brand I currently have is Gourmet Garden.  If the recipe calls for 1 T pesto, I would use 1 T of basil from the tube.  When basil isn't in season, you can get more for your $ by purchasing the tubes and it lasts longer.  

whatever is in the pantry

Our little family is leaving for a vacation in Hilton Head this Friday (which we are anticipating with much excitement!), so I have been trying to buy as few of groceries as possible this week and emptying out the fridge, pantry and freezer.  Although this limits my options greatly, I find it a very fun challenge to see what I can create without going to the grocery store.

What I often end up making in these situations is soup!  It's so flexible and the combinations of spices, veggies, beans, grains, etc. you can use are endless.  Plus, it lasts for several meals, making life that much easier.  

I ended up really enjoying the combination I made below and ate mine with vinegar and hot sauce... hum, that probably doesn't sound appealing to very many people - maybe just my family as we grew up putting vinegar and hot sauce on ham and bean soup.  It does kind of sound odd as I write that, but I promise it's tasty!

lentil, white bean & broccoli soup

Ingredients:

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

4 small or 3 large carrots peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp italian seasoning

freshly ground black pepper

1/3 c. farro (or barley)

4 c. chicken broth

1 c. red lentils

2 c. frozen broccoli

1 can white beans undrained

Instructions:

Combine the first 3 ingredients with 1 T. olive oil, bay leaves, and seasonings.  Saute on medium heat 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add farro and cook another 3 minutes.  Add the lentils and 3 c. chicken broth.  Cover and bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes, or until the lentils and farro are almost completely cooked, adding more broth if needed.  Add broccoli and simmer until broccoli is heated through.  Add white beans and remaining broth until desired consistency.  If soup is still too thick, add some water.

disclaimer:  I do not measure seasonings when I cook and I need to start doing so if I am going to be posting recipes!  I add a little of this, little of that until I like the taste.  Always season your food as you like - you may want more or less than what I use in my recipes.

leftovers

Some people don't care for leftovers... I like them.  They are easy to eat for lunch, they get more flavorful, and I like the challenge of creating something new with leftovers to use them up. 

This leftover story started with salmon, a side of chickpeas & kale, and a side of rice pilaf (a great item I found at costco that has lentils and all sorts of yummy things in it) as the original dinner.  The leftovers were kale & chickpeas and rice pilaf.  The new dish created was a tomato, eggplant, rice mixture I found quite delicious.  It was pretty heavy on the eggplant, so you must be a fan of eggplant to like this one (Chad is not so I ate it all :)).  The moral of the story is that it is very easy to turn a couple leftover items into a fun, new dish!

Eggplant with tomatoes, rice, and chickpeas

Ingredients:

(this is a very flexible dish, so the amount of all the veggies can be adjusted!):

2 small or 1 medium/large eggplant cubed

2 cloves garlic

1 onion chopped

1/2 tsp cumin *

1/2 tsp corriander *

1/2 tsp paprika *

1 c. marinara

1 c. chickpeas with sauted kale

1 - 1 1/2 c. cooked rice pilaf

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Instructions:

Saute eggplant with garlic and onions in olive oil with salt & pepper and other seasonings for a few minutes until just slightly tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until eggplant is desired tenderness.  Add hot sauce if you like things spicey.  Garnish with cilantro.

* approximates - might want to use a little less at first and add more until you like the taste, or you might end up wanting more than 1/2 tsp of each seasoning



nutella frozen yogurt

Yogurt.  I know it's good for me and I do like it, but for some reason it's hard for me to just eat a container of it, especially if it's the kind that's really good for me... greek yogurt with less sugar than some kinds.  I have to mix it with Lots of fruit and granola so I can hardly taste the yogurt. 

My favorite way to eat yogurt:  in the frozen dessert form.  :)  

I have an ice-cream machine that I'm always thinking I need to use more.  We had one of Chad's friends over for dinner the other night and I finally made some homemade frozen yogurt!  I loved it and I think the guys enjoyed it?  (Beckham really likes it at least!)

I made some more today, slightly different ingredients, but still delicious.  And that's the thing I love about making it - you can use any kind of fruit, yogurt, or flavors you want... the options are endless.  I think I'm going to try peanut butter next.  

banana nutella frozen yogurt

Ingredients:

1/2 banana *

1/2 - 3/4 c. applesauce (I used homemade unsweetened)

1 container peach greek yogurt

1/2 c. plain greek yogurt

generous spoonful of nutella (probably about a 1/4 cup)

2 T cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Blend all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Pour into ice-cream machine and let it do its magic!  This recipe made about 2 cups frozen yogurt.  

Note: it's best right after it's made.  It does get really hard after stored in the freezer, so you just have to take it out to thaw a little before you want to eat it!

As usual, the above amounts are estimates, so adjust as you like it!  I also tried to use ingredients that are already a little sweet so I didn't have to add extra sugar.  I like mine not overly sweet, so if you like it sweeter you might need to add something else to sweeten it up (honey or agave nectar would work well).

* the banana flavor was pretty prominent, so if you don't like banana definitely leave it out.  I made it the first time without banana and like both ways... maybe without banana a little better.