Spicy orange Salmon with Avocado rolls

The other day I was in the mood for something fresh.
I was so tired of my good old fashioned home cooked comfort food *gasp!*
Soooo I changed it up a bit.
Chipotle orange salmon and Avocado spring rolls.
Let me tell you, this was absolutely deeeeeeeelicious!
The salmon was spicy, yet sweet and tangy.
The rolls were crunchy on the outside and creamy and smooth on the inside.
Perfect fix for my comfort food rut.
I got the general idea this dinner from Good Housingkeeping, and Life Ann Style. Though I did add, take away, and just changed some things about the recipes.

What you'll need:
3 Salmon filet
2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 tsp red chili paste
2 tsp adobo sauce
3 cloves garlic, peeled (I like garlic, can you tell?)
1/2 cup orange juice


4 avocados
1/2 a red onion
Some jar sundried tomatoes
Cilantro paste
4 pieces of bacon
Spring roll pastries (These are hard to find, But kroger has them in the produce/health food section)

NOW lets start cooking 
Line a deep basin cookie sheet with tin foil, this makes for easy clean up!
And throw your salmon on that
Now preheat the oven to broil, we want it HOT
In a food processor or blender squish up the Chipolte chilies, garlic, adobo sauce, chili paste, and orange juice. Spicy yet sweet!
Cover your salmon in the chili paste
Broil for 5-10 min on the middle rack of the oven.

Now for the Spring rolls

Cut your avocados into chunks, chop up your onions, and tear your bacon.
Mix them all together with your cilantro paste and sun dried tomatoes.
Now, take that mixture and put about a spoon full on a corner of a spring roll pastry
Roll about 1/2 way, then fold in the sides making it stick by using a bit of water on your finger tip
Then finish rolling, again using water to make it stick.
Repeat till all your avocado mixture is gone.
Heat up some veggie oil in a fry pan and drop your spring rolls in it, once the pastry is golden brown they are done.

Yummy yummy yummy.
So fresh, so tasty, soooooooo good.

If you made to many avocado rolls, they freeze really well, and when you want some pop them in the microwave frozen and cook for 2 min (on a 1100 watt microwave)


When you are in the mood for something fresh what do you cook?

Easiest fricken biscuits EVER!

Biscuits, ah I love me some biscuits. Seriously, they are great for breakfast through dinner. Smother it with sausage gravy, sandwich some meat inside it, spread some honey on it, or use it to soak up your soup. Mmmm biscuits. Now I want some damn biscuits.
ANYWAYS. These biscuits are hearty, flaky, fluffy, soft, tasty, but most importantly they are EASY. Oh so easy to make. Seriously I don't think you could mess this one up.

Things you'll need
2 cups of self rising flour
1/4th cup shortening (or 3ish large scoops)
2/3 cup of milk


NOW, Lets start cookin'!
Preheat your oven to 350*

Fold your shortening into the flour, which is a fancy way of saying squish the shortening with a fork till it is mixed well with flour.

Next, add the milk, one splash at a time, also don't mix it to much or it will make the biscuits hard.
Now you can stop here and make drop biscuits, just drop balls of dough on a cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes.
or

To make folded biscuits, drop a bit on a floured surface and press them flat with your hands well floured.
Fold then press flat, fold again then press flat, fold again and press flat, fold again and press flat. keep doing that then put them on a cookie sheet and bake for 7 min.


And there you have it, easy to make biscuits!
Enjoy!


How do you like your biscuits?

Chicken potpie and peach crisp

I am seriously addicted to comfort food.
There is just something to home cooked thick flavorful food that makes me think of "home"
Even if my moms idea of chicken pot pie is the kind you buy frozen and microwave.

So here is a recipe of chicken pot pie made mainly with canned food, but you can substitute fresh or frozen. It was silent in my house while we were eating this, I also got told it was the best thing I've come up with yet!

What you'll need 
filling
1 can of cut carrots (drain)
1 can of sweet peas (drain)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of cream of celery
2 large cans of chicken breast (drain)


crust
1 and 1/2 cup of milk
1 stick of butter
1 and 1/2 cup of  self rising flour


Make it
Preheat oven to 350*F
Fold butter into flour in a mixing bowl.
Add milk mix till it has an even consistency. 
Mix all the cans into a large casserole dish 
Pour the crust dough on top.
cook for 60 min, check to make sure dough is done all the way through.

 Eat and enjoy!



And as a special bonus dessert!
Peach crisp.


What you'll need
a few peaches
2 cups of oatmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 stick of butter


Start cooking
Preheat oven to 350*F
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl well.
put the butter in and smush with finger till all butter is mixed really well with dry ingredients
Slice peaches and put in a casserole dish
Top with oatmeal mixture
bake for 45min

  Very good. Crispy on top and smushy on bottom and sweet all the way through!

Are comfort foods your favorite?
How do you make crisps?
Let me know what you think!

Mushroom Marsala with pork and Asparagus

Mushroom Marsala cream sauce
Seasoned and fried pork
Crisp steamed asparagus

I love pork, huge obsession with it. Anyway you can cook up pig I will eat it (including scrapple, and jowl. Though I haven't tried feet, snout, or tongue Id probably still eat it)
And mushrooms mmmm Raw or cooked I LOVE eating some fungus!

Anyways lets cook!

What you'll need
1lb of Pork tenders
1/2 cup oil
seasoning

2lbs asparagus
1 tbsp butter

1lb of mushrooms
1/4 cup of butter
1 cup Marsala wine
2/3 cup heavy cream



Fried pork.
I started by butterflying my pork tenders so they are thinner and easier to fry.
I seasoned them a little bit, some salt, pepper, and garlic
Heat up some oil in a fry pan, about 1/2 the height of your tallest piece of pork.
Let is get hot and gently drop your pork into the pan.
Let it sizzle for about 5 min, then flip and continue to cook.
When the meat has turned whitish gray all the way through its done.

Asparagus
I like my veggies steamed, it keeps all the yummy goodness in the veggie instead of it floating in the water.
So stick a pot of water under a metal colander or steamer.
Simmer it on low, to high and you'll cook all the flavor out of the asparagus
Depending on how soft you like your veggies is how long you cook them.
I like them crispy so I cooked them for about 15 min.

Next up, Mushrooms in a Marsala cream sauce

Saute your mushrooms in butter until they are good and soft.

Next add your Marsala wine
Let it simmer until about half is cooked out
add about 2/3 a cup of heavy cream stir and let simmer for about 2 min.

cup of wine for the mushrooms, sip of wine for the cook.

 Combine it all together over rice and you have a really tasty creamy, meal with a little bite from the wine!

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Meatloaf green bean casserole

 Home cooked favorites.
Green bean casserole  and meatloaf, put them together and you get comfort food at its finest!
Mmmmmm!
Feeds about 5

 

Things you'll need

French fried onions

1 small sweet yellow onion 

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 cup (or so) flour

some veggie oil

Seasoning of your choice

Casserole

3 peices of bread

1 lb of beef

2 eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 can of beans

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

2/3 cup milk

Seasonings of your choice My suggestions garlic, black pepper, and salt

Start: French fried onions
Mix Egg and milk in bowl, and flour into separate bowl
Cut onion into thin slices and mix with egg/milk
Dust with flour then let them sit for about 15 min while your oil heats up
You do this so the flour wont flake off as soon as it hits the oil - Tip to check if your oil is hot, put a little tiny bit of water on your finger tips and flick it into the oil, if it pops your good, if it sizzles too hot, if it does nothing not hot enough.
Let fry till flour is a nice golden brown.

 Casserole start
Preheat oven to 375
Put your bread on the bottom of a casserole dish. This soaks up all the fat from your meat so it doesn't make your beans taste weird.

 

 Mix meat, bread crumbs, eggs and seasonings together well.

This is really fun to do with your hands. Oooh squishy

Spread evenly over the bread.

 

 In sauce pan mix green beans (drained), cream of mushroom soup, and milk till soup is an even consistency.
Pour this green bean cream of mushroom mixture on top of the meat.

Top with your fried onions.

Cover it with tin foil and bake for 40 min

Eat and enjoy!

I forgot to take a picture until after I ate it. mmmm yummy

Let me know what you think!
Also, what are some of your favorite comfort foods?

Delicious Monkey Bread Fail

Delicious Monkey Bread Fail

Or

Caramel shortcake

 What you'll need
1 Can of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cup of self rising flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 (about) cup of milk
2 eggs
1 stick of butter melted
1/2 (or so) cup of brown sugar

 Start by putting the sweetened condensed milk in a double boiler (which is a pan of boiling water under a pan filled with the milk)   This takes about an hour to caramelize so do this first. Also Preheat over to 350*

 Next mix the melted butter with the sugar
Add in one egg at a time while beating
Sift in flour 1 tbsp or so at a time
Add the milk and mix really well, dough will be really sticky

Fix a plate with brown sugar and flour up your hands
You will then pinch off balls of dough and drop it in the brown sugar. You may need to flour your hands over and over again so the dough doesn't stick to your fingers
Roll it around the sugar till it is fully covered

Plop the sugar coated balls into a non stick spray coated pan (you could also use butter or shortening)

 By now your caramel should be ready, pour it all over the top of the cake balls

Now throw it in the oven at 350* for about 35 min. Test to see if its done by sticking a toothpick in, if the toothpick comes out clean then its done!

Mmmm Hot gooey caramel goodness.
So it didn't really come out like monkey bread, but it had brown sugar swirls through out and had hard caramel goodness on top, and some soft caramel inside.
Really good.

Let me know if you tried this and how it turned out for you!