Salmon with Gnocchi foil packet

 This is one of the fancy looking foil packets dinners which comes together super fast and taste great and clean is minimal if any.

Salmon with Gnocchi foil packet (salmon and gnocchi baked in a foil with other vegetables)

Salmon and gnocchi foil packet dinner

Ingredients 

1. Shelf stable gnocchi packet
2. 4 salmon fillets (I had salmon with skin on, you can use the skinless salmon fillets also)
3. Cherry tomatoes cut in half breadthwise divided
4. Asparagus7-8 per packet, trimmed
5. 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice divided 
6. 1-1.5 teaspoons salt, lemon pepper divided

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.

Dab the salmon dry and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay this side down in the middle of a silver foil.  Add gnocchi, tomatoes and asparagus to the sides of the salmon. Sprinkle with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper. Close the foils tightly like a packet. No air vents.

Put all the packets on a baking tray and bake for 25

Minutes. Carefully open the packets ( be careful of the steam). Fold the foil down wards. Broil the salmon and gnocchi for 5 minutes.

Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime

Note: make the packets directly on a baking sheet so that the chance of them getting ripped is nil

Creamy chicken pasta

 This recipe would be great with the Fettuccine but yesterday I realized I barely ever get Fettuccine. I had different varieties of Veggie Pasta (...the reason all moms get it...sneak some veggies into your family's meal). Anyway, the dinner was great.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

1. 10 Oz Fettuccine or spaghetti cooked to package directions
2. 7 oz Canned chicken breast or substitute left over cooked chicken and 1/2 cup chicken stock
3. 1/2 cup heavy cream
4. 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
5. 2 big or 4 small cloves of garlic minced
6. 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes
9. More cheese for sprinkling.
10. 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
11. 1 zucchini or yellow squash cubed
12. 1 cup fresh baby spinach and 1/2 cup peas (optional)

While the paste is boiling in a well seasoned water,  In a pan heat the oil and fry the vegetables for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 1 more minute. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Add chicken stock and cream and cheese and stir to combine. Add the boiled paste and seasoning and pepper and mix well. Give it a taste test and add salt sparingly. If the dish seems watery cook for 1 minute more. The paste will absorb the liquid and turn more yummy.

Serve topped with pepper flakes and more cheese.

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Chicken with Celery and Almonds

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts  cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2. 2 tablespoons corn starch
3. 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced diagonally
4. 1/2 medium white onion sliced
5. 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, white vinegar
6. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, grated garlic
7. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8. 1/2 teaspoon numbing peppers (optional)
9. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10. 1/4 cup roasted salted almonds (optional)
11. 3 scallions, thinly sliced white and green, separated

Marinade the chicken with salt, pepper, corn starch and ginger for atleast 30 minu.tes
Mix the soy sauce and white vinegar in a medium bowl, set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet. Add the chicken and fry for 8-10 minutes until done. Drain and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, the celery and onions. Fry for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot and add the soysauce and vinegar and mix well.
Give it a taste taste and adjust the salt and add the almonds and scallions and serve immediately. Enjoy

Crab Fried Rice

Fried rice is a super hit dish at my house.  The one I usually make is Easy fried rice or Fried rice with ground meat.

This recipe from thewoksoflife is pretty unique and I think I am going to add this to my favorites' list.

Crab Fried Rice

Crab Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 tablespoons oil
2. 1 tablespoon each of grated ginger, minced garlic
3. 2 cups white rice cooked
4. 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas thawed
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, white pepper
6. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
7. 2 eggs (beaten)
8. 1 cup cooked lump crab meat 
9. 2 scallions chopped
10. Cilantro chopped

Heat the cooking oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the ginger and fry stirring for 30 seconds. Then add the garlic. Add the peas and stir well. Add the cooked rice, stir fry the rice for 3 minutes. Now add the white pepper and soy sauce, to the rice.  Add salt to taste. Stir to combine all together.

Using your spatula, spread the rice out into an even layer. Pour the beaten egg evenly over the rice. Stir the rice until all of the egg is cooked and incorporated.

Before adding the crab, use your spatula to once more spread the rice evenly. Add the crab to the rice and stir thoroughly. When the crab is warmed through, add the scallion and cilantro and stir well. Enjoy with Roasted Cauliflower

Mughlai paneer pockets

These are similar to paneer paratha or my version Palak paneer paratha but the stuffing is different and the way its made is different. This is easy to eat on the go. Usually Indian food is not very portable, but these are super portable and delicious for kids school lunch

Makes 4 to 6

Mughlai Paneer Pockets (Cottage cheese stuffed wheat pockets)

Mughlai Paneer Pockets

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups wheat flour

Ingredients for filling/stuffing:

1. 1-1.5 cups grated paneer
2. 1 medium carrot grated
3. 1/2 cups chopped capsicum/bell pepper
4. 1 tablespoon chopped cashew nuts (optional)
5. 1/4 cup green peas
6. 1/4 cup chopped onions
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur powder
8. 1 tablespoon oil
9. 1 green chilli finely chopped
10. 1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste / finely chopped garlic
11. Ghee/ butter for frying the pockets

In a pan heat the oil and add the onions and carrots to it and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add cashews and bell pepper and add all the spices and mix well. Let cook for 5 minutes. Add peas and paneer and mix well and cook for 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro, cut the flame and mix again. Set aside to cool

Mix the flour with water and form dough and set aside covered for 15-20 minutes.

Divide into 6 parts.

Roll the dough into 8 inch. Add 2 tablespoons stuffing into the center and fold the edges onto the stuffing, making a pocket.

In a pan heat 1 teaspoon butter and on medium low flame add the pocket to the pan. Cover and let fry for 2 minutes. Flip and fry covered for 2 more minutes. Cut the pocket into 2 triangles and serve with ketchup

Szechuan Salmon

It was a team lunch and supposedly one of my manager's favorite spots for lunch. I have not eaten any Chinese food anything remotely similar to this. Specifically this was a Szechuan Cuisine and they had the Szechuan numbing peppers in most of the dishes we orders. Yummmm instant love. This Szechuan pepper corn have the tangy taste in the beginning that is very reminiscent of the tingly tangy taste you get when you eat a baby mango. I was instantly transported to my childhood house with the Mango tree and all those summer afternoons when I would get onto the tree and get a raw mango and bite into it.

I had to have those Szechuan pepper corns and I got them and I did not want to make chicken. I made Salmon . And yum yum. Loved them all the way.

Szechuan Salmon

Szechuan pepper corn salmon

Salmon fillet dinner

Ingredients:

1. 4 salmon fillets
2. 1 teaspoon oil
3. 1 teaspoon each of Szechuan peppercorn, garlic powder, coriander powder, 
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of red pepper flakes, salt
5. Oil for frying the salmon

Pound the Szechuan pepper corn to break them. Mix all the spices in a bowl along with the oil. Apply the spice mix to the fish fillets and let them rest for 15 minutes. Heat a griddle and add some oil to it and fry the fish fillets on medium low heat 5 minutes on each side. 

I served them with orzo pasta, Steamed broccoli and Corn asparagus, bell pepper stir fry

Tamale Pie

Tamales' are great if made well. And Los Angeles has some of the best Tamale makers outside Mexico.

It is very hard work to make Tamale and you need to have banana leaves and many other things. So I made the next best thing...Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie (Meat with corn bread crust)

Tamale Pie

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground beef
2. 1/2 cup each of finely chopped onions, canned drained black beans, thawed or canned corn, bell pepper (your fav color...I used orange), Mexican three cheese blend, salsa (whatever level heat you can handle...I used hot)
3. 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
4. 1/4 cup each of (green beans cut into 1/2 cm pieces), zucchini, carrot (These are all optional)
5. 1 teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder, oregano
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, paprika
7. 1 box jiffy corn muffin mix mixed as the directions on the box

Heat a pan and cook the ground meat with all the spices for 5-6 minutes. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 1 minute. Add all the vegetables EXCEPT CORN if using and fry for 5 minutes. Add salsa and mix well and cut the heat.

Mix the corn muffin mix with cheese and corn .

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

(9 inch pie pan was a bit small for me...so 11 inch circular pan or 11x9 or a 9x9 pan will be just right.

Add the meat mixture and top if off with the corn muffin mix and bake for 20-25 minutes and enjoy