Make do meals & recipes

by on in Cooking & Baking

If you are my friend on facebook you have probably already seen the meals I have been cooking this last week.  For those of you that haven’t… it all started because my T-mobile MyTouch 3G Slide makes it so easy for me to take a picture and within seconds literally have it posted to my facebook page.  Well, I started taking pictures of our dinner with the hopes of inspiring some of my lazy and uninspired friends.  Everyone is always so surprised when they see I cook dinner every day.  Yes, I chase my hyper baby boy around all day.  Yes, I have two jobs. Yes, I have plenty of other things to do… but cooking doesn’t have to take as much time as people think! And we all know there is nothing better than a home cooked meal!  Some of my friends are shocked when I tell them we only eat out once every few months.  There is just no need for it.  It’s a waste of money in my eyes.  Or as my husband likes to say, “I don’t like to eat out because I get better food at home.” ::smile::

So, I’ve decided to add my make-do meals and recipes to my blog postings because I hope it will inspire some of you, too!  Maybe I will introduce you to an ingredient you’ve never heard of, or tell you about my way of cooking something, etc.  I call them “make-do meals” because I don’t sit there and read a recipe book or search for them online.  I literally will open the fridge, freezer, and pantry and decide what I am going to throw together right then and there.  These are not Michelin restaurant recipes but they are quick, easy, yummy, and healthy (for the most part).

So here is what we ate for dinner tonight:

  Blackened salmon with quinoa stuffed tomatoes
(I added a dollop of greek yogurt to cool the spiciness of the salmon)
Don’t ask me how I come up with this stuff.. I just do!
 
Salmon:
-season both sides of fillets with blackened seasoning (or whatever else you want)
-place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the fish flakes off with a fork.
Quinoa stuffed tomatoes:
– Cook quinoa just like you would rice (2 parts water to 1 part quinoa). I used 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water.
– In a medium saucepan put water, quinoa, a pinch of salt, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, 2 sliced cloves of garlic, and half of an onion chopped.
-Bring to a boil, and when the water level is almost all evaporated cover the saucepan and lower the heat to Low.
-While that cooks, cut the tops off your tomatoes and I also cut a really teeny tiny pit off the bottom to make them sit up by themselves.
– With a spoon or melon baller scoop out the inside and the seeds of the tomatoes making sure not to rip or break the tomato.
– Now, check on the quinoa.  It is usually done within 15-20 minutes.  Fluff it up with a fork.
-In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of quinoa, 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs, 1/3 of a cup of cheese (I used shredded mozzarella).  At this point you can add any other yummy flavors or seasonings you want.  I added some Sriracha hot sauce  because we love a little zing in our food.
-Take your quinoa mixture and a spoon and stuff the tomatoes all the way to the top and let it over flow a little bit so the tops can brown nicely in the oven.
– Place your stuffed tomatoes in a small roasting pan, drizzle with extra virign olive oil and pop in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes (longer would be even yummier).  I like to put my tomatoes under the broiler for a minute or two at the end to crisp up the tops.
That’s it!  That wasn’t too bad, was it?  If you have never had or heard of quinoa do some research on it.  It doesn’t taste like anything and its super healthy.  Even Dr.Oz calls it a super food!
Buen provecho! :o)

One reply on “Make do meals & recipes“

  • Vanessa

    Thanks for the great recipe! I’ll have to try it out, it looks delicious! We are so alike in many ways! I believe the same thing about cooking everyday for family. My mom passed that down to me, but “eating out” is the new thing lately. Where are the women who cook? It’s nice to see they haven’t totally disappeared!!

    Reply

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