Watson House Wednesday, #12: Sesame Salmon

Has it really been two and a half YEARS since I updated this site?  Crazy to think that all of that time has flown by so quickly!  For now, I can't say for sure that I'll be going back to a weekly post on this, but definitely much more frequently than that!

Recently, our family has been discussing ways to eat more healthy meals at home.  We find that when we go out to eat, the affordable options (that the kids will still eat) tend to be pretty unhealthy, loaded with fat and carbs.  One of the options that came up was the idea of eating fish more often.  Not only is it tasty, but also pretty quick to prepare.  I got a large pack of salmon on sale, and wanted to try preparing it in different ways.  One night, I wanted to try a Teriyaki marinade, but then realized I didn't have any Teriyaki sauce on hand, so I had to improvise.  I mixed up my own marinade, and it turned out to be a hit, so I wanted to share it! 

The first time through, I just mixed ingredients until it tasted about right, but the second time through, I remembered to record the amounts of the ingredients that I used.  The orange juice was a new addition the second time, but I think it really added a lot to it!  I combined soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sweet and sour sauce, black vinegar, orange juice, garlic and ginger.  I get black vinegar at my local Asian grocery store, but if you can't find it locally, balsamic or rice vinegar would probably work well here.  I placed the salmon fillets (skin on) in a dish, and poured the sauce over them, making sure all surfaces were coated, then put the cover on, and put it in the refrigerator to marinade.    

Once the fillets had marinated about 20 minutes, I heated the oven to 450 degrees, removed the salmon from the marinade, and placed it skin-side down in a baking pan lined with parchment paper (oven safe).  (After trying it, I would skip the parchment next time, even though the skin sticks to the pan.  The skin crisps up, and slides off easily from the fish.) Then I brushed the fish with toasted sesame oil, and sprinkled with sesame seeds, before placing into the oven.  I love using toasted sesame oil, because of the rich, nutty flavor that it adds to foods.  A little goes a long way, so this is a flavorful way to keep the fish moist during baking, without adding too much fat.  For a spicy kick to this recipe, you could also brush the salmon with a few drops of your favorite hot sauce, or a pinch of red pepper flakes before the sesame seeds!  

Ye old red-and-white cookbook (the Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book*) says to bake the fish at 450 degrees for 4 to 6 minutes, per half inch thickness, so these fillets went in for about 10 to 12 minutes, until it flaked easily with a fork. You will want to adjust your cooking time to the thickness of the fillets that you have.  

I've made this a few times now, and it's been well-received by my family.  And if you make the sauce ahead of time, it makes an easy mid-week dinner with your favorite steamed veggies or rice dish!  

Sesame Salmon

1 large salmon fillet (skin on)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sweet and sour sauce

1/8 cup black vinegar (can substitute balsamic or rice vinegar)

1/8 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon Hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

a few drops of hot chili sauce OR a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Cut salmon into portions, rinse, and pat dry.  Mix together soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, black vinegar, orange juice, Hoisin sauce, garlic and ginger.  Place salmon in a dish or bowl, then pour the sauce mixture over it, making sure all surfaces of the fillets get coated with this marinade.  If there is more marinade than needed, reserve the remainder to use as a sauce for later.  Cover and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Prepare a baking pan by brushing lightly with oil, or lining the bottom with parchment paper.  Remove salmon from the marinade, and place the fillets skin-side down in the baking pan.  Brush each portion with about a tablespoon of sesame oil.  If desired, brush the salmon with a few drops of hot chili sauce, or a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake the fish at 450 degrees F for 4 to 6 minutes per half inch thickness, until it flakes easily with a fork.  

* https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Cook-Book/dp/0696000121/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1507647911&sr=8-2&keywords=better+homes+and+gardens+cookbook

Watson House Wednesday, #11: Jenn's Spaghetti

Well, life is still crazy busy, and I missed last week, but I wanted to jump back in this week.  :)

Spaghetti is admittedly one of my favorite foods on the planet.  Seriously, before I could even use a fork, I was shoving it into my face.  It's not something that I've made very recently, but it is something I've made often over the years.  It was one of the first things my mother taught me to cook.  Just the smell of those special ingredients being combined is like comfort food kitchen magic to me!

Spaghetti is a food that is variable, versatile, and easily adjustable to taste.  You can use different meats, different herbs, and different additions to the sauce.  After many versions, many experiments, and many years, this is the current favorite version at our house.

Jenn's Spaghetti
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves of garlic (or 2 tsp garlic powder)
1 medium onion
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano (or 2 tsp dried)
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil (or 2 tsp dried)
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes (drained)
1 small can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 can condensed tomato soup
2-4 tbsp red wine

1 small package spaghetti noodles
2 tbsp olive oil

In a large skillet or saute pan, lightly brown ground beef.  Drain, and return beef to skillet.  Chop garlic, onion, and herbs, wash and slice mushrooms.  Add these to the beef, and cook over medium heat.*  Once the onions and mushrooms have cooked most of the way through, add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato soup, and wine.  Heat through, stirring occasionally, then turn down to simmer.

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions, except add the olive oil to the water before adding the noodles.  Once the pasta is cooked and drained, stir the sauce, remove from heat, and serve.  Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese if you like!

*Since my daughter has developed an aversion to mushrooms, I now saute these with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic.  Then anyone who wants them can add them later, as they like.

Watson House Wednesday, #10: Saffron Rice

After a long hiatus, I’m back!  The holidays were great, but crazy busy.  Life has been the same recently, with birthdays, Valentines, and getting the garden started.  But I have a rainy day, and a rare day when I don’t have to go run errands, so it’s been a good morning to catch up on things!

My recipe this week is something new, but it turned out well, so I wanted to share.  Saffron is a seasoning that I have wanted to try for some time now, but since it’s pretty spendy, I've avoided it thus far.  But Santa decided to leave a small tin of it in my stocking this last Christmas, so I finally got to give it a go!  

I searched and debated over several recipes that include saffron for my first try using this exotic seasoning.  I finally decided to go with something simple, something that wouldn’t have a lot of other flavors obscuring or competing with the flavor of the saffron itself.  So we tried saffron rice, and it’s amazing!  I served it on our game night with chicken curry, but it’s really good even on its own.  I made a double batch, so we had leftovers, to everyone’s delight.  :)

Recipes for saffron rice ranged from very traditional (and kind of complicated), to fairly simple.  After considering several, I based my first attempt on this version.  It’s one of the fairly simple ones.  :)

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2011/09/saffron-rice/

Of course, me being me, I modified it a little.  So here’s how I made it:

Saffron Rice

2 pinches saffron threads

1 tbsp olive oil (You made need a bit more, depending on your pan.)

1 small to medium yellow onion (around ¾ cup minced)

2 cups jasmine rice

3 ¾ cup soup stock

1 tsp salt

Grind the saffron threads with a mortar and pestle.  (You could use a bowl and the back of a spoon, if you don’t have one.)  Add about ¼ cup hot water, and let it soak for at least 5 minutes to open up the flavor of the spice.  The original recipe says to leave some threads whole, but I forgot or missed this step.

Measure and rinse your rice.  Most recipes call for basmati rice, but I didn’t have any, and jasmine rice seemed to work fine.  Regular white or long-grain rice are not recommended, but they might work, although you’d probably have to cook them longer, and they may require more liquid.

Mince the onion, and put it into a large pot with the olive oil.  I put my onion in the food processor a bit too long, and it ended up rather like onion paste, but it didn’t seem to make much difference.  Saute over medium heat, until the onions begin to caramelize.  Then mix in the rice, and saute for another minute.  Pour all of the saffron liquid evenly over the rice.  Add the stock and salt, then bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed.  Fluff with a fork, and serve!

The stock I used in this recipe was some turkey stock that we canned after Thanksgiving.  The original recipe says to use chicken stock, or water with an added pinch of salt.  But if you wanted to make it vegetarian, I’m sure a vegetable stock would also be delicious.

Pictured above, this rice made a great meatless meal (except for the stock) with some button mushrooms.  The mushrooms were just sliced, then sauteed with a dash of salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.  Love those Spanish spices!  :)

Watson House Wednesday, Extra: Wiener Wraps and Other Fun With Hot Roll Dough

Watson House Wednesday, Extra: Wiener Wraps and Other Fun With Hot Roll Dough

Another great thing that Mom Watson makes with her hot roll dough is wiener wraps!  For this, you only need a batch of Mom's Hot Roll dough and a package of hot dogs.  We like the larger, smoked sausage dogs, so I usually double the recipe.

Make a batch of Mom's Hot Rolls, found here:
http://jennspersonalblarg.blogspot.com/2015/02/watson-house-wednesday-9-moms-hot-rolls.html
except do not form into rolls.

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.  On a floured surface, roll the dough out to between a half inch to an inch thick.  Cut into strips about an inch or more wide.  Wrap the dough around each of the hot dogs, and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

If you end up with extra dough (This can happen, especially if you double the recipe.), you can form the remainder into rolls and bake them as usual.  Or you can experiment!

Last time I made the wiener wraps, I also made ham and cheese rolls, and they turned out pretty well!  Just take a strip or bit of shredded cheese, roll it up in a deli slice of ham, and wrap it up just like a hot dog.  Make sure you seal the ends well though, or the cheese will leak out in the baking process.  I will try to get a picture of these before they're all gone!  :)

You can also roll out this dough a bit thinner, and use it for mini-pizzas!

Edit: Here is one of the ham and cheese rollups.

Watson House Wednesday, #9: Mom’s Hot Rolls

Watson House Wednesday, #9: Mom’s Hot Rolls

What is your favorite dish at Thanksgiving? While stuffing, cranberry relish, and pumpkin pies are always popular, a favorite at any family gathering at the Watson household are the hot rolls! Slightly sweet, but savory enough to go with most dishes, they make an excellent edition to a special meal. These do take a little planning and effort, but are actually not too difficult to make, and totally worth it. This is my mother-in-law’s recipe for fluffy goodness!

Mom’s Hot Rolls
1 package (or 1 tablespoon) dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup, plus 1 tsp, sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg

In a small bowl, mix the yeast with the warm water and 1 tsp sugar. Let it set for at least 5 minutes, or until foamy.

Meanwhile, in a larger mixing bowl, combine milk, remaining sugar, oil, and salt. Warm in the microwave (or carefully in a small saucepan), until warm, but not hot. Add the egg to the milk mixture and mix well. Make sure that this milk mixture is warm to lukewarm, then add the yeast mixture to this and stir a few times. 

Add 3 cups of the flour, and stir. Gradually add remaining flour to form soft dough, kneading in flour until the dough is soft, but not sticky. (A small amount of additional flour may be needed for this.) Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise until double, usually 1 ½ to 2 hours. 

On a lightly floured surface, punch down and knead dough for a minute or two, then form into rolls. Place rolls into baking pan that is lightly greased (a baking spray works fine for this), then cover and allow the rolls to rise again until double, about 30 minutes. 

Bake at 400 degrees, for 12 to 15 minutes. Make about 2 dozen rolls.

Jenn’s note: I like to substitute 1 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour, and it works very well!

Watson House Wednesday, #8: Blue Sherbet Punch

Watson House Wednesday, #8: Blue Sherbet Punch
For my daughter's 8th birthday party, the theme of the party was the movie "Frozen."  Everything was in shades of blue, white, and silver, and the party punch apparently needed to match, as well. Last year, the kids went crazy over the sherbet punch I made, many had never tried one before! So Jasmine definitely wanted to have one again this year. After trying several recipes found on Pinterest, I finally ended up using a modified version of this one:http://getfreerecipes.hubpages.com/h…/baby-blue-punch-recipe
In a way, I simplified it by dropping the added sugar, and exchanging the white cranberry juice with white grape-peach juice. There was more than enough sweetness with the grape juice and soda, and the white grape-peach juice was available at Costco. It's one of those things that's actually simple to make, but seems so impressive to your guests!

Blue Sherbet Punch
1 2-liter bottle of lemon-lime soda (We used Sierra Mist.)
1 2-quart bottle of white grape-peach juice
1 packet of blue raspberry lemonade KoolAid
pineapple sherbet

Stir KoolAid packet into juice and chill both juice and soda before mixing. Mix equal amounts of soda and juice into punch bowl or server. Add several scoops of sherbet to the punch and give a gentle stir.

For a party of about a dozen kids and several adults, we found that doubling this recipe gave us plenty for everyone.

Watson House Wednesday, #7: Crock Pot Curry

Watson House Wednesday, #7: Crock Pot Curry

A good Thai curry is one of our favorite dishes, but it can be a little time consuming to make. Since we always seem to be short on time on weekday evenings, I decided to try this dish in the crock pot, and it worked out very well!

Ingredients:
1 to 1 ½ lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
4 small potatoes
1 medium onion
2 large carrots
1 large yam
2 cups chopped cauliflower
2 cans coconut milk
1 or 2 tbsp red curry paste
2 or 4 tbsp yellow curry paste

Peel all vegetables and chop into chunks, then place into crock pot. Slice chicken into strips and add to vegetables. Whisk together one can of coconut milk and the curry paste. Pour this mixture over the chicken and vegetables, and stir. Cook on low for about 8 hours, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in second can of coconut milk. Serve with naan bread, rice, or couscous. The leftovers freeze well!

Watson House Wednesday #6: Porcupine Meatballs

Watson House Wednesday #6: Porcupine Meatballs

From the good old red-and-white cookbook (Better Homes and Gardens), this is a family favorite of ours. The recipe is even online, you can find it here:

http://www.food.com/recipe/porcupine-meatballs-18434

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed tomato soup

1/4 cup long grain rice

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon minced dried onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 dash pepper

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

In medium bowl, beat egg.  Add 1/4 cup tomato soup, uncooked rice, parsley flakes, dried onion, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Add ground beef and using your hands, mix well again.  Shape into 1-inch meatballs.  This should make about 20 meatballs.  Place meatballs in a 1-inch skillet.  Mix remaining soup with the water.  Add Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and mix.  Pour soup mixture over the meatballs.  Cook without stirring until mixture starts to boil.  Turn heat to low.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Using a wooden spoon, carefully stir the meatballs so they don't stick to the skillet.

I tried adding a sprinkle of smoked paprika, and it was pretty good! Subtle, but it worked well with the beef and tomato flavors, I think. These meatballs are also yummy on a sub sandwich, and make wonderful leftovers!

Edit: I just noticed that the online recipe does not include the oregano! In the cookbook version, you add a 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano to the sauce before pouring it over the meatballs. Also, it says to cook for 40 minutes, but the cookbook says 20 minutes. I would recommend splitting the difference, and simmering for about 30 minutes, until the meat is cooked through, and the rice is tender.

Note: When I mentioned that I’d like to try this with ground turkey, my mom says that she sometimes makes it with ground turkey and cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.  We tried this, and it’s also great!

Watson House Wednesday #5 : Taco Seasoning

Watson House Wednesday: Taco Seasoning
Sometimes I find that opening up a box or bag of something is the easiest way to get dinner on the table. But sometimes I find that making your own mixes ahead of time can be helpful, and offer you the peace of mind of knowing what exactly is going into the food that you're making. To that end, I searched for a recipe to mix up my own taco and burrito seasoning. The one that I found we liked best is this one, with some modifications, of course.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Taco-Seasoning-I/Detail.aspx
This is my adjusted version:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Blend all ingredients together, and store in an airtight container. I usually use three or four teaspoons with a pound of ground beef and a can of beans for burritos, but the beauty of mixing your own seasoning is that you can adjust the amount of seasoning to your own taste! It also makes a fun gift if you can find a cute jar for it. smile emoticon

Watson House Wednesday, #4: Parmesan Roasted Veggies

Watson House Wednesday, #4: Parmesan Roasted Veggies
Here we have one of my favorite go-to dishes. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and I loved that it was easy and healthy, as well as tasty.

http://chichoskitchen.blogspot.com/…/parmesan-roasted-potat…

I liked it so much, I decided to try it with other veggies. I'm happy to say that it's also delicious with other root veggies and cauliflower, too! It's so filling and tasty, you could even use it as a vegetarian main dish.  Since this was versatile enough, I made a shaker of the parmesan with the seasonings in it, so now when I want to make this dish, it's even easier. 

So this is how I do it!

In a jar or shaker (I use an old parmesan shaker.), mix the following:

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 tsp garlic powder

3 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Chop (and peel, when needed) about 3 cups of firm veggies into chunks.  Drizzle a spoonful or two of olive oil over them, and stir to coat the veggies with the oil. Sprinkle generously with the seasoned parmesan, and stir again. Brush a few spoonfuls of olive oil onto a baking pan, and place the veggies onto it in a single layer. I put the pan into a 400 degree oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, turning after about 10-12 minutes. I'd recommend checking it after 20-25 minutes, some ovens seem to cook them faster than others.

So far this dish has worked well with potatoes, yams, carrots, cauliflower, parsnips and beets. I wouldn't recommend onions (they made everything go gooey) or broccoli (maybe just the stems of the broccoli, the florets burned around the edges). I'm looking forward to trying it with the winter squashes sometime!

Watson House Wednesday, #3: Ginger Peach Oatmeal

Watson House Wednesday, #3: Ginger Peach Oatmeal
My breakfast was so pretty today, I had to share! This one is pretty simple, more of an idea than a recipe, but tasty.

Since I have blood sugar issues, getting some protein in the morning is helpful for me, and oatmeal provides some of that, with a lot of healthy fiber as well. I find that instant oatmeals are far too sweet for me, and have a bunch of additives that just aren't necessary. So sometimes I like to cook up a large batch of oatmeal for me and my daughter to have during the week. Microwaving a bowl of cooked oatmeal is just as fast as preparing the instant kind, and more healthy. And with just a few more minutes, you can add a bit of flavor to make it even more delicious. 

During the summer and early autumn, I took advantage of all of the beautiful peaches to be found. I chopped a medium-sized peach, and added it to about a cup or so of cooked oatmeal. 

To this I added a teaspoon of butter, two teaspoons of brown sugar, and a few sprinkles of ground ginger (equal to about a 1/4 teaspoon). I microwaved this for about a minute. 

I then stirred in a tablespoon of roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds and a teaspoon of flax seeds, and microwaved it again until hot. 

Easy, healthy, and delicious. You can use different fruits, sweeteners, and nuts or seeds to create many flavor combinations, but so far, this one is my favorite. 

Watson House Wednesday, #2: Cucumber Tomato Salad

Watson House Wednesday, #2: Cucumber Tomato Salad
This salad is actually best in the summertime, when the tomatoes and cucumbers are in season, bursting forth in our gardens and farmer's markets.  It's a versatile, simple salad, which lets the fresh ingredients shine. It works just as well as a lunch salad, or scaled up to share with a family or potluck. If needed, you can serve the pepperoncinis or the parmesan on the side.

Cucumber Tomato Salad

1 medium size tomato

1/2 fresh cucumber

2 tbsp fresh cilantro

2 to 3 pepperoncinis

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Light Italian dressing to taste

Peel and chop cucumber, tomato and cilantro, place into a medium sized bowl. Slice and add the pepperoncinis.  Toss together with the Parmesan, and a drizzle of light Italian dressing.

Watson House Wednesday, #1: Crock Pot Chili

Last year, I joined a Facebook group via a friend, called "In the Kitchen."  The owner of the group asked if anyone would like to take on posting on a specific day, weekly.  I thought this sounded like fun, so I started up "Watson House Wednesdays." I thought it would be fun to share with a wider audience, and maybe get other recipes and ideas in return.  As it turns out, the readership of the group isn't very large, but it's still been fun to put together.  So, as I'm restarting it from a holiday season hiatus, I decided to share my efforts here, as well.  So I'll be posting them individually, so they'll be listed by recipe in the side bar.  I hope you enjoy, and here we go!

Watson House Wednesday, #1: Crock Pot Chili
My crock pot chili recipe originally comes from a BH&G cookbook, but I've modified it so many times and so heavily at this point, I tend to think of it as my own. There are a lot of cans to open, but you can use dried beans, fresh tomatoes, or home-canned items to reduce that, if you like. Peeling the peppers (and the tomatoes, if you use fresh) isn't strictly necessary, but we prefer not to have them in the chili, as they just slide off during cooking, anyway. You can use more ground beef if you prefer, but draining it is important, to keep it from getting greasy. This chili has good flavor, but isn't too spicy, so it's a good crowd pleaser for potlucks. You can always add a dash of your favorite hot sauce or red pepper flakes, if you prefer it with more of a kick. I would definitely recommend using your food processor or chopper for all of the veggies, it makes the prep so much faster and easier!

Jenn’s Crock Pot Chili
1 pound ground beef
3 cans beans (15 oz. pinto, black, garbanzo, or kidney beans, all one kind or any combination)
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 oz.)
1 can chopped green chili peppers, undrained (7 oz.)
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
3 or 4 large celery stalks, leaves included
1 medium onion
1 medium bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh cilantro (about a cup of leaves)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano (or 2 tablespoons fresh)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper (or more, to taste)
2 bay leaves

Brown and drain the ground beef. Peel and seed the bell pepper, onion and garlic. Chop celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and cilantro. Combine all ingredients into a crock pot. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Remove bay leaves, stir, and serve.

Inspired by the recipe for “Mexican Chili” in the Better Homes and Gardens “Crockery Cooker Cook Book”, circa 1976.