2017 Sardine Supper Salad

On heavy antibiotics for an infected finger, I'm trying to keep our diet high in probiotics. So this is the salad we just enjoyed for dinner and hope to repeat it. 

Shaved or shredded fresh cabbage--1 to 2 cups, each plate
Thinly sliced purple onion--just a dozen various sized rings, each plate
Sauerkraut--2 to 3 Tablespoons per salad
Vigo Imported Sardines in soybean & olive oil--1/2 to 1 4-3/8 oz. tin per plate
French Fried Onions--1/3 to 1/2 cup as garnish
Assorted olives

Dressing for two salads: 1/4 c sauerkraut juice, 1/3  c mayo, 1/3 c greek yogurt, one clove fresh garlic crushed, black pepper to taste

I layered the fresh cabbage, onion rings, and dressing twice before topping the salad plates with the sauerkraut, sardines, a garnish row of french fried onions, and the rest of the dressing. Garnish with olives.

Creamy Medi Tuna

Sara Bostrom served this to us 24 years ago and it became a favorite. Thankfully I found the recipe card this evening because we had a hankering for it. Too bad I'm fresh out of the pecans because it really does add a nice flavor and texture. And sorry to say canned tuna is not what it used to be. 

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
2 T lemon juice
1/2 c mayo
1/2 c chopped ripe olives
7 to 10 oz. drained canned tuna
1 c finely chopped pecans

Blend first five ingredients lightly together in a food processor, sitr in pecans. Chill. Serve in sandwiches or dip. Goes especially well on Club Crackers.

Bang Bang Shrimp

My favorite is the Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish Grill. Cal was going to take me there tonight where they sell it for only $5. on Wednesdays. But out all day on business, we elected to buy the ingredients and try it ourselves at home. Here it is for easy reference next time: 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

3 drops Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (or to taste)

1 pound shelled and deveined shrimp

Dry cornstarch

oil for frying

lettuce

chopped scallions

DIRECTIONS:

Mix mayonnaise with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. Add hot sauce to taste. Dredge the shrimp in cornstarch. Deep fat fry the shrimp until lightly brown. Drain on paper towel, put in a bowl and coat with the sauce. Serve in a lettuce lined bowl, top with chopped scallions.

Crunchy Creamy Salmon Salad

Call this a meal on its own or a side dish to take to a potluck, I call it a great way to get a plethora of vegetables into my husband.

This experiment of a salad has so much going for it, it would be hard to ruin it by tweaking. So while I used leftover salad dressed with Brianna's poppy seed dressing, you could stick to a simple mayo and lemon combination or make your own poppyseed dressing, or go a different route with your favourite salmon-complementary herb.

But the main thing is to get as many crispy, crunchy veggies in there as possible! I used shredded fresh romaine, a red apple, a chunk of cucumber, a whole red bell pepper, a handful of baby carrots, some chopped up almonds, a few minced rings of red onion, and I would have added jicama if it hadn't gone bad before I got to it. Crunch, crunch, crunch! Feel free to add toasted seeds or celery (if you dare) or raw broccoli or cabbage or pretty much anything to add colour and texture. As always with salads, the amounts are completely up to you, depending on how many you plan to serve.

Then, open up a can (or two, if you're making a huge bowl) of salmon and drain it well. Remove the vertebrae, because that stuff falls in between crunchy and grainy in a pretty off-putting way. Then chunk the salmon up into your salad, and dress with the following:

• 1/2 c mayonnaise
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2-4 T poppyseed dressing (Brianna's is great. And while you're at it, make a mental note that Brianna's Asiago Caesar dressing makes an incredible steak marinade!)

Toss the salad together very well, and it should wind up looking like a pasta-less pasta salad bursting with colour.

Adjust as you wish, serve on its own or with flatbread or in a sandwich. And don't tell anybody how many vegetables they're getting in all that yummy mayo and salmon!

Catfish Nuggets

On Tue, May 31, 2011 at 3:24 PM, Susan Powell wrote:
Just bought catfish nuggets on sale. What was your awesome old recipe for that over rice?

Thanks,
Sus

While sauteeing very quickly in hot but not burned butter add crushed garlic. At the end of cooking add lemon juice, top with parmesan cheese. Serve on hot rice.

Caesar Catfish Nuggets

When we lived in Arkansas over twenty years ago I used to get catfish nuggets and saute them rapidly in butter and fresh garlic, adding fresh lemon juice at the end of cooking, and then tossing with Parmesan cheese. Serve over rice or pasta. This became one of our family's favorites. Haven't made it in years, but Rebekah asked about it today, so here it is.

Sarah's Salmon with Asparagus

Cleaning out my emails today I find this saved from several months ago. Sharing it with you here: Awesome dinner I kind of made up tonight. Amazing flavors. Enjoy w chardonnay! (Sarah Bamford)

Salmon filets
Asparagus
Red onion
Olive oil
Thin spaghetti
Capers
Garlic
Orange
Fresh Basil
Salt/pepper

Use Grill pan indoors:
Olive oil, grill sliced red onion until tender, push to side,
Sauté fresh asparagus, salt and pepper generously, turn and add more olive oil
Place in separate serving dish, cover and set aside - will continue cooking.

Add more oil to grill. Salt and pepper salmon filets. Place salmon filets on hot grill, turn as sides start to turn opaque

Boil water cook thin spaghetti pasta with salt al dente, drain and return to hot pan
Drain, lightly rinse 3 tsp capers, add to pasta
Mince 1 garlic clove, add to pasta
Add olive oil, salt, pepper
Chop fresh basil leaves, add to pasta
Toss all together
Grate fresh orange peel over pasta. Juice orange over pasta, toss!

Grate a bit orange peel, sprinkle fresh orange juice on salmon

Plate pasta, salmon filet over pasta with asparagus spears and red onion over.

Serve immediately