Tag: avocado

Firecracker Salmon with Peach and Avocado Salsa

Travelling this week, so this posting is a little late! Our hostess had some salmon in the freezer and some nice fresh peaches. Surprisingly she also had avocados which we always have on hand in Mexico. Both the salmon and the salmon were awesome! Pinterest never fails me…We served this with some sauteed Brussel sprouts to round out the meal. We chose to grill the salmon, but the directions for making it in the oven are included.

Firecracker Salmon with Peach and Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

For the salmon:

  • 1 ½ pounds salmon
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon honey
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

For the peach salsa:

  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 peach, diced
  • 3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
  • 2 tablespoons finely diced cilantro
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Make your salmon marinade: In a small bowl whisk together avocado oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, crushed red pepper, and ginger.

2. Add your salmon to a large bowl skin side up (so that the salmon sits in the sauce) and pour marinade over the top. Cover and place salmon in the fridge for no more than 1 hour.

3. While your salmon is marinating, make your peach salsa. Add avocado, peach, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper to a medium sized bowl and mix until well-combined. Refrigerate.

4. Once ready to bake salmon, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place salmon on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and place marinated salmon skin side down. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until salmon easily flakes with fork.

5. Top salmon with peach avocado salsa and serve with brown rice, black rice quinoa, or extra veggies for a fullmeal. Serves 4

Directions for grilling the salmon: Preheat a gas grill over medium-high heat. I would also lightly brush both sides of the salmon (including the skin) with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking. Be sure to also generous oil your grill.

Place salmon skin side down first on grill, close grill lid and grill about 6-8 minutes. Carefully flip salmon and cook 6-8 more minutes or until cooked well. Salmon is tricky, but it’s best to undercook rather than overcook your filets. The salmon was perfectly cooked at 6 minutes per side on medium heat.

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Salmon and Avocado Salad with Japanese Ponzu Dressing

If you have a nearby Costco, they usually carry Norwegian smoked salmon (the one with three rows of different smoked salmon). This comes in handy for pizzas, pastas, quiche, etc. You can buy “ponzu” soy, but I prefer making this dressing as shown. In place of the arugula I used baby romaine as a bed for the salmon.

Smoked salmon and avocado salad with Japanese Ponzu Dressing

Salmon & Avocado Salad with Japanese Ponzu Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz. smoked salmon – thinly sliced
  • Large handful of wild arugulas
  • 2 avocados – diced
  • 1 English cucumber – cut in rounds and halved

Homemade Ponzu Dressing:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice (or a combination)
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1/2 tsp of chili pepper flakes

Method:

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the ingredients for the ponzu dressing, and whisk well.

2. Add in the arugula, avocado, and cucumbers. Give it a good toss. Add in the smoked salmon and lightly toss again. Taste and adjust any seasonings if needed. Enjoy immediately!

Quick and Easy Mexican Red Pozole

In January 2017, I posted a similar recipe for this popular Mexican dish made with hominy – essentially a specially dried corn. While we thoroughly enjoyed that recipe, I did find it time consuming. If you are fortunate to have a grocery store which carries Mexican products you can find this on the shelves in a can, as I was fortunate to locate.

La Costena Pozole Rojo

Sometimes one just wants to put a hot meal on the table with a minimum of preparation! Since we had a Costco leftover rotisserie chicken available, this was quick! Shred the chicken. Heat the pozole in a large saucepan over medium heat with the chicken added in.

While it is heating, slice up an avocado, set out some sour cream, slice two or three radishes, chop up a bit of cilantro, some shreds of cabbage if you have some?

When the pozole is thoroughly heated, pour into large soup bowls and garnish with the sour cream, radishes, cilantro and avocado. You can add a few tortilla strips if you have them for some added crunch.

Quick and Easy Mexican Red Pozole

Ingredients

  • 1 large can La Costena pozole rojo
  • 1 cup shredded cooked chicken or pork or turkey
  • 2 or three radishes sliced
  • Cilantro chopped
  • Sour cream
  • 1 avocado diced
  • Tortilla strips
  • Shredded cabbage (optional)

Classic Cobb Salad + Dressing

Just in case you are wondering about the difference between  a Chef’s Salad and a Cobb Salad, here is what I found in Wikipedia –

A Chef Salad and Cobb Salad both have lettuce, cheese and meats such as bacon, chicken breast, and ham, plus hard boiled eggs. But a Cobb salad usually has a mixture of lettuces, and also has avocado and tomatoes. It was named after Robert Cobb who was the owner of the famous Hollywood Brown Derby and created by his chef in 1937.

This is the Pinterest version I was able to locate. Cobb Salad Dressing.

Cobb Salad

Classic Cobb Salad

Ingredients

  • 3 strips bacon
  • 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast or leftover baked ham, chopped
  • 3/4 head iceberg lettuce (or salad greens blend)
  • 8 grape tomatoes (I chopped up a Roma tomato)
  • 1 avocado
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs
  • 1 1/2 ounces blue cheese crumbled
  • 3 ounces ranch dressing (or blue cheese dressing) OR Cobb Dressing below*
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lay out bacon strips on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until is crispy. Removed from oven and transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  2. Heat grill or a skillet over medium-high heat). Cook chicken, flipping once, for about 3-4 minute per side. Make sure chicken reaches 165 degrees F internal temp and is no longer pink. Remove to a plate to rest. (Substitute chopped ham in place of chicken).
  3. Rinse and dry lettuce, then remove outer leaves and core. Cut into bite-sized pieces and place on a platter or shallow serving bowl.
  4. Rinse and halve tomatoes. Place on top of the lettuce to one side of the bowl. Slice eggs and place next to the tomatoes in a line. Cut avocado in half, remove from skin and then chop or slice. Add next to eggs.
  5. Slice or dice chicken and place on salad next to avocado. Crumble bacon and place next to the chicken/ham. Crumble blue cheese and place next to bacon.
  6. Serve with the ORIGINAL dressing! 

Cobb Salad Dressing

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 cup salad oil
  1. Place all ingredients in a blend and blend together until well mixed.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Shrimp Stuffed Avocados

This used to be one of our favorite salads at a local restaurant. This recipe beats theirs! Yeah, there are two halves there!

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Shrimp stuffed avocado                        Author: Layla Pujol

Yield: 8-10 stuffed avocado halves

Ingredients

  • 4-5 firm ripe avocados
  • 1 lb medium sized cooked shrimp (OR 2 cans of tiny Shrimp uncut)
  • ½ medium red onion, diced finely
  • 2 radishes, diced finely
  • ½ red bell pepper, diced finely
  • 2 celery stalks, diced finely
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
  • 5 tbs. mayonnaise
  • Lime juice from 1 lime
  • Salt/pepper to taste (I like cracked peppercorns)
  • Cilantro chopped for garnish

Instructions

  1. Chop the cooked shrimp in half, if desired keep a few whole to garnish OR use whole if small)
  2. Combine diced onions, radishes, bell pepper, celery, eggs, shrimp, ½ of the lime juice and aioli or mayonnaise in a bowl, mix well. Can be kept refrigerated until ready to use.
  3. Taste and salt/pepper if necessary.
  4. Cut avocados in half, remove seed and peel carefully.
  5. Drizzle remaining lime juice over avocados, this help keep them from darkening too quickly.
  6. Use a spoon to stuff avocados with shrimp salad filling.
  7. Add any garnishes and serve immediately.

 

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa

The salmon recipe was awesome, but I really did not enjoy the salsa. I will search out a different low carb one asap. Try it! You might like it…LOL. I have shown it here with the cauliflower rice. The salmon is buried underneath the salsa…sorry.

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Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa
Ingredients
2 lbs. salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp ancho chili powder (used regular)
1 tsp black pepper

Avocado salsa ingredients:
1 avocado, chopped
½ small red onion, chopped
Juice from 2 limes
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
dash of salt

Instructions
1. In a small mixing bowl combine salt, cumin, paprika, onion powder, ancho chili powder and black pepper.
2. Rub the salmon fillets with the olive oil and rub with the spice mix.
3. Grill the salmon on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes or until desired doneness.
4. Mix the avocado, red onion, chopped cilantro, salt and juice from the limes in a small mixing bowl. Top the salmon with the avocado salsa.
Recipe by The Recipe Critic at https://therecipecritic.com/2014/07/grilled-salmon-avocado-salsa/

Traditional Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

Happy New Year Bloggers! I am going to try something different this year now that so many of you are really setting the bar high with your wonderful blogs. This old dog is not that techie…LOL…but like John Glenn I can take small steps. Hence my New Years resolution to use actual photos of the recipes when I cook them.

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I thought the cocktail looked quite nice in the ice cream dishes we got from our friends one Christmas. Here is the recipe –

Traditional Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (food.com)

Ingredients 

  • 1 (48 ounce) can V8 vegetable juice (spicy if desired)
  • 2 avocados, chopped
  • 2 cucumbers, seeded and chopped
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 1⁄2 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled, de-veined and steamed or just buy frozen cooked and thaw
  • 2 limes, quartered
  • 4 dashes Tabasco sauce

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a large nonreactive container.

Chill and serve with limes and Tabasco sauce.

Do not over-cook the shrimp, as they will become tough!

Be careful when steaming the shrimp; you do not want it tough.

AND here is a BONUS..ta dah…if you do not use all of the mixture, put it into a blender and make…GAZPACHO…refrigerate for tomorrows meal!

 

Grape, Avocado and Arugula Salad

ATTENTION GROCERY SHOPPERS! I just thought you might be shopping today for tyhe weekend dinner so I am posting this great salad recipe early this week. It is incredibly easy to make. We used seedless green grapes and toasted almonds, but the choice is yours. So get in your car and go buy these ingredients!

Grape, Avocado and Arugula Salad

Ingredients:

Salad Ingredients:

  • 6 cups fresh arugula, loosely packed
  • 2 cups halved seedless grapes, red or green or a mix
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
  • 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
  • half a small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • balsamic vinaigrette (ingredients below)

White Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or traditional balsamic vinegar)
  • 2 Tablespoons honey or agave nectar, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

Directions:

To Make The Salad:

Add salad ingredients to a bowl, and drizzle with vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

To Make The Vinaigrette:

Whisk all ingredients together for 30 seconds until combined.

 

 

Strawberry & Avocado Spinach Salad in Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

A truly summer salad! If you are not into making your own dressings, buy a similar raspberry balsamic one at the store. This salad both looks and tastes great!!

Strawberry and Avocado Spinach Salad in Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes Servings: 2

ingredients
• 1 (5 ounce) package baby spinach
• 2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup raspberry white balsamic vinaigrette (* see below)
directions
1. Assemble salad, toss in dressing and enjoy!

Option: Goat cheese or feta also work well in place of the blue cheese.
Option: I like to throw in some fresh peas when available in spring.

  • Raspberry White Balsamic Vinaigrette
    Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes Servings: 1cup

ingredients
• 1/2 cup raspberries fresh (or thawed frozen)
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
1. Mash the raspberries and mix everything. 2. Pour over your favourite summer salad…

Baked Eggs in Avocado with Bacon, On Toast

Great menu idea for a single person. It’s amazing how good the baked avocado tastes!

Baked Eggs in Avocado with Bacon, on Toast

Yield: Serves 2 Total Time: 30 min Recipe adapted from CA Avocado Commission.

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium or large avocado
  • 2 small eggs
  • 2 sliced of bacon, cooked then crumbled (consider using the Ready Cooked bacon)
  • 2 slices of toast
  • sea salt, to taste
  • fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
  • hot sauce, optional
  • fresh chopped tomatoes, optional
  • cumin (these three items are our friend Naomi’s suggestions)
  • chopped cilantro
  • sour cream

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Crack the eggs in a medium bowl, careful to not puncture the yolks. Set aside.

I used an egg separator to first separate the yolks and whites!

  1. Cut avocado in half and carefully remove seed. Leave it in the skin. Depending on how big the seed is, the hole in the avocado should be big enough for one small egg. But if the hole looks too small, scoop out a little at a time till it matches the amount of egg.
  2. In a medium baking dish, (sprayed with a little oil) try to rest the avocado half inside the edge of the dish so that the avocado doesn’t tilt over. You need to keep the avocado from tilting so that the raw egg does not spill out.
  3. You can crack the egg directly in the avocado, but it might overflow and make a mess. Place the yolks in the avocado first and then add enough whites to fill each hole. Add salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and cumin on top of the eggs, to taste.
  4. Top with bacon pieces…
  5. Gently place the baking dish in oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on how much egg you have and how big your avocado is. So keep checking the egg to see if it’s cooked to your desired consistency. My eggs took 20 minutes.
  6. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top.(unless it was baked WITH the bacon). Spread the avocado/egg onto toast. Add addition salt and pepper to taste, chopped tomatoes, hot sauce, sour cream and cilantro if needed. Enjoy!