So you've made it to the store during this whole coronavirus outbreak, but now what? Are you going to eat the same thing over and over again if you have to stay in the house? And what if you don't know how to cook that well? Say no more, we've got you covered with these quick, easy and oh-so-delicious recipes. Trust me, these dishes come in so clutch you'll be trying to make them after the quarantine!
Weeknight Cajun Salmon with Dirty Rice (from Darius Cooks)
Ingredients:
3 6-ounce pieces of salmon
2 teaspoons of olive oil, divided
1/2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning
1 good pinch of salt
For the dirty rice
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1/2 cup of chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup of chopped celery
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 pound of chicken sausage
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon of dried fennel
About 2 cups of beef or chicken stock
About 4 cups of instant rice
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For the sauce:
1/2 stick of butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of scallion, chopped
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper
The juice of one lemon
1 pound of lump crab
Directions:
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the salmon with the olive oil, Cajun seasoning, and salt. Then, roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until desired interval temperature has been reached.
Meanwhile, make the rice.
In a hot skillet, add in the olive oil and sauce the onion, bell pepper, and celery until tender. This should take about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, add In the sausage and cook until the sausage has just about cooked through. Season the pan with garlic powder, poultry seasoning, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and dried fennel. Cook for about 60 seconds then add int he stock and rice.
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Allow the rice to absorb the liquid and then add a lid.
To finish, make the sauce by sautéing the garlic and scallion in butter for about 60 seconds. Then, add in the remaining ingredients and cook for 2 minutes on high heat. Be sure to stir often.
To assemble, add the rice to the bottom of the plate. The, add on the fish. Lastly, top with he sauce and enjoy.
Mexican Paella
If rice is taking up room in your pantry, Roger Martinez, the executive chef at Il Buco and a Barcelona native, recommends making his house paella. “This is easy, healthy, satisfying and can last for multiple meals.”
Ingredients:
Chicken stock
Olive oil
Frozen fresh meat (beef or chicken)
1 bag Frozen peas
1 bag Frozen green beans
1 cup rice
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup tomato sauce
Directions: In a medium pot, bring 5 cups of chicken stock (water works if that's all you have) to...
...a simmer.
In a wide, shallow skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat on another burner. When it starts shimmering, add 1 pound of meat (whatever’s in the freezer) and 2 tablespoons frozen peas and frozen green beans. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add in 1 cup uncooked rice; toss with oil. Stir in 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1/4 cup tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Then, add three cups of hot stock from your other burner to your skillet, shaking the pan to loosen clusters of rice. Return stock pot to burner.
Reduce skillet heat to medium-low and simmer until about 80 percent of the liquid is absorbed. Pour 1 cup of stock around the edge of the pan; wait 5 minutes, then repeat. When the that last bit of liquid is absorbed, your paella is ready. Makes 2 servings.
Easy Breezy Smothered Chicken
A soul food dish that looks delicious and has a unique wonderful flavor. Wash the chicken in cool water and rub with salt for a minute then rinse again. Pat dry and it is ready. Drying the chicken is an important step, remember that you are going to use oil to fry the chicken and any drop of water will make the hot oil splatter.
Ingredients:
3 chicken legs and 3 chicken thighs with skin
1/2 cup oil
1 large onion chopped
1 chicken bouillon (you can use cubes)
2 ½ cup cold water
½ cup milk
3 tablespoon of the seasoned flour mentioned below
Flour seasoning
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
½ teaspoon all spice powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
¼ teaspoon heaped ginger powder
Directions: Mix all the flour seasoning together, take three tablespoon from this mix and keep aside. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and keep aside. In a pan, heat the oil and add the chicken. When the bottom of the chicken turns golden flip to the other side and cook until golden.
Remove the chicken from the oil when both sides are golden. At this point, the chicken is not completely cooked.
Keep around 4 tablespoon of oil in the pan, add the chopped onion and fry until light brown.
Add three tablespoon seasoned flour to the onion and stir for at least two minutes on medium heat. Pour the cold water over the onion and flour mixture in one go and keep on stirring. Add the chicken bouillon and continue stirring.
Now add the milk and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the chicken to the sauce. Cover the pan and let the chicken cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until completely cooked. Stir occasionally.
Serve with rice or mashed potato.
Asian Fish Soup
A more than hearty recipe that last for days and honestly keeps getting better the longer it sits in the fridge. It's flavorful and can feed the whole family. Trust me, you'll love this.
Ingredients:
2 pounds sole fillet (or Swai fillet, or Cod fish cut into large chunks)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups chopped celery (optional)
6 Roma tomatoes (seeded and diced)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 limes (fresh)
5 shallots (peeled and thinly sliced)
2 inches ginger (piece of)
2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely minced)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Directions:
Place ginger, garlic, shallots in a food processor and finely chop them
Place the fish fillet in a large mixing bowl. Add cornstarch and fish sauce and use a clean hand to toss the fish to let the cornstarch and fish sauce coat the fillet pieces. Set aside while you prepare the other things
Preheat a large heavy-bottom pot with some oil. Add the chopped ginger, garlic, shallots and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the celery and tomatoes are soft. You can prepare ahead up to this point
When ready to serve the fish soup, bring the soup back to a gentle simmer and add the fish fillet and juice from 2 limes and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. The fish is easily flaked if it's cooked through, if not, let it cook a bit longer. Have a taste and add more fish sauce to your taste if needed. Remove from the heat
Ladle soup into serving bowl (family style) or individual serving bowl, and garnish with cilantro just before serving
Adding diff types of leaves and pepper can create variety if we want to play around with the recipe.
