day 45 = chipotle-wine mussels

sarah:
ok, i am now into meals for less. my friend introduced me to emeals which i love. they send you a meal plan each week for the grocery store of your choice (mine is Whole Foods) and typically your bill is around $100/wk for 2 people. not bad considering my average costco bill...

the thing is, i really don't have a routine with emeals yet. i did, however, make it to Whole Foods last night and decided instead to make mussels ($3.99/lb). i checked out this recipe on epicurious and bought all the ingredients. my whole bill was around $20 and it essentially serves 2. not quite cost cutting, but oh well!**

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 medium diced)
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled carrot (2 carrots diced)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (2 stalks diced)
• salt & pepper
• 1 14-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine (pinot grigio)
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped canned chipotle chilies (2 med)
• 2 1/4 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded
• shrimp (optional)

---

1. Wash mussels and let soak in cold or ice water (about 20 minutes).
2. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat.
3. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté until onion is tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Stir in coconut milk, stock, wine and garlic; boil over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes.
6. Debeard mussels.
7. Stir in mint, cilantro and chilies.
8. Add mussels; cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open).
9. Add shrimp if using.
10. Transfer mussels and broth to large bowl and serve.

---

 **1 lb mussels serves 1 person (barely)

enjoy!

day 39 = hotter than hot fresh salmon

my apologies! we haven't posted in a while and that's really because i have spent the last 3 weeks as a juror and it was a very trying experience. instead of cooking, we just ate out to make life simpler. we're back though!

sarah:
lately, charley has been doing most of the fish cooking (see day 3 and day 25 for how we typically make salmon). this is soooo easy and we discovered how to make it after realizing it's a go-to favorite of ours at costco. here's how i made it today:

- preheat oven to 450 degrees

- line a baking sheet with foil

- lay salmon in center of baking sheet

- surround salmon with mini-peppers* and red jalapeno peppers

- sprinkle salmon with spices:

      - alaea salt (i bought it at Hepps Salt Barrel)

      - chipotle pepper (i bought it at Penzeys)

      - smoked paprika

      - turmeric
      - oriental mustard powder

      - parsley flakes

- drizzle hot pepper olive oil over top*

- throw a few mini-hot peppers on top of fish*

- bake for 14 mins

*while at this trial, i visited a farmers market during lunch and picked up a branch of mini-hot peppers (i've never seen anything like it). the farmer that sold it to me said he smashes them, chops them up, and mixes with cilantro and tomatoes. he then uses the paste to marinate chicken with or as a spread on meats. charley took them off the vines and put them in a drinking glass with olive oil. this way they release more heat and we have hot pepper olive oil! i highly recommend. here's what it looked like:

charley:
i have to say i enjoy spicy things, but these peppers hit you with a lot of heat! The salmon was very good and actually complimented the hit of the peppers because it cooled this off.  i typically can handle the heat of peppers, but these i could only finish a few.  I am looking forward to these over the next few days!


enjoy!

day 29 (part II) - killer shrimp soup

sarah:
there is a restaurant in marina del rey, ca called Killer Shrimp that closed down and has just reopened a few years later. we went to eat there twice now and the wait was over 45 mins so hopefully it will stay around now that it's back!

it's fantastic. they only serve one item: shrimp, 3 ways: with french bread, with pasta, or with rice. the shrimp come in a huge serving bowl filled with this wonderful sauce. peels remain on the shrimp so it gets a little messy, but you must give in and use your fingers. my favorite way to eat is dipping the french bread in the sauce... this is my best attempt to recreate the dish from memory, but i can't wait to go eat there and see if it's even close. it's also in my cookbook if you want more great food finds!

the total cost today (without the spices which i bought the last time we made this dish) was: $24.36. we are going to take the leftover broth to our friend's bbq tomorrow so people can enjoy the sauce!

• 2 quarts chicken broth (64oz)
• 2 tablespoons rosemary
• 5 cloves garlic, minced (use more if you like)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup clam juice
• 1/2 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 pounds shrimp, with tails and shells
• 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread

1. pour broth into a large pot, and mix in rosemary, garlic, pepper, celery seed, fennel seed, thyme, red pepper flakes, clam juice, tomato paste, and butter. bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2. stir wine into the soup, and continue to simmer and occasionally stir 2 hours. if you have time, put the soup in the refrigerator and let sit overnight. the next day, put back on the stove and heat for 1/2 hr to hr. (i liked it better this way, but charley found no difference in taste when served immediately)
3. just before serving, stir in shrimp. cook for 3 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. serve with bread for soaking up all the yummy broth.

charley:
when sarah first said this wasn't as good as last time and didn't have a lot of flavor i wasn't sure what she was tasting.  in fact, i liked this more then last time because she added more heat then she did previously.  i like spicy food so this worked great for me.  i only wish there would have been more shrimp!

enjoy!

day 25 = sleepy salmon part II

sarah:
costco salmon is our go-to favorite. charley made this the other day --- soooo simple and so delicious. here's what he did:

- preheat oven to 400 degrees
- put foil on a cookie sheet
- place salmon in the center
- sprinkle with: garlic powder, chipotle powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
- place mini red, yellow, and orange peppers (from costco) around salmon
- cook for 15 mins

we buy all our spices now from penzy's. i highly recommend!

charley:
i begin to wonder who is the better cook between the two of us because this came out awesome! (all kidding aside, sarah is the better cook), but this was excellent.  the heat and texture of the fish was wonderful.  the peppers just add to the flavor and are a must have for this dish!

if you want to check out sleepy salmon part I, see day 3...

enjoy!

day 13 = 5 minute crab legs

this is all it takes:

1) set your oven to broil

2) put crab legs on a broiler pan. broil 2-3 mins 

3) mix together dressing (in place of butter) for your crab

4) eat!

sarah:
i spent too much money, but it was good! we went to costco to pick up more chicken wings that were on coupon (why not save $4), and i got an itchin' for crab legs. as i recall they used to be $10 a pound, but it must be double that now. you can imagine my shock then when i got 1 1/2 pounds for us for dinner and it cost $29!! oh well, charley, i hope you enjoyed it because i won't spend that again :)

this is quite possibly the easiest meal you'll make. when costco has their fresh fishmonger, grab 1-2 legs per person (i bought 3 today for the 2 of us). they are precooked so you just turn your oven to broil and put them in there for 2-3 mins. that's it!

while they were in the oven, i mixed together equal parts olive oil and red wine vinegar and added a few pinches of each of the spices above. this made for a great dipping sauce and i also added it to my salad. the entire meal took all of 5 mins from refrigerator to stomach!

**i got a tip today on how to freeze fish and have it still taste fresh. before you put it in the freezer, stick it in a ziploc bag and add just enough water to cover the fish. when you defrost you won't have any freezer burn and it will retain it's texture. i haven't tried this yet so if you do, please let me know how it works!

charley:
it is Friday, end of the week, and we typically try to do something nice.  i suggested sushi, but sarah wanted to stop at costco and pick up a few things that were on sale.  needless to say we made it to costco and sarah saw the fish stand and made the executive decision for crab legs.  she didn't get any argument out of me as we have been working to clear out the remaining food in the fridge so a light dinner wouldn't be bad.  i think i added the kitchen sink to my salad along with the crab legs, but in the end the crab legs were the star.  being easy to heat up they were a pain to crack open.  the legs from costco actually had a good deal of meat on them so it made it worth it.  sarah likes to dip hers in sauce where i like mine straight up.  tasty tasty!!!

enjoy!

day 3 = sleepy salmon

tonight i'm on my own. charley is out to dinner so i decided to put one of my favorite quick and easy meals together. i had salmon in the fridge from our Costco trip and leftover sauce and spice rub from last night's meal (see day 2 post). this is great! you can probably get 2 nights of chicken and 2 nights of salmon rub out of the recipe.

if you need to make a meal that takes little effort, turn your oven to 450 when you get home for the night and go change into "comfy clothes". pull some salmon out of the fridge, place it on a foil lined baking sheet, drizzle some Black Pepper Vinegar Sauce over the top, sprinkle with Sixteen-Spice-Rub, and stick in the oven for 14 minutes. THAT'S IT! it was excellent and a great way to use the leftovers!

i make this recipe all the time with just olive oil and any combination of spices so don't be intimidated by the spice rub recipe :)

here's a link for the sauce and spice rub: vinegar sauce and spice rub.

oh... i added some greek chicken pasta salad i made over the weekend. it's just rotissarie chicken, pasta, feta cheese, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and greek dressing. another simple, but spectacular dish charley has now been able to eat for lunch!

enjoy!