Salad topped with Wild Salmon

Since I've been very ill (the doctors said maybe mono?) I decided to cook up something simple tonight.

1 pc of wild salmon
Seasoning for fish
Mixed greens
1 carrot
Cucumber
Shelled walnuts
Olive Oil


Season your salmon to your liking - I used actual salmon seasoning that you can find in the grocery store. Bake on 400 degrees for 13 minutes.

Put the walnuts in a small fry pan - douce with a little bit of olive oil - these walnuts toast up quick! In only a few minutes, you must watch them carefully. I burnt them a little but I don't mind the taste of overcooked ones lol.

 Put together your salad and place the fish on top! Wah-lah! Enjoy! (you know I always do)

Coriander Crusted Tuna with Caramelized Onions

Onions-
3 large Red onions, peeled and sliced very thin
2 1/2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
Kosher Salt/Freshly Ground Pepper
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme

Tuna-
1-2 lbs of sushi quality Tuna
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbs of coriander seeds
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt/ Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt is optional

Sides: Broccoli, Sweet potatoes (mashed)

Slice the onions thin - Heat oil in a skillet and throw in the onions.
Cook and stir them into the oil to saturate them. Season with Salt + Pepper.
Add thyme leaves to the onions and stir. Saute them for about 15 minutes until they are golden and tender.

Cut the tuna into 4 even sized slices (about 1 inch thick)
Mix lime juice in a bowl with the coriander seeds, olive oil, salt + pepper.
Coat the tuna slices in the lime mixture - let them marinate for about 10 minutes.
Heat a dry skillet, then drizzle in a little oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
Sear the tuna for about 1.5 min on each side - or cook to your liking.

Place tuna on a cutting board and let sit for a couple minutes. Place the caramelized onions on top -
Sprinkle some sea salt on top to finish for additional flavor!

A great and easy tuna recipe for fish lovers.

My Blog - on Facebook!

I have added a facebook page for you guys to "like" - with a compilation of all my food pics - and some silly ones! Please feel free to "like" it so you can keep up to date with the posts on here.

Link: Learning Taste Buds Facebook Page!

Thanks so much for the support!

My birthday dinner (with Mom's help!)

 My mom's delicious salad with walnuts, cucumber, crutons and a goat cheese canopy.

 My favorite, fettuccine alfredo with peas and mushrooms

 teriyaki wild salmon (recipe here)

 and grandma made me a birthday cake :)

Tonight's dinner

Salad. Fried chicken cutlets (recipe here). Homemade Mac and cheese (recipe here) and some corn on the side! Delish meal!

Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro

On Sunday, someone surprised me for my birthday by taking me to see the Cake Boss! He was performing a show at Westbury theater on Long Island. Having never watched the TV show, I was very impressed with Buddy. He was hilarious! The show was more for entertainment - there was no baking demonstrations - but there were some decorating demonstrations. The cake boss involved the audience a lot in his show and that was fun to see! Thank god I didn't get picked to go up, I might have fainted LOL but I know I could've decorated better than some of the people that did get picked! Overall, it was such a great experience to get to see Buddy Valastro - I look forward to catching an episode of his show! :)

Nachos

You can find the recipe  here to make the nachos below:

cook the meat until there is no red left

drain the meat with a paper towel to soak up the grease and fat

add some salsa!

add some cheese (i used a mexican 4 cheese mix)

layer: chips, meat, cheese, chips meat cheese

Melt the plate in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes!

ENJOY!! lol

Homemade Tacos

To make the meat, you will need 2 lbs of chop meat (we use 80% lean) depending how many people you are making these for. throw into a fry pan. Once the meat turns brown (with no red showing) you want to pour the meat over a plastic plate with a paper towel on it. This will dry up all the grease and fat the meat has produced. Once you drain the meat, throw it back into the fry pan. Add about a 1/2 cup of salsa, 2-3 tablespoons of taco seasoning (you can buy this in any grocery store), and add any other spices you may want to use. mix the meat well and let it get hot. We also throw some cheese into the meat while it is cooking - it adds flavor and creaminess. We prefer to use a mexican four cheese mix, but any cheese will do. Heat the taco shells in the oven for a few minutes. We add some lettuce, tomato, and cheese - even some sour cream if you'd like! And me of course with the ketchup Lol!

Easter

 The below Sweet potato au Gratin dish is from Brown Eyed Baker - you can find the recipe on her blog here - it is so simple and tasty!! My family loved it on Easter.

My famous sugar cookies - unfortunately added a little too much flour and they weren't as good as usual! The recipe for these cookies can be found in my prior post, here.

 And this is what an Easter feast looks like with my family - there were about 60 of us!

Bowtie Pasta, Sweet Potatoes mashed - and a Cheese burger!

Yes - I love broccoli in my sweet potatoes always! So good!

I don't have the recipe for the above pasta at the moment, will have to get from my mom!

I marinate the bugers in Yoshida sauce - Dad makes them on the BBQ since I am not a BBQer yet! Hopefully I find a guy who is because I think it's his job LOL

always with the ketchup :)

Scrambled Eggs with a Hash brown

Yes, my all time favorite breakfast!!

break the eggs into a bowl - add salt pepper and a tsp of milk (i added a little more lol) the milk makes them a bit fluffier

scramble them well with a fork!

place the frozen hash brown in a fry pan and add some olive oil (not a lot if you don't want it greasy!)

fry on each side for 4-5 mins or until golden brown

i fry the egg on high in the beginning - once i start flipping it around i lower the heat and slowly let it cook

if i have to tell you to add ketchup, then you are just crazy! :)