Brown Sugar Salmon with a Side of Heat 'n Eat

Spotted this at Costco today.  And thought it would go well with the salmon I had thawing in the fridge for dinner tonight.  There are six-2 serving pouches inside, I nuked 2 of them at three minutes each and it easily fed the 5 of us.   

Now onto the salmon.  Rev. Hubs can cook up a mean Salmon fillet.  This is scientific, so y'all get a pen.  ;)   

1) He put the fillet in a big ziplock bag, put in some soy sauce, and a splash of orange juice.   

2) Marinated for about 30 minutes.  

3) Then he removed the fillet and put it in glass baking dish, mixed the marinade with about 1/4 c. of brown sugar and spread it over the top of the fish.  

4)Bake at 350 for anywhere from 20-30 minutes (depends on the thickness of fish.)  

I wish I had taken a pic of the finished product. It was so good!  For the littlest, I used the kitchen shears and just went to town chopping the noodles, veggies and salmon up in her bowl.  This will definitely be a do over.  

Chicken Risotto Soup

I have been CRAVING soup like crazy lately! This soup really hit the spot and provided leftovers for lunch for about 3 days...and I didn't even get tired of it! It tasted better each day as the flavors melded together. I did simmer it for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe calls for, the rice was still a little too hard after 15 min. I made these garlic cheese biscuits while the soup simmered, or add some oyster crackers (my kid's favorite!) and voila! Your dinner is DONE!

*You could make this corn-free by using a corn-free thickener instead of cornstarch, or no thickener at all and it'll taste great!

Black Beans and Rice

This is absolutely one of our favorite in-a-hurry, low budget, good for you, satisfying lunches/dinners! Believe it or not, this is one of the FEW things sweet-pea will enjoy down to the very last bite.

• first, cook some brown rice (follow the pkg. instructions)
• heat up a can of black beans (I chose store-brand organic), add finely chopped onion and minced garlic, or other spices, if desired (I usually don't)
• add favorite toppings...and you're done!

I've even served this to guests by having a variety of toppings available (chopped up bell pepper, onion, tomato) and chips and salsa.

Other great toppings are salsa, shredded cheese, and a dollup of sour cream.