Salmon Tacos with Guacamole and Cilantro-Lime Yogurt Sauce

A couple of weeks back we got a new puppy. We have always had two large dogs that are now about 9 years old and we thought a puppy would help them feel a little younger. What I didn't anticipate was the fact that my youngest son is very jealous of anyone or anything that takes away mommy's attention. He has been having a number of temper tantrums and thinks that the puppy doesn't love him enough if it pays attention to anyone besides him. It has gotten better slowly, but it is a work in progress. I do think that it is helping my youngest to have more responsibility and understand that there are things besides mommy in the world. I'm hoping that kindergarten will be an easier transition in a couple of years. In order to make my youngest son feel better I have been making some of my kids favorite foods this week. Both of my kids love salmon. There are a number of foods that they turn up their noses at, but salmon has never been one of them. Last week I made a new recipe for Salmon Tacos with Guacamole from the January 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of cooking time, 15 minutes of prep and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredient at my local grocery store. I chose not to make the rice part of the recipe. Since it was pre-packaged and seemed unnecessary I omitted it. Normally I would have bought quality salmon. However, my husband had bought skin-on wild caught frozen salmon a few months back. I am trying to use foods that we already have in the pantry or freezer so that is the salmon I used in this recipe. My salmon took slightly less than the 15 minutes of cooking suggested by the recipe, closer to 12 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These tacos were very popular with my family. My two boys loved the salmon and ate it without the tortillas. The cilantro lime yogurt was a nice addition and it was my favorite part of the recipe. It made a nice sauce with or without making the salmon as a taco.

For the recipe go to Salmon Tacos with Guacamole.

Saveur Guacamole Taquero (Taco-Shop Guacamole)

As I've stated numerous times before, we make a lot of homemade salsa, guacamole and tortilla chips in our household. I love making these dishes because they are quick, simple and can be made a variety of ways. Plus, it's a great way to get my kids to try new types of peppers and introduce them to new tastes and flavors. Since I make guacamole so frequently, a lot of the recipes I have found are often variations of the same basic ingredients. However, I was interested when a recent issue of Saveur magazine had a recipe for Guacamole Taquero (Taco-Shop Guacamole), which included different ingredients than the guacamole recipes I have made previously.

This recipe has 8 ingredients, all of which I was easily able to find at my local grocery store. The prep time takes only  a few minutes, as most of the work is done in the blender. Honestly, I don't really chop my ingredients very finely since I have a higher end blender, which can handle just about anything. I followed the recipe as stated with no modifications.

If your used to a traditional chunky guacamole, this recipe is a little different. The texture is thinner, closer to a sauce than a dip. It would be great on a burger or taco and could be easily used with a number of different recipes as a topping. I served the guacamole with homemade tortilla chips, which was also delicious. This recipe is very versatile and could be used for a variety of uses.

For the recipe go to Saveur Guacamole Taquero.

Better Homes and Gardens Hot and Chunky Guacamole

Our family of four snacks a great deal. I tend to eat six small meals a day instead of three large ones and my two sons are both in growth spurts. Within a day of making any snack it tends to be devoured and something else has to be made. This phenomenon has lead to me being constantly on the lookout for new snack recipes that are healthy and delicious for my family. Recently, Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for hot and chunky guacamole, which looked perfect for my family's snacking habits.

This recipe uses very basic ingredients that were easily found at my local grocery store. I used frozen peas as fresh peas, even when in season, are rarely available in my area. I modified the recipe slightly by mashing the peas before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. Doing this made the peas better incorporated into the avocados and left a very pleasant taste. I found this recipe to take far less time that the 25 minutes suggested, 15 minutes at most.

I like that this recipe incorporates peas, it gives the guacamole a slightly sweet flavor. This guacamole is in no way spicy as the recipe suggests; for more heat some of the jalapenos seeds could be left in, instead of completely seeding. I served this recipe with pita chips, which worked great and my whole family enjoyed it.

For the recipe go to Better Homes and Gardens Hot and Chunky Guacamole. (registration required).

All You Guacamole with Cumin Chips

My husband loves guacamole. One of his friends (a culinary school grad) makes very good guacamole and every couple of months my husband tricks him to making a batch for him. I haven't made guacamole since we got married, so I figured that it was about time that I let my husband's friend off the hook and made some myself. The May issue of All You magazine featured a guacamole with cumin chips recipe, which seemed perfect to try.

This is a very easy recipe to follow. There are few steps involved and no actual cooking, with the exception of the cumin chips. The ingredients are simple and easy to find; the only problem I ran into was finding decent avocados in my area. I had to go to multiple stores before I was able to find ones fresh enough to use. I only used one baking sheet to bake the cumin chips, which resulted in some of the chips on the side of the pan burning; next time I would follow the instructions and use an additional sheet.

My whole family thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. My young sons have been resistant to eating avocados in the past, but this recipe they loved, with the older boy especially enjoying the bright color of the red onions. I loved that it was so simple to prepare and I was able to make it while waiting for dinner to be finished. My husband appreciated that the recipe doesn't rely on garlic like many other guacamole recipes. I think from now on I will make my husband guacamole using this recipe so that his friend is no longer quite so exploited for his Tex-Mex cooking skills..

For the recipe go to All You Guacomole with Cumin Chips.

Note: this post was previously published but bumped offline during Blogger's recent system upgrade.