Scatterbrained

Back to reality... Monday night was my first night in the real world. Meaning... making dinner with 2 kids who refused to nap afoot while my husbands still at work. I don't know what I was thinking? I should have re-entered this world the same way I did with running. Something easy, similar to a nice 3 mile jog with frequent rest breaks.

But earlier that day my mom had come to visit and she brought me some broccolini picked fresh from her garden and some cilantro pesto she made, also from her garden. I'm such a dork but that kind of thing really excites me. I immediately thought of this recipe I read a long time ago that I had been wanting to try, and I happened to have all the ingredients. I quickly scrapped the easy, tried-and-true, could-make-it-in-my-sleep, Kale Soup recipe I had been planning on and decided to make this instead. Bad idea...

Cilantro and Lime Rice with Salmon

2 tbl soy sauce
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime and about a tablespoon of the grated rind
2 tbl honey
2 tbl freshly chopped cilantro (I substitutued the pesto, but same thing)
1 tbl olive oil
1 small chopped onion
1.5 cups brown basmati rice
3.25 cups chicken broth
2-3 salmon filets (I used the frozen chimichurri salmon from Trader Joes - my favorite place on earth)
2 bunches broccolini chopped


So it all started out innocently enough... you can see the boys sitting nicely in the back eating their grilled cheese (I knew this meal wouldn't stand a chance with older boy). I thought I had about an hour before the baby needed to eat... at this point she was chillin.

And then at this point she's screaming. And this is about when I start losing it. Add the onion to olive oil in a saute pan. I was a little frazzled so I added about 3 tablespoons too much. Don't do that.

While that was sauteeing I mixed this real quick. Soy sauce, pesto (or just cilantro), honey,and lime juice and rind.

Sidenote* this marinade was so tasty and would be really good with grilled pork chops or fish!

Then add rice and broth. See, it sounds so simple when I'm typing this but I'm telling you it was chaos over here. chaos! At this point you bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let the rice cook for about 30 minutes. Translation... rush the boys to a bath and nurse baby before rice burns.

And by the time I got downstairs the rice was definitely burned. Oh well, I almost threw it in the trash so I could collapse on the couch and eat ice cream instead, but decided to just keep going and see what happens. SO...

broil the salmon on high for about 10 minutes.

Add the sauce and chopped broccolini in with the rice and stir it around (heat still on low). Breathe, Recover. I mean, re-cover the pan. :)

Take the salmon out, flake it, and mix it in with the rice.

It was actually delicious, when I finally got around to eating it at about 9 pm. It probably wouldn't be too difficult if you're not a total scatterbrain like I am right now.