Here is another great salmon recipe with a Mexican twist, and perhaps the best recipe for quinoa that I’ve found yet. In case you have never heard of quinoa, it is a super healthy ancient Incan grain that makes for a nice change from brown rice or cous cous.
All of these recipes were published in the March/April issue of Clean Eating, and live up to the magazine’s (and Recession Recipes’s) mantra of consuming food in its most natural state, or as close as possible to it. Thankfully in addition to being good for you, these recipes also taste just plain delicious.
Salmon Roasted in Cilantro Salsa – Feeds 6 at $2.56 per serving
1 poblano pepper
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon canola or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon seat salt
6 3-oz salmon fillets, skinned

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While you are waiting for the oven to heat up, roast the poblano pepper by laying it directly on a gas burner, beneath an oven broiler, or on a bbq grill. You want to roast the pepper until the skin blisters and turns black. I always love doing this because it feeds my inner pyro tendencies, but I get to be productive while burning things
Once the poblano pepper is totally charred, place it in a brown paper bag (I like using old grocery bags), and close it up so the pepper’s skin can loosen from the steam. Once it cools, take the pepper out of the bag and rub off the blackened skin under running water. Pat the pepper dry and then split it open and scrape out the seeds and interior ribs, and pull off the stem.
Cut the poblano into thin strips, and put them in a blender with the lime juice, onions, cilantro, oil, and salt. Whiz it all up until it becomes a puree. I like putting in a ton more cilantro and lime juice so the sauce gets really thick and smothers the salmon when it is cooked.

Place the salmon in a baking dish just large enough to fit the fillets. Pour the cilantro salsa from the blender over the salmon, and turn the fish to coat it on both sides. Bake the fish, uncovered, until the salmon is cooked–around 20 to 30 minutes–depending on how you like your fish cooked. I would start checking it around the 20 minute cooking point to see how it looks and then keep on checking every five minutes. It is kind of hard to over cook the salmon because of the salsa which helps keep things extra moist. To serve, spoon salsa from the pan over the top of each fillet of salmon.
Quinoa Sopa Seco – Feeds 6 people at 57 cents per serving
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa
Pinch sea salt
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or halved cherry tomatoes)

In a medium saute pan with a lid, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, for about 5 minutes. Add the oregano and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the quinoa, then pour in 2 cups water and add the salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the grains show opaque lines around the edges, around 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the peas and tomatoes. Cover the pan again and let stand until the vegetables are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Cucumber-Avocado Salsa - Serves 6 at 26 cents per serving
1/2 regular cucumber (not English), peeled and diced
1 medium avocado, skin removed, seeded and diced
1 lime, cut in half and seeds removed
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoon red or white onions, minced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped

Place the cucumber and avocado in a medium bowl; then squeeze the lime juice over the top. Add the oil, onion, salt, and cilantro and stir gently. Serve immediately. This guacamole tastes great as a topping for the fish, but I think it can hold its own to any guac recipe so I will definitely make it again to munch on with some tortilla chips.

Tah dah! The finished meal at $3.39 per serving. Delicious, healthy, and recession friendly for sure!






















