Day 364: Leg of Lamb & Game Day Quesadillas!

About a week ago I took some requests for meals to make my last week of this blog.  Today I'm fulfilling two of them.  Because I like rich Sunday dinners like roasted chicken, pot roast, etc, I thought the leg of lamb that someone requested would be a good Sunday dinner after church.  And then tonight is game night for our New England patriots and I'm serving up some good game-food:  Quesadillas, homemade guacamole, and restaurant-style salsa with tortilla chips.  We're ready!

Leg of Lamb
I could only find boneless when I went shopping, and I suspect that bone-in would be a bit better.  But you can easily apply the same concept, here, just increase the cooking time.  With bone-in or larger cuts of meat, I like to roast them at high temps for a half hour or so before decreasing the temp to let it finish cooking.  Starting at a high oven temperature helps to get the outside a little crispy, and then reducing the temperature will ensure that you don't burn the meat while still continuing to cook the inside.  My boneless leg wasn't all that big, so I simply seared the outside for that crispness and then roasted it at an even temperature in the oven.

1 leg of lamb
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TB rosemary, chopped
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt, pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
herb medley: fresh rosemary, chives, parsley, chopped
flour
red wine
chicken stock

Just a couple hours or so before you cook the lamb, drizzle it with some olive oil and lemon juice.  Then rub it with the salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary and massage the meat with your hands.  Let it refrigerate until you're ready to cook.
Preheat the oven to 350*.  Heat a cast iron skillet and sear the meat over high heat on all sides.  Place the skillet in the preheated oven and roast for about 20 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 150*-155* for medium/medium rare.
For the sauce, start sautéing the onion in the pan drippings on the stove over medium-high heat.  Add the fresh herbs and some salt and pepper.  Add a tablespoon of flour.  Whisk in the red wine, cook for 1 minute.  Add twice as much chicken stock as red wine.  Whisk and cook until reduced.  Serve over the lamb. 
Of course, lamb has to be served with cous cous!  For my recipe, click here (also a recipe for lamb meatballs). 

Tonight we hosted our Bible study, which is usually at our friends' house.  Obviously, we had to make the arrangement to accommodate the football game!  We had an early study and then turned on the game and ate dinner.  The guacamole and salsa are perfect game food!  Here's a recipe for quesadillas that was shown to me on facebook.  I glanced at it and then just tried to re-invent it myself when I made them tonight.  They were excellent!  I made a bunch so just know that this recipe makes a lot!

Cheesy Quesadillas

3-4 large chicken breasts, skin-on, bone-in
cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 oz  cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
4 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
salt, pepper
tortillas

Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Roast in the oven at 400* for about a half hour.  Let cool.  Pull the meat off the bone and shred it.
In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and tomatoes with green chiles.  Mix well.  Add the shredded chicken and Mexican cheese and mix again.  Fill each tortilla with the mixture and fold in half.  Place in the oven (at 400*) for 10 minutes.  Serve warm!

Guac to my left, salsa to my right!  That's my kind of dinner!

 

Days 267-268: Mexican Stuffed Peppers, Roasted Vegetable Tostadas, and Blackberry Margaritas

Good morning!  Are you wide awake, energetic, enthusiastic, and ready to go?!  If so, I'll have what you're having.  I'm sitting here with my coffee, doing major blog catch-up (and am actually excited about it because the recipes for the next few weeks are going to be awesome) but I'd still rather crawl back into my warm bed.  I love the house this quiet, and I love being the first one up, but this morning, my coffee just seems to be taking extra long to kick in! 

This past week has been a total blur.  I can hardly distinguish one day from another.  So I guess it's a good thing I have this blog, separating the days by meals--otherwise I'd be totally confused!  I wrote about last weekend's catering job in my previous post.  So let's continue on the daily journey and talk about Monday, Columbus Day.

Columbus Day I spent all day shopping with my mother and aunts--a tradition, like many, in our family.  I read in a book one time, "Some people are happiest when they're saving money, others are happiest when they're spending it."  (or something along those lines)  I'm the latter.  I think it's how I was raised... wink wink, Mom!  I don't think I spend carelessly, nor do I consider myself a "shopaholic", though I suppose those things are pretty subjective.  To the person who rarely buys anything, it may look like I shop a lot, but to the person who loves to shop, I don't shop nearly enough. The truth is, I really DON'T like to shop.  That's why I can only spend 2 full days a year shopping: Columbus Day and Black Friday.  And on Black Friday, I'm up early and generally done by lunch.  Other than that, I'll go out and get a few things here and there that I or someone in my family needs, and I do love to buy presents for people, but I'm certainly not a "browser."  I know what I want and if I don't see it, I don't buy anything.  This is why I can't shop with my husband--he could spend all day "deciding" on what to get and wanting to look here or there for things.  That's the kind of shopping I can't stand.  When I'm at a store or mall, I'm mission-minded!

Collecting fall leaves--this is the kind of browsing I can get into!

Columbus Day, for me, sort of "rings in" the shopping holiday season.  I get into the spirit of buying Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, and a few fall/winter clothing items for myself, husband, and kids.  You know I love this time of year, and Columbus Day at Wrentham Outlets is just another fall tradition that makes this my favorite season!  Anyway, I suppose I explain all of that to say that Monday's dinner was Velveeta Mac & Cheese, again.  Didn't feel much like cooking, but more like showing off a few key items and carefully hiding the rest.  Randy graciously stayed home with the kids that day, making it a true "holiday" for me, and he even grouted our kitchen's backsplash!  The kitchen is almost done, and I promise I'll have before and after pictures soon!

Tuesday is Mexican night, generally, according to my weekly meal menu.  So for Day 268, I made Mexican Stuffed Peppers, Spicy Roasted Vegetable Tostadas, and Blackberry Margaritas.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Usually I use green bell peppers to stuff, but since the peppers I wanted to serve were going alongside another "main" dish, I decided to use smaller peppers.  Also, since I wanted more of a "Mexican" or "Southwestern" flavor, using poblanos seemed to make the most sense.

4 poblano peppers

3/4 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 lb breakfast sausage
cumin
paprika
cayenne chili powder
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 a red pepper, small diced
salt, pepper

Slice the tops off of the poblano peppers and then dice the tops (minus the stem) to add to the cooked rice.  Crumble the breakfast sausage into a small skillet and season with cumin, paprika, and chili powder to taste while browning.  Once the sausage is browned, add it to the rice along with the diced pepper and the frozen corn.  Stir in some salt and pepper to taste.  Use the filling to stuff the 4 poblanos and place them in pan filled 1/3 of the way with water.  Bake them at 400* for about 20-25 minutes.

Spicy Roasted Vegetable Tostadas
Because it's fall, I wanted to use vegetables that resembled this season.  You can certainly use any kinds of vegetables you'd like, though.

small, round, corn tortillas
1 cup of butternut squash, small diced
1 Italian eggplant, small diced
1 red pepper, small diced
1 medium zucchini, small diced
olive oil
cumin
paprika
cayenne chili powder
red pepper flakes
salt, pepper
hot sauce (if desired)
Mexican cheese
sour cream

On a rimmed baking sheet, place all of the diced vegetables.  Drizzle liberally with olive oil.  Season to taste with the cumin, paprika, chili powder, and just a few red pepper flakes.  Stir to combine.  Roast in the oven at 400* for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through and fragrant.  Meanwhile, toast each tortilla over the flame of a gas stove, or on a dry skillet, both sides, until brown and crispy.  When the vegetables are done, place a generous spoonful of vegetables on each cooked tortilla, top with Mexican cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce (if desired).

Blackberry Margarita
I've had a pint of blackberries in my fridge for sometime.  I meant to use them to make a jam of sorts with strawberries, but little by little, the blackberries started disappearing for simple snacks.  With only a small amount left, I wondered what to do with them.  Then it hit me--drinks!

This recipe is similar to a blackjack margarita, which contains chambord raspberry liqueur (or in our case, sometimes blackberry brandy).  For this recipe, though, I made my classic margaritas.  But before I poured the drinks into the glasses, I muddled 3 blackberries in the bottom of each glass.  It added a great fruitiness to the margarita!  Yum!

Notice the backsplash?!?! :)

Vegan Enchiladas & Brownies (recap Days 148-151)

Confession: I haven't felt like working on my blog AT ALL the past few days.  I haven't even felt like cooking or taking pictures!  Do you ever go through specific "modes" or "moods" in life?  I'm in an organizing/cleaning/packing mode.  At least during the day at school.  I just packed up my classroom (I had to switch rooms with another teacher in preparation for the new classroom arrangement for next year) and brought several things home.  I love to organize so I thoroughly enjoyed sifting through papers, separating items, deciding what I keep, what I toss, and what gets passed to my aunt who will start her first year teaching in the fall.  I know, I sound crazy.  I'm well aware that organizing is not a commonly loved activity.  I only wish this stamina would carry itself home.  It's been so beautiful out that I cleaned out our fairly large kiddie pool and filled it.  Now, the first thing I do when I get home with the kids is put on their swimsuits, hand them a freeze-pop, and stick 'em in the pool.  I sit with my feet in and a magazine in hand.  It's bliss!  Randy has also had the past couple weeks off from his night job, so we've had our evenings together.  We're spending that time watching "Lost" on Netflix and drinking wine.  So the time I normally spend folding clothes, organizing the house, writing my blog, and washing dishes, is now spent sitting on the couch.  Needless to say, things are piling up.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the time I'm spending with my husband and children! But with the last day of school tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can keep up my organizing craze and start packing up the house once school is out.  We're supposed to sign our P & S agreement for the new house tomorrow and I will take that as my "greenlight" to start the slow process of organizing and packing.  I am actually giddy at the thought of tossing/donating a whole bunch of stuff!

But back to the actual reason for this blog: food.  My cousin's fiancée just had a baby and they live a few streets away from us.  I wanted to bring them a meal and Jodi is vegan, so I needed to do a little research, first.  I found a recipe for Vegan Enchiladas which I thought would go great with my homemade guacamole.  I think every new mom deserves a sweet reward to help get through those sleepless nights, so I also made Vegan No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies.  But before I get to those recipes, let me catch you up on our week of dinners.

Day 148 (Monday): good ol' spaghetti and meatballs!

Day 149 (Tuesday): I made a big salad for Randy and I with some leftover chicken from Sunday.  We also shared a pizza with the kids.

Day 150 (Wednesday): salmon salad and an arugula salad with a homemade lemon vinaigrette, fresh parmesan cheese, and cracked black pepper.  I only ate the arugula salad and it was so tasty! 

And then there's today (Day 151-Thursday).  When I got home from school, I made the guacamole and the avocado sauce for the enchiladas.  I had already made the enchiladas and brownies the night before.  Abby and I walked down to my cousin's house to meet their beautiful baby!  Here are the recipes:

Vegan Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce
I got this recipe from a vegan blog (http://ohsheglows.com/) that was recommended to me by a co-worker.  The original recipe called for black beans and I used pinto instead.  Also, it gave a choice between using a sweet potato or a zucchini and I used both since I doubled the recipe so my family could try them also.  Instead of doubling the enchilada sauce, I used both enchilada sauce and tomato sauce.  Tomato sauce is cheaper than enchilada sauce, and it allows you to control the seasonings.  I added chipotle chili powder to mine for a more smoky flavor.  This is the single recipe and it makes 4 enchiladas.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet potato (or zucchini), chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 handful of spinach, chopped
1 can of black or pinto beans, drained
1 32 oz can of enchilada sauce
cumin, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, chili powder--all to taste
4 whole grain tortilla wraps
creamy avocado sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Pre-cook the chopped sweet potato/zuchini  by boiling in water for just a few minutes.  In a large skillet, cook the onions over medium/medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.  Now add the sweet potato, spinach, pepper, and drained beans.  Cook for 5-7 minutes.  Add the enchilada sauce and seasonings to taste.  Stir well.
Ladle a thin layer of sauce on the baking sheet.  Then fill each tortilla wrap with about 1 cup of the mixture and place them seam-side down on or in the pan (whatever you are using).  Complete each enchilada and the pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Serve with creamy avocado sauce.

Creamy Avocado/Cilantro Sauce
1-2 avocados (depending on size)
2 TB of water
2 TB lime juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup fresh cilantro
salt, garlic powder, cumin, pepper--all to taste

Combine ingredients in the food processor and process until creamy.  Spread over baked enchiladas.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies (No Bake!)
At first, I looked at a recipe from the same blog for Two-Layer Raw Chocolate Brownies.  However, I couldn't find all of the ingredients for the homemade vegan chocolate sauce, so I decided to change it to a vegan peanut-butter sauce, which led me to swap out the walnuts in the brownie for peanuts.  I also couldn't find raw cacao nibs, so I didn't use them.  I used a tad more cocoa powder.  Here's my (slightly more "user-friendly") recipe.

1 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup organic, unsalted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups dates
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Process the peanuts in a food processor until fine.  Add the seeds and dates and process until fine and sticky.  Add the powder, vanilla, and salt and pulse until combined.  Evenly press the mixture into an 8 x 8 baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Place in the freezer while you make the peanut-butter sauce or for 10 minutes.  Remove from freezer and pour the peanut butter sauce (recipe follows) over the brownies.  Return to the freezer for 20 more minutes.  (Overnight is fine, too.)  Remove from freezer and cut into squares.  These are so delicious!  I will most likely make more for myself soon!

Bethany's Peanut-Butter Sauce (vegan)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup vegetable/soybean oil
1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter
1/4 cup almond milk (plain milk is fine if you're not making a vegan version)
1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and vegetable oil over medium-low heat.  Whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the peanut butter and almond milk.  Continue to whisk and cook for another minute or until all incorporated.  Remove from heat, add the vanilla and stir. 

I actually sprinkled finely chopped peanuts on top, but forgot to sprinkle them on before I took the picture!

Day 140: All-In-One-Place Mexcian!

Each of the items that made up tonight's fun, delicious, and very satisfying meal have been recorded here before, but not in one place.  So I've decided to not just reference their locations, but to re-write the recipes here.  Sometimes, it helps to be reminded of recipes you've seen in the past and wanted to try but then forgot about them--at least, I think so!

Chicken Taco Rice
1 lb chicken breast (cooked either by the stovetop or oven, then shredded)

13 oz chicken broth
8 oz tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 cup frozen corn
1 red and yellow peppers, cut in strips
1 1/2 cups of rice, cooked
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

In a small pot, bring the broth, tomato sauce, and seasoning to a boil and add the cooked chicken, peppers, and corn.  Bring to a boil again to cook the peppers and corn.  Serve over the rice with cheese on top and tortilla chips for scooping/shoveling into your mouth! :)
Variations: 
*No taco seasoning?  No problem!  If you have Southwestern seasoning, that works just as well--use a couple tablespoons.  Or you can combine some paprika, cumin, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, salt, pepper and use that!  Put some seasoning on the chicken, too, before you cook it!!!
*No chicken broth?  Beef broth adds a nice extra boldness to the dish, and I've actually come to prefer it over the chicken broth.

Homemade Guacamole
4 avocadoes
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lime
hot sauce, to taste
salt, pepper, to taste
chipotle chili powder, to taste
Mix ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.  Blend until desired consistency.  *Be liberal with the salt!  Avocados are very mild, so the salt will really help to bring out the flavor.

Classic Margarita (makes 2)
So yeah, we had margaritas on a Monday night.  But, Randy normally works his 2nd job at night and he has this week off, so we're celebrating!  And by "celebrating", I mean, drinking margaritas while I force him to help fold clothes, watch the Bachelorette, and help with school work. ;)  At least we have great drinks!

2 oz Triple Sec
4 oz lime juice
6 oz tequila
ice
salt

Run a lime wedge around a glass rim and coat with kosher salt.  Fill the glass with ice.  Shake the Triple Sec, lime juice, and tequila together and pour over ice. Garnish with lime wedge.

Day 67: Chicken Taco Rice

I remember having this meal at a friend's house when Randy and I were engaged.  I knew I wanted the recipe right away!  I think I remember Andrea saying she got it from her mother-in-law.  Well, she gave me this recipe and one for whoopie pies and they have both been frequent "fliers" in our kitchen ever since!  This meal is super fast, super delicious, and super fun to eat!
Here are the original ingredients for the recipe as I received it.  I've included some variations mainly because whenever I think I want to serve it, I inevitably forget to pick up 1 or 2 ingredients--don't ask why.  So I've been forced to try new things with it, and hey, they've worked!

Chicken Taco Rice
1 lb chicken breast (cooked either by the stovetop or oven, then shredded)
13 oz chicken broth
8 oz tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can corn, drained
1 each of red, green, and yellow peppers, cut in strips
1 1/2 cups of rice, cooked
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

In a small pot, bring the broth, tomato sauce, and seasoning to a boil and add the cooked chicken, peppers, and corn.  Bring to a boil again to cook the peppers and corn.  Serve over the rice with cheese on top and tortilla chips for scooping/shoveling into your mouth! :)
Variations: 
*No taco seasoning?  No problem!  If you have Southwestern seasoning, that works just as well--use a couple tablespoons.  Or you can combine some paprika, cumin, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, salt, pepper and use that!  Put some seasoning on the chicken, too, before you cook it!!!
*No chicken broth?  Beef broth adds a nice extra boldness to the dish, and I've actually come to prefer it over the chicken broth.
*I only use a red and yellow pepper.  (Mainly because I forgot to get the green pepper once and never missed it!)
*I also use 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn instead of canned corn.  I always have frozen vegetables in my freezer!

Day 39: 5 Tips for Taco Night

Noah had his 9-month check-up this afternoon, both kids have had pink-eye this week, and I had lifegroup tonight.  Taco night!!!  Fast, easy, and fun!  Auntie Christy and Uncle Eric both came over to hang with the kiddos, and of course, I always want family over for food!  So we all piled our plates high and enjoyed!  Here's how we do taco night, how about you?

1. I don't waste my money (I know, only $0.79) on those taco seasoning packets.  I have plenty of "taco" seasoning in my pantry!  Mix some spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder, etc), sprinkle on the beef.  Add some beef broth for extra juiciness.

2. Randy makes these great cheesy taco shells: he sprinkles cheese on the soft taco and microwaves it.  Then folds it around the hard taco shell.  It may not be an original idea (Taco Bell, anyone?) but it is sooo good!  I make him do it every time!

3.  Serve Spanish rice.  Whether it's a side dish to the taco, or put in the taco itself, it's a great additive!

4. We love avocado, and it's so good for you!  Everyone gets a little plate with cubed avocado.  Drizzle Italian dressing over it and it's very yummy and easier than guacamole!

5.  Cholula Hot Sauce is THE BEST HOT SAUCE. Get some. Try it. You'll see. The end.

Day 34: Tequila Lime Chicken, Mango Salsa, Rice, Steamed Broccoli, & Classic Margaritas

This is definitely a summer meal.  It is easy to prepare and delicious!  The chicken recipe idea itself comes from Ina Garten (I am giving you my variation).  Tonight was my first time making it.  I served it with wild rice, steam broccoli, and a mango salsa I make frequently in the summer.  Paired with a classic margarita, it totally brought me to a warm, sunny, happy place!

Tequila Lime Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts, skin on
1/2 cup tequila
juice of 3-4 limes (*limes are probably the peskiest fruit to juice--I pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds and then use a fork to help juice them.  Using the fork creates a lot of pulp, so I am sure to strain the juice afterwards.)
juice of 1 orange
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 jalapeno, minced OR 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (my jalapeno withered before I was able to use it, so I substituted the flakes)
1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TB fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine all of the ingredients except the cilantro and chicken in a medium bowl.  Add the chicken, and marinate overnight.  (I wasn't able to do it overnight, so the chicken soaked for about 6 hours during the day, and it was still flavorful!)  When ready, you can grill the chicken (skin side down, first) on the grill, or on a grill pan.  I like to do mine on a grill pan that is oven-safe so I can finish it off in the oven at about 400* until cooked through. 

Mango Salsa 

(I think I first got this recipe from Rachael Ray, but I've just made it on my own for so long that I can't remember if it's exactly like hers still.)
1 mango, diced (Tonight I used previously frozen (now thawed) mango chunks from the store.  The rest of the chunks I saved for Noah.)
2 plum tomatoes, diced
quarter of 1 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lime
drizzle of hot sauce (depending on how hot you like your salsa)
salt, pepper (to taste)

Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Taste for seasonings such as salt, pepper, and hot sauce.




Classic Margarita--Easy as 1, 2, 3!!!
(makes 1--doubled, it's as easy as 2, 4, 6!)

1 oz Triple Sec
2 oz lime juice
3 oz tequila
ice
salt

Run a lime wedge around a glass rim and coat with kosher salt.  Fill the glass with ice.  Shake the Triple Sec, lime juice, and tequila together and pour over ice.

Day 25: Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadillas, Spanish Rice, Avocado in Italian Dressing

I've always loved quesadillas!  In fact, I think Mexican food is probably my favorite ethnicity of food (or at least at the top of the "favorites" list!).  And I love the Chili's bacon ranch chicken quesadillas, so I started serving them at home!  We've actually started to prefer using ranch dressing as a dip for quesadillas all the time.

To make the quesadillas:
Stick bacon slices in the oven at 400* on a broiler pan.  When the bacon is done, crumble it onto a plate.
Cut up 1-2 chicken breasts into bite size pieces.  (Tonight I actually used chicken breasts with the bone-in, skin-on, so I seasoned them, baked them, then shredded them.  Either way is fine.)
Before cooking, season chicken with salt, pepper, and ground cumin.  Cook through.
Lay out the flour tortillas and sprinkle half with shredded Mexican cheese, the chicken, bacon, and ranch dressing, if desired.  Fold the tortilla in half.  Repeat with as many tortillas as you want.  Bake at 400* until the cheese melts.  You can stick them under the broiler, too, for a nice crisp on the tortilla.
Serve with Spanish rice and avocado.  (*We like to cut up the avocado and drizzle with Italian dressing--it really livens it up!)

Day 17: Pan-Grilled Salmon with Poblanos, Corn, & Onion

Salmon is definitely one of my favorite fish, and this is one of my favorite ways to have it.  It is so non-traditional and unexpected, but so delicious!  It has quickly become a family favorite--even Abby loves it!

Pan-Grilled Salmon with Poblanos, Corn, & Onion
(these are the quantities we use for our family...)
1-2 salmon filets (I ask for about 1 lb or less of salmon at the seafood counter)
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 cup frozen corn
1/2 - 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
salt, pepper

Start by searing the salmon in a buttered skillet.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the flesh of the salmon and start grilling on the flesh side.  You may flip it once and place it in a 300* oven to finish it off.  (I like to do it that way so it's out of the way, but you can also grill it totally on the stove if you want, as long as you're careful not to burn it.  Salmon should be prepared 90/10, meaning, 90% of the time it should cook on the skin side, and only 10% of the time on the flesh side.  Unlike other meats or fish where you can cook them 50/50 on either side.  Start it on the flesh side, and once it's golden-brown on that side, flip it and let it finish cooking totally on the skin side.)
Before cooking the pepper, place the slices in a bowl of water and microwave for about 1 minute.  This will soften the pepper and remove some of it's spice.  Poblanos are pretty waxy and can pack a lot of heat--the microwave will take some of the edge off.  Get the onions cooking over medium-high heat in a skillet.  When translucent, add the pepper slices and the garlic.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes.  Add the corn and about 1/4 cup of water.  The water will help soften and cook the vegetables.  Cook for another minute or two.  Turn off the heat and add the sour cream or yogurt.  Mix well to combine.  Season with salt and lots of black pepper.  Plate the sauce first then top with the salmon.  Serve with wild rice.