good, cheap, quick salmon patties that even kids will eat!

"Good, cheap, and quick" are my cooking trifecta in this season of life.  I want to spend as little money as possible at the store, and as little time as possible in the kitchen, with as few fights-slash-bribes as necessary when trying to get the kids to eat what I make.  If it's healthy, that's a bonus, too.

I've always kind of had to be a budget cook.  When Todd and I first got married, our weekly grocery budget was $30 per week.  Every two weeks, we treated ourselves to a takeout meal, but other than that, it was on me to feed the two of us on less than $5 per day.  I clipped a lot of coupons and we ate a ton of Hamburger Helper.

Our budget has obviously had to increase as our numbers have increased, so I've had to get creative with ways to keep it reasonably low - especially since I don't really do Hamburger Helper-type meals all that often anymore.

A few years ago, I came across a recipe for salmon patties.  I honestly hadn't ever heard of them, and was equal parts intrigued and disgusted by the idea.  I ran it past Todd, who said his mom used to make them a lot growing up, and he always really liked them, so I figured I'd at least give it a shot.

And you know what?  They're really good.  Like, really good.  My kids don't even fight me on them.  Plus, they're crazy-cheap.  A can of salmon at Aldi is less than $3, so I double this recipe in order to feed all of us, and it still only costs me about $7 for the whole meal, including sides of steamed broccoli and rice.  That's a HUGE win.

So here's what you'll need to know:

Salmon Patties

Total prep/cook time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4-6 salmon patties

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 oz.) can of salmon

1 egg

1/4 c. almond meal or bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp. dried minced onion

1 tsp. paprika

Fresh green onions, chopped (optional)

(Feel free to mess around with seasoning quantities, or add or take out any as you see fit.  I'm not really a measurer of things, and usually just throw in whatever I have on hand that sounds good, and they always turn out fine.)

Steps:

1.  Drain salmon and mash it with a fork.  You could pick all the bones and skin out, but there are some really great nutrients in those - things like calcium and Omega-3's - and honestly, once you mix it all up, you can't even tell they're in there.  I recommend just leaving it all in there and mashing it well.  It'll be our secret.

2.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

3.  Heat about 1/4 c. cooking oil over med heat.  (I like to use bacon grease, but whatever you use most often will work.)

4.  Using your hands, form medium-sized balls of the mixture, and then flatten into patties (just like if you were making burgers).  When oil is hot, cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until the outside is crispy and the inside is cooked through.

To serve, I like to mix about 1/4 c. mayonnaise with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice as a dipping sauce, or as a topping if serving these on buns.