Easy, Healthy Recipe — Salmon Tacos With Smoked Paprika Mango Slaw

If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, you know that I've become obsessed with cooking — especially since quarantine started. I've had a lot of fun choosing and trying other people's recipes to cook (so much so that I made a blog post about it), but I've learned so much that I've also started inventing my own recipes too. In this post, I'm sharing with y'all my very first own recipe.

Salmon tacos aren't news, but this smoked paprika mango slaw that I dreamt up adds the perfect sweet and smoky touch to the flavor profile. P.S. smoked paprika has easily become my favorite seasoning. I add it into almost everything. 

If you make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram @KateMcReynoldsBlog — I'd love to see and hear your thoughts! 


Salmon Tacos with Mango Smoked Paprika Slaw

(Feeds 3-4) 

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs salmon filets (wild caught is my favorite)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 1 lemon
- Salt 
- Pepper
- 8 oz bag of coleslaw
- 1 mango
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Small Corn Tortillas (3 per person)
- Guacamole (use your favorite, simple recipe)

Salmon: Season with garlic, juice from the lemon, salt and pepper. Bake at 425° for 15-18 minutes (or until the internal temperature is at least 145°).

Smoked Paprika Mango Slaw: Cut mangoes into thin, 2 inch long shards (photo example below). Mix the coleslaw, mango shards, mayo, sour cream, smoked paprika, salt and pepper together in a medium mixing bowl. 

Corn Tortillas: Heat and char tortillas on grill or over open stove flame (photo example below). Watch very closely. This step is a bit of added effort but honestly transforms the texture of corn tortillas and add the perfect crispiness to your tacos. 

Build your tacos with a smear of guacamole, salmon pieces and a dollop of the slaw and enjoy! 


 
 

NYC Apartment Living Room Decor Mood Board

One thing I've been day dreaming about during quarantine is redecorating the living room of my NYC apartment. I've thought about it so much and browsed so many websites to create my dream space that I'll be sharing the exact pieces with links that I plan (want) to purchase. 

This plan originated from the fact that my roommates and I decided to renew our lease (ending in June) for another year. I was the last to move into this already furnished apartment and most of the decor and furniture were leftover old pieces from my roommates' parents' houses. For me, my home is a sacred space, and having that space be cozy and cute makes me infinitely more happy when spending time in it. 

So when's this going to happen? Well I've pushed back my flight to NYC about 4 times now, but I think this most recent booking for June 26 will stick. After getting back, I'd like to wait a bit longer before making any purchases as I want to make sure my income stream is safe considering all the uncertainty in everything right now. One certain thing that has come from COVID though is that I'll be spending a lot more time at home. Isn't that even more of a reason to invest in making home cuter? ;)

In the widget at the bottom, I've linked all the items pictured in this mood board + a few more I'm considering. There are 3 rugs pictured in the mood board because I'm super torn on which to get (opinions welcome!) What I love most about this decor plan is that everything is super reasonably priced while still appearing very upscale! 


Note: the website that sells the Japanese print above the couch isn't supported through my widget creator so I'm linking it HERE.

Color Of the Moment: Pistachio

I've been seeing pistachio everywhere throughout the past few months in store fronts featuring fashion lines' Spring/Summer Collections. As someone who always gravitates towards mint and sage green in clothing, I'm loving their very close relative, pistachio. I recently purchased this beautiful pair of paper bag pants from & Other Stories (which is one of my favorite stores and has a ton of pistachio colored new arrivals). Like everyone else, I'm in quarantine right now with no where to wear these, but am looking forward to rocking them at work this summer. These pants are sold out in a lot of regular sizes but they run so long (and I'm 5'7!) that the petite sizes, which are fully stocked at the moment, may actually fit better! In this post, I've also rounded up my favorite pistachio pieces from across the web! 


My Tried and True Daily Makeup Routine Products (Inspired by the Spring Sephora Sale)

The amount of influencers/bloggers talking about the Sephora Sale right now would make you think that there are crazy good deals, but in actuality it's just 10-20% depending on what level of loyalty you hold. While many people end up spending money they wouldn't have spent in the first place thinking they are getting a deal, I think the sale serves a good way to smartly stock up on your essential products or try a new product you actually need (like if you need a new mascara, trying the one I recommend). So, if you are in the market for a new product in any of the below categories, I'm sharing the tried and true products from my daily routine — most are available at Sephora and some aren't (I'll indicate which ones are). I also included a infographic from Sephora that shows all the dates/discounts broken down by tier! I'm pretty sure you can get the lowest tier (10%) just by signing up for their emails and becoming a "Beauty Insider"!


Eyes


The #1 question I get asked about my makeup is my mascara! I've been using this one from Benefit for years and it's the best I've ever tried. It essentially doubles the length of my eyelashes.


This one puts the Naked palettes to shame. For basically the same price, you get more 4 more shades and it consists of 50/50 matte and shimmer high quality shadows.


I started buying this brow product a couple of years ago after suffering with a really crappy drugstore liner for years. The very fine tip allows for very precise application and blends in very nicely with the rest of my brow. 


I only wear liquid eyeliner at night, for events or when taking blog photos but when I do, I wear this one. Basically every friend I have that's borrowed this from me has gone out and purchased it for themselves because it's so great ;) The pen tip application is so precise and opaque.

Face


I used to use the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (tube) but switched to this one (which comes in a pot) because it's even more full coverage. Both last all day and blend with my skin very well. I have really dark, puffy under eyes so the more full coverage, the better. 


I have literally been using this product since Freshman year of high school if that tells you anything about how good it is. I have bad rosacea on my face and it has worked miracles in covering it up. I've tried drug store versions and nothing even comes close to working as well. I use it on my cheeks, nose and chin before applying powder foundation over. Don't be intimidated by the green tint — it cancels out the redness and your foundation will cover up the color! 


I don't use a liquid foundation, only this powder one. I love it because it's full coverage and stays all day. I burn through powder foundation very fast so it would be super expensive to buy high end powder. This one works just as well as the ones that are double the price anyway. 

Lips


This is the only lip product (besides chapstick) I use lol. I don't really like changing up my lip color, I spent years trying to find the perfect color and now that I've found it, I stick to it. It's not just the color — the lipstick is smooth and long lasting too! I included a random selfie below that shows off the color really well for reference.




14 Delicious Recipes I've Made In Quarantine

One of the best things I've been doing with all this newfound free time is researching new recipes and cooking delicious meals for my mom and I almost every night. I've made so many amazing recipes sourced from my favorite IG chefs that I thought I'd share with you! I try to only make healthy or relatively healthy recipes so if you are looking for a dessert recipe, decadent pastas or homemade chicken tenders, you should probably click away ;) Below you'll find the recipe photo and then a "reality" photo of my results, notes/alterations and the recipe link. Although my photos don't do some all of the dishes justice, I can sure you they taste better than they may look. 



As is, the recipe is more of a side dish but I added a protein (baked chicken) to round it out as a full meal! Highly recommend adding a spicy marg into the mix.



Sorry in advance that like half of these recipes are going to be from Half Baked Harvest — she's my absolute favorite chef. I made this for Easter dinner and it was such a delicious, elevated dish. 



I love BBQ restaurants/getting take out from them but this is a much healthier alternative that is still tasty. Great as leftovers too. 



This was so good I ate 3 servings in one sitting. I love a "one skillet dinner" because they are easy and reduce the amount of dirty dishes. 



These were INSANE. I think I like them even more than normal chicken piccata. As I do with many meat dishes, I served with a side of roasted veggies to be healthy since the sauce is a bit caloric.



This was another home run from Half Baked Harvest and something I would definitely serve if hosting a dinner party. 



This is probably the healthiest meal on the list since it includes only simple ingredients like chicken breast, veggies, nuts and dried fruit. Of course I had to go and make it less healthy by drizzling it with this Honey Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette. Some extra calories but made this dish even more tasty. All together it kind of reminds me of a homemade harvest bowl! 



It's important to note that I very loosely interpreted this recipe. I omitted the goddess dressing, cucumber and fried egg and added roasted veggies and drizzled the aforementioned Honey Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette on top. This crispy rice is seriously my new favorite thing! An easy way to give rice a more exciting texture and flavor.



I added chicken to this to make it heartier and my favorite spice, smoked paprika, to give an extra kick and it was amazing!



This recipe is so good I've made it twice now! The recipe makes so much whipped feta and sun-dried tomato vinaigrette, I saved the rest and served it leftover with couscous and roasted chicken the next day. 



The easiest dish by far on this list — it took around 15 minutes to make! The sauce is rich and fatty so I'd recommend serving with a healthy side.



Such a good side dish. You could also mix in roasted chicken to make it a whole meal! I used crushed pecans instead of shaved almonds since that's what I had on hand.



The sauce on these is sinfully good. I subbed ground turkey for ground chicken since that's what I had on hand. Forgot to take a picture unfortunately. 



I only used half the recommended heavy cream to make this a little healthier and it was still amazing. I served with rice and veggies. Another recipe I forgot to take a photo of.