Simple Summer Salmon

Maybe this just happens in our home, but have you ever noticed that people often don’t like certain foods, all because they’ve never had it prepared correctly?

Take for example, Asparagus.

Or Brussel Sprouts.

Or Salmon…

Salmon-Supper | oh-fiddle-dee-dee

I love salmon, but it’s definitely never been a favorite dish in our home.  Audley likes it from a can smashed with flour and onion and fried in Crisco in a skillet.  No offense to anyone who enjoys those old-fashioned salmon patties from the 1970s, but that is NOT salmon and our kids have snarled their nose at these their entire life.

Our kids have always insisted that salmon was gross, although I had not really prepared it for them.  I often buy small pieces for myself and grill them up, but the kids refused to try it.

Then I noticed Bradley and Madeline enjoying it in sushi.

Raw or smoked.

And then I realized how much Audley enjoyed salmon in his sushi rolls.

It hit me, the reason my family wouldn’t eat salmon at home; they had never tasted it prepared fresh and cooked correctly!

Prepped-Salmon | Oh-Fiddle-Dee-Dee

You don’t eat salmon well-done.  Ever.

Salmon shouldn’t be crumbly and dry. It should be prepared at medium-rare, maybe even medium, but NEVER any more done than that!

So I set out to show my family that fresh salmon is absolutely delicious.

And I do believe I have succeeded.

Not only is salmon delicious when prepared correctly, it’s so easy to fix, even a teenager can put it together!

While I really enjoy grilled or seared salmon, sometimes the oven is my best friend, especially on one of these hot, sultry summer evenings we are prone to in the South.

Simple Summer Salmon

All you need for my easy salmon (that’s even tasty enough for company) is 2 pounds fresh (wild caught) Salmon, fresh lemons and dill, grass-fed butter, minced garlic, pink Himalayan salt and black pepper.

Seasoning-Salmon | Oh-Fiddle-Dee-Dee

Fresh-Salmon | Oh-Fiddle-Dee-Dee

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and assemble all the ingredients and seal up your foil pack.

(Seriously, it’s that easy)

Bake for 8-10 minutes, and then let rest in the foil for another 5 minutes.

Cooked-Salmon | Oh-Fiddle-Dee-Dee

For a summer meal I love to serve it up with a wedge salad topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, bacon and blue cheese, or roasted asparagus that you can cook right on the pan with the salmon!

Plated-Salmon | Oh-Fiddle-Dee-Dee

And the best part of all about serving salmon?  You can have a complete meal on the table in just 20-25 minutes!

Please tell me who doesn’t want that?

For the full recipe click here… Easy Broiled Salmon (with Brands I used) to print off, and try it around your dinner table this weekend!

 

What’s something your family refuses to eat?  Inquiring minds want to know!

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Easy Tuna “Ceviche”

The last five weeks of my life have been totally consumed with… well,… life.

 Between gift with purchase at the Elizabeth Arden counter, Elizabeth Arden school in Charlotte, a couple of new clients at the gym, varsity wrestling matches as well as Jr. Varsity wrestling state tourney, lacrosse season kicking off, quick trips to Columbia to see the college girl, hosting Life Group each Sunday night at our house, a quick trip to Las Vegas, and hubby already traveling three to five days a week for work, life has really kept me running.

It can sometimes be difficult to make healthy choices when living your life at 180 miles per hour.  There are days when hitting the food court at the mall during break or a drive-thru on the way to the next event would definitely be convenient, but that is a lifestyle I left behind a couple of years ago; completely without regret. Continue reading

A Not-So-Fat-Tuesday

If you have read my blog for a while, you know that I love to “play” with holidays and flavors in our home.  While I will probably NEVER go to New Orleans or Rio and celebrate Mardi Gras (a little to much partying & nudity for my taste), I just love the color, the happiness, the fun and flavor that accompanies the carnival season.  Each year I plan a little something fun for the family, and despite the changes in our diet over the last eight months, this year was no exception!

 

When I first started planning for our traditional Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras meal with the family, I felt rather silly.
After all, “Fat Tuesday” and “healthy” are really contradicting terms!
But, after toying around with ideas and skimming through my New Orleans cookbooks I came up with a healthy Jambalaya to serve that combines crisp, fresh veggies with great flavor that really turned out quite delicious!
So welcome to “Not-So-Fat-Tuesday 2013”!

 

Ingredients:
Four cups diced chicken breast
1 pound Red Snapper, cut into 1 1/2 pieces
1 bunch of green onion, sliced
1/2 cup diced sweet onion 
1 can of Del-Monte no-salt added basil, oregano, garlic tomatoes
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes, more if you would like
2 cups unsalted chicken broth
1 1/2 cups sliced okra
1 1/2 cups rice
1 Tablespoon Tony Chachere’s no-salt seasoning, more if you like it spicy
Olive Oil

In a large skillet or cast iron Dutch over, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Cook your diced chicken about five minutes, turning while cooking so that you have it evenly cooked.

Add the green onion (save a little for garnishing later), sweet onion, tomatoes, pepper, celery, and garlic and cook long enough for the vegetables to soften…. about 3-4 minutes.

Add the rice, chicken broth,Tony Chachere’s, and red pepper flakes; cover and simmer on medium about 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked through, stir occasionally.  Add your okra about 15 minutes into cooking the rice.  If your jambalaya is getting to dry add a little water, maybe a 1/4 cup. After 30 minutes (or the rice is cooked through), add the Red Snapper, cover and cook another 5 minutes to allow the fish to steam until it is done (it’ll be flaky).

 

Serve up with a lemon wedge and garnish with sliced green onion.

 

I’d love nothing more than a delicious bite of King Cake, but I’m going to behave this “Not-So-Fat-Tuesday”!
 
Jambalaya for lunch & supper?
Enjoy your day as well!

Fish Tacos

Over the weekend Audley and cleaned out our raised garden beds, bringing in the very last of our tomatoes, peppers and green onion for the year.

 

There wasn’t really enough to preserve, so I decided that we would have our last perfectly fresh meal of the summer.

 

On our Saturday menu?
Broiled fish & shrimp tacos with cilantro lime slaw.
Light, filling, and very fresh; definitely a meal we all enjoyed!
Ingredients for the Tacos were simple:
 
1 1/2 pounds of Tilapia
3/4 pound medium shrimp
Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning
Garlic Powder
2 Fresh Limes
Pam spray
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Black Beans
Fresh tomato, peppers, and onion
Salsa (I used La Mexicana from the deli)
Whole Wheat tortilla shells
Cilantro-Lime slaw (recipe to follow)
Marinate the fish and shrimp in fresh lime juice about 30 minutes, and chop your fresh vegetables for the tacos.
Spray a broiler pan with Pam spray and place the tilapia filets on it.  Season generously with Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime season and a little garlic powder.  Broil on low until the fish is flakey and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Using a non-stick skillet and the one tablespoon of olive oil, sauté’ your marinated shrimp.  There will be no need to season this.
Heat your black beans in a sauce pan, seasoning them with garlic powder, chili powder and maybe a little cayenne pepper if you like a kick.
Set your table for everyone to make their own tacos as they like.
 
I love to add everything from extra fresh veggies to the black beans and slaw on my tacos!

 

 

Now for the topping for your fish tacos.
One bag of shredded angel hair slaw
Medium red onion, diced
4 Jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
juice of 2 fresh limes
1 tsp. ground cumin
Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Let chill in the refrigerator about 2 hours before serving.  This is really tasty on any taco dish and a wonderful alternative to sour cream and cheese.
It’s kind of sad to see the end of all the fresh produce we have enjoyed this summer, but it has been so delicious!
Are your gardens still producing anything this summer?  What have you done with your produce?

Linking up with Foodie Friday.