Oh man. Are you ready for a FANTASTIC meal?? This salmon surprised us in the best possible way. I found some bottled ginger-sesame sauce/glaze at the store along with some beautiful looking salmon and decided to throw together a quick Asian-inspired dinner. Wow and WOW. Not only did this meal come together in less than 30 minutes, it blew us away. The ginger-sesame sauce would have been nice on its own, but the addition of lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and cilantro really took it over the top. The glaze keeps the salmon nice and moist and the flavors of ginger and cilantro combined with the salmon was an excellent combination. I served it with some quick noodles with peanut sauce and it really was the perfect quick, delicious weeknight meal. You really need to try this one!
Asian Glazed Salmon
2 salmon filets
2 tablespoons ginger-sesame sauce (I used an organic brand called Full Circle, but any ginger sesame-based marinade or dressing [not salad dressing] will do. If you can’t find this, a teriyaki sauce will do)
1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
squirt of fresh lime juice
1 rounded teaspoon brown sugar
cilantro
In a small bowl, stir together the ginger-sesame sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar and cilantro until combined.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the salmon filets, skin side down, on a baking sheet lined with greased foil. Brush with half of the marinade and bake for 10 minutes. Brush with remaining marinade and return to oven for 10 minutes more until salmon is cooked through. Top with additional cilantro. Serves 2.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Oh, how I’ve missed margaritas over the past 9+ months. Anytime we’d go to a Mexican restaurant and Joel would order one, I’d stare at it longingly across the table as I sipped my lousy, boring water (no matter how many limes you add to your water – it won’t taste like a margarita). But now, my beloved margarita has come back into my life and all is well again! When I found some gorgeous looking blood oranges at the store recently, I knew I had to make margaritas. And my friend Shawnda, the queen of margaritas, has the perfect recipe! If you’ve never tried blood oranges, you’re missing out; their deep, red juice is SO sweet and bright- it almost has a floral taste to it. Add that to a margarita and you’ve got one lip-smacking cocktail! Cheers!
Blood Orange Margaritas
3 ounces tequila
2 ounces orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
2 ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice
4 ounces fresh-squeezed blood orange juice (3-4 oranges)
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Stir together tequila, orange liqueur, lime, orange juices and confectioners’ sugar. Check for sweetness and add additional sugar if desired. Pour over two small glasses of ice rimmed with salt. Serves 2.
Recipe source: barely adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride
We’re all familiar with chicken parmesan- a breaded chicken cutlet topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. A lot of people’s favorite “Italian” dish. I’ve never been much of a fan, for whatever reason. This recipe, however, I’m a HUGE fan of! It’s basically just a vegetarian version of chicken parm; and it’s soooo much better, in my opinion. I love mushrooms any way I can get them and when they’re topped with marinara sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese??? Sign me up! The best part about this recipe? It’s ready for the table in about 30 minutes. You can’t beat that!
Portobello Mushroom Parmesan
4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
salt
pepper
1 cup marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought)
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced in 1/4 thick slices (shredded is fine too)
grated parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper. Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the mushrooms top-down on top of the marinara sauce and top with the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and bake about 15 minutes. Top with fresh mozzarella and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is nicely melted. Serves 4.
Recipe source: heavily adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
I feel like I live in my rocking chair these days. It’s where I feed, burp and rock Cassidy to sleep, so obviously, it gets used a LOT. Some days I feel like I don’t get out of that chair. Luckily, it’s in the living room so I can at least watch TV while I’m rocking. I pretty much keep it on the Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and History Channel. A couple of days ago I was watching a show on the Cooking Channel and the chef cooked fish and vegetables in a pouch in the oven. I know this is done a lot, but for some reason I never think of this. So last night I tried it. I found some beautiful Alaskan Cod at the grocery store, seasoned it very simply with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon, and baked it with zucchini and squash. I took it a step further by topping it with a cucumber/pepper relish. What a fantastic meal! Not only that, but it came together in less than 45 minutes total! Perfect for a busy mom with a very slim window of time to get dinner cooked! Make this! You’ll love it!
Baked Alaskan Cod with Cucumber Relish
2 filets of Alaskan Cod (or any white fish you prefer)
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 squash, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
salt
pepper
olive oil
Cucumber Relish
1/2 a Hothouse (seedless) cucumber, diced (you can use a regular cucumber, you’ll just need to peel it and deseed it)
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
Make the relish: toss cucumber, red pepper, jalapeño pepper and salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until needed.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place zucchini and squash in two large pieces of greased foil (large enough to fit the vegetables and fish when you make a pouch). Season with salt and pepper. Season the fish with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on top of the vegetables. Place 2 or 3 lemon slices on top of the fish. Fold the foil down on the top and sides to make a pouch (be sure it’s sealed up tight on the sides so no liquid escapes during cooking). Place on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes until fish is flaky. Top with the cucumber relish. Serves 2.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
