Day 102: Grilled Salmon Salad & Rice

I seem to be going heavy on the salads lately, but I guess I am trying to eat "lighter" as summer is around the corner. ;) This salad was really good!  I served it just as a salmon salad next to wild rice and I served peas with it.  But the bonus is that tomorrow at lunch, I can put the salmon salad over a bed of lettuce and add some dried cranberries and it becomes a whole new salad!  If you like salmon, try this--you'll love it!  Here's my recipe for just under 1 lb of salmon:

Salmon Salad
1 lb (or less) salmon filet
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 TB red onion, chopped
1 TB fresh dill, minced
1-2 TB raspberry wine vinegar (few drizzles around the bowl--it comes out fast!)
1 TB olive oil
salt, pepper to taste

Grill or bake the salmon as you normally would.  Then refrigerate until cold and firm (I was short on time so I stuck the salmon in the freezer for 20 minutes or so.)  Once out of the refrigerator, pull off any skin left, and then break apart the salmon and place in a bowl.  Add the celery, onion, and dill.  Drizzle in the vinegar and oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.  Serve refrigerated or at room temperature.

Day 92: Honey Teryaki Salmon (the easy 1), Green Beans, Brown Wild Rice

On Day 50 I made a honey-teryaki salmon with a homemade sauce.  Tonight, I got a little help from Tastefully Simple.  They make a honey-teryaki sauce.  It comes in a jar.  So simple!  So tasty!  Tonight I just spread that on my salmon and grilled it in a pan with grill-lines.  I then finished it off in the oven.  Remember, salmon is to be cooked 90/10.  That's 90% on the skin-side, and 10% of the cooking time on the flesh side.  So I start on the flesh side to get those nice grill marks on the fish.  Once they're there, I turn the salmon to the skin side and finish it in a 350* oven.

First night this year with fresh green beans!!!  I so look forward to fresh vegetable season.  My favorite way to make summer vegetables is to saute them with a bit of butter in a fry pan with the lid on and season with salt and pepper.  That's exactly what I did with the fresh green beans after I cut the ends off and washed them.

I served the salmon and green beans with Zataran's brown wild rice.  Brown rice takes much longer to cook than white rice, about double the time.  But it's healthier and, in my opinion, better-tasting!

Day 71: Salmon Burgers, Green Beans & Brussel Sprouts

I made salmon burgers once while I was pregnant with Noah.  They were pretty good, but I think this recipe is better (originally from Rachael Ray, but I didn't follow it exactly, just got a basic idea of where to go).  The spread for the buns reminds me of a vegetable dip.  The burgers are so flavorful, yet no extra salt or pepper is needed!

Salmon Burgers (makes 4 burgers)
1 1/2 lb salmon filet
2 TB onion flakes
1 TB any grill or steak seasoning (I used Tastefully Simple Ultimate Steak Seasoning)
2-3 TB chopped fresh dill
1 TB poppy seeds (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
3 chopped scallions
juice of 1 lemon
kaiser or bulkie rolls
lettuce
tomato

Cut the salmon filet into chunks and place in food processor.

Pulse until completely ground.

Mix the ground salmon with the onion flakes, steak seasoning, dill, and poppy seeds.  Form into patties.  You can either grill them on a grill top, skillet, or under the broiler.  I did it under the broiler.  While they are cooking, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, scallion, and lemon juice.  Toast the buns and spread the mix on the buns.  Layer the lettuce, tomatoes, and cooked salmon patties on the buns.

 I served the burgers with green beans and brussel sprouts.  I fried the brussel sprouts with butter and seasoned both vegetables with salt and pepper.  We also had tortilla chips and salsa.

Day 50: Honey-Teryaki Salmon, Sizzlin' Snowpeas, Wild Rice

Well now I really know why I always plan "something simple" on nights when Randy isn't home.  I always assume it would just be too much to do a regular dinner, dishes, baths, and the normal routine by myself, but tonight I got the proof.  Randy went right to his second job today, and tomorrow he has a staff meeting right at dinner time, so that's 2 nights he won't be home for supper.  I didn't want to do 2 nights in a row of cereal, mac & cheese, or take-out: so I decided to be bold and just cook the dinners I had originally planned.  Tonight we had salmon, rice, and snowpeas.

For the salmon:
I made a honey teryaki sauce myself, and poured it over the flesh side of the salmon.  I grilled the salmon on the flesh side first, then flipped it to the skin side.  I finished it in a 350* oven for about 15 minutes.  (It was the thick cut of salmon.)

Honey-Teryaki Sauce

3 TB honey
2 TB soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp spicy brown mustard
sprinkle of black pepper
sprinkle of paprika

Whisk ingredients together and pour over salmon before and after cooking.

For the snowpeas:
Rip the ends and strings out of the snowpeas.  Rinse with water.  Melt 2 TB butter in a large skillet and add the snowpeas.  Drizzle soy sauce over the vegetables and cover.  Cook on high about 1-2 minutes.  Don't overcook or the snowpeas will be soggy.
Serve the salmon and snowpeas with wild rice.

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.