Pan-Seared Salmon with Lentil & Quinoa Salad

I'm currently eating this salad as I type out the recipe for this blog...it's soooo good! I found it in Rachel Ray's magazine. I've been trying to eat more salmon and apparently I've been eating the wrong kind of salmon in the past. I got a bag of sock-eye salmon at Costco and split the bag with my aunt. This salmon comes with the skin-on and it's pretty amazing! Not fishy at all and thick cuts of meat. I'll definitely be making more salmon dishes with this! The recipe serves four but I didn't want to use all my salmon up in one dish so I still made the four servings for the salad and only added one salmon fillet. I also added a tilapia fillet in case I didn't like the salmon. The way the fish is cooked, it comes out really buttery tasting. I added more lemon juice to my fish just because. I shredded my fish and added it to the salad, instead of putting the whole fillets on the salad. I will definitely make this again and again!!!

Pan-Seared Salmon with Lentil & Quinoa Salad (4 servings) (Rachel Ray Magazine):

3/4 c dried lentils, picked free of hard stones
3/4 c quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 small lemons, juiced (4 tbsp)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 c plus 1 tbsp EVOO
4 skin-on salmon fillets
1/2 c minced red onion
1 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

In separate saucepans, cook lentils and quinoa according to pkg directions. Drain and cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice and mustard. Gradually whisk in 1/4 c EVOO; season with salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 c of the vinaigrette.

In large skillet, heat remaining 1 tbsp EVOO and half of the reserved vinaigrette over med-high. Add the salmon, skin side down. Cover, reduce heat to med and cook until the fish flakes apart easily with a fork, about 8 minutes.

Add the quinoa, lentils, onion and 3/4 c parsley to the bowl with the vinaigrette. Toss to combine; season. Divide among plates and serve the fish on top (or shred the fish and combine into the salad). Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and top with the remaining parsley. Enjoy!




Lentil & Quinoa...






Fish added...Enjoy!

Cauliflower Wraps

I found this recipe on Pinterest. I've been seeing recipes like this for a while and I was always curious to make them so I decided to just do it last week and I can't believe that I waited this long! I made a cauliflower Alfredo sauce earlier in the week that didn't turn out (which is why I'm not posting it) because I didn't cook the cauliflower before like I was supposed to. I decided to actually follow the recipe this time for this and it turned out amazing! I didn't have parchment paper so I decided to use tinfoil with butter on it. Needless to say that didn't work out and the wraps stuck to the foil like glue but I was able to peel off the top layer of the wrap to try it and it was so good! I think if I used the parchment paper, like I'm going to the next time I make this, it would have been even better! The recipe says it's best if you eat them right away and not save them but it would be interesting to see if you could freeze these and eat them at a later date....may have to try that when I make them again. I've seen some recipes that call for cheese, so I added a little to mine. You can basically add whatever herbs/seasonings you want to these. Or use the wrap as a pizza crust. So many things to experiment with these! And I learned on the internet that you can freeze cauliflower rice after you cook it so I'm heading to the store soon to start freezing the "rice" for more yummy recipes! The key to these is squeezing out the excess water-I did it the way I do with frozen spinach-in between paper towels! These make 2 huge wraps so I just made one and cut in half. I will definitely be making these again and will definitely experiment with them as well!!!

Cauliflower Wraps (2 servings):

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 eggs
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c shredded parm (what I added to mine)

Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets or one large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the cauliflower florets until they form a crumb-like texture. Place the crumbles and 1/4 c water in a saucepan with a lid. Cook on med-high heat for 8 minutes, until tender.

Drain the cauliflower in a fine-sieve, then transfer to a clean kitchen towel or between sheets of paper towels. Firmly squeeze any excess water from the cauliflower. In a bowl, stir together the cauliflower and remaining ingredients. Form 2 thin circles on the parchment-lined baking sheets. With a spatula or your fingers, press down the "dough" so it forms an thin layer. Keep the wraps compact-there shouldn't be any parchment showing through the mixture in any area of the wrap.

Bake about 17 minutes until dry and pliable. Gently remove to a wire rack to cool so the bottom does not become soggy. Use with light fillings or tear into pieces (which is what I had to do) and use to scoop up fillings. Enjoy!


The cauliflower after I squeezed out the excess water...






The rest of the ingredients mixed together...






Before I put it in the oven...






The stuck-on wraps lol...Enjoy!

Fish over Zucchini & Yellow Squash

This is another recipe I created. I was staying at my parents for about a week before I moved and I had some fish to use. I had one halibut fillet left and a couple salmon fillets so I made the halibut for myself and my mom had a salmon fillet. We had picked up some zucchini and yellow squash earlier from the store. I wanted to roast the squash for a side so I decided to put the fish on top of the squash. My mom sliced the squash layers for the bottom of the pan. I also used a marinade for the fish. This turned out to be a really good dish. We all love garlic, which is good because this was really garlicky! The squash turned out amazing with the garlic and ginger and the fish were really moist and full of good flavor! I'm guessing what measurements I used for this dish, since I basically just added what looked right (what I usually do when I make up my own recipes!).

Fish over Zucchini & Yellow Squash (2 servings):

1 zucchini, sliced into very thin strips
1 yellow squash, sliced into very thin strips
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 3-4 inch piece of ginger, minced
Olive oil, to coat
Pepper to taste
2 fish fillets of your choice
1 lemon, sliced into thin slices
Capers, to serve

*Marinade
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Chili-Garlic Sauce
Lemon Juice
Roasted garlic salt
Pepper

If you are using the same type of fish, you only need one bag for the marinade. If you are using different kinds of fish, like I did, use two different bags for the marinade. Pierce each fillet with a fork. Coat each fish evenly with pepper and the roasted garlic salt, rubbing it into the fish. Add the fish to their bags and add a little bit of each of the marinade to create a sauce. Close the bags and put in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally.

Place the strips of zucchini and yellow squash in a bowl. Top with pepper, olive oil, garlic and ginger. Using your hands, mix everything together, being careful not to tear the squash. Layer the zucchini and squash in the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Remove the fish from the marinade and lay on top of the squash. Pour the marinade over each fillet. Top the fish with slices of lemon.

Bake in the oven about 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. (The salmon was done after 20 min, the halibut took a little longer to cook.) Remove the lemon slices, top with capers and enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

I think Nicole or Dana posted this on their timeline on Facebook and tagged everyone else for this recipe. These bars were soooo good! Really rich and full of flavor. Nicole was babysitting her niece Ariana and I guess Ariana was being very vocal and basically being feisty. When I got there with Dana, Nicole said she was ready for something sweet! She had just gotten Ariana to sleep when we got home and of course she woke up for us :). So she got to help us make this yummy dessert. This was my last dessert I made with these ladies before I moved :( so of course I had to add the extra pictures. I'd definitely make this recipe again.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars:

1 (16 oz) pkg peanut butter sandwich cookies, divided
4 tbsp butter, melted
4 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip, divided
1 (3.9 oz) pkg instant chocolate Jello Pudding Mix
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 c milk chocolate and peanut butter chips (we used more to completely cover the bars)

Preheat oven to 350. Finely crush 24 of the cookies. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and finely crushed cookies until well moistened. Press into an ungreased 8x8-inch or 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake for 10 min. Allow crust to cool before continuing.

Meanwhile, mix the pkg of pudding with the 1 1/2 c milk in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and peanut butter together. Fold in 1 c of the Cool Whip and mix until well blended.

Spread the chocolate pudding over the cooled crust. Place dollops of the cream cheese mixture over the pudding layer and with a spatula or large spoon, gently spread to completely cover. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate 2 hours. (We ignored this part of the step since we wanted to eat it right away!)

In a plastic bag, break up the 8 remaining cookies. Sprinkle the cookies and the chocolate/peanut butter chips over the top just before serving. Slice into squares and enjoy!




Ariana holding dearly to our bag of chocolate/peanut butter chips!...






Spreading the chocolate mixture on top of the crust...






Spreading the peanut butter mixture over the chocolate...






Ariana tasting the Cool Whip...






Nicole tasting the Cool Whip...






The Cool Whip layer...






The cookies and chocolate/peanut butter chips layer...






Enjoy!...

Sausage & Onions in a Brown Sugar Sauce

I came up with this recipe on my own, kind of adapting from the slow cooked sausage I made earlier this year. That was good in the slow cooker but some of the sausage was over-cooked and rubbery so I thought it would turn out better on the stove, and it did! This recipe only had 4 ingredients and it was really easy to make and had so much flavor. I kinda guessed how much brown sugar I used in the recipe, but you can add more or less, depending on your taste. I made some couscous for a side dish and also to soak up the sauce.

Sausage & Onions in a Brown Sugar Sauce (2 servings):

Package of sausage of your choice
3/4 of an onion, diced
1/2 to 1 c brown sugar
1-2 tbsp butter

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onions sausage and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the brown sugar and stir to coat/combine. Cover with a lid and let it simmer at medium heat for about 20-45 minutes. It's done when you have your desired consistency of a sauce. Enjoy!

Pappardelle Pasta with Parmigiano-Reggiano Cream Sauce

I was in the process of going through my apartment and getting rid of food I wasn't going to take with me on my move and found a bag of pappardelle noodles. I was going to cut back on my pasta eating once I moved so I thought I'd find a good recipe to use them with before then. I found this recipe on Pinterest. Sounded pretty easy to make and it was. I added some diced chicken to mine to make it a full meal. Not sure if I'd make this again with zucchini noodles though since the sauce was really heavy but it had a really good flavor. Maybe if I found a substitute for the heavy cream...

Pappardelle Pasta with Parmigiano-Reggiano Cream Sauce (4-6 servings):

Bag of pappardelle pasta
2 c parmigiano-reggiano, plus more to serve
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 large pinch pepper
1 small pinch nutmeg
Salt to taste

Cook pappardelle in salted boiling water according to pkg directions. Reserve 1/2 c of cooking water. In large skillet over medium heat, add the butter. Stir until melted and then add the heavy cream. Let the butter and cream simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened (should coat the back of a spoon).

Slowly add the grated parmesan, until desired consistency. Bring back to boil, stirring constantly, until cheese is fully incorporated into the sauce. Stir in the pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste. Add the noodles to the skillet, stirring to coat evenly. Add enough of the reserved cooking water to thin out the sauce to your desired consistency. Top with more cheese and enjoy!


Butter and cream simmering...




Cheese simmering...




Pasta added to sauce...




Enjoy!

S'mores Dip

This recipe was also originally on Facebook and once again I was tagged, along with my friend Dana and my friend Jeremiah's little sister Nicole. Those were the girls who I made the S'mores bars with too. This one was really easy to make and only involved 3 ingredients. It tasted really good and was super rich. This would be fun to make again for a holiday party. Not sure where the original recipe came from but you can find it all over Pinterest and on the web.

S'mores Dip (4-6 servings):

1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips (or any flavor you prefer)
1 bag of marshmallows, cut in half
Graham crackers, for dipping

Pour the bag of chocolate chips in the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with the halved marshmallows (you may not need all of them, just make sure that the chocolate is well covered). Place in a 350 degree oven until the marshmallows get brown and toasted, about 20-30 min. Carefully dip in your graham crackers and enjoy!

Watermelon Rum

Again, I don't have the recipe for this one lol but I do remember it. And we had to doctor it quite a bit to make it edible. I originally found this recipe in a Weight Watcher's cookbook and the points were really low-like 2 I think. Super simple easy ingredients. Like I said we had to doctor it a little bit because it was really strong in alcohol-too strong! I'd make this again but I think but I would use less alcohol and it would be nice to have some mint leaves on hand since that would tame down the taste a lot, even though I'm not fond of mint! We didn't have any on hand so we used basil, which worked okay. And I think we used some lime juice as well to tame down the flavor a little. It was good after that and I think we ate it all (I was with my family).

Watermelon Rum:

1/2 of a watermelon, cut up
Rum of your choice
Mint leaves

Pour the rum over the watermelon and let everything soak up. (Don't use the whole bottle! Just use enough to coat the watermelon.) Add some mint leaves and enjoy!

S'mores Bars

One of my friend's found this on Facebook and tagged some of us in it to make these. Not sure who was the original source but I did find the recipe on Pinterest so I'll post that recipe on here. These turned out ridiculously good! They had so much flavor and they were really rich! I was at my friend Jeremiah's and his little sister and I actually went out around midnight to pick up the ingredients so we could make it that night. Jeremiah's girlfriend also helped make them-I kinda did but mainly I entertained their baby :) I would definitely make this again and again!

S'mores Bars (20 servings):

1 box graham crackers
2 (7 oz) jars marshmallow creme
1 tub Cool Whip
2 tsp vanilla
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 tsp salt

Mix the marshmallow creme with the cool whip until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix again. Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with graham crackers (you may need to break them so they fit somewhat evenly on the bottom of the dish. Once the marshmallow creme is mixed, spread about 1/2 of the mixture over the graham crackers. Using a spatula, spread as evenly as possible. Layer some more graham crackers on top of the spread of marshmallow creme. Add the remaining marshmallow creme on top of the crackers, making sure to spread the cream out as much as possible.

Melt the chocolate chips and heavy cream in the microwave, stirring about every 30 seconds, until the chocolate has melted down. Add the salt and mix to incorporate. Carefully pour the chocolate over the bars, spreading evenly on top. Put the dish in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. (I don't think we waited that long!)

Cut into squares and enjoy!

Sangria Popsicles

So I can't really remember how I made these...lol. I thought I used a recipe on Pinterest but after looking over that recipe again I discovered I didn't use all the ingredients...enough to make me realize that I think I kinda winged it! I can give you a guess as to what I used. You could pretty much add anything to these and they would taste good. I have really cheap popsicle molds so some of the popsicles had to either eaten out of the mold with a spoon or they had to be inverted into a bowl to eat with a spoon. These tasted really good but I think with the alcohol added, they turned into more of a slush. Either way...yum!

Sangria Popsicles (6-8 servings):

Popsicle mold
Assorted fruit (I used blueberries, raspberries & strawberries
Lime juice
Wine of your choice-I believe I used a cheap Cab

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze 6-8 hours or overnight. Gently pull out of popsicle molds and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Chili Dip

My cousin used to bring the ingredients to make this dip a lot for our family get togethers. Super easy and super tasty. I make it every so often now just as something to snack on. I rarely make the large batch that I'm posting-usually I only use about 1/4 c of the cream cheese if I'm just making it for myself. And if you make too much and can't eat it all, just put some tinfoil over the plate and stick it in the fridge. Tastes pretty good the next day too! I've also learned that it's really important to place something over the plate-like a pan lid-to keep the cheese from splattering all over your microwave!!!

Cream Cheese Chili Dip (8-10 servings):

1 can of chili (I use the beanless kind since it's easier to spread without all the big lumps of beans!)
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 (8 oz) pkg of shredded cheddar cheese (any kind of cheddar)
Tortilla chips of your choice

Place cream cheese on a large platter and microwave about 20 seconds to soften it. Using a spatula or the back of a large spoon, spread the cream cheese around on the plate to make a thin spread. Top the cream cheese with however much chili you want, also using a spatula or large spoon to evenly spread it over the cream cheese. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Microwave about 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Serve hot with chips...Enjoy!