Roasted Salmon Nicoise Platter (sort of)

While on vacation at our cottage a few weeks ago, I saw Ina Garten whip up this tasty salmon platter on her show. It looked simple enough and oh so delicious. I didn't quite have all the fixings on hand so I made do with what I had. I didn't have the haricots verts, tomatoes, watercress or olives. Lol, so why even bother calling this salmon nicoise? Because I can and it was delicious. I also cut the recipes in half. I added some radishes to the plate and used spinach in place of the watercress. I guess I could have thrown some capers on the plate to add the saltiness that was missing from the olives/anchovies, but obviously I didn't. The salmon marinade was excellent as was the dressing. Maybe one day I'll try making this again the correct way. But for now, below is what I did.

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 lbs. skin-on fresh salmon fillets

1.5 lbs. small Yukon gold potatoes

3-4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut in half

1 bunch spinach

6-7 radishes

Vinaigrette

1/8 cup champagne vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup good olive oil

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

For the marinade, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, mustard, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Place the salmon on a sheet pan that has been covered in aluminum foil, and drizzle the marinade over the salmon. Allow the salmon to sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot off the heat and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Leave the potatoes to steam for 15-20 minutes, until tender but firm. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in thick slices and set aside.

Place the salmon in the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until it is almost cooked through. Remove to a plate and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the skin and break into large pieces.

For the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Set aside.

Arrange the salmon, potatoes, radishes, spinach and eggs on a large platter. Drizzle some vinaigrette over the fish and vegetables and serve the rest in a pitcher on the side.

Poached Salmon Salad w/Beets

So I found this recipe in my Real Simple magazine and it seemed real simple to make...lol...get it? OK, moving on...Jim made this tonight while I was out "running" and when I came home the house stunk SO BAD like vinegar! So of course I immediately thought that dinner was going to be horrible. Boy was I wrong! There are some really strong flavors going on in this dish but it was so good! Our dressing was a little strong but it might have had something to do with the fact that the horseradish we used was JUST opened and that it says extra strong or something on the side of it. Yeah, Jim didn't notice that when he bought it...at least that's what he says. Oh and we couldn't find water cress so we just used spinach instead. We also used the rest of the salmon fillet from the other day. Try this recipe!

1 pound salmon fillet, skin removed
kosher salt and pepper
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tbsp. prepared horseradish
2 bunches watercress, thick stems removed (about 6 cups) - we used spinach
3 medium beets, peeled and sliced paper-thin - we used canned sliced beets
2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

Place the salmon in a large skillet and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add 1/4 cup of the rice vinegar and water to reach halfway up the salmon. Cover and simmer over medium heat until the salmon is opaque and beginning to flake, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate and refrigerate until cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Using a fork, flake the salmon into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the sour cream, horseradish, the remaining 1 tablespoon of the vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

In individual bowls, combine the spinach, salmon, and beets. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with the dill.

Sausage and Pasta Bake II

This recipe is pretty much the same one as I made before, but this time I attempted making my own sort of Alfredo sauce to go along with it...plus I added in some asparagus.

1 bunch of roasted asparagus cut into bite size pieces
1 package hot Italian turkey sausage - of course regular Italian sausage will work as well

1 pound pasta of your choice

1-2 cups fresh spinach

Sauce:

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

2 cups milk

1-1/2 cups cheese (we used 8 oz of cream cheese and the rest Parmesan cheese)

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. In the meantime, heat up a skillet, remove the casings from the sausage and add it to the skillet. Cook the sausage until there is no more pink.

For the sauce, add the butter and flour to a sauce pan and whisk on low heat until the mixture just starts to turn a light brown color. Add in the milk and whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. (In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the directions on the box). Once it thickens a little, add in the cheeses, salt, garlic powder and black pepper and whisk to combine.

Drain the pasta and return to the pot adding the spinach so it begins to wilt. Also add in the roasted asparagus. Once the sausage is cooked, add it to the pot with the pasta, spinach and asparagus. Stir in the Alfredo sauce. Transfer the mixture to a 13x9 baking dish and top with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Add parsley for garnish if you'd like. Enjoy!

Chicken Couscous Pita

This meal was quick and easy and utilized some leftover couscous we had in the fridge. I didn't really follow any recipe, but this is what I threw together.

First we marinated some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in Newman's Own Lighten Up Light Lime Vinaigrette and cooked them in the oven. Then I took the leftover plain couscous, heated it up in a pan with some chili powder, cumin and black beans.

I took a pita, cut it in half and split it open. I smeared a little sour cream in there, added the couscous mixture, some sliced chicken, avocado, spinach and cheese. Quick, easy and tasty!

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

This is definitely a grown-up casserole. I know there's a lot of people that hate casseroles, but I would definitely give this one a try. This is a recipe I clipped from my Better Homes and Gardens magazine (who know how long ago) that we finally decided to make. We will definitely be making this again. The only change I made was using roasted red peppers instead of the tomatoes because a) Jim couldn't find them at the store and b) Jim isn't a HUGE fan of tomatoes.

8 oz dried bow tie pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and chopped - this is where I used roasted red peppers instead
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In medium skillet cook onion in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside. In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, half of the Parmesan, cooked pasta, and onion. Transfer to 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Bake, covered, 20 minutes. In small bowl combine remaining Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture over pasta. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more or until golden.

Lentil Noodle Soup/Stew

Once again we had forgotten to take any sort of meat out of the freezer, so I had to think of what else we had on hand for dinner. I realize vegetarians eat meat-free meals all the time, but for some reason it's so hard for me to come up with filling meat-free meals. I really would like to try to eat some more vegetarian based meals, so maybe in the future you'll see more of those.

I had bought some lentils awhile ago and really wanted to try using them in a meal so I went on a search on the Internet. I came across this recipe but quickly realized I didn't have any beef broth at home, nor did I have 4 cups of chicken stock. I did have 2 cups of chicken stock and just decided to add some water and more spices to the mix to add more flavor. (I would really recommend trying to use the 4 cups of some sort of broth/stock like the recipe called for). The results were delicious! And it really thickened up so it was really filling. We also had some leftover cooked penne noodles so I added that to the mix as well. Below is what I ended up throwing together.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups fresh spinach
2-3 cups cooked pasta of your choice - I used penne

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the oil, onion, carrots and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add the broth/water and bring mixture to a boil. Add the lentils, tomato sauce, ketchup, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Add in the 2 cups of fresh spinach and allow to wilt into the stew. Add the cooked pasta and heat through.



I served this with some really easy cheesy, garlic-butter Bisquick biscuits.

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Heat oven to 450ºF. Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Sausage and Pasta Bake

Once again, a shout-out to the people at Jennie-O Turkey for the hot Italian sausage. I love this stuff! I was stranded at home since our truck was in the shop so I had to come up with something using stuff we already had. I thought it turned out pretty yummy!

I used a packaged Alfredo sauce, but I probably could have just as easily made a bechamel sauce. Maybe next time. I also thought that the one package wasn't enough sauce, but Jim loved it. You could also use a jarred Alfredo sauce as well.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 package hot Italian turkey sausage - of course regular Italian sausage will work as well
1 (16 ounce) package mini bow-tie pasta (farfalle)
1-2 cups fresh spinach
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 package Alfredo sauce, prepared
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. In the meantime, heat the oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat, remove the casings from the sausage and add it to the skillet. With a few minutes of cooking time left, add the chopped garlic and continue to cook the sausage until there is no more pink. Add the bow-tie pasta to the water and cook approximately 7 minutes for the mini-version. Drain and return to the pot adding the spinach so it begins to wilt. Once the sausage is cooked, add it to the pot with the pasta and spinach. Stir in the Alfredo sauce, salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a 13x9 baking dish and top with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. At this point I stuck it in the fridge since I wasn't actually cooking it until later. Either way, bake in oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Catalina Taco Salad

A friend of mine recently found out she has Celiac Disease which means she can't have anything with gluten in it. It was a huge diet change, but there's actually quite a bit she can still eat. Yay for still being able to eat ice cream!! Well anyway, we were all going up to our cottage so we wanted to try and do a gluten-free meal. I found a salad in this blog and figured we'd give it a try. It was really yummy! I couldn't however find a gluten-free Catalina dressing (maybe they all are, I don't know) but I decided to go with a Lime Vinaigrette from Newman's Own since I knew she mention they were usually gluten free.

4 cups spinach
1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado seeded and cubed
1/2 cup grated cheese
2 green onions sliced thinly
1 cup Frito's
1/2 cup dressing

Toss everything together in a large bowl and serve immediately. If you think there will be leftovers, add the Frito's to each individual serving instead of mixing them with the salad. Otherwise they will get soggy.

As you can see this pic is without the Frito's, but make sure you add them! It's even better with the Frito's.