Sesame Ginger Salmon Pita Pockets

Yum. Ginger Sesame Salmon Pitas. I just signed up to be part of a 10 week personal development seminar (through Landmark Education) that starts at 5:30 and goes to 10:30pm (normally their seminars are from 7-10, but I'm actually being trained in a leadership role around the seminar and need to be there early. The center is about 30-40 minutes away so that puts me pretty much eating dinner in the car. In the past I would have probably gone through a drive through and grabbed a hamburger on the way to class. This time I'm committed to eating healthy homemade meals before class. Pita pockets are very handy at being portable so that is what I came up with to make before my first session. Let me tell you, last night as I drove and ate my pita pockets full of omega rich wild caught salmon, I felt really great about my choice and commitment to health! (Not that driving and eating at the same time are recommended, but I'm in a "make it work" situation.

Sesame Ginger Salmon Pita Pockets

*NOTE* Most of my recipes are close approximations. I rarely ever measure in my kitchen. This time, I really did just throw some stuff together, so please taste as you go to adjust to what makes sense for your taste buds. If it is too sour, add more sweet, if it is too sweet add more vinegar, etc. 

8-10 wild caught salmon
Marinade:
1.5 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp saracha or chili sauce
1 garlic clove, grated
2-3 tbsp Unrefined (and not toasted) Sesame oil

Marinade the fish for a few hours, not over night or the vinegar will *cook* the proteins in the fish and make it tough.

Heat grill pan to really hot, cook salmon until it flakes apart easily.

Asian Ginger Slaw

1/4 head of cabbage
1 carrot finely grated
1/8 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup Unrefined (and not toasted) Sesame oil
1/2 tsp grated ginger
pinch of salt

Shred cabbage and mix in grated carrot. In a separate bowl, mix the honey, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and salt. Pour over cabbage. Toss in sesame seeds. Let sit for a couple of hours so the vinegar has a chance to break down the cabbage.

Assemble pita pockets by stuffing with salmon and cabbage.

Tequila Lime Salmon Packets

 

I was super excited to find wild caught salmon on sale for $6.99 a lb a couple of weeks ago at my grocery store. It often goes for double of that. I only wish I had bought double what I did! Even so, I still got quite a bit of salmon and so now it's time to eat it all up. Luckily it was frozen, so I just brought it home and stuck it back in my freezer and didn't have to worry about freezing thawed out pre-frozen fish. (If that makes sense!) Salmon is also one of my kids favorite proteins. I think because it is pink and they are three year old girls. Whatever, it's a super good for you protein so I'll take whatever the reason is! Cooking fish in packets is a very easy way to prepare fish, so give it a try if you have never done it before!
-Amanda

Tequila Lime Salmon Packets w/mixed vegetables

Tequila Lime Marinade:

(all measurements are close approximations and can be tweaked to your liking!)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
2-3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp tequila
1/2 cup olive oil

Vegetables:
2-3 carrots
1 zuchinni
2 handfuls of snow peas

Salmon:

4 filets


In a small bowl, grate the garlic and ginger. Add lime zest, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, tequila and olive oil. Whisk until mixed well. Taste and adjust, although it will be a bit strong because of the tequila. Pour in a small sauce pan and bring to a rapid boil for 15 minutes. Carefully (it's hot!) taste again, it should be more mellow. Adjust as needed. Set aside to cool down.


Cut carrot and zucchini into small sticks. Place in a small bowl along with the snow peas. Pour half of the marinade over the vegetables, cover and refrigerate.


Make packets about 1-2 hours before cooking. On a large sheet of parchment paper, place 1/4 of the vegetables in a pile, draining the marinade away. Place one salmon filet on top and season with salt and pepper. Add a bit of the marinade to the fish and rub it in. Seal the packet by crimping/folding all the way around. Do the same to the remaining 3 packets. Let marinade for 1-2 hours, no longer because the acid in the marinade will make the fish tough if you go too long.


Preheat oven to 400 and cook for 12-15 minutes. Before you cook the fish, press the fish gently with your thumb to see how much give is in the fish. After 12 minutes, press fish again through the packet with your fingers, it should be firm when done. Cook for a few minutes longer if it doesn't feel firm enough. Do not overcook or it will be dried out!

Fish with Fermented Strawberry Mango Salsa

Do you remember the Fermented Strawberry Mango Salsa that I made almost two weeks ago? I finally got around to serving it. The strawberries really made the entire salsa a bright red color. It's nice to see the vibrant colors. I think it's a sign of spring. I think this past winter, a lot of my foods were brownish with nice deep roasted colors but it was fitting for the season. A lot of times we get out of touch with what foods are grown in what season. You expect to find strawberries in the grocery store year round, but at least here in Texas they should just be making fruit right about this time. The strawberry plants in my front flowerbed are starting to put out little baby strawberries. Eating foods that are season is a goal I strive for, I'm not there all the way yet though. For instance, the broccoli on my plate isn't in season I don't think. I'm pretty sure broccoli is harvested in the fall. But like I said, it's all part of the journey to eating real, local foods!

Dinner tonight was flounder that was gently poached in a butter/olive oil combo. I served it with the salsa on top and steamed broccoli with butter. My husband I really liked the fish and the fruit salsa, but it was a bit too spice for the girls. They ate fresh strawberries with plain fish and the broccoli which they helped me cook.
-Amanda

Garlic Snapper

I've got fish on the brain since it's lent. Last Sunday I was shopping at Sprouts and I saw this fresh snapper on Managers Special and I grabbed it up. I wasn't thinking it all the way through. One being there was only two fillets in the package and my girls LOVE fish so they'll eat an entire fillet between the two of them. Second it was fresh fish, and Friday is a long way off from Sunday. So I cooked it up tonight, I gave it to the girls and my hubby and I made a smoothie for myself, which I was kinda craving anyway. I'm sure this would taste great with catfish and tilapia too!
-Amanda

Garlic Snapper

2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a skillet. I use cast iron which is pretty much non-stick. Add garlic, worcestershire sauce and cajun seasoning. Salt and pepper the fish fillets and add them to the skillet. Cook about 8 minutes per side on med-low. Covering the pan to help it cook through. Serve when fish flakes easily apart with a fork.

Salmon with Avocado Sauce

Last time salmon went on sale I bought some. Now I wish I had bought more, because I forgot how much I love it and my girls really love it! I also bought avocado. The thought was that the avocado would go with taco meat or something during the week. Well weeks go like they do and the tacos never got made, but the salmon got thawed out and the avocado was ripe. I got to thinking and wondered if an avocado sauce would be good on salmon. I usually do a dill lemon thing with salmon. Well for all those wondering, avocado and salmon do go good together. At least my family thought so! Sorry for no photo, I hate posting recipes with no photos, but as things sometimes go, dinner was over half an hour late and my family was chopping at the bit... not time for pictures!
-Amanda

Salmon with Avocado Sauce

4 portions of salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
1 avocado
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove of garlic
1 tbsp minced onion
1 tbsp real maple syrup
pinch of cumin
salt

Pat fish dry and add seasoning. preheat a cast iron skillet and add 1 tbsp olive oil. When it is very hot, add fish and cook about 4 minutes per side.

In a food processor put the onion and garlic. Pulse to chop. Add avocado, lemon, olive oil and maple syrup. Add enough salt to taste and the cumin.

Spoon avocado sauce on plate and place fish on top. The green and pink are very pretty together!

Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes

I came across this recipe about a week ago and I knew I had to make it as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. It was a huge hit! I was worried I made too many and I wasn't sure how they'd taste as leftovers. I didn't have to worry about that, since there was none to bring home! I found the recipe at Food Renegade's website. I stuck to the recipe for the most part with a few minor changes, the biggest being that I used canned wild caught salmon instead of fresh. Please check out Food Renegade's version, but here is what I did (I also doubled her recipe):

2 14 oz cans of wild-caught Alaskan salmon
pat of real butter
2 tbsp finely diced onion
2 garlic clove, finely diced
1 1/3 c. pine nuts
2 tbsp homemade mayo
2 tsp Parmesan cheese
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp old creole seasoning
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 egg white
bunch fresh asparagus
nitrate free bacon - I used about 1.5 packages

Pulse pine nuts in a food processor just until right before they almost turn into a nut butter. In a large bowl mix the can salmon and pine nuts. In a small skillet, melt butter and saute onions and garlic until they are soft and translucent. Add them to the salmon. Add mayo, parmesan, mustard, seasoning, parsley and one egg white. Mix well and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. Do not add salt, as the bacon and parmesan will add PLENTY of salt to the dish (this is coming from someone who loves salt.)

Cut the tips of your asparagus off at about 2 inches. Then cut about two more inches of the tender part of the apsaragus off. Save the rest of the asparagus for a soup or other dish later in the week. Cut each bacon strip in half. Place 2-3 asparagus pieces in the middle of the bacon. Using a 2 tbsp scoop, scoop out salmon mixture and place on asparagus. Wrap the bacon tightly. You could pin with a toothpick but I didn't have any so I just laid them seam side down on a rack. Place the rack over a cookie sheet. I found that baking them at 325 for 40 minutes was about right. The original recipe said 375 for 20, but my bacon was burning on the edges and raw in the middle. I found slower for longer did the trick with my bacon/oven combo.

I made some homemade tartar sauce to go along with them. I mixed homemade mayo with homemade pickle relish, anchovy paste, tarragon, salt, pepper and lemon juice. I have no idea if this is "authentic" tartar sauce but it was tasty!

Fish Tacos

We had fish tacos for dinner tonight. They turned out great! Normally I think I'd use a corn tortilla for fish tacos but I already had some of these homemade wheat flour tortillas in the freezer so we went with what we had. I served up some homemade oven fries and some fresh cantaloupe on the side. The crisp coleslaw with a homemade yogurt dressing was a perfect accompaniment to the fish.-Amanda

Fish Tacos:
4, 6-8 inch flour tortillas (recipe HERE)
4 pieces of cod (or other firm fish)
marinade for fish:
    juice of one lemon
    1 tbsp olive oil
    pinch of red pepper flakes
     1/8 tsp ground cumin
     1 smashed garlic clove
     1/8 tsp oregano
     1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
     salt

Coleslaw:  
1/8 of a head of cabbage
1 grated carrot
Sauce for coleslaw:
    1/4 cup greek style yogurt (or homemade yogurt that has been drained in a cheesecloth overnight to thicken)
    1 tbsp honey
    1 tsp mustard
    salt & pepper
    1/2 tbsp olive oil

Whisk all the ingredients for the fish marinade together and set fish in it to marinade for about 1 hour. Drain marinade away from fish. Cook in a very hot skillet until fish can be easily flaked with a fork.

To make coleslaw, mix the yogurt, honey, mustard, olive oil and salt & pepper. Cut the cabbage into very small pieces and add the grated carrot. Pour sauce on top and let sit for an hour.

Built taco with tortilla, coleslaw and fish. I also added a bit of diced raw red onion on top. I served with oven fries and cantaloupe on the side.

Salmon with Orange-Rosemary Cream Sauce

Sometimes dinner comes together by an inspiration from what is in the refridgerator. Tonight's dinner was one of those. I had a couple of ingredients I wanted to use up before they turned and I think I came up with a pretty tasty dinner. I used Salmon, but I was originally going to do this with a chicken breast, I'm sure it would taste good too. Oh and my daughter Izzie ate her entire salmon fillet!

Salmon with Orange-Rosemary Cream Sauce

2, 4oz Salmon Fillets
salt & pepper

Sauce:
1/2 cup fat free half and half
zest of one orange
juice of one orange
3-4 fresh rosemary sprigs
salt and pepper
1 small clove garlic mashed

To make sauce: In a small pot, pour the half and half. Add the crushed garlic clove and the zest of the orange. Then squeeze in the orange juice. Season with salt and pepper and place the whole rosemary sprigs in the pot. Simmer on medium-low for about 20 minutes stirring frequently until the half and half reduces down and thickens up.

While sauce is reducing: Season salmon fillets and grill, I used an indoor grill pan and cooked the fillets about 4 minutes per side, but it depends on the thickness of your fillet. They are done when they flake apart easily with a fork. Pull rosemary& garlic clove out of the sauce and strain if desired. Drizzle over fish and serve. Serves 2.

Sides: Grilled asparagus with sauce drizzled over them & roasted potatoes.

Weight Watchers: 9 points for entire plate
-Amanda

Fiesta Fish Sticks & Cheesy-Pepper Rice

This dish has been in my mind peculating all day. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I really like it! My toddlers loved it too. I gave them the rice without the peppers added, but didn't do anything different to the fish. Originally I was going to deep fry the fish, but realized at the last moment I had no oil, so I oven "fried" it instead. Any suggestions for a dipping sauce? We tried salsa last night with the fish and while it was good, some version of a mexican tartar sauce would be better... I'll have to think on it!

Fiesta Fish Sticks

3 cups of tortilla chips
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 egg
splash of milk
4 firm fish fillets such as haddock or cod
cooking spray

Grind tortilla chips using a food processor or magic bullet. (You could also put them in a large zip bag and roll over them with a rolling pin, but the finer texture you can get the better.) Place tortilla crumbs in a shallow bowl and mix in flour, oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. In a separate shallow bowl beat an egg and add a splash of milk.

Set oven to HI broil. Cut fish into 1/2 inch wide strips or sticks. Spray a cookie sheet heavily with cooking spray. Dip fish first into egg mixture and then coat with tortilla chip dust mixture. Dust off extra crumbs. Place on cookie sheet. When all the fish is on cookie sheet spray heavily with cooking spray. Make sure that there is an inch or so between each fish stick. Put under the broiler, about 3-4 inches away, for 5 minutes. Turn cookie sheets and cook an additional 5-6 minutes. Serves 4.

Cheesey-Pepper Rice

1 cup of white rice
2 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of whole milk or cream
1/2 bell pepper
1/4 onion
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 -1 hot pepper (I used part of a pepper called a "bomb")
1 cup mexican cheese
1/2 tsp cumin

Dice bell pepper and onion into 1/4 inch pieces. Mince hot pepper. In the pot you will cook the rice in saute onion and peppers in olive oil for a few minutes, just barely cooking, you still want a crunchy texture. Remove from pot and place in large bowl. Place rice and chicken stock in a pot. Cook according to package directions, about 15-20 minutes. When rice is finished add it to the onions and peppers. Stir. While the rice is still hot add milk, cumin and cheese. Stir until well mixed. Serves 4.
-Amanda

Fish Sandwich

I have to admit, the following "recipe" is more of a dinner suggestion, or idea and much less of a recipe. The simple fact is that I'm not sure how long I cooked the fish. I started to bake it at 350º but then noticed it was not browning, so I bumped up the temp to 425º. That wasn't working either. So, I put it on the top rack, turned on the broiler and finally got the correct results. I wanted a crispy oven "fried" fish. I think my problem was I used frozen fish that I defrosted. It was too water logged (even after blotting with a paper towel.) If I try this meal again (and it ended up being tasty so I probably will!) I'll use fresh fish. I still want to write it down, because it is a good idea, and that's what my blog is mostly about.

Fish Sandwich

2 pieces of cod or other firm fish (apparently, like I said, fresh will work best)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
salt & pepper
fish seasoning (I used one called Chesapeake Bay)
1 egg
dash of milk
2 buns
tartar sauce

In a small bowl, whisk egg, milk and some salt and pepper. In a food processor (or magic bullet!) pulse oatmeal a few times to grind it to smaller pieces. Mix it in a bowl with the flour, seasoning and salt and pepper. Pat fish dry. Place in egg mixture, let it drip off, place in flour mixture. Cover, and dust off excess. Repeat for a double coating. Place on a cookie sheet that you spray with cooking spray. Repeat with second fillet. Spray both fillets with cooking spray and broil(?) until the fish is browned and flaking apart. Put on bun with tartar sauce. Serves 2.
-Amanda

Grilled Fish with Spicy Honey Mustard Cream Sauce

I had some fish in the freezer that sounded good for dinner tonight. When I was trying to decide how to cook it, I remembered I had some half and half that I needed to use up. Honey-Mustard is one of my husbands favorite flavor profiles, so that is what I made.

Grilled Fish with Spicy Honey Mustard Cream Sauce

2 Mahi Mahi fillets or other firm fish (I think salmon would be great with this)
2 cups of fat free half and half
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup spicy mustard
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of flour

Grill fish using an indoor or outdoor grill. I just prepared it with a drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper. Internal temperature of fish should reach 145º.

To make sauce: Boil rice wine vinegar in a pot and reduce by half. In a small bowl, whisk half and half, honey, mustard and flour. Pour in pot and whisk until thickened. Drizzle over fish. This makes more than enough for the fish, I'm going to use the leftovers over a baked chicken.

Sides:
white rice and grilled zucchini
1/4 cup of Spicy Honey Mustard
-Amanda