Dijon Herb Salmon with Braised Lentils

This dinner was one of our recent favorites and it came together in less than 45 minutes, definitely worth sharing for that fact alone, plus it is super healthy and really delicious.  Plus, if you're anything like me, you will probably have all of the ingredients on hand too.  Win!

I stocked up on MSC-Certified Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon when it was on sale at Whole Foods a few months ago and we've stored the vacuum-sealed filets in the freezer ever since then (they came vacuum-packed).  When salmon is on the meal plan, I thaw the whole package in the refrigerator overnight and it's completely thawed by the following evening when it's time to cook dinner.  At that point, it just gets a quick rinse and pat dry, and then I go over it with my fingers to make sure there aren't any bones.  If there are, they get pulled out with tweezers and it's ready to go.  Simple.

I served the salmon on a bed of my favorite Herb Braised Lentils (I've posted the recipe before, see it here).  They went together perfectly and the meal was both filling and completely delicious, while still feeling healthy (and it was!).  The original recipe says you can grill the fish, or use a grill pan, but I just broiled it since I'm not much of a griller (I leave that to my hubs) and I don't own a grill pan.  It turned out fine, although a touch on the well-done side - oops!  Mine was an especially thin salmon filet, so just keep an eye on it if you go that route, and plus it was Wild Sockeye, which tends to be leaner and can therefore get a bit dry if over-cooked.

Dijon Herb Salmon
serves 4
adapted from Skinny Taste

4 garlic cloves
1 heaping teaspoon dried Herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
non-stick cooking spray
1 1/4 lb Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon filet (mine was about 3/4'' thick), rinsed and patted dry
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
lemon wedges and sprigs of fresh thyme, for serving

Preheat broiler to High and set an oven rack 4-6'' from the heat source.

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic cloves with the herbs, vinegar, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the mustard until it becomes a paste (make sure to break up the garlic cloves very well).  Alternatively, you could use a mini food-processor/chopper for this step.  Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil and spray with the non-stick cooking spray.  Place the fish on the sheet, skin side down, and brush the flesh with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.  Season with the salt and pepper.  Broil the fish 4-5 minutes, spreading the Dijon-Herb sauce onto the fish for the last minute of cooking time - the actual amount of cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your filet.  A thicker salmon filet will require up to 7 or 8 minutes of broiling.

Top the fish with the sprigs of thyme and serve with lemon wedges, on top of a bed of the prepared Herb Braised Lentils.

Dijon Herb Salmon with Braised Lentils

This dinner was one of our recent favorites and it came together in less than 45 minutes, definitely worth sharing for that fact alone, plus it is super healthy and really delicious.  Plus, if you're anything like me, you will probably have all of the ingredients on hand too.  Win!

I stocked up on MSC-Certified Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon when it was on sale at Whole Foods a few months ago and we've stored the vacuum-sealed filets in the freezer ever since then (they came vacuum-packed).  When salmon is on the meal plan, I thaw the whole package in the refrigerator overnight and it's completely thawed by the following evening when it's time to cook dinner.  At that point, it just gets a quick rinse and pat dry, and then I go over it with my fingers to make sure there aren't any bones.  If there are, they get pulled out with tweezers and it's ready to go.  Simple.

I served the salmon on a bed of my favorite Herb Braised Lentils (I've posted the recipe before, see it here).  They went together perfectly and the meal was both filling and completely delicious, while still feeling healthy (and it was!).  The original recipe says you can grill the fish, or use a grill pan, but I just broiled it since I'm not much of a griller (I leave that to my hubs) and I don't own a grill pan.  It turned out fine, although a touch on the well-done side - oops!  Mine was an especially thin salmon filet, so just keep an eye on it if you go that route, and plus it was Wild Sockeye, which tends to be leaner and can therefore get a bit dry if over-cooked.

Dijon Herb Salmon
serves 4
adapted from Skinny Taste

4 garlic cloves
1 heaping teaspoon dried Herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
non-stick cooking spray
1 1/4 lb Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon filet (mine was about 3/4'' thick), rinsed and patted dry
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
lemon wedges and sprigs of fresh thyme, for serving

Preheat broiler to High and set an oven rack 4-6'' from the heat source.

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic cloves with the herbs, vinegar, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the mustard until it becomes a paste (make sure to break up the garlic cloves very well).  Alternatively, you could use a mini food-processor/chopper for this step.  Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil and spray with the non-stick cooking spray.  Place the fish on the sheet, skin side down, and brush the flesh with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.  Season with the salt and pepper.  Broil the fish 4-5 minutes, spreading the Dijon-Herb sauce onto the fish for the last minute of cooking time - the actual amount of cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your filet.  A thicker salmon filet will require up to 7 or 8 minutes of broiling.

Top the fish with the sprigs of thyme and serve with lemon wedges, on top of a bed of the prepared Herb Braised Lentils.

Salmon Omelette with Caramelized Onions, Spinach and Chevre

Continuing my theme of detoxing from the State Fair, this morning's breakfast was so delicious and so full of REAL foods.  I really can't entirely express my love for this omelette that Brian made me this morning.

Wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon, mild chevre, caramelized onions, spinach.  Could there be any combination of ingredients that is more delicious?  I think not.

These omelettes were big.  You could easily serve 4 with this recipe, making 4 smaller individual omelettes if you were to use a smaller saute pan.  Go ahead and add some chopped herbs if you have them on hand - chives or basil would be lovely.

Salmon Omelette with Caramelized Onions, Spinach and Chevre

serves 2

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

4 eggs + 2 egg whites

4 oz wild alaskan sockeye salmon filet, cooked and flaked into small pieces (or thinly sliced smoked salmon)

1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped

2 oz goat cheese/chevre, crumbled

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and add the sliced onions.  Saute onions in the butter, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes until soft and caramelized.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and egg whites and add salt and pepper.  Heat 1/2 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Pour half the egg mixture onto the pan and allow to cook about 30 seconds until the bottom starts to cook.  Then, add the salmon, spinach, cooked onions and goat cheese and cook until eggs are mostly done.  Flip half of the omelette over the toppings and cook another few seconds, just to let eggs finish and to melt the cheese a bit.  Carefully slide the omelette onto serving plate.

Today we took Hudson for a nice long walk before the rain started, he loves his long walks with us on the weekends.  After that we came home and Brian and I did a little spring cleaning.  I definitely prefer cleaning on rainy days - when it's sunny outside and I'm trapped indoors I get really resentful.

This afternoon, I did an hour on the elliptical and 3 cycles of this ab workout:

25 regular crunches
25 bicycle crunches
25 leg raises
25 high and low reach sit-ups
right side plank (max hold)
forward plank (max hold)
left side plank (max hold)

While I was on the elliptical I finally watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix streaming on my iPhone.  I have lots of thoughts on it but it deserves its own post another time.

The rest of the day was relaxing:  Brian worked on our taxes and I caught up on reading some magazines and then baked some quinoa cookies (!).  I still need to do some tweaking of the recipe so it's not quite ready to share yet but I had lots of fun eating the rejects ;-)

Tomorrow is President's Day!  Brian and I are planning to hit the gym early and we have to take his car for service.  I have an appointment to see a Podiatrist about my foot and ankle issues in order to get some orthotics made for running.

Looking forward to another week!  

Salmon Omelette with Caramelized Onions, Spinach and Chevre

Continuing my theme of detoxing from the State Fair, this morning's breakfast was so delicious and so full of REAL foods.  I really can't entirely express my love for this omelette that Brian made me this morning.

Wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon, mild chevre, caramelized onions, spinach.  Could there be any combination of ingredients that is more delicious?  I think not.

These omelettes were big.  You could easily serve 4 with this recipe, making 4 smaller individual omelettes if you were to use a smaller saute pan.  Go ahead and add some chopped herbs if you have them on hand - chives or basil would be lovely.

Salmon Omelette with Caramelized Onions, Spinach and Chevre

serves 2

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

4 eggs + 2 egg whites

4 oz wild alaskan sockeye salmon filet, cooked and flaked into small pieces (or thinly sliced smoked salmon)

1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped

2 oz goat cheese/chevre, crumbled

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and add the sliced onions.  Saute onions in the butter, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes until soft and caramelized.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and egg whites and add salt and pepper.  Heat 1/2 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Pour half the egg mixture onto the pan and allow to cook about 30 seconds until the bottom starts to cook.  Then, add the salmon, spinach, cooked onions and goat cheese and cook until eggs are mostly done.  Flip half of the omelette over the toppings and cook another few seconds, just to let eggs finish and to melt the cheese a bit.  Carefully slide the omelette onto serving plate.

Today we took Hudson for a nice long walk before the rain started, he loves his long walks with us on the weekends.  After that we came home and Brian and I did a little spring cleaning.  I definitely prefer cleaning on rainy days - when it's sunny outside and I'm trapped indoors I get really resentful.

This afternoon, I did an hour on the elliptical and 3 cycles of this ab workout:

25 regular crunches
25 bicycle crunches
25 leg raises
25 high and low reach sit-ups
right side plank (max hold)
forward plank (max hold)
left side plank (max hold)

While I was on the elliptical I finally watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix streaming on my iPhone.  I have lots of thoughts on it but it deserves its own post another time.

The rest of the day was relaxing:  Brian worked on our taxes and I caught up on reading some magazines and then baked some quinoa cookies (!).  I still need to do some tweaking of the recipe so it's not quite ready to share yet but I had lots of fun eating the rejects ;-)

Tomorrow is President's Day!  Brian and I are planning to hit the gym early and we have to take his car for service.  I have an appointment to see a Podiatrist about my foot and ankle issues in order to get some orthotics made for running.

Looking forward to another week!  

Salmon Tacos with Creamy Guacamole

Now that Brian is home (YAY!) I am back to cooking more varied meals at dinner time.  It's not that I didn't eat a large variety of foods and vegetables while he was away, but being that I'm only one person it would take me several nights worth of dinners to finish off the vegetables and proteins I was buying.  As a result, several ingredients repeated themselves over and over each week.  Luckily, I happen to really enjoy kale, butternut squash, lentils and italian sausage :-)

Brian appreciates a varied dinner menu and I like to try out new recipes so it's a win-win situation for us both!  I have a bunch of great meals planned this week and I look forward to sharing them here as I go along.

First up on the menu after Brian returned home were these Salmon Tacos with Creamy Guacamole.  They're sort of a cross between a taco and a tostada, as they were so stuffed with different things that they ended up best eaten open-faced, using a knife and fork.  I was inspired by a chicken tostada recipe I had seen in my Cooking Light magazine (September 2011, p. 83), but we made lots of changes and we both thought they turned out delicious!  We had lots to talk about after Brian's return (he was gone for a month) but we barely talked at all during that dinner, we were too busy eating!

I recommend using sustainable, wild-caught Alaskan King or Sockeye Salmon for these but any sustainably-caught fish or shellfish will do!  Please check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Guide for recommendations on what to look for when choosing healthy, sustainable seafood and to learn more about the importance of supporting only ecologically-safe and humane fishing practices.  I have their iPhone app so I always have a resource to refer to when I'm at the grocery store looking at what's available in the seafood department.  I highly recommend it (it's also available for Android devices so no excuses!).

Salmon Tacos with Creamy Guacamole
serves 2

Creamy Guacamole:

1 ripe avocado, pitted and cubed
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
juice from 1/2 of a lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
pinch (or more) crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons low-fat plain greek yogurt or light sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

For guacamole:  combine all ingredients in a bowl, mashing the avocado cubes with two forks.  Alternately, you could combine all ingredients into your food processor and just pulse away until your guacamole is processed to your desired consistency.  Use right away or refrigerate with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly onto the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation (avocado turning brown).

Cabbage Slaw:

2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil mayo or greek yogurt
juice from 1/2 lime
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine cabbage, shallot and red bell pepper in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, lime juice, agave and olive oil.  Pour dressing over cabbage mixture and toss to coat.  Add salt and pepper as needed.  Make ahead of time and refrigerate or serve immediately.

Salmon:

1/2 to 3/4 lb Alaskan salmon filet, skin removed
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
olive oil
salt and pepper

Turn oven broiler to high and place one rack close to the top of the oven.  Rinse salmon filet and thoroughly pat dry.  Place dry salmon filet into a foil-lined baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle all seasonings onto fish, then drizzle with about 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Broil 6-9 minutes until fully cooked, time will depend on thickness of fish filet.  Remove from oven and cut into portions.

To assemble:

2 or more small whole wheat tortillas
salmon, as prepared above
creamy guacamole, recipe above
cabbage slaw, recipe above
1/2 cup black beans, cooked
1/4 cup shredded cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, if desired
salsa, if desired

Preheat broiler to high.  Place tortillas onto a baking sheet and top with the salmon and cheese.  Place under broiler about 1 minute or until cheese melts.  Remove tortillas to serving plates and top with beans, creamy guacamole, cabbage slaw, cilantro and salsa, as desired.  I recommend eating these with a knife and fork!  Enjoy!

Salmon Tacos with Creamy Guacamole

Now that Brian is home (YAY!) I am back to cooking more varied meals at dinner time.  It's not that I didn't eat a large variety of foods and vegetables while he was away, but being that I'm only one person it would take me several nights worth of dinners to finish off the vegetables and proteins I was buying.  As a result, several ingredients repeated themselves over and over each week.  Luckily, I happen to really enjoy kale, butternut squash, lentils and italian sausage :-)

Brian appreciates a varied dinner menu and I like to try out new recipes so it's a win-win situation for us both!  I have a bunch of great meals planned this week and I look forward to sharing them here as I go along.

First up on the menu after Brian returned home were these Salmon Tacos with Creamy Guacamole.  They're sort of a cross between a taco and a tostada, as they were so stuffed with different things that they ended up best eaten open-faced, using a knife and fork.  I was inspired by a chicken tostada recipe I had seen in my Cooking Light magazine (September 2011, p. 83), but we made lots of changes and we both thought they turned out delicious!  We had lots to talk about after Brian's return (he was gone for a month) but we barely talked at all during that dinner, we were too busy eating!

I recommend using sustainable, wild-caught Alaskan King or Sockeye Salmon for these but any sustainably-caught fish or shellfish will do!  Please check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Guide for recommendations on what to look for when choosing healthy, sustainable seafood and to learn more about the importance of supporting only ecologically-safe and humane fishing practices.  I have their iPhone app so I always have a resource to refer to when I'm at the grocery store looking at what's available in the seafood department.  I highly recommend it (it's also available for Android devices so no excuses!).

Salmon Tacos with Creamy Guacamole
serves 2

Creamy Guacamole:

1 ripe avocado, pitted and cubed
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
juice from 1/2 of a lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
pinch (or more) crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons low-fat plain greek yogurt or light sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

For guacamole:  combine all ingredients in a bowl, mashing the avocado cubes with two forks.  Alternately, you could combine all ingredients into your food processor and just pulse away until your guacamole is processed to your desired consistency.  Use right away or refrigerate with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly onto the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation (avocado turning brown).

Cabbage Slaw:

2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil mayo or greek yogurt
juice from 1/2 lime
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine cabbage, shallot and red bell pepper in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, lime juice, agave and olive oil.  Pour dressing over cabbage mixture and toss to coat.  Add salt and pepper as needed.  Make ahead of time and refrigerate or serve immediately.

Salmon:

1/2 to 3/4 lb Alaskan salmon filet, skin removed
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
olive oil
salt and pepper

Turn oven broiler to high and place one rack close to the top of the oven.  Rinse salmon filet and thoroughly pat dry.  Place dry salmon filet into a foil-lined baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle all seasonings onto fish, then drizzle with about 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Broil 6-9 minutes until fully cooked, time will depend on thickness of fish filet.  Remove from oven and cut into portions.

To assemble:

2 or more small whole wheat tortillas
salmon, as prepared above
creamy guacamole, recipe above
cabbage slaw, recipe above
1/2 cup black beans, cooked
1/4 cup shredded cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, if desired
salsa, if desired

Preheat broiler to high.  Place tortillas onto a baking sheet and top with the salmon and cheese.  Place under broiler about 1 minute or until cheese melts.  Remove tortillas to serving plates and top with beans, creamy guacamole, cabbage slaw, cilantro and salsa, as desired.  I recommend eating these with a knife and fork!  Enjoy!