What's for Dinner Wednesday - Salmon with Vegetable Quinoa

For those of you that know me, you'll know that salmon is basically it's own food group in my life. I love salmon. If I could have it every day, I would. Not only is it super yummy, the health benefits are amazing:

• high in protein
• half of your daily B12 intake
• high in niacine
• high in magnesium
• excellent source of B6
• FULL of OMEGA-3s

Why wouldn't you want to eat salmon?

My first rule when it comes to salmon is that is MUST be FRESH. Frozen just doesn't cut it. My second rule is that it must be fresh ATLANTIC salmon. I find that these two rules make the fish that much more succulent and delicious.

Here is my (extremely easy) recipe for delicious salmon, with vegetable quinoa on the side (made for 2 people).

Salmon

1-2 10 oz salmon filets
Olive Oil
Spicy Pepper Medley Clubhouse Seasoning
Aluminum foil

Preheat the BBQ to approximately 500'F (I like it a bit hotter).

Pull out a sheet of foil large enough to fold in half to cover the salmon.  With the shiny side facing up, put a thin layer of olive along the bottom. Place the salmon on top of the olive oil, skin side down.

Take the seasoning and sprinkle a fine layer across the top (or if you'd like it a little spicy [and salty], sprinkle a bit more).

Fold up the salmon so that it creates its own little envelope and that no steam can escape.

Put it on the grill for 20 minutes and take it out immediately. You'll know it's finished when the salmon is nice and pink and flakes apart easily.

Vegetable Quinoa


One package of PC Organic Quinoa
EVOO
Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 can of peaches and cream corn
1 medium carrot, sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped

Follow the directions on the quinoa box for cooking. I substitute chicken or vegetable broth for water to add extra flavour.

Put a tablespoon-ish of EVOO and fry up the onion until it is nice and soft. Add all of the vegetables into the wok (or deep frying pan) and stir them around until they are the tenderness that you like (I like them a little bit crunchier = fresher). (Add a little extra EVOO if you need to!)

Mix the Quinoa and Vegetable Medley together and enjoy!

As always, I love to hear your feedback. Let me how yours turns out!

Jacq's Secret Salmon

Everyone can use a little inspiration in the kitchen sometimes, so I thought I'd share my special recipe for yummy oven baked salmon.  It's super easy to make and extra delicious.

Heat your oven to 350'F - 375'F

I start with 2 FRESH Atlantic salmon fillets. (In my opinion, Atlantic salmon is by far better than Pacific!)

Using a glass baking dish, cover it with aluminum.  This decreases the amount of clean up after dinner.

From there I use President's Choice Basil Parmesan dressing and brush it across the bottom of the dish.  If you don't have that in your cupboard, you can use any sort of oil based salad dressing.

Place the salmon fillets in the dish and spread some more dressing across the top. You can use as little or as much as you want, but I like to make sure it has a good layer.

Sprinkle the top with spices such as Thyme and Basil. I like to add Red Pepper Flakes for a bit of a kick. To top it all off, sprinkle the top with Parmesan Cheese.  This melts nicely over the salmon.

Fold the edges of the aluminum around the salmon, creating it's own oven, so that no heat escapes.

Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven).  You'll know it's ready when it's a light pink colour and can flake easily with a fork.

If you're not sure how long to bake it for, I would lessen the amount of time you have it in. If it's not cooked through, you can carefully watch it in the oven. If you keep it into long though, it'll turn out dry. And no salmon tastes good dried out.



Serve with steamed asparagus and roasted potatoes and you have an amazing and tasty meal, and you barely broke a sweat!

Enjoy!

(And let me know how yours turned out!)





Need a place to find some fresh salmon? You can always visit your local Superstore or Zehrs, but I recommend Caudles Catch. They have the most fresh and delicious fish I have ever tasted. With four locations in the KW-area, there is guaranteed to be one near you!

Mmm...Potatoes!!

As a newlywed, I'm finding myself becoming a little housewife more and more everyday. From cooking to cleaning, I'm starting to realize I'm becoming quite the adult! It excites me, yet scares me at the same time.

Anyway, I'm always on the lookout for a new recipe to spice up the dinner table. The other day I stumbled upon my favourite website (www.kraftcanada.com) and found a great recipe for Shepherds Pie. Here it is below.  I think my favourite part of this recipe is the new way I figured out to make mashed potatoes!

When you're boiling the potatoes in the water, stick 3 cloves of garlic in the water.  The flavour of the garlic absorbs into the potato and then the cloves soften.  When you're ready to mash, they mash right into the potatoes giving you garlic flavoured mashed potatoes! And then, instead of adding milk and butter, add sour cream.  It gives it this great, smooth consistency. So yummy!

Enjoy some Shepherds Pie tonight!

Updated Shepherd's Pie
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Makes 6 servings, 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) each

What You Need
1-1/4 lb. (565 g) red potatoes, cut into chunks
3 large cloves garlic
3/4 cup light sour cream (or you can use the real stuff - kick the light)
1/2 cup shredded Cracker Barrel Cheddar Cheese Light, divided (I used Cracker Barrel Old Cheddar .. gives a nice kick to it!)
1 lb. (450 g) extra-lean ground beef
2 Tbsp. Flour (I nixed this one ... mainly because I didn't feel it was necessary. Turned out great without it)
3 cups Frozen mixed vegetables (corn, beans, carrots), thawed
3/4 cup 25%-less-sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. Ketchup

Make It


COOK potatoes and garlic in large saucepan of boiling water 20 min. or until potatoes are very tender. Drain; return to saucepan. Add sour cream. Mash potatoes to desired consistency. Stir in 1/4 cup Cheddar.


HEAT oven to 375°F. Brown meat in large nonstick skillet. Stir in flour; cook and stir 1 min. Add vegetables, broth and ketchup; cook 5 min., stirring occasionally. Spoon into 8-inch square baking dish; cover with potatoes.


BAKE 18 min.; top with remaining Cheddar. Bake 2 min. or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted.

 
Let me know how yours turns out!