Crab Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) package imitation crab
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup green bell pepper (finely chopped)
1/4 cup onion (finely chopped)
salt and pepper (to taste)
paprika (to taste)
spinach leaves
4 wheat crescents  

Step 1: Break up the crab into small chunks. You can do this with your hands or use two forks to shred the imitation crab meat. Place crab into a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, green bell pepper, and onion. Season with salt and pepper and paprika. Mix until well combined.
Step 2: Place lettuce onto the bottom half of a bun (I prefer mine toasted), top with crab mixture and the top half of the bun.

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Ingredients
2/3 C Balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 green onions, chopped
6- 6oz  salmon fillets, skinned

Directions
In a large zip top bag, add the Balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, Dijon, salt and green onions. Mush to combine. Add the salmon to the zip top bag, seal tightly and turn to coat. Place in a shallow dish and refrigerate for 2 hrs, turning after 1 hr.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove salmon fillets from the zip top bag. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. While fish bakes, pour remaining marinade in a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half and thick.
Once fish is cooked through, brush with glaze and garnish with more green onion (green tops only).

Basil Caper Salmon

Ingredients (serves 2)
- 2 salmon filets (skin-on is fine)
- about 8 basil leaves – chopped
- 1 Tbsp capers – chopped
- 1 shalot – chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil (1 for the pan, 1 for the topping)
- 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- fresh ground pepper
Directions:

1. In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Add the salmon and let it cook skin-side down first for about 3 min.  Then flip and cook for 3 more min or until desired well-ness is achieved.
2. While the salmon is cooking, combine the other ingredients in a small bowl and mix together.
3. Serve the fish with the topping on top.
4. Enjoy!

Basil-Buttered Salmon

Ingredients

• 4 fresh or frozen skinless salmon, halibut, or sea bass fillets (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon snipped fresh lemon basil, regular basil, or dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil or dill, crushed
• 1 teaspoon snipped fresh parsley or cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel or lime peel

Directions

1. Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning.

2. Place fish on the greased unheated rack of a broiler pan. Turn any thin portions under to make uniform thickness. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 5 minutes. Carefully turn fish over. Broil for 3 to 7 minutes more or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together butter, basil, parsley, and lemon peel. To serve, spoon 1 teaspoon of the butter mixture on top of each fish piece. Cover and refrigerate remaining butter mixture for another use. Makes 4 servings.

• Variation Grilling Directions:Place fish on the greased rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill for 8 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, carefully turning once halfway through grilling.

Salmon with Dijon sauce Sandwich

Sorry about the steam! It was a fresh off the grill kind of meal!

Here's a quick dinner sandwich I made using salmon Patties (frozen, from Costco) and left over Dijon sauce.

ingredients
Salmon Patties (frozen)
1Tbs butter
Leaf spinach
Dijon sauce (see recent post for recipe)
Sliced onion pieces
Bun/ roll

Directions
In a pan, melt butter. Then place in patties and cook according to packaging (about 5 min each side). Then place on bun when done, adding dijon sauce and onions and spinach to taste. Serve with sweet potato fries for a healthy take on burgers and fries!

We both loved this meal. I waS inspired by Jason's Deli who has a salmon-wich that looked good. And I loved getting another use out of the dijon sauce! It was simple and easy. And definitely a good base for future sandwich recipes!

Broiled Tilapia with Tomato Caper Sauce

In our home, we are trying to start the New Year off right with some healthy dishes! I know everyone quotes resolutions of "loose weight" and "eat healthy" and "exercise"... and I figure, why not us too! I think we eat fairly healthy any ways (I strive for many veggies on the plate, and I ALWAYS limit the butters and salts), so we are basically half way there! And what's better then making a goal? Making an accomplish-able goal! WOO!

(by skinnytaste.com)
Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 (6 oz) tilapia filets
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 shallots, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped (or some left over marinara sauce works great!)
2 tbsp capers
1/4 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
salt and fresh pepper

Directions:
Brush fish with 1 tbsp olive and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium sauté pan, heat remaining olive oil. Add garlic and shallots and sauté on medium-low about 4-5 minutes. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add wine and sauté until wine reduces, about 5 minutes. Add capers and sauté an additional minute.

Meanwhile, set broiler to low and place fish about 8 inches from the flame. Broil until fish is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

Place fish on a platter and top with tomato caper sauce.



Husband said: This one's a keeper! Yummmm!

Maple Sesame Salmon Fillets

My husband and I bought a bunch of Salmon patties from Costco and they have really proven time and time again as a great versatile meal. I have prepared them many different ways, not just as "salmon burgers" and they have been tasty! A little dry sometimes... but they take any flavor well, and are a great alternative to our usual, chicken.
This recipe is for "fillets" but I had the ingredients (except for the seeds... I didn't want to splurge on those yet...) so I thought I would try it on our patties! My husband said they were a winner and they get crispy edges which as always a YUM!

Maple Sesame Salmon Fillets

Salmon or trout fillets (enough for 4 to 6 people)
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (or hot sauce of your choice)

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Mix all the ingredients except the salmon and the sesame seeds. You can either use a bowl or a ziptop bag. Place the salmon in the marinade and let rest, in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Since the marinade is sweet, I usually line a baking sheet with aluminum paper, it makes clean up much easier. Preheat your broiler and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Place the salmon fillets on the baking sheet and broil for about 10 minutes. If you like, you can baste the fish with the marinade once or twice during cooking. To see if the salmon is ready, use a fork to flake the fillets and check if they are cooked through. You'll know that the fish is cooked when its flesh turns opaque. You might need to cook the salmon a little longer, depending on the size of your fillets.

Garnish with sesame seeds and serve with a side of rice and veggies of your choice.

Easy Fish Fix

If there seems to be a lot of chicken and fish recipes on my blog, it's because we eat a lot of chicken and fish. Not that we are against the red meats, because we definitely aren't (exhibit A: LAMB recipes! yummy!)! We have just made a lifestyle choice to eat mainly chicken and fish. Why? Well, for starters, it is cheaper. Costco sells a 6 pack containing 2 chicken breasts a pack for around $20. They are in freezer safe bags already so we get that, and then immediate separate the packs and freeze. And fish, when on sale, can be as cheap. Another reason for our choice of meat cooking, is it is healthier. Less fatty, and lower in cholesterol. We are really trying to eat healthier in our home! And our last reason? We don't own a grill. Since we live in an apartment,grills aren't allowed on property, and we live in a one bedroom apartment, so... if I tried to do some indoor grilling... I would smoke up our whole home!!! So Tommy and I have decided, when we feel low on iron and we crave some red meat, we will go out to dinner and order that. Then it is a special treat!
What lifestyle eating choices are your trying this year? Any worth sharing?

Well, with that said, this is an EASY EASY fish recipe. Literally takes about 15 minutes tops! I found it in a magazine that advertized 5 ingredients or less recipes. Now, I don't think it was the BEST thing in the world, but for a meal, it got the job done, it was flavorful, and man, was making it and cleaning up EASY!

Sicilian Whitefish
Ingredients:
2 fish fillets (I used flounder)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup marinara sauce (I used CLASSICO spicy red pepper)

Directions:
preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place fish in baking dish. Brush with olive oil; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Bake 5 min.


Pour sauce over fish; bake 5 minutes longer.


Serve with rice and a veggie to complete the meal!