Simply Salmon

Simply Salmon

I used to be afraid to cook fish, even though I like it for the most part. But, I discovered that if you use the flavors you like best and don't overcook it, it's usually pretty good. Easy enough, right? Not always, but if you start with really good quality fish, your chances are a bit greater that you'll end up with a delicious meal on your plate.

Tim picked this amazing salmon up at Pike Place and we've have been enjoying it for a couple months now. Even out of the freezer, it's still yummy. I call this dish simply salmon because I didn't do anything great...just thought about what I like and put it all together.

Ingredients:

1 piece of salmon (however big you want or need)

*I cut ours into smaller parts because it was much thicker on one side, and I wanted it to cook evenly.

Butter, garlic, lemon, salt, oregano, onion

Place the fish pieces skin side down (if it has skin) on foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt. Melt the butter and add minced garlic to it. Pour it over the salmon. (When I began pouring it over the salmon, it started to solidy, which was fine. It helped the butter and garlic stay in place rather than drip down to the foil.) Slice a lemon in half, squeeze the juice of one half over the fish, then slice the other half into rings and lay them n top. Add rings of onion and some dried oregano.

Cover loosely with foil and bake at 375 until the flesh just begins to flake. Tim takes over at this point so I'm not sure exactly how long it took, but I think around 30 minutes for the thicker pieces. Be sure to check it regularly and pull out the pieces as they finish cooking.

Enjoy!

I do have to say, good seafood is worth the price!

Pumpkin Eggnog Pancakes

AKA: "Fat Pancakes"

In my constant quest to fatten up little Molly, I'm always looking for ways to add calories to the food she'll eat. So, if it calls for milk, why not use the much richer and fatter Eggnog?

She certainly looks excited to try it!
I'd say she approves!

Here's the recipe:

1 cup flour

About 1 cup eggnog (confession: I used mostly egg nog and a little 1/2 & 1/2)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 tbls sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this, use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, and ginger to taste)

2 tbls vegetable oil

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

Combine the ingredients, make adjustments to get the right consistency, and cook as usual.

I'm not much of a pancake fan, so I usually don't eat them. However, these were pretty good, especially with some butter, syrup, whipped cream, and nutmeg on top! Here's to holiday flavors~

The "American" Piroshky

It's a turnover, it's a calzone, it's a what??? Yep, that's right, I call it an American Piroshky! Why, you ask?? Well, I'm not exactly sure. When I started out, I fully intended to make vegetable beef soup. But, as I was cooking the meat and vegetables, I had a fleeting memory of my sister Elizabeth and her love of the Piroshky. She once brought one home for me and that's how I made the connection. I looked at the mixture in the pan and thought "that looks like the filling of a piroshky." Well, it just so happened that I had refridgerator biscuits and I figured, why not? Let's give it a try!

The Finished Product

Ingredients:

about a lb of ground beef

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced

about 1/2 cup sliced or diced carrots

1 onion, diced

cheddar cheese

milk or cream

salt, pepper, garlic salt, oregano

refridgerator biscuits

Saute the vegetables for about 5-8 minutes, then add the ground beef. Cook until meat is browned. Add salt, pepper, garlic salt, and oregano to taste. Add grated cheddar cheese and milk or cream until mixture is slightly creamy and holds together. Roll out each biscuit to about 1/4 in., put about 2 tbls. of mixture in the center, fold over and seal the edges with a fork. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes.
As you can see, it's not much of a recipe and the measurements are really up to you. Use as much or as little as you like, and be creative! It was actually quite tasty and not healthy or gourmet at all, but when you have little time and little people to feed, you make due!
Enjoy!!