Salmon with Strawberry Salsa

A couple of years ago I signed up on Google alerts to have any news article with the word "recipe" in it to be emailed to me on a daily basis. I have loved this and have gotten some great recipes from it. This is where I got this strawberry salsa recipe - from Freep.com. Whatever that is. Anyways, this dish was soooo good! It's a perfect summer recipe because it's light, fresh, and has a wonderful fruity flavor to it. The recipe said to serve this salsa with grilled chicken or salmon, so we opted for the latter for our seafood night. We grilled the salmon very simply by just brushing it with butter and seasoning it with salt and pepper. If you're a salmon fan, make this recipe this summer!

STRAWBERRY SALSA

• 1 English or seedless cucumber, finely chopped

• 1 green onion, washed, ends removed, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, cut into strips

• 3 to 4 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled, diced small

• 1 yellow pepper, stemmed, cored, seeded, diced small

In a medium bowl mix the cucumber, green onion, cilantro and vinegar. Cover and chill at least one hour.

Just before serving, fold in the strawberries and yellow pepper.

White Lasagna

Now that Joe and I have theme nights for dinner, Joe has been such a big help in menu planning! I asked what he wanted and he told me that he wanted white lasagna. I had no clue what that was and he told me that a coworker brought it to work the other day and it looked really good. The only description he gave me, besides the fact that it's white, is that there was chicken in it. So I went to AllRecipes.com and they had this recipe.

We both really liked it! The only change I'd make next time is to add fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach. I don't know if it's the fact that I know it's frozen and gross looking or that it tastes different, but I just don't like it. I would definitely recommend trying this if you haven't had it yet!
WHITE LASAGNA

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (I used fresh)
  
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used fresh)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Pineapple Shrimp Rice Bake

I got this recipe out of Taste of Home's Casseroles, Slow Cooker, and Soups cookbook. Joe and I loved the taste of this dish and it was pretty healthy too. Next time I would add some heat to it, either fresh ground pepper or maybe even a few shakes of Tabasco.

PINEAPPLE SHRIMP RICE BAKE

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, julienned
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1-1/2 pounds cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1-1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 3/4 cup pineapple tidbits, drained

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the garlic, onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Stir in soy sauce and ginger. Add shrimp, ham and pineapple. Stir in rice.

Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Stir before serving.

Chilean Dal

Joe listened to the "How Low Can You Go" series on NPR which highlighted different recipes that are inexpensive for family dinners. He thought that this recipe sounded really good so we tried it out. I will confirm that this IS a cheap recipe and we both really liked the taste of it. I would consider this to be a vegetarian version of a beef and vegetable stew....the lentils take the place of the beef. Here is the recipe online.

CHILEAN DAL

• 3 cups cooked lentils
• 2 cups chopped potatoes (I would chop these into small, bite-size pieces next time)
• 2 chopped carrots
• 3 chopped tomatoes
• 1 hot pepper (I used a jalapeno)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 16 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• A little beer or sherry (I used apple juice)
• A little red vinegar
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper

Soak and cook lentils till soft. Drain and rinse, set aside. Sautee onions, garlic, hot pepper, and cumin in olive oil. Add beer or sherry. Add potatoes and carrots, cover with water, bring to boil. Add tomatoes and cook till potatoes are soft. Add lentils and tomato sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. (I sometimes add more water or beer if it's too thick, or vinegar if it's too sweet.) Add more cumin or hot sauce if you like it really spicy. Throw in the cilantro, take if off the heat. Serve after a few minutes.

Herbed Salmon

One of my favorite restaurants is Market Street Grill. They specialize in seafood and fly in fresh fish daily....yum! Well I took a cooking class at Thanksgiving Point and the chef from Market Street Grill was there teaching us all about seafood. It was awesome! He actually made this dish for us and absolutely loved it. You can get many recipes from the restaurant here.

HERBED SALMON

Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon shallots, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Combine all of the above ingredients one hour before preparing filets. Set aside.

Salmon Ingredients:

• 2 Six ounce boneless, skinless salmon filets or chicken breasts (pounded for consistent thickness)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon regular parsley, shopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• ½ tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• ½ tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• ½ tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Method:
Combine Italian parsley, parsley, basil, rosemary, cilantro, oregano and salt and pepper. Set aside. Brush both sides of filets or chicken breasts with olive oil. Roll in herb mixture until well coated.

Oil a sauté pan with canola oil. Over medium-high heat, cook filets or chicken breasts for three minutes per side. Spoon sauce over top and serve.

Homemade Pasta

I mentioned in my last post that I attended a cooking class based on different herbs and this was another recipe that we made there. I never had an interest in making my own pasta, especially when it's so cheap! Well, until that night, I don't think I had ever eaten homemade pasta and HOLY COW it's delicious! It tastes soooo much better than the storebought kind. We made this dough and cooked it all within an hour, so it's not as hard as I thought it would be either. If you've never tried to make it before, just do it once to see how much better it is!!

HOMEMADE PASTA

• 2 cups all purpose flour or wheat flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, sage, thyme, basil, cilantro, oregano, or marjoram (optional but well worth it)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Ice water

In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to blend. With the machine on, add minced herbs and the eggs one at a time. Add one or two tablespoons of cold water as needed. Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

Cut dough into 4 quarters. Working with one quarter at a time, roll out on a floured surface until as thin as you like your pasta. Cut the rolled pasta in long narrow strips or the shape that you desire.

Cook in salted boiling water for 4-6 minutes. Makes about 1 pound.

Fresh Berries with a Mint Vinaigrette

I am in love with this salad. I have been making it every single week for the past month and can't imagine ever being sick of it. It is so fresh, healthy, and flavorful....what's not to love? A girl in my neighborhood is going to culinary art school and she taught a cooking class about cooking with herbs. Best class I ever took!!

FRESH BERRIES WITH A MINT VINAIGRETTE

• 3 cups mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberried, and/or blackberries - hulled and quartered (it tastes great with only strawberries too)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup simple syrup (recipe follows)
• About 10 mint leaves

In a large bowl, toss together the berries. In a blender, combine the mint, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Blend until smooth. Pour the mint mixture over the berries, stir together. Top with a light sprinkle of lemon zest and mint leaves.

Simple Syrup:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Take pan off heat and cool the syrup. (Any extra syrup can be saved in an airtight container in the fridge).