Baked Salmon

In an effort to be “healthier” or at least tell ourselves that, I’ve added more fish to our diet. Salmon is one of the ones I truly enjoy, so here’s a simple recipe that I found worked really well. It ended up being moist, tasty, and full of flavor!

Also, asparagus goes really well with salmon. I use a simple recipe for them that I’ll be posting soon.

Print Recipe
Baked Salmon BigOven - Save recipe or add to grocery list
Servings
Ingredients
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil big enough to encase salmon. Lightly coat the foil with baking spay.
  3. Arrange 2-3 sprigs of the rosemary down the middle.
  4. Cut one lemon into thin slices and arrange half the slices down the middle with the rosemary.
  5. Place the salmon on top - skin side down if you opted for skin on.
  6. Drizzle the salmon with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Rub to coat, then scatter the garlic over the top.
  7. Lay the remaining rosemary and lemon slices on top of the salmon.
  8. Juice the second lemon, then pour the juice over the top.
  9. Fold the sides of the aluminum foil up and over the top of the salmon until it is completely enclosed. Make sure there is room for air circulation inside the packet.
  10. Bake the salmon for 15-20 minutes, until the salmon is almost completely cooked through at the thickest part. (Cooking times vary depending on the thickness of the salmon.)
  11. Remove the salmon from the oven and carefully open the foil so that the top of the fish is completely uncovered.
  12. Change the oven setting to broil, then return the fish to the oven and broil for 3 minutes. (Watch closely so garlic doesn't burn.)
  13. To serve, cut the salmon into portions. Portion amounts vary depending on how big your salmon is - you can also do this with pre-portioned filets.
Share this Recipe

Honey Ginger Chicken

My love of ginger and honey makes this recipe perfect for me. I made this the other night for the Man and he loved it too. Fresh ginger makes this better, and I recommend saving some of it for garnish on top!

You can cut down the cooking time if you do what I did – slice the breasts into strips. We get breasts that are too big and take too long to cook sometimes. Also, this recipe would work really well if the chicken is diced and tossed into a stir fry as well!

Print Recipe
Honey Ginger Chicken BigOven - Save recipe or add to grocery list
Prep Time 10
Cook Time 30
Servings
Ingredients
Prep Time 10
Cook Time 30
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Place chicken breasts in appropriately sized ziplock bag.
  2. In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger until honey is melted and well blended.
  3. Pour mixture over the chicken breastsl and refrigerate overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 350. Take chicken out of refrigerator while oven is preheating.
  5. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Check temperature with thermometer to be sure it's done (165°).
Share this Recipe

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

For the love of chicken! This is one of the easiest recipes ever and leaves the chicken juicy. You can alter things slightly with the seasoning of the bread crumbs. Add spice by adding some red pepper flakes to the bread crumbs as well.

If you use too much mayo, the crust that forms slides off the chicken a bit when you cut into it, but just scoop it up and eat!

 

Print Recipe
Parmesan Crusted Chicken BigOven - Save recipe or add to grocery list
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Combine mayo and parmesan.
  3. Lay out chicken breasts on pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper on each breast.
  4. Spread the mayo mixture on the top of each breast.
  5. Sprinkle bread crumbs on the top of each breast.
  6. Bake for roughly 20 minutes. Times will vary with size of chicken breasts and oven fluctuations.
Share this Recipe

Stir Fry Ginger Chicken

Yup, another chicken recipe! Honestly, it’s an incredibly versatile protein and I’d rather have chicken than steak. Now, I’ve never been a big fan of ginger – mainly because it is such a strong flavor and when I have had it, it seemed to overpower everything else. So I was wary of this recipe but wanted to do something different. I was very happy with the results – so happy that it is going on my regular rotation of dishes. It was fricking EXCELLENT!

Ingredients:

  • 3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
  • 3 scallions, diced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 4 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 4 teaspoons cooking wine or dry white wine
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons cool water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided (see directions)
  • 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut oil

In a bowl, combine the egg white, 1/2 the salt, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix well and add the cubed chicken. Coat well and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. In the meantime, combine the sugar, the remaining salt, ketchup, white vinegar, cooking wine, and soy sauce. Set aside. On a small plate, combine the ginger and scallions. In a small cup, combine the water and remaining cornstarch. Now you are ready to cook!

In a wok or large skillet, heat on high until hot. Add the peanut oil, making sure to swirl the oil around the sides of the wok. Toss in the chicken and stir well in the oil to make sure all of them are coated and cook lightly. This won’t take long. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to a small plate and set aside. There should be a couple of tablespoons of oil left in your pan.

Toss the ginger and scallions in the oil. Stir around in the oil for roughly 45 seconds. Then add in the soy sauce mixture. Stir and allow to heat through. Then add in the small cup of cornstarch and water – be sure this is still mixed well before pouring it into the sauce. This will thicken your sauce well.

Once thickened, add the chicken into the sauce. Stir thoroughly and all the chicken to heat up well. Serve any way you wish, but it was really good over rice.

1656081_424026687727490_1377441398_n
Ignore the cat – she is the poison tester of the house. 🙂

Zucchini Parmesan

Oh look, another dish using zucchini. You’ll get over it. But wait – I actually remembered the camera!!  This is a pretty good recipe, that is being altered for a much better taste. How you alter things is up to you, but I needed to doctor up the marinara sauce I had – garlic powder, onion salt, thyme, basil, and oregano. If you use bottled, you *need* to doctor it. They tend to be way to bland.

So, this is my version of a recipe I found on, where else, Pinterest.

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 large zucchini, sliced into 1/3-inch coins
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated and divided in half
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning or combine some thyme, basil, and oregano
  • salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 2 cup marinara sauce, homemade or bottled
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
There are two ways to cook the zucchini – you can fry it in a bit of olive oil in a saute pan or you can bake them. I baked them and am sorry I did. While the baking will be better health-wise, they end up a bit softer than you may like. Frying them in the pan will give a much crisper result – which I really do recommend. Instructions for both are below.

Blot zucchini coins with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place zucchini in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil, turning to coat each piece. In a separate bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, italian seasoning (or your own equivalent), salt, pepper, and half the parmesan. Put each zucchini coin into the parmesan mixture, a few at a time, turning to coat and pressing the breading slightly to ensure it sticks.

To bake: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place breaded zucchini coins in one even layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until browned and crisp.

2013-06-20 08.16.39

OR

To fry: Drizzle a bit of olive oil in saute pan on put on medium high heat. You’ll need to do the zucchini in small batches to ensure even cooking. When heated up, cook each zucchini coin on each side for 2-4 minutes (depending on your pan, the oil, and heat level). Put aside on a plate lined with paper towels to help wick away the excess oil. Blot them a bit to make sure you get all the excess oil off all of your zucchini.

Have oven temp at 400F. Coat the bottom of a baking dish with marinara sauce. Layer one third of the crisp zucchini coins over marinara, overlapping if necessary. Sprinkle zucchini layer with mozzarella and the remaining parmesan. Repeat the layers as many times as you have zucchini left. I only did 2 levels, but I had a larger baking dish.

2013-06-20 08.48.17

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

I took this picture right before it was all gone. I was too hungry to take the picture beforehand!  LOL

2013-06-20 09.52.14

Honey Orange Pork Chops

Now, I’m not a fan of pork chops. I love other forms of pork, but chops have never been one of those things that I would choose to eat. But, the Man likes them so I cook them. This is another recipe I found while skimming through a cookbook that sounded tasty and was fairly simple to do. Bonus is that I had most of the ingredients already in the house.

Ingredients:

  • 4 pork loin chops
  • 1/4 tsp finely shredded orange peel
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 pineapple juice
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch

Combine together orange peel, orange juice, pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, pepper, and garlic. Mix well and use this as a marinade for your chops. I recommend marinating for a day, but 6 hours will be enough. Place chops on a rack in a broiler pan – save the marinade. Broil for roughly 15 minutes, turning the chops once.

Put the saved marinade in a sauce pan over low heat and add cornstarch. This thickens it to a nice sauce that goes very nicely on not only the chops, but the fries I made with it. *grin* Tasty and may do this marinade again for chicken.

 

Horseradish Rubbed Roast

I have a pretty standard recipe for doing roasts that I’ve used for years. It tastes great and involves a lot of garlic. *smile* But this past month, I was writing up our meals for the month so I could get the grocery list together. I decided to pull down a cookbook (which I have a ton of) and flip through it for some ideas to try. I found this one and it sounded pretty good.

I’m not a huge fan of straight horseradish, but I like it better when it’s tempered with other things. The sauce you get at the end is *really* good and worth doing on its own for other dishes.

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 lb. roast
  • 1/3 cup horseradish
  • 1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp parsley

Preheat oven to 325. Cut inch wide pockets into the roast, about 3 inches apart. Combine horseradish, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Save 2 tbsp of this mixture. Stir the butter into the rest of the mixture. Rub onto the roast and into the pockets. Cook, fat side up, for roughly 90-120 minutes – for medium rare. See temp chart below to determine doneness. Let the roast rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it!

Take reserved mixture and add in the sour cream and parsley. Pass this around with the meat. Enjoy!

Temperature Chart

You can use a meat thermometer to determine doneness. Keep the thermometer away from bone and fat. When reading the thermometer, put it in the thickest portion and check temp. Then push it in a little bit farther – if the temp drops, continue cooking. If it stays the same, remove it from the oven.
Rare……………. 120 to 125 degrees
Medium Rare… 130 to 135 degrees
Medium……….. 140 to 145 degrees
Medium Well… 150 to 155 degrees
Well Done…….. 160 degrees and above

Lemon & Dill Chicken

I love new recipes for chicken, even though I still would rather have my mothers. *grin* This is another recipe courtesy of Pinterest that I thought I’d try out.

If you don’t have fresh dill, you can used the dried dill – just use 1 teaspoon. The dried herbs are much more potent than fresh. I’ve made this mistake before and regretted it. Also, if your chicken breasts were like one of mine (fat as hell), you need more time browning it. Duh, I know.

Ingredients:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (1-1 1/4 pounds)
  • Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, or canola oil, divided
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, divided
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear until well browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk broth, flour, 1 tablespoon dill and lemon juice in a measuring cup and add to pan. Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan; reduce heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a warmed platter. Season sauce with salt and pepper and spoon over the chicken. Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill.

 

 

Golden Mushroom Beef Tips

We made this a few months ago and it turned out really well.  The recipe doesn’t talk about seasoning the meat, which is a mistake. At the very least, toss some salt and pepper on it when you brown it. If you like other things, go ahead and sprinkle it on.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds beef, cut into 1″ cubes
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup sherry or water
  • 1 medium clove garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (10 1/2 oz) golden mushroom soup
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup water
  • egg noodles or rice – amount varies depending on how much you want.

In skillet, brown beef in butter. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook over low heat two hours or until tender. Stir occasionally. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

How easy can that be? The golden mushroom soup really gives this a great flavor. Give it a try when you can!

Basil Lime Chicken

Chicken is probably my favorite meat protein … right behind bacon. And maybe behind filet mignon, but I can’t afford that very often. I love finding some fun things to do with chicken and I’ve been spending too much time on Pinterest. I have two boards there dedicated to cooking – recipes to try and ones I have tried. I’ve seen some pretty … interesting recipes come up on Pinterest but the majority of them look pretty good.

This is one that I found and liked a lot, but I did substitute a few things. I realized when I went to make the marinade that I was out of Worcestershire sauce, so I used A1 steak sauce, but reduced the amount by 1 tablespoon. I also substituted fresh basil, which I didn’t have, with some of the basil paste that I had left over from another recipe. Still turned out good, but the oil needed reducing in the sauce.

Marinade Ingredients:

  • 4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 limes, juice and zest
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 3 Tb Dijon or brown mustard
  • 3 Tb Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 Tb soy sauce
  • 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 lime, juice and zest
  • 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/4 chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. I use an olive oil spray in a pan to make sure nothing sticks.  Lay the chicken out and pop it in the oven. The amount of time to take to cook this depends on the size of your chicken breasts – I had some fairly large breasts, so they needed to cook for about 30 minutes.

When done, let it rest about 5 minutes or so.  Slice and top with the sauce. Tasty and pretty easy to make! I served it with some Red Lobster biscuits and roasted potatoes. The biscuit recipe is coming tomorrow.

2013-04-15 10.30.17