Baked Salmon with Basil and Garlic, Peas and Side Salad

Our family loves salmon.  When my kids were little, I used to put some orange juice on top to “sweeten it up”, and a love of salmon was born.  Now, I often cook it “straight up” – nothing on it, and plates are always empty.  While you don’t need to add more flavor to something you already love, sometimes it is good to change things up a bit.  This is an easy way to add new flavors to an old favorite, very healthy, dinner.

I was using C salmon so my cooking time was more like 12-15 minutes.  Coho fillets are thinner but denser.  They don’t seem to need as much time cooking as Alaskan salmon.  Enjoy!  And if your family isn’t as into salmon as you’d like them to be, put this recipe aside and try baking the filets with 1/2 cup orange juice over the top — see if you don’t get some salmon converts after tasting that!

Recipes

Baked Salmon With Basil and Garlic

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Baked Salmon, Peas, and Side Salad

Ingredients

1 T garlic powder

1 t dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.75 lbs. salmon filets

canola oil spray

4 lemon wedges

Instructions

1. Stir together the garlic powder, basil, and salt in a small bowl; rub in equal amounts on to the salmon fillets.
2. Spray canola oil in baking dish and place salmon in dish. Cook salmon at 375 for about 15-20 minutes until fish springs back to touch or flakes easily with a fork.
3.  While salmon is cooking, portion greens and make a side salad.
4.  Warm peas in microwave.
5.  When salmon is done, portion peas on each plate and serve each piece of salmon with a lemon wedge.

Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables and Brown Rice

When I was little my uncle took my sister and I to an ice cream parlor and ordered us “The Kitchen Sink”.  We thought that was a hilarious name and happily ate our way into oblivion.   It was a crazy mix of ice creams and toppings – probably what was in great abundance or ice creams that needed to be finished off.

Chicken stir fry with vegetables was my “kitchen sink” this week.  I used all my leftover vegetables, which makes me smile as I have a real aversion to throwing away food.  I am quite liberal with what qualifies as “stir fry” food, which keeps the stir fry fresh and novel.  Serve it with brown rice (made ahead of time), quinoa, or regular rice.  Add a side salad, and you will end up with a potpourri of tasty vegetables on your plate!

The Verdict

9’s and 10’s!  Judges included the regular family members and a guest.  My toughest grader, my youngest daughter, rated it a 9, my son a 9.5 and my husband and guest a 10. This is an easy recipe to put together at the end of a long week, and the nice thing is that it will probably turn out a bit different every time, depending on what is leftover or available in your refrigerator!

Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables and Brown Rice

Recipe

Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables over Brown Rice and Side Salad

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids + 2 Lunches

Ingredients

1.75 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked – baked in teriyaki sauce.

1.5 C broccoli, cut into small pieces

2 carrots, cut into thin rounds

1 yellow squash, diced

1 onion, diced (or buy pre-chopped)

1/4 C Braggs Liquid Amino Acids

left over snow peas and bell pepper and left over sauce

1 C peanuts, roasted, unsalted

Make Ahead:

1. Make brown rice according to package directions.

Instructions

1. If you weren’t able to make brown rice ahead of time (and this is often the case with me), make white rice or quinoa according to package directions. You can make this a day ahead of time – you just have to be organized… Not always my strong suit…

2. Pull cooked chicken out of the refrigerator. Hopefully chicken was cooked when you made the teriyaki chicken earlier in the week. If not, see Teriyaki Chicken recipe to make chicken.

2. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.

3.  Portion a small salad on each plate, and top with some of the squash, carrots, and some cucumber and a tomato.  Drizzle no oil or low fat salad dressing.

3. Put broccoli, carrots, squash, and onion in a Wok or large sauté pan, lightly sprayed with canola oil spray. Pour in Braggs Liquid Amino Acids. Cook until just tender.

3.  Add chicken to warm.

4. Add bell peppers and snow peas with their sauce to warm.

5. Serve stir fry mixture over brown rice and top with peanuts (optional).

Pre Prep Opportunities

1. Make brown rice ahead of time. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

2. Make and cut the chicken ahead of time. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Prepare all vegetables ahead of time and store in refrigerator so they are ready to go into the Wok or large sauté pan.