Asian Grilled Salmon over Quinoa and Bok Choy

This salmon dish has a delightful mix of sweet and savory that makes it delectable. Cook it on the outdoor grill or an indoor grill. This is a healthy, light meal, perfect for summer dining.

Ingredients:
1 pound of salmon steak or salmon fillet
¼ cup of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 small head of baby bok choy, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tablespoons of chicken broth
2 cups of quinoa

Preparation:
Mix the brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes, and garlic in a bowl.
Brush the mixture over the salmon.
Cook the quinoa in boiling water according to package directions. Cover to keep warm.
Grill the salmon outdoors or indoors. Brush with more soy sauce mixture again as needed.
Heat the chicken broth in a pan.
Stir fry the bok choy in the broth.
Serve the salmon on a bed of quinoa with the bok choy.

Learn more about quinoa here.
For more recipe ideas, be sure to check out the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner or follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic.

Roasted Salmon and Dill Yogurt with Radicchio and Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of salmon steaks
• 1 lemon, sliced
• ½ teaspoon dill
• ½ cup of yogurt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 romaine hearts, chopped
• 1 head of radicchio, chopped
• ½ pound of fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon lemon pepper

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Lay the salmon steaks on a baking sheet and place slices of lemon on top.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.
Heat the olive oil in a pan.
Cook the romaine, radicchio, and asparagus in the oil for 5 minutes, tossing frequently.
Sprinkle with the lemon pepper and Parmesan cheese and toss into the vegetable salad.
Stir together the yogurt and dill.
Serve the salmon with a dollop of yogurt and dill on top and the salad on the side.

Photo/Suzanne Pitner
More great recipes are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

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Grilled Spicy Salmon with Asparagus and Salad

Ingredients:
2 pounds of salmon steaks, or ½ pound per person
2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning mix
1 lemon
Fresh parsley
1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1 heart of Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 small radicchio, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
Ranch style dressing

Preparation of the Grilled Spicy Salmon and Asparagus
Lay the asparagus spears in a quarter cup of water in a frying pan.
Heat the water to a slow simmer over medium heat.
Put a lid on the pan to steam the asparagus.
Cut the salmon steaks into single serving sizes.
Pat the Cajun seasoning mix all over the salmon steaks.
Grill on the indoor grill or bake in a 375 degree oven until tender and flaky with a fork.
Serve with lemon wedges and parsley.
Toss the lettuce, radicchio, and tomato and top with Ranch style dressing.


Photo/Rowlanda Mangham
More great recipes are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

Never miss a post! Follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic. Subscribe to the RSS feed for the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner and the Sacramento Budget Wine Examiner or have the articles emailed to you.

Salmon Fettucini with Grilled Zucchini and Peppers

Sauvignon Blanc or a Pouilly Fumé

You can cook this dish with the same wine you’ll be serving at dinner. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll keep a bottle of 2 buck chuck in the refrigerator to cook with, and save the better wines for drinking.

Ingredients for Salmon Fettucini

• 1 pound of wild caught salmon
• 1 lemon
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon crushed basil (fresh is wonderful, but if it’s winter, dry will do)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 lb of spinach fettucini
• ¼ cup of fresh chopped parsley
• ¼ pound Parmesan cheese
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into strips
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing

How to make the Salmon Fettucini
Marinate the salmon in ¼ cup of Italian dressing and the juice of one lemon while you cut the zucchini and bell pepper into strips.
Cook the salmon on the indoor grill, or on a grill plate on your stovetop.
The salmon is done when it flakes with a fork.
Cook the fettucini in boiling, salted water.
Cook the bell pepper and zucchini on the grill while the fettucini cooks.
While the vegetables are cooking, cook the onion and garlic in olive oil in a skillet.
Flake the salmon and place it in the skillet with the onion and garlic. Add the white wine, pepper, basil, and butter.
Drain the fettucini.
Stir the salmon mixture into the fettucini.
Serve the Salmon Fettucini with the grilled vegetables on the side and a white wine.

Never miss a post. Follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic.
Find more recipes and menus with the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner and wine pairings with the Sacramento Budget Wine Examiner.




 

20 Minutes to Dinner: Cajun Style Salmon with Quinoa and Peas

Quinoa is a recently rediscovered grain that is becoming more popular with cooks. It has a nice crunchy flavor, somewhat like brown rice, but it's much more tender, almost like couscous. Quinoa is a healthy, protein packed food, and is quite delicious. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of salmon steaks, or ½ pound per person
• 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning mix
• 1 lemon
• Fresh parsley
• 2 cups of quinoa
• 1 package of frozen peas

Preparation of the Cajun Style Salmon and Quinoa

Prepare the quinoa according to package directions.
Warm the peas in the microwave.
Add the peas to the quinoa and stir.
Put a lid on the pan to keep the quinoa warm while the salmon cooks.
Cut the steaks into single serving sizes.
Pat the Cajun seasoning mix all over the salmon steaks.
Grill on the indoor grill or bake in a 375 degree oven until tender and flaky with a fork.
Serve with lemon wedges and parsley. Add a side salad if desired.

Photo credit: Rowlanda Mangham

To get all my recipes, follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic.
Visit my food site as the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner.

Cajun Style Salmon

Cajun Style Salmon
Broccoli Tortellini Salad

Ingredients:
1 pound of wild caught salmon
Cajun style seasoning mix, (1/2 tsp each: cayenne pepper, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, chili powder)

Broccoli Tortellini Salad Ingredients:
2 heads of chopped fresh broccoli
1 package of frozen cheese tortellini, 8 ounces
10 slices of bacon, chopped
½ cup of craisins
½ cup of red onion, chopped
½ cup of sunflower seeds
1 cup mayonnaise
4 Tbsp of sugar
2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar

In the morning:
Cook the tortellini in boiling water according to the package directions.
Cook the bacon.
Drain and set aside.
Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, and red wine vinegar as the dressing.
Mix all the ingredients together until it is well coated with the dressing.
Refrigerate until dinner.

In the evening:
Rub the Cajun seasoning mix into the salmon
Let it rest with the spices on it until you are ready to broil or grill it.
Set the table.
Broil or grill until the fish flakes with a fork.

Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa

Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa
Fresh Grilled Pineapple
Green Salad
Bakery bread rolls

This dinner may be cooked on an outdoor grill, or if the weather isn’t cooperating, on an indoor grill.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of wild caught salmon
1 fresh mango, peeled and chopped
1 cup of grapes, cut in halves
½ cup of cilantro, chopped
½ cucumber,chopped
½ a red onion, chopped, ½ a red onion sliced into rings
Juice of 1 fresh lime
Salt, pepper, and chili, powder
1 fresh pineapple
1 heart of romaine lettuce
Sliced tomatoes
Croutons

Preparation:
Prepare the mango salsa. Cut up the mango, grapes, cilantro, cucumber, and onion. Mix together with ½ of the lime juice. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to let the flavors combine. This can be made more quickly by using a food processor or chopper.

Prepare the salad. Cut up the romaine lettuce. Lay the sliced tomatoes and the rings of sliced red onion on top. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and croutons over the top.

Set the table.

Wash and rinse the salmon. Cut into serving sized pieces. Sprinkle the juice of ½ the lime over the pieces. Sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Place on the grill and cook until flaky.

Prepare the pineapple. Lay the pineapple down and cut off the green foliage. Cut a small piece off the bottom. Stand the pineapple up on the cut side and slice the outer husk off with a sharp knife. Cut the pineapple meat into four quarters. Slice the hard inner core off of the center. Slice the pineapple. Place on the grill and heat until warmed through and slightly brown grill marks appear. Save 1 cup of grilled pineapple for tomorrow’s dinner.

Lay the salmon on a plate with mango salsa on top. Garnish with grilled pineapple slices.

Salmon with Lemon and Lavender

Salmon with Lemon and Lavender
Green Beans with Warm Cherry Tomatoes
Garlic Bread

If you don't have fresh lavender in your garden, or you can't find it at the grocer, try using lemon grass instead. It's a different flavor, but will work just as well in this recipe.


Ingredients:
1 lb wild caught salmon steaks
1 lemon
4 sprigs lavender
4 sprigs parsley
4 ribs of celery
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb fresh or 1 pkg frozen green beans
½ cup cherry tomatoes
¼ cup butter, softened
1 tsp Italian herbs
1 tsp garlic, crushed
French bread, sliced
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Spread the olive oil in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Lay the parsley and lavender in the bottom of the pan. Lay the celery ribs in the pan on top of the herbs.
Lay the salmon crosswise, skin side down, on top of the celery ribs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil.
Bake the salmon in the oven for 15 minutes. Check for doneness. It will flake easily with a fork when it’s done. If not, cook 2-3 minutes longer before checking again.
Prepare the garlic bread by mixing the butter, herbs and garlic, then spreading on the bread.
Wrap the bread in foil and place in the oven with the salmon.
Cook the green beans until crisp tender. Add the cherry tomatoes and warm through, approximately 3 minutes. The tomatoes should be slightly soft.

This dinner is also good when you substitute wild rice or brown rice for the garlic bread.

Salmon Burgers

Salmon Burgers
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Salad with Radish Slaw

1 can of salmon
2 Tbsp of green onions, chopped
½ green bell pepper, minced
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
4 Tbsp sour cream
1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice
Dash of pepper
¼ cup bread crumbs
1 egg
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into fries
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ head of iceberg lettuce
1 bunch of radishes, julienned
½ cucumber, julienned
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp sugar
Asian style salad dressing
Whole wheat buns

Preparation:

Drain the salmon.
Mix the first nine ingredients. Form into patties.
Sprinkle olive oil, salt, and pepper over the sweet potato fries. Toss to coat.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until they are tender.
Stir together rice wine vinegar and sugar.
Pour over the radishes and cucumber.
Toss the cucumber and radishes with the iceberg lettuce.
Grill the salmon burgers or fry in a pan with cooking spray. They will fall apart easily, so only turn them once, carefully.
Serve the salmon burgers on the whole wheat buns.

Want to make this even more delicious? Add some homemade mayonnaise on top.