Salmon with Cucumber Dill Sauce

Well this is just great.  Honestly, the cucumber dill sauce would be good on anything – or just eaten by itself.  It is fresh tasting, light, and relatively healthy.  To make this sauce, take 1 cucumber and cut the ends off.  Split the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the center seedy part.  Slice each cucumber half into thinly sliced half mood pieces.  Next, thinly slice 1/3 of a small red onion.  Make sure this is very thinly sliced so there is no overpowering onion flavor.  Add the onion and cucumber in a bowl and mix with ½ teaspoon of salt.  Put the salted cucumber and onion in a strainer in the sink to release the moisture.  Make sure you take this step or else the sauce will become too watery.  After the cucumber and onion have drained, pat them dry with a paper towel to pick up the extra moisture.  Next, combine ¼ cup of light sour cream in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil mayo.  Combine this mixture with 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and ½ teaspoon of sugar (you may also use splenda or any other sweetener instead).  Next, grate 1 garlic clove into the bowl.  This is easily done using a microplane grater.  Lastly, take one handful of fresh dill, chop, and add into the mixture.  You can also add some fresh black pepper if you wish, but I chose to omit this.  Let the sauce sit in the refrigerator for at least a half hour before serving. 

For the salmon, I just sprayed each filet with canola oil on each side.  I seasoned each side with salt and garlic powder.  Heat the grill over med/high heat.  Grill the salmon 3 minutes on each side – the canola spray completely prevents it from sticking.  This was the first time I grilled salmon and was a bit nervous about it but it turned out great.  Top each piece of salmon with the cucumber dill sauce and enjoy.  We had extra sauce that I used atop a veggie burger the next day – and that was great too.  I hope you love this little dish from Newlywed Kitchen!

 

Ham, Asparagus & Gouda Quiche

For Easter this year, Alex and I decided to stay home for the weekend and have a couple of days to ourselves.  It seems like almost every weekend we are traveling to see family, friends, or going on trips.  It was great just to wake up, enjoy brunch together, and spend the day relaxing.  On the Friday before, I spent the morning preparing a crust-less quiche for us to enjoy on Sunday.  In fact, I made 2 so I could bring one for the girls at work on Saturday.  I had posted a picture of the quiche on facebook and received many “likes” and “comments”.  To me, this makes it even more enjoyable to know that people like what I do. 

Here is the recipe I used to make this delicious quiche.  Take one bunch of asparagus and trim the ends off.  Chop half of the bunch into inch size pieces and save a few pieces of whole asparagus for the top.  Spray a pan with olive oil and heat over medium.  Add the asparagus and sauté for 5 minutes.  Next, take 1 ham steak and cut it into small cubes.  Add the ham into the pan with the asparagus and sauté for another 2 or 3 minutes.  Grease a baking dish and add the asparagus and ham.  Top the ham and asparagus with 1 cup of shredded cheese.  I used Gouda which was on sale and made this delicious.  Next, mix 6 eggs in a bowl with 1 cup of milk.  Season the egg and milk mixture with salt and pepper.  I also add some garlic powder, which is my favorite seasoning.  Pour the egg mixture over the asparagus, ham, and cheese.  Top the egg dish with the whole pieces of asparagus for a pretty, rustic look.  Bake the quiche in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.  It took closer to 40 minutes for the quiche to be completed, but I was also baking 2.  It is important that you let the quiche rest for about 20 minutes after cooking.  This is a very versatile dish that can be switched out with many ingredients; I just thought the ham and asparagus were perfect spring ingredients. 

 

I hope you like this as much as Alex and I did, and as much as my lovely ladies at work.  As always, let me know how you like it.  I am curious if anyone has made this already! Oh – along with the quiche I made us a smoked salmon platter.  Nothing really homemade here – but I thought I presented it beautifully!

 

 

 

 

Thai Turkey Salads

I adapted this idea from a Thai turkey burger recipe I had seen a while back.  Since we usually eat burgers without the bun, I figured I would just turn this into a different recipe for a salad.  I certainly put my own spin on it and it turned out great.  Salads are Alex’s favorite thing … and not so much mine … so I try to keep them as interesting as possible. 

First, heat a pan with olive oil spray over medium high heat.  Add 1 pound of ground turkey and cook until browned.  Drain any remaining fat from the pan and add in 2 sliced green onions including the green and whites.  Also, add in a handful of matchstick carrots and continue to sauté until slightly tender.  Season the mixture with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Next, make the slaw to top the salad.  To do this combine ½ bag of slaw mix with a bunch of chopped cilantro.  Add in ½ cup of chopped peanuts to the slaw and set aside. 

For the Thai sauce, combine ½ cup of sweet chili sauce (the same sauce used to make bang bang shrimp salads), ¼ cup rice vinegar, ¼ cup light coconut milk, 2 tbs brown sugar, 2 grated garlic cloves, 1 tbs peanut butter (reduced fat), 1 inch knob of grated ginger, lime juice (of 1 lime), and 1 tsp of soy sauce in a sauce pan.  Stir the sauce until combined and heated through.  The sauce will thicken after a few minutes. 

Assemble the salad by forming a base with a bed of mixed spring lettuce.  Add a handful of slaw mix scattered on the lettuce.  Add a cup of the meat mixture in the center of the salad and top with as little or as much of the peanut Thai sauce as you’d like.  Top the salad with chopped cilantro and a few chopped peanuts.  The salad is very flavorful and incredibly filling.  Alex loved it which is always a plus and it made me enjoy eating salads more. 

 

Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini

I think most people like enchiladas, and if you don’t, I probably don’t want to be friends with you.  Enchiladas can certainly be healthier if you change what you stuff them in.  Instead of a carb loaded tortilla a halved zucchini makes the perfect option.  I have had the low-cal tortillas and whole wheat tortillas, but they just don’t offer the same taste.  Here is a great variety to the classic chicken enchilada…

First, take 3 zucchini, trim the ends off, and cut them in half length wise.  Take a spoon and remove the center part of the zucchini with seeds (leaving this in would make the zucchini too watery to use).  Roast the zucchini in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes until fork tender.  While the zucchini is in the oven, take 2 chicken breast, season with salt and garlic powder, and sauté in a pan until cooked through.  Once the chicken is cooked, shred it in to pieces using two forks.  In the same pan the chicken cooked in, add 1 large sliced onion and sauté until tender.  Season the onions with salt, cumin, black pepper, and garlic powder to taste. 

In a bowl, add the shredded chicken and sautéed onions.  Add ¾  of a small can of red enchilada sauce (or any enchilada sauce of your choice…  It can be green, red, homemade, spicy, mild, whatever) and stir to combine.  Once the zucchini are tender, stuff the zucchini boats with the chicken mixture.  In a baking dish, add the remaining enchilada sauce and place the stuffed zucchini in the dish.  Top each enchilada with shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese and bake until the cheese is melted (approx 10 minutes). 

I served the enchiladas with an easy side salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, black beans, and crispy onions.  This is a nice light and delicious dinner and the enchilada ingredients can be changed to your liking.  My husband loved them, which is why I made 2 extra for his lunch the next day.  Nothing like spreading the Newlywed Kitchen love while he is working hard the next day ! 

 

Cinnamon Soy Braised Pork Salad

This recipe is incredible.  When I was preparing the dish, my husband was unsure if he would like it because of the smell of the sauce, but once it braises for a few hours, it is amazing.  This dish does take some time to make, but it is mostly just cooking time so you can enjoy doing whatever it is you’d like in the meantime. 

First, heat some oil in a pot (that has a lid).  I used canola cooking spray and heated the oil over med-high heat.  And a pork shoulder to the pan (mine was 3 pounds) and cook until browned on each side (about 5 minutes per side).  Remove the pork from the pot.  In the pot, add ¼ cup soy sauce, ½ cup sherry wine, 1/3 cup brown sugar, fresh ginger (I used about a 1 inch knob grated), 2 cinnamon sticks, and 1 teaspoon anise seeds.  Allow this to cook in the pot until the sugar dissolves.  Add the pork back to the pan and allow the sauce to simmer over low heat covered for 2 and ½ hours.  Remove the pork and slice into thin pieces.  Remove the cinnamon sticks from the sauce and allow the sauce to cook on high heat for a few minutes until it thickens.  Add the pork back into the sauce and turn to coat all the pork. 

In a separate pan, sauté shallots over medium heat until soft and caramelized.  Begin making your salad with any type of lettuce you’d like, although I found spinach to be the best.  Add the caramelized onions and pork on top of the spinach.  Sprinkle the salad with fresh cilantro.  We topped the salad with chipotle honey mustard and it was delicious. 

There was a lot of pork leftover for salads or munching throughout the week.  The pork has such a unique flavor and I am sure the sauce would work well on different proteins.  If you make this pork let me know how you like it!!