Blackened Salmon and rice

Recipe source: Real Simple

2 servings

1 cup cooked rice
2 salmon fillets, apx 4 oz each
1 1/4 tbsp paprika
3/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp butter
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup corn (canned or frozen)
parsley

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow bowl (I always use a pie pan), combine paprika, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder and salt. In a skillet, melt butter over medium  heat and add lemon juice. Dump lemon butter into another pie pan. Dip salmon fillets one at a time into the lemon butter, then into the spices. Be sure to coat both sides well. Heat skillet (same one you melted butter in) over medium high heat and add a little bit of olive oil or non-stick cooking spray. Cook the salmon until blackened, 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the oven for 8 minutes. Stir corn and rice together and add to plates. Serve salmon atop rice and corn mixture. Sprinkle parsley over the dish to taste.

Sorry that the picture has a bite taken out of it! I've made this a number of times but this was the first time I've followed the recipe exactly...and it was SO good. I cannot stress enough the danger of putting a skillet in the oven...every time I touch the handle after its been in the oven and burn myself!

Florentine pasta salad

I just made this pasta salad over the weekend for a baby shower and was reminded of how much I love it. Its very easy and I always get compliments on it! It originally came from a Bible study I did at a church in Austin.

1 pkg fresh fettucini noodles (like Buitoni)
1 jar prepared pesto sauce (I like Classico)
1 cup chopped chicken breast (a rotisserie chicken or "carving board" deli meat works well)
juice of 1 lemon
1 container of cherry tomatoes
1-2 cups spinach, torn into small pieces
parmesan cheese, to taste

Optional:
artichoke hearts
mushrooms
other veggies you like!

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and remove to a cutting board. Cut them into smaller pieces for ease in serving. Place in large mixing bowl. Add chicken, tomatoes and spinach (and any other veggies) to mixing bowl and stir well. Add entire jar of pesto and stir until well coated. Add lemon juice and parmesan cheese and stir once more. Before serving, may optionally top with more parmesan.

If you prefer a lighter pesto flavor, experiment with using only half the jar and see how that tastes. I LOVE pesto so I always use the whole jar. This tastes great at room temperature as well as cold. Let me know if you try it!  Any other good pasta salad recipes out there?

Menu Planning Monday

Monday: blackened salmon, rice and salad
Tuesday: waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage
Wednesday: pepperoni rolls, salad and fruit
Thursday: garlic chicken (bag meal), bread and salad
Friday: pork roast, rice, asparagus
Saturday: birthday party
Sunday: wedding

Brief blog hiatus

Well, apparently I went on a blogging hiatus for the last half of my pregnancy and first 5 months of my daughter's life.  Now that we are getting (some) sleep, and no longer having meals delivered by sweet friends, I've had to figure out how to get dinner on the table every night with a little one!  Hopefully I can fit blogging about our meals into the schedule as well :) This week, you'll at least get to see our menu and a pasta salad recipe that I made over the weekend. Maybe if I get very ambitious, I'll even throw in one more...but gotta start with realistic goals.

Happy cooking!