Salmon with Sauteed Spinach

Of all the meals I made last week, Wednesday's salmon with brown sugar and mustard glaze was my favorite. The recipe, from this month's Everyday Food, was beyond easy-- broiled salmon that is brushed with a simple glaze of shallots, whole grain mustard, red wine vinegar, and brown sugar. Originally I was going to serve this with a spinach salad but I realized when I got home from work on Wednesday that I was missing a key ingredient. So instead I decided to saute the spinach with garlic and a little olive oil instead. Yum. A healthy and delicious meal any day of the week.

Salmon with Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze
Adapted slightly from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
2 (6 oz) fillets of salmon
1 TBL olive oil
2 TBL finely minced shallot
2 TBL red wine vinegar
2 TBL whole grain mustard
2 TBL packed brown sugar
Sauteed spinach, optional (see recipe below)

1. Heat broiler. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until slightly evaporated. Add mustard and brown sugar; stir until sugar dissolved and glaze is warm. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place salmon fillets on foil-lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Broil for about 6 minutes or until opaque throughout. As soon as the salmon comes out, brush with as much glaze as you'd like. Serve on top of sauteed spinach if using.

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

Ingredients:
2 TBL olive oil
3 cups baby spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and stir often. Just as the spinach starts to wilt, add minced garlic and toss. Continue to stir until spinach is wilted. Serve.

Menu Monday

My posting was seriously lacking last week, I know....epic fail. I'm going to try to do better this week if for no other reason than I have a bunch of post-ready pictures of the yummy recipes I made last week!

This week I'm planning some old standbys with a new recipe or two thrown in for good measure:

Monday: Leftover pot roast with horseradish mashed potatoes from Sunday's dinner (a winter dish in honor of the dusting of snow we had Sunday morning)

 
Tuesday: Tomato avocado salad with cumin-lime dressing

Wednesday: A new recipe for spinach manicotti

Thursday: TBD (I hope to be attending this month's book club assuming I don't get sucked into a work event)

Makin' Biscuits

Normally Jason is in charge of breakfast but this weekend I decided to try my hand at making biscuits. Earlier in the week I had come across a recipe for angel biscuits--supposedly a foolproof way to make light and fluffy biscuits with the inclusion of baking soda, baking powder, and yeast. The best part is that the dough is supposed to rest for at least two hours and even overnight which makes it the perfect make-ahead recipe. I whipped the dough together in about 15 minutes Saturday afternoon before Jason and I headed into DC to see the Cold War Kids concert and then spent another 15 or so minutes this morning rolling the biscuits out and getting them into the oven. The result was a light biscuit with a hint of lemon-- perfect with my favorite raspberry jam. All in all a good introduction to biscuit making.

Lemon Angel Biscuits
Adapted from The Kitchn

Ingredients:
1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup low-fat milk
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
2 1/2 cups flour
2 TBL granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt  
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, well-chilled

1. Stir yeast into 1/4 cup tepid water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve. In a large measuring cup, measure out milk and add lemon juice. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add lemon zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work the butter into the dough until it resembles large crumbs.
3. Add yeast mixture and milk with lemon. Quickly stir to combine--until just moist.
4. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
5. Heat oven to 450. Turn the refrigerated dough onto a heavily floured surface. Knead lightly just a few times, or until the dough becomes smooth enough to pat out easily. Roll the dough to a 3/4-inch thickness and cut into rounds with a glass or a biscuit cutter.
6. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until golden.

Menu Monday

Here's what we've got going on this week:

Monday: NY Strip Steak with cheese grits and roasted tomatoes and shallots
Tuesday: Brown-sugar glazed salmon with a spinach salad
Wednesday: Spinach and zucchini frittata
Thursday: TBD-- going to Baltimore for work that day so it will depend on what time I get home
Friday: dinner out somewhere

What's on your menu this week?

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Last Monday Jason and I had a meeting with our soon-to-be-built townhouse community's sales staff to walk through (and make decisions about) the 500 different design options we could chose from. I worked from home the rest of the day so that I wouldn't have to take as much time off. Another perk was that I was able to get an earlier start on dinner than usual so I decided to make something that would normally be reserved for Sunday nights (when I have more time to make slow-cooking or more labor intensive recipes): chicken tortilla soup. In addition to sounding easy and delicious,  it made use of some ingredients I had leftover from the previous week--namely yellow pepper, corn tortillas and sour cream (I had made Jason's favorite fish tacos a few days before). The dish was as easy and good as it sounded-- a welcome addition to my recipe repertoire.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted slightly from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 TBL olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
32 oz chicken stock
3 TBL tomato paste
2 1/2 cups hot water
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
3 TBL cornmeal
5 whole corn tortilla, cut into strips
1 avocado, diced
sour cream (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 375. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder and salt. Drizzle 1 TBL olive oil on chicken breasts then sprinkle small amount of spice mix on both sides.Place chicken on a sheet pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until done. Use two forks to shred chicken and set aside.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions, yellow and green pepper, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften. Add remaining spice mix and stir to combine. Stir in shredded chicken.
3. Add Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes, uncovered.
4. Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water to make a paste. Stir into the soup. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes. Check seasonings. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in tortilla strips and let sit (covered) for about 5 more minutes.
5. Ladle into bowls. Top with diced avocado and sour cream (if using). Serve!

Beef and Broccoli

I was going to blog about the chicken tortilla soup I made on Monday but I decided to postpone that to tell you about the AWESOME beef and broccoli I made tonight instead. This recipe (which is actually a mash up of two similar recipes--one from this month's issue of Cooking Light and the other from Pioneer Woman Cooks) is flavorful, fairly healthy, and incredibly quick. It makes a great weeknight meal. Give it a try!

Beef and Broccoli
Adapted from Cooking Light and Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 TBL brown sugar
3 TBL rice wine vinegar
2 TBL cornstarch
1 TBL minced ginger 
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
5 green onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 TBL vegetable oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup water
Cooked rice

1. In a large bowl mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, and ginger. Add sliced meat to sauce and toss.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet (I used my cast iron pan) over medium-high heat. Add meat to the pan, trying to leave most of the marinade in the bowl. Add green onions to the meat. Cook for 1 minute or so before touching the pan. Then stir meat for a minute or two until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add broccoli florets and 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes until water is evaporated and broccoli is a bright green. Add meat and remaining marinate into the pan. Cook, stirring often, until meat is cooked through and sauce is thick. Serve with rice.

Menu Monday

I'm excited about this week's menu-- there are a number of new (and yummy sounding) recipes I'm going to give a try.

Check it:

-Monday: Chicken tortilla soup (from Pioneer Woman Cooks)
-Tuesday: leftover soup
-Wednesday: Beef with broccoli (from Cooking Light)
-Thursday: Pasta puttanesca (from SmittenKitchen/Ellie Krieger)
-Friday: leftovers

What's on your menu this week?