Salmonwiches with Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I created this recipe in a desperate search for a fresh recipe for fish night. Mundo doesn't usually get very excited about our weekly fish nights, because I'm still a rookie at perfecting dishes made with fish. He really enjoyed this sandwich made with marinated roasted salmon and a lemony dill mayo. The sweet potato fries are so easy to make and can be served with so many different meals- and they're really good for you!

4 center cut salmon filets (or a large enough piece of salmon to generously feed 4 people)
3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried dill
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
4 ciabatta rolls or sour dough rolls (I bought a sour dough baggette and cut it into segments)
packaged spring mix salad or other lettuce of your choice

Mayo:
1/4 cup real mayo (you can use lowfat)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried dill
freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the garlic, zest and juice of 2 lemons, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tsp dried dill, 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley and 2 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl. Place salmon in a ziploc bag. Pour marinade over salmon. Marinate for about an hour. Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the mayo, adding pepper to taste. Set aside. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake the salmon for 10-15 minutes, until it flakes easily with a fork and the color is no longer opaque pink. To serve, toaste each roll. Spread with 1-2 tsp mayo, depending on how much mayo you like. Top with one of the salmon filets and a handful of spring lettuce mix. Serve with sweet potato fries.

Sweet Potato Fries:
4 large sweet potatoes (I make one per person), peeled and cut into spears
olive oil
kosher salt
pepper

Place sliced and peeled sweet potatoes on a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet). Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, flipping the fries over halfway through baking. They are finished cooking when they are brown on both sides and tender when poked with a fork.

Fish Tacos with Green Rice

I created this recipe one evening, trying to come up with a flavorful version of a fish taco that was easy to make without a grill (since it's the middle of February). These tacos are packed with layers of flavor. They will melt in your mouth! If you have little kiddos, just leave out the jalapeno (although they actually aren't too spicy even with it in the recipe). The green rice is easy to make and tastes great with the tacos. I used flounder because it's really affordable and it's not "fishy" tasting- it's really mild.

Yield: 4 servings (2 tacos each)

Fish:
1 lb flounder filets or other mild white fish
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
3 tbsp canola oil
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp fajita seasoning

Slaw:
2 1/2 cups packaged shredded cabbage for coleslaw
1/2 jalepeno, seeded and finely minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 /2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

Tacos:
8 corn tortillas, warmed in the microwave (cover the stack with a wet paper towel and microwave for 25 seconds)
1 avocado sliced, drizzled with lime and seasoned with salt
Cholula Mexican hot sauce or other hot sauce, if desired
sour cream

Combine all of the marinade ingredients for the fish (through fajita seasoning). Marinade for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the slaw, through ground pepper. This can be made ahead of time- it actually tastes better if it sits for a while. Preheat broiler in your oven. Line a cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) with foil. Place fish on foil. Broil about 5 minutes, until cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. Flake the fish into large pieces and place in a bowl. To assemble a taco, place a spoonful of fish in a corn tortilla. Top with a spoonful of slaw, a slice of avocado, a drizzle of Cholula and sour cream. Enjoy!

Green Rice:
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1 tbsp canola oil
2 1/4 cups water
1 cube caldo de pollo (Mexican chicken bouillon cubes found in the Mexican section of the grocery store)
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp canola oil
1 tbsp water

Heat canola oil in a saucepan. Add the rice and sautee until just beginning to turn chalky white. Pour in the water and add the boullion cube, breaking it apart with your spoon and stirring well to make sure it's dissolved. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the spinach, cilantro, 1 tsp oil and 1 tbsp water in a food processor. Puree until pretty smooth. Stir the puree into the cooked rice. Serve.

Lemony Shrimp and Spinach Linguine

This is SO easy to make. I literally made it from start to finish in 15 minutes. I served it with the Simple Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette. There is no butter in it, so it's low in saturated fat and the leftovers were awesome! The original recipe was called Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil. I found that it really wasn't necessary to make the lemon oil and I substituted spinach for the arugula, since I always have it on hand. You can also leave the shrimp out and add in roasted red bell peppers for a vegetarian version.

1 box linguini pasta (you can use whole wheat, but I actually prefer white in this recipe)
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 16 oz bag frozen cleaned and peeled shrimp
1/4 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 lemons, zested
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 handfuls of baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (you can buy it in a bag in the shredded cheese section) plus more for topping each individual serving

Heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet. Sautee the red onion and garlic until tender and translucent. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp are thawed and just turning pink. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, 1/3 cup olive oil, spinach and parsley. Mix well. Toss in the pasta and the 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Top each indivdual serving with more parmesan and freshly grated pepper, if desired.

Amazing Flounder Simmered in a Tomato Garlic Sauce with Squash Couscous

I created both of these recipes myself! The fish recipe was based on a fish I remember my mom making all the time when I was a little girl. I remembered the flavors and tried to recreate it- it actually tasted exactly as I remembered! The couscous was an idea I had based on a recipe I saw on a cooking show that used zucchini. Both dishes are very flavorful, full of garlic and white wine. Yummy!

Flounder in Tomato Garlic Sauce

4 flounder filets or any white fish (snapper, cod, mahi mahi would all work great)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 medium sized onion, thinly sliced
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1/4 cup white cooking wine or other white wine
1 can stewed tomatoes

Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet (choose one that has a lid). Sautee onion over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until tender and beginning to caramelized. Add garlic, salt, pepper and basil and sautee one minute. Pour in the wine and tomatoes. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to release bits from the onions and garlic. Bring the heat down to a simmer. Lay the fish filets on top of the sauce, trying to overlap as little as possible. Season the top of each filet with a little salt and pepper. Spoon some of the sauce over each filet. Cover and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked completely and flakes easily with a fork.

Couscous with Yellow Squash

2 tbsp olive oil
3 small yellow squash, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 can chicken broth
3 tbsp white wine
1 1/4 c whole wheat couscous

Heat the olive oil in a sautee pan (that has a lid) over medium heat. Add the onion and sautee for about 2 minutes. Add the squash and sautee until tender (until it begins to brown). Add the garlic clove and sautee one minute. Add the thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan. Add the broth and stir. Stir in the couscous, remove from the heat and cover. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Dad's Baked Salmon

My dad used to make this salmon pretty often, when I lived at home (wow, I guess that was 7 years ago!). The sauce is SO amazing. It tastes very unique. It's sweet, tangy, garlicky and a little rich from the butter. It reminds me of a New Orleans barbecue shrimp sauce. It's so good you'll want to lick your plate! This recipe makes enough for two small salmon filets (about 3 inches long each). It doubles very easily, if you're planning to serve more people. I bake mine, but you can also cook it on the grill or broil it. I served it with roasted butternut squash, green beans and whole wheat couscous (Far East garlic and olive oil brand is awesome- I like to add nuts of some sort when I stir the couscous into the broth. Cashews, almonds and pine nuts all taste great in this).

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 tbsp mustard
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire
freshly ground pepper
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper
2 salmon filets, about 3-4 inches long each (I'm not sure how many ounces they would be)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the crushed garlic and sautee for one minute (until it doesn't smell raw anymore). Add the rest of the ingredients, except the lemon juice. Allow the sauce to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes (do not boil!). Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Place the salmon filets in a small baking dish. Pour the sauce over the filets (you don't have to remove the skin, if you don't want to. It will come right off when the salmon is cooked). Bake the salmon for about 15 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Do not overbake or it will taste like rubber (yes, I've done this before :) ).