Fish Dish Numero Uno

Here it is, my first fish dish post!

We have had this recipe several times already and it is SO good that I am going to create a 'done fish dish' tab above just so I have somewhere official to put this. 

My brother-in-law and his wife turned us on to this salmon recipe, they said it was the best, and they were right.  It hasn't failed us yet, and we usually manage to screw something up!  (To give you an idea how good it is, in the four weeks that we have had fish once a week, three of the weeks were this recipe.)

We buy the wild salmon from the fish counter at the grocery store which allows us to pick exactly the amount we need for no leftovers, and the wild salmon is as fresh as we're going to get here in Colorado.

Salmon marinade:

(note:  According to the recipe this is for 4 six ounce fillets, but my brother-in-law doubles the recipe when he makes 4 fillets.  I have been making this exact recipe for the 1/2 lb of salmon we get.)

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Whisk all ingredients together.  Put salmon into plastic bag, pour marinade over it, seal and refrigerate for one hour.  (We have done less time and it still turned out great.)

At this point I hand the bag and a cold beer to my research team (he says he can't grill without a beer...) who expertly and magically prepares the salmon on the grill.  If you need instructions on this part, here is the link to the recipe.  :)

Well now that I am publishing my fish dish of the week, I feel a little more motivated to make some different dishes... which is kind of scary.  Wish me luck!!

Next time, more hidden veggies!

Potato Salad

I'm baaaaack!  Here are my excuses for not posting since December....

First it was the holiday season.  The holidays are not a time for hidden veggies, they are a time for pigging out on delicious food made with butter.  There has to be exceptions, and what better time than the holidays...am I right?

Then in January we found out we were expecting our second baby!  This was promptly followed by me puking my guts out for months and therefore not cooking, eating, or spending any time anywhere that smelled remotely like food.  (My poor research team was left fending for himself and our son...  thankfully, they survived.)

Now it's the end of April and I am so happy to be back in the kitchen... this weekend I made my mom's chocolate chip cookies, then I made her coffee cake, oooh, I also made fresh salsa, we marinaded and grilled chicken one night, then red snapper the next night... it has been so good to EAT again!!    So, I'm back.

I am going to add something to my hidden veggie blog.  This year, before the puking, I made a New Year's resolution to have fish for dinner once a week.  Since my research team and I don't eat much fish usually, every week will be an experiment.  So along with new and improved hidden vegetable recipes, I will post our most successful (or maybe the biggest disaster...) fish recipes.  Also, if anyone has any great family favorite fish, or any seafood dinners, I'd love to hear them!!

So onto my hidden veggie recipe of the week....  Potato Salad!

Here in Grand Junction it has started to feel like summer, and nothing says summer like grilling burgers and a good potato salad.  So I googled "best potato salad" and went about butchering the recipe.  :)  Here is the original recipe if you are interested. 

I basically halved the recipe and added my own little something.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs red potatoes
1/4 small yellow onion, chopped
1 cup red pepper, chopped
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup cauliflower puree  (I should note that I made this puree with milk instead of water so that it would be creamier)
1/2 cup miracle whip
3 tbs cup mustard
2 tbs sweet pickle relish
bunch green onions
salt and pepper
garnish with paprika and green onions

Chop potatoes, boil until soft, cool.  Mix all ingredients together, chill until meal time.

Here are some photos:

(Yes the pineapple on my mini burger is larger than the hamburger... what can I say.)

The verdict:

"Good enough to take to a potluck."


It wasn't as creamy as potato salad made with a gallon of mayo, it had a lighter feel to it, which I liked.  I felt like it was a little bland, so since we have left overs I may add a little something more to it tonight and see the difference tomorrow.

On the plus side, there was no sign of the cauliflower at all, so this was a successful hidden veggie!

**I sprinkled dill and Worcestershire sauce and stirred them in, it sat overnight.  The new verdict?  It was better, but maybe just because all the flavors meshed better overnight?  I think this recipe is pretty good, but I am going to experiment with it at least one more time before posting under in the 'done' recipe tag.**