where have you been all my life?

It seems like forever since I’ve had salmon, but it’s probably been a good 3 weeks I would say.  I absolutely love fish, but it is so darn expensive and can go bad so quickly that it’s hard for me to buy.  I usually buy the canned salmon and try to incorporate more fish that way. 

It is recommended to have at least 2-3 servings of fish per week for optimum heart health, but I know I fall short most weeks.  That’s why I was so excited to get a bunch of flash-frozen fish from a family friend the other day.  Yippee! 

So for my first fish recipe in the string of many soon to come, I tried Sweet Orange Salmon from CookingLight.  The simple rub is a coating of different spices that gives it a nice sweet and spicy crust.  I was running low on side ingredients, so I settled on a brown rice pilaf with a frozen veggie mix of black beans, corn, broccoli and bell peppers along with all the spices mixed in from the rub.  Boy do I love salmon! 

 

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp graded orange rind plus about 1 tbsp juice (I only had clementines on hand)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets

Mix all ingredients in a bowl (I doubled the recipe since I had more salmon) then coat the salmon fillets.  Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 450 for about 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets and your desired degree of doneness.  Serve with your favorite side! 

Chris took a picture of his plate presentation, which is a modern approach! 

He also made a vinaigrette out of the crock-pot apple butter I made with rice vinegar, a dash of olive oil and apple cider, salt and pepper.  Yum! 

Now I have to think of leftover salmon ideas because we have so much leftover!   Any ideas?  A nice Asian salmon slaw comes to mind . . .