Brown Sugar Glaze Salmon

This is my absolute most favorite salmon recipe (so far) and make it at least 2x a month.  It's got a nice Asian touch to it with the soy but a nice sweetness that makes the salmon melt in your mouth. I usually pair this up with a big baked sweet potato topped with butter and brown sugar and some green veggie.  Experts say you should get at least 2-3 servings of fish a week and this is definitely a recipe you'll want to add into your meal rotation.

Ingredients:

l lb (450 g) salmon fillets

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

4 tsp dijon or whole grain mustard

1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar works fine as well)

Method:

Line baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place salmon fillets skin side down on greased foil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake it at 350 F for about 25-30 minutes. Until it easily flakes.  

While salmon is baking, combine in small sauce pan or microwaveable dish - brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, and vinegar.  Bring to a boil or cook in microwave for 45-60 seconds on high power until bubbling.  Stir until sugar is well incorporated.

When salmon is fully cooked, take it out of the oven.  Turn on the broiler (500F). Brush the sauce evenly over the salmon.  

Put salmon back in oven (6 inches from the heat element) for 1-2 minutes until sauce is nicely glazed on fillets.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

I had been doing lots of reading on healthy eating lately and lots of the books said that you should eat some kind of fish a couple times a week.  Tilapia seemed to be a good potential to get in our meal rotation and it's reasonably priced.   This is a recipe I found on www.readyseteat.com and it was really good.  I used my own homemade wheat bread crumbs when I made it and it turned out great.

Ingredients:















1/3 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tilapia fillets, thawed if frozen (4 fillets = 1 lb)
2 tablespoons spicy golden mustard or course ground mustard
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
cooking spray

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°F.















Stir together bread crumbs, parsley, paprika and salt in shallow dish.















Brush both sides of each fillet with mustard.















Place fillets in crumbs; coat with crumbs. Place fillets in large shallow baking pan.















Sprinkle fillets with cheese.















Spray top of fillets with cooking spray.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork (145°F).

Fish Pie

British food is some of the best comfort food with it's basic ingredients all thrown together. I absolutely love fish pie and even though there are loads of recipes this is one that I quite enjoy. I usually by a fish pie blended mix of fish pieces as it is available in most grocery stores in the UK but the recipe outlines the different kinds of fish you can use.

Ingredients:

50 g (2 oz) butter (4 Tbsp)

50 g (2 oz) flour (1/2 cup)

568 ml (1 pint) fresh milk (2 cups)

450 g (1 lb) smoked haddock

225 g (8 oz) white fish and salmon

50 g (2 oz) prawns (1/4 cup shrimp)

198 g (7 oz) canned sweet corn, drained (1 1/2 cups)

100 g (4 oz) frozen peas (1 1/2 cups)

2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and chopped

15 ml (1 Tbsp) chopped parsley

575 g (1 lb) potatoes made into mashed potatoes

50 g Red Leicester or cheddar cheese (1 cup)

Method:

Place butter, flour and milk in saucepan.

Heat, whisking continuously until sauce thickens, boils and is smooth. Cook for a minute.

Add fish, peas, sweetcorn, egg, and parsley. Cook for 2-5 minutes.

Pour into a large baking dish or smaller personal pie dishes.

Spoon warm mashed potatoes onto the fish mixture.

Sprinkle cheese over the potatoes and place in oven at 350 F/ 180C for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and pie are piping hot.

***Note: I often like to add about 1/2 tsp garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste in the fish/veg mixture before putting it in the pans.

Beer-Battered Fish

Living in England I have come to appreciate a very good fish and chips meal. I'm not totally equipped to make the same quality fried fish as you would get in a really good pub, but I rely on good ol' Betty Crocker to help me with this very good home version of beer-battered fried fish. Ideally I would like to cook the fish in a deep fat fryer but this is how I do it on the stove top.

Ingredients:

vegetable oil

1 lbs haddock or cod fillets

3 or 4 Tbsp Original Bisquick

1 cup Original Bisquick

1/2 cup beer or nonalcoholic beer

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Heat up oil 1/4 inch thick in fry pan (or 1 1/2 inches in 4 quart Dutch oven or deep fryer at 350 F).

Mix together 1 cup Bisquick, beer, egg and salt until smooth.

If the batter is too thick, stir in additional beer, 1 Tbsp at a time until desired consistency. I like it to be the same consistency as a pancake batter.

Lightly coat the fish with the 3-4 Tbsp of Bisquick.

Dip fish fillet into batter, letting the excess drip into the bowl.

Fry fish in the oil for about 4 minutes and then flip.

The fillets should be a nice golden brown. Continue to cook on other side until fish is cooked throw and flakes with a fork.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot!

Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 lb mushrooms

2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped crabmeat

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup white wine (or water)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Cut out mushroom stems and a bit around the base of the mushroom cap.

Chop up mushroom stems very finely. Saute onion and chopped mushroom stems with butter. Add crumbs and crab. Cook until soft and brown. Add salt, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce.

Fill mushroom caps. Put caps in a oven proof pan and pour in wine (or water) around on bottom.

Bake at 400 F/200 C for 15 minutes. Take out and top with cheese.

Bake for another 8-10 minutes.

*Note: Ideally you could use larger mushrooms when making these as a side dish and use smaller mushrooms for appetizer.

**Note: If you want to make these South Beach Phase 1 friendly, omit the bread crumbs and use low calorie butter.

Salmon with Garlic Mayo Sauce

I found this in a late summer issue of a Taste of Home magazine and I adapted it from a grilling dish to one I could bake in the oven. I absolutely love this sauce and the rosemary adds a nice touch to the salmon.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

4 salmon fillets (6 oz each)

Sauce:

8 garlic cloves, peeled

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp plain yogurt

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Method:

Lightly coat shallow baking pan with cooking spray. Combine 3 Tbsp oil and rosemary; brush over salmon. Place salmon skin side down on grill or in baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork (time will depend on the thickness of the salmon fillets).

Meanwhile in a small microwave safe bowl, combine garlic and remaining oil. Microwave uncovered for 20-30 seconds or until softened.

Place garlic with oil in a blender along with the remaining ingredients. Cover and blend. Serve the sauce with cooked salmon.

Seafood Bake

I found this recipe in one of my sister-in-law's old Better Homes and Garden's cookbooks printed back in the 1970's. I wanted to try it out to see if it was still good for the 2000's. Pretty yummy. I decided to use fresher ingredients than using just the canned items and found that it would have been better if I would have cooked the mushrooms, shrimp and crab a bit before mixing them in with the sauce to reduce the amount of water in them. I also used imitation crab sticks since that is all I can buy in the UK, but I think it would be even better with the real stuff all flaked up. It got my husband's approval so has to be good.

Ingredients:

1 - 10 1/2 oz can of condensed cream of celery soup (or cream of chicken)

1/4 cup milk

1 beaten egg

1/ cup grated parmesan cheese

7 1/2 oz crabmeat, flaked

4 1/2 oz can shrimp, drained

3 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

3 Tbsp fine bread crumbs

1 Tbsp butter, melted

Method:

Combine cream of celery soup, milk, egg and half of the cheese in sauce pan. Stir over low heat until cheese is melted and mixture is hot.

Stir in crab, shrimp, and mushrooms. Spoon into 4 large baking shells or a 1 quart baking dish.

Toss dry bread crumbs with remaining 2 T cheese and melted butter. Sprinkle over mixture in shells or baking dish. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Garnish with parsley and lemon slice.

***Note: I used fresh mushrooms and frozen shrimp and crabmeat instead of all canned ingredients. When using fresh items it would be best to cook them all ahead of time to get rid of excess water so your dish stays creamy instead of getting watery.

Smoked Salmon & Chive Mini Quiches

I found this recipe in a catalog for one of the chain kitchen stores in the UK and thought it looked interesting. I made them for a brunch and they tasted great.

Ingredients:

block of ready made shortcrust pastry
2 1/2 oz. (75g) finely chopped smoked salmon
1 dessertspoon finely chopped chives
1 1/4 cup (300 ml) double cream
1 egg, plus 2 egg yolks
a pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 C/350 F. Put small ball of dough in mini muffin pan well and use a pusher to shape the pastry case. Prick bases with a fork and bake blind for 5 minutes at 350 F/180 C.

Place a little salmon in each of the pastry cases and sprinkle in come chive. Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour into the quiches. (I mixed things up in a 2-cup measuring cup with a spout so it was easier t pour the mixture in the pastry cases).

Bake in the oven for approximately 7-10 minutes.

Fish and Sour Cream Bake

Here is a very tasty baked fish that turns your basic white fish and ingredients you can find in your fridge into a first class meal. This is a dish that you could put together ahead of time and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes while you cooked up some tasty veggies to go along with it. For this meal I made up some roasted root vegetables like carrots, parsnip, and swede along with grilled asparagus with red peppers.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour (25 g or 1 oz)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb or 450 g white fish fillets or steaks
5 fl oz (just over 1/2 cup) sour cream (150mL)
5 oz mayonnaise (150mL)
2 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
1 tsp (5ml) dried dill
1 tsp (5ml) lemon juice
2 oz (50g) smoked cheddar cheese, grated

Method:

Season flour and coat fish. Place on greased, oven-proof dish.

Mix together soured cream, mayo, onions, dill and lemon juice.

Spoon over fish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cook at 350 F or 180 C for 30-35 minutes until fish flakes.