Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon with Asparagus

I have been staying the course for the last few weeks. Working diligently on the knitting that has a deadline. I am inches away from the finish. If there had not been the need to "knit backwards" a couple of times, I would be really near the end. But unknitting is part of the process. No "it's close enough" this time. I want this to be done correctly because this is a special project. So I take out stitches when I need to and reknit them.

Now, even though I've knitted lots every day, I cannot sit still for too long at a time because it's bad for my back, bad for my hands, and bad for my concentration. So during these knitting weeks, I've taken frequent breaks. To do laundry. To clean house. To declutter. Clearing away the cobwebs in the corners has the added benefit of clearing away cobwebs in my head.

For the last couple of years, I've been up and down the highway many times, never staying home for many weeks in a row. But I've only been gone a couple of days since Christmas. And it's March already! Because I've spent several weeks in a row here at home, I've noticed things that I've conveniently ignored up until now.

These last few weeks I've cleared bookshelves. Emptied drawers. Dusted corners. Cleaned closets. Thrown away. Given away. And I hate to admit it but I finally put away the last Christmas decorations. The house feels like it can breathe again. I imagine I could go through the same shelves and drawers and cabinets and do it all over again and find more things to eliminate. But this is a good start.

Of course I've cooked. We have to eat. But I've looked for quick, easy meals. I didn't want to spend lots of time cleaning up after supper either. One pot meals. Sheet pan dinners. Instant pot cooking. It's all good.

Last week I borrowed an idea from daughter Jessica. I followed her directions but used what I had on hand here to cook salmon in the oven. (Check out her blog for many good healthy recipes. Lots of Whole30 things, too.)

SHEET PAN TERIYAKI SALMON with ASPARAGUS

2 salmon filets (I used frozen filets, thawed overnight in fridge)
1/2 bunch fresh asparagus, washed & trimmed
olive oil
*house seasoning (or use a mix of salt, pepper, garlic powder)
bottled teriyaki sauce

Preheat oven to 425º.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up. Place asparagus on baking sheet. (For best results, be sure your asparagus is dry before you roast it.) Drizzle a little olive oil over vegetables. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with house seasoning. Arrange in single layer on one end of pan. Roast for 10 minutes.

Take pan from oven, turn asparagus over. Put salmon filets on other end of pan. Drizzle olive oil over filets. Sprinkle with house seasoning. Put pan back in oven and continue roasting for another 15 minutes, or until salmon is done. Brush salmon with teriyaki sauce when it comes out of the oven. (Next time I think I'll brush some on a few minutes before it's done.)


Bam! Supper is served. To finish out the plate, I zapped a bag of frozen Green Giant cauliflower risotto medley. Five minutes in the microwave and a minute to rest and it was ready. Y'all...a one cup serving of this risotto has 20 calories. A cup of white rice has 206 calories. Brown rice has 216. And we thought the riced cauliflower was good. Good enough that I'll be sure to keep some on hand.

~~~~~~

I always keep a jar of house seasoning on the shelf. Sometimes I make a big batch. Most times I make it in this smaller proportion.

 *House Seasoning:  
1/4 cup salt 
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. garlic powder

Mix well. Store in an air-tight container, such as an empty spice bottle or small jar. 

Mommy Cooks

I was so happy to find this photo in my emails this morning. And then the next email with the recipe. I've had no recipes to share this week. The kitchen in my house must be out of order. (It must be the kitchen-- it couldn't be me, could it?)  The best supper I had here all week was a bowl of Cheerios. I kept thinking about grocery shopping but I just never actually went to the store. We pulled leftover pizza out of the freezer last night. Sad.

One afternoon this week when Baby Sister was here, she had fun pulling cookbooks off the shelf in the kitchen. When Mommy was picking them up, she found Busy Moms Weeknight Favorites (an old Southern Living cookbook) in the pile. I told her since she is the "busy mom" now, to take it home with her.

So happy that she is actually using the cookbook. She made this for their supper last night and said the recipe is a "keeper." So I am delighted to have her recipe to share. Who knows....maybe we will have it for supper tonight. If the kitchen "works."

SAUTÉED TILAPIA WITH LEMON-PEPPERCORN SAUCE

1-1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. drained brine-packed green peppercorn, lightly crushed

6 tsp., butter or margarine, divided

2 tsp. vegetable oil

4 (6-oz.) tilapia or sole fillets

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 all-purpose flour

lemon wedges (optional)

1. Combine first three ingredients; set aside.

2. Melt 2 tsp. butter with oil in a large skillet over low heat.  While butter melts, sprinkle fish with salt and pepper.  Place flour in a shallow dish.  Dredge fillets in flour, shaking off excess flour.

3. Increase heat to medium-high; cook the butter and oil mixture 2 minutes or until butter turns golden brown.  Add fillets to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes with a fork.  Remove fillets from pan.

4. Add broth mixture to pan, scraping to loosen browned bits.  Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup.  Remove from heat.  Stir in remaining 4 tsp. butter with a whisk.  Spoon sauce over fillets.  Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook:12 minutes

MOMMY'S NOTES:

- I was unable to find brine-packed green peppercorns, so I substituted ground green peppercorn.

- I substituted house seasoning* for salt and pepper.

- We served this with quinoa and steamed broccoli.

*House Seasoning: 4 tbsp. salt, 1 tbsp. ground black pepper, 1 tbsp. garlic powder. Mix. Store in an airtight container.

On Duty

For the month of July, I am back on full time "grandmother duty," keeping both girls while Mommy teaches a grad class this summer. But just afternoons this time. That means I have time to make a dinner plan before I leave each day. Granddaddy gets real suppers in July!

I was home before 6:00 tonight. Supper took less than 15 minutes to put on the table. I made pasta salad this morning before I left, using up some of our garden produce. It's a huge recipe if you need to take food to someone. It will make enough for you and enough to share.



I cooked tilapia when I got home. Just sprinkle a couple of tilapia filets with Cajun seasoning and pan saute in a little oil. That's it. Super simple. Super good. Got this recipe from daughter Jessica on her blog.  She's a great cook.



Cajun Tilapia

2 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 tilapia filets
Cajun seasoning

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle seasoning generously and evenly over both sides of the filets. Cook about 4-5 minutes on each side (depending on thickness), until it reaches desired degree of doneness.

Sunny Baby Blanket

Berroco Comfort yarn

Size 8, 29-in. circular needles

Big Sister knows that one of Mimi's "rules" is to never say the words, "I'm bored." So today she spelled it out. "Mimi, I'm b-o-r-e-d." She had read. We had played Trouble. And both of us had played lots with the baby. It was too hot to go out. The heat here was in the mid-90s with humidity that was about 500%.

That made it a great time to pull out the knitting again. (While Baby Sister was napping.) Big Sister started a new dishcloth (and cleaned out her knitting bag) while I started a new baby blanket. Both projects are the easy kind. The kind you want to do when it's too hot to do anything. It's supposed to be even hotter as the week goes on. She and I may finish our projects if we need to stay in most of the week. Maybe we will find a winter movie to watch while Baby Sister naps and we knit.

Wishing we were back at the lake. Or even better---in the lake.