Marinated Salmon, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

This salmon recipe is adapted from one I found on AllRecipes. I'm going to serve this salmon with steamed broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes.

Marinated Salmon
1/3 c brown sugar
2 t lemon pepper
1 t garlic powder
1/3 c soy sauce
1 T oil
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1/3 c orange juice
1 lb salmon fillets

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine all but orange juice and salmon. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in orange juice. Reserve a small amount to be used as sauce. Place salmon and remaining marinade into a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Preheat broiler. Place fish in a foil lined pan and discard marinade. Broil fish skin side up for 2 minutes. Pull off skin with tongs. Baste with reserved sauce. Return to oven and broil 2 minutes more. Turn fish and broil until fish flakes easily, about 4 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Gingery Salmon, Pilaf, Broccoli

We continue on our quest for more omega-3's with this Gingery Salmon recipe. This salmon recipe is adapted from Good Housekeeping magazine. I hope it tastes as good as the recipe sounds!

Gingery Salmon
3 T lower-sodium soy sauce
2 T grated peeled fresh ginger
2 T honey
4 skinless salmon fillets
2 T water

Preheat oven to 400. In a 13"x9" glass or ceramic baking dish, mix soy sauce, grated ginger, and honey until well combined. Add salmon fillets and turn to coat evenly; spoon ginger mixture evenly over salmon. Pour 2 T water into baking dish around salmon. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until salmon is just opaque throughout.


Pilaf and Broccoli
1 c. whole-grain pilaf, or 1 box rice side dish
1 lb broccoli florets

Cook pilaf according to package directions. Steam broccoli and season with salt and pepper or garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes.

We thought this salmon recipe tasted fine, but the ginger taste was stronger than we'd prefer to have all the time. It was fun to try, but I doubt I'll be making too often.

Shannon's Tuna Biscuit Casserole, Green Salad, Broccoli

This casserole recipe comes from LMPD reader Shannon. She says it's a big hit with her kids! I'm not personally a huge fan of refrigerator biscuits in general, but I want to try it to see if my 1 1/2 year old will eat the tuna. We're always working on getting him to eat more fish!

I'll be serving this casserole with steamed broccoli and a green salad.

Here is Shannon's recipe as she wrote it:


1 can of refrigerated biscuits
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can tuna drained
1 c. milk
1 t. parsley
1 c. grated cheese

Mix the soup, milk, tuna, and parsley. Line the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish with the biscuits spaced about an inch apart. Pour the soup and tuna mixture over the biscuits. Top with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Not-Too-Fiery Fish Tacos, Black Bean Salsa, Green Salad

We fell in love with the Fiery Fish Tacos on AllRecipes three or four years ago. Now that we have a child, though, we aren't able to make things quite as spicy as we used to. In this milder version, I'll try using mahi mahi (since that's what's on sale this week) but you could easily use tilapia and simply decrease the cooking time by a few minutes.

If you like spicy foods, double or triple the cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. Or just pass tabasco at the table like you always do. :)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white shoepeg corn, drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion (you can use white onion if that's all you have on hand)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 c Italian dressing

1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
1 T vegetable oil
1 lb mahi mahi, cut into 2 oz strips
8 tortillas
1/2 c sour cream
avocado (optional), sliced
red salsa (optional)
lime juice (optional)

green salad


Prepare the black bean salsa at least 1 hour before dinner, or start the day before. Combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and Italian dressing in a medium bowl. Chill in the fridge. (Extra black bean salsa can be stored in the fridge for a few days, and is delicious with tortilla chips.)

In a small bowl, mix together cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, and oil. Coat mahi mahi with oil/spice mixture. Coat a pan very well with cooking spray and heat to medium-high heat. Saute fish 4-5 minutes per side, or until fish flakes easily with a fork; decrease heat to medium if fish browns too quickly. For each taco, top a tortilla with 1 strip of fish, black bean salsa, sour cream, and, if desired, avocado, salsa, and lime juice.

*I've eaten mahi mahi at restaurants before, but I've never bought it and cooked it myself. I like that it is another mild white fish, but it's definitely meatier than some mild fish like tilapia. The particular mahi mahi I bought at the store came with the skin on one side, and we wanted to remove it before eating. It was too difficult to try to remove the skin from the raw fish, so we cooked it skin side down first. Then we flipped it and removed the skin as the fish cooked on the second side. In the end, we flipped the fish back to the first side so it could get a little brown. It worked out fine, and we enjoyed our fish tacos!

Crunchy Honey Mustard Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad

This salmon recipe is adapted from AllRecipes. Sorry, folks, but it is not cheap. (Seafood rarely is...) But what is the point of being frugal, if not to buy the things you need to be healthy? We're working on increasing our HDLs, and salmon is a fantastic way to do just that. If you can't do salmon, I would bet this honey mustard would taste delicious on chicken. Let me know how it goes if you try it!

2 T Dijon mustard
1 t butter, softened
1 heaping T honey
1/2 t garlic powder
1/3 c fresh bread crumbs
1/3 c chopped pecans
2 tsp parsley flakes
2 (6 oz) salmon fillets
salt and pepper
1 lemon

4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/3 c milk
2 T butter
salt and pepper

green salad


Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl, stir together mustard, butter, honey, and garlic powder. Place in the fridge for a few minutes. In a separate bowl, stir together bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley flakes. Place salmon on a lightly greased baking sheet. Top with mustard mixture. Press on bread crumb mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, until salmon flakes with a fork. Just before serving, generously squeeze lemon juice on top.

Place potatoes in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain. Mix in milk and butter. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer until fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare green salad.

Salmon Patties, Garlic Bread, Broccoli

This salmon patty recipe is from my mom, whom I absolutely love to death (and not just because she gave me this recipe)! You are welcome to serve them as burgers on buns with pickles, lettuce, and onion (but no cheese!!! Fish and cheese do NOT go together well. Just sayin'...).

2 eggs
2 t mustard
2 t minced onion
4 Saltine crackers, crushed (or Italian breadcrumbs, etc)
1/2 t seasoned salt
1/4 t pepper
1 c Simply Potatoes refrigerated Southwestern hashbrowns (This is actually a very critical ingredient. If you use other kinds of refrigerated hashbrowns, try adding cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes for a nice kick.)
2 (5 to 7 oz) cans boneless, skinless salmon, drained
2 t oil
2 t butter

tartar sauce
mustard

1 cucumber, sliced thin (optional)
broccoli florets

4 slices of bread or 1 loaf French bread
butter
garlic powder
Parmesan cheese


In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Mix in mustard, minced onion, cracker crumbs, seasoned salt, and pepper with a fork. Then stir in hashbrowns. Next add salmon, flaking with fork and stirring until well mixed. Form into 4-6 patties on a plate. Heat oil and butter in a pan on medium heat. Use a spatula to transfer patties into pan. Brown patties about 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown on the first side. Then flip and cook 3-4 minutes more, until second side is golden brown.

Serve salmon patties on their own, passing mustard and tartar sauce at the table. Top with cucumbers, if desired.

Steam broccoli; season with salt and pepper.

Make garlic bread by buttering slices of bread or French bread and sprinkling on garlic powder and Parmesan cheese to taste. If using French bread, wrap loaf in foil and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. If using regular bread, place on a baking sheet and broil just until butter is melted.

Cajun Rice Dish, Carrots, Peas

This recipe comes from My Creative Stirrings. I have been looking for more ways to incorporate fish into our diet without costing a million dollars. I know canned tuna is a cheap option, but I don't prefer the taste. I was intrigued when I saw this recipe, and Ms. Creative Stirrings said she couldn't even taste the tuna! I can't wait to test it out.

I copied this recipe directly from the Creative Stirrings blog.

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon fennel

4 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup dried onions

2 cups chopped celery stalks

8 oz. frozen cut okra stir to coat (optional)

2 cans tuna, drained

1 teaspoon ginger (I didn't have any!)

1/4 teaspoon cloves

14.5 oz. chopped tomatoes

2 cups water

1/4 cup lime juice

5 cups cooked rice (or more for a milder flavor)

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large pot. Stir constantly on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the next 7 ingredients, mix, and then heat on medium for 30 minutes. Add the lime juice and rice and continue to cook for 5 additional minutes on medium low.

Serve with cooked peas and carrots.

This was a hit with my toddler and my husband. Since my man is originally from the south, he was SUPER excited to eat a little Cajun cooking for dinner. Unfortunately, I realized I'm not a huge fan of Cajun spices. I loved the celery, okra, tomatoes, and rice (what a cheap way to fill up! I think brown rice would have also been delicious.). I also thought the tuna was pretty well masked; you could easily replace it with shrimp or blackened halibut if you had the budget and preference for either one. I think I would have preferred this much more, however, if the spices stayed more in the garlic, onion, salt, pepper, chili powder range. Maybe I just don't like cloves?? I thought this was a great cheap and healthy meal, but Cajun spices are not best friends with my particular palate. A big thanks to Creative Stirrings (and her Other Half) for sharing a creative recipe that was unique and family friendly!

Salmon Burgers, Green Salad, Seasoned Fries

The salmon burger recipe is from my mother, who is the queen of salmon patties (though I never knew until she whipped them up recently). Seasoned fry recipe is from AllRecipes.

You can actually serve these salmon patties as a main dish themselves; they are quite tasty. Of course the burgers are delicious, too! I bet these patties would make lovely appetizers in miniature.

Just a hint, my mom says the cans of salmon at Costco are much nicer than the ones in normal grocery stores.


2 large potatoes
2 T olive oil
1 t paprika
1 t garlic powder
1 t chili powder
1 t onion powder

2 eggs
2 (5 to 7 oz) cans boneless, skinless salmon, drained
1 c Simply Potatoes refrigerated Southwestern hashbrowns (This is actually a very critical ingredient.)
2 t mustard
2 t minced onion
4 Saltine crackers, crushed (or Italian breadcrumbs, etc)
1/2 t seasoned salt
1/4 t pepper
2 t oil
2 t butter

If making burgers:
4 buns
4 lettuce leaves
1/3 onion, sliced into thin rings
1 cucumber, sliced thin
pickles
tartar sauce
mustard

green salad


Preheat oven to 425. Cut potatoes into thin fry shapes. Mix olive oil, paprika, and garlic, chili, and onion powders in a large resealable plastic bag. Add potatoes and toss to coat. Place potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, turning fries halfway through.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Mix in salmon, hashbrowns, mustard, minced onion, cracker crumbs, seasoned salt, and pepper. Form into 4-6 patties. Heat oil and butter in a pan on medium heat. Brown patties about 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown on the first side. Then flip and cook 3-4 minutes more, until second side is golden brown.

Serve salmon patties on their own, passing mustard and tartar sauce at the table. Or, go for the burgers. You'll be surprised by how yummy they are!

Parmesan Tilapia, Rolls, Broccoli, Cauliflower

I got this tilapia recipe from my sister-in-law Amber, who found it somewhere. It is our favorite fish recipe by far. Tilapia is a very mild-tasting white fish. Fish isn't cheap, but compared to salmon or other kinds of fish, tilapia is relatively inexpensive. Enjoy!

1/2 c Parmesan cheese
1 T butter, softened
1 T mayo or Miracle Whip
2 T lemon juice
1/4 t dried basil
1/4 t black pepper
1 t minced onion
1/4 t garlic powder
1 lb tilapia fillets (2-4 fillets)

broccoli florets
cauliflower florets

4 rolls


Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan topping (Parmesan cheese through garlic powder). Arrange fish fillets in a foil-lined pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cut each fillet in half lengthwise. Cover fillets with Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Turn oven to broil. Broil 2 minutes a few inches from the heat (or 4 minutes from the middle rack), or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Steam broccoli and cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve rolls at the table.