Toddler Approved: Honey Soy Salmon

Posted on by aurorameyer

Honey-Soy Salmon with Zucchini

This was a surprise win for our family. Even before Miss A’s arrival, we made it a point to eat more fish. Salmon is hard one because done well, it’s amazing. Done poorly, it’s terrible.

On a whim, I tried this Honey-Soy Salmon dish from Parents magazine. It was so easy and even better, Miss A kept asking for more! She wasn’t really a fan of the zucchini, but she also hadn’t had it with the skin still on before.

Toddler Approved: Honey Soy Salmon

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 4-6 salmon fillets (we get the frozen ones that still have the skin on the number of fillets depends on the number of people eating)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce we used regular
  • Nonstick cooking spray or just some of your favorite oil
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive
  • 2 medium zucchini sliced into 1/4-inch thick half-moons
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Add honey and soy into a zip top bag, squish to mix.
  • Add the fish and seal the zip top.
  • Turn to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours (we marinated for about an hour).
  • Drain and discard marinade.
  • Preheat broiler. If you have the option of low or high, choose high.
  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat foil with cooking spray or lightly drizzle oil.
  • Place fish on foil. Broil 5 to 7 minutes per 1/2-inch thickness of fish, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
  • We broiled for about 7 minutes total.
  • While the fish is broiling, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and onions. Cook about 3 minutes or until just tender; season with salt.
  • Serve the fish fillets with the zucchini.

Notes

Note: if using frozen fillets, be sure to allow to defrost before you marinate. It makes a difference.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion:
The addition of lightly caramelized onions made the salmon even tastier. We will absolutely be making this dish again. Plus it was so easy, we could make it even on the busiest weeknight!

Toddler Approved: Honey-Soy Salmon with Zucchini
Yum

Crockpot Alton Brown Pork Loin

Posted on by aurorameyer

AB Crockpot Pork Loin
I haven’t been shy about my love for all of AB’s recipes (for example our Christmas ham, gyro meat and a peach buckle). This one started out as a delicious grilled summer meal, but quickly morphed into a scrumptious year round crock pot meal. Extra bonus, we make it ahead and freeze it so it’s super simple to just pop into the crockpot!

Crockpot Alton Brown Pork Loin

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole pork tenderloin approximately 1 pound
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice concentrate is also fine!
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder we actually use regular minced garlic
  • 1 in chipotle chile pepperadobo sauce (out of the can we use about three or four chipotles and half of the sauce)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt We omit (but you can feel free to add!)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves We omit (but you can feel free to add!)

Instructions
 

  • Place the lime juice, honey and garlic powder in a ziptop bag and shake to combine.
  • Add the chipotle pepper (s) and squish together to combine.
  • Add the pork tenderloin to the bag and seal, removing as much air as possible and squish to coat the tenderloin. (At this point, we usually freeze this mixture together.)
  • If not freezing, marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours (we like overnight).
  • When you're ready to cook, dump the entire mixture into the crockpot, marinade and all. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. (Always double-check your specific crockpot settings for correct cooking times).
  • If you can, flip it once, but if you can't it's ok.
  • When you're ready to eat, remove the pork loin. Make sure to reserve the juices! We enjoy pouring it over rice to go with the pork.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion:
Like I said above, this is great year round. It’s just as good with a salad as it is over rice. Enjoy!

p.s. Summer 2016 update: without the chipotles in adobo sauce, our toddler eats this up! We just add the chipotles and adobo sauce to our plates. 

C’s Baklava

Posted on by aurorameyer

 

I always thought baklava was too complex to try at home. Then C found this amazing recipe in The Complete Middle East Cook Book and not only proved me wrong, but it was hands down the best baklava I’ve ever had.

C's Baklava

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

Base

  • 20 in sheets fillo pastry dough look for itthe freezer section!
  • 3/4 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 2 cups finely chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup finely chopped almonds
  • 1/4 cup sugar –
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Syrup Ingredients:

  • 1 cups and 1/2sugar
  • 1 cups and 1/2water
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • thinly peeled lemon rind (in a pinch we've left this out, but it does make a difference!)
  • piece smallof cinnamon bark we used a small cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • If your walnuts and almonds are whole, or not ground pretty fine, throw them in the food processor.
  • Mix the nuts, sugar and spices together in a bowl.
  • Butter the sides and bottom of a large baking dish.
  • Place one sheet of the fillo dough on the bottom of the baking dish and brush with melted butter. Repeat eight times.
  • Spread some of the nut mixture over the buttered fillo dough. Top with another sheet of fillo dough.
  • Butter that sheet.
  • Top with a second sheet of fillo dough.
  • Butter that sheet. ]
  • Spread the remaining nut mixture over butter fillo dough.
  • Top with the remaining nine sheets of fillo dough, making sure to butter each sheet. Brush the top with butter and using a sharp knife, cut a diamond shape and sprinkle with water to prevent the top layers from curling.
  • Bake on the center shelf for 30 minutes.
  • Then move up one shelf and cook for another 30 minutes. You'll want to keep an eye on it, if the top browns too quickly, cover with foil.
  • While the baklava is cooking, make the syrup. Note: we've discovered the longer the syrup sits, the better it is. We've even canned it for later.
  • Place the sugar, water and honey in a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
  • Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
  • Be careful! This boils quickly and the last thing you want is for the mixture to boil over. Manage your heat and let boil for 15 minutes. We found stirring continuously helps prevent boil overs.
  • Strain and let cool.
  • When the baklava is done baking, spoon the syrup over the pastry. Leave it alone for several hours (this step is the hardest, but I promise it is worth it).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion: This recipe takes more than the  hour of baking time and makes at least 30 pieces. You might want to cut them small, unlike some treats this is best in small, completely satisfying quantities.

Homemade Turtle Bay Granola

Posted on by aurorameyer


J fell in love with the granola at Turtle Bay when we visited Hawaii. A recent note from the general manager reminded me to try to get the recipe because while travelling to Honolulu every time J wants the granola sounds lovely, that is absolutely not going to happen. Luckily for me, Danna is super nice and got me in touch with Ceci in the Food and Beverage Department. Ceci sent the ingredients and from there I was able to cobble together the recipe below.

Ingredients:
3 cup oats (we used Quaker)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds (we went with the ones from the bulk food section)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
about 3 cups tropical fruit trail mix (We used HyVee brand with papaya, pineapple, coconut, raisins and bananas, but left out the bananas)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the oats and nuts. In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and honey. Combine both mixtures and pour onto a sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color and keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom (you may want to consider spraying the pan with your favorite cooking spray, just in case).

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add fruit and mix until evenly distributed.

My Opinion:
Somehow I was more obsessed with the fresh fruit in Hawaii and missed this granola completely, but it is amazing. Good with milk as a cereal, good on yogurt, ice cream and just out of the container.

Summer Shrimp kababs

Posted on by aurorameyer

With the recent spring heat wave, we’ve wanted to use the grill as much as possible. We made these shrimp, pineapple and pepper kabab that tasted just like summer!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic, red wine or rice wine vinegar
About 1-2 tbs honey
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
16 large jumbo shrimp
2/3 of a pineapple, chunked (canned is fine too)
1-2 red peppers cut into about 1 inch pieces
skewers (we use Bamboo ones)

Directions:
Marinate the shrimp in the soy, honey, vinegar, garlic mixture for at least an hour. Soak the skewers in water for about a half hour (to keep them from burning on the grill). Alternate red pepper, shrimp, pineapple on the skewer. Cook for about 8 minutes on the grill. Serve with brown rice or barley.

My Opinion:
Because I wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out, I just used large shrimp. In the future, I will definitely use jumbo shrimp. I’ll also make the marinade a bit spicier by adding some chili flakes or Sriracha sauce.