Salmon-Potato Pancakes with Dilly Yogurt Sauce

It was a long weekend.  Not long in a bad way, but after going down to VA beach to throw my mother-in-law a surprise birthday party, Sonny and I were both super tired  Monday evening.  I needed something quick, easy, and satisfying.  This recipe was simple and made enough for both of us to have leftovers to bring for lunch today- WIN, WIN. 

Here's why you should make this recipe...
1- It tastes good. 
2-This is great way to work fish into your diet- are you getting your recommended 2-3 servings of fish each week?  No?  Well, here's one way to make it happen. 
3- The ingredients are items you can keep on hand in your freezer, pantry and when you're in a pinch for dinner one night, voila. 

The stars of this recipe are canned salmon (I went for the boneless, because it is much easier, and less messy, than dealing with the bone-in canned salmon), frozen potato hash browns, and yummy dilly yogurt sauce. 

All you have to do is mix all the ingredients for the salmon-potato pancakes together- my mixture is flavored with whole grain mustard (you can substitute Dijon), dried dill (you can use fresh), and onion...

Then I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup to pack my mixture into uniformly shaped pancakes...



Heat 1 Tb canola oil over medium heat and carefully turn your salmon-potato pancakes out on the hot skillet.  Then use the bottom of the measuring cup to pat the pancakes down.  Turn the heat a little lower (between med-low and medium).  Cook for about 5 minutes until the first side is browned and then flip with a spatula very carefully!!!  These will fall apart if you are not careful...

You will need to cook in 2 separate batches.  I placed the browned pancakes into a 300 degree preheated oven while I made my dilly yogurt sauce- this helps ensure they are cooked through and remain nice and hot. 

I served my salmon-potato pancakes and dilly sauce with leftover baked beans and a quick salad...

Salmon-Potato Pancakes
2 6-ounce cans (or pouches) of wild caught, boneless salmon
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tb whole grain mustard (may substitute Dijon)
2 tsp dried dill (may sub 2 Tb chopped, fresh dill)
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
4 cups frozen hash-browns
2 Tb canola oil

1- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2- Mix all ingredients, except canola oil, in a large bowl.  Stir until well combined.
3- Heat 1 Tb canola oil in skillet over medium heat. 
4- Form pancakes with a 1/2 cup measure and carefully turn out on hot skillet- turn heat down a little (between med-low and medium).  Use bottom of the measure cup to pat pancake down into an even patty.  You will probably get about 5 patties in the first batch.
5- Cook about 5 minutes on first side.  Spray the top-side of patty with non-stick spray, then CAREFULLY flip over and cook another 3-5 minutes.  Place 1st batch of salmon-potato pancakes in preheated oven to keep warm.
6- Wipe any remaining bits out of skillet and heat remaining 1 Tb oil.  Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the remaining 5 patties.  Then place them in the oven to keep warm while you make your sauce. 

Dilly Yogurt Sauce
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used fat-free)
1 tsp finely chopped capers
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried chives
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and serve with your salmon-potato pancakes.  This is also a good sauce for any fish dish or to dip fresh veggies.

Tofu Stir Fry

For the last few nights, dinner has been some transformation of corned beef and cabbage leftovers- please note these weren't just any corned beef leftovers, but THE BEST corned beef ever that was prepared by my very own dad for the legendary annual Rezac's St. Patty's day party!  (Maybe if we are lucky, Dad might be willing to write a guest post describing the corned beef preparer process). 
Even though the traditional Irish feast was delicious, I was over meat tonight.  Tonight was to be devoted to lean, plant-derived protein.  Enter tofu, the only complete plant protein; complete protein refers to a protein that has enough of all the essential amino acids. 

I will admit that tofu is not typically my first choice.  The texture is a little crazy to me, so I made sure to squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible- I also added some corn starch to the marinade to help it get a little more crisp.  The great thing about tofu is, just like chicken, it can take on a lot of different flavors, so the trick is to let it marinade long enough to adopt the desired flavors. 
I chopped one block of extra firm protein and whipped up a zesty marinade that was kicked up in flavor with some ginger and red pepper flakes.  Let the tofu sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes to absorb the yummy flavors.

Meanwhile, get started on your healthy fried rice.  You can use up leftover brown rice or make some ahead of time.  I heat some peanut oil in a skillet and added in the cooked rice.  This was a quick and easy fried rice, so I just mixed in a frozen pea and carrot mixture and hit the whole thing with some low sodium soy sauce. 

The fun part of fried rice is adding in the eggs!  After you've sauteed up your rice and it is nicely browned, push all the rice to the sides of the skillet so you have the middle of the skillet exposed.  Hit it with a little non-stick spray and crack your eggs in the middle of the rice. 

Use your spoon to begin to scramble the eggs. As the egg starts to set, you can slowly stir in the outer edges of the rice.

Continue stirring in your rice, until the egg is evenly dispersed.  To add a little extra flavor, healthy fat and protein, I also stirred in some peanuts.

Now it's time to move on to the tasty tofu!  I used a wok, but you could also use a large skillet.  Heat the wok over medium high heat.  Add your peanut oil, and when it's sizzling, throw in your tofu.  When the tofu is nice and browned on the edges, you can add in your desired veggies.

I added some sliced mushrooms and some cabbage.  Now, I would highly recommend using a bok choy instead of green cabbage.  However, as previously mentioned, I am helping my parents use up all the excess cabbage bought for their St. Patty's blowout, so I used regular green cabbage.  The great thing about stir fry is that you can use WHATEVER veggies you have on hand.
I served my fried rice and tofu stir fry with some pineapple slices... yum yum yum!

You can check out my recipes below.  However, I highly encourage you to substitute any veggies you like- broccoli, snow peas, thinly sliced carrots and onions would all work well.  You can also substitute seafood, chicken, beef or pork for the tofu.  Enjoy!
Healthy Fried Rice
1 Tb peanut oil (can substitute canola)
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup pea and carrot blend, defrosted
1 Tb low sodium soy sauce
2 eggs
2 Tb chopped peanuts
Black pepper to taste

Heat peanut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add in rice and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add in pea and carrot blend and cook, stirring, another minute.  Mix in soy sauce. 
Make a well in the middle by pushing rice to the sides of the skillet.  Spray the pan with a little non-stick spray and add your eggs. 
Stir the eggs with a wooden spoon and slowly stir in the rice until egg is evenly dispersed. 

Tofu Stir Fry
1 block extra firm tofu
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
1.5 Tb corn starch
2 Tb cold water
1 Tb honey
1 Tb peanut oil
1 Tb low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tb rice wine vinegar
1 Tb lime juice
1 Tb peanut oil
1 pint mushrooms (any kind)
3 cups thinly sliced bok choy or cabbage

Squeeze excess moisture from tofu.  Stir the red pepper, ginger and corn starch together then mix in the water.  When mixture is smooth, whisk in the honey, 1 Tb peanut oil, soy sauce, vinegar and lime juice.  Let marinade for at least 30 minutes. 
Heat the second Tb peanut oil over medium-high heat in the wok/skillet.  Strain the tofu from the marinade, but reserve the marinade to use later as sauce.  Add the tofu to the hot skillet and cook until browned on the edges, about 5 minutes. 
Add the sliced mushrooms and cook another minute until mushrooms slightly soften.  Add the bok choy and cook another 2-3 minutes until bok choy cooks down.  Add the remaining marinade and stir 30 seconds, then turn off the heat.  Serve hot with your fried rice.

Irish Carbomb Cupcakes

Earlier this month I mentioned it was National Nutrition Month and that we'd be making sure to point out the health benefits of the foods we blog about. Today, I'll do my best with this treat.

For Morgans' Parents annual St. Patty's Day Party, which is an event you definitely DON"T want to miss, I decided to contribute cupcakes. While searching for the perfect recipe, I found one on http://www.browneyedbaker.com/ for Irish Carbomb Cupcakes.  They looked delicious and it turns out they tasted delicious too! I happen to love carbombs, so naturally I made these. If you haven't baked cupcakes yet, do it, it's so fun. Honestly, baking just makes me happy, which is actually health point number one! Part of being healthy is being happy! So find things that make you happy and do them. Note, I didn't eat an entire batch of cupcakes while making them or serving them but I enjoyed the process, it was relaxing and smelled wonderful!

For the cupcakes. I baked in steps. Step one was to preheat the oven to 350F and start making the cupcake batter. Note a few hours before I made these I layed out the butter and eggs so they could come down to room temperature. I put a little more guiness than the recipe called for but just a splash or two extra. Here's what the batter looked like.

While the cupcakes were baking I whipped up the ganache. I also added a tsp more of whiskey than what the recipe recommended.

By this time the first batch of mini cupcakes were done so I threw the second batch in and a batch of large cupcakes (just for variety). Once those were in the oven I whipped up the icing. I actually didn't add any extra bailey's, go figure!

Once the cupcakes are cooled off. I used the tsp measuring utensil to scoop out the insides of the mini cupcakes and the tbsp for the large cupcakes. I also used the rounded bottom to push down the soft inside to make more room for the ganache!

Then I topped these little guys with the bailey's irish cream icing. I used a cute icing tip that my sister and mom bought for me to make them extra festive. If you don't have piping bags or fancy tips it's A-OK. Just use a plastic bag, fill it with the icing and cut the small point of the bag of to use as a make shift "piping bag". I used to do this all the time!

Top with green sprinkles if you'd like extra decorations. I didn't but didn't get a good photo of it!

To get the recipe visit http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/03/14/irish-car-bomb-cupcakes/

I prefer mini cupcakes because they help me satifsy my sweet tooth without over indulging. Plus they are way cuter! There is absolutely no problem with having a little something sweet once in a while. While Morgan and I typically make healthier versions of sweets like whole wheat flour cookies or used reduced fat cream cheese or less butter in recipes, this recipe was 100% full fat and it was yummy! :) Just make sure these treats only make an appearance in your diet once in a while! :)

I'll post a healthy recipe very soon :)









Super quick granola

Happy Friday Everyone!

This week I whipped up a quick batch of granola and thought I'd share it with you. Granola can be a great snack between meals or even breakfast. You could even sprinkle a little granola on top of a salad for some crunch! Another great thing about granola is that you really don't have to stick to a specific recipe, I just threw together a few things I had on hand.

For this recipe I used a bag of nuts/dried fruit mix (sunflower seeds, pecans, almonds, raisins, dried apricots) and used very little sweetener. I also decided to through in some multigrain cheerios, those little round guys are delish!

Start by preheating your oven to 350F. You'll only need 1 bowl and 1 fork to get this recipe going!

Whisk together 1 egg, 2 tbsp of honey, 1 tsp almond extract, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract together. Add 1 cup of oats and 1 cup of multigrain cheerios to the mix. Let the egg mixture lightly coat the oats/cheerios. The oats will start to clump together, that's fine! Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray and spread out the mix. It'll look like this before you pop it in the oven.

While the oats/cheerios are baking away for about 20-30 minutes (you'll toss them half way through). Put 3/4-1 cup of the dried fruit/nut in a tupperware, then wait! Once the oats/cheerios are done and cooled add them to the nuts and shake, shake, shake!

It's as simple as that! Feel free to use dried apples, cranberries, hazelnuts, whatever you have on hand. You can even wish up some peanut butter into the wet ingredients to give it extra flavor and add some more protien to the mix. This granola is high in fiber and low in added sugar. Foods high in fiber help keep us full longer, they also help control our blood sugars over a longer period of time, that's a good thing! The nuts provided protein and heart healthy fats to the mix. This is lower calorie granola than most you'll find at the grocery store because it doesn't have excess sugar added for sweetness and it also wasn't roasted with oil. I like to eat it plain or over greek yogurt, but you can get creative!

Super Simple Shrimp Salad

This post is going to be short and sweet just like this recipe!  Get ready to have a nutritious meal on the table in fifteen minutes!  This salad is a hodge-podge of whatever veggies are on hand.  I like to make a homemade dressing, but a bottled Asian sesame dressing or a vinagrette works well with this salad too.

The trick is to always keep a well-stocked pantry, freezer and fridge- I like to always keep a big bag of frozen salad shrimp (already cooked and ready to go) for those nights when a quick meal is needed.  These defrost quickly under cold running water, or you can defrost in the refrigerator overnight.  Among the canned items I keep, I usually have those yummy little canned mandarin oranges- perfect for fruit salads, eating as a snack, or topping an Asian style salad.  Lastly, you KNOW this girl always has an assortment of fresh veggies on hand :)  I am always ready for quick salad nights!

You can check out my recipe, but feel free to sub in whatever veggies you like or have available.  Basically, this salad is providing you with tons of filling fiber from the fruit and veggies, lean protein from the shrimp, and healthy, mono-unsaturated fat from the peanuts and peanut butter- lot's of good stuff in very little time!  This recipe makes 2 large salads. 

Super Simple Shrimp Salad

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped

2 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup baby carrots, cut into strips

1/3 yellow pepper, thinly sliced

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1/8 red onion, thinly sliced

2 Tb peanuts, chopped

1.5 cups frozen salad shrimp, thawed

Peanut ginger dressing (recipe below)

Assemble your salads by layering ingredients between two plates.  Top with desired salad dressing.

Peanut-Ginger Dressing

1 Tb creamy peanut butter

1 tsp sesame, peanut or olive oil

3 Tb orange juice (or can use water)

2 Tb rice vinegar (or use white wine vinegar)

1/2 tsp dried ginger (or 2 tsp fresh, finely grated)

1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 tsp sriracha sauce (optional)

Whisk ingredients together and pour over salad.  Enjoy!