Canned Salmon Burgers

Sometimes when I read the title of a recipe I kind of cringe wondering how in the world someone thought that was a good idea.  And then I look at the accompanying photo and think, "Hmm, actually that doesn't look too bad.  In fact, it looks rather tasty.  Actually, why don't I go see if we have the necessary ingredients, Hey, Babe? Dinner is going off schedule tonight."  This was one of those times.  Except, since we didn't have the ingredients, it got added to the upcoming menu instead of cutting in line.

In our house we eat Salmon Salad Sandwiches the way that most people eat Tuna.  With a little mayo, some spices, and hopefully some finely diced celery and onions all mixed together and spread on a piece of toasted rye or a nice hard roll.  In that application it is delicious, cravable even.  Unfortunately all I could picture was a scoop of that dolloped onto a hot greased skillet and fried into a gooey, gross mess.  Blech!

Upon seeing that the recipe called for a slightly different and much more effective approach than the one in my wild imagination, I decided to see if it was a satisfactory way for Hey, Babe (the fish hater) to enjoy eating a fishy-fish (his opinion) like Salmon.  Does it tell you anything if I mention that he requested it be added to next month's menu?  Delicious! 

Since we aren't eating much wheat at the moment, and the instances we are eating it are reserved for such delicacies as pizza (yum, yum, and yum!), the next time we have these Salmon Patties we will be eating them over a bed of salad instead of rolls.  But these patties?  They will still be delicious, breadless or otherwise.  Enjoy!

Salmon Patties
adapted from Dana
Ingredients
1 (14 3/4 ounce) canned salmon, drained and fluffed with a fork
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup parsley, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed/minced
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup flour (next time I'm trying Parmesan here, I'll let you know how it goes!)
1 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice

dash salt
dash pepper
dash Tabasco Sauce
Oil for frying

Instructions
To a medium bowl add all the ingredients and mix to combine well.  Divide the mixture into four even portions and then use your hands to press each portion into an even patty, around 1/2 - 1 inch thick.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high and add some oil to coat the bottom of the pan (1-2 tablespoons).  When the pan and oil are hot, fry the Salmon Patties until they are golden on each side.

Pan Fried Tilapia

Having lived in apartments without automatic dishwashers for around 4 years, I have gotten use to taking shortcuts to reduce the amount of dishes I use for any given recipe.  We are now in a house and have a dishwasher and I still I find myself doing this unconsciously.  The extra dishes weren't even usually something that I had to deal with as the usual agreement between Hey, Babe and I is that one of us will make dinner, the other will clean up after it.  (Though, the amount of dish washing that needed to be done directly impacted the amount of good natured grumbling I would need to put up with.)

There are certain meals that require a lot of dishes.  For example one of Hey, Babe's favorites, Chicken Parmesan. The three dishes just to bread the chicken pieces automatically starts racking up the dish washing points.  This is why when I decided to attempt to make a pan fried fish for dinner, I started out with several shortcuts.  Rather than setting up a plate of flour, a bowl of egg, and a plate of breading I decided to stick with some seasonings, mayo, and panko applied straight from their individual containers onto the fish fillets, no middle man dishes involved whatsoever.  It worked fabulously.

I am quite pleased not only with how well this worked to get the breading to adhere, but also with how flavorful the end result was.  I am also thrilled that Hey, Babe thoroughly enjoyed (and finished) his piece of dreaded fish, he even had to fight Little Man for it!  Solid evidence that both of my guys felt this preparation technique was a winner.  I have a feeling that I am going to be attempting to combine this method with the recipe for Amazingly Moist Salmon.  I believe that the seasonings in the mayo sauce added together with the crunch of the panko breading would be wonderful together.  I will definitely turn to this method again for a delicious and quicker way of breading.

Quick Pan Fried Tilapia

Ingredients
Tilapia fillet
Dried Tarragon
onion powder
garlic powder
salt
pepper
mayonnaise
panko bread crumbs
olive oil, vegetable oil, or butter

Instructions
Place desired number of servings of tilapia (or your other favorite fish) on a plate. Pat the surface of each fillet dry and sprinkle dried tarragon, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper on each.

Take a small spoonful of mayonnaise and dollop it onto the top side of each fillet.  Spread a thin layer of mayo to the edges with a knife or your fingers.  Sprinkle panko crumbs liberally over the mayo, using your fingers to firmly press them to the fillet.  Flip each fillet and repeat on the other side.

Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add your choice of grease until there is a layer over the entire bottom of the pan, about 1/4 inch thick.  Fry fillets, in batches if needed, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side depending on thickness, serve with your choice of tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, or ketchup.

Amazingly Moist Salmon

Anyone who has glanced at our monthly meal plans may feel safe in assuming that we eat a lot of fish.  After all, it is on the menu at least once a week.  That assumption would be incorrect.  Though it appears regularly on the menu, it appears quite irregularly on our plates.  Hey, Babe doesn't really care for fish, for him seafood is only a vessel for either tartar or cocktail sauce.  He does, however, want us to eat more of it because fish is good for you, and so it is my backup meal. 

I do not typically plan into the menu any potential leftovers, so I know that we are going to have more food than days in the month.  As the kids get older, eat more, and get a bit more predictable in what they will eat, this might change. Or I might just make more food and still have leftovers.  For now, I have two fail-safes in place to make sure that we don't have a fridge full of leftovers going to waste.  One is that I plan on eating leftovers from dinner for my lunch the next day, especially when there is only enough left for one person.  The second is scheduling in fish.  If we do not need to make another meal because of a plethora of leftovers, fish night is what gets skipped.

On Sundays we tend to be out and about, going to church and visiting family, so I have taken to planning salmon salad sandwiches for Sunday's dinner.  Since it is Hey, Babe's only day off, if we are home for lunch or dinner on Sunday I don't want to spend it standing in the kitchen and sandwiches are the quickest thing.  I know that this is the reverse of most people, they plan on big Sunday dinners because they are home to cook.  I would rather take the opportunity for family time and cook more meals during the week.

I was surprised when Hey, Babe told me that he liked this dinner, and even more surprised when he actually finished his entire piece (actions speak louder than words, especially when it comes to fish).  Not because I didn't find it delicious, (I did) but simply because it was fish.  I didn't use Salmon, replacing it instead with milder Tilapia.  Right now we use salmon for sandwiches and Tilapia for the occasional cooked dinner.  Eventually I am hoping that fish will grow on Hey, Babe and we can move on to Salmon.  I prefer it, and I believe it is supposed to be healthier. 

The Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole was something that I threw together at the last minute in an attempt to get Little Man to eat more of his broccoli.  It didn't really work, but since Hey, Babe and I found it to be delicious I will definitely be making it again.  Thankfully I am beginning to develop the habit of noting measurement down when I am experimenting in my cooking.  This makes it much easier to reproduce a recipe I created on the fly, such as this one.  This casserole may undergo further experimentation in the future, perhaps being turned into a full meal in itself with the addition of chopped chicken and then spread into a casserole dish, topped with more cheese and baked in the oven until heated through.  Until then, I can still recommend it as it is, a wonderful and filling side dish.

Amazingly Moist Salmon

Ingredients
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
dash powdered thyme
pinch Old Bay Seasoning
4 salmon fillets (or tilapia!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 500F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray (important! I forgot this and mine stuck a bit). 

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, parsley and spices.  Sprinkle the salmon with the salt and pepper. Coat each fillet with some of the mayonnaise mixture and set on the baking sheet.  Roast 10 to 12 minutes, until done.

Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Ingredients
6 cups water
1 cup brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dehydrated minced onions
1 cup half and half
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 bag frozen broccoli florets, defrosted

Instructions
In a large pot, bring the water to a boil and add the rice, salt, and onions.  Continue boiling 30 minutes, uncovered.  Using a fine mesh strainer, drain the water off the rice, allowing rice to stay in strainer for the moment.

In the now empty pot, heat the half and half, cheddar, salt and chili powder over medium heat until cheese is completely melted and mixed in.  Return rice along with broccoli to the pot, stirring until thoroughly combined.  Keep over medium low heat, stirring, until broccoli is heated through.