There are quite a few things that will make you stop and think, “Maybe I should be eating lighter and healthier.”
Today, I bought my first swimsuit in years. It’s cute, vintage-looking, and hopefully will be flattering on me (I ordered it online.) You will also never see a picture of me in it on this blog, so please refrain from any comments. I’m headed to Las Vegas in late March with my good friend Lauren for my first vacation since 2007. We’re very excited and we hope to escape the cold to soak in some sun (with about eight billion coats of sunscreen.)
So tonight, when my planned dinner was cancelled due to snow, I contemplated all the wonderful things I could eat. Leftovers or a quesadilla, something simple, when the doorbell rang.
My dear John had stopped by to kill some time before going home. He has an hour commute and I could tell he was tired and just wanted to space out before heading home. As he sat, asking about my day and if I knew how to make gyoza, I knew I would be feeding two now, so I decided to cook dinner the quickest way I knew how– from the package. Start to finish, 20 minutes.
I’m not big on substituting names or using nicknames and I ask every person before I shove their face on my blog (aside from Adrian who forfeited his right when he took pictures of himself with my camera). These are the people in my life. They’re adorable and pretty and I love them all and I want you to see their faces and want to squeeze them like I get to do every day.
So, without further adieu, a light dinner in 20 minutes from a package with less sodium and more filling than a Lean Cuisine. Additionally, this is so versatile, I can’t even begin to think of all the combinations you could do. You can substitute any fish or seafood for the salmon, add more and/or different soft vegetabls, and play around with the herbs.
Dill Lemon Salmon with Rosemary Rice
Salmon Dinner:
1 filet of salmon per person (about 6 oz each)
1/2 zucchini, cut up into fourths per person
3-4 big pinches of dried dill
splash of white wine
salt and pepper
1/2 lemon
*special tools: parchment paper*
Preheat oven to 450
Take two sheets of parchment paper, one on top of the other, and sprinkle a pinch of dill. Place salmon on top (I cook two pieces of filet per package). Sprinkle bit of salt, pepper, and dill.
Place the zucchini on the salmon, sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper, and dill.
Fold the parchment paper together across the filets of salmon. Pinch tightly.
Tightly roll and flatten the other two sides of the parchment paper. (I got this tip from Steamy Kitchen where there is also an excellent video.)
Open the package carefully and pour about a Tablespoon of white wine.
Refold the package tightly and stick in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on how thick the salmon filets are.
Open package (yeah, you can’t eat the parchment, sorry.), serve the fish and throw away the parchment.
Rosemary Rice Pilaf
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A couple pinches of dried rosemary
1 1/4 cup of rice
1 3/4 of chicken broth
A couple pinches of salt and pepper
In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Throw in dried rosemary and garlic until pungent.
Add rice, salt, and pepper for about a minute.
Crank the heat to high, pour in the rest of the chicken broth and mix everything a little, make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once it boils vigorously, cover and turn the heat to low.
Do not remove the saucepan lid. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Then you can take off the lid and fluff that rice.
Congratulations, you’ve made rice without a rice cooker!