Blackened Salmon Sandwich

Having bought salmon fillets on sale, I was searching the internet for new recipes and came across this delicious sandwich recipe-it is not overly unique and I am sure many variations exist in the cooking world, but this is the one I found and we enjoyed paired with a side of grilled broccoli. (The picture is not the greatest, I was in a rush to eat while it was still warm!)

Source: adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1lb Salmon fillet, skinned and divided into four pieces
3+ tablespoons Blackening spice (you can either buy or I make a combo of paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and onion powder)
One Avacado
2 tablespoons sour cream (the original recipe uses mayo)
One tomato
4 whole wheat buns



Directions
- Turn on the oven broiler (or use a grill)

- Mix together blackening spices, coat all sides of the fillet and place the fillets on a baking sheet

- Place under the broiler (middle rack) for 3-4 minutes each side or until cooked through (timing depends on the thickness of your salmon fillets)

- While the salmon is cooking, mash the avocado and sour cream together and salt/pepper to your taste

- Slice tomato and toast the buns

- When the salmon is done assemble the sandwiches with avocado spread on each side, topped with the salmon and tomato (add any other toppings you like)


I served this with broccoli spears tossed with olive oil and minced garlic, spread on a baking sheet and placed under the broiler until just browned.



Enjoy!

Zucchini Muffins - a healthy option

I am a huge fan of zucchini bread, however, the average recipe contains plenty of oil and sugar which didn't quite go along with my attempts at eating better, so I went in search of a healthier version. I gave this recipe a try this weekend and am thrilled with results. These muffins are wrapped in two sitting the in the freezer waiting to be thawed each day this week for breakfast on the go!

Source: adapted from Jenn and Food, Perfect Together

Yield: 24 muffins

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour

3 1/2 tsps baking soda

1 1/4 tsps nutmeg

2 1/2 tsps cinnamon

2 eggs (you can use 4 egg whites but I didn't have enough eggs for that)

1 1/8 cups sugar (or splenda if you like)

1 cup non fat plain yogurt

1/2 cup unweetened apple sauce

2 cups grated zucchini (I used two small to medium zucchinis and it was probably a little more than 2 cups)

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Combine dry ingredients

3) In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, yogurt and apple sauce

4) Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until just combined (add more applesauce or yogurt if it won't all come together, but expect a thick batter)

5) Fold in the grated zucchini

6) Grease or line 24 muffin cups and fill 3/4 if the way full

7) Bake until knife into the center comes out clean - around 15-20 minutes (depends on your oven)

Enjoy!

My Most In Demand Recipe: Peach Torte

Gotta tell you, when one of my bosses first gave me this recipe I thought it looked tasty but had no idea it would get so many compliments. You can make this with many different fruits, I just had 13lbs of peaches lying around from fruit picking so I have been specializing in peach torte. Enjoy!

Source: New York Times (care of one of my bosses and slightly adapted)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup flour

2-3 large peaches

cinammon sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Cream together butter and sugar using a hand or standing mixer

3) Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well

4) Add baking powder and flour and mix well

5) Spread in either 8,9 or 10 inch springform pan using a spatula (I just use a 9 inch cake pan as I don't have springform - no room in the kitchen yet!)

6) Slice peaches into 8ths and cover the dough (you can use smaller pieces of peach to fill in holes between the peach wedges-be generous with the fruit as it shrinks in cooking and the cake rises up around the fruit)

7) Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (how much depends on how sweet your fruit choice is and how sweet you like your desserts - I was fairly generous and probably used around 3-5 tablespoons depending on how ripe the peaches were)

8) Bake until knife placed in the center comes out clean - generally from 45-55 minutes

Cool, slice and enjoy!