Staying Healthy and Strange Things at the Ranch

November is one of my favorite times here in Texas. Yes, spring is lovely with the wildflowers, but after a long, hot summer, the cooler temperatures are such a welcome reprieve that you just want to be outside. For those of you in the north who look forward to spring after a long winter, that's how fall is for us. But lately, I've been noticing some strange things.

Our Mexican Heather is still in full bloom, which isn't so strange, but seeing it covered in honey bees is. For the past month, it has been inundated. You go out on the patio and you hear the low hum of the bees. It's kind of cool and creepy at the same time. But as long as they leave me alone, they're welcome to hang around.

And then the other day I was sitting in my thinking chair in my office when I saw something white on the magnolia tree outside. As in a flower. But magnolias bloom in the spring. So I went to investigate.

Some new shoots had grown out of the trunk and, apparently, they didn't realize it's November.

I'm surprised the bees hadn't found that.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, we've been trying to keep things on the lighter side. Or at least low-carb. And since hubby is convinced that he loses a pound every time we have salmon for dinner, we've been eating it once or twice a week. And my favorite side for salmon is asparagus.

There are so many good things about this meal. Not only does it help our waistlines, but because it's all cooked on the grill, there's almost no cleanup. However, if you don't have a grill, you can roast them in a 400 degree oven.

The asparagus is so simple. Just rinse and trim your spears. Put them in a lidded container and drizzle with some olive oil.

Then add some lemon pepper, which is the same seasoning I use on my salmon so they pair perfectly.

Put the lid on and tossed everything. Then throw it on the grill either while the salmon is cooking or afterward. Depending on the thickness of the stalks, it takes 3-5 minutes per side. You want them tender, but not completely limp. And a little bit of color is nice, too.

This is a perfect pairing all the way around. And since our eating will soon lapse into the indulgent category for a brief time, healthy and waist-trimming is a very good thing.

What strange things are going on where you are?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

Honey Mustard Salmon with Dill

 Jan's post on Monday included Pam's recipe for tuna with apples and cheese (among other things). The unusual combination of flavors made me a bit more daring the other night.

I had zero feelings of inspiration about what to cook for dinner. You know that blah feeling when just nothing is shouting out to you? In pre-pandemic times, I would probably have picked up a pizza, but oh,well.

I had salmon - the little packets, but what to do with it?

I wanted pasta, but I didn't really have anything in the panty for sauce (yes, time to go shopping again).

So I innovated. I like dill with salmon and I like honey mustard with salmon, but I was a bit wary of the combination.

Turns out there was no need to be. The flavors blended quite well.

It tasted even better cold the next day.

When Your Son Cooks Dinner

 Missy Tippens

My oldest made dinner for us recently. I didn't even share the name of the recipe in the title, because it was just so nice to have him cook for us! That was the best part.

However, it turned out so delicious, I wanted to share it here.

Nick saw this dish on Instagram and contacted the friend to find out how to make it.

I only have one photo. I didn't think to photograph him while he was cooking, because I was sitting with my feet propped up! :)

Salmon Rice Bowl

Cook rice according to directions. We used brown rice.

Boil water, and cook several eggs to the soft-boiled stage.

Brush salmon with olive oil and then season generously with salt and pepper. Roast at 450 degrees for about 12-14 minutes (depending on thickness).

Once the rice is done, for each serving (approximately), stir in 1 tsp of sesame oil, 1 Tbs. soy sauce, and a squeeze of honey (or to taste). The rice doesn't photograph well, but the flavor is very rich.

Serve the salmon over the rice, along with the jammy eggs and avocado. Sprinkle the whole thing with toasted sesame seeds. (You can see we didn't actually use bowls.)

Very yummy! And I was very impressed with Nick's cooking skills. He has always enjoyed cooking. I wanted to make sure all my kids could take care of themselves, so I started teaching them to cook early on (I also made them start washing their own clothes in middle school!). :) It's nice when they return home later and use those skills.

www.missytippens.com

Key Lime Salmon

Spring has fully arrived here in Brooklyn.

Cherry blossoms are just about to peak.

Pretty front yard

Early lilacs.

So I have a springlike dish to share.

Fair warning - this is one of my weirdly-inspired dishes.

The salmon part is normal. I just sprinkled a salmon filet (wild Alaska salmon) with dill and baked it in parchment paper.

I'd made rosemary potatoes to go with it, but it just felt bland. Most often when I had dill with salmon, it was in some kind of sour cream or yogurt sauce. I had neither of those...

EXCEPT...

I had Key Lime Greek yogurt.

I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, so I just kept it on the side. I was pleasantly surprised.

Caveat - I periodically get Key lime cravings. Visions of a sunny Florida Key, Margaritaville, and all that, so it was going to be pretty hard to dislike this. Still, I wasn't sure how the flavors would meld.

The fact is, it tasted so good together that I had it again a week later!

Excuse the sad photo. I didn't make a very large portion and it was hard to get a good shot.

And the best part was, I didn't use up all the yogurt, so I got to mix in some mini chocolate chips for dessert!

YUM!

What do you think? Would you like this flavor mix? It's not SO very different from adding lemon, which we do all the time with seafood.

The Magic of Leftovers

Have you ever discovered that sometimes the best meals come by accident?

I had one such delicious meal last week.

It was hot. I didn't really feel like cooking - so I decided to combine some leftovers.

I'll grant you that when the leftovers you're starting with are shrimp scampi and honey mustard salmon, the chances of success are good. But I wasn't sure of some of the flavor combinations.

My daughter had been over earlier in the week and I'd made scampi. I had a bottle of white wine that really didn't taste very good, so I added that to the scampi and it was delicious. Now I wasn't so sure how the wine tang in the scampi would work with the honey mustard. But, since I still had more of the wine, I added it in to the leftover scampi and then stuck the frozen leftover salmon in.

I let it simmer for the few minutes it took to cook angel hair pasta.

Once the pasta was done, I scooped it into a bowl and poured the seafood mixture on top.

WOW! It was so good. I literally devoured it.

But now the sad news. Because I enjoyed it so much, I tried to replicate it a few days later - only this time I had no leftover shrimp so I had to cook more. Apparently part of what made it so tasty was the leftovers sitting and marinating in the sauce in the fridge for a few days. It was still good, but not the knock-your-socks-off good from the first time.

In case anyone is interested in trying to replicate -

For the scampi - I just melt butter in olive oil with lots of garlic, some parsley, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Sometimes (this time) I also include oregano and basil to taste. I simmered the shrimp for a few minutes in the lemon butter before adding the wine. Simmered briefly a few more minutes and it was done.

The salmon is simple - I coat frozen salmon fillets liberally with honey mustard. I only ever use this honey mustard. It is the one I discovered 30 years ago and still the only one I like. It's thick and goopy - much more like a honey texture than mustard.

As you read this, I'll be in my classroom setting up for yet another year. It's always hard to go back after the freedom of summer, but within minutes of being there, I know I'm in my element and looking forward to the year beginning.
Unfortunately, we're in the middle of a sudden heat wave, so I'll be cleaning and setting up in mid 90s temps with no AC. Hopefully it cools off before the students arrive!

And since summer is waning, I thought I'd share some pictures of all the gorgeous flowers growing around my city. We have had so much rain this summer that everything is growing like crazy.

I'm also thrilled with the reader reactions to our collection. It's been gratifying to see this

Garlicky Salmon and Spinach...updated!

Jan here, and guys, I am so sick. By the time you read this, I should be feeling much better...but on Sunday afternoon, when the doctor at the Urgent Care said I had an ear infection and probably a sinus infection as well, all I could do was mumble my thanks and grab my prescription for antibiotics.

So since I've been unable to put two words together for most of the week, I decided to share a rerun recipe with you from five years ago. This is still one of my favorite lunches!


Garlicky Salmon and Spinach...updated!

This makes two weeks in a row that I'm sharing quick lunches! That's what happens when I've been working hard - I need good nutrition and I need it quick so I can get back to playing with my characters...or with a cute puppy :)

Thatcher at 12 weeks

I love salmon. It's easy to get, easy to cook, and sooo good for you! I buy those individually packaged frozen fillets - perfect for one person. I buy the skinless kind because my salmon-loving son prefers it, but this recipe would work for any salmon fillet, fresh or frozen.

Salmon with Garlicky Spinach

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet per person
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large handful (or two) baby spinach
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, saute the garlic in the olive oil until it starts smelling absolutely delicious (about 1 minute). Lay the salmon on the garlic, then flip the fillet immediately to coat both sides. Cook for a couple minutes after flipping.

Turn the fillet over again and pile your spinach on top. Use plenty of spinach - it cooks down A LOT!

Reduce the heat to low, cover your skillet, and let it simmer until the spinach is wilted.

Next, remove the cover and push the spinach over to the side. At this point, check the salmon to make sure it's done (it should flake easily). Stir the spinach around with the pan drippings (the white fat that cooked out of the salmon is where those omega 3's are - stir it right into the spinach along with the garlic pieces). Finish it all off with just enough butter to give your spinach a delectable flavor, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Breaking in here with an update....

A year ago or so, I bought some frozen shrimp to use in salads or whatever, and decided to add them to this dish one time.

Seafood heaven!

For this quick addition you need a couple tablespoons of pre-cooked frozen shrimp...the really shrimpy kind (about 1/2" long), a teaspoon or so of butter, a little more garlic (I often use garlic powder instead of fresh), and a Tablespoon of bread crumbs.

While the salmon is cooking, add the shrimp and butter to another corner of the skillet and let them thaw and brown slightly. Add the bread crumbs and garlic powder and stir it all together.

When everything is done, lay the salmon on your plate, then top with the browned shrimp & bread crumb mixture. Put the spinach on the side, sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan cheese, and you have a fancy, decadent quick lunch.

Now that's brain food to keep you going all afternoon!

Summer's Last Salad - Avocado and Salmon

I really thought I had posted this recipe before, but I couldn't find it. Please forgive me if it's a repeat. I've spent the past few weeks in and out of the hospital with my husband, so my brain isn't firing on all cylinders at the moment.

Earlier in the summer, I saw a recipe for a crab salad served in an avocado half. The recipe is on Better Nutrition's website if you're interested.

I didn't have any crab, but that gave me an idea. I had an avocado and I had a salmon fillet.

So simple and really tasty.

First I poached the salmon.

Then I smashed the avocado.

Then I mixed them together.

I placed the mixture on a bed of lettuce and added some orange sections for flavor and garnish!

A Study in Contrasts

I've mentioned before that my husband and I rarely eat the same dinners. He's a "hamburgers on Monday and Thursday, Chicken on Tuesday, Fish on Friday" kind of guy.

I'm more like whatever inspiration hits.

Rarely do our tastes intercept.

For example, I made this absolutely delicious fish salad dinner last week. He had hamburger. Again.

Or the salmon pie I had while he had chicken pot pie. Note: I used to love chicken pot pie, but I can't eat chicken.

The one dish we do share a taste for is baked rigatoni. I'm not a huge fan of Baked Ziti, but change those baby zitis for big, hunky rigatonis, and I'm right there.

I don't know why except that you can really sink your teeth into rigatoni - especially when cooked al dente.

I also sauteed some spinach with garlic.

I used a simple Barilla sauce, some ground beef, rigatoni, and lots of cheese. It turned out to be sooooo delicious. And I had some leftover for lunch!



















If the salad interests you, I used my Sweeties (remember last year when I discovered them?), some pomegranate arils.

Since there were some questions about how rigatoni compare to ziti, here are comparative photos.

Salmon Potato Cheddar Pie

I mentioned in a previous post that I haven't been feeling the soup love this winter.

But the weather has turned colder, so the yearning for comfort food kicked in.

I turned to one of my favorites.

Salmon Potato Cheddar Pie.

I really should call it Cheddar Salmon Cheddar Potato Cheddar Pie.

I'm guessing you figured out the key ingredient. :)

The recipe is one of my creations and it's really simple.

First I boiled potatoes and baked the salmon filets.  (The amount of each would vary according to your preferences. I definitely err on the side of potatoes.)

Sacrilege here - but I used deep dish pre-made pie crusts. This is easy, remember.  Those of you who are pie crust whizzes, feel free to whip up your own. I pre-bake the crust for about ten minutes, just long enough to make sure it won't be soggy.


Now comes the fun part.

A layer of shredded cheddar, a layer of potatoes.

I added in some sweet onion to this layer. It gives it a nice bite.

More cheddar.

I crumbled the salmon on top.

More cheese and potatoes.

I used the Kraft Triple Cheddar shredded cheese.

Place the crust on top. Then, you guessed it - sprinkle more cheese over the crust.  The first time I did this it was because I only had some broken pieces of crust left over and I was trying to fill it up. It was so delicious that it became an official step in the recipe.

Heat for about half an hour or until everything is heated through and the cheese is nice and melty. I took Fenway for a walk during this part and it was the exact right amount of time.

Enjoy!


My husband is not a fan of salmon so often if I'm making chicken pot pie for him, I'll whip up one of these and then I have lunches for a week.