Tasty Tuesday: Cilantro Lime Salmon

Sometimes I try to cook things that are seasonally appropriate, like the Tortellini Soup I featured last week or the Pumpkin Pecan French Toast I posted last October. Other times, like today, I just share a recipe because I think it's good.

This salmon meal may be more spring/summer than fall/winter, but it's definitely worth trying ... Especially if you're looking for a quick, healthy weeknight dinner. I made this last week and it almost made up for the fact that I also had Taco Bell for dinner. Twice. (Their new online ordering system just makes it too damn easy.) At least I worked out a few times ... Right?

I'll try not to focus on my terrible eating habits right now, though. (That's another post for another time.) Instead, I'm going to focus on this delicious salmon dish.

Cilantro Lime Salmon

Adapted ever so slightly from a recipe on Closet Cooking.

Ingredient List:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (I often rely on jarred, pre-minced garlic, but I feel like a simple sauce like this really benefits from fresh garlic.)
• 1 lime
• 1 jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.

3.  Blend the olive oil, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño pepper (if you opt to use one), and the juice from the lime together in a food processor or blender until smooth.

4.  Place the salmon fillets on the baking sheet and season with the sea salt and black pepper.

5.  Spread the cilantro lime sauce over each fillet.

6.  Bake the fish for 10-15 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork. (I left my salmon in the oven for 13 minutes, and it was the perfect buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture.)

As you can see, this is an incredibly simple meal. I love that it requires very little time and effort, yet tastes amazing. This recipe also allows for some adjustment to the spice level since you can opt to include jalapeño pepper or leave it out completely. (I've made this both ways, and I prefer it with the jalapeño, while Eric prefers it without.)

I served this fish over a bed of long grain white rice with a side of mixed vegetables. This was easily the healthiest (and most effortless!) meal I made at home last week.

Tasty Tuesday: Caesar Crusted Salmon

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've wanted to try this recipe for almost a year. When I was searching for some recipe ideas recently, I came across an old weekly meal plan from September 2014 that had this recipe listed. I kept that list because I'd made some notes about another recipe on it, but it was probably a good thing I did ... If I hadn't, I doubt I would have even remembered that this salmon recipe existed, let alone where to find it online.

I make meal plan lists all the time, but I don't always stick to them. This was a perfect example of a time when I didn't stick to the list. I'm not exactly sure why I never made this, but I'm guessing we either decided to make a different salmon recipe or opted not to buy salmon at all.

Regardless, I didn't make this Caesar Crusted Salmon until last week. I'm really glad I was able to find the recipe again because it was so simple and so delicious. Eric and I both love fish and Caesar salads, so this was perfect! (It's obviously not exactly like eating a Caesar salad since you don't use any Romaine lettuce, but a lot of the flavors are still there.)

It's not the healthiest way to prepare salmon (though I used lite Caesar dressing to cut some calories), but I've shared much more indulgent recipes on this blog. I probably wouldn't recommend this as a great meal if you're trying to cut calories, but if you're trying to incorporate more fish into your diet (and can spare 500+ calories for your main course that day!), you should definitely try this recipe. It's so good!

Caesar Crusted Salmon

Adapted ever so slightly from a recipe on Taste of Home.

Ingredient List:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing (I used lite)
• 3/4 cup Caesar salad croutons, crushed (I used a really easy method for crushing the croutons: I simply put them inside a Ziploc bag, sealed it, and then used a can to beat the croutons into small pieces. You could obviously also use a food processor, but I'm lazy and didn't want yet another thing to clean!)
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.

3.  Spoon the Caesar salad dressing over one side of the salmon fillets.

4.  In a small bowl, mix together the crushed croutons, Parmesan cheese, basil, black pepper, and garlic powder. Spoon this mixture over the salad dressing on the salmon, gently patting it down so it sticks to the fish. 

5.  Drizzle the olive oil over the fish, and bake for 15-20 minutes (or until the fish flakes easily with a fork).

Like I said before, this is an incredibly easy main dish. I love sharing recipes that are great for busy weeknights, and this is no exception. As you can see from the picture, I served this with a side of steamed broccoli and (yes, I admit it) Rice-a-Roni. (Hey, Rice-a-Roni can be good!) Maybe one day I'll get a little more creative with my side dishes, but, for now, I like to keep them quick and simple.

Tasty Tuesday: Sweet and Spicy Salmon

I've been trying to cook fish a little more often lately. Not only is it a goal of mine to make healthy dinners at least 3 times a week this month, but we also have quite a bit of fish on hand from a recent Costco trip.

Just a few years ago, I was completely intimidated by the thought of cooking fish at home. I have no idea why ... Fish is actually one of the easiest proteins to work with. I feel like it doesn't take much to create a flavorful fish entrée, and you can simply toss it into the oven for about 15-20 minutes. And, while I'm admittedly still intimidated by the thought of cleaning, scaling, gutting, and filleting a fish, I can definitely handle cooking with the fish I pick up at the grocery store.

That's why I get so excited when I come up with a fish meal myself. I can't claim that I didn't glance through Pinterest for ideas (I totally did), but I didn't use any of the actual recipes. I basically just considered what type of flavors I wanted, and what went well together ... And then I created a sauce and paired it with some salmon.

I'm sure there are other similar recipes floating around out there. I mean, let's be honest ... A lot of people know that soy sauce, honey, Sriracha, garlic, and ginger go together. But I'm going to live in my fantasy world a little while longer and pretend that I've just created a groundbreaking new recipe.

Okay, okay ... I may not be ready to take on MasterChef yet, but I'm still allowed to be excited when I come up with something that tastes amazing and is actually healthy!

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

A Divulge and Indulge original recipe.

Ingredient List:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp honey (I added in the additional 1/2 tsp after doing a taste test and determining the sauce was a little too spicy. You can obviously adjust the amounts up or down to fit with your own tastes.)
• 1 tbsp Sriracha (This will make the sauce pretty spicy. If you want something a little milder, feel free to cut the amount in half.)
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• Diced green onions for serving (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.

3.  In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, Sriracha, 1 tbsp honey, ginger, black pepper, and garlic salt. Taste the sauce, and if it's too spicy, mix in the additional 1/2 tsp honey.

4.  Spoon the sauce over both sides of each fillet.

5.  Bake the fish for 12-15 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Serve with diced green onions if desired.

This was a ridiculously quick and easy meal. As you can see from the picture, I served the fish over a bed of jasmine rice with a side of steamed broccoli. If you're a seafood lover and want something a little lighter for dinner, this is the perfect thing to try!