Broiled Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Pineapple and Cilantro Rice

Alex and I cooked this last night, but not for dinner.  We were out celebrating my birthday with my family. 

Here is a recap of some of my birthday celebrations:

We were matching. 

Birthday dinner with some of my favs!  Baby Walker Davis Smith joined us from Holly's belly! 

I got to enjoy dinner with two of my InsideOut high school girls too. 

 Celebrating with Mary in Mexico

 The whole gang in Mexico

Can we go back already?!

I made this for my lunch this week at work.  My picky husband does not care for salmon or left over fish.  So when I found this recipe I knew it was perfect for me to take to work for some variety.  

I love when sweet and spicy come together.  This is a light meal to make and really quick too.  From start to finish I was done in under 30 minutes. 

I bought my wild caught salmon, frozen, at Trader Joe's.  I read an article once about wild caught vs. farm raised salmon.  Farm raised salmon are not naturally pink inside.  They add a dye before they are sold which causes them to turn pink and go blind.  The research did not show that it is harmful to humans, but you have to wonder.  Regardless of that, I still choose wild caught because farm raised are pumped full of anti-biotics to prevent diseases that are caused when a large amount of fish are grown in a small cage.

Broiled sweet and spicy salmon with pineapple and cilantro rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long grain white rice (we used a mix of jasmine and basmati)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I added a little more and it gave it a great kick)
• 1 lb. skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
• Salt and pepper 
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1/2 of a whole pineapple peeled, cored, and cut into 8 pieces lengthwise (my pineapple went bad before I got to this recipe so I used a can of the pineapple tidbits instead)
• 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• lime wedges (optional)

Directions:

Heat broiler, with rack in top position.  Cook rice according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together maple syrup and cayenne pepper.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.  Place salmon on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.  Layer pineapple around salmon in a single layer.  Brush salmon and pineapple with half of the maple syrup glaze.  Broil the salmon until it is cooked though 8 to 11 minutes, brushing the salmon and pineapple half way through cooking time with other half of glaze.  Add cilantro to rice and fluff with fork.  Serve with lime wedges to squeeze on top of dish if desired.

Blackened Tilapia

This really doesn't deserve a blog entry of it's own, but I know some of you really don't enjoy cooking!  You are just a good friend and read my blog to be nice.  This is a super cheap and easy dinner to throw together.

I bought 2 lbs. of tilapia with the intention of freezing half for another time and using half for the fish tacos we made this weekend.  Well, I stuck all of it in the freezer and forgot to separate it out.  When I took them out to defrost I tried to pry them apart, but it didn't work.  I was stuck with 2 lbs. of tilapia.  We ate the first pound for dinner Saturday and lunch Sunday.  Last night I wanted to go ahead and cook the rest to eat for dinner and lunch this week.  The fish tacos were so good and we had left over condiments so I debated about just making another round with the second lb.  I didn't feel like chopping garlic and cilantro last night so instead I put some olive oil and blackening seasoning on them with a little cumin and garlic powder, delicious.  I plan on cooking some rice tonight and taking the rest to work tomorrow for lunch.

You can buy pre-made blackening seasoning or make your own.  Sprinkle on both sides of tilapia.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  Bake at 350 degrees until meat thermometer reads 137 degrees or approximately 20-25 minutes.  Pair it with steamed veggies or rice.

Blackening Seasoning
Source:  Southern Food at About.com
Ingredients:

• 4 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Mix it all together and store in a cool dry place.  

Fish Tacos

Don't be alarmed, I found ANOTHER Mexican recipe to blog on!  Alex and I eat Mexican a lot.  Normally we split a dish of either Tacos de Carne Asada or Fish Tacos.  I was excited to find this recipe in hopes that maybe we can save a little by eating at home more.

This was my first time making fish tacos.  They were great.  We were blessed to have my in-laws over for dinner.  They are so fun and we always have great conversation.  My mother-in-law (Susan) has never tried fish tacos before.  She said they just sounded wrong.  She was pleasantly surprised by how much she like them. She said she will definitely try them when she goes out to eat from now on.

This was taken at Thanksgiving.  

Pop (Alex's Grandpa), Susan (Mother-in-law), Alex, Me, Dakin (Father-in-law)

Tucker had to make an appearance too!

This was a very simple recipe to throw together and healthy too.  We served it with black beans (one can of black beans, one small onion chopped, one garlic clove chopped, 1 tbsp cilantro chopped, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and salt to taste.  Combine all except the last three in a pot, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low until ready to serve, mix in last three ingredients before serving).

I was surprised to see the original author served these with flour tortillas.  Most places always serve fish tacos on corn tortillas.  This was our obvious choice due to being gluten free.

White Fish Tacos
Source:  Adapted from Annie's Eats
Servings: ~8 tacos

Ingredients:
For the fish:

• 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 2 limes)
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 tbsp. cilantro minced
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lb. white fish (we used tilapia, but halibut, cod etc. would be fine)
• Salt

For the cilantro cream sauce:

• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp. cilantro minced
• 6 oz. of sour cream (or nonfat greek yogurt)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pepper to taste

For toppings:

• Cherry tomatoes sliced (we omitted this because my picky husband can't stand them)
• Green onions chopped
• Red cabbage, shredded
• Cilantro, minced
• Serve on corn tortillas (or flour)

Directions:

Combine the lime juice, 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, cilantro, cumin, and garlic in a shallow dish.  Whisk together until well blended.  Place the fish in the mixture, turning to coat.  Let marinate 15-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the cilantro cream sauce.  Combine the lime juice, cilantro, greek yogurt, garlic and pepper in a small bowl.  Mix until well blended.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Place the fish in the pan and cook without disturbing, 3 minutes.  Flip the fish and cook on the second side 3 minutes more.  Remove to a plate, season with salt as desired, and let rest for a few minutes.  Shred the fish into bite sized pieces with two forks.

I warmed the corn tortillas in a pan with a small amount of olive oil.  

Assemble tacos on corn tortillas with shredded fish, cilantro cream sauce, and additional toppings as desired.