I owe this recipe to my son Jacob.  He told me my Pistachio Crusted Salmon recipe is the best Salmon recipe I make.  Since I always have extra Salmon at the end of dinner, his comment got me thinking and  I came up with this little doozy.  It’s simple to pull together and is a healthy and delicious appetizer or lunch.

• 1 pound of skinned salmon, baked (directions below)
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup salted Pistachio, shelled and crushed
• 1 tablespoon chopped Parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
• Sprinkling of garlic salt
• Sprinkling of lemon pepper seasoning
• Water Crackers

To prepare Salmon:  Place on lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and juiced lemon.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Place baked Salmon in bowl with all the remaining ingredients and stir with fork to flake fish and combine evenly.

Lay crackers out on plate you plan to serve them on and then use a 1 tablespoon measurer and place on each cracker.  Serve.

You can serve this warm or cold.  You can also eat this for lunch on a great toasted bread or a bed of lettuce.

Quinoa, can you pronounce it?  I couldn’t, but its become part of our diet so I figured it would be good idea to pronounce it correctly when the boys asked what was on their plate, KEEn-wha is how it sounds.

What is Quinoa?  It looks like a pasta, but it’s a seed and is related to spinach, chard and beets.

Quinoa is a complete protein, which means that it contains all the amino acids necessary for our nutritional needs. Complete proteins are rare in the plant world, making quinoa an excellent food for vegetarians and vegans, or for anyone looking for healthy protein source. It’s also high in iron and calcium, and is a good source of manganese, magnesium and copper, as well as fiber.

If you are looking for a delicious and healthy side to serve with fish or chicken, this is your dish, a superfood bonanza, loaded with uber healthy goodness. I preferred it as a salad by itself and I served it with sweet potato tortilla chips that I am addicted too.

Have you tried the Food Should Taste Good Tortilla Chips yet?  If not, you must, must, must try these!  They are Gluten free and so darn yummy.  When you are craving a chip, reach for these!  I have tried several of their flavors, but right now the Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips are my favorite and with this Quinoa dish they were a marriage made in heaven.  They tasted great and I kept the whole dish Gluten Free.  Check out the bottom of this post for a free giveaway.

From: Emily Malone at Daily Garnish

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, divided
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 1 cup dried mushrooms, reconstitute in hot water and dice
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 2 small avocados, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp lime juice (or more to taste)
• salt to taste

Instructions

Start by cooking quinoa on the stove-top.  Add 1 cup dry quinoa (rinsed) to 1 3/4 cups of water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked. When finished add 1 tbsp coconut oil to the quinoa pot for extra flavor and nutrition.

Meanwhile, dice the onions and mushrooms and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, and all moisture has cooked out of the mushrooms.

Once the quinoa has finished cooking, add fluffed quinoa and black beans to the pan with mushrooms and onions, and stir to combine and heat through.

Add 2 tbsp lime juice (or more to taste), and reduce heat to low.

Stir in sliced cherry or grape tomatoes and avocado, and season to taste with salt.

Serve with Tortilla Chips and a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt

FREE GIVEAWAY!  What’s up for grabs?

A care package from Food Should Taste Good filled with an assortment of their top flavors.

All of chip varieties are free of cholesterol, preservatives and trans fat.  They are also certified Kosher and Gluten Free, lower in sodium, and are a good source of dietary fiber.  They currently have over 23 flavors consisting of our tortilla chip line as well as a NEW line of Kettle Cooked Sweet Potato Chips with 4 classic flavors: Original, Barbeque, Salt & Pepper, and Salt & Vinegar.

To get your package of chips you must:

1. Subscribe via email to A Healthy Life For Me for 1 entry. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.  If you are already a member leave a comment.

2. Like A Healthy Life for Me on Facebook for 1 entry. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.

RULES: This giveaway opens Monday, October 8th at 4 am EST and will close Monday, October 22nd at 11:59 p.m. EST. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. Be sure a valid email address is included with your comment(s). Winner will be chosen randomly and contacted via email. If winner doesn’t respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Disclosure: This giveaway is provided by Food Should Taste Good, but my opinions are completely my own.

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Mexican Quinoa Salad and Free Giveaway

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  25 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

• Ingredients (4 servings)
• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, divided
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 1 cup dried mushrooms, reconstitute in hot water and dice
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 2 small avocados, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp lime juice (or more to taste)
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Start by cooking quinoa on the stove-top. Add 1 cup dry quinoa (rinsed) to 1¾ cups of water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked.
2. When finished add 1 tbsp coconut oil to the quinoa pot for extra flavor and nutrition.
3. Meanwhile, dice the onions and mushrooms and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, and all moisture has cooked out of the mushrooms.
4. Once the quinoa has finished cooking, add fluffed quinoa and black beans to the pan with mushrooms and onions, and stir to combine and heat through.
5. Add 2 tbsp lime juice (or more to taste), and reduce heat to low.
6. Stir in sliced cherry or grape tomatoes and avocado, and season to taste with salt.
7. Serve with Tortilla Chips and a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt

Me and the hubs went to Florida to celebrate our anniversary a few weeks ago.  While we were there, I ordered this dish for lunch and then at a different restaurant a few nights later he ordered it for dinner.  Neither one of us had ever seen this dish before, but we both loved it.  I don’t know if its becoming a new popular dish or if we have been living under a rock, either way, who cares I know all about it now and it is SUPER healthy, easy and delicious!  Plus, it takes 20 minutes to prepare.

This is my version and  the hubby said its better than both the ones from our trip.  Awe, isn’t he sweet.  Did you just gag?  So not nice! 

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 4 cups trimmed arugula-spinach mixed salad
• 4  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• Organic Cooking spray
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

Combine lemon rind, juice, oil, and garlic in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

When ready to serve add arugula and toss well, making sure to coat leaves evenly.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound each piece to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  You can do this earlier in the day and cover and refrigerrate if needed.

Heat a grill pan or a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken, and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, and keep warm.

On a plate, place one chicken breast top with a heaping of salad and top with a handful of tomatoes.

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Chicken Paillard with Lemon Salad

Author: Amy

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Chicken

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  24 mins

Total time:  39 mins

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ teaspoon salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 4 cups trimmed arugula-spinach mixed salad
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• Organic Cooking spray
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions

1. Combine lemon rind, juice, oil, and garlic in a large bowl. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. When ready to serve add arugula and toss well, making sure to coat leaves evenly.
3. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound each piece to ¼-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. You can do this earlier in the day and cover and refrigerrate if needed.
4. Heat a grill pan or a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken, and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, and keep warm.
5. On a plate, place one chicken breast top with a heaping of salad and top with a handful of tomatoes.

Tis the Season, here is a great cocktail for you to enjoy and a giveaway to help make your holiday a little brighter!

A grapefruit and vodka cocktail is called a Greyhound, if you add a salt-rimmed glass it’s now called a Salty Dog. How did I come up with this cocktail, it was all about the salt.

I stumbled upon Hepp’s Salt Barrel Co. Gourmet Salts, and I ordered up a batch, fell in love, contacted them told them how much I loved their salts and asked them to do a giveaway for my readers.  They agreed.  WOO-HOO!

You so want to win this giveaway.  I used their Vanilla Bean sea salt to rim this cocktail, but I am envisioning it on some dark chocolate brownies, or my holiday chocolate bark. YUMMY!

I also tried their Hickory Flavor on my Baked Salmon- it added a TON of flavor!  They sell so many flavors I had a heck of a time picking the ones I wanted.  Let me tell you any foodie on your holiday list would LOVE a package of Hepp’s Salt!  It is as beautiful and it is delicious!  So get your butt signed up to win!  details below

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces red grapfruit juice
• Vanilla Bean flavored salt
• Grapefruit wedge

Directions:

Cut a grapefruit in half, juicing one half.  In a martini shaker add ice, juice, vodka and shake to mix.

Rub rim of glass over other 1/2 of grapefruit and then sit glass onto salt to coat rim.

Pour cocktail in glass, add Grapefruit wedge and enjoy!

Well, my friends at Hepp’s Salt want you to try 5 of their gourmet salts at a $50+ value and threw in a $25.00 American Express Gift Card for your last minute holiday needs. Awesome prize pack up for grabs! If you want to take this home with you, find out the ways you can enter in the Rafflecopter widget below.

12 Dec 2012 (KK)