Orange Honey Salmon

The other night my kids were hungry, I was tired, and I just wanted to make something quick and healthy.  I had salmon thawed but didn't have the stuff on hand that I normally cook it with so I decided to improvise and pray for the best.  I remember my aunt saying that you always need a sweet something to go on salmon so I grabbed some honey and drizzled it on top (don't drown it, just drizzle it!) and cut two oranges and poured the juice from the oranges onto the salmon.  I tossed it in a 425 degree oven and cooked it for fifteen minutes or so.  You want to cook it just until the thickest side of the salmon easily flakes with a fork. 

While my salmon cooked I took some green beans and diced mushrooms and three cloves of minced garlic and quickly sauteed them in a pan with some melted butter.  Butter, NOT margarine!  You want those good fats in your diet and the flavor is amazing.  I finished them off with some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.  

In another pan I had a bag of frozen vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots) steaming.  I finished those off with salt, pepper, and melted butter when they were done.  

This took me fifteen minutes to get on the table and each and every one of my kids had seconds.  In fact the next morning they asked if I would make it for breakfast! 

Italian Salmon and Shrimp Spaghetti

The other night I had salmon on the menu.  The problem is I only had a small salmon and my kids have decided to eat EVERYTHING in sight.  Seriously, three boys going through growth spurts; imagine locusts if you don't have know what I'm talking about.  

I decided to thaw out the pound of shrimp that I had in the freezer and I would just kind of "wing it" when it came to dinner.  Yes, this is how I cook!  I try to plan out our meals but it is a very loose menu plan.  

I set the timer on my phone to go off at 4 to get the Spaghetti Squash roasting in the oven.  This is our family's answer to pasta, we all love it.  I literally put the whole thing in the oven for an hour at 400 degrees.  Once you can poke a fork in it it is done.  I've been told that you can also put it in the slow cooker but I haven't tried that yet.  

Once my squash was done I seasoned the salmon with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper and tossed it into the oven at 375.  Once it easily flakes it is done, takes about fifteen minutes.

 

I then, took out a tablespoon of ghee (you can also use butter) along with a diced onion, couple cloves of garlic, and some frozen broccoli.  I sauteed that until it was almost done and then added my peeled shrimp and my shredded Spaghetti squash.  Once the shrimp was pink I added a couple of sprinkles of Italian seasoning.  Shrimp cooks extremely fast so make sure you don't overcook it, then it's rubbery and gross.

Three out of my four kids had seconds (or thirds) so I would call that a success.  Besides the roasting of the squash dinner was done in fifteen minutes!