Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Pineapple

Source: Everyday Food Magazine

Serves: 4
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain white rice
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 lb skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
coarse salt and ground pepper
whole pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into rings about an inch thick
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. Heat broiler with rack in top position.

2. Cook rice according to package instructions.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Arrange salmon and pineapple on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Brush with half the maple syrup glaze. Broil until salmon is cooked through, 8 to 11 minutes, brushing salmon and pineapple with remaining glaze halfway through.

4. Add cilantro to rice and fluff with fork.

5. Serve rice with salmon and pineapple.

Verdict: This was super good. Allison loved the pineapple and rice and even ate a few bites of the fish. And it was really fast, with only a few ingredients. The thing that took the longest was cutting the fresh pineapple, but I bet this could even be made with canned pineapple rings.

Nutrition (per serv): 426 cal; 9 g fat (1g sat); 29 g protein; 58 g carbs; 1 g fiber

Spring-vegetable couscous with chicken

Source: Everyday Food Magazine

Servings: 4
Total Time: 25 minutes (shorter if chicken is already cut into pieces)

Ingredients:
3 T butter
4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
2 wide strips lemon zest, plus 1 T lemon juice

1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup couscous
leg and thigh meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
2 T chopped fresh parsley
coarse salt and pepper

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over med-high heat. Add scallion white and cook about 3 minutes or until softened. Add lemon zest and 1.25 cup water and season with salt and pepper. Cover pan and bring to a boil.

2. Add asparagus and peas. Return to a boil and stir in couscous.

3. Add chicken and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 7 minutes.

4. Add lemon juice and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Fluff with fork and serve.

Verdict: Quick and easy and a great way to get Dave to eat more veggies. He's a big fan of this one. I usually get a whole rotisserie chicken and use half for this recipe (the dark meat) and freeze the white meat cut up for another recipe.

Nutrition (per serv): 377 cal; 13 g fat (6.6 sat); 22.2 g prot; 42 g carbs; 5.8 g fiber

Pasta Carbonara

Source: Real Simple magazine

Notes: It calls to serve it with 4 Italian sausage links (about 1 lb), but we'd already had sausage this week so I microwaved some bacon and cut it up and added it to the pasta. This could definitely be served with any type of meat you wanted added.

Servings: 4 small servings

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

8 oz pappardelle (or fettuccine, but papparedelle really makes this good)

1 cup frozen peas

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving

Kosher salt

black pepper

Choice of meat: 4 Italian sausage links or 5 slices of bacon or other

Directions:

* Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the peas during the last minute of cooking. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and peas, and return them to the pot.

* Meanwhile, cook whatever meat you plan on using. If sausage, heat in a little oil over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. We microwaved 5 slices of bacon, then cut into pieces.

*In a medium bow, whisk together the egg yolks, half and half, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

*Add egg mixture and reserved cooking water to the pasta and peas. Cook over low heat, tossing gently, until the sauce is slightly thickened and coats the pasta

*Serve with meat and additional cheese.

Verdict: This was great! And super fast and easy. A great weekday meal. Dave, who is a big carbonara fan, really liked it. Allison was also a big fan of it and ate well. This will definitely be added into the rotation.

Chicken Adobo with Bok Choy

Source: Real Simple Magazine

Servings: 4 servings - made dinner for 1 night and froze the rest for another dinner

Hands-on time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 7-8 hours

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, sliced

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 bay leaf

black pepper

8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1.75 lbs)

2 teaspoons paprika

1 large head bok choy, cut into 1 inch strips

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup white rice

Directions:

*In a 5- 60 6-quart crock pot, combine onions, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, bay leaf and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

*Place chicken on top and sprinkle with paprika. (Note, i could only find skin on, bone-in thighs, so i removed the skin before putting in the crock pot)

*Cook, covered on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, until the chicken and onions are tender

*Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to package directions

*Ten minutes before serving, if the crock pot is on low, turn it to high. Gently fold the bok choy into the chicken, cook covered until tender, about 5 minutes.

*Serve with the rice and sprinkle with scallions.

Verdict:

This was really good. Definitely one of my favorite crock pot chicken recipes so far. Everyone gobbled this up. And bonus that it makes enough to freeze for another meal.

Creamy Taco Mac

Source: Delish-Food Blog

Servings: 4 big ones

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs ground turkey

8 oz dry pasta + 1 cup reserved cooking water

1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes

1 package taco seasoning (4 T)

3 oz light cream cheese

1/2 cup light sour cream

salt & pepper

grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

*Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve one cup of water.

*Meanwhile, brown ground turkey until no longer pink.

*Add taco seasoning and tomatoes. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

*Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream cheese and sour cream. Stir well and simmer for an additonal 3 minutes until cheese is melty and well blended in. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*Top off with cheddar cheese to serve for extra cheesey goodness.

Verdict:

This was a really good, healthier take on hamburger helper, and just as easy. Plus it didn't taste like it came from a box like hamburger helper does. Plus it's got all the things that Allison likes, meat, pasta and cheese. Yum!