On My Plate - Grilled Salmon

Saturday night my husband and I enjoyed a rare dinner alone. We took the opportunity to prepare one of our favorite dishes. 

Grilled Salmon

It only requires a few ingredients and a very short cooking time. It takes longer to heat the charcoal than to actually cook the fish!

We paired the salmon up with a nice salad and steamed broccoli, red peppers and onions. 

Quick, tasty and good for you. 

A great combination!

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What's your favorite way to cook salmon?

Grilled Salmon Steaks

1 - six - eight ounce salmon steak per person
(Try to find wild salmon not farm raised. It's supposed to be better for you.)

For each salmon steak:
1 Tablespoon lemon juice-fresh is best but bottle will work 
1 teaspoon olive oil 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

vegetable oil for the grill grate

Rinse the salmon steaks and pat dry with paper towel.
Brush each steak with oil.
Salt and pepper each steak
Oil the grill grate so the fish doesn't stick. 
Place each steak on the grill and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice.
Grill over hot coals for 6 minutes. 
Flip the salmon, sprinkle the rest of the lemon juice on the fish and cook another 6 minutes. 
Test for doneness. 

Fish should flake easily. 

You can change up this recipe to suit your taste. Use more lemon juice or add a little grated garlic and some butter and dill. The main thing is to buy good, fresh fish and don't overcook!

Enjoy!

Get to Know Your Teen's Friends Around the Family Table

When my son turned 16 and got that long sought after driver's license it seemed he was on the road every chance he got. We didn't see much of him. 

One day I told him that we were going to spend that Saturday together as a family by going to the beach. Picnic lunch, walking the trails, swimming. 

Of course he rolled his eyes. 

I explain the importance of taking time to be together. To reconnect and stay in touch. The importance of family time. 

The eye roll again and deep sigh as only a teenager can do.  

He said,  "Mom, we spend tons more time together as a family than my friends do. We eat dinner together almost every night. None of my friends do that."

It made me so sad to think that something I took for granted wasn't the norm in a lot of households. 

I know that life is busy and many things pull us away from home. Even so I can't image growing up in a home  where the family didn't sit down together at least occasionally for a meal. 

That's one reason I'm happy to set an extra plate or two on the table. What we take for granted is often a special treat for some people. 

An added bonus- If you want to find out what your teenagers are doing when they aren't with you just get to know their friends. I learned all kinds of interesting bits of information while sitting around the table:-) 

Do you have teenagers? Would you invite their friends to dinner?

I hope so!

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White Chocolate Popcorn in the Mail for Valentine's Day

Every holiday that rolls around and sometimes just for fun I send off a box of goodies to my college boy and also one to my middle son and his family. My middle boy's family happens to include my first born grandbaby.

So of course I have to send a little something special to her:-)

 When my children were growing up we'd buy a book for every holiday each year. (I still have all those books) I'm continuing the tradition with my grandchildren. 

For Valentine's Day I choose the cardboard book "Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse!" by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond. 

I also included a bottle of candy and a few bags of white chocolate popcorn. 

I'm sure you've seen these plastic bottles used as gift containers - simply remove the label, wash out the bottle and dry well. Cut a small slit in the bottle and insert candy or other little goodies or toys. Cover the slit with the original label or make a new label to cover it. 

Two boxes ready to go. 

My college boy gets extra goodies to share with his roommate. (Also if I keep it in the house I will consume every piece:-)  

My son and his wife get the goodies along with a gift card for a nice dinner out and a little extra cash for a for a baby sitter.  Oh, how I wish I was close enough to babysit for the evening!

And this is one of those stuffed toys with the velcro hands. I wrote a note that says 

"A hug from Grammie and Papa"

I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day! 

and I leave you with a yummy recipe for

White Chocolate Popcorn

This is so good and so easy. I keep bags of popcorn and white morsels in my pantry. It only takes a few minutes to make up a batch. Great for unexpected company.

Ingredients

1 bag of 94% Fat Free Popcorn
12 ounce bag of white morsels

Pop the corn and let cool slightly. Remove any kernels that didn't pop.

Melt the white morsels in the microwave. Stir every 30 seconds until the morsels are all melted.

Place the popcorn in a large bowl, pour the melted white morsels over the popcorn and stir with a large spoon until the popcorn is well coated.

Place the coated popcorn on a baking sheet. I just dump it on and smooth it out. Place the cookie sheet in the fridge for about 15 minutes or until the coating is hard.

Once the coating is hard break the popcorn up into pieces.

Enjoy!


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