Avocado Salmon Spread

Avocado and Cumin make up the ingredients for this month's crazy ingredient challenge; perfect in this Avocado Salmon Spread.

Turkey and Avocado Pizza with Garlic Crust

We don't have pizza often but when we do I like to make homemade.  I found this awesome recipe for pizza crust and added some garlic.  Then added all the leftovers that I had in the fridge to make this recipe.

Avocado Tomato Chicken

We seem to eat a lot of chicken and because of that I am always looking for new and wonderful recipes so that our meals don't always taste the same.   Along with chicken recipes, I am also looking for wonderful flavours and spices to add to the recipes.

Roasted Salmon with Grapefruit and Avocado Salsa

Today I decided to do some major housecleaning in my kitchen.  I haven't done that in a while.  One of things that I have been meaning to do is move my cookbooks.  I have them over the stove and they are getting mighty greasy.  So, I took them down, washed all the covers (good thing they are all hardback cookbooks) and moved them so that hopefully they won't get as greasy and dirty.

Of course when I take my cookbooks down, I have to read a few of them.  I found my cookbook called Weeknight Fresh + Fast by Kristine Kidd.  I had bought this one a while ago at a book sale at work and really hadn't read it yet.  Long story short I found this recipe for Roasted Salmon with Grapefruit and Avocado Salsa that sounded interesting.  I planned on making salmon for dinner and I had a grapefruit and avocado in the fridge.  Perfect....

Well this meal was fantastic.  I loved the flavors of the salsa ~ tangy and sour of the grapefruit, sweet of the avocado with a hint of hotness from the peppers.  It worked well with the salmon.  I did have to change the recipe slightly but I think the way I did it worked. I will write the ingredients that she had and then what I used.

Roasted Salmon with Grapefruit and Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:

3/4 lb salmon 1 1/2 inch thick (I used about 1 1/4 lb)

olive oil

course kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Ancho chile powder (I didn't have this so didn't use) 

fresh lemon juice from a Meyer lemon about 1/2 lemon used (I add this ingredient)

1 large grapefruit

1 small, firm but ripe avocado - pitted peeled and cubed

1/2 large jalapeno chile ~ seeded and minced (I used about 1 tsp of a hot pepper)

3 tablespoon red onion diced (I used 1/4 cup)

2 tbsp fresh cilantro minced (I used 1 tsp ground)

1 tbsp fresh lime juice (I used fresh lemon juice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place parchment paper on small cookie sheet.  Place salmon on parchment paper, skin down.

Brush flesh of salmon with olive oil.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you have ancho chile powder add it here.

Squeeze juice of 1/2 Meyer Lemon over salmon.  I just used my hand and then cut the lemon in slices and place over salmon.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes until almost opaque in the center.  (Once it is easy to flake it is done).

While salmon is cooking, peel and remove white part of grapefruit.  Over small bowl, using a sharp knife cut between the membrane to remove grapefruit.  Squeeze membrane to get all the juice.  Cut grapefruit in small pieces.  

Add avocado, hot pepper, cilantro and lemon juice.  Mix gently.

To serve add salsa on  salmon and enjoy.    

Crazy Ingredient Challenge ~ Avocado and Caramel #crazyingredientchallenge

Heart Healthy and an Avocado Salad.

Heart Healthy

Today is the last day of February, the shortest month.  February is also Heart  Healthy month. It seems to me that this month contradicts itself as Valentine's Day is this month with all it's chocolates and candies and then we have Heart Healthy.  I guess if we ate low or no sugar candies and dark chocolate we may be on the right path.  If you are  anything like me then you don't like dark chocolate ~ I guess it is to healthy for me.

Last week I wrote an article for the Daily Dish about February is Heart Healthy.   In this article I wrote about the foods to eat to help your heart and what to do per the American Heart Association to keep your heart healthy.  So I won't go into any more details about those things. This article is going to be about keeping a healthy emotional well-being.

To me having a healthy emotional well-being is the first step to having a healthy heart.  As loving yourself and feeling proud of yourself and your accomplishments will only help to make your heart stronger.  Eating good food and exercise are only part of the whole picture.

Things to do to help your emotional well-being

• Express your emotions - allow yourself to feel both positive and negative emotion.  Do not bottle these emotions up.
• Focus on the positive.  A tip to help with this is to everyday write down three things you are grateful for.  They need not be big, they may just be getting out of bed today, seeing the sun.
• Respect and Accept Yourself.  We need to love ourselves unconditionally as we love others around us. We are in most instances our own worse enemy.
• Practice yoga, meditation and or deep breathing.  This allows us to find peace, energy and improve our concentration.
• Enjoy some alone time.  Take and make time for yourself even if it is only a few minutes during the day.  Lock yourself in the bathroom ( your children will probably still be at the door when you open it).  
• Foster creativity.  Start a hobby.  This is my way of stress reduction, writing my blog and reading other blogs.  Other things you can do is crafts, gardening, exercise (if that is your thing), cooking.
• Avoid black and white thinking. You may have to think outside of the box.  Often thinking things are either right or wrong my bring disappointing.
• Laugh loud and often.  Laughter is always the best medicine even if it is at at time that you don't think is appropriate.

These are just a few of the ideas that I remember after reading an article about this in our local newspaper. During the winter months, I feel that my emotional well being takes a big drop.   My thoughts are this happens because we don't see the sun so much, it is cold and we are stuck inside.  It is important for you whole well being to try and keep your emotional well being in check  When you do feel that you have depression like symptoms or just feeling down, it is important to talk to someone, be it your family doctor or a close loved one, or even someone you don't know.  I have often written  my feelings on articles that I have read in other blogs, this helps me to get them in the open.  It is not that they need to be read or even commented on but it is my way of doing my well-being check for me.

Heart Healthy~ Avocado Salad

1 Avocado cut in slices and each slice cut into two or three

2 -3  Roma tomatoes sliced

1/4 cup sliced red onions

1/4 lb smoked  salmon

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy.  You can add some salt and pepper to taste.

  

This salad is very tasty on it's own and is a good lunch meal with a slice of French Bread.  The first time I ate this salad was when my husband made it in Togo, shortly after we got married.  All the ingredients were fresh and he went and bought us a loaf of fresh made French Bread... Heaven. 

Let us all take some time to treat ourselves 

 Let me know what you have done for yourself today

✻ღϠ₡ღ✻   Marlys

(¯`✻´¯)
`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻

Links:  Gluten Free Fridays

Related articles

• The Good Fats: Benefits of Eating Avocado (weightloss.answers.com)
• The Health Benefits of Chocolate (berries.com)

Madame Croque with a twist

I am a sucker for grilled cheese and ham sandwiches and put an egg and Bechamel Sauce,

You have a Madame Croque.

This recipe I originally found on Isabelle at home  site.

Isabelle is a French Canadian so of course she would know what a Madame Croque was.

I had no idea until I read her post... So head over and check it out.

I have made this couple of times and made it just as Isabelle's recipe told me too.

 

Madame Croque done per  Isabelle at Home's recipe

But the last time I decided to change it a little and make it my own......

So here it is...

Madame Croquet with a Twist

adapted from Isabelle at Home

Makes 2 Sandwiches

1/2 cup bechamel sauce

4 slices of bread  (I used French bread cut thick)

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

4- 6 slices of ham (I used honey ham)

1/8 lb cheese ( I used Tillamook Cheddar Cheese)

onions to taste 

1 avocado sliced

2 eggs - either fried or poached.

fresh parsley to garnish ( I used dried)

To make Bechamel Sauce:

1 tsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp dry mustard 

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste.

Place butter in saucepan and melt, add flour and dry mustard, stir until all mixed.  Turn heat down to medium-low and add milk.  Stirring constantly until comes to a boil and thickens.  Add salt and pepper.  Keep warm until ready to use.  (I did turn mine off and just warmed it when I needed it )

Preparation of sandwich:

Fry or Poach eggs. ~ I don't like runny eggs so mine are well done, make them the way you would like.

While the eggs are cooking.  Butter one side of the 4 slices of bread, this will be the outside of the sandwiches.  To two slices of bread apply dijon mustard and set aside.  Place the other two slices of bread, buttered side down on a panini maker.  Apply one tablespoon of the Bechamel Sauce, then apply 1/2 avocado, onion slices, 2-3 slices of ham and 1/2 of the cheese, cover with the bread that has dijon mustard, butter sided up.  Repeat for second sandwich.  Close cover of panini maker ~ (I didn't close mine completely).  Cook until a nice brown colour.  Remove from panini maker and place on plate. Spread another tablespoon of bechamel sauce on top of sandwich, add egg and garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy.

✻ღϠ₡ღ✻   Marlys

(¯`✻´¯)

`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻

Links: Freedom Fridays, Tasty Thursdays, Foodie Friends Friday, Favorite things Friday , In and Out of the Kitchen

Fish with Mango- Avocado Salad

       Last week I found this recipe on our Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party and made it for dinner that night.  I adapted this recipe from Baking by precious and to find the original link go Here.

                                   Fish with a mango-avocado salad

For Fish:

1 lb white fish

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp Maggi seasoning liquid

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste.

Marinate fish in last 5 ingredients for 1 hour, place on baking pan and Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until fish is flaky.

For Salad

1 mango, diced

1 avocado diced 

1 kiwi diced

1 roma tomato diced

red onions to taste

3 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp orange peel

3 tbsp olive oil

Dice vegetables and fruit and place in bowl.  In small bowl add last 5 ingredients and mix thoroughly and pour over veggies and fruit.  Let sit for about 20 minutes or so for the flavours to mingle.  Top cooked fish with veg/fruit salad.  

this salad tasted good just by it self..

Oh! So! Yummy

                      til next time <3 <3 <3 Marlys

Links: Food on Friday, Mango Blog Hop