Simple Dinner

Sometimes I don't come home smiling, laughing, and loving life. Sometimes I come home dragging my feet, yawning, and complaining. And as much as I love cooking, it's those very times when I just want a simple meal to create for the night.

Tonight was one of "those" nights, so I made one of my favorite easy fixes: Baked salmon, penne pesto, and roasted aspragus. There are lots of health benefits here- Omega 3s! Fiber! Vitamins and minerals! Sanity!

Here's how:

Salmon

1/2 lb. salmon filet
1 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tsp fresh)
1/4 tsp sea salt
dash black pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degress. Place a large square of aluminum foil in a shallow baking pan. Drizzle about a Tbsp olive oil in the center of the foil. Place the salmon on top of the oil drizzle.

2. Drizzle another Tbsp or so olive oil on top of the salmon filet, and then sprinkle the salt and pepper over top. Sprinkle the thyme on top of that.

3. Fold over the sides of the aluminum foil until you've created a pocket around the salmon. Cook the salmon in the oven for about 20-25 mins.

4. Uncover the salmon, serve, and smile!

Penne Pesto

Whole Wheat Penne
Pesto in a jar (I know it's cheating, but Trader Joe's Basil Pesto is quick, easy,
and better than any homemade pesto I've found)
Grape tomatoes, halved

1. Boil a big pot of water with some sea salt in it. Use a lot of water so the pasta
has plenty of room to cook.
2. Cook the pasta in the boiling water. Note: Whole wheat usually takes a few minutes
longer than regular- but it's higher in fiber and complex carbs!
3. Drain the pasta. Add the pesto and the grape tomato halves and toss.
4. Sprinkle anything over top you'd like: fresh basil, pine nuts, bacon pieces, or
grated parmesan- but just pick one, you don't want to overwhelm the already
flavorful pesto

Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus
olive oil
sea salt
pepper

The asparagus can go in the same 425 degree oven with the salmon (how easy does it
get?!)

1. Cut off about 1/2 inch of the bottom of the asparagus spears.

2. Drizzle a Tbsp or so olive oil all over the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Spread the asparagus out evenly over the dish.

3. Drizzle another Tbsp or so olive oil over the asparagus spears and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Cook in the oven for 15-20 mins, or until it reaches your desired doneness (some people like it crispier, some like it more cooked)

And that's it! I love this dinner with a light Pinot Grigio and a good TV show (but you didn't hear that from me!)

Summer Dinner

Although it's spring throughout most of the rest of the country, here in the desert we're beginning to feel a hint of summer. This weekend has certainly been a welcome introduction to this, my favorite of all seasons. So, we watched baseball, made iced tea, and cooked a wonderful dinner.

In my family, summer weather also means grill weather, so that's what we did tonight. We grilled Wild Alaskan Salmon in two ways. The first was just a simple sea salt, lime, and lemon marinade. The second one, however, was quite a creation, thanks to my stepdad. He used green onion, dill, blue cheese dressing, and crumbled crackers to create a wonderfully fresh, yet rich flavor combination which looked beautiful, too.

On the side was angel hair pasta and tomatoes that we grilled stuffed with mozzarella cheese and basil. We finished it all off with good old-fashioned apple pie.

It was a fresh, healthy dinner on a beautiful evening with the breeze coming through the open windows, a relaxing sunset, and great conversation about the importance of gratitude.