The holidays are really almost here. Really. Wake up. You will be completely crazy before you know it! I know that there is always online shopping to take away some of the hassle but the busy busy busy just kind of sneaks up on you.
I remember when my children were young, all of the little things I had to buy (it is a pleasure to give but a pain to actually go out and choose just the right gift when time is all too short), the cards, the letter to enclose in the cards, the addressing of the cards, buying stamps, stocking stuffers, gifts for wonderful and kind teachers….oh I could just go on and on but that would not be in keeping with the light and happy spirit of the holidays.
To take away some of the busy-ness (you can’t spell this BUSINESS because that would just be so confusing…) I offer you up today the easiest and most delicious baked salmon dish you ever spent only 5 minutes preparing!
So, before I launch in to my red and green Holiday recipes (well, if the truth be told, I don’t have a main course in my brain yet which fits with the theme!), today is ONLY THREE INGREDIENT baked salmon day.
With all this wonderful MEtime I have, I was wandering the aisles of Kroger (and getting all of those Fitbit steps so this was a really healthy wandering….) and their private label Spinach and Artichoke dip caught my eye. I usually don’t buy purchased pre-made dips because I am not much of a snacker but I thought that the dip looked so good that I needed to find SOMETHING, ANYTHING to put it ON (instead of finding something to put IN it).
Wandering further, I walked by the seafood department and the salmon looked fresh and delicious. And thus was born, THREE INGREDIENT Salmon. Of course, it could have just been TWO ingredient salmon, but why miss the opportunity to give it a toasty brown blanket of grated parmesan cheese?
You don’t really need a “recipe” for this dish.
All you need is a piece of salmon, about a pound and a half for 4 people, a container of spinach and artichoke dip, and a third of a cup of grated parmesan cheese.
Slather (love that WORD) the entire container of dip all over the salmon (or, if you are like me some of it might have gone missing given that there were available pretzels just sitting there!). Don’t be skimpy, use all of it. Bake the salmon in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, top with the parmesan cheese and bake for 5 more minutes. Broil for one minute before you take it out of the oven or just until the cheese browns. Watch it carefully.
Once removed from the oven, let it sit and hang out for 5 minutes so it firms up a bit.
If you like your salmon a bit on the rare side, you can bake it for only 15 minutes. Forgive me but I am not a rare fish person unless it is sushi. And that isn’t rare….it’s all or nothing. Sushi or baked through until done. That’s my preference. But I would not deny anyone the pleasure of medium rare fish if that is what you prefer.
I hope you enjoy a quick and easy dinner that tastes far better than the amount of time you spent would suggest. This can be as elegant or as casual as you wish. I serve the salmon on a salad of arugula, roasted (or grilled) corn (I buy fresh, grill it and DECOB it–note, another made up word), avocado and cranberries with a nice white balsamic vinaigrette just like the one on the Kale and Butternut Squash Salad.
Hopefully, this dinner will become a revolving favorite not just limited to the holidays. Next up on the blog…..green and red.