Typical Tuesday: Lemon Pepper Salmon

Typical Tuesday: Lemon Pepper Salmon... It's a regular ol' Tuesday night and Salmon is what's for dinner. I usually plan out the week's meals on Sunday, before my TJ's grocery run, and so on the books for tonight I had planned salmon, brussels, quinoa, and a salad. I usually buy salmon for at least one meal a week, same goes for ahi tuna. They're filling and easy to cook, not to mention extremely healthy! They're also versatile - you can really do whatever you want with both these fishes, but they're excellently paired with citrus. Lemon is generally my citrus of choice, though I suppose I should branch out and try to use others in there (I now work for the Tropicana Chilled/Naked Juice business unit and am considering testing a few recipes that use our products - perhaps a marinade??). Anyhow, tonight is going to be simple and fresh and I am sticking to my lemon theme for the salmon filet.


On the Menu:
Grilled lemon pepper salmon, roasted brussels sprouts, TJ's quinoa, & spinach salad with baby heirloom tomatoes and avocado.


The Salmon:
I wish I could get fresh salmon every day the way I used to at Central Market in Dallas just a block from my apt... but I have come to rely on the TJ's selection of flash frozen fishes. They are quite Dahlish and great quality - again not a freezer section kind of girl but I will vouch for these guys. You just move them from the freezer to the fridge the night before you plan to make them (if you forget then do it the morning of, or if you REALLY forget, then just let the package soak in a bowl of luke warm water for 30-60 min before cooking). I simply drizzled the salmon with olive oil, a big squeeze of fresh lemon, and a liberal sprinkling of lemon pepper. If you don't have lemon pepper in your pantry, go buy it. Seriously it's simple but it's great I put it on roasted chicken and fish all the time. Has a tiny kick and punch of tanginess. I used my grill pan tonight and got it very hot for 5-8 minutes before placing the salmon skin side down on the sizzling surface. As soon as I put my salmon down I turn the temp to a medium heat and let the filet cook about 4 minutes on each side, more or less depending on the thickness. I have faith you'll know when it's done.


The Brussels:
Done these before. Set your oven on 400 degrees. Cut your brussels in halves or quarters, spread them in an even layer in a pyrex baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Pop them in the oven for 40 minutes and you'll get brussels that are tender on the inside and salty and crunchy on the outside. I personally love the little burnt pieces that fall off - they're like brussels sprouts chips!

Roasted Brussels

Tender in the middle crunchy on the outside

I served this meal with a spinach salad tossed with sliced up baby heirloom tomatoes and perfectly ripe avocado in a Dahlish vegan vinaigrette from TJ's. I also served the salmon with a bit of TJ's quinoa that I always have on hand for a starchy side packed with protein.

Salad pre vinaigrette 

Dinner is served!

Hope yall had a Dahlicious Tuesday!