Lemon Grilled Salmon With Corn Salad

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Fresh or Frozen Yellow Corn Kernels (Cooked and Cooled)

1/3 cup Red Sweet Pepper (Chopped)

1/4 cup Fresh Chives (Snipped) or Green Onions (Thinly Sliced)

3 Tbsp. Fresh Basil (Thinly Sliced)

2 Tbsp. Pure Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1/4 tsp. Salt (Optional)

1 1/2 cups Fresh Blueberries

2 tsp. Lemon Peel (Finely Shredded)

1 tsp. Ground Cumin

1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

4-4 to 5oz. Fresh Skinless Salmon Fillets

Nonstick Cooking Spray

Lemon Slices and/or Fresh Basil Sprigs (Optional)

Directions:

For corn salad, in bowl, combine corn, sweet pepper, chives, basil, maple syrup, lemon juice, and the 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add blueberries; Toss gently to combine. In small bowl, combine lemon peel, cumin, and black pepper. Sprinkle mixture over salmon fillets. Lightly coat both sides of salmon fillets with nonstick spray. For charcoal grill, grill salmon fillets on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 8 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, carefully turning once halfway through grilling. For gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place salmon fillets on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill same as charcoal grill. Serve grilled salmon with corn salad. Garnish with lemon slices and/or fresh basil sprigs.

http://www.bhg.com/

Spinach Tortellini With Beans & Feta

Ingredients:

1-9oz package Refrigerated Cheese-Filled Spinach Tortellini

1-15oz can White Kidney Beans (Rinsed and Drained)

3/4 cup Crumbled Garlic-and-Herb Flavored Feta Cheese

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Large Tomato (Chopped)

Ground Black Pepper

4 cups Baby Spinach

Directions:

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and return to saucepan. Add drained beans, feta cheese, and olive oil to tortellini in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until beans are hot and cheese begins to melt, gently stirring occasionally. Add tomato and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle black pepper. Divide spinach among four dinner plates or shallow salad bowls. Top with tortellini mixture.

http://www.bhg.com/

"Healthier" Red Beans and Rice

This is a friends recipe and like many good cajun recipes, the measurements are a dash of this and a sprinkle of that. It is hard to go wrong with this recipe but you may have to spice it more or less to your liking.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Dried Red Beans (Camilla brand if available)
2-8oz packages Hickory Smoked Turkey Tasso (cut into bite size pieces)
16 oz container Guidry's Pre-Cut Creole Seasonings (celery, green pepper, onion,etc)
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
Poultry Seasoning
White Pepper
Crystal Hot Sauce
Tony Chachere's Instant Roux Mix
Vegetable Oil
Long Grain White Rice

Directions:
Soak beans overnight, drain then rinse. Place soaked beans in large dutch oven and add fresh water to 1 1/2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in skillet and saute cut up vegetable mix and turkey tasso. Sprinkle turkey with poultry seasoning while cooking. Once vegetable mix is cooked down, add to dutch oven (meat will continue to cook in dutch oven). Stir all ingredients together. Add Tony's creole seasoning (1 Tbsp), white pepper (about 1-2 tsp) and crystal hot sauce (1/2 tsp). Mix. Sprinkle on top approximately 2-3 Tbsp Instant Roux. Mix. Cook beans on a slow boil for 5-6 hours. The more stirring you do throughout the cooking process, the thicker the beans will get. Halfway though cooking, sprinkle another 2-3 Tbsp Instant Roux and mix. Add additional seasoning to taste. Prepare white rice as directed on package. Serve over rice. This recipe tastes even better on the second day!

* To reconstitute beans quicker, put beans into a large pot and cover with water 1 inch above beans. Bring to a hard boil with the lid off for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let beans sit in water for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans and begin recipe as directed above.

Citrus Salsa Salmon

Ingredients:

4 4oz-5oz Skinless Salmon Fillets (3/4-1 inch thick)

Salt

Ground Black Pepper

1/3 cup Jalapeno Jelly

3 Medium Oranges (peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped)

1 Medium Grapefruit (peeled and sectioned)

1 cup Grape or Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

Directions:

Heat broiler. Lightly sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. In small saucepan over low heat, melt jelly. Brushed 2 Tbsp of melted jelly on the salmon; reserve remaining jelly. Place salmon on unheated rack of broiler pan. Broil 4 inches from heat for 8-10 minutes or until salmon flakes when tested with a fork. For fresh citrus salsa, in medium bowl, combine chopped oranges, grapefruit sections, halved tomatoes and remaining jelly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve salmon with citrus salsa.

http://www.bhg.com/

White Bean Mash

Ingredients:

2 Cloves Garlic (minced)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 -15oz cans White Beans (rinsed and drained)

1/4 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1/2 tsp Dry Thyme (crushed)

1 tsp Lemon Juice

Directions:

In saucepan cook 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 tbsp of olive oil for 1 minute. Stir in 2-15oz cans of white beans, rinsed and drained. Coarsely mash. Stir in chicken broth to moisten beans (up to 1/4 cup). Stir in crushed thyme and lemon juice. Season to taste; heat through. Drizzle with olive oil, serve.

http://www.bhg.com/

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Butter softened (try Smart Balance)

1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Sugar

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/8 tsp Salt

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla

3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup Rolled Oats

1/4 cup Flax Seed Meal

1/4 cup Wheat Germ

2 oz. Dark Chocolate (finely chopped)

1/4 cup Dried Cranberries

1/4 cup Walnuts (chopped, toasted)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter on electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour. Stir in rolled oats, flax seed meal, wheat germ, chocolate, cranberries and walnuts (dough wil be a bit crumbly). Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack and cool.

http://www.bhg.com/

Low Fat Fettuccini Broccoli Parmesan

Ingredients:

12 oz Fettuccini Noodles (Barilla Plus or other protein fortified noodle)
1 Head Broccoli (cut into florets, stalk peeled and sliced)
1 1/2 cups Skim Milk
1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Tbsp Flour
3/4 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan ( plus extra for sprinkling)
Kosher Salt

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the broccoli until tender, 3 minutes; drain. Heat the milk and butter in a large saucepan over low heat and slowly whisk the flour. Simmer until slightly thickened, whisking constantly, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the pasta and broccoli and cook, stirring, over low heat until heated through. Top each serving with extra Parmesan.

http://www.realsimple.com/

Photo: Tina Rupp