The husband wasn’t too impressed with the rice but he liked the salmon. The little guy liked the rice, not the salmon. I liked both! ;)

Here’s what I did…

• 4 tbsp lime juice, separated
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 2 salmon fillets
• About 1/2 lb raw kale chopped
• 3-4 scallions diced
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice (I use the 90 second bagged kind)
• About 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• Kosher Salt

Whisk 2 tbsp of lime juice with 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp of dried cilantro and a pinch of salt to make the marinade.

Pour the marinade over the salmon and let sit while preparing the rice.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. add the kale, 1 tbsp of the lime juice and a pinch or two of salt. Cook for about a minute until wilting.

Add the scallions, brown rice, cilantro, remaining tbsp of lime juice and another pinch of salt. Combine everything well allowing the flavors to merge.

Heat a second skillet over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the salmon 2-3 minutes a side depending on thickness. After the first flip pour any leftover marinade over the fillets.

Serve the salmon over the rice with another veggie on the side. I went with broccoli. One veggie all three of us can agree on. ;)

No nutritional info on this one.. it’s 2 salmon servings, 3 rice servings and my brain just can’t handle it right now. lol According to my “Roni Math” I’d count the salmon and 1/3 of the rice as 9 points.

The recipe is for 1 serving but you can easily double, triple or whatever for your situation. As you can see I made it only for me. Between the kid hating fish (I think it’s a texture thing) and the husband not into the greens, I didn’t even bother presenting this as a family dinner. Although I hope to maybe one day get them there. In the meantime I’ll hide the kale in family favorites like stuffed peppers. ;)

Here’s what I did.

• 1 tsp (5g) sesame oil
• 1 thick slice of a sweet onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 cup kale cleaned and ripped into chunks
• about 1/2 inch chunk of fresh ginger root (can replace with about 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• about 1 tbsp wasabi powder
• 1 4 oz salmon fillet

Heat the sesame oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until just turning brown. Add the kale right on top and grate the ginger root on top of the kale. Add the 1/4 of water and tsp of soy sauce. Mix everything together and cover. Keep an eye on it as soon as the water looks like it all evaporated (about 1-2 minutes) remove the kale from the skillet. If you like your kale more cooked more simple add additional water and cover until desired doneness is reached. Then remove.

Spray the same skillet with a bit of non-stick spray and return to the medium-high. Sprinkle both sides of the salmon fillet with the wasabi powder and place in the hot skillet. This is what my wasabi powder looked like. . .

Cook about 2-3 minutes a side depending on the thickness of your fillet. A good indicator of when to flip in the whiteness you’ll see on the edge. Shown in the picture.

Once the salmon is done, place on top of the kale and viola! Wasabi Salmon with Asian Kale for One! :)

To my dismay as I pulled dinner out of the oven he took one look and declared, "I don’t like those."

To which I said, "You don’t even know what they are?"

"What are they?"

"Fish sticks."

"I don’t like fish sticks."

"How do you know, you haven’t tried them yet."

"I don’t like them."

sigh…. kids.

He took a bite making a face before he even started to chew. I’m not a forcer so after he tried one bite I dropped it. But MAN I was disappointed.

However, I LOVED them. Seriously, I could eat these every night for dinner and yes, I dipped mine in ketchup. :)

Oh! and hubby liked them too!

• 1/2 cup rolled oats (40g)
• 1/2 cup wheat bran (30g)
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp molasses (21g)
• A pound of salmon skinless salmon fillets
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Line a cookie sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Pulse rolled oats, bran, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in the blender to make the "breading."

Whisk the egg whites and molasses together.

Cut the fillet into slices resembling "fingers" as shown. About 4 per fillet.

Coat the cut salmon in the molasses egg white mixture. One by one dip and coat the salmon in the breading and place on the cookie sheet.

Once finished spray the tops with a bit more non-stick cooking spray.

Bake for about 10 minutes flipping once.

Here’s a little before and after cooking.

I served with some brown rice, quick sugar snap peas, and butternut squash fries.

Here’s the story. Yesterday after an insane morning run I knew I was gonna be hungry and I knew the husband was gonna want to order in or go out (not only is it what he does BUT it was also the first college football Saturday of the season.) So to ward him if I just started cooking. I didn’t have much on hand, I haven’t gone shopping and I’ve been trying to use stock up for the move but I remembered a can of salmon I bought a few weeks back and I knew I had an aging pepper and some onion in the fridge. So why not!

At first the husband kind of snubbed the idea and then I made him a salmon cake sandwich. Initially I got the "it’s ok." BUT when he was done he said it was really good! I was quite shocked! The child wanted no part. I swear, fish is the hardest thing to get into that kid.

Now I will say this, idea may need a better binder then one slice of a bread. The flavor was perfect but they just held together so you have to be gentle. Next time I’m thinking I’ll crush some whole grain rtiz instead of using the bread. Either way I thought I’d share the idea.

• 1 (14.75 ounce) can salmon, drained and broken up
• 1 slice of bread, ripped apart into small pieces, crumbled
• 1/2 small sweet onion, minced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• about 1/4 of a bell pepper minced
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon tabasco (or more)
• Kosher salt & ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese.
• non stick cooking spray, preferably olive oil

In a large bowl, gently mix together the salmon, bread, onion, garlic, bell pepper, egg, egg white, dill, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and a pinch of salt and pepper. I used the scoop technique. Scooping my hand under the tossing in the bowl rather then a meatball squishing method. Know what I mean?

In another small bowl mix the flour and parmesan cheese with a bit of salt and pepper.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Form a small patty about 1/2 inch think. Dust with the flour mixture and plop into skillet. Repeat for 3 more patties and cook each about 3-4 minutes a side. They should be nicely browned. Now, I made my first too big. Go on the smaller end, they will hold together better and you want to get 8 total, for 2 a serving.

Once the first batch is done remove any bits from the pan and re-spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Eat straight up with your favorite veggie as a side OR put it on a whole wheat bun for a salmon cake sandwich. I used a whole wheat potato roll, a bed of baby spinach and (don’t laugh) a squirt of ketchup. :)

I should say I love having a day now and again that I can experiment freely in the kitchen without worrying about pleasing anyone but myself (and the toddler but he’s WAY easier then the husband!)

So my experiment was a lightly sweetened Asian style salmon stir fry-ish type of meal but instead of serving it over rice or noodles I went with spaghetti squash. It was great! Even the toddler liked it. I actually got him to eat salmon as I think the small pieces weren’t intimidating and they had a light sweetness to them. He also loved the peas, but the squash, not so much. That’s ok, 2 out of three “aint” bad. ;~P

• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (21g) honey
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 slices of sweet onion diced (about 100g)
• 1 1/3 cups (170g) frozen peas
• 8oz salmon fillet cut in strips
• 2 cups (310g) cooked Prepared Spaghetti Squash

Whisk the soy sauce, honey, water, ginger and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Warm the onion and add the frozen peas. Cook for a minute or two allowing the peas to defrost. Add the salmon and cook for 3-4 minutes only stirring about every minute. If you stir more, the salmon will break up too much. After the 4 minutes pour the soy sauce mixture over, stir in and cook for one minute. It will thicken and just coat everything.

Separate into two servings and scoop over warm spaghetti squash.

My WWPs may be off on this one. When I use the nutritional information for dishes with a lot of “free” veggies my calculations come out a but high. I’d love to hear what you guys calculate.

The title really does say it all. The toddler (who really displays his toddler-ness in the video) and I prepare dinner from start to finish in 13 minutes and 41 seconds. It’s a simple dinner but dinner none the less.

Click here to see a picture of the meal and the recipe for Roni’s Quick Fish Spice I used on the salmon.

This recipe is made completely on camera in the The 13:41 Salmon Dinner with a Side Parenting video post.

I came up with this spice idea a few years ago when I had no idea what to make for dinner. To my surprise, the husband loved it and I use it on Salmon and Tilapia all the time, especially when I’m not in the mood to really cook. 

Roni’s Quick Fish Spice

• 2 tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp sage
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients and store in an old spice canister. This makes enough for months. Depending of course how much you use it.

The Salmon Pictured

Now as for the salmon (or any fish really) simple heat a skillet over medium and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place the fish in the pan, sprinkle with the fish spice. Cook for a few minutes depending on the thickness of your fish (tilapia 1-2 minutes a side, salmon 3-4). You can see the fish cooking up the side so once it’s about half way flip and cook for about the same amount of time. The key is to not over cook salmon or it’s get’s dry and yucky. So always, err on the side of rare.

Yes it’s really THAT easy!

When I told him I was making salmon his exact quote was, “Awesome, wait… it’s not salmon stew or anything, is it?”

He CRACKS me up.

Anyway, I defrosted salmon last night and I needed a quick way to make it after work tonight. I love sweet and salmon together, it’s a perfect combination.

• 2 – 4oz Salmon fillets
• 1 tbsp (21g) honey
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• non-stick cooking spray
• dried chives for garnish (optional)
• Salt and Pepper

Whisk the honey, Worcestershire sauce and pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Pre-heat a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium heat.

Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in skillet and cook for about 3 minutes a side. Before you flip drizzle the honey mixture on the salmon reserving some to drizzle for the flipped side.

The secret to salmon is not to over cook it, although I still forget this from time to time. In a preheated skillet it really only takes about 3-4 minutes a side, based on thickness.

I served with steamed broccoli and a whole-wheat noodle side.

The husband was a little hesitant at first but he ate the fish, salsa and all! I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! (For those of you that don’t know, he’s not a big ‘fruit for dinner’ kind of guy).

I served the salmon with grilled zucchini and whole wheat noodles to make a great complete meal!

• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup pineapple chunks diced
• 1/8 cup grapes diced
• 1/4 cup bell pepper (red and green)
• Juice of one lime (or a splash of lemon juice)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 salmon fillets about 4 oz each

In a small bowl mix the red onion, pineapple, grapes, peppers and lime juice. Let the salsa sit while preparing the fish.

Mix the chili powder, paprika and garlic powder, salt and pepper together and coat both sides of the fish.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Spray with olive oil non-stick cooking spray. Cook the salmon about 3-4 minutes a side (depending on thickness) allowing the spices to brown.

Remove the salmon from the heat, top with the fruit salsa. Serve!