An easy meal that my whole family loves!

My husband grew up loving Salmon Patties, I had NEVER had them! Early in our marriage, I asked his mom for the recipe. For a while, I followed it to the letter, but over time I have really changed it up to make it my own. The nice part about Salmon Patties is that they are cheap to make and they use pantry items that I keep on hand.

When making Salmon Patties, you can use the super cheap canned salmon that has bones and skin. That's what my mother-in-law uses, but I am a little freaked out by what it looks like....so I buy boneless/skinless. It comes in a can like Tuna or a foil packet. The cans go on sale at Walgreens every couple of weeks.

In a large bowl, mix 3 cans of salmon (drained), 2 eggs, 1 TBS of Lemon Juice (reserve half the lemon for wedges to serve with dinner), approx 35 Saltines (crushed very fine), salt, pepper, 1 tsp of your favorite seafood seasoning and 1-2 TBS of milk....depending on how dry your mixture is.  You want it to hold together nicely...adjust by adding more milk or a few extra saltines.

Form into thin patties and place on waxed paper.

My mother-in-law fries hers....I use my non-stick skillet and just brush the pan with a little vegetable oil. I work in batches placing each finished set in a 200 degree oven to hold. This recipe makes 8 large patties- enough for 3-4 servings.

I always serve mine with lemon wedges, wild rice and a cooked veggie- but we went for raw veggies and dip this time :) Even my two-year old devours these!

NOTE: I have also made this using leftover Fresh Cooked Salmon...I chill my leftover Salmon overnight. This really puts them over the top :)

Cedar Planks are a grill tool to love!

My parents gave us a great "foodie" basket for Christmas. One of the things it contained was a pack of Grilling Planks. I love to grill...and we love Salmon, so naturally, my first attempt was at Cedar Plank Salmon.

First, you have to soak the planks so the wood doesn't burn when heated. Soak each plank for a minimum of four hours, or overnight. I had to weigh mine down so it was fully submerged.


Then, you need to prepare the fish. Begin by scoring the skin, so the the fish doesn't curl as it cooks.


Then, add desired seasonings. I use lemon pepper, dill, garlic salt and fresh cracked pepper...as well as a generous drizzle of olive oil.


I also love the hint of citrus in my fish, so I covered my salmon with thin slices of lemon.


Prepare your charcoal or gas grill. As soon as the coals turn gray, or your gas grill hits a nice medium/high heat, place the cedar plank on to warm. When the cedar plank begins to smoke, it's time to add the fish!


Place the salmon on the cedar plank and replace the lid. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through, and flakes easily with a fork.


Remove fish, and serve with fresh lemon wedges. The smokey flavor from the cedar planks was amazing. Simple- but unexpectedly delicious!

Finding a new way to love Salmon!

When I make Salmon, I always make it the same way. I coat it with olive oil, a few seasonings and top with lemon slices. I bake it at a high temp and serve with additional lemon. I feel most of my blogs have been about my own recipes, so I decided to try a few new options. They were great!!!First I prepared the marinade for Soy Ginger Salmon. It contains soy sauce, olive oil, lemon pepper, garlic (I used fresh), ginger, brown sugar and orange juice. I did not rub my salmon as the recipe states...I just threw it all in the marinade :) Combine and pour over salmon. Place in the refrigerator until it is time to cook...at least 2 hours.

Then I prepared the sauce for the Sesame Noodles. It combines soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili sauce, oil (I used vegetable), garlic, white sugar, green onions and sesame oil (I used half the sugar and half the oil the recipe called for).


I do not add the sesame oil to the sauce to cook, but rather at the end after tossing the cooked linguine with the sauce. I think the flavor is stronger than if you cook it!
I also chopped up one bunch of broccoli with 4 cloves of sliced garlic, 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, a little kosher salt and 2 TBS of olive oil to roast in the oven.

I roasted the broccoli and salmon at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes. The broccoli gets crispy on the edges and the salmon was cooked through, but very moist!
As the linguine was cooking, I added the noodle sauce to a skillet to heat through. I tossed with the cooked pasta and the 2 TBS of sesame oil.
The completed meal was amazing! The salmon was a great change for us...very moist! The broccoli is always a favorite and the cold leftovers of the sesame noodles might be even tastier than they were while warm with dinner!! A successful combination :)