This is dill-icious!

We loved this cucumber-dill sauce with our poached salmon. It was delicious! This is a fantastic way to serve fish. The recipe came from none other than Market Street Grill (a Utah hotspot for seafood) -- right off their website -- so is there any doubt it would be good? You've got to try this.


THE RECIPE:

1 large cucumber
1/3 c. mayo (I used light)
1/3 c. sour cream (I used light)
1/2 tsp. to 3/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1/8 tsp. to 1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Peel and seed cucumber, then puree in food processor or blender. Squeeze out juice. Mix mayo and sour cream. Add pureed cucumber. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate at least four hours before serving. Makes enough for 1 1/2 pounds fish.

Everything but the campfire

This recipe for s'more brownies is on the Kraft Foods website. Click here to find it. They were good, but the marshmallows were so darn sticky. I melted them for too long, though. I guess they were a little easier to cut when they were all the way cooled. Either way, the marshmallows irritated me. And I love marshmallows!

Anyway, I loved the idea of lining the pan with graham crackers. It worked great. My favorite part was the relationship between the grahams and the brownie. You can use a brownie mix instead of the ingredients listed. I put chocolate chips on top instead of chopped-up candy bar.

A few frog eyes never hurt anyone

I've been making this frog-eye salad for years. And I've been eating frog-eye salad for a lifetime. I always loved it when I was young. Part of me thought it might really have frog eyes in it. Feel free to adjust the add-ins to suit your fancy. Just be advised that the recipe requires a lot of refrigeration time.

THE RECIPE:

1/2 c. sugar
1 T. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 20-oz. can pineapple tidbits, juice reserved
1 egg
2 tsp. lemon juice
8 oz. acini di pepe (pasta)
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
8 oz. whipped topping, such as Cool Whip
3 c. mini marshmallows

In saucepan, stir together sugar, flour and salt. Whisk 1 cup pineapple juice (from can of tidbits) into sugar mixture. Whisk in egg. Cook on medium heat until boiling. Stir in lemon juice. Cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Rinse with cold water and drain. In large bowl, stir together pasta and juice mixture. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Add pineapple tidbits, orange segments, whipped topping and marshmallows. Mix well. Refrigerate until cold.

A nice "square" meal

Have you ever bought frozen Maddox turkey steaks? They are really good. (Maddox is a restaurant in northern Utah, but their steaks are sold in the freezer section at stores.) They are great dipped in honey or Thousand Island dressing. They come in packages of nine, which cost about $12 at Walmart. I price-match them when they go on sale for $8 at Kent's Market.

Your eyes don't deceive you

Yes. That is a plate-sized doughnut you're looking at. It's easily 600 calories of glazed goodness. Make sure you bring a friend and a gallon of milk before you embark on this adventure. Now, I need to say that this isn't the best doughnut I've ever eaten. The glaze-to-dough ratio was lower than a normal-sized doughnut.

But it was good, and I'd do it again.


So where can you buy this monstrosity for $1.49? At Bowman's. That's 326 N. Main in Kaysville. Here's what it looks like thanks to Google Street view:


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My goal here is to induce insane calorie consumption and weight gain. So please let me know when you jump on the bandwagon and eat the doughnut as big as your face.

Something fishy's going on

We are on a salmon kick lately in our family. Healthy stuff, you know. It's also delicious, and there are so many ways to cook it. This recipe has an Asian twist. We really liked it. The other nice thing about salmon is that it takes mere minutes to cook.

THE RECIPE:

1 lb. salmon fillets
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Toss salmon and sauce ingredients in plastic bag. Refrigerate for as long as possible so flavors can soak in. Place bag contents in frying pan, cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Uncover and cook salmon for about two minutes on each side, or until salmon flakes easily. Discard liquid. Cook just a little on each side in dry pan until salmon is browned and glazed.

The whole enchilada

An easy way to make run-of-the-mill enchilada sauce is to combine canned red sauce and canned tomato soup. The soup mitigates the spice a little bit for us wimps, although I still think it's a little spicy. I am the wimpiest of the wimps, though. Above, I just made plain old cheese enchiladas, but they are lightning fast to put together, and with the toppings, they make a great weeknight dinner.

THE RECIPE:

8 flour tortillas
Shredded cheese
1 10-ounce can red enchilada sauce
1 10-ounce can condensed tomato soup
Desired toppings

Fill tortillas with cheese and roll. Place in baking dish. Mix sauce and soup well, then pour over tortillas, ensuring that sauce sinks down to bottom of dish. Top with extra cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, etc. if desired.

Good garlic!

These garlic green beans have served us well over the past few years. Everyone loves them, and they make a nice side dish for almost any meal. I eat massive amounts of green beans when they are served this way. I use frozen green beans, but if you want to use fresh, you might need to steam them first so they are partially cooked.

THE RECIPE:

1 1/2 lbs. frozen green beans, thawed
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. canola, vegetable OR sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar
6 cloves garlic, pressed

In small bowl, combine soy sauce, oil and sugar; set aside. Put garlic in skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook on medium-high for a minute or two, until softened. Add green beans. Stir until well-coated. Add sauce and stir until most of liquid is absorbed. Makes 6 servings.

Flurry of curry

This recipe for coconut-curry chicken was something different for us and really good. We definitely want to make it again. I might add chopped peanuts next time. I love the combination of coconut milk and curry. And the addition of basil was a pleasant surprise. And in case you're worried, it's not spicy.

THE RECIPE:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut up
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 c. chopped red onion (I'm sure this could be optional)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk*
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. snipped fresh basil OR 3 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger OR 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Cooked rice

Mix curry, salt, pepper and chili powder in small bowl. Put chicken pieces in baggie and toss with spices. Close bag and refrigerate for as long as possible to allow spices to penetrate.

Cook onions and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan. Cook chicken through, then remove from pan as well. Combine coconut milk and cornstarch, then add to pan and cook until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken, onions and garlic to pan. Stir in basil and ginger. Serve over hot rice.

*I know lowfat coconut milk exists, but I didn't see it at Walmart.