Looking for an easy but tasty and somewhat healthy menu for the week...?!

Salmon Hoisin: makes four 6-oz servings; 400-450 degrees for about 15 minutes.

1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 TB soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 scallions sliced thin
1 lemon sliced for garnish

Heat oven to 400-450.
Coat baking dish with nonstick spray; stir together hoisin, soy, vinegar, ginger, and pepper flakes.
Put salmon in pan and cover with about half the sauce you just made.
Roast for 10 minutes in the center of the oven.
Spread the remainder of sauce on salmon; top with scallions; roast 5 minutes more.
Garnish with lemon to squeeze over the top.

308 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat); 39 g protein; 8 g carbs; 0 g fiber; 795 mg sodium; 107 mg cholesterol

Goes well with rice and salad or broccoli. The sauce is excellent on pork, chicken, you name it!

65 years of living; 45 years of cooking; 41 years of marriage.

I rely heavily on lovely lovely legumes- chickpeas, fava beans, and kidney beans etc.
Buy dried in bulk, soak them overnight in a big batch, and then cook 20 minutes. OR buy canned- they are good too, I prefer freshly cooked.
Add grated cheese, salsa, some natural corn chips, sweetcorn (canned is fine), chopped onion, cilantro, a dash of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lime and toss the bean salad lightly. Serve with sour cream and the chips- of heated wholehweat burritos.

Rice and tuna Hot Salad. Boil rice- add 6 cups of water to a pan and boil, then add 3 cups of rice, stir the rice, add a few drops of butter into the surface of the water, cover the pan and take the heat down to a very gently simmer.
Come back 20 minutes later- perfect rice.
Add drained tuna, sweetcorn, diced apple, kidney beans, finyle diced onion and some vinaegrette- a light french dressing . Eat it warm with a few spinach leaves- it's such a good hearty salad.

Noodles with peanuts and omelette- this one is great and you can use ham in it too.

Boil some good chinese style noodles in boiling water ( they are thick "restaurant style" noodles,)
Meanwhile beat 2 eggs and fry them in an oiled hot pan, to make an omelette.
Remove omeltte from the heat and slice it into thin strips.
Heat bacon or ham pieces in the pan- if you use bacon, fry til it's very crispy- the pork sausage will work well for this. Remove from the pan.
Drain the noodles and add sesame oil ( or other oil). PUt the noodles in the pan to keep them heated.
Add some toasted peanuts ( be toasting them in the oven while you do the noodles, or dry roast them to release the flavors), the chopped ham/bacon and mix lightly with the noodles, adding a few splashes of soy sauce. Place the noodles in bowls and top with the slivered omelette.
This is a noodle dish that everybody LOVES. It never fails.
Serve with a little more soysauce and/or oyster sauce.

Well earlier in the week I made this... I do add 2 carrots and 1 celery stalk diced to the onion mixture and just recently found I like half and half better than the cream in the mixture
Thick and Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

Ingredients:

* 1/2 lb (1/2 package) thick cut pepper bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped
* 2 – 3 tbsp. Bacon drippings
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 5 lbs. russet or red potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
* 32 oz. chicken stock (approximate)
* 1/2 pint heavy cream
* 1/8 lb (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
* Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cook bacon using preferred method until crisp. (I bake thick cut bacon on a cooling rack over a sheet pan so that it remains flat). Allow to cool and chop or crumble into small pieces. Reserve several tablespoons of drippings. (add more bacon drippings if onions look dry. This will depend on the size of your pot and particular onion.)

Place a large soup pot or heavy casserole over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp. bacon drippings and cook onions, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes, stirring often.

Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes. When everything is sizzling nicely, add enough stock to just cover potatoes. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.

Mash potatoes roughly with a potato masher. Scoop out about half of the remaining mixture and puree in a blender (in batches!) or food processor. (Or if you’ve got an immersion blender, go for it with that.) Make sure to leave a good bit of the potatoes chunky, for texture.

Add butter and heavy cream. Stir to combine well. Taste for seasoning and add more stock if soup is too thick for your liking. When the consistency is right for you, stir in bacon and bring to just a bare simmer, stirring often.

Serve hot. Garnish with additional crumbled bacon and some chives or green onions.


Tomorrow, I will be making this and serving over a bed of egg noodles, with salad and rolls
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/portobe…


Monday is Chicken and Dumplings ... My elderly neighbor has been wanting me to make them for so long, that will be her VD present ( plus, I have been re-seasoning her cast iron dutch oven...its a small one, so I will take the dinner over in that) Need the recipe, I'll be happy to share