Seafood can be pretty intimidating to cook at home. Get it right, and it’s absolutely delicious. But get it wrong…and…well….yikes.

There was definitely a time when I wouldn’t even attempt to cook fish at home. We really only ever ate seafood if we went out to eat when I was growing up, so it wasn’t something I was really comfortable with. That all changed, though, when I met my husband. He grew up Catholic, and eating fish on Fridays during Lent was very much a tradition for him.

I found this method online, and I’ve never looked back. It’s SO simple! You can change up the seasoning how ever you want, which makes it even better in my book! Sometimes I marinate my salmon, like for these amazing Cooked Salmon Poke Bowls. Sometimes I sprinkle them with a little salt, some lemon zest, and minced garlic. And sometimes, I use the spice mix in this recipe…but to be honest, this post is ALL about the method!

Tips and Frequently Asked Questions:

-Should I buy a large piece of salmon and cut it up, or should I buy smaller pieces? That is fully up to you! I like to make a LOT of salmon at once so that I can make our favorite Salmon Salad with the leftovers, so I generally buy a very large fillet and trim it into smaller (1 1/2 – 2 inches wide) fillets. But you do what works best for your situation!

–Should I leave the skin on or remove it before baking? This is another personal preference situation. I prefer to leave the skin on, mostly because I find it’s easier to remove the skin after the salmon has been baked. Simply take a spatula or turner and push it between the meat and the skin. I also leave the skin on because I prefer to handle the raw fish as little as possible to keep it from breaking down. We live in small town Indiana, so the salmon I have access to at the super market is never super off-the-boat fresh, and tends to become mushy if it’s handled too much.

–What is the white slimy stuff that comes out of the fish while cooking it? Is it safe to eat? The white stuff that appears on salmon while it’s cooking is a protein that is naturally in the fish called albumin. I’ve read that if you heat the fish slowly it helps prevent the albumin from becoming visible, but this hasn’t been my experience. It doesn’t look great, but it’s perfectly harmless and flavorless, and totally safe to eat. If it grosses you out, gently scrape it off! It’s what I generally do.

–Do I bake the salmon for the same amount of time if I have a gas oven? We recently moved into a house with a gas range, and while I LOVE cooking on it, baking in the oven has proven a little tricky. Depending on your oven, I would recommend a slightly longer baking time. I usually end up pulling mine out of the oven at about the 30 minute mark.

–What are some other ways I can season the salmon before baking it? There are tons of easy seasoning mixes out there, or you can create your own. Sometimes I like to give it an Asian flare and marinate it, like when I make these Cooked Salmon Poke Bowls. Other times, I’ll use my garlic press to press a couple of cloves of garlic and mix that with some kosher salt and the zest of a lemon, then spread that over the fish. Other times I’ll take the easy way out and use a healthy coating of my favorite Lakeshore Drive Seasoning from The Spice House (this is not a paid promotion!! I just love this stuff!).

–What can I do with leftover salmon? Salmon leftovers never last long in my house because my family is obsessed with this Salmon Salad. You could also make this Prosciutto and Asparagus Pasta, using chunks of salmon instead of the prosciutto. You’ll just need to adjust the salt level. Or, you can make Grandma’s Salmon Patties from my bff Liz over at The Farmwife Cooks. Leftovers don’t have to be boring!

Ingredients Needed For Never Fail Baked Salmon:

• Salmon Fillets, 1 1/2-2 inches wide
• Olive Oil
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper

How to Make Never Fail Baked Salmon:

Line a baking sheet (like this one!) with aluminum foil. Drizzle a little olive oil on the foil and spread it around with a brush or your fingers to create a non-stick surface.

In a small bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Gently pat the salmon filets dry with a paper towel and space evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the salmon with a little olive oil and spread it around on the fish. Season the fish evenly and generously with the spice mix.

Place the baking sheet in a cold oven. Set the oven to 400 degrees and set your timer for 20 minutes. Walk away and enjoy a glass of wine, have a dance party, or cook up some sides. Or all of the above. When the timer goes off, you’ll have perfectly flakey, delicious salmon. If you prefer your salmon well-done (I won’t judge you, I promise), leave it in the oven for about 5 more minutes.

**As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.**

Print

Never Fail Baked Salmon

Don't be intimated by cooking fish at home! This easy Never Fail Baked Salmon will have you serving up a healthy meal like a pro in under 30 minutes!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword 30 Minute Meals, Baked Salmon, easy dinner, Easy Lunch, Healthy, Lenten recipes, Pescatarian, salmon

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan – The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• Salmon Fillet any amount, cut into 1 1/2-2 inch wide pieces
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 1 Tbso Olive Oil
• Lemon Wedges, optional

Instructions

• Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil. Drizzle a little olive oil on the foil and spread it around to grease the pan.
• Cut salmon into 1 1/2 to 2 inch wide fillets. Place fillets on the baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil.
• In a small bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle seasoning mix over the fish, making sure to coat it evenly and generously.
• Place the salmon into the oven. Turn the oven on to 400 degrees and set a timer for 20 minutes.
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon, if desired.

The post Never Fail Baked Salmon appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

To say that I’m not a huge fan of winter is a big time understatement. We all know what hangry is, but is there a word to describe a similar anger caused by being cold? Because that word would perfectly describe how I get. I really, really despise being cold.

I once read somewhere that if you really love winter, chances are you didn’t grow up with livestock. There’s just something about having to break the ice on waterers, carrying water because water lines are frozen, going out and feeding/milking/delivering babies when the temperatures dip that just takes the fun out the cold. Blech.

Ok, sure, snow is pretty and I love watching my littles enjoy playing in it. And there’s nothing quite like a white Christmas with a fire going in the fire place. But that’s it. Once Christmas is over and the decorations come down, the weather could warm back up to the mid 70s and I would be just fine thank you very much!

There is one good thing about cold weather, though…it’s the perfect time to make a nice, hearty bowl of soup to warm yourself from the inside out. Dutch Split Pea Soup, or Erwtensoep (or Snert), is 100% the perfect stick to your ribs type of food to keep you going when those winter winds start to blow!

The Dutch are known for their hearty fare, and this soup is the king of all of it. It’s said that if your snert is as thick as it is supposed to be, you can stand a wooden spoon up in the middle of the pot. I kid you not. Plus, it’s loaded with veggies and super healthy. Win win!

My recipe comes straight from my mother-in-law, Maria…also known as the quintessential Dutch home cook. Oh, and something important to note: this soup is definitely better if you eat it the next day. Yes, you can eat it the same day, but I totally recommend planning ahead a little and waiting until the next day to eat it. It also freezes really well!

How to make Dutch Split Pea Soup:

Take about half a pound (200 grams) of split green peas and rinse them very, very well until the water runs clear (Maria says she rinses them 5 times). Put those in a heavy bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven, and pour in 1 Liter (4 1/2 cups) of water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat to medium low, and cook for an hour. You’ll want to keep an eye on them because these bad boys like to boil over.

Once an hour has passed, add peeled and chopped carrots and celery, a diced onion, leeks, a couple of diced potatoes, 2 vegetable bullion cubes (you can use chicken bullion if you can’t find the vegetable as it can be pretty hard to find), some parsley, and some pepper. Cook all of this for about 20 minutes or so, or until all of the veggies are tender. After the veggies have cooked, stir in some chopped smoked or kielbasa sausage.

If you are eating it right away, serve it up with some nice warm bread smothered in butter. If you are eating it the next day or freezing it, let it cool before putting it away.

Eet smakelijk!

Looking for other delicious Dutch foods? Give one of these a try!:

Pannekoeken – Dutch Pancakes
Hutspot – Dutch Mashed Potatoes with Carrots
Mama Maria’s Dutch Style Green Beans

This post is sponsored by The Glass Barn, Indiana Corn and Soybean Growers, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Print

Erwtensoep - Dutch Split Pea Soup

Dutch Split Pea Soup, called either Erwtensoep or Snert, is the perfect hearty and healthy meal to warm you up this winter!

Course lunch, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Dutch

Keyword Carrots, erwtensoep, leeks, smoked sausage, snert, split peast

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb Split Greet Peas 200 grams
• 4 1/2 c Water 1 Liter
• 4 Carrots, Peeled and Chopped
• 4 Celery Stalks, Peeled and Chopped
• 1 Onion, Diced
• 2 Leeks, Diced
• 2 Potatoes, Peeled and Diced
• 2 Vegetable Bullion Cubes or Chicken
• 1 Package Smoked or Kielbasa Sausage
• 2 Tbsp Parsley, Diced
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions

• In a strainer, rinse the split peas very well, until the water runs clear.
• Add the split peas to a large, heavy bottomed pot. Stir in the water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour.
• Uncover and stir in the carrots, celery, onion, leeks, potatoes, parsley, and vegetable bullion cubes. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
• Stir in the sausage.
• Cook and refrigerate over night. Reheat and check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with warm buttered bread.

Notes

This soup also freezes extremely well! Simply defrost and heat through when you are ready to eat it!

The post Erwtensoep – Dutch Split Pea Soup appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

Ah, summertime, how I love you. Well…most years anyway. This year has been a little rough because, thanks to pregnancy number two, it’s like I’ve got my own little built in furnace happening. But most years, summer is one of my absolute favorite times of year, second only to spring. Bring on that sunshine!

Cookouts, lake/pool life, refreshing summer cocktails and cold beer (well, not this year, but usually), cow shows and county fairs, longer days, and of course delicious fresh veggies from the garden! I was able to get a garden in for the first time in a couple of years, and we’ve been in veggie heaven all summer long!

I love taking advantage of what’s in season when cooking dinner. It just seems like everything tastes better that way. So, this time of year (late summer) is my favorite time to make this Summer Vegetable Angel Hair. It uses all of the wonderful things coming from the garden right now (zucchini, yellow squash, sweet corn, and tomatoes if you want them), and brightens it all up with some lemon and basil.

The inspiration for this particular recipe comes from one of my all-time favorite bloggers and cooks, The Pioneer Woman. Seriously, ya’ll, her food is amazing and perfect for manly, simple eaters and more adventurous types alike. Her Summer Stir Fry is made with a lot of the ingredients I mentioned above, but she uses shrimp and her recipe doesn’t have a starch built in. JW doesn’t care for shrimp, so I subbed chicken, and as we all know I’m pasta obsessed so I decided to toss everything with angel hair. A couple other tweaks here and there and we’ve got this super tasty, healthy, and easy dish!

Oh, and if you’re of the vegetarian persuasion, it’d be really easy to make this dish vegetarian! Just leave out the chicken and sub vegetable stock for the chicken broth. Don’t you just love versatile recipes?

How to Make Summer Vegetable Angel Hair:

I like to start out by getting everything, or as much of everything as possible, sliced and diced because once you start cooking, things move pretty quickly. So, get your pasta pot on the stove with plenty of water and salt and get it boiling. Then, dice the chicken and set aside. On a different cutting board with a clean knife, chop up the zucchini and squash, as well as any other veggies you want to add (I like to do some diced asparagus if I can find some that looks good. You might also like tomatoes, but JW doesn’t so I leave those out).

At this point you can heat some olive oil and butter in a large skillet, and start to brown the chicken. Season it with plenty of salt and a little Lowry’s Lemon Pepper if you’ve got it. The goal here is just to get some color on the chicken; it’s ok if it isn’t completely cooked through. While the chicken is browning, slice the kernels off of the ears of corn and mince the garlic.

Pro Tip: for a mess free way to slice corn kernels off of ears, take a large bowl or cake pan, and place a smaller bowl upside down in it. Placing the flat end of the corn on the smaller bowl, run your knife down the ear. Once the kernels are off of the ear, I also like to run my knife up the ear the opposite way to get some of the juices.

Once the chicken has browned, use a slotted spoon to remove it from the skillet and set it aside. Add the zucchini, squash, and then the garlic to the hot skillet. Stir around for a second, then add in the corn. If you’re using asparagus or tomatoes, add those as well. Cook for another few seconds (not too long!) then add the chicken broth. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get up any browned bits, and add the chicken back in. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add some of the basil.

When the pasta is ready, add it along with a little of the pasta water to the skillet, and toss with the veggies and chicken. Pull it off of the heat and add a little of the parmigiana and a little salt. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed. To serve, put it in bowls and top with a little more basil and parm.

Print

Summer Vegetable Angle Hair

When the gardens and farmers markets are full of delicious vegetables, it's time celebrate the fresh flavors of late summer with this easy and healthy Summer Vegetable Angel Hair Pasta!

Course Main

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Angel Hair, Basil, Lemon, pasta, Squash, Sweet Corn, Zucchini

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb Angel Hair Pasta
• 1 lb Chicken, Diced
• 1 Zucchini, Cubed
• 1 Yellow Squash, Cubed
• 2 Ears Sweet Corn
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1/3 Cup Chicken Stock
• 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (approx.)
• Fresh Basil
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Parmigian Cheese
• Salt, Pepper to Taste

Instructions

• Cook the pasta according to the package directions, making sure to liberally salt the water.
• In a large skillet, brown the diced chicken, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once the chicken is browned, remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• In the same skillet, sautee the squash, zucchini, and minced garlic for about 30 seconds. Add the corn and sautee for another 30 seconds or so.
• Add the chicken broth to the skillet, making sure to scrape the bottom to get up any brown bits. Add the diced chicken back to the skillet, as well as the lemon juice and some salt.
• When the pasta is al dente (cooked but still slightly firm), add to the skillet along with about 1/2 Cup of reserved pasta water. Toss to combine everything.
• Remove from the heat. Add 1/4 cup parmigian cheese and some chopped basil. Toss and taste for seasoning. Add more salt, cheese, lemon juice, or basil as needed.

Notes

1. You can add other veggies if you would like. I like asparagus. Tomatoes are also good.
2. This could easily be a vegetarian dish; just leave out the chicken and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken broth. 

The post Summer Vegetable Angel Hair appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.