Sunday Special: Salmon and Asparagus Chowder

. Well...you win some, you lose some!  That's pretty much all I can say about my effort to make Salmon and Asparagus Chowder for dinner last weekend.  There were some highlights, but for me, they were a little overshadowed by the other pitfalls that occurred.

Sounds delicious enough though, right?  I'm a ginormous chowda' fan, have been ever since I was a little girl!  Growing up in Washington, we had an abundance of seafood at our disposal and Clam Chowder was always top on my list whenever we went out to eat.  MmmMm, thick and creamy soup, chunks of salty clams.  Doesn't get much better than that.

So I went into this having a wonderful vision of what the dish was supposed to turn out like.  And I was more than A LOT disappointed.  Oh, and side note, [good] salmon is expensive so that made me even a little more perturbed that the chowder didn't turn out.

My first mistake happened before I even started cooking!  How does that even happen? Well here's how.  Me and my want-to-be-healthy mind (the key word is want) always looks for ways to cut back the numbers in nutrition facts.  So while I was shopping, I opted for reduced-sodium vegetable broth and didn't even think twice about it.  Well, the "chowder" turned out very bland.  I, of course, ended up adding salt to the entire pan, probably more than what would have originally been using regular vegetable broth.  Nice.

My second wrong step happened during the prep.  The directions called for peeled potatoes, but because of my extensive culinary knowledge, I thought 'The skins are healthy [and pretty] so I'll leave them on, why not!'  Mistake two, check.  Long story short, the "chowder" ended up very soupy and not thick whatsoever.  My analysis of the whole situation brought me to the potato skins, and if they would have been peeled then the potatoes would have been able to break up a bit, allowing the starchiness of the potatoes to incorporate with the liquids.  This could totally be wrong but I'm going with it to make myself feel better.

So there you go, my "chowder" was basically a boring soup.  BUT, I can't just bash on the recipe all post either.  Hmm let's see.  The salmon was phenomenal.  We ended up with some great cuts of fish from Whole Foods Market and it added that great seafoody flavor found with the usual clams.  Also, the asparagus became very soft [but not mushy] and I really liked its flavor with everything else.  Oh, and we bought a GREAT loaf of Wheat Bread from Whole Foods Market as well.  By far the best loaf of bread I've picked out and it was a great complement to the "chowder".

With some tweaks and following the directions correctly [tsk, tsk, to me!], this recipe would be really great.  So do what it tells you and you'll end up with a good ol' chowda' to send off a wonderful weekend!

Also, if anyone wants to see some type of dish on the blog, leave a comment on any post telling me what you're looking for.  I'd love to try out any recipes you maybe haven't gotten to and would rather someone else be the experimenter ☺  Or if you're looking for a certain type of cuisine, let me know.  I'm open to anything!

Salmon and Asparagus Chowder

from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh skinless salmon fillets or 1 (15 oz.) can salmon, rinsed, drained, flaked, and skin and bones removed

2 (14 oz.) cans vegetable broth or 3-1/2 c. vegetable stock

2 c. frozen whole small onions or 1 c. chopped fresh onion

2-1/2 c. cubed red-skinned potatoes (about 3 medium)

1 tbsp. snipped fresh dill or 1/2 tsp. dried dillweed

1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel

2-1/2 c. whole milk, half & half, or light cream

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 (10 oz.) package frozen cut asparagus, thawed and well drained, or 2 c. cut-up fresh trimmed asparagus

Directions:

1. Rinse fresh salmon; pat dry.  To poach, in large skillet bring 1-1/2 cups water to boiling.  Add salmon.  Return to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered,  6 to 8 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with fork.  Remove salmon from skillet, discarding poaching liquid.  Flake salmon into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.
2. In large pot, combine vegetable broth, onions, potatoes, dill, lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper.  Bring to boiling, reduce to heat.  Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Combine milk and cornstarch in bowl and mix very well; stir into soup.  Stir in asparagus.  Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Gently stir in poached salmon.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrition Facts (per 1-1/3 cups):  Calories: 235 ; Total Fat: 10g ; Cholesterol: 39mg ; Sodium: 609mg ; Carbohydrates: 19g ; Fiber: 2g ; Protein: 16g 

Sunday Special: Another Debut!

.  As I've mentioned before, there is zero, and I mean possibly negative digits, of food in our house (shush, dad).  My boyfriend and I basically find our meals from the frozen food section or the deli at the grocery store.  Pizza places have also come to know us by name, too.  As so, there has been a subtle (but obvious) push from both of our parents to try our hand at cooking.  But let me first give you my take on cooking, why I didn't like it, and why baking doesn't seem to have the same effect.

I'm a very impatient person when it comes to certain things.  Honestly, I could live off of veggies, veggie dip, and some sandwiches here or there.  Fairly boring if I do say so myself.  So when I do want to eat, I don't especially care to put the time and effort it takes to create a meal from scratch.  I want it now, actually more like yesterday.  Get what I mean?!  But with baking, you don't NEED desserts to live (well, I could probably make a fairly valid argument against this).  You need protein, carbs, fruits, veggies, etc.  But do I really need a chocolatey, peanut butter-filled delectable cookie?  Prooooobably not.  So in this sense, baking is something I don't mind taking the time and care required to make a fantastic treat.  It becomes more of a hobby then a necessity.

But taking our parents advice (and the realization that we began to hate the grocery store and pizza started to get on our nerves), I decided that every Sunday I would make dinner for two (more like four or five, we eat a lot!).  Why Sundays you ask?  Well, Sunday is our unofficial 'lazy day,' when ours plans pretty much consist of couch sitting, T.V. watching, and puppy cuddling.  Since there seems to be too many hours in this particular day, I figured it would be a perfect time to plan and make [healthy] meals for us.

It's very apparent from my blog that I do not skimp when it comes to decadent desserts.  A calorie? They don't exist when it comes to baked goodies.  HOWEVER, there does have to be some balance in life to offset my indulgences (dang it...).  So when I'm perusing my recipes for main dishes, I tend to gravitate towards healthier [yet still delicious] meals.  Yes dad, it is possible!  

Okay, so I'm not bragging in any sort of way.  But I must say, and my boyfriend agrees, that the three (ha, I know, it's only been three so far) meals I have made have been so very good and filling!  And because of this, a tiny light bulb went off in my head.  And I'm sure we can all guess what that was.

Along with Tried & True Tuesdays, I would like to welcome 'Sunday Specials' to my blog.  Every Sunday (or every other, depending on the time I have to cook) I'll blog about the good [and the bad, but hopefully those aren't frequent] healthy dinner recipes I try out.  As I only cook once a week, these will only show up no more than four times a month.  Don't worry, my baking will always take the forefront, but I still think some people would be interested in main meal recipes.  But if not, let me know otherwise ☺

For the first Sunday Special, I'm going to begin with the dinner we had last weekend: Spinach, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.  Okay, right away I will tell you that my boyfriend stuck his nose up to the thought.  He's a hamburger, burrito, anything large-eatin' kind of guy.  BUT, he quickly changed his tune after the first spoonful of this soup!  It's extremely flavorful, satisfying, and yes, very healthy for you.  He actually told me just today that he's been craving that dish!  WHOA!  Don't let the reduced fat, etc. ingredients scare you off, they're not bad!  There's still plenty of yummy goodness in there.  And another glorious thing about this soup?  It's made in a slow cooker, that set-it and forget-it wonder machine!  No slaving over the hot stove for this meal, thank goodness.  So no more chatter and let's get to it! .

Spinach, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

3 c. water
1 (14 oz.) can reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can reduced-fat and reduced sodium condensed cream of chicken soup

2/3 c. uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

3 c. chopped cooked chicken or turkey (about 1 lb.)

2 c. shredded fresh spinach

Directions:

1. In a 3-1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, combine water, broth, cream of chicken soup, wild rice, thyme, and black pepper.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. 
3. To serve, stir in chicken and spinach.  

Yield: 6 (1-1/2) cup servings

Nutrition Facts:  Calories: 216 ; Total Fat: 4g ; Saturated Fat: 1g ; Cholesterol: 64mg ; Sodium: 397mg ; Carbs: 64mg ; Fiber: 2g ; Protein: 26g

*My Notes:

• For the meat, I simply bought a fantastically tender and moist rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  I used a little more meat than what was called for but that's completely up to you.
• After I added the chicken and spinach, I let the soup sit for another 10 or 15 minutes just to let the ingredients soak in the juices.
• I also served whole wheat (80 calorie) take-n-bake rolls.  We had some French Bread left over (from my baking, shocking) but honestly, we both agreed that the whole wheat was a fantastic compliment.