Honey Mustard Baked Salmon & Roasted Butternut Squash

Today is Wednesday.

Somewhere amidst spelling words, and piano lessons, and a sweet Lincoln Logs building-sesh, all these people here wanted to eat dinner, yet again. What's a busy working mom like me to do when she needs to make a Lincoln Log garage, plus get a healthy dinner on the table, and she only has time for... oh I don't know... say ten ingredients or less? Fewer. Well Amy of Geneva, IL, let me show you the feast you can make your family with just ten ingredients (not including salt, pepper, and water. Don't even start with me.). 

Timing for all three dishes: Prepare butternut squash per instructions. Now prepare honey mustard topping for salmon. Now spend 25 minutes playing with your phone or getting a jump-start on the dishes (HA!). In tbe last five minutes or so of squash bake time, preheat the broiler. Top your salmon fillets with the glaze. Remove squash from oven and put in the salmon. When salmon has been in for ten minutes, add squash back in, to bottom rack. Check your salmon to see how close she is to being done. Make spinach in two minutes. Boom. I did it in 45.

Honey Mustard Baked Salmon 

Recipe by Lillian Chou, Gourmet, November 2008

Ingredients

1 1/2 pound salmon fillet with skin My three fillets were probably 2 lbs. or over. Still worked.

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp. caraway seeds, crushed

3 T. grainy Dijon mustard

2 T. honey

1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

Instructions

1) Preheat broiler. Place foil on a cookie sheet. Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt.

2) Mince garlic and smash it with salt and caraway seeds to form a paste. Stir it into mustard, honey, vinegar, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Spread evenly over salmon fillet(s).

There are so few opportunities in life to use a mortar & pestle, why cheat yourself? Yes, yes, you can use a fork.

This glaze is so good. Rave reviews from the children.

 3) Broil 10-14 minutes. 

Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

Olive oil

Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cardamom or a combo of these I used nutmeg and cardamom. My mom brought me some yummy cardamom. It's such a rare treat, and I have been itching to use it.

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice squash down the middle, lengthwise. Prick flesh with a fork several times. Season it with about 1/4 tsp. salt, a few grinds of pepper, and pinches of your desired seasonings. Swirl your pan with olive oil and place halves face down on a cookie sheet.

I did a little controlled experiment for you, and the seeds are much easier to scoop out after roasting. No problem.

2) Bake for 40 minutes. Scoop out seeds prior to serving.

Halfway done! I like serving butternut squash like this because it is my least favorite food item to peel.

Sautéed Spinach 

Serves 2, or in my house, five. Spinach REALLY shrinks. A 10 oz. tub would be more appropriate as a side dish for five people. Steve loves spinach, but the rest of us are happy with just a few bites.

Ingredients

5 oz. spinach, rinsed

Instructions

1) Heat a pan over medium heat. When it's hot, add in 1 T. water and the spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

2) Using two wooden utensils, flip spinach over and over, stirring it, for 1 minute, or until it wilts. Add a splash of cider vinegar to finish. 

Optional, for more flavor: Heat oil instead of water, and sauté one minced garlic clove for a minute before adding in the spinach. This still doesn't add any ingredients to my list, for those of you counting.