Frozen Fish

This recipe is unique in that I hadn't intended to change much about the ingredients. The foundation of the Paula Deen's Savory Salmon is pretty healthy. The only modification I planned to change was to eliminate the salt. But in terms of fat and fiber, there wasn't much I could change.

I did make some changes, but my changes were based on what I had on hand.

I used agave nectar instead of honey, pre-squeezed lemon juice instead of freshly squeezed lemon juice. I omited the strawberries just because the ones in my fridge were covered in fuzz. No moldy fish for us!

I took the fish out 4 hours before I started and thawed according to the package. I put the fillets in the foil, added my veggies (so pretty!!) and wrapped them up and let them hang in the oven.



Half an our later, I pulled out the pan and opened up my salmon surprise.

Pretty, huh??

But the fish was stone cold still! Ugh! So I put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

The second time I took it out of the oven it was warm, but not hot. I was so afraid about eating raw salmon (I'm not a sushi eater, unless it's California Rolls, which is not raw) that I thought I'd pop it in the microwave for 60 seconds, just to make sure. While I was setting up my plate, I heard three loud pops. I don't know if it was the skin or what but there were flakes of fish all over the inside of my microwave. Good thing we're moving soon (just kidding, I cleaned it up; I didn't want everything I microwaved to smell like fish)!

I took it out and taste tested a little corner. Pretty blah. Probably because all the good stuff was still sitting in my foil wrapped pan.

By this time it was 7 PM and I was hungry and crabby and I just called it quits and ended up making Grilled Cheese. It was amazing, by the way.

Since the I didn't really make any significant changes AND the recipe was a disaster, I didn't even calculate the nutritional stats. If you want to try it, here's Paula's recipe. Maybe you'll have better luck!!

Definitely Not a Bust!

Rusty and I love to eat seafood...I however, do not love salmon. Therefore, I was not so thrilled to try these salmon croquettes. The only redeeming factor for this recipe was that it was just like crab cakes, without the crab.

I particularly enjoyed this recipe because it required very few ingredients. So many of our new and improved recipes call for every ingredient, pot and pan in your kitchen. That is not something I want to come home to...and as my husband knows....I HATE DOING DISHES!

Four medium patties....

One complaint I did have, was that they kept falling apart. I think if they were deep fried they would have stuck together, but that defeats the whole purpose of this blog :(

I chose the 2 patties that were the prettiest...Sorry Rusty!

The recipe is not very low calorie. The fat was decreased simply because I didn;t deep fry these little guys. Also, you get more fiber using high fiber bread for your crumbs. I ended up eating two of the patties, but 1 probably would have been satisfying. Here are the facts:

Taste: Seconds Please

Waist: Pull out the sweatpants (if you want 2)

Salmon Cakes

2 cans salmon
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tbsp Green Onions, chopped
1 high fiber sandwich thin, processed to fine crumbs
1 tbsp canola oil

Mix all ingredients except the the canola oil and 4 tbsp bread crumbs. Form the mixture into patties. Roll in bread crumbs. Pan fry in the canola oil in a medium frying pan. Cook until the outside is crispy and the inside is heated through. Flip halfway through cooking.

Racoon Repellent

We love Paula Deen's cooking. Most of her recipes look so decadent and delicious that we can feel our salivary glands tingling with anticipation. There are a lot of recipes that look so amazing we both want to make them, but one of us has to bow out. Paula Deen's Salmon Mousse with Dill Sauce is not one of those recipes. Neither of us wanted this one, but somehow I ended up with it. I wanted to go into it with an open mind, so I decided to save it when I cooked for a group of people so I could get a good sampling of opinions.

I spent a long weekend visiting my brother and his lovely family in Charleston and got to see my parents when they drove up for a couple of days. It was the perfect opportunity to test out my lightened version!

I used fat free whipped cream and mayo for the salmon mouse to lighten it up. For the dill sauce, I swapped fat free plain Greek Yogurt for sour cream and again used he fat free mayo.

I didn't have a fish mold, so just used a regular bowl to let the mousse set in. Here's the final product:

And what did everyone think of the final product??

Here's my Dad taking a bite....

Even my lovely little niece agreed to try it...

My mom (who is our most loyal Foodies Not Fatties reader) tried to be optimistic. I'm sure she just tolerated it because she's my mom and that's what moms do.

There was one taste tester who actually liked this "salmon jello," as my brother called it.

Everyone was nice enough to take a bite, but we still had a lot left. Greg (my brother) said he would leave it in the trash to keep the racoons away.

Since I'm out of town, I'm not on my usual computer so I don't have the nutrition graph, so I'll post it when I get back. But I will say that the lightened version cut the calories by over 100 calories and was much lower in fat. So I guess if you're the kind of person that likes salmon jello, definitely try this recipe. But if you just have some salmon, I'd use it in a different recipe.

Taste: I'll Pass!!

Waist: Tighten Your Belt a Notch!

What was the last recipe disaster you tried??

Here's the recipe, if you dare!

Racoon Repellent Mousse (a.k.a Salmon Jello)

Salmon Mousse:

1 unflavored gelatin

1/4 c cold water with 1/2 c boiling water for gelatin

1/2 c fat free or light mayo

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp grated onion

2 drops hot sauce

1/2 tsp paprika

2 c salmon, flaked into small pieces

2 tbsp drained capers

1 c fat free whipped cream

lemon slices

1 bunch parsley, washed and dried

Dill Sauce:

1 English cucumber, peeled, grated and drained for an hour

1 c nonfat Greek yogurt

1 c fat free or light mayo

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, minced

2/3 c fresh dill, finely chopped

Grease a 6 cup fish mold with cooking spray. Soften the gelatin in cold water. Add the boiling water and stir well until the gelatin has dissolved. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lime juice, onion, hot sauce, paprika and mix well. Fold in the salmon and capers. Add the whipped cream and continue folding until everything is well combined. Pour the mixture into the mold. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in a refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.

To make the dill sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

To serve, unmold the salmon mousse and serve the dill sauces along the side. Surround with parsley.

No Fire Extinguisher Needed Here

I picked this recipe because I was getting tired of picking chicken and noodle dishes. When I read over the recipe, I got super excited because it involves setting rosemary on fire! How exotic is that? Nutritionally speaking, Paula Deen's Fired Up Rosemary Salmon isn't that bad to start off with and didn't require much adjusting.

The only difference between my version and the original is I used Smart Balance Light Margarine instead of butter. But the original only uses 1 tablespoon for 10 servings so it's really not much per serving. I used a dash of lemon juice because I already had it and didn't want to make a trip to the store, just to get a couple of lemons.

Once you take the salmon out of the oven, you're supposed to light the 'oven roasted' rosemary on fire and let the ashes fall onto the salmon. Sounds like fun, right? But mine was damp from the lemon juice or the steam and wouldn't catch on fire. So then my BF tried to light and uncooked one, but it wasn't dry enough so it wouldn't catch either. After multiple attempts, I gave up and just ate the salmon as it was. It was okay. It was just lemon-y salmon. Not nearly as exciting as I though a fired up salmon would taste.

Note the still green, unburnt rosemary.

What do you do to bounce back from a bad recipe?

Nutritionally, there's not much difference. The tub margarine provided the same amount of fat, but less saturated fat than butter.

Nutritional Information (OLD) Nutritional Information (NEW) Servings Per Recipe: 10 Servings Per Recipe: 10 Amount Per Serving Amount Per Serving Calories: 427 Calories: 427 Fat: 19 g Fat: 19 g Sodium: 128 mg Sodium: 140 mg Fiber: 1 g Fiber: 1 g

My rating:

Taste: No rating (It's hard to judge the taste because my final recipe was missing a main ingredient-the burned rosemary ashes!)

Waist: Tighten the belt a notch (I know it's high in fat, but it's coming from heart healthy sources like salmon and the plant oils in the margarine, so I think it's a good recipe in terms of health)

Here's the recipe:

Try to Light it Rosemary Salmon

1 salmon filet, about 5 lbs

1 tablespoon Smart Balance Margarine

pepper, to taste

2-3 bunches rosemary sprigs

lemon or orange slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the salmon skin side down on tin foil, making sure the pin bones have been removed. Season with butter and pepper. Place the springs of rosemary and lemon slices over the salmon so that they are overlapping and form a tent over the salmon. Wrap each salmon in tin foil and roast 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.

Remove the salmon from the oven and bring to a well ventilated outdoor area. Light the oven dried rosemary on fire over the salmon. Let the ash fall over the salmon, leaving streaks of concentrated rosemary flavor.