This is the reporting of 2 Dinners and a Lunch, aka 1 Blech and 2 Yums.

Two days ago C made dinner: Homemade Salmon burgers served with Parmesan & Garlic Tater Tots.  The Salmon Burgers were a fail…not sure why (Recipe from EveryDay Food).  There weren’t even any substitutions!  *shrugging shoulders*.  The Tater Tots were inspired from something I saw on the Cooking Channel.  I looked up a recipe and even though the BAG said to cook the tots at 450, I told C to follow the RECIPE and bake them at 400.  Fail.  Not crispy.  Who wants limp tots??  *blech*

Today I made Grown-up Cheese Toast for lunch.  I make a baby version quite a lot.  I make toast, cover with cheese, and re-toast it.  Simplicity in and of itself. Babies gobble it up.  Today I wanted a fast, simple, light lunch and grabbed the end of a baguette we had laying around.  I split it open, slathered both sides with a Tablespoon of Mayo, and a T of my father’s homemade horseradish on top of that, then layered in beautiful slices of Raclette – a terrific melting cheese.  I popped everything into the toaster and – oh my!  It was a beautiful thing. *yum*

I thought I’d be making fish tacos for dinner tonight…looked up like a gazillion recipes and everything.  When I got home today, I was wiped out from this ongoing cough-fest I’ve been having. C stepped up to the plate and decided to make dinner tonight.  *sigh*  He’s so great!

We had Dijon-Crusted Tilapia with CRISPY Parmesan-Garlic Tater Tots.  It was wonderful! The recipe is from Food.com and SOOOO GOOOD!  We threw the leftover Tater Tots on a 2nd baking sheet and they got totally crispety yummy alongside the fish.  These recipes are totally keepers! All four of us agreed.  Well, mostly.  R refused to try the fish.  J happily gobbled everything. *yum #2*

 

Salmon Burgers from Everyday Food Magazine

Printable Recipe HERE

Dairy-FREE

Ingredients:

5 Hamburger Buns

1 Skinless Salmon Fillet, cut into 1″ cubes *I missed the skinless part and had to cut off the skin when we get home.  If you have to do this to – PLEASE make sure your knife is super sharp.

3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger, peeled & minced

1 TablespoonDijon Mustard

1/3 cup Fresh Chives, minced

S/P

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

How To:

1- In food processor, pulse 1 bun until course crumbs form, transfer to a plate.

2- Pulse salmon in processor until coarsely chopped, NOT pureed.

3- Transfer to a bowl and add 1/3C of the newly created breadcrumbs.  Then add the ginger, mustard, chives, 1t salt & 1/4t pepper.  Stir.

4- Form into 4 patties and coat with remaining breadcrumbs – WAIT!  THAT’S IT!  We didn’t do this step!  Our extra breadcrumbs are in a baggie in the fridge awaiting another recipe.  We BOTH totally missed reading this step.  Crap.  THAT’s probably why we weren’t blown away by this recipe….Aaaaaah.  Ok.  Learn from our mistakes.

5- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over Med Heat and add the patties.  Cook them until they are golden brown on the outside and opaque throughout, about 4 min/side.  Drain on a paper-towel lined plate.  Serve on remaining buns and top with whatever you have on hand.  *grin*

 

Garlic-Parmesan Tater Tots from Guy Fieri

Printable Recipe HERE

Ingredients:

1 Bag Frozen Tater Tots

1/4 cup Olive Oil

S/P

1 1/2 Tablespoons Crushed Garlic

3 Tablespoons Flat-leaf Parsley, chopped

1/2 cup Parmesan, grated 

How To:

1- Preheat the oven to 400°. **We did this.  I’d recommend you doo as the bag suggests and bake at 450 instead.

2- Combine the tater tots and the olive oil in a bowl. Toss to coat, spread on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes.

**Please note that lots of reviewers suggested tossing the tots with the garlic BEFORE baking so you’re not eating raw garlic.  We did this too as we are not vampires.

3- Remove the tater tots from the oven, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a mixing bowl. To the taters, add the garlic, parsley and cheese. Toss to combine and serve immediately.

 

Grown-Up Cheese Toast By Me

Printable Recipe HERE

Ingredients:

1/3 Baguette, or other crusty bread

1 Tablespoon Mayo

1 Tablespoon Horseradish

A good hunk of Raclette or other melty cheese, sliced very thin

How To:

1- Slice open Baguette

2- Slather 1/2 a T of mayo on each side of the bread, top that with 1/2 a T of horseradish per side

3- Top with a thin layer or sliced Raclette

4- Pop into the toaster and wait for the magic to happen.  MmmmmMmmmm.

 

Dijon-Crusted Tilapia By Mika G. at Food.com

Printable Recipe HERE

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise **We used plain ol’ fatty mayo.

2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded, divided

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon horseradish

4 tilapia fillets **We used 1 lb of Tilapia = 3 fillets.

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons butter, melted

How To:

1- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, lemon juice, mustard and horseradish.

2- Place fillets on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over the fillets.

3- In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, butter and remaining parmesan cheese; sprinkle over fillets.

4- Bake at 425 degrees for 13-18 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.