Wild Salmon with Dill Lemon Butter Sauce

Wild Salmon with Dill Lemon Butter Sauce Ingredients:
4 oz. fillets of wild salmon, olive oil, 1/4 c. butter, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. shallots, 1/2 c. pinot grigio, 1 Tbsp. lemon zest, 1 Tbsp. dill weed, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Wild Salmon with Dill Lemon Butter Sauce Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Rub salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, place on baking tray bake for about 12-15 minutes. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, sauté garlic and shallots in butter. Add lemon juice, wine, zest, and dill and simmer until sauce thickens. Pour over salmon and served hot!

*Garnish with a sprig of fresh dill or some capers.

What will be on your dinner table?

Chicken & Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 small diced onion, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 4 bay leaves, 2 qt. chicken or vegetable stock, 1 batch or package of cheese tortellini, 4 c. sugar snap peas, 2 carrots (cut into julienne strips), fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Directions: 
Brown onion & garlic in olive oil at the bottom of a stock pot. Add chicken to pot and remove once all sides are browned. Cut chicken into small cubes and return to the pot. Add bay leaves and stock and bring to a boil. Add chicken, carrots, salt and pepper and gently boil until chicken completely cooked. Add tortellini and sugar snap peas and simmer for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and serve soup hot!

Now I’m ready to curl up in a blanket with a glass of wine, a chunk of dark chocolate and good book.

What is your favorite winter evening ritual?

I didn’t use the adhesive she did, instead I tried DAP StrongStik, Instant Grab Adhesive. I spotted beautiful mother-of-pearl type of tiles that would match the curtain rods and holdbacks in the master suite and knew it would be perfect, since I like cohesive design elements throughout my home. Since the tiles were smaller than the ones she used and my mirror larger, I decided to do a double row of tiles. I placed my mirror flat on my craft table while working on it and to let it set. Hubster will hang it in the guest room soon.

Tile Frame Mirror

Excuse my crafty mess in the reflection of the mirror.

Completed Mirror

What home DIY project do you have in progress now?

Tomato & Dumpling Soup

Italian Matzo Ball Ingredients:
1 c. matzo meal, 4 eggs, 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/4. grated Pecorino Romano cheese, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. basil, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, pinch of marjoram, pinch of sage, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Italian Matzo Ball Directions:
Mix all ingredients together well. Chill mixture in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Keeping hands wet, roll mixture into small balls. You can decide how large you want them, but keep in mind they will puff.

Tomato Soup Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 c. chopped onion, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 28 oz. canned of diced tomatoes, 1 c. vegetable stock, 2 c. milk, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Tomato Soup Directions: 
Brown onion in olive oil at the bottom of a stock pot. Add remaining ingredients except matzo balls and milk and bring to a boil. Pour soup into a food processor and blend until smooth. Return soup to pot and add matzo balls, cook until balls begin to float. Add milk until and stir until soup is well heated. Serve hot.

I dare to call these matzo balls, since I probably broke some Kosher rules. This soup is so filling, I wouldn’t have it any other way though! Maybe I should’ve taken some picture along the way to share. The final picture looks like meatballs in sauce, oops. But I like my soup thick and my matzo balls larger…

What warmed you up tonight? 

Sausage & Gnocchi Soup

Ingredients:

olive oil, 1 lb. ground turkey sausage, 1/2 dice yellow onion, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 shredded carrot, 2 c. chopped spinach, 2 diced tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste, 6 c. chicken or veggie stock, 1 batch of gnocchi, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh grated pecorino romano cheese

Directions:
At the bottom of a stock pot, sauté onion in olive oil. Add ground sausage and break into small pieces, cook until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Add tomato paste, stock, carrot, tomatoes, and spinach to pot and bring to a boil. Allow gnocchi and simmer for about 4 minutes, or until gnocchi puff and begin to float. Top with fresh grated cheese and serve with hot focaccia bread.

Moral: If life doesn’t give you milk. eggs or juice, make soup! haha

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!
What’s on your stove/in your oven today? 

When we first moved in I wanted to paint an accent wall in the family room, Hubster didn’t agree on which wall to use. Luckily the previous owners had already used the same wall as the accent wall, so I used that as my argument to win over Hubster. Then we picked out the colors and Hubster didn’t like the paint chips I chose, he said it was the exact color that was already on the wall. Once it was up on the wall, he agreed that it was a better shade.

A few months ago I decided to have some 16″x24″ photographs printed for wall art. I took the pictures when we were in Scotland a few years ago. He wanted to buy a painting for that wall (Me? BUY wall art for my home? I’d have to really really LOVE it!).

Today I took him to the craft store with me to pick out the frames. He wasn’t too sure about the frames I liked, but he didn’t protest either. I pointed out that they were 40% off and we would get our additional 15% off teacher discount. As soon as we arrived home I cleaned the frames and added my photographs.

Gallery Pictures

Then I showed him how I wanted them hung on the wall. He thought I was crazy to want the center piece raised. I asked him to trust me, and reminded him that he didn’t really have a say in the decor anyway (he can have the basement and garage). After a bit of teamwork, we got the pictures hung on the accent wall and it makes a big impact when you walk into the room. Hubster agrees, I know what I’m doing. The photo doesn’t do it justice, but maybe once I have the room finished, I’ll be able to snap some great photos of the room.

Family Room Accent Wall

Moral of the Story? Always trust your wife, you know she’s right anyway.

Now we just need to move the furniture back…

What was your Saturday project?

Curried Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter, 1 small onion diced, 5 large carrots (peeled and chopped), 2 Tbsp. grated ginger, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 c. cooked garbanzo beans, 1 c. vegetable stock, 1 c. coconut milk, 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. curry, fresh ground sea salt,  fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
At the bottom of a pot, sauté onions in butter. Add garlic, ginger, curry, salt, pepper and warm. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Blend soup in high power blender. Garnish you chopped cilantro, yogurt sauce, curried pecans, and/or red pepper flakes.

Notes:
I look forward to trying yellow carrots in this recipe, one I grow my own.
For Hubster, I added chunks of chicken and many curried pecans to curb his meat cravings.
For a vegan version just swap in olive oil for the butter.

What soup has warmed you up recently?