It stands to reason that my very first foray into the blogging world since having kids would be centered around a recipe that has been a family favorite since my sisters and I were growing up in a home that was a regular subscriber to the Tightwad Gazette - any one else remember that one in your home?! My mother kept many of the articles and years later I still find myself doing some of the same things she instituted into our family's routine.
So. Here I am, mid 30's with three kids (3, 4 and 6) finding balance between feeding them nutritious meals that they won't fight us on and not getting stuck in the macaroni/pizza/hot dogs every night or blowing the budget while doing so. I don't know about you but it seems like there has to be a way to do this and without being stuck in the kitchen all day because while I love making things from scratch it's just not realistic for every meal every day.
Back to this salmon recipe though! About a year ago our local Aldi had their big makeover and ever since I am able to buy fresh Atlantic salmon that turns out amazing EVERY SINGLE TIME - as if I needed another reason to love Aldi more! The price locally is under $8/lb with sizes big enough to have left overs (most of the time) for lunches later in the week. For the marinade, it's a super basic combo of lemon zest, fresh squeezed lemon juice, soy sauce, minced garlic and a little bit of sugar. All of these items are available at most Aldi locations however since we've been avoiding gluten (wheat products mainly) we are now using Bragg's Liquid Aminos as a seriously delicious substitute.
For sides I like to rotate between a savory rice pilaf, gluten free macaroni, boiled carrots or sweet potatoes, and broccoli. Boiling the carrots and sweet potatoes with about a teaspoon (or more if you're like me!) of minced garlic gives the veggies a super savory flavor, add a little Irish butter and they're soooooo yummy!
I find it easiest to start with the marinade, because then while the salmon is marinading I'll start in on my sides which gives the salmon a good 20-30 minutes to soak up those juices before baking.
Combine the marinade ingredients into a large ziploc bag (Aldi's large freezer bags work ok though I prefer the Spartan brand XL bags which fit a larger salmon without having to fold it), add salmon into the marinade bag, if you have to fold it do so with the meat side out, skin inside. Let it sit for up to an hour but no longer.
Once it's ready, remove the salmon from the bag and place onto a lined baking tray (tin foil works really well), leave the garlic and lemon zest on it for extra flavor. Then sprinkle freshly ground black pepper and sea salt (we've also used pink Himalyan salt) over top. Here's where the tightwad tendency kicks in, I close up the ziploc bag almost all the way, press out the air and then throw it in the freezer for next time. I re-use it 1-2 more times which can be a great time saver when the "next time" falls on a really busy weekend and it takes this from a simple recipe to an effortlessly easy one!
Next, bake 8-10 minutes per inch of thickness at 500 F. Using a fork, poke near the thickest part - you're looking for a consistently pink color from top through to the bottom. If you like some browned and crispy edges, then turn oven to broil and set timer for 3 minutes but check on it often. For an extra glazed/crispy top spray with olive oil cooking spray when you turn oven to broil setting.
Now - if your kids need a little extra encouragement to give this one a try I'm including the recipe for Tarragon Cream Sauce. The kids know it as "Yummy Sauce" - it has a similar flavor/consistency to Ranch so it's a familiar look and smell with a little tang to compliment the salmon. I usually mix up a double or triple batch of it for left overs or so it's ready to go the next time we make salmon which doesn't take long as this is on our weekly menu pretty much year round.
There you have it friends, a fantastic dinner that I hope becomes a family favorite in your house too!
Melt in Your Mouth Salmon Marinade
Click HERE for the free printable!
½ cup soy sauce (or liquid aminos)
2 Tbsp lemon zest
6 Tbsp lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sugar
Tarragon Cream Sauce
½ cup mayo
¼ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
⅛ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp tarragon
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