Gorton's Grilled Salmon with Mango Avocado Salsa

Fit Friday returns with another Gorton's Seafood recipe.  I also have the winner for the Real Fabulous
Giveaway!  (Psssst...you have to read all the way to the bottom to see the winner.)  I am so in love with Gorton's products.  They are so versatile and simple to prepare.  Add a great side dish like this salsa, or the Cilantro Lime Rice that I served up with it, and you have an easy weeknight meal.

The salsa is fruity, but you have to make sure you get a good mango.  Look for one that is slightly soft,
golden and red in color.  If they are ripe, they will sometimes have a fruity aroma around the ends.  Be careful when cutting up the avocado and when you toss the salsa - too much handling can make it mushy.  This recipe is super simple and so light and fresh.  It's perfect for the Summer, it's gluten free, and perfect for anyone looking to improve their diet.

Gorton's Grilled Salmon

with Avocado Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

2 packages Gorton's Grilled Salmon
1 mango
1 avocado
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro finely chopped
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Chop mango into small chunks (if you haven't ever cut up a fresh mango, there is a great tutorial here.)  Chop avocado into small chunks as well.  Put both in a medium bowl.  Add red onion, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Toss gently to mix.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge until ready to serve.

2. Prepare salmon fillets according to package instructions.

3. Place salmon on plate and spoon salsa over the top.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4

And now, for the winner of the Real Fabulous Giveaway.........Congratulations to...........

LAURIE MURLEY!

Laurie, please email me with your address so I can get your prize mailed off to you!  Congratulations again, and thank you everyone for entering!

This giveaway is sponsored by Gorton's® Seafood.  

I have been compensated for my time in product.  

All opinions are my own and 100% true.

#RealFabulous #sponsored

Continue Reading... »

Cran-Raspberry Jello Salad

So we're almost to turkey day.  Did you get your turkeys taken out of the freezer over the weekend?  Our turkey is a 20 pounder (BIG BIRD!) and I'm injecting that bad boy full of lovely marinade on Wednesday night.  So I put it in the fridge Friday night.  The stuffing is made and in the freezer.  The rolls are made up to the second rise and are waiting in the freezer.  All that's left is pie.  And one other family tradition - Cran-Raspberry Jello Salad.

This is something that has become a staple at the dinner table on holidays.  I don't remember one single Thanksgiving without it - even at my grandparents' house.  My mom would make it and bring it because it was in such high demand.  Yes, it's a jello salad.  I understand that.  But it's such a wonderful twist on traditional cranberries at Thanksgiving.  But you must use the cranberry sauce, NOT whole cranberries.  That way it can dissolve right into the gelatin.  It's such a nice combination of sweet and tart.

Cran-Raspberry Jello Salad

Ingredients:

1 can cranberry sauce
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 small box raspberry gelatin
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped pecans
8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Pour cranberry sauce into a 9x13 inch pan.  Using a fork, mash sauce until no chunks remain.

2. Drain crushed pineapple, saving juices.  Combine juice, lemon juice and enough cold water to make 3/4 cup.  Set aside.

3. Dissolve raspberry gelatin in boiling water.  Pour over cranberry sauce and whisk until sauce is dissolved.  Add cold juice/water mixture.  Whisk until combined.  Add pineapple and chopped pecans.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill overnight or until set.

4. After set, cream together cream cheese and sour cream.  Add sugar.  Beat on high speed to whip together.  Spread over top of salad, cover again with plastic wrap, and put salad back in fridge.  Chill for a minimum of 1 hour before serving.

Serves 12

Continue Reading... »

Fruit Dip

Summer is officially here and I SO love fresh fruit during this season.  I only wish we had more here in the desert.  One of my favorites is frozen grapes.  Yup.  I said it.  Frozen grapes!  You should try them sometime.

Sometimes I prefer to have a little something sweet to counter the tart that comes with some fruit.  This fruit dip is light, sweet, with a little sourness from the cream cheese.  But it is addicting.  I even had the Hubs and the Kiddos topping their desserts with it after dinner.

Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 container  (8 oz.) Cool Whip, frozen
7 oz. marshmallow creme
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients with a hand mixer.  Whip on high speed until smooth.  Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Makes 2 cups

Follow me on Facebook

Continue Reading... »

Grilled Pineapple with Coconut Caramel Sauce

Can you tell it's Summer yet?  I'm starting to wonder if I'll make it one entire Summer on one tank of propane for my grill.  But I just simply cannot resist, because everything is better grilled!  Including fruit.  Yes, you CAN grill fruit.  One of my favorites is pineapple.




Do you know how to pick out a good pineapple?  It's not just color, my friends.  If you pluck one of the center leaves and it gives you a little resistance, it's perfect.  Comes out easily, over ripe.  You have to pry it out with pliers, not ready for eating.  That's it, I've been using that method since college and it's never steered me wrong.

Afraid of warm fruit?  Think that the only way to eat it is cold?  Think about it, there are so many desserts that have warm fruit - pies, cobblers - why not try the whole fruit.  But of course, you have to add a side of ice cream to it to sweeten the deal.  And this version even has a little caramel sauce to coat it with for grilling and to drizzle over the ice cream.  Seriously refreshing in the summer.  So yup, go warm up your grill, and pull out the fruit.

Grilled Pineapple with Coconut Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

1 whole, fresh pineapple
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to high.


2. Peel, slice, and core the pineapple.  (You can either leave the pineapple in quarters/wedges, or you can slice it into smaller pieces.) Shake the coconut milk well before opening the can. Pour half of it into a shallow bowl. Pour 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a small bowl and stir with a fork or spoon to combine.


3. In a medium bowl, combine remaining coconut milk, sugar, and cinnamon.  Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

3. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Brush each pineapple slice on both sides with coconut milk, and sprinkle, also on both sides, with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Arrange the slices on the hot grate, and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side.

4. Transfer to serving plates and serve with vanilla ice cream and coconut caramel sauce.

Serves 4-6

Continue Reading... »

Frog Eye Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked acini de pepe pasta
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
1 20 oz. can chunk pineapple
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 beaten egg yolk
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 15 oz. can mandarin oranges
3 medium bananas

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in medium saucepan for 7-8 minutes, or until tender.  Drain well and place in a large bowl.  Drain both cans of pineapple and reserve juice for sauce.  Place pineapple in bowl with pasta.

2. Combine sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Add pineapple juice and whisk until sugar/cornstarch is dissolved. Cook over medium heat until thick and clear. Pour half the mixture in with the egg yolk and then pour back into saucepan. Cook for 1 minute and then remove from heat. Add lemon juice. Whisk well and pour into bowl with pasta. Allow pasta and sauce to chill overnight (sauce will thicken, so do not worry about adding more cornstarch!).

3. Drain oranges VERY well. Dice apricots. Combine with pineapple and add to pasta/sauce mixture. Chill until ready to serve. Right before serving, slice bananas into salad (if you do it right before, you'll keep the bananas from going brown).

Tip: You can also add cut up strawberries, blueberries, practically any combination you would like.  

Serves 8

Continue Reading... »