Sweet-Spicy Glazed Salmon & Sweet Potatoes w/ Brown Sugar-Pecan butter

 

While my first dessert was nearly a train wreck, my first dinner on the other hand, went surprisingly well. The only curve ball was the fact that the hidden part of the salmon in the package still had scales attached, so that took a bit of finagling. Those suckers are annoyingly clear. I had to bring in backup to help me inspect every millimeter of the fish. But the rest was easy –I cooked up the sauce, baked the salmon and threw the potatoes in the microwave. Then started mixing the butter – realized I forgot to chop the nuts – chopped the nuts, finished mixing the butter, heated some broccoli and tada! A hearty, healthy meal.

It was delicious. The salmon was sweet and tender. The sweet potatoes tasted like pie! And the broccoli tasted like broccoli (disappointingly). Pretty good health wise, seeing that salmon, sweet potatoes and broccoli are three of the 10 healthiest foods. And my husband happily approved. He can’t wait until I make this dish again. See the proof below.

Sweet-Spicy Glazed Salmon

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
3  tablespoons  dark brown sugar
1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
4  teaspoons  Chinese-style hot mustard
1  teaspoon  rice vinegar
4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

3. Place fish on a foil-lined jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Remove from oven.

4. Preheat broiler.

5. Brush sugar mixture evenly over salmon; broil 3 inches from heat 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Nutritional Info: Calories: 252 (37% from fat), Fat: 10.3g (sat 2.3g,mono 4.4g,poly 2.5g), Protein: 27.7g, Carbohydrate: 11g, Fiber: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 65mg, Iron: 0.9mg, Sodium: 470mg, Calcium: 33mg / Source: Cooking Light, October 2003

Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar-Pecan Butter

Yield: 4 servings

Pierce 4 (8 ounce) sweet potatoes with a fork. Microwave at high 12 minutes or until done. Combine 2 tablespoons softened butter with two tablesopoons brown sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted pecans. Top each potato with about 1 tablespoon mixture. Source: Cooking Light, October 2003