Walnut Crusted Salmon

You can probably guess we are back on the healthy eating wagon after a busy holiday of indulgence.  Despite not really entertaining that much, I still did all my usual Christmas decorating and baking this year.  In fact, I had time to do more!  We quarantined for 10 days before Christmas Eve so we could get together with my sister and her husband who did the same. 



It's really nice to have a "normal" evening once in awhile like we did for Thanksgiving.  I try to make it special with decorations and lovely table settings since we don't get to do this type of thing very often anymore.  And with all my extra time, why not?  

The next day on Christmas is when our kids and grandkids came over for our first Christmas with Nick's family since they moved back from Japan after 7 years.  We had a quick turn-around time to put the board extensions in the table so we could all spread out and re-set the place settings.  

                     

Adding a couple of grandkids to the mix raises the fun-scale to a whole new level.

                       

It was so fun watching them open their presents and be so thrilled with all their new stuff.  My granddaughter loved her apron, oven mitts and chef hat I gave her for all our cooking adventures.  Bruce even helped her make some mini Dutch Babies to try them out.  

Our grandson loves anything that has to do with food.  He absolutely loves to eat and he now knows that Christmas is the best eating day of all, especially the sweets!   And there was no shortage of that this year.  

                       

My favorite gift of Christmas was from Lauren who gave us a couple pieces of her original art to hang on our walls now that we have new furniture. 

                       

Even though she is a licensed therapist as her job, she majored in art in college and she still likes to dabble with it in her free time.   I've tried to hint to her that we could always use some of her pieces on our walls and she got the hint!  I'm so thrilled!  All in all, it was just the best Christmas ever with all of us together this year.  We will remember this one for a long time.  

For dinner, I served my usual Mustard-Crusted Beef Tenderloin, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and my sister, who came over on Christmas Eve provided a delicious asparagus, pistachio and parsley salad



and, of course, our traditional Red Raspberry Gelatin Salad.   Our plates looked quite Christmas-y. 

For our cocktail, I made the very festive Raspberry Brown Sugar Bourbon Fizz that I've served twice before for Christmas because everyone loves them.   

                      

Since we had our grandkids here for the first time, I made a very kid-friendly dessert that even the pickiest of eater will eat, Chocolate Mousse.  It's basically the best chocolate pudding you've ever tasted.  Plus, it's very easy to dress up for a special occasion. 

                       

And guess who wanted seconds?  

I am happy to say that I could easily oblige.  But now it's time to get back on a regular schedule of meals so I'm once again following Hannah Freese, RD's December meal plan.  The best part about her plan is that I don't have to think about what to have for dinner anymore.  I often get tired of trying to figure out what to eat everyday but I love her recipes and so does Bruce so it's easy to pick out something to eat now. And a side benefit is that I feel so much better now; more energy, less aches and pains, no cravings, sleeping really good, etc.  We usually eat fish at least once a week for dinner and we love this recipe of hers.  If you're avoiding wheat then this is a good fish recipe for you.   Fish often uses a flour coating on it but the chopped walnuts are a nice substitute.  The little bit of lemon and Italian seasoning adds a bit of kick to it that compliments the fish and the walnuts add crunch.  We've had this recipe a few times and I'm finally getting around to posting it.  We had it with some steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes last night and Bruce added some leftover Creamy Mashed Potatoes that were leftover from Christmas. We didn't actually have a lot of leftovers from Christmas but we will have a lot of memories to think about for a long time. 

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup walnuts, very finely chopped

2 stalks green onion, very finely chopped

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 lb. salmon filet 

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

2.  Combine the walnuts, green onions, salt and Italian seasoning.  Add the lemon juice and 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Stir to mix. 

 3.  Rub 1 Tbsp. olive oil over all sides of the salmon filet and place the salmon on the prepared baking sheets, skin side down.  Spoon the walnut mixture on the top side of the filet and gently press it down with the back of the spoon so the walnut mixture stays in place.  

4. Bake the salmon filet for 12-15 minutes, depending how thick it is, until it is cooked through and flakes easily.  

5.  Divide between plates and enjoy!