Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce

I usually don't make fancy salmon recipes.  After all, salmon is absolutely delicious on its own, so why complicate and overpower that flavor?  However, a sale on salmon fillets left me looking for some variety.  

Grilling salmon is actually much easier than I anticipated.  Start with a very well oiled and well heated grill (for quick and distinct grill marks).  Brushing the salmon with oil will also help with sticking.  Judge whether it's ready to flip based on visual cues (about 60% cooked).  The salmon will come up easily when ready.  (Really!)  For more tips head here.

The best part of this recipe is the bonus Lime Butter Sauce recipe.  For my batch I pressed the garlic and used softened butter.  Now I'm looking for alternate uses, such as zucchini, asparagus, etc...

Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce

Ingredients

6 (6-oz) pieces center-cut salmon fillet (about 1 inch thick) with skin

Olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lime zest
6 tablespoons lime butter sauce (below)

Directions

Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).

Brush salmon with olive oil and season all over with salt and pepper, then grill, flesh sides down, on oiled grill rack (covered only if using gas grill) 4 minutes. Turn fillets over and grill (covered only if using gas grill) until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes more. Sprinkle fillets with zest and top each with 1 tablespoon lime butter sauce.

Lime Butter Sauce

Ingredients

1 large garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Purée garlic with lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds.

Original links:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-salmon-with-lime-butter-sauce-1222181
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lime-butter-sauce-1222197

Amazing Omelet Muffins

This recipe caught my eye when someone posted the catchy how-to video on Facebook (also available in the original link).  I decided to try it for myself and was not disappointed.

When I made my first batch, I didn't pre-cook the omelet ingredients.  On the upside this was faster and very tasty.  On the downside there was excess water (from the veggies) that made the result a little soggy.  Next time I'll probably saute the veggies first.

I also found that there wasn't enough egg mixture to cover the omelets, so I had to make more.  I probably made about 6 or 7 eggs worth altogether, but I was using a large Texas 6 cup muffin pan.

According to the original link, you can make a double batch and freeze the leftovers for later.

Amazing Omelet Muffins

Ingredients

4 Eggs
1/4 Cup of Milk
1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon of Oil
Salt & Pepper
Grated Cheese (Your choice, I used Cheddar)
Favorite Omelet fillings (Your choice, I used onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and diced ham)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a frying pan, cook up your favorite omelet ingredients. I chose onions, bell peppers, and diced ham.

Grease a 6 spot muffin tin.

Fill each muffin cup with cooked omelet ingredients.

Top with favorite shredded cheese.

Mix egg, milk, baking powder, oil, and salt & pepper in a bowl.

Pour egg mixture in each muffin cup. You should fill each about 4/5 of the way to the top.

Put in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Take out of oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving or storing.

Original link:
http://tiphero.com/amazing-omelet-muffins

Pumpkin Bars

While making a different pumpkin recipe I found myself with some leftover pumpkin puree and an intriguing recipe on the side of the can, so I figured why not try it?

I ended up making a 1/2 batch and used an 8x8 pan for baking.  This made for thicker bars (more like pumpkin cake) and required more baking time (about 40 minutes).  The result was still delicious.  It was described as slightly savory and not too sweet (although still very sweet and tasty).

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cup melted butter
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cream eggs and sugar.  Add the rest of the ingredients in the order given.  Beat until well mixed.  Pour into a greased 11x17 jelly roll pan.  Bake 25 minutes.  Cool and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Using a hand mixer, blend until well mixed and fluffy.