Late Girl's Guide: Spinach & Parmesan Salmon

Quick, healthy and definitely not your basic salmon

Whenever I'm in the mood for a lighter meal, my first thought is seafood. Salmon, in particular, is a favorite. I wanted to update my regular baked salmon for something more interesting, and by stuffing it with fresh spinach and parmesan, I definitely accomplished that. 

The great thing is the cook time is the same as classic baked salmon, but the outcome is much tastier. I served it on a simple spinach salad with dried cranberries, but it would pair well with any of your favorite sides. 

Ingredients

Salmon 
Spinach
Fresh Parmesan
Salt + Pepper

Steps

1. Clean and prep salmon. Season with salt +  pepper.

2. Cut a slit into the salmon for the spinach and  parmesan stuffing.
3. Bake salmon at 375 degrees F in foil-covered pan for 35- 45 minutes until flaky.

The LATE GIRL'S GUIDE IS A SERIES OF QUICK, SIMPLE RECIPES AND HOW-TOS FOR THE GIRL WISHING SHE HAD JUST 15 MORE MINUTES.

Late Girl's Guide: Lemon Butter Shrimp

Ever since I discovered The Spiralizer, I've been trying make "voodles" (vegetable noodles) out of everything. My favorite are "zoodles," and combined with fresh summer flavors of lemony, buttery, garlicky seafood, this has to be my favorite recipe. 

1. Clean shrimp, season with garlic salt, seafood seasoning, or any seasoning of your preference.

2. Sautè shrimp in pan with a generous amount of butter and lemon juice. 

3. While the shrimp cooks, turn your zucchinis into zoodles (zucchini noodles) with a spiralizer. See the magic happen here here. 

4. As the shrimp are nearing a  completion, throw the zucchini noodles on top to cook. Add more seasoning & butter as desired to coat the noodles.

5. I like to drain the excess water that the zoodles produce and put it back on the stove, add more seasoning and let it cook for a final 3 minutes.  

Note: 1 large zucchini is about a serving of noodles.

LATE GIRL'S GUIDE   The Late Girl's Guide is a series of quick, simple recipes and how-to's for the girl wishing she had just 15 more minutes. more late girl's guide here

late girl's guide | california flatbread pizza

I first tried flatbread pizza at Chili's - glamorous right? But it was flavorful, filling and a plus, much lighter than traditional pizza. Looking at my wiped-clean plate, I knew I needed to have this in my life on a regular basis, meaning, I needed to get in the kitchen.  The great thing about this recipe is that it's super customizable and cooks in the blink of an eye.

 

 

1. Cook the bacon to your crisp preference. In the same pan cook your meat (I chose shrimp because it cooks fast). The flavor of the bacon transfers over nicely.

 2. Prep your tomatoes and avocado. Crumble your bacon.

3. On your flatbread, sprinkle cheese, bacon, shrimp, and tomatoes. I used a Flatout Wheat Flatbread as a healthier option.

4. Bake in oven at 350°F for 15 minutes or until edges get crisp.

5. After baking, add diced avocados and drizzle chipotle ranch dressing over your pizza. Eat & enjoy!

 

late girl's guide | date night dinner

If there's one golden nugget of mom advice I've gotten regarding food that I stick to, it's this: if you love to eat, you'd better know how to cook. And trust me, I love to eat. That said, the older I've gotten the more excited I am about cooking (especially now that I have someone to cook for. If it were just for me I'd just survive off of whatever was in the pantry.)

The one thing that gets in the way of that these days is time, or the lack thereof. Eating at restaurants are more convenient but it'll leave you thinking, "did I spend that much on eating out this week alone? Good lord." To save money and use the little time I have wisely, I've been experimenting with faster recipes like this flavorful one for lemon pepper tilapia.

Once you've got all of your ingredients, you're set.

1. Season the tilapia according to your taste.
2. Butter the baking dish and put dabs of butter on the fish. 
3. Squeeze some lemon juice over the tilapia.
4. bake at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes if fresh or 15-20 if frozen. 
Lemon pepper tilapia is light, fresh and flavorful. It goes well with just a salad, mixed veggies or rice pilaf (from a box to save time, obviously).