Grilled Curry Salmon with Macaroni Salad

You still have time to get out there and grill and enjoy the last days of summer. This meal is a great summertime dinner that comes together easily so you aren't slaving in the kitchen.




The salmon has to chill out in the fridge with the rub and marinade so get that started first.




I am used salmon with the skin still on for the first time and I may never go back, but we will talk about that more later.




The rub is simple, lemon pepper, garlic powder and curry powder.




Get it on your salmon and wrap it up and put it in the fridge for a half hour.




While that is getting infused with flavor we are going to create our marinade that is going to boost the taste even more. You need some worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and a little liquid smoke if you've got some.




Mix that up with a little butter that you zap in the microwave for a few seconds to get it melted. Set that aside and lets start our side dish.




I love macaroni salad. This recipe is simple and so tasty. Get some water boiling for the pasta.




Start prepping your veggies. You need some celery, red pepper, onion and pimentos.




Chop them up and set them aside.




Get your macaroni measured...




And throw them into the hot tub.

It should be about time to put the salmon in the marinade.




Pour the marinade in a bag with the salmon.




Get it back in the fridge for another half hour.




Drain your pasta when it is done and rinse with cool water. Get it in a bowl and sprinkle with a little bit of salt.




Use your strainer to defrost some frozen peas by running some cool water over them.




Combine all of your veggies and noodles in a bowl.




Then here comes the big flavor punches, mayo and cheese. The recipe calls for chunks of cheddar, but this shredded worked just fine.




mmm cheese




You can use as much or as little mayo as you like.




Stir it all up and put it in the fridge to chill until your salmon is grilled up.




Pull the salmon out of the marinade and grill it up for just a few minutes. I like mine a little raw in the middle but you cook yours to your liking.




Plate it all up and enjoy! The salmon skin gets so crispy and delicious when you grill it, I have never had it before but I am hooked. The skin also helps the salmon maintain moisture.




The macaroni salad was fabulous as well.

Have a great weekend!!!

Creamy Shrimp Rolls

First of all, thanks for all the new readers who checked me out from my other blog. I also want to thank all of my readers for the wonderful comments. I appreciate each and every one of them and I appreciate you taking a few minutes out of your day to check out my blog so I am not 'Dining Alone!'.

As summer comes to an end for most of you I wanted to offer up one of my favorite summer sandwiches, Shrimp Rolls. You may be familiar with Lobster Rolls but lobster meat isn't nearly as easy to come by (or as cheap) as frozen shrimp. I made variations of this but found a good recipe in the magazine Real Simple.








Easy side dish, chips!




You need some frozen cooked shrimp. I defrost mine in a bowl of cool water while I prep the rest of the ingredients.




I have been using the Debbie Meyer green bags for a few weeks and I am a big fan. They may not save me a ton of money but they really save me a ton of grief of not having to be upset when I go to use an ingredient and it is rotten.




You need a regular old hot dog bun.




You want some kind of green on the bun, I chose spinach.




Line the bun with the spinach and you are nearly done!




Chop up your celery.




Chop up your shrimp.




Add them together in a bowl.




I like to use french grey salt in simple dishes like this, but kosher or sea salt is fine also.




Add in some lemon juice




I ran out of my beloved vegenaise and as we have been trying to save gas I haven't got to the specialty market that carries it. I am using good old Best Foods. Add this in with the rest of your ingredients and give it a stir. I missed getting a picture at this point because I was hungry and it looked and smelled delicious.








This is a perfect lunch for a late summer weekend and you won't spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking. Have a great weekend!!

Beef Chili Stew

For most of my awesome readers the weather is going to start cooling off. We will still be suffering through 2 more months of 100+ degree weather here, but soon it will be beautiful again. Even though it is hot, I get cravings for chili all of the time. This one will be great for this time of year if you have some fresh corn (my sister has tons) and beans to use. I don't but don't let that stop YOU!




This is another recipe from Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen, lets get started.




I am using regular onion and not shallots for this one.




Dice it up.




You will need some tomatoes and chili powder. Use those fresh garden tomatoes if you have them. (you can see the veggies in the background that I chopped for the hubby's taco dinner and his hot sauce, he wouldn't even try this chili!)




Some stew beef is needed also. If you want to do this vegetarian some fake steak strips or veggie crumbles will work. Season the meat with some salt and pepper.




Get some olive oil heating in a nice heavy pot.




Toss in the meat and get it browning.




At this point I almost broke my neck as the smell of browning beef means 2 terriers drooling at my feet creating one slippery floor. I managed to catch myself before I fell on the dogs.




I regained composure and added in the chili powder and the onion and let it cook for about 10 minutes.




Right about now it should be smelling really good in your kitchen.




Add in the tomatoes.




Give it a stir and simmer for 30 minutes. (If you were using fresh veggies you would want to add those in prior to the 30 minute simmer, but since I am using Frozen...)




They will go in toward the end.








Stir them in and add some more salt and pepper...




And let it hang out until the veggies are heated through.








This is a fun change to your regular old beans and beef chili.