#FastFoodFriday Fridge Freezer Fix

Yes, we're still at home and still braving a trip to the grocery store occasionally. Mostly, we just wash our hands and try to cook from whatever is in the fridge and the freezer. Here's what I came up with for this week's #FastFoodFriday dinner.


In our home, the produce was still looking good, but there was a bit of this, a bit of that and not enough of that one. There was also salmon in the freezer. It has been said that every obstacle is also an opportunity, in this case, an opportunity for creativity. Here's what I came up with: Pan-seared salmon, a beautiful mixed salad with vinaigrette and sauteed scallions to top the salmon.

So, salmon, scallions and salad it is!

To serve four:
one half to one bunch of scallions (sliced diagonally)
1 teaspoon olive oil
In a large pan, saute rapidly and set aside. The onions should wilt and brown lightly.

12-16 ounces frozen salmon (fresh, if you have it)
salt and pepper generously (both sides of fish)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil
In the same pan that you used for the scallions, melt the butter and oil. Place salmon in the pan skin side down and cook until the skin has blistered and browned lightly. Turn and cook the other side. Total cooking time will depend on the size of your salmon. What I look for is the outside to change color and the inside to be pink or red-pink when flaked with a fork. Err on the side of undercooking salmon; it will continue to cook while you dress the salad.

Red leaf lettuce, about 10 cups (use whatever you have on hand)
1/2 cup thinly shaved red onion
one large carrot, peeled and top and bottom cut off. Use a peeler to get long ribbons of carrot
one avocado, cubed or sliced
tomatoes, diced (quartered if using cherry or grape varieties)
asparagus, tough ends snapped off. Shave diagonally. Leave the top of the spear intact.
Toss everything with my simple vinaigrette made by whisking together 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard,  2 tablespoons white wine vinegar and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and you're done.

NOTE: These are the vegetables that I had in my refrigerator. Your's may be different. If you have cucumbers, squash or zucchini, use the peeler to make long ribbons. If you have time and the inclination to do so, you can stack up some of the ribbons and slice into matchsticks. It's entirely up to you and your veg availability, so go nuts and mix things up.

Variation
If you don't have lettuce but there's plenty of pasta in your pantry, dice, chop, slice all the vegetables that you have (including the scallions) and sautee everything in one tablespoon of oil. Toss with your precooked pasta and a generous (to your liking) amount of hard cheese like Parmesan. Serve topped with the salmon.

How's that for fast and fabulous? I'd love to know what you dream up with what's in your refrigerator.


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