A Recipe for Salmon in the Oven

A Recipe for Salmon in the Oven

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

This is the best recipe for salmon in the oven. It's my go-to method whenever we cook salmon in our home and it turns out perfectly every single time. 

Salmon is one of the very few foods that I can count on one of my children eating on a very regular basis, so we typically eat it about once a week. I almost always opt for baking it in the oven because cooking in a pan on on the grill leaves too many variables for something to go wrong (I am notorious for ruining fish when cooking on the stove top and having it get stuck to the pan!). 

A Recipe for Salmon in the Oven:

Salmon is easiest to cook in the oven if you're new to cooking on your own. If you follow these easy and simple steps you'll be well on your way to cooking perfect salmon each and every time. I always line a sheet pan with tin foil and then spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Then I preheat the oven to 400º. 

Next I take the salmon out of the packaging and pat it dry with some paper towels to remove any of the fish juice (yes that is the most disgusting sentence I ever wrote). At this point you can season it in a lot of different combinations. I typically just squeeze some lemon juice on top, season with salt and pepper, and call it a day.

How Long to Cook Salmon in the Oven:

Salmon typically takes about 5 minutes per 1/2 inch of thickness to bake. You want your salmon to reach 145º internally before serving, as that is the recommended internal temperature by the USDA. It is very important to have a meat thermometer when cooking meat so that you easily know when your fish/meat is ready to serve. 

Kitchen Tools to Make Salmon:

To make salmon you will need, a sheet pan for the oven. I love these ones from Nordic Ware. You will also need as previously mentioned, a meat thermometer. You can also use a silicone baking mat instead of lining your pan with tinfoil if you like the ability to reuse and have less waste. 

Ways to flavor Salmon:

There are so many different ways you can season or marinate your salmon to give it extra flavor in the oven! Some of my favorites are:

• Lemon juice with salt and pepper
• Blacken seasoning sprinkled all over the top
• Marinated in the fridge in Italian dressing for 30 minutes before putting in the oven
• Spreading honey and teriyaki sauce on top before baking
• Spreading pesto on top before baking
• Spreading honey and garlic on top
• Sweet chili sauce spread on top

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Small Batch Chili

Small Batch Chili

Monday, July 18, 2022

This small batch chili recipe makes about 2-4 servings of chili and is the perfect recipe to make it you live on your own or with one other person. There will be enough for leftovers, but not so much that you'll have to eat it for the rest of your life. 

Small Batch Chili:

This recipe is a perfect base chili recipe that you can adapt depending on your preferences. If you like your chili to be more spicy, feel free to add jalapeños or more chili powder. If you don't like it spicy, feel free to add less spices to the recipe.  

This recipe can be made in either a slow cooker or on the stove. If you are cooking in a slow cooker brown the meat in a pan on the stove, and then throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on low all day long.  If you're cooking in a pot on the stove follow the recipe card below.

Ingredients for Chili:

For this chili recipe you will need quite a few ingredients, all of them are easily accessible at your regualr grocery store. You will need:

• 1/2lb Ground beef
• 1/4 cup Onion
• 1/2 cup Canned Diced Tomatoes
• 1 8oz can Tomato Sauce
• 1 can Mild Chili Beans, don't drain/rinse
• 1/2 cup Canned Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup Frozen Corn
• 1/2 tbsp Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded cheese, sour cream, and chips for optional garnish

Tips for Small Batch Cooking:

With this recipe you use a lot of small quantities of ingredients, that may involve opening a lot of cans and not using all of the contents. If you're frequently making small batch recipes, it is a good practice to store excess ingredients in plastic bags and store them in the freezer until the next time you need them. I do this by sealing them in the bag, writing what it is on the bag, along with the date. Ingredients can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. 

This recipe uses a 1/2 pound of ground beef. You can either buy a pound at the grocery store and freeze half of it, or you can go to the butcher counter at the store and ask them to give you 1/2 a pound of ground beef. The latter option will help save money on food expenses. 

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Single Serve Lasagna

Single Serve Lasagna

Monday, March 8, 2021

Single Serve Lasagna is perfect for people who live on their own and want the warm comfort of lasagna without an insane amount of leftovers. Perfect for an easy and comforting weeknight meal.

Lasagna was one of the very first dishes I really learned to make when I first got married. This is a smaller version of that same recipe I used to make, and it comes together so quickly. This single serve lasagna comes together with just 5-6 ingredients (depending on if you want meat!), and cooks in a little under an hour! 

Single Serve Lasagna:

This single serve lasagna comes together with lasagna noodles, your choice of sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and an optional meat of your choice. You could easily brown a quarter pound of Italian sausage or ground beef to mix in with your tomato sauce, or simply leave it out. It's delicious either way!

Small Casserole Dish:

I recently purchased this small casserole dish off of Amazon a few weeks ago and have really loved it for these smaller recipes. It's small enough that you're not using a super large casserole dish, but is big enough for either one really big serving, or enough food to have dinner one night, and leftovers the next day as well. It holds up great in the oven, comes in a lot of fun colors, and is a great piece to have in your kitchen if you're cooking for one. 

Lasagna with Oven Ready Noodles:

I cannot be bothered to boil noodles ahead of time when making lasagna. I've literally never done it because I always use the oven ready noodles. For a long time Barilla was the only brand at the store that carried them, but I tried the generic Walmart brand when making this recipe and they turned out great. Seriously, save yourself the work and get the oven ready noodles. You won't regret it. 

Single Serve Lasagna Notes:

• The noodles will be longer than the baking dish, simply break them apart to fit the length and then use the little broken bits to fill in the cracks. 
• Adding ground beef or ground sausage is a great way to add some protein and more flavor into this dish, although totally optional!
• Using the oven ready noodles is the way to go for this recipe, but if you get regular noodles, simply boil them ahead of time. 
• I used about four complete noodles for this entire dish.
  

Yield: 1

Author: Paige Flamm

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Single Serve Lasagna

Single Serve Lasagna is perfect for people who live on their own and want the warm comfort of lasagna without an insane amount of leftovers. Perfect for an easy and comforting weeknight meal.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Ingredients

• 4 Lasagna Noodles
• 1 cup Spaghetti Sauce of Choice
• 2/3 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 2/3 cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1/4 Parmesan
• 1/4lb Ground Beef or Sausage (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º.
2. If you're using meat, brown your meat in a pan on the stove over medium high heat until cooked all the way through. Once cooked drain off any excess liquid and mix into your tomato sauce. 
3. Spread 1/3 cup sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer two lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. They likely won't fit perfectly in the pan so you may have to break them to fit. 
4. Spread 1/3 cup ricotta on top of the noodles. Then sprinkle 1/3 cup mozzarella on top, followed by 1/4 cup parmesan.
5. Spread another 1/3 cup on top of the parmesan layer and spread it evenly across the entire dish. 
6. Next lay two more noodles on top of the sauce layer, breaking to fit into the pan as needed. 
7. Pour your remaining 1/3 cup sauce on top of the noodles and then cover with tinfoil.
8. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, then uncover the dish, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of mozzarella on top, and bake uncovered for 2-3 more minutes until the cheese is melted.
9. Remove from oven and serve immediately. 

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Single Serving Mac N Cheese

Single Serving Mac N Cheese

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Single serving mac n cheese is a quick 10 minute lunch recipe you can make anytime you need some delicious and wholesome comfort food. 

Does anyone else think that boxed mac n cheese tasted significantly better when they were 12 versus being a full grown adult? I swear it used to taste good, and now it just tastes well... gross. No shame on anyone who loves it. I have found that it's just as easy for me to make homemade mac n cheese as it is to make it from a box, and that's what we've opted for in our home for the last few years. This single serving mac n cheese makes the perfect small batch amount to eat for lunch, dinner, or whenever you need a comfort food fix. 

Single Serving Mac N Cheese:

This single serving mac n cheese recipe is made on the stove top in just about 10 minutes. All you need to do is cook your elbow macaroni, and while that is boiling, prepare your cheese sauce. For the cheese sauce you're going to melt some butter in a pan, then whisk in some flour. Combine the butter and flour together until it gets bubbly, then stir in the milk. Once the milk is well combined, stir in the cheese until it's all melted and a smooth texture throughout. When the macaroni is done cooking, drain off all the excess water, toss with the cheese sauce, and serve immediately. 

How to Make a Roux for Mac N Cheese:

As mentioned previously, part of this recipe involves making a roux. This means you're using a combination of butter and flour to make the base for your dish that will help to thicken and add body to the sauce. For this particular roux, you will melt 1 tbsp butter in a man on medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle in 1 tbsp of all purpose flour. Stir them together until well combined and the mixture begins to bubble. At this point you'll add in your milk, stir until well combined, and then add in your shredded cheese, again, stirring until it all comes together and is velvety smooth. 

Single Serving Mac N Cheese Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Elbow Macaroni
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg (optional)
• 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Healthy Mac N Cheese Recipe Variations:

While I'm a total fan in full fat dairy, always, I recognize some people might want some ideas of ways they can make this meal more macro friendly, or lower calorie. You do you! Here are some ideas:

• Use a plant based protein pasta such as chickpea or red lentil pasta
• Use a lower calorie milk such as skim, or a plant based option
• Use a lighter cheese such as part-skim mozzarella

Yield: 1

Author: Paige Flamm

Single Serving Mac n Cheese

Single serving mac n cheese is a quick 10 minute lunch recipe you can make anytime you need some delicious and wholesome comfort food.

Cook time: 10 MinTotal time: 10 Min

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Elbow Macaroni
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg (optional)
• 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Instructions

1. Boil your macaroni according to the package instructions. 
2. While you're waiting for the macaroni to cook, start on the cheese sauce. 
3. In a pan on medium high heat, melt 1 tbsp butter. When the butter is melted sprinkle in 1 tbsp flour. Whisk together until well combined and the mixture starts to bubble. 
4. At this point, whisk in 1/2 cup milk, and continue whisking. Finally, add in the 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, and whisk until velvety smooth. 
5. Finish your cheese sauce by stirring in your desired spices. 
6. When the macaroni is done cooking, drain off all the excess water and add your drained pasta to the cheese sauce mixture. stir to coat, and then serve!

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