Baked Teriyaki Salmon

Have we had the fish conversation before?  I think so.  I really love fish, but don't prepare it often at home, BUT I am getting over my fear of buying and making fish.  Remember, fish should NOT smell fishy. If it does, it isn't fresh.  I embarrass my husband when we go to the grocery store and I ask the fishmonger (you know, the guy who works behind the seafood counter) what is the freshest fish they have and if I can smell it.  They always smile and let me take a sniff.  If it smells strong or fishy, I don't buy it.  Really.  Usually it is fine, and I always buy it on the day I am making it so it is the freshest.  It is a nice change from chicken, beef and pasta so I am trying new fish recipes this year. 

This particular Baked Teriyaki Salmon from Tammy's Recipes was delicious.  So delicious that I made it twice in one week.  Everyone loved it and this will be my "go to" salmon recipe for the colder months when we don't grill (salmon on the grill is awesome, but not always feasible for us New Englanders, unless you are my father-in-law, but I digress).

Baked Teriyaki Salmon

recipe from Tammy's Recipes 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen salmon fillets
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (recipe to make your own here)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove minced garlic (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion (or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes, optional
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons brown sugar, divided

Directions:

In a large measuring cup combine the teriyaki sauce, oil, garlic, onion, pepper, red pepper (if using), one teaspoon of brown sugar, and sesame seeds.  

I bought one big piece of salmon, so I needed to slice it into fillets.  You can buy it already sliced, or ask the fishmonger to slice it for you.  Place the salmon fillets in a gallon size ziplock bag, in a single layer.

Pour the marinade into the bag, over the salmon. Remove excess air from bag, seal, and make sure fillets are covered on both sides in the marinade. Put salmon in the fridge to marinate for a few hours.

When you're ready to cook the salmon, remove the fillets from the bag and place them in a shallow baking dish (I used a 9x13 pyrex glass dish) in a single layer (skin side down if the salmon has skin). Pour 1/4 cup of the marinade over the fillets, and sprinkle the other teaspoon of brown sugar over the tops.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until salmon flakes with a fork (145 degrees internal temperature). Don't bake too long, or salmon will be dry!  I turned on the broiler for the last minute to get the brown sugar caramelized and the excess liquid absorbed.

Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.  We love edamame in our house.

Doesn't that look tasty?  It was full of flavor and cooked perfectly.

The salmon should flake easily with a fork, and be pale pink in color.  My 6 year old loved this salmon and told me the brown sugar sprinkled on the top make it delicious. 
Enjoy!

Make Your Own Fort Kit!

I am so excited to share this Fort Kit post with you.  Seriously.  I think this is one of the best things I have ever made.  It is an awesome gift for any kid - boy or girl and it was a blast to put together.  I made this particular Fort Kit for a birthday gift for one of Jack's little buddies.  I think I was just as excited to make this for him as he was to get it!!  The idea, instructions and inspiration for this "make your own fort kit"come from two different sites - Saltwater Kids and Armommy.  I put my own twist on this fort kit, and made my own tags (I'm sharing - here is the link to print your own tags!).

I made the tags in Microsoft Word using shapes and clip art.  Print the tags on card stock paper on a good quality printer (you may want to pay to print this file at an office supply store if you don't have access to a good quality laser printer). It was fun to make these tags and really gives a professional look to your finished kit.

This fort kit includes:  two flat sheets (with loop ties), rope, mini claps, clothespins, flashlight and a reusable drawstring bag to store it all.

The flashlight and clothespins came from the dollar store (I put my own batteries in the flashlight so it was ready to use).  The mini clamps and rope came from Home Depot.

These mini claps are awesome for little hands, and a bit sturdier for keeping your fort in place.

I cut the rope into 18 inch pieces so it would be a good size for tying down the corners.  Make sure you burn the edges of the rope to keep it from fraying.

Wooden clothespins make great reinforcements too.

Every little kid need a flashlight to use when hanging out in a fort.

These flat sheets have loops sewn on each corner and in the middle of the long edges, and the very center of the sheet to help make a peak.

I bought two inexpensive twin size flat sheets at Walmart for this kit.  Since they were for a gift, I wanted to use new sheets.  But I am working on another fort kit for my boys using old sheets we already had at home.

For the loops I used this heavy ribbon that I bought at Joanns. You need 7 ties for each sheet (14 total for both sheets).  I cut my ribbon into 10 inch strips for the loops.

You should use fray check on both ends of each ribbon to prevent fraying.

Loop a ribbon like shown above and pin on the very edge of a corner on the back side of the sheet.

Sew the ribbon straight across and back about 3 or 4 times.  Then sew an X under the line you just sewed to secure each side.  I went back and forth over my stitches on each line at least 3 or 4 times to really secure it.

 Can you see the line and the X right under?

Flip it over and you can see the sewn lines a little better.  Hopefully this shows you what I mean. Continue with each corner of the sheet, and in the middle of of the long sides of the sheet.  Now you should have 6 loops total sewn on.

Flip the sheet over to the front side and find the center. Make another loop and pin and sew in the very center of the sheet.  This will give the kids a spot to make a "peak" for the fort when they are building it.  This is the only loop that is sewn on the top of the sheet (the rest are sewn on the back side).

Here is a view of the entire sheet, with the six loops around the edges and the one loop in the very center.  Complete the second flat sheet the same way as the first.

Fold your sheets so all the loops are on the corners.

 Stack your fort building supplies on top of the folded sheets.

 Place the sheets and supplies inside your bag to complete your kit.

I made a lined drawstring bag to store my kit.  I used this tutorial here to make the bag, but had to adjust the size so it would fit everything.  It took a little math to get it right but I am pretty happy with how it came out. I used the same rope from the kit for the drawstring on the bag to tie it all together.

I loved making and giving this Fort Kit.  My boys were excited about each thing in this kit, begging me to make one for them, so I knew Jack's little buddy would like it too.  Homemade gifts really are the best.  It is fun to personalize a homemade gift using colors, fabrics or patterns that you know the receiver will like. I didn't get too detailed in the instructions, so please email me if you have any questions and need help!

Happy Fort Making (and building)!
Here is the link again for the tags - For personal use only.  Thanks!

Guest Posting over at Delightful Country Cookin'

I am pretty excited to be guest posting over at Delightful Country Cookin' today.  Go on over for an amazingly impressive and tasty French Boule Roll recipe with garlic dipping oil.  This is one of those really easy recipes you cannot mess up - no kneading and no mixer involved.  Now go check it out :)

Pictures by Travis.

Felt Heart Garland

There seems to be an overflow of heart garlands all over blogland this Valentine season, and I was especially in love with this particular one I pinned on Pinterest. 

I decided after getting a beautiful bundle of felt in the mail from my mother-in-law to make my own, and it was definitely inspired by that heart garland on Etsy.  I made mine a little different by sewing the hearts horizontally and closer together to make it more durable (especially with little grabbing hands around my house), and I added a ribbon to each end to make it possible to re-tie and re-use year after year, without ruining the thread.  It was very easy to make, and you could make these in so many color combinations and shapes (I am already thinking of a gingerbread shape garland in Christmas colors for Christmas).

You will need:

heart shaped cookie cutter (or stencil - you can even print one off the computer and use that for a stencil - mine was 3 inches)

assorted felt

2 - 12 inch pieces of ribbon (for the ends)

sewing machine and thread (any color, I used white) or a sewing needle if you want to make this by hand (which you can do, it will just take a little longer)

Directions:

This will make one 76 inch heart garland (28 hearts) plus the length you add with your ribbon on the ends.  You can make this longer or shorter, there is no wrong way to do this :)

Trace your heart on the felt with a pen or pencil.  Continue until you have traced 28 hearts of various or the same colors (totally up to you). 

Cut the hearts out.  I find that felt is easiest to cut using kid's scissors.  Not sure why, but it works best.

Lay out your colors, and then pick them up one by one to make a stack of the order you want them sewn together.

I made my stack randomly with no order or rhyme or reason.  Cause I was putting my type A personality aside for just a bit.  Crazy, I know.

Now before you start sewing these together, it is important to work out any frustration you might have with your sewing machine.  Apparently, I was having a lot of frustration.  I don't remember this, but Adam captured it on the camera so I can't deny it.  For those that know me well, I tend to roll my eyes and make lots of different faces. My mother always told me not to make ugly faces because my face would freeze that way.  I don't listen very well...

Okay, machine fixed and frustration gone...time to start sewing those hearts together!  Line the first one up and sew across the upper middle (I think this was about an inch from the top), back stitching slightly at the beginning to hold those stitches in place.

Right before you get to the end of the first heart, slide another heart right under the sewing machine foot.  I didn't leave any gap in between my hearts, but you can if you want. 

Continue sewing across the hearts under you have sewn them all together in a single line.  I back stitched slightly to hold my stitches at the end of the last heart.

Remember those two pieces of ribbon?  These are going to come in handy for tying your garland where you want it go.

Line the first piece of ribbon up on the back of the very first heart, right over the stitch line, about halfway in.

Sew it in place, going right to the end of the heart.  Now do the same thing with the very last heart in your garland.

Now you are done!  Doesn't that look pretty?

 I really love the assorted colors of felt.

Hang your garland up on a stairway...

 Or over a doorway...

Or over window.  This was so much fun, and really went very fast.  I made a second one for my friend Danielle.  I might even leave this up after Valentine's Day because it is so pretty and adds some fun color to my living room.

Happy Valentine's Day!