Dinner in 20 Minutes & One Pan! Healthy & Delicious!

This meal is not only delicious, it is easy, fast, and healthy! What more is there to ask for? Oh yes, very little clean up! How about everything made in one pan and under 20 minutes? Yes, it is possible…

The other night it was just my husband and I home for dinner.  A night without kids in the summer does not happen very often. I had been traveling and did not realize that the cupboards were pretty bare. Needing dinner, my husband and I were about to head out the door for a bite to eat, when I remembered that it was Thursday; in our hometown that means Thursday night music. A great night out, but we had other things to take care of and did not want to get caught up with the crowds of people.So back to the freezer and fridge, I hunted high and low. I came up with three items that I thought would go together: a piece of frozen salmon, a bag of frozen roasted peppers and onions from Trader Joe’s, and half a bag of fresh spinach. Perfect! Plus a little extra-virgin olive oil, Lawry’s seasoned salt, and pepper.  That was all that I needed.

First thing – I pulled out my deep sauté pan, added a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil (one quick turn around the pan), and dumped in the whole bag of peppers.Second – I thawed the salmon in the microwave.  I discovered that my microwave does not have a thaw setting, and I hardily ever thaw in the microwave.  So I just set the power setting to 2 (from 10) and thawed for 2 minutes at a time. Turning salmon ever each time until fully thawed.  While thawing the salmon I continued to toss and stir the peppers.Third – Once the peppers were heated through I removed them from the pan and set them aside on a plate. I sprinkled both sides of the thawed salmon with pepper and Lawry’s seasoned salt before I added them into the sauté pan.  With the heat set to med-high I cooked one side of the salmon for four minutes, turned over and sautéed for an additional 3 minutes.  Salmon is done when firm to the touch.

Finally – I removed the salmon from the pan and set aside.  I returned cooked peppers to the pan and added in half a bag of spinach.  I sautéd the spinach and peppers together just until the spinach was wilted.  I placed peppers and spinach on plates and topped with the salmon.