Salmon Orzo Salad

We have a few favorite dishes that we have made repeatedly. Each one of them gets adjusted each time to account for what we have on hand and the season. Salmon Orzo Salad is one of these dishes. Here is a version I made last summer. This time around we were cleaning out the freezer and used salmon, peas, and dried cranberries we had on hand. It's a nice combination of the salmon, the creamy, tangy goat cheese, the sweetness of the dried cranberries and the vinegar and mustard dressing. I think the traditional version with asparagus and scallions is even better, and once spring arrives we will have to make it again. The leftovers are easy to pack and great to take for lunch.



Salmon Orzo Salad
serves 6

8 oz orzo, uncooked
1 lb salmon
8 oz peas
4 oz goat cheese crumbles
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
1 T spicy brown mustard
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 C cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the orzo according to the package directions. Place the salmon fillets in an oven proof pan and cook for 20 minutes (or until the fish flakes easily with a fork). When the pasta is almost done, add the peas and drain it all together. Rinse with cold water to prevent over cooking and sticking. Add the flaked salmon, orzo, peas, goat cheese and garlic to a mixing bowl. Mix the olive oil, mustard and cider vinegar in a cup and drizzle over the mixture. Sprinle the cranberries over the top. Stir to combine. Cover and place in the fridge to let the flavors combine.

This post is part of Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist, Mouthwatering Mondays, and Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesday, Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tuesday Night Supper Club, and Works-for-Me-Wednesday.

Fresh ham with Maple Glaze

I have only been blogging for 3.5 months, but I feel like I have learned so much. When I started, I hadn't really read any other blogs and I definitely didn't have ANY technical knowledge. As much as I have learned, I still have a ways to go. In order to keep learning and growing, I am going to begin a couple of challenges this week. The first is Back to School, Back to Blogging at Kludgy Mom. Kludgy Mom will provide weekly "assignments" to teach us how to improve our blogs. I think there are over 200 people participating, and we are all getting linked up through Twitter, Facebook and Blog Frog. The second program is Project Food Blog at Food Buzz. This program has a series of 10 blogging challenges in which almost 2,000 food bloggers will be whittled down to one winner. The point of this program is to find the best food blogger. I have pretty realistic expectations. I would like to make it through the first round, and gain some exposure. I will be sharing my Project Food Blog challenge post later this week.


Ahh, I love it when one night's dinner feeds into the dinner of the next night. Tonight we had rice cooked in the broth from the brisket last night. Plus, we had some corn, kale and fresh ham. I wish I had a photo of the ham fresh from the oven, but we immediately started picking pieces of the delicious crispy skin, and it quickly went from beautiful to ugly. Even after losing it's beautiful skin, the ham was still tasty. Here's the recipe for the ham and glaze:

Fresh Ham with Maple Glaze
1 fresh ham, 7-8 pounds
1 C maple syrup
1 T brown mustard
1 T ground cloves
1 T chili powder
1/4 C apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Score the skin and fat of the ham in a diamond shape with lines about 1 inch apart. Mix the rest of the ingredients for the glaze. Place the ham in a large Dutch oven skin side up. Pour half the glaze over the ham. Bake for 30 minutes covered. Pour the rest of the glaze over the ham and return covered to the oven. Baste the ham every 30 minutes. After a total of 1 1/2 hours, remove the lid and cook uncovered for another 1 1/2 hours. Continue basting every 30 minutes.

This post is a part of Hearth and Soul, Top Ten Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, and Tuesday Twister.