Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Salmon Cakes and Granola Bars!

I have a huge love for fish since I grew up close to the Chesapeake Bay. Salmon is one of those healthy fishes with good Omega-3 fatty acids which are great for you. I know that farm-raised Salmon is not as good for you as wild salmon, but when you're in a pinch (especially, a financial pinch), canned salmon is pretty good. The Bumble Bee canned Alaskan Salmon is my fave. It comes in a crazy upside down can (not sure why) and it tastes nice and has no bones or skin. Since I was just cooking for me (hubs doesn't go for it and he was out that night), I just used one can. I mixed it with one slightly beaten egg, some breadcrumbs, mustard and some finely chopped onion. I don't have exact measurements because I'm not that kind of cook. Just season to taste. I shaped the patties with my hand and sauteed them in a pan under medium heat. I just cooked them until they were beautiful, golden brown on each side. I sauteed up some fresh spinach with some chopped garlic to go on the side and I ended up with a tasty, quick dinner. I topped the cakes with a remoulade made from mayo, ketchup, and relish. Totally simple...totally yum.


In my trying to eat better routine, I have been trying to replace my normal granola bar with a healthier granola bar that wasn't gross. I tried to eat a Kashi GoLean bar...no offense to Kashi, who makes a dozen other tasty products, but...yucky. I LOVE Quaker Oats chocolate bars, but they WERE (the website just told me they are no longer made with HFCS which is great) FULL of high fructose corn syrup, which isn't great.

I saw a recipe on the Martha Stewart Show for the No Nuttin' granola bars which are gluten free and nut free. I figured that if I tried the recipe and it worked out, I could add other things to it. I of course...needed to make the first batch...CHOCOLATE CHIP!!!!!

I followed the recipe, here. It's very simple though. You want to combine a cup and a quarter of rice cereal and a cup and three quarter of rolled oats. Mix them together and set them aside. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. I like to keep my dry goods in these sweet cracker jars. Especially the brown sugar, because it NEVER gets hard in the jar and it's always ready to go.



Bring the brown sugar, oil and honey mixture to a gentle boil and continue to boil for a minute while stirring. After a minute, pour the hot mixture into the bowl with the dry stuff. Mix it so that all of the cereal and oats are covered. Pour the mixture into the pan and do NOT flatten out. When it's somewhat cooled, you can pour the chips over the top and THEN flatten.

I was impatient and added the chips right away and they melted a bit, but it's okay. After I let this cool for a couple of hours, I cut them and wrapped them in plastic for easy grabbing in the morning.




They are tasty. They have a very strong honey flavor, so if this is really not your thing, I'd consider using a very mild tasting honey or adding a bit of salt to the mixture. It's a good base recipe and I am looking forward to playing around with it and adding different stuff such as coconut, dried fruit, flax, sunflower seeds, etc. I can't wait to get the official review from the hubby!


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