Pesto Encrusted Salmon and Beachy Dreams

I have been slacking off lately.
Not only in cooking and blogging, but in housework and personal grooming.
We have a vacation scheduled to take our graduating son to Hawaii for his senior trip.
My husband is self employed which means vacations are few and hard to come by.
If he doesn't work...we don't eat...or pay the cable bill.
As Americans we love to eat and watch our TV!
That being said, I have really been dreaming about that trip.
I love the the ocean, the breezes, and the beauty of Hawaii.
I also look forward to not doing housework or all that comes with being mom.
I want to be Sarah.
I hardly know who Sarah is anymore, I have been mom for so long.
With the kids being 18 and 16 I am going to lighten up on being mom on this trip.
If your shorts and swim trunks need washed...then I guess you'll have to wash them.
If you want to have breakfast...cook it up kid...because Sarah only eats once a day.
I still cook and clean everything at home because as honor students and kids with jobs, I know it is hard for them to get their food and laundry done and keep on schedule.
So I help keep it all moving.
But in Hawaii...Sarah is on vacation.
The problem is...I wish it was here already.
I am having a hard time making myself do what I am supposed to do.
Cooking has been the same old trusted things I can put in the fridge for them, chicken, tilapia, turkey burgers, cauliflower, salads...nothing new...I just haven't felt like it.
When you are personally never hungry it's hard to get creative with food.
But I gave myself a kick in the pants and a pep talk yesterday...'You're still mom so get going!'
I made them Pesto Encrusted Salmon with green beans and mushrooms plus a big full salad.

Pesto Encrusted Salmon:

Salmon fillets ~ we used wild caught from Costco
Pesto ~ from Costco or you can make your own
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup) ~ made from raw milk; grated. From Costco

Turn on the oven to broil.
Place the salmon on foil or silpat lined baking sheet.
Spread with a generous amount of the pesto, you can coat the top and bottom if you love pesto.
Broil in the middle of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the center has lost most of it's deep pink color.
When done I grated some of the Parmesan cheese over the top of each fillet.

Green Beans With Sauteed Mushrooms:

Fresh spring green beans ~ bought from Costco
White capped mushroom container ~ bought from Costco
Kerrygold butter ~ bought from Costco (getting the theme here?)

Steam the green beans for 10 to 12 minutes until fork tender.
While the beans steam, saute the mushrooms in a generous heap of Kerrygold butter until they reach the tenderness you desire.
When the beans were done I popped them into the mushrooms and got them coated with the butter too.

We also had a big spinach salad filled with walnuts, bacon, and hard boiled egg slices.

I hope you try the salmon recipe and love it as much as we do.

Bacon Wrapped Tilapia with Gorgonzola and Herbs

Again yesterday in Ohio was glorious.
In the high 50's and sunny, very unusual for the Midwest this time of year...but who's complaining?
Not me...or my little dog Jack.
My husband is a wonderful boss. If I bat my eyelashes and kiss him in mushy googly-woogly ways he agrees to let me stay home from work.
I batted my lashes and puckered up yesterday morning promising to cook and bake more wonderful Primal food...and do the laundry. How could he resist? Clean underpants are hard to pass up.

My Lunch

It was a great day. I cooked, washed, and was able to fit in two walks with Jackie.
I try to keep proteins always cooked and in easy reach for my family. If not they tend to just grab something that won't sustain their energy as long as a good piece of fish or meat will.
I made turkey burgers, more crackers, some primal cookies, and primal cupcakes.
My favorite thing I made...and sneaked one of them for my lunch was bacon wrapped tilapia with Gorgonzola cheese stuffed under the bacon and some herbs. It was amazing. It was even tasty for breakfast this morning with a spinach salad.
Here is the recipe...

Bacon Wrapped Tilapia with Gorgonzola

6 Tiliapia (mine were large so I cut them down the middle)

2 pieces of nitrate free bacon for each tilapia plank

1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese (or any cheese you like)

Herbs and Spices of your choosing

Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry the tilapia.

Wrap each piece in the two strips of bacon and set on a foil covered cookie tray.

Stuff pieces of the Gorgonzola under the bacon on each.

I sprayed with olive oil from my Misto to keep the herbs on.

Sprinkle generously with any spices of your liking.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes till the bacon is crisping and the fish looks finished.

Ovens vary, so keep an eye on them at the end.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is a yummy way to get more fish into your familie's diet.