Last night I came home from work and felt like doing a whole lot of nothin’ for dinner.  In honor of those lazy nights I present two great dishes that don’t require much more than 10 ingredients total and taste delicious.  Without further adieu, I present Lazy Dinners with Mel.  (If Julia Child could hear me now she’d throw a wooden spoon at me!)

Glazed Salmon 
A little bit of Cooks Illustrated and a little bit of my Chef Ness

1 lb salmon fillet
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vegetable oil
Ground black pepper
1 dollop honey
1/2 -1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard

Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Combine 1 tsp brown sugar, kosher salt, and corn starch together in a bowl.  Pat salmon dry with paper towel and season with pepper.  Then pat in the mixture evenly over the flesh side of the salmon.

Combine remaining brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard in a bowl.  Set glaze aside.

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat until just smoking.  Place salmon flesh side down in skillet for about 2 minutes.  Using tongs, carefully flip salmon and cook on the other side for 1 minute.

Remove skillet from heat and spoon glaze evenly over salmon fillets.  Transfer skillet to oven and cook roughly 15 minutes.  Plate and serve.

Pasta Bianco
Courtesy Jamie Oliver

Before I get started let me just say I love Jamie Oliver.  I love his food, I love his criticism of school lunches, and I love that he named his kids Petal, Daisy, Poppy, and Buddy.  Ok, now that we understand each other, lets move on.

2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp butter
a light dash of olive oil 
1 lb. fettuccine
2-3 handfuls freshly grated Parmesan cheese
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Slowly fry garlic in butter and olive oil without coloring the garlic for a couple of minutes.  Bring a large bowl of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions.  When it’s done, drain it in a colander and reserve some of the starchy cooking water.

In a large bowl, add pasta and pour melted garlic butter over it so the whole surface is covered.  Then toss in the pasta with 5-6 Tbsp of reserved cooking water and the Parmesan.  Season to taste and enjoy!

Growing up in Iowa one might wonder who we support when it comes to professional sports, in this case football.  Well, the answer is we tend to choose from the surrounding states and that becomes our team.  At a fairly young age I chose the Green Bay Packers.  I’m not entirely sure why, but I’m sure it was partly due the awesome cheeseheads I saw fans wearing.  So, this weekend I am very excited to watch my team in the Superbowl!

In honor of this momentous occasion I thought it’d be fun to fix some Wisconsin-inspired food–which basically means I’m going to pop a Lactaid Chewable and go balls to the wall with dairy foods.  Here are some of the dishes I plan to make as we watch the Pack dominate the Steelers!



Recipe and Photo courtesy The Kitchn

 Chili with Pasta and Wisconsin Cheddar

serves 6 to 8

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lb ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots; diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14 ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder, divided
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
kosher salt
freshly-cracked black pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro; minced
1 16-ounce can red kidney beans
2 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted
To serve
Aged sharp Wisconsin cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pound fusilli pasta

In a heavy-bottomed stock pot heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add in ground beef, season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir often till the meat is browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain the beef and transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Heat another 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same stock pot. Add in chopped onions and cook 10 minutes until translucent. Add in celery and carrots, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook another 5 minutes. Add in peppers and cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours.
Stir in cilantro, corn, beans and 1/2 tablespoon chili powder and continue to cook until the corn and beans are heated through, about 20 minutes.
Cook pasta until al dente and serve chili with a generous heap of freshly grated sharp cheddar (preferably from Wisconsin).



Recipe and Photo courtesy All Recipes

 Artichoke and Spinach Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a small baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.
 

Twice Dipped Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Football Treats
Image courtesy Spork or Foon
 
I don’t have a specific recipe for this one but I’m going to experiment tomorrow.  I plan on using my scotcharoo recipe and then dipping it in chocolate, freezing, dipping in chocolate, and freezing one last time.