sunday night dinner was little fancier but still super easy to make. it was ready in  about 35 minutes.  this is my recipe for panko crusted salmon with rice and asparagus. (click on the title for complete recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

2 thickly cut salmon filet (roughly 1/2 lb each) - we ended up cutting each filet in half when we served them

5 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of honey or sweet-hot mustard (i used honey dijon)

2 teaspoons of thyme (i used dry thyme but fresh is best)

2/3 cup of panko bread crumbs (plain)

2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro or parsley - i used cilantro

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

2 tablespoons of butter

the juice of 2 large lemons

1 box of uncle bens (or your favorite brand) rice

1 cup of rice

PREPARATION:

first start with the rice since that’s what will take the longest. i added an extra cup of white rice to the mixture because we save leftovers for lunch the next day and i needed to ‘stretch out’ the rice. hehe.

anyway, prepare the rice as per the box’s instructions, just add more water to the mixture.  cook uncovered until the water evaporates and then cover until it is cooked.

now let’s work on the salmon.  first, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and get all your ingredients set up.

in a small bowl mix together the mustard and 1 teaspoon of the thyme.

on another bowl mix together the panko, the rest of the thyme, cilantro or parsley, paprika, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. 

place the salmon skin side down on a foil-lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper to taste.

using a spoon, and your hands, spread the mustard mixture on the salmon.

then spread the crumbs on top of that. like this:

bake the salmon for 12-14 minutes.  it’ll be ready when it is firm and can be easily poked with a fork.

while the salmon is baking check on the rice to make sure it is ok. 

rice is ok? cool!

alright, so wash the asparagus and cut off the ends.  season with salt and pepper.

in a skillet heat up one tablespoon each of olive oil and butter.

cook the asparagus with the lime juice. 

cook them until they turn bright green.the salmon should be ready by now.  take them out of the oven.

look at how pretty they look!

serve the salmon with the rice and asparagus.  and enjoy!

here are more pictures… the red plate is the boy’s serving as you can see by the large serving of rice