Here's what's for dinner tonight...

Here's a little secret about me, I'm a Costco junkie. I often go there several days a week. I don't know if it's their cheap hot dog and drink combo or all the delicious food to look at. Probably both. I love to grab a diet coke and wander around the store. I longingly look at all of the food and think of all of the yummy meals that I can make or walk over to the Le Creuset pots that beg me to take them home each week. I bring this Costco obsession of mine up for one reason, I love their salmon. They sell these bags of individually packaged frozen salmon fillets. It makes it easy for my small family to enjoy the fish whenever we want to. I can pull ou two of the fillets, which defrost in only 10-15 minutes and have them on the table in another 15 minutes. It makes for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Quick and easy Salmon

(by Ina Garten)

4 skinless salmon fillets

olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Cover liberally with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Place salmon season side down into the dry skillet. Cook without turning for 2 minutes. Flip salmon over (if the salmon sticks, wait another minute for salmon to form a brown crust) and place the skillet in the over to finish cooking for 5 -7 minutes.

Since I am in a secret divulging mood, can I share another one? This bowl of beautifully colorful veggies makes me giddy. I mean, when I see all of those delicious veggies layered in a glass bowl I just smile and it instantly brightens my day. Does that sound insane? I just love them. In fact, tonight before dinner, well maybe not just before dinner, more like all day, I was in the worst of moods. I don't know what it was, probably just girlie hormoes, (curse those hormones),but I was not the nice fun mommy today. I think my kids were thinking that their mommy had been kidnapped and replaced with Cruella De Vill. But once I cut up the veggies and saw them layered up in the bowl, I just smiled. I had to run and find the camera so that I could snap this picture. Maybe I'll use it for the screensaver on my computer that way it'll brighten up my day everytime I look at the computer.

So, what did I do with all of those lovely veggies you ask? Only my favorite thing of course, I roasted them. I love roasted veggies. Everything gets better when covered lightly with olive oil and cooked until browned. I love the way that the onions get a little crispy and caramelized and the carots get a little toasty. Oh my goodness, I am drooling all over the computer. Another thing that I love about these beautimus veggies is their versatility. I can roast up a cookie sheet or two one night and have them for dinner. The next day I can turn them into several other dishes. I have made them into a vegetable pot pie by covering them in a vegetable gravy and topping with biscuits or skip the biscuits and top with a layer of cheesy mashed potatoes and you have shepards pie. Inevitably tomorrow morning you'll find me in front of my fridge snacking on them cold. What can't these wonderful veggies do?

Roasted Veggies

1 butternut squash, pealed, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into thin 1/2 in. pieces
1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
3 cloves of garlic. peeled
4 red potatoes cut into 1/2 in. pieces
olive oil
salt and pepper
1tsp. dried thyme, optional

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray.

2. Place cut up veggies onto cookie sheet and drzzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on salt, pepper and thyme, if using. Toss to combine and to coat all of the veggies. Spread between 2 cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 45-60 minutes, tossing the veggies and rotating the sheets after about 25-30 minutes. Toss with a little more salt and serve.