20-Minute Baked Salmon with Dill

I hope everyone had a great weekend! School is out for summer here in Richmond, and I can already tell that we're going to have a busy summer. This past weekend, we took a white water rafting trip down the James and had the best time going through some class IV and V rapids. The water level was about 8 1/2 feet which made for great rapids and waves, from Pony Pasture down to Rockett's Landing. We also saw The Bayside Tigers, a 90's cover band from NYC, play at The National. More on both of these Monday-morning exhaustion-inducing activities later. :o) And our yesterday was filled with food, family and Father's Day fun. 

I'm ready to get back on track this week, in terms of regular exercise and eating well. I think it's important to eat fish as a meal at least twice a week, more if you can. Salmon is one of my favorites since it not only tastes great, it has powerful health benefits. With only a few simple ingredients, this salmon recipe is easy to prepare and the perfect under 20-minute weeknight dinner.

If I can find them, Kroger sometimes has two fresh six ounce fillets prepacked so there's no waiting at the counter. If they don't have them, just ask your fish butcher (what is the proper term for this person..?) for two six ounce salmon fillets with the skin removed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a baking pan and spread a tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom. I melted a bit of butter, added in the juice of a lemon, and poured it on the salmon, letting it soak in to get that melt in your mouth taste. You could just rub a tablespoon of olive oil on it, too.

Place the salmon in the pan and season with garlic powder, sea salt, ground black pepper, and fresh dill. I didn't have fresh dill here but a seasoning packet works just as well! I like to bake it for about 15 minutes for a medium rare salmon. If you aren't sure how you like yours, after ten of fifteen minutes in the oven, check the fish for flakiness with a fork...if it flakes easily, this is an indication that the center is cooked through. 

Has anyone had the Mediterranean Salmon yet? I also have been wanting to try out this Salmon with Dijon Dill sauce - yum!

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20- Minute Baked Salmon with Dill

Ingredients

• 2 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Fresh Dill
• Juice of 1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2.  In a small baking pan, spread a tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom. Place salmon fillets in pan. Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter and mix it with the juice of one lemon. Pour slowly over the fillets.

3. Season the fillets to your liking with garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper, and fresh dill.

4. For medium rare salmon, bake for about 15 minutes. Check the flakiness of the fish with a fork to be sure the center is cooked.