Recipe(tried): Salmon Baked in Foil and Roast Pork Loin with Garlic, Rosemary and Thyme - 2 recipes for BG/Chicago

BG, I have been thinking about your dilema and came up with a couple of meals you might be able to pull off with the appliances you have. I hope these ideas are helpful to you. And, do post pictures of your new kitchen. This sure has been a loooong project for you and your DH!

You can do either recipe in your convection oven. If you don't like the combination of herbs, for the salmon, you could use the same method but use butter, tarragon, and some white wine. I imagine you could also do some others kinds of fish using this method. I'm thinking that some kind of white fish with Greek herbs and olive oil would also be good cooked this way. Like Margie, I was thinking of the frozen twice baked potatoes. De Amore makes a very good one that Whole Foods carries. You could also steam some asparagus or peas in your microwave, after the fish is done, to go along with this or just have a salad.

SALMON BAKED IN FOIL
Source: Giada De Laurentiis
Serves: 4 servings

4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets
2 teaspoons olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
2 chopped shallots
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Place a salmon fillet, oiled side down, atop a sheet of foil. Wrap the ends of the foil to form a spiral shape. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely; seal the packets closed. Place the foil packet on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat until all of the salmon have been individually wrapped in foil and placed on the baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.

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This next recipe would provide leftovers so you could have something entirely different the next night, then have this the second night. Again, the twice baked potatoes would be a great side or even nuked sweet potatoes that you could keep warm, wrapped in foil, in your crockpot.

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH GARLIC, ROSEMARY AND THYME
Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 1999
Serves 8

4 large garlic cloves, pressed
4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 (2 1/2-pound) boneless pork loin roast, well trimmed (This is a center cut pork loin, not a pork tenderloin - the cut boneless pork chops come from.)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line 13 x 9 x 2-inch roasting pan with foil. (A 2 or 2 1/2 lb. pork loin isn't huge, so I think it would fit in a 9 X9-inch casserole dish.) Mix first 5 ingredients in bowl. Rub garlic mixture all over pork. Place pork, fat side down, in prepared roasting pan.

Roast pork 30 minutes. Turn roast fat side up. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 155 degrees F., about 25 minutes longer. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

Pour any juices from roasting pan into small saucepan; set over low heat to keep warm. Cut pork crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange pork slices on platter. Pour pan juices over. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

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I was going to suggest lasagne - maybe meatless, using a 9x9-inch casserole dish - what would usually be half a recipe, and using no boil lasagne noodles. You could grill Italian sausage on your George Foreman grill to either have on the side, or do that first, then slice it and use it directly in the lasagne. If you want a vegetable to go with it, you could steam fresh zucchini while the lasagne sits for 10 minutes (most recipes suggest doing this) before you serve it. Cover your lasagne with non-stick foil, and throw some Italian bread on top of it the last 10 minutes.