Cajun Quinoa, Baked Salmon and Summer Green Beans

I’m so glad to be back home, and able to cook in my own kitchen. The food on our cruise was amazing, but there’s nothing quite like your own style of cooking. On the last few days of the cruise I was actually daydreaming about what I was going to cook first when I got home. Would it be one of my favorite hearty salads, something on the grill or maybe some fried chicken?

My first stop was the grocery store when we got back from vacation. I picked up a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables and when I was there, and I spotted some of my favorite fish, Copper River Salmon. I couldn’t wait to get it back home and make it for dinner.

The recipes I used for this dinner was from McCormick FlavorPrint, a new system of recipe recommendations, which offer personalized suggestions tailored to your personal flavor profile. McCormick wants to revolutionize the way people plan, shop, cook and eat and to it easier to put something on the table that the whole family will enjoy. FlavorPrint recommendations are powered by the flavors you love. These recommendations also consider foods you might be trying to avoid, specific dietary preferences, how you like to cook and ingredients you typically have in your cabinets.

Admittedly when I first read about this, I had my doubts. I mean how can a simple online survey help steer you in the direction of recipes that you’ll actually love? So I got started with FlavorPrint by simply answering a series of questions about my flavor preferences. It took all of maybe 2 minutes, and I just answered questions like do you like chocolate. I really didn’t think it would work, because my answer to just about every question was yes. There’s not many foods I don’t like.

But each person has a unique flavor “fingerprint” that is conveyed through a distinct visual mark, which has 33 “spikes” to represent different flavors in their personal flavor profile. The bigger the spike, the more prominent the flavor. This service compares each person’s FlavorPrint mark with thousands of ingredients, recipes and products – each with its own FlavorPrint mark – and recommends the best matches.

After I went through all the questions, I started searching recipes, and came up with the three recipes you see pictured for dinner. I printed out the ingredients, made a few adjustments based on the ingredients I had on hand and got to work in the kitchen.

The quinoa recipe was actually a couches recipe that I changed. It turned out amazing. For the salmon, I substituted Copper River salmon and added some lemon, and for the green beans, I kept them the same.

All three recipes came out amazing, and my family raved about each dish. It was actually the first time in a while my son ate all his veggies. I guess I’m going to have to stop making ordinary steamed veggies and start seeking out some more flavor filled recipes for our fresh veggies, because this meal was amazing!

And the more you use FlavorPrint, and the more you share through recipe interactions or refining your profile, like cooking styles and ingredients and equipment you typically have on hand, the smarter your recommendations become. After I made these recipes, I went in and updated my information and I found even better recipes that I’ve already tried and also loved.

Get started today by visiting McCormick.com/FlavorPrint.

Yield: Serves 4

Cajun Quinoa, Baked Salmon and Summer Green Beans

5.00 stars (1 reviews)

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Ingredients:

For the Baked Crusted Salmon:
1 teaspoon McCormick® California Style Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Lawry's® Seasoned Salt
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Dill Weed
1 pound salmon fillets
2 teaspoons oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice

For the Cajun Quinoa Salad:
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Perfect Pinch® Cajun Seasoning , divided
1 cup quinoa
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey

For the Herbed Summer Green Beans:
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Rosemary Leaves , finely crushed
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Thyme Leaves
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt from McCormick® Sea Salt Grinder
1/8 teaspoon McCormick® Black Pepper, Ground

Directions:

For the Baked Crusted Salmon:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix seasonings in small bowl.

Place fish, skin-side down, in lightly greased baking pan. Lightly brush with oil. Sprinkle seasoning mixture evenly over fish. Sprinkle fish with lemon juice.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

For the Cajun Quinoa Salad:
Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon of the Seasoning to boil in medium saucepan on high heat. Stir in quinoa. Cover. Simmer for 10 - 12 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Spoon quinoa into large bowl. Cool about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally with fork. Add celery, bell pepper and onion; toss to mix well.

Mix lemon juice, oil, honey and remaining 2 teaspoons Seasoning in small bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Add to quinoa mixture; toss to coat well. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the Herbed Summer Green Beans:
Bring beans and water to cover to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low; simmer 4 to 6 minutes or until tender-crisp. Drain. Return beans to saucepan.

Toss with vinegar, oil, rosemary, thyme, sea salt and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through.

RECIPE NOTES:

Recipes from Mccormick.com.

All text and images © Angela McGowan / Eclectic Recipes

*Nutritional Information is not guaranteed for 100% accuracy.

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McCormick® & Company, a global leader in flavor, has been driving innovation in the kitchen for 125 years with products that make life taste delicious.

This is a sponsored post in partnership with One2One Network and McCormick. All options 100% mine.