Hey hey! Happy Thursday; we are almost through the week- woohoo! I got a few requests for the recipe for the meal that I made on Monday night when I posted an Instagram photo on Facebook, so I thought it was only fair to share it with you today! My mom’s friend Jean (not to be confused with Jeanne, although we use “the Jeans” interchangeably because they are all one in the same to us!) gave me a filet of fish that her husband caught while fishing on Lake Ontario after I told her how jealous I was that she gave some to my dad a few months ago. Dennis, Jean’s husband, caught so much Brown Trout that they have been sharing with us fellow fish lovers! As this was only my second time cooking fish (remember the Lemon Chive Broiled Tilapia with a Greek Yogurt, Lemon & Chive Sauce I made recently? That was the first time I cooked fish on my own!), I was a little nervous! Luckily, dad was just a phone call away and he was able to walk me through the cooking process.

When I was thinking about what I should pair the fish with, I decided it was time to actually make some of the side dish recipes that I always drool over when I read different food magazines and cook books. Hannaford has an amazing little magazine that you can get for free if you spend $25 or more. Clearly, I never spend less than that, so it’s always a nice little treat when I grocery shop at home with my mom! The magazine is filled with lots of interesting recipes and nutrition facts and when I went through it over the weekend, I saw a recipe for Caprese Orzo salad and decided that was a perfect side dish for hot weather!

Baked Brown Trout

The filet that the Brennan’s gave me was MUCH bigger than anything I would buy on my own, but I certainly was not complaining! All I did was rub a little EVOO on it, squeezed the juice of 1/2 a lemon, sprinkled sea salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash and garlic powder and then cut up some scallions that I grabbed from my garden. I baked it at 350* for about 30 minutes and it was perfect!

Voila! Easy as that!

Caprese Orzo Salad

This recipe is exactly as it is in the Hannaford “Fresh” magazine. I cut the recipe down by A LOT, since I didn’t want to cook a whole box of Orzo, but it’s listed as the full recipe below.

• 1 lb. Orzo
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. finely ground pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 pickling cucumbers
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Cook orzo according to the directions on the back of the box. While orzo is cooking, combine the ingredients from the lemon juice to the olive oil and mix well.

2. Cut up the tomatoes, cucumbers and mozzarella and add to the “sauce”.

3. Once the orzo is cooked and cooled, combine it with the “sauce” mixture. I put mine in the fridge for the afternoon so it would be nice and chilled when I served it!

Finally, steam up some corn on the cob and serve everything together!

This was such a light and healthy meal- perfect for a hot summer night! The fish was absolutely delicious… there is nothing like eating fish and knowing where it came from and who caught it! Thanks again, Jean and Dennis! And, Danielle agreed that the Caprese Orzo Salad is going to be a staple summer salad this year. For lunch yesterday, I took the orzo salad, added grilled chicken to it and served it atop a salad- such a great way to change up the traditional salad!

Questions for you: What is your favorite cooking or food magazine? Favorite “salad” that you always make? Favorite light, summer meal?