Salmon and Macaroni and Cheese

I tried two new recipes from Taste of Home magazine last night and we loved them both. All I have to share is a picture of the leftovers, which will be Tim's dinner tomorrow night. :-)

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. butter

1 tsp. honey

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (I used regular)

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 Salmon filet (2 1/2 lbs.)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the brown sugar, butter and honey until melted. Remove from the heat; whisk in the oil, mustard, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cool for 5 minutes.

Place salmon in a large foil-lined baking pan; brush with brown sugar mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until it flakes easily with a fork.

** I quadrupled this recipe because I had four salmon filets to make. I also cooked it on the grill instead of the oven. I just made a little "pan" from aluminum foil and put it on the grill on the lowest setting. Yum. Very, very good. And salmon is SO good for you, too.

DOUBLE-CHEESE MACARONI

1 pkg. (16 oz.) elbow macaroni

3 cups (24 oz.) 4 % cottage cheese (I used 2%)

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

3 cups half-and-half cream

1 cup milk

4 cups (16 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

TOPPING:

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, place cottage cheese in food processor, cover and process until smooth. Set aside. (I completely skipped that step and just dumped the cottage cheese in as is).

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic salt until smooth. Gradually add cream and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Drain macaroni; transfer to a large bowl. Add the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and white sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 pan (Dish will be full). Combine bread crumbs and butter- sprinkle over top.

Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

**I halved the recipe and used a square baking dish. Also, the half-and-half I bought said it was a combination of milk and cream. So I just used that in place of the milk and cream... in my case, since I halved the recipe, I used 2 cups of it. Finally, for bread crumbs, try "Panko" crumbs... they are found in the ethnic food aisle sometimes, and also sometimes where the other bread crumbs are found.