Balsamic Salmon with Strawberry Mango Salsa

It has been a while, and I sure do apologize! I feel like the last 1.5 months, we have been thrown some curveballs in life, but Eric and I have tried to have the mentality that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade! Besides that, Eric and I have been going nonstop. I was actually looking at my calendar yesterday and my next free weekend is July 15^th. Don’t get me wrong, I am one of these people that loves to stay busy, but y’all I think I might have over done it!

For those of you that don’t know, Eric and I lost our beloved Chopper on Saturday, April 29th. What a great life he lived! He was 15, y’all! Eric truly save his life when he was puppy, and you could always tell that Chopper was thankful for that! I am also thankful for the way Chopper passed with both Eric and me by his side loving on him when he took his last breath! I miss my bud every day! I am not sure who misses him more Eric or Murray. Murray completely broke my heart through this whole grieving process. She completely knew what was going on and truly mourned with us. The morning he passed, we took him to my parents’ farm to bury him. Eric and I wanted him to be somewhere we frequently visited! When we were saying our goodbyes, Murray walked over to where we were burying him and tried to get in the hole with him. To this day, I still get chocked up talking about that! It is easy to forget that Murray is only two and truly does not know life without Chopper. Those two were best buds, and Murray truly brought out the puppy in him again! By Sunday and watching Murray truly become a loner, not eating, not loving on Eric and I, and not being my crazy 2 year old boxer that keeps me laughing, Eric and I knew we were going to have to get Murray a sibling soon…we just didn’t know how soon!

Eric and I had discussed that we wouldn’t get a new puppy until we got back from vacation in early June, but if we wanted another Boxer that we need to start looking and put a deposit down like he did on Murray. So I started looking, and we came across a 7 week old white boxer with brindle eye patches. I looked at Eric and said, “This is the one.” So by Tuesday, we looked at each other and asked, “When can we get him?” Well, I had a rehearsal dinner on Thursday, wedding on Friday, another wedding on Saturday, and another wedding the following Saturday….Are you catching my drift here—I didn’t have any free days! Next thing I know Eric, Murray, and I are jumping in the car the next day and headed to meet the sweet lady in Douglasville, GA. I swear it seemed like it took 4 hours to get there, but the minute we got there he was absolute perfection! Eric and I said a lot of prayers that this was the right decision for not only us, but for Murray as well (yes, I am talking about a dog, but seriously they are a member of your family). I truly have to say she loves the little man, and I am so thankful that she seems to be back in her element!

On to the recipe! I am not really a big fish fan but crave it every now and them. So I actually opened up my Damn Delicious Cookbook and found a Balsamic Salmon with Strawberry Mango Salsa. Um, yum! It turned out perfect, and I highly recommend this recipe. I did not change anything about this recipe except onions to onion powder (surprise, surprise). I served this over orzo!

Strawberry Mango Salsa

Ingredients

3/4 cup diced strawberries

3/4 cup diced mango

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons diced red onion

2 teaspoons honey

Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine strawberries, mango, jalapeño, onion, cilantro, honey, and lime juice.
• Serve immediately.

Balsamic Salmon

Ingredients

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 gloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon honey

Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey, salt and pepper, and Dijon Mustard with whisk in a small bowl.
• Place salmon in Pyrex dish (I sprayed mine with Pam).
• Brush salmon with mixture on both sides.
• Place in oven for 10 -12 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Balsamic Salmon with Strawberry Mango Salsa

And now, introducing Mack Murphy!

We named him Mack, like the Bulldog off of a Mack Truck! 

Original Recipe- Strawberry Mango Salsa