Honey-Mustard Salmon with Roasted Asparagus

I made this dinner this past Monday night, and I have never cooked salmon this way before so I was very skeptical on how it would turn out.  It turned out great and I learned that pan-searing is pretty easy to do when it comes to cooking salmon.

This recipe came from one of my Cook This Not That! cookbooks.  If you don't own those cookbooks I highly recommend them because the recipes in the books mimic favorites from chain restaurants.  Only these recipes save you time, money, and calories, and they tell you in the recipe just how much!  For example this recipe mimics The Outback's Salmon Griller listed (when this book was printed) as $13.95, 1126 calories, 25 grams of saturated fat, and 1567 milligrams of sodium! The home made recipe saves you $11.18 and 756 calories.  Wow!  So this salmon was 370 calories, 21 grams of fat (6 grams saturated, the bad kind of fat), and 530 milligrams of sodium.  What a difference!

Here's what you'll need:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 salmon fillets (6 oz. each)

1 bunch asparagus (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the butter and brown sugar in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, until the butter and sugar have melted together.  Stir in the mustard, honey, and soy sauce.  Also while the oven is heating up, cut asparagus, and place in a baking dish.  Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil, sprinkle with the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper;  toss to coat.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat.  Season the salmon with salt and pepper and add to the pan flesh side down.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until fully browned and flip.

Brush with half of the glaze and place the pan in the oven until the salmon is firm and flaky (but before the white fat begins to form on the surface), about 5 to 7 minutes.  Also place the asparagus in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until tender.

Remove, brush the salmon with more of the honey mustard, and serve with the asparagus.  Sprinkle lemon juice over asparagus.

Enjoy!