It is that time of year again. Time for The Healthy Solutions Spice Blends 2016 Blogger Challenge. There are limited spots and I was happy to be accepted into the challenge once again. Upon entering, I had to choose a spice blend out of their wide selection, 16 in all, check them out here. It is committing to a spice, sight unseen, or more importantly, smell unseen. Last year, I chose the Cajun Seafood blend, remember my Spice is Nice BBQ Fish I decided to read the ingredients in the spices (which by the way are all real-no fillers or preservatives!) One spice blend, Encrusted Haddock, caught my eye for two reasons. One-Haddock is not exactly a fish we hear about here in Louisiana. Two-one of the ingredients was cranberries-I love cranberries! I received the spice packet and for a while it stayed on the kitchen counter (long enough for hubby to start questioning its dismissal). I kept it on the counter as a reminder of the deadline and also as motivation. Each time I walked past the packet, I would open it and smell it. I did this until a recipe came to mind. Here it is:
Orange Cranberry Pecan Salmon: 
Ingredients Instructions Notes Can also be served over wild rice.
Put your TO COOK IS TO CREATE thinking cap on: What other fruit juice could you use? Grapefruit would be a good one. How about adding cherries instead of cranberries? Or adding orange segments to the sauce? How about changing the pecans for another nut? As I’m typing this, I’m thinking I’m gonna have to try walnuts! Want a little more zip? Whisk in 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard to the finished sauce. How else could this salmon be served? Wild rice is a nice option, especially a wild rice pilaf with almonds.
FOOD FUN: This year as a requirement for this challenge not only was a recipe required but also a process cooking video, too. Getting my hubby into the kitchen as my cameraman took a little convincing, well maybe not much, after all, he was getting hungry! This was definitely my food fun. It is always fun when you can get your loved ones into the kitchen. Here is our VIDEO
If you listen real close you can hear my hubby smacking his lips when it is close to eating time!