Several weeks ago, a friend of mine, (and fellow foodie), happened to see a recipe challenge announced on Twitter by Healthy Solutions, and sent me a link to participate!

I’m always up for a good challenge! But when I went to the link, I saw that it said that only the first 100 bloggers would be chosen. Well, I had no hopes of getting in, I’m just an itty bitty blogger and fairly new at it to boot! (Though I’m extremely hard working and have close to 400 recipes in less than 2 years posted!) I’m no “fancy pants”, either. I’m happy puttering around my kitchen in a ponytail and jammies, or out in the yard with my hands in the dirt, growing my own vegetables, herbs and flowers!

So, needless to say, I was quite shocked and over-the-moon thrilled when they notified me that I was in! Me???? IN???? 😀 😀 I couldn’t believe it  – –  and it made my day!! 😀

I had already checked out their wonderfully creative and healthy spice blends, and had wishfully chosen one that I wanted to try, even before they chose me! And then when they chose me and my choice of blend arrived in the mail, I could hardly wait to open it to see what it smelled and tasted like! I had been imagining it for days, and all sorts of recipe creations were filling my head!

I went for a rub that seemed to be the hardest challenge, to me anyways, that was actually designed for Pork & Poultry – – but I wasn’t going to use it for that. Noooo. Nope.

I like to live on the edge.

I’m a rebel like that. 😉

After wetting my pinkie and giving the blend a taste, I thought that it most certainly had literally gazillions of possibilities! So I got thinking about salmon!! Yep. Why not, right? I had been craving salmon for ages!!! And with my hubby’s new job, we could now afford to buy a nice piece! So salmon it is!! 😀

 

 

First, let me tell you a bit about this insanely good stuff!! Healthy Solutions has NO msg, NO fillers or preservatives, it’s all natural, and the one I chose has NO salt, NO sugar and even has orange peel and cranberries in it! 

Yea. THAT kind of good!! 😉

A win-win situation! 😀

I got to thinking, though, how to make something that a whole family would enjoy, and my mind went straight to sliders! (Easy for tiny hands to manage! 😉 )

Not all kids like fish, so I then thought of how to make it so that it would be kid-approved, easy to make, and loaded with healthy ingredients all at the same time. Sweet juicy fresh pineapple ought to do the trick! 😉 Though the hublet and I don’t have any children of our own, I still remember being a picky kid myself, and my hubby (a.k.a “Mr. Picky Pants”), would make us the perfect little guinea piglets for this challenge! 😉

Never cut up a fresh pineapple before? It’s easy! Don’t use canned. 😉

 

 

Simply slice off the top and the bottom, stand it up and slice off the sides. Be sure to slice deeper than those sharp “brown things”! 😉 Then cut into slices, and cut out the centers! I use a mini biscuit cutter.

 

 

I then cut the slices into thirds to fit the salmon.

 

 

Our pathetic grocery stores, (all two of them),  didn’t have a single fresh mango. So I had to settle for frozen, but it actually worked out beautifully!

 

 

Mild, sweet, broiled salmon, seasoned with Healthy Solutions, fresh juicy pineapple drizzled with pure orange blossom honey, decadent and delicate brie cheese, a naturally sweet slaw with fresh mango, bright orange, mild red onion, and creamy Greek yogurt, all piled onto a tender-soft, delicately sweet, King’s Hawaiian Roll with a little kale! 😉 Sure sounded like a fantastic combination to me! (And the hubby approved, too!) *You could most certainly grill the salmon if you’d like, but my grill currently has 2 feet of snow on it. We just had a huge snowstorm! I’m not that much of a rebel. And a frozen ponytail, snow-crusted slippers, pajama bottoms covered in snow up to my knees, and little icy stalactites hanging from each nostril is not the look I want to go for. 😉

*And if the kiddos just don’t care for salmon, you could easily make this with mild cod, sweet lake fish such as lake perch, walleye or blue gill, or even pieces of chicken or lean pork loin instead. 😀

I decided to cut the salmon into pieces before broiling for ease afterwards, covered them in a nice amount of the rub, and drizzled them with fresh-squeezed orange juice. When almost done, I topped them with brie cheese, the fresh pineapple, and a little pure orange blossom honey, and broiled a tad longer. When done, I simply placed them onto rolls lined with kale, and topped them with the sweet orange-mango slaw with red onion!

 

 

Make the slaw first so that it can rest in the fridge while you prepare the salmon. *You can use all Greek yogurt if you’d like, but I really enjoy mayonnaise, so I cut it half to cut down on fat and calories. 😉 It’s just a 1/4 of a cup, so divided amongst 12….it really isn’t bad. 😉

 

 

Cut and season the salmon, squeeze fresh orange over them, then place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then do the other side the same way.

 

 

I never know exactly where to put my oven rack, do you? When they say “close”, how close is “close”? Right?

I have double built-in ovens with 6 racks (each). My ovens have a Low, Medium and High broil. So I did it on Medium broil and measured how far away from the broiling element it was for you, to give you an idea so that you can adjust the time and temp according to your own oven. 😉

*If I had had the rack any higher, or the temp any higher, I would’ve burned it for sure! So watch your salmon pieces carefully! 😉

 

 

The first side done!

 

 

The second side (skin side), done and moving to a new tray.

911 is on speed dial.

For a reason. 😉

 

 

Top each with a slice of brie cheese, a nice piece of fresh pineapple and a good drizzle of orange blossom honey! (*When I made the second tray, I added a little brie to some, and we liked those even better! So you can add it if you like.) But either way was incredibly delicious!

 

 

Then just broil one more minute or two and you’re almost done! 😀

 

 

Assemble and enjoy! 😀

 

 

And so happy to say, that these Salmon Sliders absolutely ROCKED. I mean front row at the Oscars sitting next to George Clooney kind of rocked!!!!

I’ve been on a bit of a slider kick, and these babies just skyrocketed into first place! The spice blend is truly phenomenal, and I loved that they did NOT contain all of the “unwanteds” that, sadly, so many products have now. I can honestly say, that we truly enjoyed this and will be making MANY things with not only this blend, but with many others that they have created, too! (They have 16 unique and different blends in all to choose from! You’ll definitely want to check them all out!)

So this concludes the challenge, and I’m so very glad that I got to participate! Thank you so much to the kind people at Healthy Solutions Spice Rubs for allowing me to join in the fun! My hubby and I were floored, and their packets go a long way! So I have plenty left to make dozens of more things!

Hope you enjoyed today’s blog, and I’ll see you soon! Until then, ~Kelly

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Their Links: spice blends.com (main website), FB@ Healthy Solutions Spice Blends, LLC, Twitter@ SpiceBlendss , Pinterest@ Healthy Solutions Spice Blends.

~~♥~~

*Disclaimer: I am not being paid to say nice things about this product. I don’t fit that mold. 😉 The comments and opinions of this product that I have made, are solely my own and honest opinions.

Yield: 12 salmon sliders

Fresh Pineapple Salmon Sliders with Brie & Creamy Orange-Mango Slaw | Healthy Solutions Recipe Challenge

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs. thick filet of salmon, cut into 12 - 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" pieces, or as desired
• Healthy Solutions Spice Blends Pork and Poultry Rub, 1/8 tsp. per side/top and bottom (1 Tbl. total)
• fresh squeezed orange juice from 1 navel orange
• 12 (1/4" - 1/3" thick) 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" slices brie cheese (with or without rind)
• 4 slices fresh pineapple rings cut into thirds, (can sub canned - but fresh is always SO much better!)
• 12 tsp. pure orange blossom honey
• 1 pkg. (12-count) King's Hawaiian Rolls
• 12 pieces of fresh, crisp kale torn to size

For Slaw:

• 2 cups shredded coleslaw mix with bits of carrots (chop mix smaller if desired)
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/8 tsp. Healthy Solutions Rub
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 1 Tbl. fresh squeezed orange juice from half of a navel orange
• 1 tsp. pure orange blossom honey, or to taste
• 2/3 cup small diced fresh mango (can sub frozen, cut smaller/no need to thaw first)
• 1 Tbl. finely chopped red onion

Instructions

Place oven rack close to the broiler. (*I had mine 7" from broiler.) Preheat oven to broil. (Mine has Low, Medium and High. I used "Medium Broil".)

In medium bowl, mix together Greek yogurt, mayo, Healthy Solutions Rub, 1 Tbl. orange juice, orange zest and honey until well mixed, creamy and honey is fully incorporated. In large bowl, add coleslaw mix. Pour slaw dressing over coleslaw and stir well to mix. Fold in mango and red onion well. Cover and chill until needed.

Slice pineapple, cover and chill until needed.

Cut salmon into slider-sized pieces, sprinkle skin side with Healthy Solutions rub.

Slice 1 orange in half, squeeze juice from half of orange over salmon pieces. Place seasoned, skin side-down onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat on top sides until all pieces are seasoned and juiced.

Pop into preheated oven and broil, carefully watching, for 4-5 minutes depending on thickness.

Remove and carefully turn over. Return to oven to broil another 3 minutes.

Remove from oven promptly, top each with a piece of brie, a piece of pineapple, and a drizzle of honey. Broil 1-2 minutes longer. (*I transferred them to a new baking sheet with clean parchment to prevent burning.) Remove promptly.

Slice open slider rolls, place torn pieces of kale onto bottoms, top with a piece of cheesy pineapple salmon, top with a spoonful of coleslaw, and place on tops.

Enjoy! (*Really delicious with oven-roasted fresh broccolini & sweet potato fries!)

Notes

If a milder fish is desired, especially for younger kids, you might like to try this with cod, lake perch, blue gill or walleye, (grilled, pan-fried, broiled or baked). And you can always sub the fish completely for pieces of boneless skinless chicken breasts, lean pork loin, or even ham slices, (grilled, pan-fried or baked).