My creamy orzo recipe is topped with the cutest fried salmon. Wait – cute? Salmon? Scroll down – you’ll see what I mean.
A healthy meal that’ll have your family asking for more. Promise!
Here I am, totally admitting it: my son is a picky eater. And get this – my husband can get pretty picky too. This can get challenging (and so heartbreaking!) for a foodie like me. I’m all about exploring different flavor profiles and constantly whipping up a new recipe. My toddler, on the other hand, is so skeptical when he’s handed a new dish.
As a work at home mom, I strive to complete my daily tasks in a timely fashion. This includes preparing healthy meals that the entire family will enjoy – despite hubby and toddler’s pickiness.
So how do I keep mealtime interesting for the both of them? Well, I make sure whatever I serve is delicious, healthy, and super cute!
To celebrate National Seafood Month this October, I decided to whip-up a creamy orzo dish with fried salmon.
Wait – hold the lines. Did someone say salmon? To a picky toddler?
Recently, I discovered Blue Circle Foods and their ultra cute frozen pack of Happy Fish. They are salmon patties shaped into little fish – and my little one can’t get enough of them! What’s best is that they’re free from antibiotics, GMOs, growth hormones, gluten, sugar and synthetic pigments.
And get this – they only take 4 minutes to cook.
How to Make Creamy Orzo with Fried Salmon
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ¼ cups chopped brown mushroom
3 cups dried orzo
2 cups homemade chicken stock (you can also use water)
2 cups whole milk
Ground pepper to taste
1 pack of Happy Fish frozen salmon
Sprigs of fresh dill
Yields: 4-6 servings
In a Dutch oven, Heat 1-2 tbsp EVOO over medium-high and add onion – sauté for about 2 minutes.
Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add orzo, chicken stock and milk. Bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce heat, allowing to simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and sprinkle with black pepper. Fold to incorporate all ingredients with one another.
In a nonstick pan, heat 1-2 tbsp EVOO over medium high.
Add Happy Fish frozen salmon patties to the heated nonstick pan and sauté for 2 minutes on each side. (Yup, that’s right: you can cook it straight from the freezer. Easy peasy, right?!)
Serve creamy orzo on individual plates and top off with cooked Happy Fish salmon. Garnish with fresh dill.
Blue Circle Foods sources its salmon from Kvarøy, a third-generation family farm in Norway. They’re dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans through sustainable habits. You can bet I’m one happy mama whenever I can incorporate their products into our daily meals. This creamy orzo dish is one for the books – it puts a huge smile on my face to know that my family’s enjoying something delicious and super easy to make. That’s a mom win right there!
Be sure to check out Blue Circle Foods on social media via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! You can also check out their shop and use coupon code welcome2bcf at checkout to get 15% off on any Blue Circle product.
Would your kids eat these Happy Fish salmon patties?
This sounds so yummy! Love salmon, will have to try this recipe out, delish!
Kileen
cute & little
Those fish shaped salmon pieces are so cute you were right. I have to get those for my son who loves seafood.
Oh my goodness this looks absolutely delicious. I have to admit to being a big fan of salmon and I am all for new ways to try and it this sounds right up my street!
I can see kids loving this! I know mine will. They are all about seafood. I wish I liked it, but I will make them seafood dishes sometimes.
I think it’s so important to introduce new and healthy foods to kids. This recipe is such a great way to do that!
OMG how cute are those! I love salmon, and have a hard time getting my son to eat it as well. Maybe a cute fish shape will do the trick!
Cute & delicious! My family would love this!
I agree! these salmon are the cutest! I hope I can fins these in the grocery.
I am guilty and haven’t tried very many fish dishes. I’m picky, as I like my fish fresh, meaning I caught it. One of these days, I’m going to have to get over that fear and give salmon a try. I like the cute fish shapes. This recipe sounds amazing even without salmon.
I haven’t had orzo in a while, but it’s such a great, easy dish to cook up. Those salmon fish are so cute! What a great and easy meal.
The SHAPE…holy cow are these adorable! I may actually get my littlest to try salmon now!
Mmmm…I can eat salmon everyday! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Wow..! That was so cute..!❤️ ❤️ ❤️ Even me asan adult would definitely love to incorporate that to any meal..???? Fried rice or macaroni both sounds great with these.
This looks absolutely lovely. I think the kids are going to be happy seeing this. I am sure this is going to be awesome.
Oh this looks so delish!! What an easy way to get some salmon in my diet. I always struggle with fish ideas.
I love this idea and what a great way to get to the kids to eat salmon. Its soo good for them.
I’m allergic to salmon but the recipe looks incredibly delicious! I bet all the salmon eating people are going to love it!
So this is the cutest salmon I have ever seen! Would be perfect for little ones and that Orzo sounds AMAZING! Yum!
This looks so good. I love those fish shaped salmon too. That is so neat! I need to pick some of those up.
Those really are cute salmon! The recipe looks delicious too.
Wow, That is true and looks really delicious and so creamy tasty, yummy meal that everyone gonna love it. I’ll make this one this weekend.
Kids would love this fun and healthy dish. I will send this post to my sister in law so they can try this too.
How cute. This is so fun for kids. Salmon is so good for you, so letting the kid have fun while eating is a double benefit.
That can’t get any more adorable and the fish shape definitely makes a child more interested in eating fish. I also appreciate the recipe! It looks SO good!