Easy Salmon Pasta Salad

Does your market offer those pre-marinated salmon fillets?  What I've found just about everywhere are the bourbon-based marinades which are absolutely wonderful, but a bit pricier than a regular fillet, so I usually just pick them up when they're on sale.

Last week one of our natural food stores (EarthFare, my favorite) had the 6-oz fillets for $3.50 each (generally their about $6 a piece).  Naturally I ran up to pick up enough to load up the freezer but, alas, they were already gone.  But they were substituting their Hawaiian salmon fillets so I went ahead and picked up a couple.

I never thought I'd like anything better than the bourbon fillets, but these were off-the-chart delicious.  So the other night I grilled two of them for dinner.  Again, these are 6-oz fillets and we generally eat about 4 ounces each of fish or chicken entrees, but we ended up splitting just one of these 6-oz servings (just $1.75 per person!)  So I had an entire fillet leftover.  Knowing how well my dill is doing and my cucumber plants have started producing, I figured I'd make a pasta salad with my leftover salmon and all the other goodies I had on hand.

It's easy, quick, and delicious.  And yes, I did load up on both the bourbon and Hawaiian fillets, as they were both on sale this week.  They freeze beautifully and make a delicious dinner any day of the week.  It's recommended that we eat at least one serving of salmon per week (I shoot for two) for those healthy Omega-3s and now I can do it for just $1.75 per serving!  Oh, and it's absolutely delicious, to boot!

EASY SALMON PASTA SALAD (2 servings)

4 oz pasta (I used mini bowties)
4 oz cooked salmon
1 medium pickling cucumber, peeled and diced
3 Tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp mayo
fresh dill, chopped, to taste
1/2 tsp onion  powder
8-12 grape tomatoes (depending on size), halved lengthwise
S&P to taste

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil.  Stir in pasta and return to a boil.  Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Drain well, pat dry if necessary.

Transfer pasta to a large bowl.

Toss salmon and cucumber in with pasta, flaking the salmon as you stir.  Add tomatoes.

Combine the Greek yogurt, mayo, dill, and onion powder in a small bowl.

Spoon yogurt mixture over rotini and gently combine.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.