Today the hubs and I cursed/celebrated our 3-year anniversary of home-ownership.

I was hoping to show you all the completed kitchen, but since we still haven’t quite finished the backsplash (oh, the shame), I’ll have to show you what I attempted to cook tonight.

I’m not a terrible cook, but I’m not necessarily a good one, either.  Let’s put it this way – I know how to follow directions.  If they’re simple and… easy to follow.  (Ha.)  I’m not really a “pinch-of-this, dash-of-that” type of person, but more of a “put-the-measuring-cup-on-the-counter-and-bend-down-to-eye-level-to-make-sure-I’m-getting-just-the-right-amount” type person.

But I enjoy it.  I enjoy the reading, measuring, chopping, wine-drinking, dancing around the kitchen in my socks… you know, the typical things that go along with cooking.

So tonight I made something a little outside the repertoire I would normally attempt.  For one thing, it’s very… cutesy.  For another, it involves tubes of crescent rolls.  And if you’ve read the “Who the heck is Kate?” blurb in the right column of this page, you’ll know how I feel about those.  But since my friend (and co-worker) highly suggested I try these, I thought I’d give them a whirl.  They looked just special enough to commemorate 3 years of home-owning torture bliss.

The recipe comes from here, but I changed it a bit according to my friend Stacy’s instructions.  It turned out delicious!

Spinach Salmon Bundles

(too cute, right?)

To make it like I did, you will need:

• 3 Salmon Fillets (~2-3 oz. each)  I used a whole frozen salmon and cut off the skin once it thawed.  It was the best I could find on short notice.
• 1 (8 oz.) Tube Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
• 1 Package McCormick’s Grill Mates Garlic Herb & Wine Marinade
• Some chopped, fresh spinach (however much you want)
• 4 Wedges of Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb Cheese (I think this cuts back on the caloric intake from the original recipe)

Now let’s get messy.

1.  Mix up your McCormick’s marinade according to the simple instructions on the back of the pouch (a little oil, water, and vinegar).

2.  Put the marinade and your frozen fillets in a sealed plastic bag and set the entire bag in some cool water (to quickly let it thaw) for ~30 minutes.  (If you’re using fresh fillets, you can let them marinade in the fridge.)

3.  While your salmon is marinading, preheat your oven to 400-degrees.  Unroll your crescent roll dough (after you pop open that horrendous package and jump out of your panties in sheer fright).

4.  The dough will naturally part into 4 smaller rectangles.  Lay 3 of the rectangles on a non-stick jelly roll pan and set the 4th aside.  Pinch together the diagonal seams in your 3 rectangles of dough.

5.  When the salmon is thawed and thoroughly marinaded, place your fillets on top of your crescent rectangles.

6.  Unwrap your cheese wedges, smash ’em up with your fingers, and spread them on top of your salmon fillets.

7.  Coarsely chop up some spinach and put it on top of the cheese.

8.  Fold the crescent dough up around your bundles as best as you can.  Use the extra dough you set aside to “patch” any holes if necessary (trust me, I needed it).  They don’t look all that pretty at this point, but that’s nothing a little baking won’t fix.

9.  Pop ’em in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.  That’s what the instructions say, BUT turns out I needed less than 20 minutes. Much less.  I set the timer for 20 minutes and went out to water the garden.  I came back inside (with 4 minutes to spare), and the kitchen had the distinctive smell of burning.  Not good.  Not to worry, though – I took them out of the oven, and although they were a little dark, they were still edible (and quite tasty!!).

10.  Cut those puppies open and admire the pretty layers.

11.  Choose your respective drinks and toast to 3 years.  Three years of a mortgage.  Three years of home upgrades and repairs.  Three years of not being able to call a landlord when something goes wrong.  But also, three years of creativity, freedom, and fun.

And try to ignore the blue tape sticking out from under your backsplash.

It will all work out.

Eventually.