Salmon Baked in Foil with Mediterranean Orzo

I have been awful about blogging this month. We've been cooking, I just haven't gotten around to posting what we've been making.  I tell myself that I am going to post some recipes and well, it just doesn't happen. I have a few recipes that we've recently made that I will eventually post but I wanted to start off with a dish that we had earlier this week. Brady made the below salmon and orzo recipe for us. I loved how simple the salmon was and cooking it in the foil really kept it moist and flavorful. Cooking fish in foil or parchment paper is a great way to keep your fish from drying out. The Mediterranean Orzo complimented the salmon perfectly but you could easily make the orzo on it's own as a main dish or serve it with grilled chicken.

I have no idea why the tomatoes look orange...

 Salmon Baked in Foil with Mediterranean Orzo
** Salmon recipe serves 2 and orzo serves 4

For the Salmon:
2 salmon fillets
1 T. olive oil plus 1 tsp.
salt and pepper
2 small Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
lemon, juiced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400.

Drizzle salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallots, lemon juice, oregano, thyme and 1 tsp olive oil.

Place a salmon fillet, skin side down, atop a sheet of foil. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon and fold up the foil, covering completely. Repeat with the other salmon fillet. Place the foil packets on a baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the salmon and tomato mixture to a plate to serve.

For the Mediterranean Orzo:

1 box orzo, cooked according to directions
8 large asparagus spears, blanched and cut into 1/2 in. pieces**
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
2 T. Italian parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette

Cook the orzo according to directions, drain and run under cold water. Once orzo is cool, mix all ingredients in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

** To blanch the asparagus, boil a small saucepan of water. When the water is boiling, add the asparagus and simmer for about 4 minutes. Drain the water and run cold water over asparagus.