Spice Rubbed Salmon with Avocado Salsa

My husband was out of town last weekend. He left Thursday and got home on Monday but by Sunday night my life was a comedy of errors. Here's the sitch; my awesome niece, Rachel, came over to watch my kids while I had dinner with my friend Rich Sunday evening (yahoo!) but I failed to tell her that I would be taking her home later. So what happened? My super efficient, awesome-ly talented niece put my kids to bed! I got home and they were already half asleep (okay, my youngest was wide awake and my oldest was half asleep but they were in bed). Mom fail but no biggie, we got their shoes on, loaded them up in the car and were on our way. Then the other shoe dropped. When I got home I realized "oopsie, I gave Rachel my house key so they could play outside". EPIC FAIL. By this point it was 10:00 (on a school night) and I had no way to get into my house. Lucky for me my amazing neighbor, Paula, has a key to my house! I called her on my cell phone, sent my oldest running to her house and we were in. Whew. I got my kids to bed and called my sister, Kari (Rachel's mom) to tell her what a failure I am. She made me feel better just like always and we talked for two hours.

Needless to say the next day I was tired and still a little frazzled so the thought of dinner kinda made my brain hurt. Until...I remembered this awesome recipe my friend Kaitlyn told me about. Grilled (or in this case broiled) salmon rubbed with a delectable spice rub then topped with avocado salsa. Salmon and avocado together in one dish! I KNEW that was a win! I headed out to the grocery store, list in hand (I couldn't be too safe after the night I'd had) and obtained all the necessary ingredients and whipped this up for dinner! AND, my sweet husband got home eight hours earlier than expected because they drove all night. What a guy. What's the moral of the story? Even when you feel like an epic failure, food can make you feel better. Food. It's always the answer.

Spice Rubbed Salmon with Avocado Salsa (adapted from thecookierookie.com)

1 t. salt, divided

3/4 t. pepper, divided

1/2 t. paprika

1/2 t. chili powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. cumin

4 (4 oz.) pieces salmon

2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced

1/2 small white onion, finely minced

2 T. cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Place the oven rack on the top rung then preheat the broiler. In a small bowl stir together 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper, paprika, chili powder, onion powder and cumin. Spread the spice mixture evenly over the salmon pieces. Place the salmon on a foil lined baking sheet that is prepared with cooking spray. Broil the salmon for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the avocado, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper, onion, cilantro and lime juice in a small bowl and stir to combine. Serve the salmon topped with the avocado salsa.

4 servings (238 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com