Parmesan Crusted Baked Zucchini Sticks with Marinara Sauce

Back in the beginning of August when I was hosting a dinner for neighbors who had returned to the US, I executed a bunch of new recipes. One of the apps I made is this one. I loved the idea of baking a zucchini stick appetizer. I actually followed this recipe 100& and it turned out really tasty. The only problem I encountered was keeping the breading on the sticks. The egg that is used for dredging doesn't stick very well to zucchini and even less when you have skin on the stick. I mashed it in a bit and it worked pretty well. I'd make this again.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 pound zucchini/courgettes (sliced into sticks and pat dry)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg (lightly beaten)

Directions:

1. Mix the bread crumbs, parmigiano reggiano and oregano in a bowl.
2. Season the zucchini with salt and pepper.
3. Dip the zucchini in the egg and then dredge in the bread crumb mixture.
4. Place the zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer with the skin side down.
5. Bake in a preheated 425F oven until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2009/02/parmesan-crusted-baked-zucchini-sticks.html

Blueberry-Banana Stacks

Having my neighbors back in town and coming over for dinner inspired me to try three new appetizer recipes. Their children were visiting grandparents out-of-state, but I still had three young ones to try and appeal to. I found this recipe in Parents Magazine back in April 2009. Simple, cute, versatile and bite size. They were a hit!

Ingredients:

8 mini flavored popcorn cakes (or mini rice cakes)
strawberry cream cheese
1 banana, sliced
8 blueberries

Directions:

1. Spread popcorn cakes with strawberry cream cheese
2. Place a slice of banana on top
3. Add an extra dollop of cream cheese
4. Top with a blueberry

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

My next door neighbors moved away for a year...a very long year. And, they moved very far away...very far, like to The Republic of Georgia...right at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Far across the world, my neighbor Monica read my blog and made kind comments about wanting to try some items when she returned home.

Well, she and the rest of her family are back in the States and to welcome them home we hosted a dinner and invited some other neighbors over. I didn't recreate any of my previous blog entries but I did try to execute three new appetizers and here's the first one.

Hot spinach and artichoke dip! Who doesn't love it when you go out to a restaurant and order it? Although I am a vegetarian, I am not a fan of spinach and will only eat it raw. I also am not a fan of artichokes and will only eat it in combination with spinach in a creamy dip. I might have a strange condition. ;) I found this recipe on someone else's blog and changed the recipe only slightly. I tried it on a multi-grain cracker before serving it and then decided to toast up some "black & white" loaves from a local bakery department. I lightly brushed the bread with garlic olive oil before toasting and it was wonderful. I later put out some untoasted bread and my husband preferred to eat it this way. To each their own...

Ingredients:

1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach (thawed, drained and coarsely chopped)
2 (7 ounce) jars of marinated artichoke hearts (drained and coarsely chopped)
4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic (grated)
1/2 teaspoon chili sauce (optional)
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1/4 cup mozzarella (grated)

Directions:
1. Mix everything and pour it into a baking dish.
2. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until bubbling and golden brown on top, about 30-40 minutes. Finish off under the broiler for a browner top, if desired.

http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2008/11/hot-spinach-and-artichoke-dip.html

Berry Slab Pie

And now for dessert...Blackberry Slab Pie! Click on the photos to enlarge and to active salivary glands.

I could not have chosen an easier recipe to try out for dessert. Pinterest really needs to start paying me for mentioning their website in every blog entry I write. Yet again is another recipe I found while cruising around their site. This one was linked to http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/02/18/the-easiest-blackberry-slab-pie-ever/. I didn't adapt this one at all, except to say that I didn't measure the fruit or the sanding sugar. I just tossed in a container of blackberries and all the clean blueberries I had in a bowl.

I cannot stress how fast and easy this was to make and the outcome is really impressive. It must be served with vanilla ice cream. It is the perfect summer dessert, minus turning on the oven in the middle of summer.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh blackberries, blueberries, or a mixture of both
1 prepared round of pie dough, thawed
1 egg white
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sparkling sugar

Directions:

1. Place the round of pie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.

2. Wash and dry the berries, then place them in a heap right in the center of your pie dough.

3. Carefully fold the edges of the pie dough around the berries, pinching it together to keep the edges in place.

4. Melt the butter and drizzle half of it over the berries.

5. Whisk the egg white into the remaining bit of butter. With a basting brush, spread the butter/egg mixture all over the edges of the pie crust, then sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Bake in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve piping hot with giant scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Taco Stuffed Shells

O.M.G. Could there be anything better than combining Italian and Mexican food together? This fusion of flavors is awesome! The flavor of a taco in a stuffed pasta shell! Who thinks of these things?

Again...Pinterest lead me to this tasty creation and I made this entree on the night my friend came over with her family. If you've read my other recent posts, you'll know that I made about 5 new recipes that night and this was one of them. I made a organic ground beef version and a vegetarian "crumbles" version. The crumbles are the "vegetarian ground beef" substitute that you can buy in any grocery store.

I adapted this recipe a bit and was happy with the outcome. I didn't measure the salsa, taco sauce, cheese or tortilla strips. I just used enough to cover the shells to my liking. I also used more salsa then the recipe calls for. I used medium-flavor and it was not overly spicy at all. No worries there.

The two young girls visiting ate them right up! That was a huge compliment. Thanks Brooke and Summer!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (or meat substitute)
1 package taco seasoning
1 4 ounce package cream cheese
12-15 large pasta shells
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
1 ½ cups tortilla chips (crushed)
3 green onions (chopped)
sour cream

Instructions:

1. In a fry pan cook ground beef and add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to fully cool. While ground beef is cooking cook the pasta shells, drain.

2. Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

3. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.

4. Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, uncover, sprinkle crushed chips and shredded cheeses on top. Cook for 15 more minutes or until cheese has melted. Garnish with green onions.

6. Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, black olives, or whatever you think goes good with tacos.

http://blogchef.net/taco-stuffed-shells-recipe/

Pineapple Strawberry Limeade

Here's another recipe that I found "pinned" on Pinterest. It's linked to this website: http://www.mychicfinds.net/2011/05/pineapple-strawberry-limeade.html. This is the beverage I decided to try on the night my friend and her family were coming over. Easy to make, non-alcoholic and very versatile. I tired to make garnishes but ran out of time. I also tried to find natural ingredients at Whole Foods, but apparently there isn't enough demand for frozen pineapple or limeade concentrate. I've never had club soda and adding it just seemed to add fizz without the sugar and extra calories that are in something like ginger ale. I think it could've used a bit more club soda since I prefer my beverages a little less sweet - not that this was overly sweet. It was great!

Ingredients:

1 - 12oz can frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
1 - 6oz can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
4 cups cold water
1 liter club soda, chilled
ice cubes
fresh organic strawberries (optional)
assorted fruits: sliced oranges, lime slices, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc...
- to toss inside and to use as garnish
short (6-inch) wooden skewers

Directions:

1. In a large pitcher combine pineapple juice concentrate, limeade and water. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. To serve, add club soda and mix. Transfer to a serving pitcher and add ice cubes and fruit as desired.

Make-Ahead Tip:

Up to 24 hours ahead, prepare juice mixture and chill well. Proceed as directed.

Smoked Mozzarella and Apple Mini-Calzones

On Saturday night I had friend and her family coming over for dinner. I hadn't spent much time with this friend recently and so having her family of four coming over gave me the inspiration to try all of these amazing recipes I keep finding on Pinterest. I actually had 5 new recipes to try on her family as guinea pigs! Watch out and cross your fingers!

I started out the evening with a Smoked Mozzarella and Apple Calzone. I found smoked mozzarella at Whole Foods. I really wanted to use whole wheat pizza crust, but I didn't have time to make my own and the grocery store only had regular pizza crust. I had quite a bit of the various filling ingredients left over, but I don't think I could've managed to stuff any more things inside.

My guests gave it the thumbs up. I loved them with the dijon mustard for dipping, my husband didn't. This was labor-intensive so next time I might try and use crescent rolls, although that might be sacrificing too much flavor to save some time. I'll let you know...

Makes 12.

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat pizza crust

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tbs butter
1 medium apple (honeycrisp, fuji)
1 cup diced smoked mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
handful of fresh thyme
handful of fresh chives

extra virgin olive oil for brushing
dijon mustard to serve

Instructions:

1. Make the pizza dough or use store-bought fresh dough, let it come to room temperature
2. Warm butter over medium heat in a saucepan and add the thinly sliced onion. Continue to move them every so often until they begin to caramelize, about 12-20 minutes.
3. Seed and cut the apple into a rough dice. Pull the thyme leaves and give them and the chives a nice chop. Get all of your fillings in order.
4. Roll out dough into a rectangle shape. Roll it thin, but not too thin since you don't want it to rip. Make 3x3 inch squares and lay them on a floured baking sheet.
5. Pile toppings into the middle of the square. Take a pinch of onions, then apple, both cheeses then herbs. Add a twist of black pepper if desired. Fold one corner across to the opposite corner, gently press and fold the open edges and pinch or roll the edges.
6. Brush the top of each mini calzone with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the upper third of the over for about 14 minutes, until tops are crispy brown. Let them rest a minute before eating. Serve with dijon mustard for dipping.

http://sproutedkitchen.com/?p=2173

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Continuing with my new found addiction to the website Pinterest, I found this recipe. I had fresh organic strawberries on hand and really wanted to give it a try. The recipe comes from the blog lululu at home http://lululuathome.com/2010/03/strawberry-and-cream-cheese-muffin.html.

They muffins aren't too sweet but they do take a little longer to make than muffins from a box. These are made from scratch, so you know they're going to ROCK!

Ingredients (12 regular-sized muffins):

Muffin

2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped into very small pieces

Cream Cheese Mixture

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat over to 350F. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin liners.

In a small bowl, mix together with a spoon the cream cheese mixture ingredients until smooth. Set aside.

In a big bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and egg until incorporated.

Use a spatula, mix the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Fold together until combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins, filling them no more than 1/2 full.

Scatter a few pieces of strawberry on top of each one.

Top it with a tsp of cream cheese mixture, a tablespoon of muffin batter, and finally a few more pieces of strawberry.

Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they’re light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Homemade Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Okay. So it's not visually stunning, but it is amazingly tasty.

I love pumpkin. I think it's a seasonal Fall food but sometimes I want it at other times throughout the year. I was shopping in Whole Foods and found this pumpkin ravioli in the frozen food aisle. I can't imagine putting Marinara Sauce on a pumpkin flavoured food and Brown Butter Sage Sauce doesn't do anything for me, hence the Garlic Alfredo Sauce.

In this house we go through our fair share of jarred Alfredo Sauce. It's nothing special, but it's easy. I've been longing for a homemade sauce and learned that I could make a batch and freeze it for up 4-6 months. Preparing it fresh, portioning it out and freezing it seems like the ideal plan to me! Now...how hard would it be to make my own? Mine came out thick since I used heavy whipping cream. That's why I dolloped the sauce on top of the raviolis. I improvised and grated a little nutmeg on top for a garnish. I am so fancy!

I went to the recipes that are saved on my computer and found this recipe. I usually copy the link to the site where I found the recipe, but this time I didn't...so I can't give anyone credit. Oops!


BTW - If you're looking for healthy...look elsewhere!

Ingredients:
6 tbs butter
3 tbs cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream
4-6 cloves of fresh garlic
S & P to taste
2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions:
1. In a medium or large saucepan melt butter over medium heat
2. Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth and melted
3. Whisk in the heavy cream
4. Add garlic, salt and pepper
5. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens. About 15-25 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and stir in cheese
7. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

Frozen Banana Bites

So a friend sent out an invite to a website called Pinterest. I had never heard of it but I had an opportunity to cruise around the site and I fell in love with what I saw. There were recipes (with photos!), DIY crafts that looked really cool, photography and fashion. All these photos of things you like could be "pinned" to your virtual cork board and shared with anyone else on the site. I signed up and started pinning right away. The recipes re-inspired me to get back in the kitchen. Since becoming pregnant, I've been zapped of energy...even though I am now in my 2nd trimester. Now, I have the inspiration to skip my much-needed nap and get cooking.

This recipe needs no cooking, just a little microwaving. I picked up this recipe from http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/06/frozen-banana-bites.html. I adapted it slightly since I'm not vegan.

Ingredients:
2 large bananas
1/2 cup chocolate chips, use more if needed
1/2 cup peanut butter, use more if needed
shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:
1. Line a plate/tray with parchment paper
2. Cut bananas into chunks (5-6 pieces)
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, mix then heat the chocolate chips and peanut butter in the microwave on high for one minute or until melted
4. Dip/roll banana pieces into the mixture and lay them out on the parchment paper. Use any remaining mixture to spoon on top of the bananas (no waste).
5. Sprinkle with shredded coconut if desired.
6. Transfer to the freezer for an hour (if you can't wait to dig in) or leave overnight. Cover as desired.

Sausage & Sweet Potato Squares with Garlic-Lemon Mayo

Southern Living magazine has so many wonderful recipes and they put together so many great cookbooks. I'm kicking myself for letting my magazine subscription run out because I'm probably missing more really neat recipes like this one.

This relatively simple appetizer has such a great visual presentation and pops with flavor. If I was a food stylist it might have looked more like the photo in the magazine (Sept. 2008). As you can see in the photo below, mine didn't turn out as shiny and I forgot to include the absolutely amazing garlic-lemon mayo in the photo. Cutting sweet potatoes into 1" chunks isn't easy. Using a restaurant dicer would've been much easier. You definitely want to get the sweet potatoes diced to the same size so that they cook evenly. You also want to cut them to a size that complements the size of the sausage you serve with them.


This appetizer was so good. Being a vegetarian I just dipped roasted sweet potato into the garlic-lemon mayo. It was so wonderful! Definitely worth making again and again.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 32 (1-inch) cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound spicy smoked sausage, cut into 32 (1/2-inch) pieces
• 32 wooden picks
• Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
• Garnish: fresh thyme sprigs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Place sweet potato cubes on a lightly greased 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Drizzle potatoes with 2 Tbsp. oil, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Toss to coat.
2. Bake at 450° for 15 to 20 minutes, turning cubes twice.
3. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Drain on paper towels.
4. Place 1 sausage slice on top of 1 sweet potato cube; secure with a wooden pick. Repeat with remaining sausage slices and potato cubes. Serve with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise. Garnish, if desired.
   

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-squares-with-lemon-garlic-mayonnaise-10000001831906/

Magazine Note:

Serve Sweet Potato Squares warm or at room temperature. Make garlic-lemon mayo in advance.

Mediterranean Pasta with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

So the other weekend was a very busy weekend, with swim class for the little guy, cleaning the house and hosting two dinners. This might not sound overwhelming, but when you have kids to feed both nights and you don't want to make a separate meal, it can be challenging to try and find something for everyone. Saturday night was a special challenge because one of the guests has a peanut allergy and a pet allergy. It was easy enough to make arrangements for the dog to be taking to my parents house for a night of pet-sitting. Trying to keep the exposure to peanuts at a minimum is challenging since my son eats peanut butter practically every day and this particular day he got peanut butter on his pants and in his hair, requiring a bath and a change of clothes before our guests arrived.

So after grocery shopping and checking all the food labels for peanut allergy warnings I decided to make Mediterranean Pasta with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes. I've made this one time before and I remember really enjoying the flavor-packed tomatoes. I got this recipe from a magazine ad for McCormick's Spiced Sea Salt.

The plan was to serve four adults and three children. I bought two pounds of roma tomatoes, as the recipe called for, and the rest of the ingredients. After I got home I prepped and popped the tomatoes in the oven and then I re-read the recipe. It called for 8oz of pasta. I don't know about you, but between me and my husband we can eat 8oz of pasta with no problem. I had a one pound box of fettuccini so I cooked it all. The smell drifting out of the oven was to die for! The perfect blend of tomatoes, garlic and the sea salt mixture was pure Heaven.

Considering all pasta basically tastes alike, you'd think I'd like fettuccini, but I don't. I prefer small, bite-size pieces of pasta. I was trying to replicate the photo with the recipe and it looked like a thicker noodle so I used the fettuccini.

My guests arrived as two instead of four. No longer was a peanut allergy an issue, but what was an issue was the amount of pasta I had cooked. It looked like plenty for the original seven, but it didn't look like enough fire-roasted tomatoes. After smashing half of the tomatoes and tossed everything in with about 3/4 of the pasta. We all helped ourselves to dinner and sprinkled on extra sea salt to suit our preferences.

My final thought are that I should've used angel hair pasta. I think the lighter, thinner pasta would've complimented the tomatoes better. I also should've only used half of the cooked pasta, especially since I had two less diners than expected. The meal was wonderful, I just wish I had gotten more fire-roasted tomatoes.

http://www.mccormickgourmet.com/Recipes/Main-Dishes/Mediterranean-Pasta-with-Fire-Roasted-Tomatoes.aspx

This recipe is slightly different than the one I used. It looks like they've tweaked it a bit.

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce, Thyme Mashed Potatoes and Hericot Vert

Fish is on the dinner menu once a week and the hubby likes Tilapia for it's light texture and flavor. I found a tilapia recipe that seemed easy enough to make in Bon Appetit magazine back in January 2007. If you've been following my blog here and there then you know I've been trying to plan a dinner menu a month at a time and I'm trying recipes that I've been saving for years that I've never prepared before. Here's one of those recipes. I wish I hadn't waited so long because the feedback was possibly the best I've received from my husband in the 9-10 years we've known each other.

I had a few problems making this dinner...well, three. The third problem involves FIRE, but I'll get to that in a minute. Oh wait! Four problems come to mind. I can't believe this meal made it to the table and the feedback I got. I should've thrown in the towel over and over again.

So I gathered up all the ingredients that I needed to successfully prepare a wonderful meal. I started by boiling the potatoes for the Thyme Mashed Potatoes. I've cooked boiled potatoes hundreds of times. It's not hard and 20 minutes is all you need. 20 minutes is all the recipe called for. 20 minutes is all I cooked the potatoes for. But, wouldn't you know it? I messed them up, kind of. If I had been making anything other than mashed potatoes I would've needed to head back out to the grocery store.

When I went to drain the potatoes, they were a mushy mess. They practically mashed themselves as they boiled away. I guess it made my job easier, but they looked rough. To mess up the THYME mashed potato recipe further, as I was mincing the thyme I noticed something seemed off. No, I didn't buy the wrong herb. It looked like thyme, but it smelt so good - like flowers or lemons. I checked the container it came in and sure enough, it was lemon thyme. Okay - not a total disaster, but not what the recipe called for. What ever - a hint of lemon sounded nice with a fish dish.

So with two disasters down and two more to go, including the one with FIRE, it was time to get the Balsamic Butter Sauce going. In a small sauce pan I put in the 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and the minced garlic. The recipe calls for this to simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. I needed to start on the fish so I turned the heat down and let it simmer away...until I smelt, nope, not FIRE, but a burning smell. My sauce was turning into charcoal in the pan. Crap! Again, not a complete disaster because I had plenty of balsamic vinegar and garlic left and I just needed to dump it and scrub the pot clean.

So, with three disasters dealt with I moved on to preparing the fish. The fish was not frozen. The instructions called for the pan to be heated on HIGH with a TBS of oil. Not a problem, but when the oil was starting to smoke I felt that the temperature was up too high. I turned it down a bit and added the fish. Well, I guess the pan didn't cool down enough and the fish was cooking very fast. I added some more oil to keep the fish from sticking but the kick back from the oil was crazy. It was although I was cooking something frozen in the pan. Oil was shooting everywhere. I was gentle shaking the pan back and forth to prevent the fish from sticking when all of a sudden, you guessed it, FIRE! Flames were circling around my electric flat top stove. This isn't a gas stove so I was a little freaked out. I called out to my husband, who had no idea I wanted a new kitchen remodel this badly! By the time he got to the kitchen, everything was under control again and no damage was done. I have a handy fire extinguisher, but luckily I didn't need to use it.

I shewed my husband back out of the kitchen and finished cooking the meal. I presented it after all of my near-secret disasters and heard nothing but great feedback. The fish was cooked perfectly, the potatoes were seasoned perfectly and were so smooth, and the sauce was incredible. The meal was truly restaurant quality. Hearing all of this made the whole effort worth it!

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2007/01/tilapia_with_balsamic_butter_sauce_thyme_mashed_potatoes_and_sugar_snap_peas

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I don't get every recipe I make from Allrecipes.com or Kraft.com or from my Mother-in-law, although most of them I do. Every once in a while I'll find them in an advertisement for a particular item. For example, this recipe for Cajun Chicken Pasta came from a Sargento cheese ad, although I've made it without their cheese.

Not every recipe I try is a winner and then some are and I mess them up. This is one of those recipes. I first prepared this recipe back in...I can't remember and it really doesn't matter. It's been a while and I liked it the first time so I decided to make it again.

After cooking the pasta and cooking the chicken, I remembered that the last time I made it I felt like the amount of cajun seasoning the recipe called for didn't seem like enough, so I decided I'd double it. OOPS! Not a good idea on a couple of levels. First, deciding to double it was crazy. Maybe a tad more would've helped. Second, instead of adding a total of 4 TEAspoons, I used 4 TABLEspoons. Ya see my problem?

After preparing it almost according to the instructions and plating it up, photographing it and making sure it was still hot enough to be served, the family sat down to eat. BTW, I made myself a batch without chicken.

O.M.G. AWFUL! The salt content was enough to make your tongue fall off. I was wiping sauce off the pasta and trying to make it edible. My husband was so hungry he ate it even though he thought the salt was too much too. And, my son, who we're trying to get to eat new things, was told it was a PB&J night. I wouldn't let him near the stuff.

So...I will make this again after we have the sodium flushed from our bodies and next time I will follow the recipe exactly and if there's not enough seasoning, I'll just sprinkle a little on top.

Since I've made this before, I will recommend it, but I will not be adapting this recipe anytime soon!

http://www.sargento.com/recipes/1260/cajun-chicken-pasta/

Fish Tacos

My husband really likes Tilapia so I've been looking for recipes that I think he might enjoy. I came across this recipe in Parade Magazine back in late 2009. It looked easy enough to make so I've finally decided to give it a try. I decided to use regular tortillas instead of the whole grain tortillas we always use. I diced up roma tomatoes, fresh cilantro and red onion. I mixed the salsa and sour cream to make a zesty sauce and I completed the meal by brushing the fish with a little EVOO and S&P and tossing it in the pan. Wow! It's really just that easy. After the fish came out of the pan, I drizzled fresh lime juice on it, then let it rest for a few minutes before flaking. Does fish even have to rest?

The result, as reviewed by my husband, was fantastic...minus one thing...it wasn't very hot. I have found an issue with blogging. I plate up dinner and then spend time photographing it, then I serve it. Oops! After putting effort into making a nice tasting, visually appealing meal, the effort is practically wasted if it's not served at the ideal temperature. I won't make that mistake again! Thankfully it was good enough that he ate everything that I prepared. I even made a couple with no fish (being a vegetarian and all) and it was so good! Everything was fresh and the flavors worked so well together. I'll make it again and skip the camera work.

Ingredients:
8 - 6" flour tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup salsa
S&P
3 - 8oz fish fillets (tilapia, haddock, flounder)
2 tbs EVOO
Juice of 2 fresh limes
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 ripe roma plum or beefsteak tomatoes, diced
2 cups red cabbage, finely shredded (optional)
fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F. Stack the tortillas on top of each other and wrap in foil. Place in oven while you prepare the fish.
2. Whisk together sour cream and salsa in a small bowl; season with S&P. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Heat a grill pan or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Brush the fish on both sides with oil and season with S&P. Cook the fish until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate; drizzle with lime juice. Let rest for 5 minutes. Using a fork, flake the fish into large pieces.
4. To serve: Put some fish in the center of the tortilla and top with onion, tomatoes, and cabbage, then drizzle with sou-cream sauce and cilantro leaves.

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

I continue on my journey of planning our our dinners a month-at-a-time, while actually making recipes I keep collecting. I decided to try something that I know, if I was still a meat-eater, that I'd love. French Dip with warm au jus.

I adapted a recipe from Allrecipes.com, using other people's comments to make my French Dip the best it could be. But first, I had to figure out which cut of meat to use. The recipe calls for rump roast, but many people also used chuck roast or sirloin tip. I enjoy reading people's comments, but figuring out what to add to my shopping list meant doing a little homework.

Rump roast and and chuck roast are very flavorful and tender, while sirloin tip is less fatty. I decided to look for sirloin tip because I knew it would be tender in the crock pot. Alas, I was unable to find it and bought a chuck roast instead.

The end result was my kitchen smelled fantastic all day and my family loved it (served it to four people). They all said it was worth making again, except my son who isn't a red meat fan yet.

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds chuck roast
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth or consomme
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle DARK beer
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 6 French rolls
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Trim excess fat from the chuck roast, and place in a slow cooker. Add the beef broth, onion soup, beer and spices. Cook on Low setting for 7 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before serving, cut the meat then placed it back into the juices to cook a little bit more.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Split French rolls, and spread with butter. Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through.
5. Slice the meat on the diagonal, and place on the rolls. Serve the sauce for dipping.

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

Using the crock pot is so easy with just a little bit of planning (making sure you have all of the ingredients and getting it started on time). I love cooking with the crock pot because dinner is virtually taken care of by late morning. If I worked full-time I'd probably be on the look out for recipes that take 10 hours to cook. But since I don't, a 5-7 hour cooking time works for me.

I'm always a bit weary about cooking chicken in the slow-cooker because I've read so many recipe reviews where people comment that the chicken was over cooked, usually in a "beyond shredded" way vs. a dry way. But I decided to give this one a shot since I had plenty of bell peppers on hand and some cilantro to use.

I slightly adapted a Kraft website recipe...

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch-wide strips 2 Tbsp. (1/2 of 1-1/4-oz. pkg.) Taco Seasoning Mix 2 Tbsp. flour 1 each green and red pepper, cut into 1-inch-wide strips 1 cup frozen corn 1 can black beans 1-1/2 cups Medium Salsa 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese TOSS chicken with taco seasoning and flour a ziploc bag then empty into slow cooker. Stir in vegetables and salsa; cover with lid. COOK on LOW 6 hours (or on HIGH 3 hours). STIR just before serving; top with shredded cheese. I served it with brown rice and garnished it with fresh cilantro. The first time I made this my husband commented that it needed a little extra kick, so I used medium salsa this time and that seemed to do the trick. My son asked for more chicken and he ate the peppers without a struggle! We're making progress!

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken with Brown Rice & Haricot Verts

As I continue on my journey of attempting to plan out dinners a month at a time, I found again, that being flexible is key. My Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken recipe was planned for February 5th. One thing lead to another and I had to reshuffle it to last night. Since the only fresh ingredient the recipe calls for is a lime, it was easy to push this one until a later date.

Besides planning a month at a time, I've become much stricter with regards to making my son eat something other than chicken nuggets. Last night was not the struggle I anticipated, but it came with bribes that I wish weren't needed.

After mixing the spices and heating up the pan, I sauteed the chicken to a perfect golden brown. It cooked a lot quicker than the recipe called for. But since I was watching it closely, disaster was avoided. As it was cooking, it smelled great and looked fantastic. I served it with brown rice cooked in a mix of water and chicken broth. And, because I've been known to get into the rut of serving a plate of fabulous beige food, I steamed some haricots verts.

My husband loved it! He liked the kick that the spices gave the chicken and the flavor of the lime (which wasn't as pronounced since I didn't get as much juice out of the lime as I had wanted). It wasn't too hot or overpowering, but flavorful. My son, after eating half an apple, declared he was hungry. When I showed him his plate, complete with rice and green beans, the whining started and the bribes began. Try a piece of chicken and I'll give you an animal cracker. It worked and he liked it and proceeded to eat all of the chicken on his plate. Next, the beans. I broke them and stuck them on the prongs of his fork. And, he ate them...for more animal crackers. And finally, the rice. He hasn't eaten rice or green beans in two years. But, the ever powerful bribe enticed him to complete every morsel on his plate. And, although I didn't like bribing him, the animal crackers are low in sugar and one day...in a galaxy far away...he won't be offered a bribe but a restful sleep on an empty stomach.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• ............................................................
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons lime juice

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken breasts.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side (or less if your chicken is thin). Sprinkle with 1 teaspoons garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 2-5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

Caribbean Nut-Crusted Fish

I have hundreds of recipes that I've got saved on my computer. If I'm up late at night and can't sleep, I'll browse through food blogs and recipe web sites. If I see something that I'd like to prepare someday, I'll save it. Sometimes I get adventurous and try a recipe and other times I fall into a rut and make the same dishes over and over and over again.

This month I decided to take a blank calendar and come up with a plan for dinner for every night of the month. I've tried doing this a week at a time, but I'm really inconsistent about doing it and then I lose my coordination between the menu, my grocery list and the execution.

So, this month I took about 45 minutes and filled out the calendar with meals, including nights for left-overs and a night out (or 3). During this time I also put a week-by-week shopping list together. I took an extra minute to plan how not to waste some items, like cilantro. Using 2 tablespoons in a recipe and having the rest of the bunch left over usually means it'll go bad - at least at my house. So, I grouped certain recipes based on ingredients I knew I'd need to use before they went bad.

Now it's February15th. I've had to make quite a few adjustments to my dinner calendar. I didn't account for the Super Bowl and that menu. Then we went bowling one night so I moved that night's dinner to another night. And one night, even after so much careful planning, I forgot an essential ingredient and it was getting too late to go to the grocery store. I learned a lesson though...ALWAYS have a frozen back-up on hand! This came in handy for this occasion and it'll come in handy for the night that I really am not up for cooking.

On with the Caribbean Nut-Crusted Fish. This recipe comes from my ever faithful Kraft website. I know it's good to eat fish - for those that eat fish. So, to follow my dinner calendar I've got one fish meal a week.

After mixing together the chopped nuts, fresh cilantro, minced garlic, peanut oil and lime zest I was almost ready to eat the topping! It looked and smelled terrific. The recipe called for covering the fish (I used tilapia) in lime juice and then coating with the topping. Then, it called for baking it for 10-12 minutes at 350F. On the packaging for the fish however, the cooking instructions call for baking it at 400F for 30-35 minutes. My husband suggested I follow the packaging. I decided to jump online and read the recipe reviews. Out of 20 reviews, no one said that it needed more time or that it was undercooked. So, following the recipe I go, I go.

After 12 minutes I attempted to see if the fish was flaky by ever so slightly taking a fork to it. I was trying to be so careful so that testing it wouldn't mess up the subject of my photo..I mean, my husband's dinner. It looked good to go so I plated it and spent about 10-ish minutes trying to photograph it with my new camera. My house has such crappy lighting that I find the task frustrating. But I took a suitable photo and determined that the food was probably almost cold by then. I popped the whole thing back in the oven for about 5 minutes on low heat.

After all was said and done, my husband really liked it! He likes having saucy dishes and this one wasn't saucy, but he really enjoyed it and said he'd enjoy having it again. Success!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/caribbean-nut-crusted-fish-90666.aspx

Potato Bites

The Super Bowl. What images does that conjure up in your mind? Party. Football. Commercials. Food. Lots and lots of food.

This year, for Super Bowl XLV, we had neighbors over with their children to watch the big game. We typically go to a party, but this year Super Bowl Sunday fell on a night that just happened to be my night to pick up "the Panera donations". Meaning, where ever I was watching the game, I'd have to drop everything and leave at 7:30 PM. That's a whole other story.

So, with menu planning on my mind, I visited the Kraft Food website and found a recipe for Potato Bites. This recipe seemed a lot easier to make then potato skins. There were only 3 reviews on the site at the time and the only real comment regarding the preparation was "it's messy to make". Thanks. Rolling mashed potatoes into balls sounded "clean" to me.

So boil, mash, scoop, stuff and roll. I did it 24 times, just like the recipe called for. These balls were huge and looked good. (Jokes were made about this while people tried them). After baking for about 15 minutes, I served them. They turned out really well, but could've used more time in the oven since the cheese was still more chunk then a melty, gooey center. Yeah, melty is not a real word. I know.

We have some left over so it'll be interesting to see how well they reheat.

Enjoy!
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/velveeta-potato-bites-121401.aspx

Mini-Taco Salad Appetizer

Every Friday night is "Taco Friday" here at my house. A friend of mine has "Taco Tuesday" at her house and I thought the idea was so good that I decided to steal it for my family. Knowing what your family is going to eat one night out of every week means I only have to attempt to be creative six other nights of the week. And, who wouldn't want to eat their favorite meal once a week? It's one of my favorites, and since I cook 99% of the meals, the husband and son must eat it every week too. (Well, realistically, my son doesn't eat it. But maybe that will change one day).

We're not a very exciting family so the chances of us heading out on a Friday night are slim to none and tacos are a super fast dinner. We always have shredded cheddar on hand. I manage a restaurant for the closing shift on Wed. and Thurs. and our diced tomatoes are only supposed to be used for that day's business. So...if I remember, I snag a soup cup full of diced tomatoes to use for Friday dinner. Seems like a waste to toss them and using them the next day to make a $7+ salad doesn't seem fair to the customer - so they are mine! Wa-ha-ha!

So last Friday night I was preparing vegetarian tacos for dinner. If I've got organic ground beef on hand I'll make it for my meat-eater husband. Last Friday he was out of luck. So as I was preparing the meal (which I can do in as little as 12 minutes), I pulled chips out of the pantry. I love tacos, my husband prefers taco salad. So anyways...I was pulling chips out of the pantry and found I had two open bags. Mission rounds are my favorite. We also had those kind that look like little chip cups. Light bulb moment...and there we have it. The creation of the mini-taco salad appetizer. I secretly made three and presented it to my husband. He looked so excited as I place the plate in front of him. Honestly, I know the presentation is wasted on him and I know he was hungry, hence the excitement of seeing food placed before him. But...after hearing how good they were, even though they were vegetarian, I decided to delay dinner while I made myself a couple. OMG! So good. A little bit of this and a little bit of that sitting on a tortilla chip was the perfect amount of every ingredient.

After preparing a few more to photograph, we finally had dinner. And, we both went back for seconds. Yum. Every "Taco Friday" is going to begin with Mini-Taco Salad Apps from now on!

Oh, and as a side note, I'm getting a new camera in February! I am so excited that I've been literally dreaming about it. Hopefully my photographs will look more appealing after I learn how to use the camera, since it'll be sooooo much better than the one I currently use.

Chili Cook-Off: Meat vs. Vegetarian

The weather forecast is calling for snow tomorrow. It's been cool and windy a lot lately and it seems like the right time to make chili. Being a vegetarian married to a meat-eater can be exhausting in the kitchen, but today I was feeling energetic (probably because I remembered to take my vitamins).

I often use Kraft's A-1 Chili recipe but today I decided to wing it. Sauteed onions, green chiles, diced tomatoes, ground beef, kidney beans, chili seasoning and a dash of A-1. After browning the meat, I tossed everything into the crock pot. Dinner done...done for tomorrow night's dinner too!

I didn't feel like making two dinners, but even though I planned on serving chili to the whole family, making a vegetarian chili was a necessity. But chili is so easy to make and using Morningstar Crumbles is even easier than browning meat. The veggie chili is the same as the other one, just substituted the Crumbles.


I don't have two crock pots so I let my veggie chili simmer on the stove on low. I got distracted the didn't stir it for a while and some kidney beans burnt a bit. Oh well. Now I know what to ask for next Christmas!

Because the meaty chili looked and smelled better, I give it first place in the chili cook-off. I don't even have to taste it to know it's better. Maura, Brooke, Mary - you missed out on some yummy chili!

Homemade Pizza Crust

It's a new year and another opportunity to use my bread maker. Today I made my own pizza crust. I love knowing exactly what we're eating and I love using kitchen equipment.

After working backwards from what time that I wanted the family to eat dinner to figure out when I needed to prepare my pizza crust, I put all of my ingredients together in the bread maker. I punched in the correct code and my crust was in the making!

Fast-forward to the dough being ready. I took it out of the bread maker and plopped in onto a floured countertop and rolled it out to fit my sheet pan. I prepped the toppings, popped it into the oven and 19 minutes later dinner was ready. Preparing you own pizza dough using a bread maker is sooooo much easier that rolls (see posting from 12.24).

Next time I'll be sure to leave more crust. I loved that the pizza crust was chewy yet firm enough to pick up without all of the ingredients sliding off. And, the crunchy edges were the best!

Butterscotch Bread Pudding

It's no secret that I am a fan of Allrecipes.com. I love that you can type in any number of ingredients and it will suggest recipes to try. I love that it has ratings and comments. I love to try 4-5 star recipes and I always read a bunch of comments before starting. It's good to know that a bunch of people thought the recipe was too sweet and recommend cutting back on the sugar, etc.

Allrecipes.com emails me daily and weekly recipes. Two days ago I stumbled upon one for Butterscotch Bread Pudding. It sounded awesome so I decided to run out to the store and get some butterscotch chips. And, because my bread maker was given a second chance at life, I decided to bake my own bread for the pudding.

This bread pudding was so good that it didn't even need sauce and it was even better the next day. The butterscotch chips almost completely melted into an awesome reward for a dessert well done.

Here's the recipe.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butterscotch-Bread-Pudding/Detail.aspx

I followed recommendations and cut the sugar by half. Next time I would add at least another 1/2 cup of chips. Yummy!

Mum's Cranberry Relish-Brie App

In Progress...

Whole Wheat Rolls

My husband has his garage and I have my kitchen. We have a "rule" that when something new comes in, something old must come out. For an early Christmas gift I was given a beautiful Professional Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I love it as though it's a piece of art. I've used it three times and I love it so much I wish I could marry it. ;) As the stand mixer came in, a bowl came out. Just a bowl. My husband wasn't impressed with my "out" selection and suggested I "out" my bread maker.

We received our bread maker as a wedding gift almost 6 years ago. I've used it to bake white bread, jalapeno cheddar bread and even the non-successful strawberries and cream bread. I was on a kick for a while, but since it's so big and I love open counter space, it got put away.

After collecting a little dust as it sat under the tupperware and hearing the threat of being ousted, my bread maker came out of hiding and has plans for a work out.

Whole wheat roll recipe: about 6 ingredients. Easy! The bread maker mixes, kneads, rises the bread dough. All I have to do it punch it out and let it rise again, portion it out and roll it into rolls.

Augh. Not easy. The directions, upon further investigation, said that whole wheat usually needs a third rise. Mine did not. After punching out the air from the first rise, I let it rise again. It was so hard to shape into rolls. After calculating the weight of each roll to ensure that I got the 18 each the recipe called for, I only got 16. Stupid math.

After rolling and rolling those stupid rolls, my arms were hurting and I was having horrible flashbacks to the worst memories I have of college. I was working for the Chef of the University President and I got to select menu items for a dinner the President was hosting. The Chef always encouraged me to choose items that I wouldn't normally get the chance to prepare. I chose homemade rolls. All the work that goes into it is not worth it!

Sure, making a loaf in the bread maker is easy, making a loaf by hand is not. Making rolls where the bread maker starts the process seems easy, but finishing the rolls is not.

Alas, the rolls came out better than expected. My Dad snagged one right out of the oven to taste test it. I got a thumbs-up from the family. Even with the encouraging feedback - never again will I make rolls!

Yorkshire Pudding

I have the honor of hosting Christmas Dinner this year. There will be 12 of us. I grew up eating a traditional English Christmas Dinner consisting of Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. Even though I am a vegetarian now, I still consider this to be one of the best dinners on Earth (even though I haven't eaten beef in about 22 years). I wanted my guests to have a fantastic meal the way I remember it.

My English Mum once gave me a British tea towel with a Yorkshire Pudding recipe on it. I've only made Y.P. maybe once or twice myself and since it had been so long, I decided I needed to do a test run before trying to serve it to twelve of us.

Count down to Christmas Dinner: 11 days.

My recipe calls for eggs, flour, salt, milk, water, dripping (or pan spray for us vegetarians). Simple. You mix it, let it sit for an hour, warm up your muffin tin in the oven (with the drippings) and bake. Before it was re-named Yorkshire Pudding it was called Dripping Pudding. Thank goodness that a recipe author rename it!

"A Yorkshire pudding isn't a Yorkshire pudding if it is less than four inches tall, says the Royal Society of Chemistry"; true Yorkshire people would disagree - the modern trend has been to aim for Puddings of almost Souffle proportions." - Wikipedia.

As they bake they rise so impressively. As they are taken out they fall. This is a good thing since it gives a place to put your gravy.

Update: The Y.P. turned out beautifully on Christmas Day!