May Menu ~ 2013

You may have noticed that I took a little sabbatical from blogging. I didn’t know I was going to take a break but it was obvious that I needed one. It’s also pretty obvious that I didn’t cook nearly as much of my April menu as I intended and I usually try to make those recipes up the next month, but alas, I probably won’t get to those any time soon. But I do have a whole menu of new and exciting recipes to share, and I appreciate all you wonderful readers and fellow bloggers for coming back to see what I’m cooking

Recipes I’m cooking that I’ve shared before:

Zucchini Noodles,  Cilantro Lime Rice,  Spinach Tomato Feta Frittata,  Cheeseburger Salad,  Black Bean & Steak Taquitos

Recipes I’m working on this month:

Quinoa, Black Bean & Corn Burritos

Fish Cakes with Cilantro-Lime Dip

Mushroom & Peas Pulao

Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake

Skinny Cheeseburger Casserole

Southwest Chicken & Corn Chowder

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

White Bean Turkey Chili

Marinated London Broil

Cajun Chicken Fritters with Cajun Aioli

Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Garlic Aioli

Southwest Chicken Wraps

Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

Chipotle Steak Burritos

Crispy GF Sweet & Sour Chicken

Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup

Crock Pot Short Rib Tacos with Queso

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

 Sides & Other:

Thai Dragon Noodles

Turkey Bacon & Cheddar Potato Cakes

Four Bean Salad

Breakfast Enchiladas

Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese

Desserts:

Gooey Butter Bars with Fresh Strawberries

Mini Apple Tarte Tatin

Strawberry Tart with Basil Cream

Vanilla-Coconut Rice Pudding

Lemon Cake with Raspberries and Yogurt Frosting

Easter Brunch & Dinner Ideas

Easter is almost here and that usually means a big spread for your table. If you will be celebrating, and possibly even entertaining, you may want a few extra ideas – I know I am always looking for new ideas Here is just a simple round-up of breakfast/brunch, sides, main dishes, and desserts for you.

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

Quiche Lorraine

Blueberry Bake

Roasted Potato Frittata

Poached Eggs with Hollandaise Sauce

Strawberry-Peach Pancakes

Chicken Salad with Grapes & Pecans

Sweet Cherry Caprese Salad

Wild Rice & Corn Muffins

Chicken in Cream

Lemon Chicken Piccata

Dijon Dill Salmon

Auntie Mary’s Meatballs (Porcupine Balls)

Apricot & Tequila Glazed Turkey

Maple Mustard Chicken

Parmesan Pesto Green Beans

Creamy Skillet Veggies

Carrot Mash Bake

Cheesy Rice Fritters

Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese

Brown Sugar Butternut Squash Tart

Luscious Tropical Dream Cake

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Apple Pie Bars

GF French Toast with Caramel Apple Syrup

Remember my Baked Caramel Apples? Well, not only are they great with ice cream but they also go with french toast quite well. I used GF bread for this breakfast but you certainly can use any bread you’d like.

French Toast with Baked Apples

2 slices bread

1 egg

1 T butter

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup baked caramel apples

Whip the egg and soak the bread in it. You should use up all the egg.

In a skillet, heat up the butter and sugar. Place the bread into the pan and let both sides fry up in the caramelized butter. Reheat your apples and use the caramel sauce from the apples as a syrup. Top the french toast with apples and caramel sauce and a bit of powdered sugar.

It’s that easy. Enjoy!

March Menu ~ 2013

Well, it’s that time again. If you’re one of the few who haven’t yet done the “New Years Diet” then you may be thinking along those lines about now. For me it’s not so much “diet” as “cleanse” and by that I mean a cleansing of the pantry, budget, and body. This month will feature a few fattening yummy favorites (for the boys, of course) but I am focusing mostly on healthier recipes. Along with the links to previous posts there are many new recipes I’ll be working on this month, so stay tuned.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Dijon Dill Salmon with Grain Mix

Pasta and Lentil Soup

Spinach Tomato Feta Fritatta

Orange Sesame Chicken with Brown Rice

Black Bean Soup

Ultimate Baked Beans

Oven Baked Tacos

Black Bean Risotto

Potato and Leek Soup

Vegetable Ragu with Grilled Fish

Butternut Cake

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

St. Patty’s Day Cupcakes

Recipes I am working on this month:

Mexican Stew

Peasant Soup

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

Seared Beef Fillet with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce

Black Bean & Chicken Oven Fried Chimichangas

Creamy Lobster Risotto with Green Peas

Appetizers and Sides:

Antipasto Skewers

Rosemary Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Cheesy Pesto Bread

Smoked Salmon Bruchetta

Desserts:

Pineapple Galette

Plum Crumble

White Chocolate Strawberry Pie

Carrot Cake Roulade

Roasted Caramel Pineapple

I recently found a new show to love. It’s called Take Home Chef and it’s on TLC. If you are not familiar with this foodie show it can be summed up in just a few words: Hunky Aussie Cooks Awesome Food.

Actually there’s a little more to it. This guy walks around grocery stores with a camera crew. He spies someone shopping and asks them if they are cooking for someone else and if he can come to their house and do the cooking instead. It’s a pretty neat concept and I can guarantee that if I ever see this guy in my grocery store (highly unlikely but one can dream) I am all over him it.

When I first came across this show I thought I’d just love to listen to the guy’s accent, but wow can he cook! Even my hubby got into a few episodes, and so our dinner that day was conceptualized. I have a few of this guy’s recipes to share, but today is the roasted pineapple Slurp!

1 fresh pineapple

6 whole cloves*

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup sugar

Malibu Rum*

1. Cut the outer skin off your pineapple. If you are not sure how to do this you can google or youtube some instructions, but it’s very easy. The first thing I do is cut off the very bottom and the top. Then working my knife carefully down in strips, cut off the outer skin while working around the entire fruit.

2. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, then cut a V into the center of both halves to remove the woody core. Discard everything you’ve just cut off.

3. Turn the two halves over so you’re looking at the outsides. Place about three cloves randomly into some of the holes on each half. *If you don’t have whole cloves, just sprinkle a bit of ground clove onto the surface of each half.

4. Melt your butter in a large saucepan or roasting pan over medium heat on the stove. Make sure this pan can go into the oven. Place the pineapple cut side down into the butter.

5. Let the butter brown a bit. Toss in the sugar and stir it up best you can. You can even us more sugar if needed. *The chef, Curtis Stone, said, “Just throw a handful of sugar in there.” And FYI his hands are big, so it looked like a lot of sugar. Cook a few minutes more but don’t let the sugar or butter burn.

6. Preheat the oven to 400* and place the pan inside to cook down the fruit a little and let the sugar and butter carmalize. *I really don’t know how long it’s suppose to be in there. I left it in about 30 minutes and realized later it could have cooked longer.

7. Remove pan and pour a shot or two of Malibu rum over the top of the pineapples and serve. *Because I was feeding this to my kids I wanted the flavors to mingle more and not taste like alcohol so I put the pineapple back into the oven for a bit after I added the Malibu.

This was delicious but I would definitely try it again. Curtis got such a great, thick caramel syrup under his pineapple and I didn’t- so back to the drawing board I go. Unfortunately this was one of the few recipes from the show that I have been unable to find online. However, you can watch the episode(s) yourself. This one was season 1, episode 4: Natasha. And you can view it via Netflix or even from TLC.com. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Cornbread

I had a feeling when I decided to try this recipe that I would love it, but I had no idea how truly fabulous it would be. While this was baking in my oven, my kitchen filled up with a sweet, heavenly smell that I could not define as sweet potato or pumpkin, or even cornbread. It was just awesome and warm and comforting. Ahh…the aroma itself was rewarding, but the taste was even better Make sure you have some butter on hand to smear over each bite.

3 large eggs

1/2 cup EVOO

3/4 cup sweet potato puree

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose GF flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 350*.   Grease a cake pan or springform pan; dust with cornmeal.

Using a mixmaster, whisk eggs until foamy. Add the EVOO and combine well. Stir in puree, brown sugar, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pie spice.

On lowest setting, add the dry ingredients to the wet in mixer until just combined. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and incorporate all the ingredients together. Batter should be smooth and not over mixed.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes until cornbread is firm and golden. Oven temps can vary. Keep an eye on it and use a toothpick to check the center. My oven baked this recipe closer to 35 minutes.

Allow the cornbread to cool in the pan, on a wire rack, for about ten minutes. Remove from pan and continue to cool. Serve warm with butter.

Roasted Potato Frittata

Have I ever mentioned how much I love frittata? Oh, I have?? Well, it’s only because it’s so easy and versatile and delicious! You can take just about any ingredients from your refrigerator, leftovers especially, and throw it all together with some eggs and make it into a wonderful and filling pie.

Some say that a true frittata is made with a potato base. I believe that a frittata counts as long as it is baked within an egg custard (sans pie crust, of course, because then it’d be a quiche). Whatever you like in your frittata is good enough for me, but here’s a roasted potato recipe that even staunch frittata-lovers should approve of.

EVOO

salt & pepper

2 cups seasoned potato wedges, roasted

1 cup sharp shredded cheese*

4 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp thyme

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

2 T parmesan

Preheat oven to 375*. If you don’t already have some leftover potatoes, simply peel and cube a few, toss with EVOO and salt & pepper, and roast until done.

Using a 8 or 9 inch pie plate, lightly grease and set aside.

In bowl, whisk together eggs and sour cream until smooth.

For the cheese: use any really sharp or flavorful cheese such as swiss, Jarlsberg, cheddar, asiago, blue, or limburger. *I love sharp cheddar so much that I always have it on hand, however for this I wanted to use up the plethora of babybell I had on hand. This is an extremely soft cheese, so I placed it in the freezer for about 30 minutes so it would grate easily in my food processor.

Arrange the roasted potatoes in the bottom of the pie plate and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and wiggle the ingredients around a little with a spatula so the custard seeps in around the potato wedges.

Dot the surface with the tomatoes and sprinkle the thyme over it. Top with a sprinkling of the parmesan.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the frittata is set. Cool slightly before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

GF Blueberry Muffins

Awhile back I bought a quart of blueberries from Sam’s Club.  I love to snack on blueberries and they are one of the few fruits that Number Two likes as well, so you can imagine my disappointment to find they were beyond ripe; mushy and not very sweet.

Into the freezer they went and today I have a recipe for you in case you’ve got some leftover summer fruit in your freezer as well. The great thing about this basic muffin mix is that you can put just about anything you want into it (dates, raisins, nuts, dry fruit, cheese, herbs, etc.) and make any kind of muffin you’re hankering for.

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

1 3/4 cup GF all-purpose baking mix

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup EVOO

1 cup blueberries

organic sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease muffin tins or line with foil or paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a second bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and EVOO.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry; stirring until well combined. Add in the berries or other ingredients you’d like; stir until all traces of flour have disappeared.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Sprinkle some sugar over the tops. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Muffins will be browned and slightly crunchy around the edges.

This recipe makes 12 large muffins or 18 regular sized.

Quiche Lorraine

Have you heard the saying that real men eat quiche? Well, it’s true. And all my boys love quiche, therefore they are real men

Quiche has been a Christmas morning tradition for as long as I can remember. It is a wonderful egg dish that incorporates some of the very best ingredients all into one pie. There are many ways to make quiche. Like a frittata, you can create a unique dish, but this one is much simpler.

8 or 9-inch deep dish pie crust

1/2 lb. (turkey) bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup *swiss cheese, shredded

6 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp salt

dash pepper

dash cayenne

dash nutmeg

dash sugar

Preheat oven to 425*.

Cook bacon in skillet, drain, then crumble. Cut up your cheese if not already shredded. *Swiss or baby swiss is a great alternative if you cannot find Lorraine cheese. Distribute bacon and cheese evenly on the bottom of the pie crust.

Beat eggs and combine rest of ingredients. Carefully pour egg mixture over the bacon and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300* and bake for 30-40 minutes longer, or until set and browned. You may need to use a crust ring after the initial 15 minutes of baking so your crust doesn’t burn.

Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

FYI: you can prepare the quiche the night before and keep it in the refrigerator. Simply allow it to sit at room temperature while your oven is heating.
         

January Menu ~ 2013

I did A LOT of cooking in December! Did you? This month I am slowing down and resting  My menu for January is mostly comprised of comfort foods and recipes that I have made before. Also, because there was quite an over-indulgence of sweets and desserts last month, I will not be making too many of those this month either.

I will also be spending this month researching gluten-free recipes. I have gotten many inquiries over the past few months for them and I am aiming for a GF-February for my whole family. We’ll see how that goes.

I hope you find something new that you will love, or an old favorite to enjoy. Just click on the picture for the link. Happy New Year!

Zucchini Noodles with Meatballs

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Chicken Cordon Bleu

BBQ Salmon

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cheeseburger Salad

Meatball Minestrone

Cheesy Rice and Beans

Chicken & Rice Pilaf

Quesadillas

Couscous Stuffed Peppers

Ultimate Baked Beans

Cheesy Rice Fritters

Creamy Skillet Veggies

Oven Spanish Rice

A few new recipes I will be trying this month:

Chicken with Basil-Artichoke Sauce

Chicken Pasta Milano

Slow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew

Tilapia al Ajillo (Garlic Tilapia)

Avgolemono