Twice-Baked Potatoes

We had cod with chipotle aioli sauce (recipe to come) for dinner tonight and I decided that twice-baked potatoes would make a perfect side.  Twice-baked potatoes are comforting, delicious and very forgiving.  If you prefer them creamier, add more milk.  If you prefer them cheesier, add more cheese.  Try adding sauteed onions or bacon.  Steamed vegetables make a wonderful addition, too.  They are basically a boatload of goodness that you can easily adjust to your taste.  My family loves these and I serve them pretty regularly as a side dish.

Homemade Apple Cider with Rum in Apple Cups

Oh, how I love the sweet aroma of cider while it simmers for hours in my home!  It has become a tradition for me to kick off autumn with some homemade apple cider.  This is such a fun and cute way to serve this beverage.  You can serve these with the cider still hot or chilled.  

Red Quinoa & Vegetable Salad

This salad is cool, fresh, crunchy, packed with nutrients and perfect for summer.  If you're unfamiliar with quinoa, it has a light and fluffy texture and a mildly nutty flavor.  It is easy to digest and is not as filling as other grains.  Quinoa dates back to the ancient Inca civilization and was referred to as the Mother Grain in the Inca culture.  It is a complete protein, which means that it contains the correct proportions of all nine essential amino acids necessary for dietary needs in humans.  It is also gluten-free and very high in fiber.  Pair it with fresh vegetables and a light dressing and you have a very healthy and delicious salad.  This salad can be served as a main course or as a side.

Roasted Sunny-Side Up Eggs in Rings of Onion over Zucchini

While catching up on Facebook this past Friday, I came across a picture that my husband posted to my wall that he found on reddit.com.  It was a lovely picture of a sunny-side up egg inside an onion ring and I was excited about the idea.   There was also some zucchini in my fridge that I needed to use up, so I decided to roast everything together in the oven.  The verdict?  Amazing!  

New Year's Black-Eyed Pea, Sausage & Kale Dip

Happy New Year!   

One year down and may we have many more to come!

How do you celebrate the New Year?  We enjoy pork and sauerkraut for dinner every year.  This year, I decided to also serve a New Year's dip with ingredients considered to be "lucky".  Black-eyed peas symbolize coins and kale symbolizes folded money, which means wealth for the New Year; pork symbolizes progress because pigs root forward; and tomatoes symbolize health.  My family loved this dip!  It was a lot of fun explaining to my daughter what each ingredient symbolized.  She wanted to find and eat as much of the kale as she could so she could save up for a pink car.  That led to a good laugh!

I wish you all a healthy and happy 2012 filled with joy, laughter and love.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Red Currant Sauce

Simple to prepare yet elegant and full of flavor.  The sauce is sweet and tangy and the pork is tender and juicy.  This was a huge hit with my family and I will definitely be making it again.  You can substitute the red currant jelly with any of your favorite flavors such as strawberry, cherry, blueberry, etc.  You can even substitute with leftover cranberry sauce.

Shaved Salad with Prosciutto in Balsamic-Dijon Vinaigrette

Crispy, shaved vegetables with salty prosciutto bits in a tangy balsamic vinaigrette topped with crumbled feta cheese yields a delicious and healthy salad.  This is a beautiful, elegant side that compliments just about any entree.  I served mine with roasted beef tenderloin.  Shaved cucumber and purple cabbage are also nice additions to any shaved salad.  For a vegetarian spin, simply leave out the prosciutto.

Beef Tenderloin with Caramelized Onions & Red Wine Sauce

If you really want to impress your dinner guests for the holidays or any special occasion, I highly recommend this beef tenderloin recipe.  It is a restaurant-quality dish that I would pay a pretty penny for.  The meat is extremely tender and flavorful and the sauce is out of this world.  My husband enjoyed it so much that he said it is in his top 10 favorites of all time, which is quite the honor.  When making this, please note that it is very important to allow the meat to come to room temperature before cooking.  It is also important that you allow it to rest for 15 minutes after it has cooked.  This allows the juices to redistribute throughout.  I served this over a shaved salad with prosciutto and a balsamic-Dijon vinaigrette (recipe to come) along with a side of mashed potatoes.

Witch's Broomstick Lollipops

I haven't posted in a while because my family was enjoying our last vacation of the year in North Carolina.  We had a wonderful time but I sure am happy to be back in the swing of things.  

I am going to turn my focus on Halloween treats for the next few posts.  The first one I wanted to share is a quick, easy and tasty Halloween snack that your children will love.  

Salmon Bruschetta

One of my family's favorite snacks is bruschetta.  Besides serving it with roasted garlic bread, I have experimented with chicken, pizza and even mixing up the Italian snack with a southwestern flare.  Tonight, I had planned on salmon for dinner and I was also craving bruschetta, so I decided to put the two together.  It turned out amazing and the tangy, sweet tomato topping is the perfect complement to the salmon.  My husband and daughter loved it and I will definitely be making this again.  I served this over brown rice with steamed vegetables on the side.  Talk about healthy and tasty!

Deep-Fried Seasoned French Fries

Potatoes were on sale for $0.99/5 pound bag last week, so what did I do?  I bought enough to feed an army.  So far, I have used them to make potato salad, home fries for breakfast, and baked bacon, shrimp and cheddar potato skins.  My husband happened to be craving french fries over the weekend, so I was excited for yet another use of the potatoes.  These are the best and easiest french fries ever.  They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with wonderful flavor.  If you would prefer to bake them, check out my homemade baked french fries recipe.

Rosemary Double Noodle Chicken Soup

The sickness that my daughter had wasn't the flu after all. It was a seven-day stomach virus that has been going around the schools. She is just starting to get over it, thankfully. But wouldn't you know, my husband woke up at 4:00 this morning with the sickness, too! So far, the virus has kept its distance from me and I am able to take care of my loves. I hate that helpless feeling you get, knowing that there is only so much you can do to make someone feel better. Since my husband had a total of two pretzels by dinnertime tonight and my daughter's tummy is still recovering from the week of keeping nothing down, I decided that for dinner we would have chicken noodle soup. This is simple and nothing fancy but it is yummy and does the trick of warming you up and making you feel good... and that is all that matters right now.

Ingredients:
Serves 3

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1/4 c onion, diced
  
• 1 carrot, diced
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  
• 6 c chicken broth
• 6 oz egg noodles (I used No Yolks fine cut)
• 1/2 c cooked chicken, cut bite-size
  
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

• In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, rosemary and parsley. Cook and stir until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook per package directions until tender.
• Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
  
• Turn down the heat and allow the soup to simmer, until the chicken is heated through.
• Enjoy!

Madelyn's Rating:
"Muy bien!"
(Aww! Doesn't she look tired from being so sick?)

Steak and Mushroom Soup

We had grilled flank steak with mashed potatoes last week for dinner. My husband is not a big fan of eating leftover steak but I found a way to get him to do it and enjoy it! I decided to use the steak in a soup and it turned out wonderful! This may just be my new favorite soup and I would rate it a 10, which is appropriate on today's date of 10/10/10!



Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb cooked steak (I used leftover flank steak)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  
• 1/4 c onion, chopped
  
• 1 c mushrooms, coarsely chopped1
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 4 c beef broth
• 2 tbsp sherry wine
• 1/4 c mashed potatoes (optional; I used leftover)
  
• 1/2 c shredded cheddar jack cheese
• 1 c spinach
• Salt, as needed
  
• Freshly ground black pepper, as needed

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  
• Add the onions, mushrooms and jalapeno pepper; cook and stir until soft.
• Add the garlic and basil, stir and cook for 1 minute.
• Pour in the beef broth and sherry wine, bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to low. Add the steak and mashed potatoes and cook until warmed through.
  
• Stir in the cheese and spinach and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.
  
• Enjoy!
  

Herb Roasted Whole Turkey Breast

Can you believe we have less than one week until Christmas?!  I hope you all have your gift shopping at least nearly completed and that your dinner menus are planned.  As for me, my gifts are wrapped and under the tree, except for the presents from Santa, of course.  

I love roasting turkey breasts because my family tends to shy away from dark meat and it cuts down the cooking time compared to a whole turkey.  This rub is delicious and the turkey turns out moist and tender.  You can also use this recipe on a whole turkey if you'd like.  Don't forget to save the pan drippings, neck, giblets, skin and carcass to make turkey stock!

Orange Creme Brulee - Broiled or Torched

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you an amazing French dessert that I absolutely love.  Creme brulee consists of a creamy, cool custard topped with a crispy caramelized sugar crust and it is so addicting!  If you do not own a blow torch, I have included directions on how to use the broiler, which is the method I use.  Also, if you want to get creative, you can use hallowed-out orange peels in place of the ramekins, which is pictured below.  It works wonderfully.