Bunless Cheeseburger and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

I'm trying to eat better these days. Who isn't right? I've been collecting low calorie recipes and thought I would share with you two I made tonight.

First the Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower. I like cauliflower. I don't like raw cauliflower. I like cooked cauliflower. This recipe was easy and so delicious.

Now the Bunless cheeseburger. I love me some cheeseburger and not having a bun is sad to me. But it really wasn't as bad as I thought.

Making the burger is really just getting yourself 93% or 95% lean ground beef. Make a 4oz patty, season it with whatever you want. I use McCormick's Montreal Grill Seasoning. Yum. I put a piece of American cheese on top when it was cooked.

Here's the simple recipe for the Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower.

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Recipe from CanYouStayForDinner.com

Photo Courtesy of Kristi Bernardo

Makes 1

• 1 cup chopped cauliflower (big florets)
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 400F. Chop your cauliflower into large florets. Drizzle with olive oil. Then sprinkle the parmesan cheese over it. Cook for about 20 minutes and eat it. I added some salt and pepper to just give it some flavor.

Lemon-Lime Pound Cake

This was a last minute, sudden decision to make this for book club.  I, for some reason, signed up to bring dessert.  Traditionally our "desserts" have been purchased and I thought I'd give this dessert a new twist...make dessert.

I'm not a baker. I hate measuring and the patience that often comes with baking.  This recipe was super easy and I'm sure full of flavor (I actually haven't tasted it yet - though I may "test" it before book club. Quality Control.

UPDATE: I kinda sorta had to cut the top off so I could flip the cake over and make it flat for sitting on the plate. And I kinda sorta tasted it. And OH....MY.....God....Best Pound Cake EVER. I'm a rockstar baker...who knew?

My favorite part of this recipe was zesting the lemon and limes. I love that smell. Who doesn't.

Lemon-Lime Pound Cake

Photo from MyRecipes.com

Recipe from MyRecipes.com

Serves 12

• 3 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 sticks (3/4 lb.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 c sugar
• 2 tsp grated lime zest
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 c lemon-lime soda
• 2 c confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 T unsalted butter, melted
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 to 2 T lime juice

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Liberally grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

 

Make cake: In a medium bowl, sift together flour and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, and lemon and lime zest until pale and light, about 5 minutes.

 

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Gradually add flour mixture, just until blended. Stir in soda.

 

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack before inverting onto a plate.

 

Make glaze: Stir together confectioners' sugar, butter and juices; add more juice or sugar if needed. Spoon glaze over cake, distributing evenly. Garnish with lemon and lime zest, if desired.

Nutella Brownies

I'm a fan of Nutella. Big...Fan...It seems like the perfect spread to me. And when someone sends me a recipe that includes Nutella I feel it m y civic duty to try it. I mean for the sake of all my friends who are just dying to know if it's good. It is the only right thing to do, for all of you. Oh the sacrifices!

ST. Louis SIL sent me this recipe. From a site called Buns in My Oven. I hadn't every heard of this blog - not too surprising considering how many cooking blogs are out there. Anyhow, I thought Sunday dinner a perfect time to try this recipe out.

First the recipe is easy.  It's a basic cake batter recipe - and even with my little addition of chopped hazelnuts it was easy to follow and well worth making them.

I should also add that I topped my brownies with mini chocolate chips when it came out of the oven. You let the chips melt, then spread them into a chocolate frosting. Delicious.

Nutella Brownies

Recipe from Buns in My Oven

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 10 ounce package Hershey's Milk Chocolate Baking Melts (or chocolate chips)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.

In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Nutella until well combined.

Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer, beat in cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until just combined.

Spread into prepared pan (batter will be very thick and sticky) and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean. The edges should be set and the center should still look slightly moist, but not uncooked.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Store tightly covered for 3-5 days.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
10 ounce package Hershey's Milk Chocolate Baking Melts (or chocolate chips)
Read more at http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/01/03/nutella-brownies/#gw0t6TppOXF09Svx.99

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
10 ounce package Hershey's Milk Chocolate Baking Melts (or chocolate chips)
Read more at http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/01/03/nutella-brownies/#gw0t6TppOXF09Svx.99

Genoa Salami Rolled with Creamy Italian Spread

We had an impromptu family dinner this weekend, and a sudden invite to some friends house for dinner.  I wanted to make a quick appetizer that didn't require a lot of work, nor a lot of leftovers. 


I stumbled on this recipe on Tasty Kitchen.  It was an easy, low prep recipe with delicious results.


Genoa Salami Rolled with Creamy Italian Spread
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Makes about 24

• 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, At Room Temperature
• ½ cups Sour Cream
• ¼ teaspoons Black Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Parsley
• ¼ teaspoons Oregano
• 2 packages (16 Oz. Size) Sliced Provolone Cheese
• 2 pounds Sliced Genoa Salami

In a mixing bowl, add room temperature cream cheese, sour cream, black pepper, parsley, and oregano. Mix well to a creamy consistency. Chill in refrigerator 10 minutes.

Cut sliced Provolone cheese in half and set aside on work surface. [Jenn Note: I couldn't visualize this too well so I used a biscuit cutter and cut my provolone in rounds that were slightly smaller than the salami.]

Lay sliced genoa salami on work surface flat. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on salami slice. Add a halved slice of Provolone cheese on top. Roll up and secure with a toothpick. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Creamy Pesto Lasagna

This was the main course for my Italian themed Sunday dinner. It was, quite frankly, one of the best lasagnas I've had. I made a few mistakes with this recipe that I won't repeat when I make it again - and I'll fill you in on those.

Like the Creamy Pesto Spread, don't use store bought pesto. It just doesn't have as good of a flavor as homemade pesto. Homemade pesto is so easy to make that it's worth the extra effort.

What I did wrong with this?

The recipe calls for the no-boil lasagna noodles. The last time I had used these noodles I made the lasagna early in the day and let it sit before cooking it. The  noodles were gummy and gross. To avoid that, I baked the lasagna in the morning and let it sit then "heated it up". It was too dry but the noodles were delicious. I think the best way to use those noodles and NOT have a dry lasagna is to make the lasagna, bake it and eat it all at the same time.

When I make this again, I'd also double the béchamel sauce as I think that would help with the dryness of the lasagna. I made a quick red sauce - a recipe I made up on the fly - and served it with the meal so people could put it over their lasagna if they wanted. That was a good call to deal with the dryness of the lasagna.

Oh and regarding the package of no-boil noodles, I bought two boxes because I wasn't sure how many was in the box. The recipe makes it sound like one box would be fine, but I needed one more noodle to finish the 9X13 pan.

Creamy Pesto Lasagna
Recipe from Cuisine at Home

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

Serves 12

For Béchamel:
4 T unsalted butter
1/4 flour
3 c whole milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c purchased refrigerated pesto (again, make your own)
salt and pepper

For lasagna:
1 package whole ricotta cheese (15oz)
1 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c purchased refrigerated pesto
12 dry, flat, no boil lasagna sheets
3 c rotisserie chicken
4 c mozzarella cheese, shredded; divided

Preheat 350F.

For the béchamel, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes.

Slowly whisk in milk and nutmeg (I put the nutmeg in the milk); bring to a simmer slowly, and cook for 2 minutes more. Off heat stir in 1/2 c pesto; season with salt and pepper.

For lasagna, stir together ricotta, parmesan and 1/2 c pesto; season with salt and pepper.

Spread 2/3 c béchamel in bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Lay 3 lasagna sheets side by side (it just dawned on me the sheets should go in the pan horizontally instead of vertically. This makes more sense and means you'll only need one package of noodles.) Top noodles with 1/3 c ricotta, 3/4 c chicken, 2/3 c béchamel and 3/4 c mozzarella. Repeat layering three more times, topping the final layer with 1 1/2 c mozzarella. Cover lasagna with foil.

Bake lasagna until bubbly, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes more. Let lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Asparagus & Prosciutto Salad

I made a choice to make this as a warm side dish instead of a salad. It was delicious. The flavors meld so well together warmed that I'm glad I made that choice. 

I do think, however, it would be a super refreshing salad during the summer.

At the end of the day, it was delicious all the way around. The vinaigrette really adds flavor to the asparagus. I'll be making this one again for sure.

I did modify one thing. Prosciutto was a bit too spendy for this unemployed host, so I opted for chopped pancetta (it was on sale).

Asparagus and Prosciutto Salad
Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 6

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4" strips
1 T olive oil
3 T each fresh lemon juice and olive oil
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut sharp on a diagonal
1 c Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, shaved
3/4 c thinly sliced shallots

Cook prosciutto in 1T olive oil in a large skillet until crisp; transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

Whisk together lemon juice, 3 T olive oil, garlic, Dijon, salt and pepper.

Slice asparagus on the bias; keeping the tips intact.

For a cold salad: blanch the asparagus and let it cool. Toss in the prosciutto and shallots. Dress with vinaigrette and refrigerate. Toss the cheese in prior to serving.

For a side dish: After you've cooked the prosciutto, toss in the shallot to soften. Toss in the asparagus and cook to your desired doneness; about 4 minutes. Toss in the vinaigrette and let it cook for just a bit. Remove from the heat and put in a bowl, sprinkle with the cheese.

Creamy Pesto Cheese Spread

This past Sunday dinner I did an Italian theme. I'm prepping for me very soon vacation to Italy and other locals.  I think I was born Italian in another life. It's a food group I just love.

I made three dishes for this Sunday dinner:
1. Cream Pesto Cheese Spread - Appetizer
2. Creamy Pesto Lasagna
3. Asparagus & Prosciutto Salad

I can't even pick my favorite. They were all so good.

This appetizer I got a bit carried away with the garlic. The recipe calls for bottled garlic, but I'm not a fan so used real garlic. I think the clove I used was, perhaps, too big. Let's just say there were no vampires in the house last night.

Creamy Pesto Cheese Spread
Recipe from MyRecipes.com

Photo courtesy of MyRecipes.com

Serves: 9

8 oz fat free cream cheese
1/3 c shredded provolone cheese
3 T light mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp bottled minced garlic
2 T pesto sauce, divided
1 T thinly sliced basil leaves

Note about Pesto: Making pesto is super easy. I highly recommend making your own pesto.  If you do purchase store bought, buy the pesto in the refrigerated section not off the shelf by the pasta.

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

Line a 10oz custard cup (or bowl) with plastic wrap. Spread 1/3 cheese mixture into bottom of the prepared dish. top with 1 T pesto (make sure it reaches the sides so you can see it when you flip it over). Repeat with the procedure with 1/3 cheese mixture and remaining pesto; ending with cheese mixture. It'll make three layers of cheese and two of pesto.

Cover the plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

Uncover and invert spread onto a serving plate; remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle sliced basil over top of the spread. Serve with baguette or crackers.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

So I have a love - hate relationship with shrimp.  My first real memory of shrimp dates back to 1986 in Spain. Dad ordered Paella and it was delivered with shrimp on it. The shrimp-ees had their heads, and shells, and feet, and everything still attached. I wasn't a fan of having to take apart my shrimp before I ate it - especially when one of them still had some egg sacks attached. Ick.

I'm not a fan of taking my shrimp apart. I like my shrimp peeled and deveined. 

This recipe calls for shrimp with tails on it, which I'm fine with, but all I found to buy were shrimps that have their bodies still on and what I affectionately call their "poop track".  I had to take them apart and remove the "poop track".  Makes me not want to cook shrimp.

Still I managed and this recipe is easy and delicious.  I made these early and chilled them then put them on a salad.  Worked well for me.

I think I may make this again for a Sunday dinner appetizer.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp
Recipe from Cuisine at Home
makes 4 servings

3 T fresh lemon juice
2 T canola oil
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left on

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. For marinade, whisk everything but the shrimp together in a bowl. Place shrimp in bowl and let marinate for 5 minutes, or up to 30 minutes. 

Grill shrimp until charred on both sides, basting with the marinade, about 2 minutes per side.

Grilled Asian Chicken

This particular recipe is from my favorite recipe cookbooks, Cuisine at Home. Their recipes are simple and usually delicious. This one is no exception.

I followed the recipe, mostly. I've been trying to be better about staying with the recipe lately. This one I only added a second tablespoon of soy sauce to the sauce for the  noodles.  It was a bit too peanut-buttery for me (I know, hard to do).

I did chop up the chicken and put it in with the noodles though. Seemed the easiest way to eat the chicken to me.

Anyhow, make this recipe. You won't be disappointed.

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

Grilled Asian Chicken
Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 4

For the chicken marinade:
1 T soy sauce
1 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp peanut oil
1/2 tsp salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all the above, except chicken breasts. Put the chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over it. Seal it and let marinate for 15 minutes.

Preheat your grill while the chicken is marinating. Then grill the chicken until it's done.

8 oz spaghetti
1/2 c chicken broth (I use low sodium chicken broth)
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
2 T brown sugar
2 T rice vinegar
2 T lime juice
1 T soy sauce (this is where I used a second tablespoon)
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 T garlic, minced
1 T chile garlic sauce
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. While it's cooking mix together chicken broth through chili garlic sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro. Check flavor, it may need some salt.

Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat.

Top each chicken breast with pasta and garnish with peanuts.

Spaghetti Puttanesca

In prep to my visit to Italy, I'm making some Italian food this month. I started with a super easy and super delicious recipe; Spaghetti Puttanesca.

I love all the components of this recipe individually. Together they make a mouthwatering, delicious meal. I got a bit carried away with the red pepper flakes though. My mouth was on fire for a while after.

This is an Everyday Food recipe (a magazine created by Martha Stewart). Sadly the magazine is no longer in publication.

Spaghetti Puttanesca
Recipe from Everyday Food

Courtesy of Everyday Food

Serves 6 (I reset the recipe to make for one)

1 pound spaghetti     

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

6 rinsed anchovies, (optional)

1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, and their juice

2 tablespoons capers

1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions; drain; return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and anchovies, if desired, mashing them with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 2 minutes.

Add whole tomatoes and their juice, breaking up tomatoes with hands. Stir in capers and olives. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Toss with pasta; season with salt and pepper.

Two things. First, I chose to not include the anchovies only because I didn't have any on hand AND I didn't want to spend any more $$. Anchovies would make this dish even better. When you cook anchovies they become almost nutty, not fishy at all. I would recommend making it with them.

The other thing is adding something like chicken to this would make this even more hearty. If I had chicken on hand I would have sautéed it up in chunks and added it to the mix.

Classic Roast Beef

At Christmas time I had purchased a rump roast - they were buy one get one free, so I got two. I ended up not cooking one for Christmas so had both in the freezer.  I thought I'd do one for Sunday dinner and perhaps one another time. The "other" time came up when I hosted book club this month.

I wanted to follow the recipe exactly because I was determined to get a roast beef that was pink and not grey. Too much heat too quickly causes a grey looking meat that's kinda gross. I was successful in my endeavors.  The meat was cooked to a perfect medium rare - if I do say so myself.

This recipe takes time for the beef to cook 2-3 hours. So you do have to plan ahead. I'm a fan of making sure my meat is at room temp before I cook it too - it doesn't shock the beef and then make it tough. Could be an old wives tale, but dad did so I do.

I made mashed potatoes on the side as well as this recipe makes a fantastic gravy. I saved the vegetables to make a pureed soup with down the road. You could serve them if you wanted to.

The best part is I have left overs for French dip sammies. Oh yummy.

Classic Roast Beef
Recipe from Cook's Country
Serves 6-8

Photo courtesy of Cook's Country

1 (4-5 lb) boneless top round roast, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch
Salt and pepper
1 T vegetable oil
4 T unsalted butter
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2" pieces
1 onion, cut into 1/2 " rings
1 celery rib, cut into 2" pieces
1/2 c flour
1 tsp tomato paste
2 (10.5oz) cans of beef consommé (Have 2 on hand, but depending on how much gravy you want, one can may be enough.)
1 1/2 c water

If your roast isn't bound, tie some kitchen twine around it to keep it together. Sprinkle roast with 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225F.Heat oil in 12" oven safe skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Brown all sides of the roast, set aside.

Pour off all but 2 T of fat from the skillet and reduce heat to medium and melt butter in skillet. Add carrots, onion and celery and cook until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste and cook until flour is golden and tomato paste begins to darken, about 2 minutes. Off heat, push vegetables to the center off skillet. Place roast on top of vegetables and transfer skillet to oven - uncovered. cook until meat registers 125 for medium rare, 2-3 hours (Jenn note: I cooked mine to 150 for medium rare. It could be my meat thermometer, but 125 seems very rare to me.

Transfer roast to carving board, ten with foil and let rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, using potholder, return skillet with vegetables to medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in consommé and water, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, 10-15 minutes. Strain gravy through a fine mesh strainer into 4 cups liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste - though check it first, mine was plenty salty.

Remove twine from roast and slice thin against the grain. Serve with gravy.

French Onion Salisbury Steak

I hardly ever cook "burger" type things on the stove. When I do fry burger type things it sends me back down memory lane for some reason. I have vague, but pleasant, memories of the smell of frying burgers at mom's house and grandma's house.  We stopped frying when we married dad and learned about bbq'ing.

This recipe was exceptionally good. I loved the onion flavor the burger had as well as the deep flavor the gravy had. I made mashed potatoes to go along side with it, and the gravy over the potatoes was perfect.

French Onion Salisbury Steak
Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 2

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

3/4 lb ground beef
2 T minced fresh parsley
1 T minced scallion
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 T flour, divided
2 tsp olive oil
1 c sliced onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 c low sodium beef broth
2 T dry red wine
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Combine ground beef, parsley, scallions, salt and pepper. Shape into two oval patties. Place 2 tsp flour in a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour.

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add patties and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes on each side. remove patties from pan.

Add onions to the pan; sauté 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in garlic and tomato paste; sauté until paste begins to brown, about 1 minute.  Sprinkle mixture with remaining 1 tsp flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth and wine and thyme.

Return patties to the pan and bring sauce to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pan and simmer patties in sauce for 10 minutes.

Chicken and Noodles

I've come down with a bit of a cold. Well, almost, I think. My throat is sore and I have what feels like the starts of a stuffy nose.  Oh goody.

Thankfully, I thought, I was making chicken and noodles this week. I thought it was a soup but it turns out it's more of a stew. Which was fine. I could have added more broth to make it a soup if I really wanted, but the stew consistency was just fine.

Super EAST recipe again. I love easy.  And it was tasty. I only made a couple of substitutions in this recipe. My notes on those changes are below.

It calls for already cooked chicken, so its a great recipe for left over chicken.

Chicken and Noodles

Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 2

1 T olive oil
1 T unsalted butter
1 c sliced button mushrooms
1 medium carrot, sliced in coins
1 small russet potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 c sliced leeks (I didn't want to spend $2 on a leek so I used diced onions)
1 T tomato paste
1 T flour
2 c low sodium chicken broth
4 oz Kluski Noodles (dried egg pasta thick noodles) ( I couldn't find Kluski Noodles so I used Reame's Frozen Egg Noodles)
1 c diced cooked chicken
1/2 c frozen peas

Heat oil and butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and stir in mushrooms, carrot, potato, and leek. Cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste and flour and cook 1 minute, scraping up bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in broth and noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add chicken and peas, cooking until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Taste and add salt/pepper to taste.

Salmon Steaks with Hoisin Glaze

I seem to have a love / hate relationship with salmon. For most of my salmon eating days I make the same recipe.... Slow Roasted Salmon - its easy and quick and oh so good.

This year I wanted to try a couple of salmon recipes I've carried with me for what seems like years.

This recipe seemed it would be something I liked.  It's got hoisin. Which I like. It's got salmon. Which I like. And it's easy. Which I like. So it's a win-win.

I made mashed potatoes with this meal. Odd to me to have potatoes with salmon, but I had a potato that was close to it's last leg.  When I make this again, I'd consider bok choy and rice maybe. That'd be good.

Salmon Steaks with Hoisin Glaze
Recipe from Everyday Food

Photo courtesy of Everyday Food

Serves 4

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice   

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons honey

4 salmon steaks (each 8 to 10 ounces and 1 inch thick)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Heat broiler. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, hoisin sauce, and honey.

Rinse salmon steaks, and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place steaks on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush generously with glaze.

Broil salmon about 4 inches from the heat source, basting once, until opaque in center, 10 to 13 minutes.

Thai Steak Stir-Fry

Two nights in a row I've had Thai.  Last night was a Thai chicken salad that was to....die....for....

Tonight's recipe was good and easy. Two of my favorite things.  I modified it slightly because it doesn't make much sauce. I like sauce. If you are not a sauce person, then don't bother adding my modifications.

Thai Steak Stir-Fry

Courtesy of Everyday Food

Courtesy of Everyday Food
Serves 4

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 pound skirt steak, cut against the grain into thin strips

1 pound green beans, trimmed

4 T minced peeled fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 T fish sauce

1 cp fresh basil leaves, torn if large

2 c cooked rice, for serving

In a wok or large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add steak and cook, stirring, until browned, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer steak to a plate. Add green beans, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring, until green beans are crisp-tender, 5 minutes. Return beef and any juices to pan along with fish sauce and basil. Cook 1 minute. Serve with rice.

My modifications are simple. I mixed about a quarter cup beef broth with 1T soy sauce and then about a T cornstarch. I added that at the end and cooked it until it was thickened.

Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Princess Lori is coming over for dinner tonight to help me with a project tonight. I love cooking for people who love to eat.  Well, I love cooking in general, but especially when I'm cooking for someone who appreciates every bit of it.

I decided to keep it relatively light and make Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce. I had seen this recipe on FB a month or so ago and thought it looked delicious. 

I actually followed this recipe too. Crazy I know.  I grilled the chicken inside because I couldn't get the grill to work outside.  I did the chicken early and put it in the fridge so when I make the salad it'll chilled and the same temp as the salad. Oh I should say I didn't put in the red bell peppers cuz those are gross. But otherwise, I followed the recipe.

Photo from
 mykitchenescapade.com

Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Recipe from MyKitchenEscapade.com
serves 8

Chicken marinade
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 Tb rice vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
dash of salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - about 2 1/2 pounds total

Salad
2 hearts of romaine, chopped
1/2 large head of napa cabbage, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 C salted peanuts

Dressing (I doubled this part of the recipe. It didn't seem like very much dressing for so  much salad.)
1/4 C rice vinegar
1/4 C Thai sweet red chili sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt and pepper

Peanut Sauce
1/4 C creamy peanut butter
2 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb rice vinegar
1 Tb Thai sweet red chili sauce
2 Tb water

In a ziplock bag, combine all the ingredients for the chicken marinade.  Mush it all around, then place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours to marinade.  Cook the chicken either on a hot grill, 6-8 minutes a side or in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Allow it to cool a bit, then chop up all the chicken into bite sized pieces.

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl, except for the peanuts, then add the chicken. Combine all the dressing ingredients then pour over the salad.  Toss until the salad is evenly coated with the dressing.  Dish out the individual servings of the salad.

Stir together the ingredients for the peanut sauce in a small bowl.  If the sauce is too thick to drizzle, add a bit more water.  Generously drizzle the peanut sauce over each serving of salad then top with the peanuts.

"Bring It On" Brisket

If any of you read my normal blog you know I'm a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I like to go to restaurants that host Guy visits and tells us all about.  Because I'm a Guy fan I bought his cookbook.

This is a super easy recipe, but does take a lot of time to cook the meat.  As it should with brisket.  I found this super flavorful and so good I'm moving it to the top of my list of recipes to make again some day soon.

I should mention I did not use brisket.  I found it too expensive for this girl's pocket book right now. So instead I bought a 7-bone pot roast - I figured the type of meat I used in this really wouldn't make that much of a difference.  I gotta say, I'm so glad I went with the 7-bone.  The fat was less, but the flavor was fantastic.


"Bring it on" BRISKET
Recipe from Guy Fieri
Serves 6

4 1/2 - 5 lb beef brisket (I made two 7-bones that was about 7 lbs total and I doubled this recipe)
1 T kosher salt
2 T freshly cracked pepper
2 T canola oil
2 yellow onions, cut into 1" rings
2 leeks, whites and light green parts only, cleaned and cut into thirds
2 shallots, quartered
1 carrot, cut into half lengthwise, then into 1 inch chunks (I put in about 5 carrots cuz I planned on serving them with dinner)
4 celery stalks, cut into thirds
3/4 c Chili Sauce (Guy provides a recipe, but I chose to purchase the jarred Chile Sauce. In fact, I didn't realize Guy provided a recipe until this very moment.)
1/2 c low sodium beef stock
1 12 oz beer, at room temp (Pale ale is what I used)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Rinse the brisket and pat it dry. Season each side with salt and pepper, pressing them into the beef.  In a large cast-iron Dutch oven over high heat, beat the canola oil to the smoking point. Add the beef, fat side down, and sear until browned. Repeat on the other sides, 3-4 minutes per side.

Top the onions, leeks,shallots, carrots and celery. Combine the chili sauce and beef stock and pour over the brisket. Cover and roast in the oven, for 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes.

Add the pale ale, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours more, basting every 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the brisket rest at room temperature for an hour. [Jenn's Note: Yah, I didn't let it sit for an hour. I let me 7-bone sit for about 20 minutes.]

Remove the brisket from the Dutch oven and set it on a cutting board.. Carefully remove the fat cap with the edge of a fork and discard. Remove the vegetables and run them through a food mill or puree in a food processor. Skim the fat from the pan juices. Add the pureed vegetables back to the Dutch oven with the pan juices. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and heat the sauce over low heat. [Jenn's Note: Again, I didn't do this. I served the veggies on the side AND made a little gravy with the juices from the pan.]

Slice the beef on the diagonal, across the grain, and serve with sauce.

Soy-Lime Marinated Flank Steak

I'm reminded again that using an acid while marinating can cause meat to have a weird texture.

This recipe's flavor was good and tasty but again with the too long in the lime marinade.  It's an easy marinate and one I think would be good with chicken as well.

Soy Lime Marinated Flank Steak
Recipe from WW 50th Anniversary Cookbook
Serves 4

1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp grated lime zest
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp chili-garlic paste
1 flank steak

Mix all ingredients together except the steak. Let marinate for up to 4 hours.

Cook steak as you choose. I BBQ'd it

Pasta E Fagioli

One of my favorite soups of all time.  I've had a couple different versions of this and they are all pretty close. This one wasn't that all different from the others I've had. 

This makes ALOT of soup.  It serves 8. I tried to make it to just feed two, but it turns out you just can't do it. I made enough for about 4 servings.

Here's the recipe for 8.

Pasta E Fagioli
Serves 8

4 oz bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
2 cans (15.5oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
31/2 c low sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 c water
8 oz small shaped pasta
1/4 c minced fresh parsley
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.  Stir in the onion, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion is softened, about  5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, beans, broth and water. Salt to taste.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in the pasta and cook until just slightly underdone. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with grated parmesan and drizzle of olive oil before serving.

Broccoli with Brown Butter, Paremsan and Walnuts

OMG this recipe was not only easy, but so darn good. Make this side dish. 

I'm not kidding, this recipe really takes broccoli to a nice new level.

Broccoli with Brown Butter, Parmesan and Walnuts
Recipe from Cooking for Two - 2011
Serves 2

2 T unsalted butter
2 T walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch broccoli florets, cut into bit size pieces, stalks trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Microwave butter in a microwave-safe bowl until melted, about 1 minute. Add nuts and continue to microwave until butter is well browned and walnuts are toasted, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to boil in large saucepan.  Add broccoli and 2 tsp salt and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.  Drain broccoli, pat dry with paper towels and transfer to bowl. Toss broccoli with butter-nut mixture and parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.