"Whoa. This is GREAT."

Those were the exact words out of my husband's mouth upon putting the first bite of this dish in his mouth. I had to agree with him. This dish is also every easy to put together. I actually used pre-cookied frozen shrimp (that I unthawed before cooking obviously) and that made it even easier! Just delicious - no other way to describe it! This will definitely make its way into our meal rotations. Thanks to my friend Lindsay for this one!

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi with Orzo

1 Cup uncooked orzo

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 Teaspoon divided salt

7 Teaspoons divided butter

1 1/2 Pound peeled deveined jumbo shrimp

1 -2 dashes garlic powder

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 Teaspoon black pepper

14 1/2 Ounces chicken broth

1 tsp for topping grated Parmesan cheese

Spray a small sauce pan with cooking spray. Add the orzo, stirring frequently until slightly toasted. Pour in the chicken broth. Cook until almost all of the broth is absorbed. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.

While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic powder to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done. Stir the orzo back into the skillet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Catching up

I'm going to attempt to catch up to several weeks of missed blogging. I know I'm going to miss some recipe, somewhere along the way....but here goes nothing!

First off, I hosted both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year for our families. I had 8 people for Christmas Eve, 9 for Christmas Day. It was a lot of work but good times.

Traditionally, on Christmas Eve, the food is pretty low key in my family. French meat pies, and then another stand-alone dish (i.e. not a "meat and potatoes" dish, more of a casserole-ish dish). This year I opted for Mac 'n Cheese. But it wasn't your grandma's mac 'n cheese, this one was kicked up a few notches in the cheese & flavor department. It was quite good! I thank my friend Janine for passing this one along to me!

Mac 'n Cheese

6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano
1 pound elbow macaroni

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.

Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve

Busy day = crockpot!

I really think there is nothing better than having a great meal without slaving over it all day. This past Sunday we had big plans - we had to run and errand, put up our outdoor Christmas lights, and get our tree up and house decorated. I knew I wouldn't be in the mood to put a lot of effort into dinner so I gave this recipe I found on the Crock Pot website a whirl. Delicious!

Sweet & Saucy Pork Chops

(from www.crock-pot.com)

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 pork chops, bone in

2 cups onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup water

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 cup brown sugar

Heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add pork chops and brown for 3 minutes on each side.

Remove pork chops and place in slow cooker. Add onion to skillet and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, water, ketchup, cider vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. Pour sauce over pork chops.

Cook on Low for 8-10 hours.

Chicken Rollatini

I was watching the Food Network a couple of weeks ago when Robin Miller came on and made this delicious recipe. My husband and I love spinach and we LOVE goat cheese. This could not have been a better match!

For this recipe I used whole wheat seasoned bread crumbs for the first time. I had bought a cannister a couple of weeks ago when they were on sale and I had a coupon specifically for the whole wheat variety! Quite tasty actually, and aside from the color, one would never know they were whole wheat!


Chicken Rollatini with Ditalini
(from FoodNetwork.com)

Cooking spray
2 pounds ditalini pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
8 ounces thinly sliced ham
1 cup baby spinach leaves, chopped
4 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cook ditalini according to package directions. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.

Arrange chicken breasts on a flat surface. Top each piece of chicken with ham. Mix together spinach and goat cheese and spread over ham. Starting from the shorter end, roll up chicken and secure with wooden picks. Brush mustard all over chicken rolls and then roll in bread crumbs.

Heat remaining oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken rolls and cook until golden brown on all sides.

Transfer chicken to oven and bake 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Serve chicken with half of the ditalini. Reserve extra ditalini for another dish

Chicken, let me count the ways....

Chicken is the universal meat when you think about it. Everything "tastes like chicken." Chicken is most people's "go to" meal when faced with picky eaters. At weddings there is always an option for chicken as a meal. Chicken is a crowd pleaser so why is it so easy to get stuck in a rut when cooking it? Is it just me or does anyone else feel like you sometimes start relying on the same recipes, or same style of recipes when it comes to chicken?

A few weeks ago I had bought a whole chicken on sale and didn't want to reach for my usual method of seasoning/marinating so I did a little searching on myrecipes.com, which, by the way, has really become one of my favorite food websites to use. I found this recipe for Baked Curry Chicken. It called for a whole chicken cut up, but, I skipped that part and cooked the chicken whole making sure to make sure the marinade covered the bird well.

The reviews on the website for this recipe were high on praise and I had to agree! The chicken came out so moist and very tasty. Most importantly it was different from my usual whole chicken recipe. I later made chicken stock from the bones and with some of that leftover marinade added in to flavor it. Delicious!

Baked Curry Chicken

(from MyRecipes.com)

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb.) whole chicken, cut up

Stir together first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish until blended. Dip chicken in honey mixture, 1 piece at a time, thoroughly coating all sides. Arrange chicken, skin side up, in a single layer in a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; pour remaining honey mixture over chicken.

Bake at 375° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until done.

Grilling season may be winding down...

...but we're still "getting our grill on."

I watched Giada make this recipe on her show the week before last. It just sounded TOO good not to try, and also perfect timing. I'd just taken chicken breasts out of the freezer that morning to make in a couple of nights for dinner.

We loved this BBQ sauce. I wish I had made extra so I could bottle it or something! It was delicious and I can't wait to try it on steak!

Chicken or Steak with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

(from FoodNetwork.com)

For the Balsamic BBQ sauce:

1 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the chicken or steak:

4 pieces chicken (any combination of breast or leg-and-thigh pieces) or 4 pieces of New York strip or Club strip steak

Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the BBQ sauce:

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes.

For the chicken or steak:

Place a grill pan over medium heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with some of the BBQ sauce using a pastry brush. Place the meat on the grill. Place the remaining BBQ sauce, still in the small saucepan, over low heat or on the edge of a gas or charcoal grill and allow to gently simmer while the meat cooks.

Cook the chicken about 8 minutes per side. Cook the steaks starting at about 4 minutes per side until a meat thermometer reads the desired temperature, 120 degrees F for medium rare, 135 degrees F for medium (about 6 minutes per side), 155 degrees F for well done (about 9 minutes per side). Continually brush the meat with BBQ sauce every few minutes. Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve with the heated BBQ sauce alongside.

Alternately, the chicken can be baked in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the chicken skin side up in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and spoon the BBQ sauce all over the top of the chicken. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.

Kabob time!

This past Labor Day weekend we had some very good friends over for an afternoon/evening of fun. It was just a small crowd of us (5 people) and I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and definitely do something on the grill. It may be September but we grill here well into October as long s the weather cooperates!

I'd mentioned to my husband a couple weeks earlier how we hadn't done any kind of kabobs on the grill this season at all. When we made plans with our friends to come over this past weekend I looked at it as the perfect opportunity to have grilled kabobs. Any bigger of a crowd I'd question the amount of skewering time (I'd rather be socializing with our friends) but for that many people I could handle it!

I decided to do beef and chicken, alternating with green peppers, yellow summer squash, tomatoes, and onions. They were a thing of beauty and I will eventually have some really fantastic pictures of them for you as our good friend Matt has gotten into photography the past few months and was kind enough to take some before and after pictures for me.

I used two different marinades - a light one for the chicken, tomatoes, and squash and a little bolder flavored one for the beef, onions and peppers. It was a nice mix when all of the food was together. So here are the respective marinades I used, both courtesy of MyRecipes.com.


Chicken Vegetable Kabobs
(from MyRecipes.com)

4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 (8-inch) wooden or metal skewers


Cut chicken into 2- x 1-inch strips.

Whisk together 1/4 cup white wine, orange juice, olive oil, and next 4 ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup for basting. Pour remaining marinade into a shallow dish or large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; add chicken strips. Cover or seal, and chill 2 hours, turning chicken occasionally.

Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to prevent burning.

Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade.

Thread chicken and vegetables onto 8 (8-inch) skewers.

Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 15 to 20 minutes or until done, turning occasionally and basting with reserved marinade.


Marinated Beef Kabobs with Vegetables
(from MyRecipes.com)

1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 (3 1/2-pound) eye of round roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
12 small whole onions
1 pound large whole mushrooms
2 green bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces


Stir together first 10 ingredients; reserve 1/2 cup marinade, and chill. Pour remaining marinade into a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Add meat cubes; seal and chill 8 hours. Drain, discarding marinade.

Thread meat and vegetables onto 12-inch skewers.

Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat 16 minutes, basting with reserved marinade and turning often

Way behind, once again

Well I'm just going to stop apologizing and just admit that yes, I made this recipe well over a month ago and am only blogging about it now....

This was a recipe shared by one of the lovely ladies on my Nest board. The ingredients sounded unique and I wasn't sold on it until one of the other ladies tried the recipe and LOVED it. Between a rave review and my curiousity I just had to try this.

And let me just say, I am SO glad I did! This is one fabulous marinade. My pork chops came out so juicy and tender and flavorful! Anyone who did not know the contents of the marinade would never guess coffee and molasses were two of the key ingredients! I highly recommend this one!

Molasses-Coffee Marinated Pork Chops

1 Cup cooled strong coffee
6 Ounces molasses
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Cloves minced garlic
1 Teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
6 sprigs - 8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
4 (1" thick each) bone in pork chop


Place all of the ingredients into a 1 gallon zip top bag, seal, and shake to combine. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Remove the pork chops from the marinade. Transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and boil gently, stirring often, until reduced to about 1/2 cup liquid, 12-15 minutes. Remove the thyme stems after the glaze has reduced.

Meanwhile, grill pork chops 3-4 minutes per side or until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Allow the pork chops to rest 4-5 minutes before serving with the glaze.

Hamming it up!!

I'm beginning to realize I'm pretty behind on blogging about recipes these days.

This is one I made, well, over a month ago! I had bought a small ham at the market at a great price. Ham's not something I really think to cook unless it's a holiday or special occasion but this little guy was good for a nice meal for my husband & I and enough for some yummy leftovers. We love leftovers here at this house!

Anyway I'm leaving this recipe in tact with the original measurements. Obviously I scaled it down since my ham was not that large. This was a fantastic recipe - so flavorful, easy to make, and the ham was so moist when it came out of the oven. It's a definite keeper!

Fresh Baked Ham with Whisky and Cola Glaze
(from FoodNetwork.com)

1 (8-pound) fresh ham (shank and leg of pork)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Whole cloves
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup whisky
4 cups cola drink
Wild Pecan Rice, Bacon, and Tasso Dressing, recipe follows


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

With a sharp knife, puncture and score the skin of the ham, making parallel 1/2-inch-deep incisions. Turn the ham and score again to make a grid-like pattern.

In a small bowl combine the salt, Essence, pepper, and cayenne. Rub evenly all over the ham. Place the ham, fatty side up, in a large roasting pan. Place 1 clove where the lines intersect on the ham. Rub the sugar evenly over the ham, pressing to pack. Pour 2 cups of cola into the bottom of the roasting pan and bake for 1 hour. In a container, combine the whisky and the remaining 2 cups of cola.

Baste the ham with the whiskey and cola and continue to bake, basting every 15 minutes with the whisky and coke mixture and pan juices, until the ham is cooked through, the skin is crisp and dark, and a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Remove from the oven and let rest at least 20 minutes before carving. To serve, slice the meat thinly across the grain and arrange on a platter.


Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

* 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoons garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Steak - it's what was for dinner

I don't buy a lot of steak here, typically because it's pricier and also because red meat isn't the healthiest thing out there. But every now and again when it's on sale I'll buy us some nice hearty steaks.

Given that it's the summer time I of course wanted to grill these and am always looking for a new marinade recipe to try. This is an Applebee's copycat recipe that I do have to say came out great. The only thing I would change next time is to marinate it a bit longer. I had it marinating about 5 hours and I think I'd prefer to do it at least 8 hours or even overnight just so the steaks soaked up more of that delicious flavor.

Applebee’s Bourbon Street Steak

1/2 Cup steak sauce
1/4 Cup bourbon whiskey
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Teaspoon mustard
4 (10 oz. each) steak

Combine all the ingredients except the steaks in a baking dish or resealable plastic storage bag; mix well. Add the steaks; cover (or seal) and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the grill to medium−high heat. Grill the steaks for 12-15 minutes, or until desired doneness, turning them over halfway through the grilling.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

This is an easy one from KraftFoods.com but one that even my tomato-hating hubby enjoyed. Sometimes I can sneak that kind of stuff into his meals and he'll like it! Can't beat when that happens!

If you are looking for a quick one dish meal for a weeknight, this is it!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

(from KraftFoods.com)

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 11x7-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Place the chicken in a layer into the bottom of the baking dish. Stir together tomatoes, water, garlic, and stuffing mix in a large bowl; set aside to soften. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken, then sprinkle with dried basil. Spread the softened stuffing mixture on top.

Bake uncovered until the chicken cubes have turned white and are no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes.

Grilin' & Chillin'

It's that time of year again - the nice weather is here and that means one thing. It's time to grill!!!

My husband and I officially broke out the grill again for the season this past weekend. Saturday night we had burgers, there is really nothing like burger hot off the grill!

Last night we had pork tenderloin on the grill and it was fabulous! I swear this must be one of the best marinades on the planet. I actually have used this recipe in the past, prior to my blogging days, and dug it back up out of the woodwork because I remembered it being so good.

The pork was tender, moist, and flavorful. The irony of it all? This recipe is from the Betty Crocker website!

Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

(from BettyCrocker.com)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 pork tenderloins (about 3/4 pound each)


Mix all ingredients except pork. Place pork in resealable plastic food-storage bag or shallow glass or plastic dish. Pour marinade over pork; turn pork to coat with marinade. Seal bag or cover dish and refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours, turning pork occasionally.

Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. If using charcoal grill, place drip pan directly under grilling area, and arrange coals around edge of firebox. Heat coals or gas grill for indirect heat.

Remove pork from marinade; reserve marinade. Cover and grill pork over drip pan or over unheated side of gas grill and 4 to 5 inches from medium heat 25 to 30 minutes, brushing occasionally with marinade and turning once, until pork is slightly pink in center. Cut pork across grain into thin slices.

Yummy & healthy...

That combo isn't one that goes together 100% of the time, but this recipe fits the bill. I found this recipe on KraftFoods.com and it is delicious and easy.

Creamy Chicken & Pasta Bake
(from KraftFoods.com)

1-1/2 cups multigrain rotini pasta, uncooked
1 small bunch broccoli, cut into florets (about 3 cups)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat oven to 375ºF. Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding broccoli for the last 3 min.

Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 min. or until no longer pink, stirring frequently. Stir in broth; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Add cream cheese; cook and stir on low heat 1 min. or until cream cheese is melted. Stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Drain pasta and broccoli. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon into 8-inch sq. baking dish; cover.

Bake 15 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake, uncovered, 3 min. or until melted. Let stand 5 min.

Super shrimp

And super simple!

I don't cook with fish or seafood a lot, but I'm trying to get better. Lately I've ventured into shrimp, making my own version of paella about a month and 1/2 ago (the synthesization of 3 different recipes) and then about 2 weeks ago I made this dish that I found on MyRecipes.com. The best part about this recipe was not only that it was easy, but that it had simple tastes that altogether were fantastic together. This will definitely continue to make it on the meal rotation at our house.

Lemon-Shrimp Couscous Risotto
(from MyRecipes.com)

2 1/2 cups water
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces medium shrimp, cooked and peeled
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Simmer 2 1/2 cups water and broth; keep warm. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions 2 minutes. Add couscous. Cook 2 minutes; stir constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth mixture, rind, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is nearly absorbed.

Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time; stir constantly until each portion is absorbed before adding next. Add shrimp. Cook 2 minutes; stir constantly. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and parsley.

Sausage & Vegetable Stew

I recently received my first issue of the Food Network Magazine in the mail, courtesy of Joelen of Joelen's Culinary Adventures and one of her blog giveaways. I must say this magazine is fabulous and there are so many recipes in it that I want to try, as well as many helpful and informative articles.

One of the first recipes that really caught my eye was the one for Sausage & Vegetable Stew, it seems like such a fun twist on stew but also just a great comfort food for cold winter weather. I was really happy with the results of this recipe and this recipe also introduced me to parsnips for the first time ever! Gotta love trying something new!

I pretty much followed this recipe to the T, except I used regular potatoes instead of red, and turkey kielbasa to help with the healthiness factor. Overall a great recipe that I cannot wait to make again!

(Sorry, another recipe with no picture - I am really dropping the ball these days!)

Sausage & Vegetable Stew
(from FoodNetwork.com)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon paprika, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 ounces kielbasa, cut into small chunks
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
14 ounces small red-skinned or new potatoes (6 to 8), quartered
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
3/4 cup sour cream
Crusty bread, for serving

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and glistening, about 6 minutes. Add the paprika and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the oil >> turns deep red, about 1 minute. Add the flour and cook until just toasted, 30 more seconds. Immediately whisk in 4 cups water. Add the kielbasa, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer; cover and cook until the vegetables are tender and the broth has thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the vinegar and season with pepper.

Combine about half of the parsley with the sour cream in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the stew into bowls; top with the remaining parsley, a dollop of herbed sour cream and a sprinkle of paprika. Serve with bread.

Who doesn't love a turkey brine?

I have to confess, I've never made a turkey of any sort, but have always wanted to. When turkey breasts were on sale this week at the supermarket I figured I should give it a whirl and I figured I could also try it in my crockpot (I got the smallest one they had at my market and it just about fit).

I wanted to brine the turkey first, if there's one thing I know, it's that a turkey brine sure does make turkey that much more delicious! So I found this recipe on my favorite site of all - myrecipes.com. It was simple, easy, and the best part - I had all of the ingredients already in the house!

I also have to say it was a success making this turkey in my crockpot, I put it on for about 9 hours and it came out delicious!

Honey & Thyme Brined Turkey
(from MyRecipes.com)

7 cups water, divided
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
6 thyme sprigs
1/2 cup kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups ice cubes
1 (6-pound) whole bone-in turkey breast, skinned
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Cooking spray
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Combine 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons pepper, and thyme sprigs in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl; cool to room temperature. Add remaining 6 cups water, salt, honey, and sugar, stirring until salt and sugar dissolve. Pour salt mixture into a 2-gallon zip-top plastic bag. Add ice and turkey; seal. Refrigerate 24 hours, turning the bag occasionally. Remove turkey from bag, and discard brine. Pat turkey dry with paper towels.

Rub turkey with oil. Combine 1 tablespoon pepper and chopped thyme; rub over turkey.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place the turkey on a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until thermometer inserted into thickest portion of the breast registers 180°. Place turkey on a platter. Cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Sometimes you want an easy recipe that just looks a little on the fancier side for guests - this recipe fits that bill!

We recently had my parents and my husband's parents over for dinner to celebrate some birthdays. I got the idea for chicken cordon bleu but wanted an easy version of it due to the lack of time, and I found this one.

Instead of crushed croutons I just used seasoned bread crumbs which I already had in the house (saved me a trip to the market!) but I think it would be great with crushed croutons as well! I also used Provolone cheese instead of Swiss. That was a selfish decision on my part, I can't stand Swiss cheese but love Provolone. Either way this was a big hit and I'll definitely be making it again!

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
(from MyRecipes.com)

Yield
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves
1 (5.5-ounce) box seasoned croutons, crushed
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
12 thinly sliced smoked ham slices
6 Swiss cheese slices
Honey mustard dressing (optional)
Preparation
Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken; set aside.

Combine seasoned crouton crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a large zip-top plastic bag. Whisk together egg whites and 2 tablespoons water in a shallow bowl.

Dip chicken in egg white mixture, and drain. Place 1 breast half in bag; seal and shake to coat. Remove to a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and repeat with remaining chicken.

Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Top each breast half with 2 ham slices and 1 Swiss cheese slice. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with honey mustard dressing, if desired.

Crispy Ranch Chicken

Ok, so I made this recipe and it makes me laugh since "Ranch" is part of the title yet I kind of left the ranch part out!

As you will notice this recipe calls for 1 envelope of ranch salad dressing mix. I am not the biggest fan of ranch flavors so instead I just added some salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and dried Italian seasoning to my cripsy rice cereal / parmesan cheese mix. The result? It may have been "ranchless" but it sure was tasty, and fun to make!

Crispy Ranch Chicken

(from Great American Recipes)

2 cups crispy rice cereal
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 envelope (1 oz.) ranch salad dressing mix
2 egg whites, beaten
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used chicken breast)



Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Combine rice cereal, Parmesan cheese, and ranch salad dressing mix in a large bowl.



Place beaten egg whites in a medium bowl. Dip each chicken thigh into the egg whites and then in the cereal mixture to coat evenly.



Arrange the coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

Parchment Paper Cooking

Lately I have been fascinated by a few shows I've caught on the Food Network where the FN star is using parchment paper as a cooking method - namely for fish. I saw this on Rachael Ray's show first and then shortly after on a Giada episode. I wanted to try it for myself, but wasn't super keen on either of the flavor palates of the recipes on those two shows.

So I turned to myrecipes.com, one of my favorite sites, and found this great recipe! I made it for dinner guests this weekend. We had our best friends over to celebrate one couple's recent engagemet. I thought the parchment paper idea was kind of fun to see everyone open up their individual packages of fish!

The only change I made to the recipe was to use green beans instead of asparagus (I made asparagus the last time we had a dinner party with these friends, so I wanted to mix it up!), and fresh rosemary instead of tarragon since there was no tarragon at my local market.

I apologize for the lack of a picture, when we have company I seem to becom absent minded when it comes to picture taking!

Steamed Salmon and Asparagus in Parchment
(from MyRecipes.com)

1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
4 salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 scallions, trimmed and sliced
4 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 lemons, halved

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a 13-by-12-inch baking sheet. Put the potatoes on the sheet and season with 1 teaspoon of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. Distribute the butter over the potatoes. Roast in top of oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until done. Meanwhile, lay out 4 sheets of parchment (at least 13 by 13 inches) and place 1 fillet on each. Top with the asparagus, scallions, and tarragon. Drizzle with the oil and season with the remaining salt and pepper. Top each fillet with a lemon half, after first squeezing on the juice. Pull the sides of the paper over each fillet, folding several times to seal. Fold and twist the ends to form rectangular parcels. Place them on a sheet pan. Bake on lower rack of over for 20 to 25 minutes while the potatoes finish cooking. Place a salmon parcel on each plate and cut open. Serve with the potatoes.

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

My husband and I are embarking on a healthier eating for 2009 trek fueled by my desire to lose a few pounds and his cholesterol results coming back a wee bit too high for his doctor's liking.

Fish is one of the recommended foods on his list so the other day I picked up a nice salmon filet that was on sale at the market. I used this recipe from my most recent Taste of Home magazine. The only change I made was to not use butter in the first part of the recipe and just substitute it with olive oil instead (in turn I used less olive oil later in the recipe). Olive oil is on my husband's approved lists of foods so I knew that would be alright. I also used reduced sodium soy sauce in this recipe. All in all this came out quite tasty and I can't wait to make it again!

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

(from Taste of Home Magazine)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tsp butter (I replaced with olive oil)

1 tsp honey

1 tablespoon olive oil (I reduced this a bit)

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 salmon filet

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir brown sugar, butter, and honey until melted. Remove from heat; whisk in the oil, mustard, soy sauce, salt, & pepper. Cool for 5 minutes.

Place salmon in foil-lined baking pan; brush with brown sugar mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.