Another Salmon Success

After our first successful salmon dinner a couple of weeks ago I was eager to try it again. I saw pecan crusted salmon over on Julie’s blog and it inspired our meal. I had just enough leftover pecans from our trip to Texarkana for our dinner. I knew I wanted a tasty marinade for the salmon so I googled a bit and found the recipe we used for our meal. It was excellent! We used fresh salmon filets we got at HyVee on Saturday and I think they tasted much better than the frozen ones we bought before. It was a very excellent and classy Monday night dinner Served with baked potatoes and sauted green beans. Tyler once again did all the salmon work while I made the sides. So props to my co-chef Dinner usually comes together much quicker when we work as a team!

Pecan-Crusted Salmon with Honey Mustard Glaze (original recipe from betterrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. dijon mustard
1/8 c. olive oil, or as needed to thin glaze
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 cup shelled pecans, finely ground
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In small bowl combine honey, mustard, oil, lemon juice for glaze using just enough oil to keep glaze from getting too thick. Coat salmon lightly with glaze, then cover with ground pecans. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake salmon on a baking sheet lined with foil for 12-15 minutes or until salmon flakes. Serve at once, top with more glaze if so desired.

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Lasagna Redemption

I’ve been in search of a good lasagna recipe since we got married.  I’d tried several and just wasn’t pleased.  Either they took too long to make or the sauce was bland or all I could taste was spinach or the cheese was weird or whatever.  I gave up and switched to ziti for the weeks I wanted a big dish of Italian food we could take for leftovers all week.  Then I saw this recipe over on Annie’s blog and decided I’d give it one more try.  She has never led me astray so I figured it was worth a shot   I was a little nervous when I saw the recipe originally came from allrecipes.com.  I was reminded of the time I made a lasagna while we were dating and I followed the allrecipes recipe that called for 5 tablespoons of Italian seasoning.  I thought the recipes could not be wrong so why would I deviate from it?  The sauce turned black from all the seasoning and it was DISGUSTING.  Tyler ate it all plus the leftover sauce, what a trooper.  So I was a bit hesitant, but I’m so glad I gave allrecipes and their lasagna another chance because this one was so delicious!  Definitely a keeper!  I’ve got the recipe and my shortcut technique below!

Deep Dish Lasagna (original recipe from allrecipes.com, you can see Annie’s version here)

• 12 no boil lasagna noodles
• 1 pound hot ground Italian sausage
• 2/3 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 (10 ounce) package chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dried
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage with the onions, garlic and 1/2 the parsley; drain. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, oregano, and basil; mix well. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes; stirring occasionally.
3. In a bowl, combine remaining parsley and Ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, eggs, garlic salt, and pepper; mix well.
4. In lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish, spread 2 cups sauce mix. Begin layering with 4 noodles, 1/2 cheese mix*, 1/3 remaining sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat this layer again and the last layer will be noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese. (*to simplify the layering I hold the no boil noodle in my hand and spread the cheese mixture on it.  Makes the layering go much quicker and it’s not as messy as trying to do it in the pan with sauce everywhere, see picture below.)
5. Bake covered in a preheated oven at for 45 minutes. Bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

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Pancake Dinner

When we look in our fridge and don’t see anything that would make a full meal or we’re just feeling tired and want something easy, we know it’s pancake night.  Saturday night I didn’t get back from work  and the grocery store early enough to make chili as planned,  so it was definitely a pancake night.  Went to the pantry and we were out of pancake mix so we figured it was time to try making them from scratch!  We found this recipe on allrecipes.com and decided to give it a try, with a couple of additions.  We added some cinnamon to spice them up and threw in some blueberries as well.  These were delicious!  I loved the texture with the oatmeal, they were very filling, though they did take a little longer to cook.

Pecan-Oatmeal (and Blueberry!)  Pancakes (original recipe from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup all purpose flour
2 T brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 T ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:
In a bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Combine milk, eggs and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until blended.  Fold in pecans and blueberries.  Pour batter by 1/4 cupfulls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of the pancakes (I always wait for them to pop!)  Cook until second side is golden brown.  Serve with maple syrup!

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Adventures with Puff Pastry

Well my first attempt to cook with puff pastry didn’t turn out quite as I had planned.  I forgot that you have to, you know, thaw the frozen puff pastry.  So making this meal took much longer than it should have!  My puff pastry also didn’t really cook in the center   I don’t know if it was due to the temp of the puff pastry (didn’t get it totally thawed) or the liquid in the dish, but it was very doughy in the center.  I’ll have to play around with it some more and see if I can get it right next time.  The pot pies were still good though, it’s a great base recipe!  I ate the flaky top and picked out the turkey bits (leftover from our Christmas turkey) and mushrooms…I really hate frozen mixed veggies and wish I had used fresh veggies instead.  I hate peas, am allergic to carrots, and I’m not a big fan of corn or lima beans either…Tyler ate it and loved it and ate all the leftovers.  Yay, that’s what husbands are for   Next time I’ll make it with turkey (or chicken), potatoes, mushrooms, and….yeah that’s about it   I just don’t really like little bits of random veggies baked into stuff.  But give me roasted asparagus or sauted green beans any day!  (both are on the menu for this week!)

Turkey Pot Pie (original recipe from Tyler Florence, as seen on Julie’s blog)

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cooked turkey (or chicken)
mixed veggies, fresh or frozen
Sliced mushrooms if desired
3 cups of chicken broth
1/4 cup of butter
2/3 cup of flour
salt and pepper
Other seasonings to taste: Thyme & Rosemary, fresh or dried
1 sheet Puff Pastry
1 egg white
grated cheese of your choice

Directions:
Chop up cooked turkey into small pieces, set aside.  Saute mushrooms until slightly softened, add frozen or fresh veggies and heat through. 

In a pot, melt the butter. Whisk in flour to form the “roux”. Gradually add chicken broth. Bring to simmer for 10-15 minutes until sauce thickens.  Add salt, pepper, and other desired spices. 

Mix the veggies and turkey into the roux. 

Spray the inside of the ramekins or desired baking dishes and place them on a baking sheet.
Fill with the mixture & top with the puff pastry.  Brush tops with egg white and sprinkle with cheese (I used asiago).

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until tops are browned. 
Let cool before eating, they will be very hot! 

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More than meets the eye

I was a little unsure when I first saw this recipe (recommended by another Cooking Light fan!) because the ingredient list is so basic.  I’m glad I gave it a shot though, it is delicious and will definitely replace our old “go-to” baked ziti recipe.  It fills a 9×13 pan, we’ll be eating it for lunch all week!  So glad I don’t have to take a boring old turkey sandwich for lunch tomorrow!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (or any short tube-shaped pasta, I used rigatoni)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage (I buy the already ground Johnsonville sausage)
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
 Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.

Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

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Dippin’ Time

Big football games call for great dip. It’s nice to have something yummy to munch on so you don’t bite your nails off worrying about whether or not your favorite team will win. I served this dip with a French baguette that I picked up from the store, but tortilla chips would also go well with it. Apparantly there is a “spinach shortage” right now and my local store won’t get fresh spinach in until February 1st. So frozen it was, and I thought it was still great!

Hot Spinach Dip (original recipe from Delish)

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup skim milk
8 ounces light cream cheese
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes Tabasco
3/4 – 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onions and garlic, until softened and onions lightly browned. Add milk and heat. Stir in cream cheese until smooth. Add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and 1/2 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in paprika. Pour into a shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

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Funfetti Cookies

Funfetti cake is my favorite.  It just screams HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Sadly I only get it about once a year, unless somebody close to me requests Funfetti for their own birthday.  Even though my birthday is still 2 months away I was craving some colorful Funfetti goodness and remembered that the mix could easily be made into cookies.  So I picked up a box of Funfetti mix and my beloved Rainbow Chip Frosting (the most wonderful frosting in the entire world).  I am very passionate about this frosting.  It was hard to find in D.C., so glad we are back in the midwest where it is plentiful!

Funfetti Cookies (from Pillsbury, recipe is on the side of most Funfetti boxes)

Ingredients:

1 box Funfetti cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 can of frosting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl combine cake mix, oil, and eggs.  Stir until moistened.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls, place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.  Flatten cookies with a fork or the bottom of a glass.  Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are slightly brown.  Let cool for one minute and then remove from cookie sheets to cool completely.  Frost cookies and store in an airtight container.

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A Household First

Well last night we did something crazy.  We ate fish in our own house.  That’s never happened before.  We eat seafood when Tyler’s dad makes it, or sometimes if we’re feeling wild and crazy at a nice restaurant (had some great fish in Maine last summer!), but we’d never purchased or cooked seafood ourselves.  I knew I wanted to tackle salmon first.  I’m mildly allergic to some fish (though that doesn’t always stop me from eating it) but have never had a bad reaction to salmon.  I found a recipe in my new Cooking Light cookbook (can you tell I love this cookbook yet?!) and picked up some salmon filets at the grocery store and away we go!  Tyler actually did all the work, I just supervised and then ate it   I’m glad we’ve given seafood a try, I think we’ll be trying seafood recipes more often now that I’m not so intimidated!

Citrus Roasted Salmon (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (6-ounce) can thawed orange juice concentrate
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skinned (1 inch thick)
 Cooking spray
 Orange wedges (optional)
 Flat-leaf parsley sprigs (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl; brush both sides of fish with the orange mixture. Reserve remaining orange mixture. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Place remaining orange mixture in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 2 minutes). Serve with fish, and garnish with orange wedges and parsley, if desired.

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simple side dish

I’ve had a box of whole wheat couscous sitting in the pantry for a few months now. We needed a simple side dish to go along with our salmon and since I’m not a big fan of rice (mine always turns out crunchy or mushy) I whipped up the couscous instead. I had bookmarked a fellow blogger’s recipe for spicing up boxed couscous and I’m so happy I remembered to pull it up last night. What a great simple recipe, the kind where it’s likely we’ll always have all the ingredients laying around so it may become a new household favorite! Thanks for the inspiration Bella! There were no leftovers!

“Weeknight Couscous” (original recipe from Bella Lately)

1 garlic clove, finely minced or pressed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup couscous
1 1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 – 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Heat garlic in sauce pan with olive oil.  Stir and cook until fragrant. Add couscous, toss until couscous is coated.

Add broth, bring to a boil, place lid on saucepan, set to the side for 5 minutes. When 5 minutes is up, fluff with a fork and throw in Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

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Mushroom Medley

This is one of those meals where as I was making it I kept getting more and more excited. I knew it was going to be tasty, I knew I was going to love it. I knew I was going to want to make it again tomorrow! I was right! Mushrooms, like asparagus (and well, frankly most vegetables) are a food that I didn’t know I liked until I was an adult. Tyler’s dad has introduced me to a lot of foods I didn’t know I liked, mushrooms being one of them. This recipe originally called for shiitake and cremini mushrooms, neither of which I could find at HyVee. So I subbed baby bella and “regular” mushrooms (I don’t know what to call them!). Still had that great mushroom-y flavor that I love.

Mushroom Rigatoni Bake (original recipe from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked pasta (I used campanelle)
2 teaspoons butter
1/4 cup sliced green onions
8 ounces sliced baby bella mushroom caps
4 ounces sliced regular white mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (I used dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Asiago cheese, divided

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well. Set cooked pasta aside.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1 tablespoon thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic; sauté 8 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Place flour in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring mixture to a boil; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; add 1/2 cup cheese, stirring until melted. Add pasta and mushroom mixture to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

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