Cinnamon Scallops with Fettucini

The one thing about having a recipe/cooking blog is it forces us to look for new things to try. For years, I have accumulated cook books, and used them here and there.  Looking for new things to blog about has made my old cookbooks seem like an endless source of ideas!  It is really the first time in a long time that cooking has been fun!  This recipe originally called for curry powder instead of cinnamon.  Since neither my husband or I are super fond of curry, I decided to substitute cinnamon, not knowing how it would taste. The mild flavor of the cinnamon turned out to be a perfect combo with the scallops and fettucini.

INGREDIENTS

8 oz. fettuccini
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Black pepper, to taste
5-6 mushrooms, cut in half (optional)
1 lb. sea scallops
2 T. Olive oil
1 cup Chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
Parsley

1.  Cook fettucini al dente according to package instructions. Drain
2.  Whisk flour, cinnamon and black pepper.  Dredge scallops in mixture, tapping off any excess.

3.  Heat oil until very hot in nonstick skillet.  Add scallops and mushrooms. Sear scallops 2 minutes per side until golden.  Transfer to platter and keep warm.

4.  Add chicken stock and cream to the pan.  Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on bottom of pan with wooden spoon.  Add more pepper if desired.

5.  Cook 2 minutes until slightly thickened.

6.  Add hot fettuccini to sauce; toss.  Transfer to serving platter.  Top with scallops and sprinkle with parsley.  

Like us on Facebook!

Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Recently, a few of my girlfriends and I attended a cooking class sponsored by our university alumni association and it was a complete blast! Three hours of cooking and drinking…what’s not to love?! Anyways, our main dish was this rosemary roasted chicken and it was delicious and extremely easy. Mix everything in a bowl, add chicken, roast in oven…presto! In fact, my girlfriends were initially hesitant because they thought they needed high-level cooking skills and once they mastered this easy chicken recipe, they were so much more confident! (*Note, there will be more recipe-sharing from this cooking class event…coming soon!)

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped rosemary
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, chopped rosemary, chopped garlic and a dash of salt and pepper.

3. Toss chicken breasts in the bowl to coat.

4. Place chicken on a baking sheet and roast in oven for about 25- 30 minutes or until fully cooked.

(I served with roasted brussel sprouts...yum! Recipe coming soon!)

Like us on Facebook!

Salmon in Pastry

This recipe was in the Parade magazine last year and I thought I'd give it a try.  After all, pastry is one of my favorite things and I figured if I paired it with fish, it would seem mildly healthy.  This is extra yummy because of the butter topped on each fillet.  On second thought, it's probably not all that healthy after all.  I'm not sure the pastry and butter are totally cancelled out by the salmon!  

The salmon is really moist because it cooks in its own little pocket with butter...what's not to like?

INGREDIENTS

12 oz puff pastry sheets (thawed if frozen)
2 (6 - 7 oz) salmon fillets
2 Tbsp parsley
2 Tbsp basil
3 Tbsp butter (softened)
Pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
Parchment paper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.  Mix butter, parsley and basil together, sprinkle with pepper.  Set aside.

3.  Using a rolling pin, roll pastry into four pieces, each about 5 by 8 inches

4.  Transfer two pieces to a large baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
5.  If salmon pieces have skin, remove skin and place a fillet in the center of each pastry piece. Spread butter mixture on top of each fillet.

6.  Dip a pastry brush into beaten egg.  Brush edges of pastry around salmon with egg.

7.  Cover each piece with remaining puff pastry.  Pinch pastry together firmly to seal. Press tines of fork along edges for a decorative effect.  Brush top of pastry with remaining egg.

8.  Cut two small slits into top of each pastry so steam can escape.  Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry has risen and is crisp and golden.  

I served with sauteed Brussels sprouts, topped with pecans.  

Like us on Facebook!

Peanut Butter Dog Treats WOOF!

Sadie (top) and Harley enjoy
some recipe sharing

Harley gave this recipe to Sadie which is strange because we didn't think either one of them knew how to operate the stove!

This is a way to make some dog treats where you know all the ingredients.  They are as easy as making cookies and you can use whatever cookie cutter you'd like.  I think Harley has a bone shaped cookie cutter, but wouldn't lend it to Sadie.  What a bitch!

While Sadie's human was making these cookies, she enjoyed watching 101 Dalmatians.......

INGREDIENTS
2 Cups whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup Milk

1.  In a bowl combine the milk and peanut butter.  

2.  In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.  
3.  Add the two mixtures together and mix well until the dough forms into the ball.

4.  On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for a minute.  Roll dough to approximately 1/4" thick and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

5. I use parchment paper to make things less messy.  Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.  

Like us on Facebook!

Eggplant Rollatini

Another good vegetarian dish to add to your recipe box. I found this recipe in a magazine that was centered around recipes that have very few ingredients, so at least you know this one won’t be too complicated! I like roasting the eggplant because it gives a lot of good flavor to the dish…add cheese, marinara sauce and more cheese and it’s a winner! When I made this for the blog, I cut the recipe in half because I was only making it for two people. Usually, you would have a lot more eggplant rolls if you make the full recipe and use 2 whole eggplants.

Ingredients:

- 2 eggplants
- olive oil
- 1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cup marinara sauce
- 1 tsp. oregano
- salt & pepper

1. Slice the eggplants length-wise into strips. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

2. Roast eggplant slices in the oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

3. In a bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, eggs, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, oregano and a dash of salt and pepper.

4. Once eggplant is out of the oven and slightly cooled, place about 3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture at one end of the eggplant and roll up until you have a little bundle of deliciousness! Place eggplant rolls into a baking dish with a layer of marinara sauce on the bottom.

5. Top the eggplant with more marinara sauce and the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

6. Place back in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until fully cooked. I served with a little bit of pasta, but you probably don't even need a side with this dish!

Like us on Facebook!

Sausage, Tomato & Cheddar Breakfast Casserole

Our family has a good breakfast casserole recipe and that’s usually the “go-to” when I have people over for brunch, but I wanted to look for something a little different and I found this recipe that uses tomatoes, sausage, bread and cheese….seriously, what could be better?? I invited a few of my friends over to be my test-dummies (they totally don’t mind!) and this recipe was a big hit! We only had one little corner piece left after breakfast…and I think it was because no one wanted to be the jerk who took the last portion of casserole (myself included). The bread really makes this dish, it’s so crispy and crunchy and combined with the sausage and tomatoes, it really is a great way to mix up your usual breakfast casserole.

I think the key is to make sure your bread is a little bit stale. I bought a fresh loaf of French bread on Friday from the bakery and by the time I made this casserole on Sunday, the loaf was slightly stale and hard. It soaks up the egg mixture, but it doesn’t get soggy.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb. ground italian sausage, cooked and crumbled
- 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 cups cubed french bread
- 2 (14 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes, drained
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 6 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- T. dried basil
- t. garlic powder
- t. dried oregano
- Salt & Pepper
- Sprinkle of parmesan cheese

1. Brown sausage in a pan.

2. In a large bowl mix together cheese, tomatoes, green onions, basil, oregano, powder and cooked sausage.

3. Fold in the bread cubes. Place mixture in a greased 9 x 13 in. pan.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, whipping cream, salt and pepper.

5. Pour egg mixture over the casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.

6. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Like us on Facebook!

Spaghetti Squash

Until this blog post, I’ve never made spaghetti squash but it was always something I wanted to try. So, for the sake of the blog, I tested it out and it turned out really well! Recently, I’ve been trying to incorporate more vegetarian dishes into my repertoire because:

1)      Meat is freakin’ expensive people! What do you think I’m made of money?! Newsflash – I don’t make millions for serving up sassy recipes to you every week. $8.00 chicken breasts v. $2.00 spaghetti squash…I know my choice.

2)      I like to trick my husband into believing he’s had a fully satisfying dinner without having had any meat. He used to be one of those guys that was like “OMG I need to eat meat with every meal, are you crazy woman?!” and now he’s all “Can I please take these spaghetti squash leftovers to work for lunch?”

3)      Personally, I just feel healthier when I can incorporate as much vegetables into my diet as possible. I like substituting certain vegetables in the place of meat so that my dinner is not only inexpensive, but feels healthier to eat.

So this dish definitely met all of my criteria for a good meal: inexpensive, easy, tasty, and my husband loved it. He really did ask to have the leftovers and requested that we have this dish again soon! Mission accomplished!

Ingredients:

- 1 medium sized spaghetti squash
- 2 T. butter
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper

1. Place the spaghetti squash on a baking sheet. Pierce it a few times with a knife and place it in the oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

2. Once spaghetti squash is ready, take it out of the oven and cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds.

3. With a fork, separate all of the strands from the squash...they look like spaghetti!

4. At this point you could really treat the squash just like your favorite spaghetti dish. I melted 2 Tbs. of butter in a pan and diced up two garlic cloves.

5. Once the butter is melted, add the spaghetti squash to incorporate.

6. When ready to serve, shave some parmesan on top of the squash.

Like us on Facebook!