Lemon Dill Salmon

Well hello!  I finally cooked a normal meal this evening and I even remembered to take pictures.  It was quite easy and if you are into salmon it tasted delish!
I just covered a sheet pan in foil drizzled some olive oil, placed four pieces salmon skin side down on the pan, then seasoned them with dill, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon slices.  I also drizzled a little more olive oil over the top before I sealed the foil pouch.  Here is what it looked like before baking.

After adding this photo I realized I also forgot to mention that I threw some sliced red onion and a few mushrooms in there too.  Good thing I took a picture or I would have totally forgot that.  Silly me!

This is what the foil pack looked like.  I just put a piece of foil over the pan and sealed the edges.

I baked it at 400* for about 30 minutes.  The fillets were frozen so it took a little longer.  I would check it after about 15 minutes if you use thawed salmon.

I sauteed some asparagus with red onion in olive oil and had that on the side.  We have been eating asparagus almost everyday thanks to our bountiful asparagus patch in the back yard.  I also cooked up some whole wheat shell pasta and tossed a little pesto with it for some starch on the side.
Here is the finished product...

Teaser

So... I know it's been like 2 months since I have written a blog.  I did not give up I just haven't been cooking anything fun.  Dustin and I have not had coordinating schedules therefore I have not been making much.  Let's just say we have been going through a lot of cereal lately.
This one is just a teaser but I promise there is more to come in the near future. Especially because my garden is starting off rather nicely. :)  I hope you have not forgotten about me. Come back soon.

Bacon wrapped tenderloin with grilled asparagus and a baked potato

Parmesan crusted pesto grilled cheese

After working in my garden all morning.  By all morning I mean about an hour.  I worked up quite the hunger.  I was feeling lazy and a sub sounded really delish but then I remembered it's grilled cheese month and I should really do something to celebrate.  So i did just that.  I looked at the jar of homemade pesto that was given to me by a friend and that's where this little ditty came from...

Not the most flattering photo but let's be honest... I really just wanted to eat it, not take it's picture

I grabbed two slices of bread and spread a thin layer of pesto on each of them.  Then I pre warmed my cheese in the microwave for like 15 seconds just to warm it up a little.  I sliced it rather thick and there is nothing worse than having the center of your grilled cheese not melted.  I warmed the pan and added a tiny bit of butter (yes I used butter.  We normally don't keep butter in the house because we eat far too much of it) then I threw in one of the slices of bread pesto side up, added the cheese(I used swiss because I love it.  I think mozzarella would be just as good if not better), put a thin layer of sliced tomatoes, and the other slice of bread pesto side down.  I cooked it like a normal grilled cheese until it was almost done and then sprinkled it on each side with a little shredded parmesan until it was brown and amazing looking.  This totally hit the spot and helped me forget about that sub I was longing for.

Buffalo shrimp wrap w/creamy ranch slaw

Okay... I am going to just go out there and say it.  I am extremely proud of myself for creating this meal, start to finish(that includes thinking of the idea and thawing the shrimp) in 15 minutes.  So delightful.  I am on a buffalo kick lately I just can't get enough buffalo sauce!  With next to nothing in my fridge and 20 minutes to cook dinner this idea just popped in my head.

I opened the fridge and saw the bag of broccoli slaw mix sitting there and I thought..."hmmm that would most likely be amazing if I added ranch to it"  So here is how it went down...

I grabbed a bag of shrimp out of the freezer (raw and unpeeled) then I dumped them in a bowl of cool water.  While those were hanging out I took about 3 tablespoons of mayo dusted it with ranch powder and added a touch of milk to thin it out and that was my dressing for the slaw.  I added a couple handfuls of the broc slaw (about a cup maybe) and mixed it up.  While that was getting all flavorful and delicious I peeled the shrimp.

this is the slaw getting all flavorful and delicious

  Then I melted a tablespoon of butter in a pan and added a generous amount of franks red hot sauce maybe about a quarter cup?  Once that was all bubbly and awesome looking I added the shrimp and cooked it about 5 minutes. This is what it looked like while cooking...

When the shrimp was done I heated a tortilla on a hot dry pan and then assembled the wrap.  First I sprinkled the tortilla with some shredded mozzarella(you could really use any cheese it was just what I had on hand), then put a little lettuce, a pile of shrimp, a little more cheese, and I topped it off with the slaw.  Then I folded it up and threw it in the pan a minute to warm the wrap and the rest is history!

Man it was good!!  Sometimes I am so easy to please.  This was so easy and tasted just right!

Black bean sweet potato burritos

Short and sweet today...
I used a few things I had left over from dinner last night to make some yummy healthy almost vegan burritos.
First I diced up a sweet potato and sauteed it in some olive oil.  When the sweet potato was tender I added some black beans just to warm them up.  Then I tossed the left over brown rice and chicken chunks in the microwave(which I don't normally do but I was lazy) just to warm it.  Then I threw it all in a whole wheat tortilla and browned it on a hot dry skillet!  Here is what it looked like.  I also served it with salsa.

They were good and super filling.  Dustin ate his with aged brick...I wouldn't recommend it, in fact I would recommend never eating aged brick if you don't have to.  It is so gross!  Happy day! :)

Rice Bowls on a plate

Well hello there.  Sorry it's been ages since I have written a blog but I have had the equivalent of writers block lately and have not been cooking.  I think it has left the building though, I am feeling motivated to create delicious things again :). 

Tonight I decided dinner had to be extremely healthy due to the extreme overload of food we consumed yesterday.  Seriously it was not necessary to eat enough to feed a small army but that didn't stop us!  So here is my weird healthy rendition of a rice bowl.

I started by poaching two chicken breasts in chicken broth with a little garlic seasoning and pepper.  Depending on what kind of rice you use and how long it takes to cook you may want to start the rice right away too.  I also cooked my rice in chicken broth.  I always cook rice in some sort of broth.  I like to insert flavor wherever I can. While the chicken was cooking I chopped up whatever random veggies I had in the fridge (pictured below).  It ended up being carrots, onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, and zucchini.  I also cut up a few cherry tomatoes and an avocado but kept those separate(didn't think they would taste very good stir fried).

Once the chicken was cooked, I diced it up and set it to the side.  Then I heated a pan rather hot and threw in a little olive oil.  I stir fryed the veggies for about 4 minutes.  Just until they were heated and starting to brown a little.  I still wanted them to be crunchy and delish.  Here is what they looked like.

Now for the assembly...
I stared with a bed of red leaf lettuce followed by brown rice, the stir fried veggie mixture, diced chicken, cherry tomatoes, and avocado to top it off.  Dustin ate his with western salad dressing but I just doused mine in lime juice.  I would have made cilantro lime rice but my cilantro is not quite big enough to use.  See...

Anyway back to dinner.  It was a perfect dinner to follow up a day of unnecessary eating!  This is what it looked like.  It wasn't pretty but it was so damn good!

mmm cookies

Today I am writing not to share my dinner but to share a cookie recipe.  I am sure you will laugh when you read this but man are these good.  I am also sure you have all made them but I don't care they are just soooo good!  My dinner by the way will be spaghetti.  Not fancy spaghetti, sauce from a jar and noodles from a box.  Speaking of boxes... these cookies also come from a box.  They are cake mix cookies! So easy and so yummy!  I  will put the link below if you would like to make them.  They seriously took me about 40 minutes from start to finish.  Fast, easy and, delicious!  Have a good weekend all! :)

http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2011/04/v-and-co-cooks-cake-cookies-with.html

Soy glazed salmon with sweets and beets

I am very excited to share this "recipe" today... It was sooo good.  I am totally not a salmon person but once in a blue moon it just tastes so good to me.  Today was that day. 
It is super easy, quick, and oh so good!

I started by peeling and chopping up some sweet potatoes and beets.  I kept them separate because the sweet potatoes cook a little quicker than the beets.  I tossed the beets with a little olive oil, balsamic, and some salt and pepper.  I put them on half of a foil lined sheet pan and baked them for 15 minutes in a pre heated 400 degree oven.  Then I added the sweet potatoes to the other side of the pan.  I just tossed the sweets in a little olive oil and salt before doing that.  Then cook the two of them together for another 40-50 minutes or until they are deliciously caramelized and yummy looking.  Here is what they look like while baking...

Next: the salmon...
 I just had some random salmon in the freezer so that's what I used but fresh would have been even better.  The glaze makes enough for 2lbs of salmon.
Glaze ingredients:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons white wine (i used water because I had no wine)
1 large clove garlic minced
i just mixed them all together until the sugar was dissolved
place the salmon on a foil lined sheet pan and pour glaze over the salmon.  Bake the salmon for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.  I basted the salmon a few times to keep glaze on the top.  I also briefly put it under the broiler at the last minute to brown it up.

the salmon halfway through cooking

My original plan was to make quinoa and mix it with the beets and sweets but I over cooked the sweet potatoes so I didn't end up mixing them together.  I just ate them together and it tasted amazing.  I just made a cup of quinoa and used beef stock instead of the water. 
Here is what I ended up with...

I will close with a quote from my lovely husband.  This is what he said when he was done eating.  "that meal was tasty, healthy, and left me feeling full"  I took that as a major compliment especially because he usually tells me that quinoa looks like maggots.  On that note I hope you try this recipe!

Lemon Pasta with Shrimp

Tonight I did something that I don't normally do.  I followed a recipe!  Well kind of... I only changed a few things. It turned out pretty darn good.  I must admit if you are not a lemon person it probably is not for you.  Here is the recipe...

Serves 4 to 6

Let the dish rest briefly before serving so the flavors develop and the sauce thickens.

Ingredients

• Table salt
• 1pound spaghetti
• 1/4cup extra virgin olive oil , plus more for serving
• 1medium shallot , minced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1/4cup heavy cream
• 2teaspoons finely grated zest and 1/4 cup juice from 3 lemons
• 1ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving
• Ground black pepper
• 2tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves

Instructions

1. 1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water; cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Reserve 1¾ cups cooking water, drain pasta into colander, and set aside.
2. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1 1/2 cups of reserved pasta cooking water and cream into pot; bring to simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat, return pasta, and stir until coated. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
3. 3. Cover and let pasta stand 2 minutes, tossing frequently and adjusting consistency with remaining 1/4 cup reserved pasta water if necessary. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, drizzling individual portions with oil and sprinkling with cheese.

The only things I did differently were... I used whole wheat bow tie pasta, onion instead of shallot (only because I didn't have a shallot on hand), and I also did not have any basil so I used spinach.  I strongly suggest using finely grated parm.  All I had was shredded and it was kind of a mess.  It turned into a big clump of cheese when added.  I made it work though.  It really doesn't thicken up if you let it stand too!
Thanks :)

Breakfast Burrito

Good Morning!
 I feel like I haven't cooked in days!  I have been crazy busy and I actually had half of the weekend off of work.  Here is my breakfast...  It tasted quite delicious!

All I did was...
sauteed a little onion, two turkey sausage patties and some spinach.  Added 2 eggs, scrambled it all around put in in a tortilla and sprinkled it with cheese.  Then I folded it up and set it in a dry hot pan just to get a little crunch on the outside. This is what it looked like...

Stuffed Eggplant

I am kind of on an eggplant kick.  I just can't seem to get enough of it lately.  I had one sitting in the fridge and I really would have liked to fry it up but I knew that was probably not the best choice.  I have also been craving stuffed peppers lately (even though I hate cooked peppers) I just wanted the filling so I decided to stuff the eggplant. Believe it or not I actually have a list of ingredients today :)

First I chopped the onion and garlic and cooked them with the ground venison until browned.  While I was that was cooking I scooped out the middle of the eggplant and finely chopped the middle of the eggplant that I removed.  When the meat was browned, I set it to the side and sauteed the zucchini, mushroom and center of the eggplant.  Side note... I added a little salt and pepper to both mixtures. 

before baking

 I cooked the veggies until they were soft and then added the meat back to the pan and added the can of diced tomatoes.  I added a little more salt and pepper and a few random spices(Italian seasoning, and I don't really remember what else)  Then I put in a handful of shredded mozzarella.  I forgot to take a picture before I filled the eggplant with the mixture and then topped it with the crushed crouton and Parmesan combo.  Then I baked it for about 40 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven. 

Finished Product



 Ingredients

I small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lb ground venison (if I had my choice I would have used ground turkey, you could use beef too)

1 large eggplant or 2 small

1 small zucchini
6-8 mushrooms sliced
1/4 cup garlic croutons crushed mixed with 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
hand full mozzarella cheese

1 can diced tomatoes

Zeke's Squash Soup

Good Morning! 
Drum roll please...
 I have a real recipe for you today and it is FABULOUS!!  I don't have a picture at the moment but I will add one shortly.  I made this soup over the weekend and had a few requests for the recipe so here it is.  I think it makes sense...

Zeke’s Squash Soup      

8 Cups chopped onion

4 Cups acorn squash peeled, seeded and chopped

4 Cups butternut squash peeled seeded, and chopped

Cover with one container (carton) Swanson’s 33% reduced sodium chicken broth

Cook until veggies are tender

1 little box fresh sage, leaves only. add when squash is about halfway done

Puree mixture in blender when squash is soft

Make roux:

¼ cup flour and ¼ cup butter cooked until nutty and light brown in color not black. Thicken puree with the roux. Add a 1/2 pint heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with a few teaspoons cream ,not cream fraiche, and grated 3yr. gouda or some smoked cheese and chopped parsley or a few pieces sage chopped.  I strongly recommend the 3yr gouda I think it makes the soup just perfect!

This soup is so easy and so delicious.  I totally recommend it even if you are not a squash person!

Kicked up Turkey Sandwich

It is what it is... A turkey sandwich with buffalo ranch spread, avocado, tomato, and spinach.  Pretty simple.  I totally blew it by purchasing cheap disgusting turkey but other than that it was amazing.  With the cracked black pepper and sea salt crunchers and hummus... a perfect combination!

Veggie Egg Scrambler

I woke up this morning craving coffee.  I don't keep coffee in the house I normally just drink it at work or when I am out.  I wanted it so bad that I tapped into the instant coffee I keep on hand for recipes.  I added a splash of heavy cream and choked it down and it wasn't too bad.  I wouldn't recommend it but it fulfilled my craving.  I can't remember if I mentioned this yet but I have given up sweets for "lent".  I think I might be crazy, I never realized how often I pop a piece of chocolate or something into my mouth!  Yikes!  It might be the death of me but so far I have made it without cheating!  Alright... back to my breakfast...
It was very simple, very delicious, and very healthy.  Here are some pictures...

Above:  veggies sauteing

Finished product

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Spinach
Tomato
Onion
Zucchini
3 Egg Whites
a handful of shredded cheddar

the rest is history... Thanks for checking it out! :)

Almost homemade pizza

With the help of some pizza dough from Trader Joes we had homemade pizza for dinner tonight and it was delicious!!  I was pleasantly surprised by the whole wheat crust.  I was kind of expecting it to be dry but it wasn't.  It was definitely a good purchase!

whole wheat crust, mushrooms, onion, zucchini

sausage, mushroom, and onion.  Clearly this pizza was Dustins :)

Shrimp Scampi

In the true spirit of Fat Tuesday I decided I would make something that included 2 sticks of butter in the ingredients.  It was basically amazing and so simple.  Here it is...

Shrimp Scampi with cheesy flatbread and roasted balsamic brussels sprouts

Short and sweet tonight... I am tired :)

Beef Stroganoff

Today I was craving beef...  so weird considering I am not really a huge beef fan but I saw a picture of beef stroganoff on Pinterest that looked amazing so I decided to create my own :)  I tried to take more pictures so hopefully my description will make more sense if you would like to create it on your own.

I started by slicing the sirloin into strips and putting them in a Ziploc and lightly coating them with a little soy sauce.  Pictured above.  I let this mixture sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes.  While that was in the fridge I chopped up some onions and mushrooms and started to saute them in olive oil...

While they were cooking I mixed together approx 3 tablespoons flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder.  Then I dumped it in the bag with the beef and tossed it around to coat.  When the onions where just starting to turn translucent I took them out of the pan and put them off to the side.  Then I added a little more olive oil to the pan and added the beef.

onions and mushrooms resting

beef while cooking

when the beef was almost done I added the mushrooms and onions back to the pan.  I let that mixture cook a little while longer and then I added a cup and half of beef stock to the pan and stirred it frequently to get all of the amazing flavorful bits off of the bottom of the pan.  I let it simmer for a few minutes until it was thickened and then added a 1/4 cup of sour cream and a handful of Parmesan cheese.  I mixed in the cheese until it was blended well and then added a handful of peas.  I forgot to mention that during this process I boiled water and made a bag of whole wheat egg noodles.  Here is the finished product...

It was seriously amazing and totally hit the spot!  So I am trying really hard to pay attention to what I add while I cook.  My goal is to actually have an ingredient list and a recipe that makes sense someday.  For now this will have to work :) baby steps right?!?

Thanks for looking!

Chili Lime Fish Tacos

Yes, it's true... two blogs in one day!!  This is what happens when I actually get a day off of work!  I heard some friends talking about fish tacos today and I could not get them out of my head.  I threw some together with what I had laying around.

First I marinated the fish in... chili powder, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, lime, honey, olive oil and cilantro.  Then I threw it on a pan and put it under the broiler...

When the fish was done I just broke it into pieces and "built" my tacos.  I looked through the fridge for anything that looked like it would taste good on them and I pulled it out.  I used tomato, avocado, lettuce, cheese, and my secret buffalo ranch sauce on top.  Paired with a little cilantro lime rice and here they are!

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

While trying to decide what to make for breakfast this morning a little voice inside my head was telling me I should really eat something healthy instead of frying some eggs.  Plus if I eat a healthy breakfast I can totally have a shamrock shake at some point today and not feel guilty LOL :)

I had a banana that was sitting on the counter fading fast, I also had a ton of strawberries because they were buy one get one for Valentines day and I couldn't pass them up!  I cooked up some oatmeal tossed in the banana and strawberries and this is what I got...

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

Valentines Day... as far as I am concerned it's kind of overrated but it's a good excuse for me to cook something amazing so I'll take it!

I couldn't decide if I should make eggplant parm or eggplant lasagna so I kind of combined them both and this is what I got.  It might be the ugliest thing I have ever made but it was extremely tasty!!

I started offs by peeling and slicing the eggplant and then coated it in a bread crumb mixture that consisted of bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan.  Oh yea of course a little salt and pepper.  I dipped the eggplant in egg then the bread crumbs and put them in a single layer on a olive oil coated sheet pan.  I baked them at 375* for 20 minutes on each side.  Here are a few photos... oh just an FYI I don't really ever measure anything sorry!

                                                          Before baking





After baking

Then I basically just made lasagna with it.  I realized that I didn't make enough eggplant so I did a mixture of noodles and eggplant otherwise I would have skipped the noodles.  I started by putting a little sauce in the bottom of the pan then a layer of eggplant, sauce, noodles, cottage cheese mixture* (yes I used cottage cheese! I am normally anti cottage cheese in lasagna), parm, noodles, sauce, eggplant, sauteed mushrooms,onions, zucchini, more sauce, noodles, cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella, noodles, the remaining sauce, then I topped it with a combo of mozzarella and parm.  I covered it and baked it at 400* for about an hour.

 Here are some photos, like I said it wasn't pretty but it was AMAZING!!

Thanks for looking... and if you actually want to make this "recipe" or anything else I make please feel free to ask and I can try and explain it better to you! :)





*Cottage cheese mixtures contains cottage cheese, one egg, salt, pepper, and parsley

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

I'm not gonna lie... I kind of like this blogging thing it's too bad I cook all day at work on the weekends so I wont have anything fun to post.

Tonight for dinner I was feeling lazy after a long week so here is what I created!

                             Shrimp in a creamy tomato sauce over whole wheat spinach pasta

Over all for just tossing it together at the last minute it was quite delicious.  I may or may not have added a little too many red pepper flakes though.  :)

My first "blog"

So... I made a smoothie for breakfast today and felt the need to share it because it was just so pretty!  I also felt that everyone is probably annoyed with my posting pictures of my food on Facebook all the time.  So long story short I decided to start a food blogish type thing so that the people that care to see what I am eating can see it :)  On a side note I have no idea how to work this website so hopefully things will get better as I go along!

Before (banana, bing cherry, blueberry, nectarine, ice, and a touch of milk)

After (sorry for the blurry photo)