I haven't posted in a while...but did a brunch for 25 people yesterday.
French toast casserole with pecan praline topping, mini quiches, fresh fruit, breakfast potatoes, macaroni and cheese, shrimp cocktail, green salad with fruit, blue cheese & nuts...and Mimosas. Recipes to come!

Southwestern Egg Roll Apps

1 can Rotel - (with lime and cilantro) - Drained
1 can Southwestern Style Corn, drained
1 can Diced Green Chiles

1 T. Texas Pete Chipotle hot sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
Cubed Cheese - Colby Jack and Pepperjack (small pieces) - about 1/5 of a block
1 package of Wonton Wrappers
For sauce - 1/4 cup of Light Sour Cream, 1/4 cup of Premade Guacamole (like Wholly Guacamole)

In a saucepan, combine the Rotel, Corn, and Chiles - heat through. Add in hot sauce and seasonings and remove from heat. Drain off extra liquid.
On a plate, take your wonton wrapper and fill with 3 blocks of cheese, and about 3/4 of a Tablespoon of filling. Dip your fingers in water and moisten the edge of the wonton, fold in the sides, and roll in like a burrito or eggroll. Place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet.
Right before serving, heat in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes, and flip.
Combine sour cream and guacamole in a ziploc bag. Cut off one corner, so that you can squeeze out some of the sauce onto the plate or on the eggroll.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Roasted Red Pepper & Zucchini Gratin

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin - with a Blackberry & Jalapeno Glaze
2 lb Pork Loin Roast
8 slices of Bacon
2 T. Unsalted Butter
2 Large Jalapenos - roasted
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Seedless Blackberry Jam
1 cup Red Wine (I used a Cabernet/Shiraz)
1 tsp. Cornstarch
Rinse the pork loin and pat to dry with a paper towel. Place in a roasting pan. Season the pork with Salt & Pepper, then wrap the slices of bacon around the pork.
Roast the jalapenos - set the oven to broil and place the jalapenos on the top rack under the broiler - turning every 4 minutes until they are slightly charred on each side. When they are done - cut the stems off and scrape out the seeds and veins (I use cooking sanitary gloves when doing this so that I don't get the spicy juices on my hands). Then mince the jalapenos. 
Make the glaze - melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the jalapenos and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add in the jam and red wine and cook for 5 minutes, add the cornstarch, and cook until it reduces to half.
Pour half of the glaze onto the pork (use more glaze the last 30 minutes) - and place into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 20 minutes - or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Take out the meat, place on a cutting board and put tin foil over it for about 5 minutes. Slice and serve!

Roasted Red Pepper & Zucchini Gratin

4 T. Unsalted Butter
4 small zucchinis, cut into bite size pieces
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper - roasted and diced (follow same process as above for the jalapenos)
1 cup warm milk (microwave for 2 minutes)

2 T. All purpose Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 cup Six Italian Blend Shredded Cheese
Sprinkling of Garlic Bread Crumbs
Melt the butter in a large saute pan - add in the onions and cook until softened and golden - about 6-7 minutes. Add in the zucchini and cook for 7 - 10 minutes (with a lid on) until softened, add in the red bell pepper. Sprinkle the flour, salt & pepper over the vegetables, and add in the warmed milk.Cook until it thickens. Taste for flavoring - add more salt and pepper if desired. Add in the cheese and transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs, and cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Grilled Pizza Night - Make Your Own

This has become one of our favorite meals...super easy too! I have to admit that I don't always measure ingredients, so I am doing my best to put in the measurements. (This recipe feeds 2 people)

1 Wheat Pizza Dough (I buy mine fresh at the grocery store)
1 small can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
dash of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Toppings:
Whatever you want!
I diced up 1/2 of a green pepper, 1/2 of a red onion, 1/2 a head of broccoli, 2 cloves of garlic - added a couple Tablespoons of oil to my cast iron skillet...added the pepper, onion, garlic and a dash of salt and pepper and threw it on the grill. After it was cooked for a few - I added in the broccoli and cooked on medium low until everything was cooked through.

Pizza Dough:
Take two heavy plates and a small amount of vegetable oil - enough to coat the plate. Split your dough into half, and work the dough onto the plate - spread out in a circle. Stack the plates on top of each other...add another plate to the top - and put your cast iron skillet on top to flatten out the dough.

Sauce - Combine ingredients. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes or more. Taste for desired seasoning!

After the veggies are cooked, take your dough from the plates and use your hands to spread it out into a nice round pizza dough. Make sure your grill grates are oiled...and add them to the grill. Cook on low for about 5 minutes or until the dough on the bottom is sturdy enough to hold toppings.

Take the pizzas off the grill - add sauce, cheese (whatever kinds you want) and toppings! We had sharp white cheddar, six blend italian, and parmesan cheese...plus our veggies and pepperoni. You can add grilled chicken, fresh tomatoes, basil, mozzarella...whatever you want! Set it up as a little buffet and let the whole family enjoy!

Easy Haddock

1 Pound of Fresh Haddock - cleaned and skinned

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

3 strips of bacon, diced

3 white mushrooms, sliced

1 T. of Butter, divided in half

Glug of White Wine (I used pinot grigio...and a glug means a pour around the pan)

I love my cast iron pans...so you will see that I use them for everything! If you don't have them...use whatever you've got! 

Clean the fish, pat it dry and season it lightly with salt & pepper. Set aside.

Cook the bacon in your pan for about 5 minutes, add in the bell pepper and shallot. Saute for 5 minutes, and add in 1/2 of the Tablespoon of butter and garlic. Simmer on low while cooking the fish.

Melt 1/2 of the Tablespoon of butter in your pan in the oven at 350 degrees. Place fish on the pan and cook in the oven - depends on how big your pieces of fish are, but should take about 8 - 10 minutes total. Fish should be white and flaky.

While fish is cooking, add in the "glug of white wine" and the mushrooms, simmer on low until your fish is done. 

Serve the fish over top of your pepper saute with a squeeze of fresh lemon. 

Lots to Add! 

A group of us hosted a friend's engagement shower last weekend and had lots of great food! The groom has a Gluten Allergy, so we wanted to make sure there was plenty for him to eat.

On the menu was cornbread (GF and regular), Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Pulled Chicken BBQ, Chopped Pork Barbecue, Macaroni & Cheese Balls, and Fruit Skewers. For dessert, we had Almond Cake Berry Cobblers, and GF Brownie Sundaes.

Sooo...recipes for the Chicken and the Macaroni & Cheese Balls:

Pulled BBQ Chicken - Get out your CrockPot!

6 Chicken Breasts, cleaned and trimmed

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce (I used half of each - Jack Daniels Hickory Smoked and Original #7, both are GF)

Half a Bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (GF)

1 Small Yellow Onion Diced

2 T. Worcestershire Sauce

3 T. Brown Sugar
3 Garlic Cloves, minced

Salt & Pepper (start with about a tsp of salt and half tsp of pepper)

For later:

1/2 cup of chicken broth with 3 T. Cornstarch whisked in.

Add chicken and ingredients through salt & pepper into a crockpot. Cooked on medium high for about 5 hours. Stir occasionally. Chicken will be falling apart...take out onto a cutting board and using a knife and fork, pull the chicken apart. In the crockpot, wisk in broth and cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce. Taste for seasoning - add more S&P if needed. Add back in the chicken and simmer for at least 30 more minutes (longer to get the flavor into the chicken).

Serve with buns or cornbread and your favorite sides!

Fried Macaroni & Cheese Balls

Makes about 52 balls

1 box of Elbow Macaroni - cooked according to directions

1 16 oz block of sharp cheddar Grated

1 8 oz block of pepperjack 8 oz Grated
1 8 oz block of monterey jack, or your favorite cheese Grated

(do not use the shredded cheese in a bag...it typically has powdered cellulose added and changes the consistency)

2 cups of warmed 1% milk (or whatever you have on hand)

2 T. Flour

2 T. butter

Salt & Pepper - add in 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper

3 Eggs, Beaten

3 T. Milk

3 cups of Bread Crumbs (I used a mix of Kroger brand Garlic & Italian flavored)

Vegetable Oil for Frying - 1 container 48 oz.

Grate the cheese in your food processor or by hand. Warm the milk in the microwave - 3 minutes. Melt the butter in a pan, and whisk in the flour. Stir consistently until the butter and flour are a nice golden color and mixed thoroughly. Add in the milk slowly, about a 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should continue to thicken as you do this. Temperature should be set at a medium low. Turn heat down to low or simmer and add in the cheese until all is melted, and add salt & pepper. Taste the cheese mixture and add more seasoning according to your tastes. Add the macaroni into the cheese mixture and pour onto a cookie sheet. Refrigerate the cookie sheet for 2 hours. Pull the sheet out and roll into balls. Place them on parchment paper and on whatever will fit into your freezer! (I stuck mine into ziploc bags). Freeze overnight

24 hours later, whisk 3 eggs and 3 T. of milk into a large bowl, and the 3 cups of breadcrumbs in a separate large container. Dip the balls into the egg wash and then into the breadcrumbs. Put them back in your ziploc bags - and refreeze - at least 2 hours, but overnight or for a couple of nights preferably. 

In a deep fryer, heat oil until it's 350 degrees. Add in the balls, and heat until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain some of the oil. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and reheat in the oven (at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes).

Tasty Turkey Burgers

My husband raved about these...since turkey isn't as flavorful, you need to add some good ingredients to make a great burger.
Turkey Burgers - combine liquid ingredients in a bowl and add turkey.
1.3 lbs of Ground Turkey (I used 15% fat)
1/2 small yellow onion, grated
2 tablespoons barbeque sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon steak seasoning
1 teaspoon dry mesquite flavored seasoning mix (I used a dry rub for beef)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
I put these on a flat cast iron skillet on the grill to get the outside a little done before putting them on the grill. Grill at medium heat for about 8-10 mins each side, or until done in the middle (no pink).

Add these great toppings below for a wonderful burger!

For Onion & Mushroom Topping - Heat olive oil, add in onions and let caramelize (a pinch of salt), and then add in the mushrooms until tender.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion,chopped
Small container of favorite mushrooms (I used shitake) - chopped

Mayo Topping - mix together
1/2 cup light mayo
1/8 cup sweet & spicy mustard
1/8 cup honey
3 T. Texas Pete Chipotle hot sauce
1/4 tsp. Sriracha hot sauce (can use more depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper

Southwestern 7 Layered Salad - a new take on an old classic

1 head of Red Leaf Lettuce, chopped
1 ripe tomato, diced
1 ripe avocado diced
1 cup thawed, shelled edamame (I usually just put mine in a bowl of hot water to de-thaw quickly)
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
Texas Toast Tortilla Strips
Shredded Cheddar Cheese


Dressing: 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix for dressings - use 1 packet of dressing mix, 1/2 cup light sour cream, 1/2 cup light mayonnaise, 1 cup skim milk. Wisk together. Add 2-3 Tbs. of Texas Pete Chipotle hot sauce, and 2 Tbs. freshly minced cilantro. Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In a glass bowl or trifle dish - layer lettuce, tomato, avocado, edamame and red onion. Dash with salt and pepper. Add about half of the salad dressing and top with tortilla strips and cheddar cheese. Walla!

One of my loves in life is cooking...so, it seems natural to blog about it.
Last night was Fish Tacos with a mango salsa, chipotle cream, and napa cabbage on corn tortillas. Served with poblano potato salad and homemade guacamole.

Let's start with the fish tacos...
1 pound of Cod (can use any good white fish)...cleaned, skinned, and cut into one inch nuggets
1 cup of panko bread crumbs - on a plate
1 cup of all purpose flour - on a plate
1 egg beaten with 1 1/2 T. of water - on a plate
Salt and Pepper
Napa cabbage (small head) diced
Small Corn or Flour Tortillas
After cleaning your fish, pat it to dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper, and I used some of Weber's Mango Lime seasoning. Dredge fish in flour, then in egg wash, then in panko.  Pan fry in a cast iron skillet with enough oil only to coat the pan (use a medium-low setting). Once the fish is browned, stick in a pre-heated oven on broil setting for about 5 minutes to get the fish nice and done.


Mango salsa - combine all ingredients below and let sit while making other items.
1 champagne mango, diced
1/3 of a small red onion, finely diced
2 T. Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 - 2 T. of freshly minced cilantro

Chipotle Cream - Combine ingredients
1/2 cup Light Mayo
1/2 cup Light Sour Cream
1 diced Chipotle and 1 T. of Adobo (canned chipotle's in adobo sauce) 2 of my stores were out of this, so I made do with Texas Pete Chipotle Hot Sauce - to taste
Squeeze of half a lime
Salt & Pepper

Tacos - Combine fish, salsa, chipotle cream and cabbage in a tortilla and enjoy!

Poblano Potato Salad
1 pound of yukon or red potatoes - cut into bite size chunks
1 poblano
2 ears of fresh corn
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup light mayo
Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to a broil, place poblano on the top rack under the broiler for 20 minutes (turn twice while cooking) until skin is charred and bubbling. Remove poblano and place in a paper bag to steam for about 10 minutes. After it has steamed, remove the stem and seeds from the inside, and dice.
Place 2 ears of corn in the oven on a piece of tin foil in the middle rack (while the poblano is cooking) for approximately 25 minutes, turning a few times throughout. Let cool and cut kernels off the cob.  
Boil a pot of water to cover potatoes, add a teaspoon (about) of salt to boiling water and add potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes - or until fork tender, but not falling apart. Drain.
Combine your ingredients in a bowl and let sit (for at least an hour to mesh the flavors). Add salt and pepper to taste.