Thursday, March 31, 2011

roasted salmon with fennel and red onion

We LOVE this meal! It sounds fancy and it even looks fancy but it's a fake out! It's super easy, nutritious AND delicious! Don't let the fennel scare you away if you're not familiar with it. It's a funny root vegetable that has a licorice smell and a slight licorice taste, BUT pair it with a bite of salmon and onion and you are in for a treat!

2 small fennel bulbs, cut in quarters then slice
1 large red onion, cut in half then slice
6 cloves of garlic, smashed (or 3 t. minced fresh garlic or 3/4 t. garlic powder)
1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes (if we liked tomatoes I'd include them; I'm sure they're delicious and very pretty but...)
1 t. dried thyme
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
2 t. olive oil
4 - 6 oz. salmon fillets, skinned
1 lemon, halved
  1. Heat oven to 400*.  
  2. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the fennel, onion, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper and the oil. Spread evenly and roast for 20 minutes.  
  3. Move the vegetables to side of pan, add the salmon, then redistribute the vegetables around the salmon. Squeeze the lemon halves over the salmon. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper.
  4. Return to oven and roast until the salmon is the same color throughout, 10-12 minutes. Serve immediately, with rice, if desired.
**Baking note: Did you know? To check if the salmon is done, pierce it with a sharp knife. If it pierces the salmon and goes through to touch the other side of the pan without resistance IT IS DONE. If you wait until the salmon flakes, it's overcooked.

ENJOY!

bbq chicken pizza

I forget how easy and yummy this recipe is! I haven't made it in a while, but now that I have, it'll be "on the rotation"!

1 - 14 oz. Boboli-type prebaked pizza crust
1/2-2/3 c. bbq sauce
3 c. chicken, cooked and shredded (I use 2 chicken breasts, diced and sauteed in a little olive oil. When cooked, mix in a little bbq sauce to coat.)
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
a sprinkle of parmesan cheese
a sprinkle of parsley, for color
a few green onion greens

1. Place the crust on a pizza pan or cookie sheet.
2. Spread BBQ sauce over crust, leaving about and inch crust border all the way around.
3. Spread chicken over sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses, then green onion and parsley.
4. Bake at 450* for 8-10 minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Food Network BBQ Chicken Pizza variations-
Crust: use a 13.8 oz package of Pillsbury Classic pizza dough. Roll out on floured surface and place on greased 15x10" sheet pan. Top with ingredients and bake at 400* for 20 minutes.
Cheeses: 3/4 c. gouda, shredded + 1 c. mozzarella, shredded + 3/4 c. parmesan, shredded
Add: 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

frosted shortbread aka toffee bars

I can't remember the last time I made this recipe, and I don't know if I've ever made it for Josh, but apparently I have because he requested it for his birthday dessert.  It is always a crowd pleaser. In fact, if you made it for a crowd, I doubt it'd be around very long. You see, we have a family of 5 and it lasted only about 36 hours in our house. It's true, with a little more self-control they might be around longer, but have you TASTED them?! Holy Toledo! They are scrumptious! Let me know how long they last at YOUR house. ;)

I modified this Taste of Home recipe.
Frosted Shortbread
Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 15 minute + cooling35

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 milk chocolate candy bar (1.55 ounces each), broken into rectangles OR 1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional at our house)

Directions

  • In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
  • Press into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Immediately place candy bar pieces over crust. Let stand for 1 minute or until softened; spread chocolate evenly. Sprinkle with walnuts (if you like). If you DON'T use the walnuts you can write a message in the chocolate with the end of a knife before the chocolate cools. We wrote "Happy Birthday Daddy!" Cool. Cut into squares. Yield: 3 dozen.
 

Saturday, March 12, 2011

a few new recipes

Our family has been so blessed by so many who've brought us some delicious food after the birth of our new babe. Thank you SO much all of you!
My sweet friend/visiting teacher brought us the most delectable chicken pot pie I think I've ever had. I mean, its a Food Network "Barefoot Contessa" recipe, so how could it NOT be amazing?! So, here it is (The Barefoot Contessa) Ina Garten's Chicken Pot Pie.

I am lucky enough to have a fellow foodie blogger (if I can call myself that). She posts recipes every week and I have used a TON of her's.  A few weeks ago she and her hubby brought us some Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches. They were amazing!  I will be making them again! Thanks Kelly! DeLISHious!  

Check out Kelly's other yummy recipes over here. Might I recommend her:
Pulled Pork (which I've yet to try, but it's one of her favorites so I'm sure it's amazing!),
along with her recent post of Strawberry Cupcakes found here,
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (I made this with some leftover turkey and it was the best homemade chicken noodle soup I've ever had- SO good),
and Cookie Dough Truffles (from Paula Deen). If I can think of other recipes of her's I've used but haven't posted, I'll do so.

This past week I made Kelly's Garlic Lemon Shrimp with Orzo and Broccoli, listed below. It was SO good! It's similar to my Asparagus & Shrimp Pasta but I think her recipe held up better, meaning as leftovers mine is more dry but I still really like it. To each his own. This recipe of her's will be on our rotation, just as I know it's on her's. So tasty!

Garlic Lemon Shrimp with Orzo and Broccoli

1 cup orzo
1 broccoli crown, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
kosher salt and course ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp butter
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2-3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Direction
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add the orzo and cook until al dente (about 8-9 minutes). During the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, add broccoli to the pasta water. Drain orzo and broccoli and set aside.
- In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat, and add onions. Cook until soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes, then add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add lemon juice, zest, and wine/broth to saute pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, summering for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the butter, and continue stirring until melted
- Add the shrimp to the saute pan, and cook until pink and cooked through (about 4-5 minutes). Add the orzo and broccoli, parsley, and cheese to the shrimp and toss gently to combine
- Serve immediately
- *We discovered this is even delicious and amazing COLD as well!

Some other recipes I've tried out lately include:
Baked French Toast with Raspberry Sauce
I was not as pleased with this recipe as my husband was. He really liked it. I think it just wasn't what I was expecting- it was more custard like than actual french toast-like, so I won't be making it again. Oh, and I used frozen strawberries instead of the raspberries.
Baked Ravioli
This Everyday Food recipe was AWESOME! It looks very simple and I didn't have high hopes for it, but it proved me wrong and will now be on the rotation. Even Jackson liked it! Write this one down!

Light & Fluffy Bread (aka Sara's Homemade Bread)
This was SO delicious AND I was able to use some of my whole wheat flour from my food storage!  It was a big hit and very easy to make.

This smaller batch of bread works well with or without a bread mixer.

6 c. whole wheat flour
2 T. vital wheat gluten (or 1/2 c. high gluten (80%) flour or 500 mg vitamin C)
2 T. dry yeast
2 1/4-1/2 c. warm water (120-130*)
2 T. oil
2 T. honey
2 eggs
2 t. salt
  1. Mix 3 c. flour, wheat gluten, and yeast in mixer bowl equipped with kneading arm.  Add warm water and mix for 1 minute.  Turn off mixer, cover bowl, and let dough sponge for 10 minutes.  Add oil, honey, eggs, and salt.  Turn on mixer. Add remaining whole wheat flour, 1 c. at a time, until dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl.  Knead 5-6 minutes (in bowl).  Turn off mixer, cover bowl, and let rise 20 minutes.  Mix for 1 minute to knead dough down.  Preheat oven to 150*.
  2. Lightly oil hands.  Divide dough into equal portions. Shape into loaves and place into lightly greased bread pans.  Turn off oven.  Place bread in oven, and let rise until double in bulk.  Leave bread in oven and heat oven to 350*.  (Bread may also rise on countertop until double.) Bake in preheated oven.  Remove from pans and let cool.
  3. Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes.
  4. Yield: 2 regular-sized loaves
Slow-Cooker Pot Roast
Did I mention I love the Everyday Food Magazine? I've found SO many good recipes in there, including this one. I love slow cooker recipes, especially on Sundays when I can throw it all in and it cooks while we're away at church. As soon as we got out of the car in the GARAGE we could smell the heavenly aroma. Mmmm.

The link above is the original version, I modified it a bit, noted in italics below.
Serves 8
  • 1 c. water
  • 2-3 T. cornstarch
  • 8 medium carrots, cut into thirds
  • 2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges too much onion if you add the dry onion soup like I did
  • 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 beef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • Directions
    1. In slow cooker, stir together cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Add carrots and 1/2 packet of onion soup mix; season with pepper, and toss.
    2. Sprinkle roast with other 1/2 packet of dry onion soup mix, along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables, and drizzle with Worcestershire. Cover; cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 8-10 hours).
    3. Transfer roast to a cutting board; thinly slice against the grain. Place vegetables in a serving dish; pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired. (At this point we put the pan juices in a saucepan and proceeded to make a gravy to go with it. The juices were delicious so all we added was additional water and the thickening to make the gravy.) Serve roast with vegetables and pan juices (or gravy).

      Oven method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In step 1, use a 5-quart Dutch oven or ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid; add 2 cups water. Cover; bake until roast is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Proceed with step 3.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

he's got the look

Levi is a good good baby. He's generally very mellow, squawks occasionally and cries even more infrequently. He's really working on holding up his head, eating a lot, sleeping even more and filling his diapers according to schedule. We really could not ask for anything more.  Look at all the cute faces we get to see every day! 
He's also working on his smile and generally shares them with his Daddy the most, but the rest of us get some now and again too.  Poor little fella has had some nasal congestion lately and does a lot of snorting in his attempt to breathe.  It's both cute and sad.  Did I mention even without his cold he's a very noisy eater and sleeper?  Ahh the sweet baby sounds.

Levi is a wonderful addition to our family and we are so happy to have him here with us!  We love the chubby cheeks he's got and the double chin we can kiss on! I LOVE CHUBBY BABIES! You know, I used to be one myself. See! Ahhh, so cute! :)
As of now, the overal consensus is that Levi resembles Jackson, which I do see, but I see some of Alivia too. Let me demonstrate.

Baby Jackson:

Baby Alivia:

What do YOU think?

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Levi's Blessing

  
On Feb. 6, 2011 (SuperBowl Sunday) we took our angel boy to Church and blessed him.  It was a very special day for our family (along with the 2 other families who blessed their sons as well).

Levi was blessed by his Daddy, accompanied by his 2 grandpas, 1 great-grandpa, an uncle and 3 great-uncles. Levi did great during the blessing; he didn't make a peep. They said he just gazed up at his Daddy wondering what was going on. 

We were so blessed to be surrounded by family for Levi's special day and are grateful to have such wonderful, supportive family.  My parents and "baby" sister made the 2000+ mile trek to visit with us and share in our special day and I am so glad they did! We loved having them with us.
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