Easy Peasy Asparagus

I was going to our end of the year swim team party tonight at the pool and needed to bring a side dish.  What was I going to bring?  I remembered I had the mother load of asparagus (that I love) from costco!!! Yes!! I could do a cold salad.  When I normally make my asparagus I make it roasted in the oven with garlic, olive oil, sea salt, pepper. And when its done I drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. I absolutely love the balsamic with the asparagus. So, I decided to look up a vinaigrette that I could put on the asparagus. I found a great easy recipe on epicurous.com.  But wanted something with a little crunch so decided to add pecans and WOW what else but a little blue cheese to add a bite to it!!

Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
1 Tbs fresh marjoram or 1 tsp dried ( I only had dried)
1 Garlic Clove

Start by cutting a bit of the bottoms of asparagus with kitchen scissors. When water comes to a boil put asparagus in pot with salt.  Cook till tender about 4 or so minutes. Then place in colander with cold water to chill the spears.

SHOOOTTT!!! As I am blogging this I realized that I saved the pictures on the camera and not card. Well, here goes without pictures.

Ok, I had little time and thought candied pecans would be good.  So, when I put them in toaster oven to toast up I added some sugar.

Then, in a small saucepan bring the balsamic vinegar to boil and let reduce, this should take about 3 minutes. Pour vinegar in large bowl. Whisk in olive oil, mustard, marjoram, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

I placed the chilled asparagus in a 13x9 type of serving dish. Then added the vinaigrette and tossed the spears. After topped with about 1/2 cup of blue cheese and pecans. You can add more blue cheese or less whatever you like. And would also be great with any type of nuts really. Even pine nuts would be great.

Stayed tuned.. using Basil this weekend for moms homemade Pesto.. Yes, Heather for you:):)

Homemade Pizza!!

I haven't blogged in a while and could be because I have been busy or I have eaten out to much!:) I had fresh mozzarella in my fridge from Costco tonight.  I was going to make a pasta a friend told me about in the store with sausage, shrimp, basil, tomatoes, garlic ... doesn't that sound yummy. Well,  I decided I wanted something a bit quicker and since another friend told me to use Naan , which is an Indian bread found in the bakery section as a base for pizza. I had dinner planned in a second.  I served with a romaine and Boston bib salad with a simple oil vinaigrette.

Naan Pizza

Naan Bread which is like a pita bread.
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh Basil
Tomatoes
garlic
oil
oregano

First, I put the Naan on a pizza baker. I brushed with olive oil which I had mixed with garlic and oregano. I broiled in my oven for about 2 minutes each side to crisp up.

Then I cut up the tomatoes for the pizza. I used a vine rip tomatoes which was very good on the pizza.

Cut up the mozzarella into thin pieces which can be very challenging!!! Maddie loves to taste the mozzarella as I cut it up. That's a great picture!! Ha Ha

Next, take the bread out of the oven and layer with tomatoes, mozzarella, and chopped fresh basil. Ryan added fresh jalapenos on his from our garden. Maddie and I aren't into that much spice:)

Turn the oven to 350 and bake for about 15 minutes. DELISH. It was fresh and had all the tastes of summer with the basil and tomato. Enjoy

Slow cooked Pork Tenderlion Tostadas

This is a super easy week night meal after a long weekend.  I love to make fresh guacamole to go on the tostada and also make my own refried beans. My sister Carrie told me about tostadas and how good they were. I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer and some Trader Joe's Enchilada sauce so this morning I put the pork in the crock pot with the sauce and let it cook all day. Also, this week I am going to try to put up some light meals for my sister Patsy. All the heavy dishes were making her a bit queasy. hahahahahha!:) You can do these tostadas with any kind of meat or just do them vegetarian:) And for the toppings you can add all kinds of different things for example I didn't do lettuce or tomato but you could add alot of different yummy toppings. Enjoy!!

I love the Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce

I put the tenderloin as I said in the crock pot on high for about 8 hours

I usually just use an avocado for my guacamole and add finely chopped red onion , lemon juice, bit of lime juice, garlic clove, salt and pepper. Its fresh and delish! Not the greatest of pics, sorry!

Then put one or two cans of pinto beans undrained in small saucepan and bring to boil. Then let simmer for about 5 minutes or so. Then mash them with a potato masher. I add about 1 teaspoon of this black bean sauce which my sister Carrie told me about. It gives them a different and good flavor.

This is the sauce which I purchased at Harris Teeter.

I love fresh cilantro so I always chop some of that to have for the top!

Lastly, heat the tostadas in oven just a bit to get crisp and warm.  

I didn't have Sarachi to put on top so I used Texas Pete... You can put salsa and sour cream as I said toppings are unlimited to your liking.

 

  

Torpedo!

I recently got out a Kraft Food and Family magazine from last summer and found another kid dinner!!:) Ryan liked it too. So, it is a bratwurst wrapped in tortilla with cheese and grilled onions. I didn't take a picture but it was a good kid friendly dinner for summertime.

1 large onion
olive oil
2 bottles of beer or can
1 tbs of A.1. steak sauce
4 flour tortillas (8 inch)
4 kraft singles

Heat Grill. Cook and stir onions in large pan on medium heat for about 5 min. Cover. Simmer for 10 min.

Meanwhile, bring beer to boil in medium saucepan. Add bratwurst and cook for 5 min. Then drain and put them on grill for 5 minutes or so. I don't grill so I really have no idea:) ha.

Stir steak sauce into the onions. Top the tortillas with singles, onion and bratwurst. Ryan called it a Torpedo. :)

Tater Tot Casserole

Last night Ryan and I went to the steak and crab pool party in the neighborhood! So, Maddie went over to a friends house were we left a group of kids with a babysitter. I decided to make this casserole instead of ordering pizza. I am so glad that I did because the kids absolutely loved it!!! It makes a huge 13x9 dish and I did have a taste and it was very good! Maddie was the chef for most of this one.. Thank you Maddie:)

First, brown about 1 and half pounds of ground meat. Drain and add 1 chopped onion to the pan. Let cook until onion softened.

 

Next layer small amount of the 32 oz bag of tater tots in the 13x9 casserole dish. Then in a large mixing bowl mix together one can of mushroom soup, chicken soup, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup milk, one can of corn, one can of peas and carrots. Mix thoroughly. 

Then when meat is browned and onion is cooked. Top the small amount of tater tots with meat mixture. Then add 1 cup of cheddar cheese to the top of meat layer. Then pour the bowl of soup mixture over the top.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes covered. Then uncover and bake another 15 min. Sorry no after pic of the goodness because we were running late!! 

Enjoy!!!! The kids will love it!

Peanut Noodle Salad

I absolutely love cold Chinese noodle salads. I had a Marshall Field Chinese noodle salad years ago and loved it! If you don't know Marshall Fields its a department store in Chicago and they have a cafe which has some wonderful unique dishes. Anyway,  I already had this peanut sauce made and was  having a friend over for dinner so thought this would be a great dinner for us. :)  The best thing to me about this salad is to fry your own wontons for the top. DELISH!!!

 

First I boiled Fusilli noodles which are the best noodles for a cold Chinese salad. They have a great consistency and seem to be better than plain spaghetti noodles.

Meanwhile, pour vegetable oil in a medium saucepan about halfway. Heat oil. I check by splashing a bit of water to see if ready. I don't fry a ton so kinda guess:)

I buy the wonton wrappers from Harris Teeter in the produce section. I cut them in long strips. In thirds. You can make thinner if you like.

 I fry them long enough to see a bit of brown. I fry about 5 or 6 strips at a time. Then put them on paper towels to drain.

 

                                    

I bought a rotisserie chicken and cut it up. Which I love to use in these salads. Its easy and tastes great. For the vegetables I use a small amount of chopped mushrooms, green onion, and blanch some snow peas. To blanch them bring a small amount of water to a boil then add the peas. Boil for about 2 min or so and then put them in colander with ice. Blanching keeps the veggies crisp and tender. 

For the peanut sauce: 

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2/3 cup water

4 Tbs hoison sauce

4 Tbs soy sauce

4 Tbs light brown sugar

2 Tbs rice vinegar

3 tsp sesame oil

Combine the above in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring constantly.  It makes alot so I always freeze some for future times:)

Mix all the ingredients together.. the noodles, veggies, chicken, and the sauce. I would add about 1/2 cup sauce and taste from there.

Serve with the wonton noodles on the top or side of plate. yummo.. Enjoy!!!

 

And last but not least have a wonderful friend help with the dishes, ha!!! Thanks for coming over Marla!! 

National French Fry Day!!!

Did you eat French Fries today for National French Fry day? Well I did not!!!! I am sitting here at ten o'clock mad at myself that I didn't splurge and have some delightful fries today.  I had the best excuse EVER to tell myself.... Its ok Jenny you can have that extra large fry because its of course National French Fry day!!! I have loved french fries forever!!! I mean really who doesn't?? But man I have had some not so great ones in my day and have had some that I think were the best in the world. What have been some of your favorites? I can remember a recent spot.. which did come close to the ones I used to eat when we lived in Germany. The place was a newer restaurant in Arlington called Lyon Hall. WOW,  my nephew and I split the mussels and frites and it blew us away!!  They had great outdoor seating and an extensive wine and beer list!

I have tried to make many fries in the oven and on the stove frying them. Recently, I found a great recipe and would like to share it with you all. Its a Paula Deen and they were very good!! Sorry no pictures of my own but will make some steak and frites for the blog soon...

http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/crispy_french_fries_with_mayonnaise_dip/

Enjoy!!!

French Butter Dish

I thought I would share this wonderful kitchen gadget with you!!! Its called a French Butter Dish. I ordered it offline and will share that link with you below. I was so over going to the fridge for the hard butter to spread on toast although I still have butter in the fridge for recipes:) The idea is that the water on the bottom of the dish creates an airtight seal which keeps oxygen away from the butter. FYI Oxygen is what turns butter rancid!! That's the science behind this wonderful butter dish:) And Maddie can spread it on her own toast which is always a bonus for the kids to do it on their own!! So, today I say yah for my French Butter Dish:)


And this is how easy the butter comes out of the dish!!!

Baked Ziti

For my first post this really isn't anything new, gourmet, or even something I would call DELISH! But it was an easy Sunday dinner and Maddie loves it!!! There are some variations you can do with this dish, for example, I used ground beef but you could do sausage or ground turkey. Also, I used fresh herbs which were from my garden. But you can use whatever you have in your kitchen. And it really makes a large amount which is great if your having company over or have a larger family:) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1lb Ground beef
1 lb Ziti noodles
1 Onion, Chopped
3-4 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Tbs of each ( Basil, Rosemary and Oregano)
Pinch of Fennel Seeds
1/2 teaspoon ( I do a little more) Red Pepper Flakes
1 Large Jar of your favorite sauce or make your own
1/2 pound Mozzarella , grated
2 cups of Fat Free Ricotta
1 cup Parmesan Cheese


Bring a large pot of water to a boil add the ziti noodles and about 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain the noodles. I put the noodles back into the pot with a bit of olive oil so they don't stick together.

Add olive oil to a large saute pan and cook ground beef over medium- high heat. When the meat is browned a bit you can drain and add the chopped onion. Saute till the onion begins to brown then add your spices and garlic to the pan. Saute for about 1 minute. Then add your spaghetti sauce. Bring to Simmer.

Preheat oven to 350.  On the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish pour a thin layer of your sauce mixture, then dot the surface with half of the ricotta cheese. In the pasta pour in some sauce and stir together. Add pasta on top of ricotta mixture.

Poor the rest of the sauce over the pasta and add the rest of the ricotta cheese. Sprinkle the mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese over the top. You can also add some of the mozzarella before you add the noodles for more cheese.:) Which is always good:)

Bake about 20 minutes or until browned.

Hungry!!??!

 I finally started this blog because I am hungry tonight, HA!!! So, unfortunately tonight I am not posting a DELISH recipe but will start very soon!! I will use this blog to post not only recipes but some book suggestions. My two favorite things!:) Can't wait to get started!!