Firecracker Grilled Salmon

Adapted from All Recipes

This is our 100th post for our recipe blog!  How very exciting!  So, to celebrate I decided to post about my all-time favorite salmon recipe (to date...there could be a better one somewhere out there that I just haven't discovered yet.).  The marinade is extremely good and the grilled flavor on salmon is the best.  I generally serve with a bunch of grilled veggies, but added some grilled pineapple this time as well.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• 4 (4 oz) fillets of salmon
• ¼ cup peanut oil
• 4 Tbs soy sauce
• 4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 4 Tbs green onions, chopped
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp salt

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients for marinade.  Cover in a medium glass dish for at least 4 hours, setting some of the marinade aside to drizzle over fish and veggies after grilling.
• Preheat grill at medium.  Grill fish for 10 minutes per inch of thickness.  Flip occasionally.
• Serve with grilled veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and red peppers) and rice.

Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

I'm always looking for new ways to cook vegetables. This was so delicious, I think it's one of my new favorite ways to cook asparagus.

Ingredients:

1 pound of asparagus

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan Cheese

lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If the stalks of the asparagus are thick, peel the bottom half of each. Lay them in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and return to the oven for another minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

These are absolutely mouth watering and so easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries

1 bag Ghirardelli Chocolate (I like milk chocolate)

Wash strawberries and allow them to dry. Place chips in double boiler over simmering water. Stir chips constantly until melted. Holding stem, dip one strawberry at a time in chocolate until berry is covered. Place on wax paper. Refrigerate.

Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos with Spicy Southwestern Slaw

Adapted from All Recipes

I like fish tacos and mahi mahi is a good fish for them.  It's a mild flavored fish, so it allows you to add a lot of flavor with the other taco fillers.  For example, this time I made the dish flavorful with the Spicy Southwestern Slaw, but other times when I have made it I have used some type of fresh fruit salsa.  However, the Spicy Southwestern Slaw is one of my favorite accompaniments to any Mexican dish.  It's great with enchiladas or even on a pulled pork sandwich. 

Ingredients:

·         2 mahi mahi filets

·         1 tsp cumin

·         2 tsp honey

·         ¼ tsp salt

·         ½ tsp chili powder

·         2 Tbs. lime juice, divided

·         Southwestern slaw recipe (see below)

·         1/3 cup black beans

·         1/3 cup frozen corn, thawed

·         1 avocado

·         2 Tbs sour cream

·         2 Tbs fresh salsa

·         4 whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

·         Mix cumin, honey, slat, chili powder and 1 Tbs. lime juice.  Marinade mahi mahi in honey mixture for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

·         In the meantime make slaw.  (See below).

·         Peel the avocado and mash.  Mix avocado with sour cream, fresh salsa and 1 Tbs lime juice. 

·         After 30 minutes bake the mahi mahi for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

·         To serve the fish tacos, layer the slaw, mahi mahi, black beans, corn and avocado crème on a wheat tortilla.

Spicy Southwestern Slaw

Ingredients:

• 1 package coleslaw mix
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrot, onion, red pepper, jalapeno and cilantro. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetable mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Recipe from my MIL

Valentine's Day is all about chocolate.  This cake is similar to a molten lava cake, but instead of making individual dishes it all comes out in one pan (much easier to make!).  The hot fudge is rich and delicious.  This is a recipe Tim grew up with and is simply ideal for Valentine's Day.  He attempted to make it for me for the first Valentine's Day that we were married, but added 4 tsp of salt rather than the 1/4 tsp of salt, which was obviously disastrous.  We ended up making regular brownies from a mix that year.  So this year I decided to take over making this chocolatey goodness.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 Tbs. cocoa, divided
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 ¼ cup hot water

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  In medium bowl combine ¾ cup sugar, flour, 3 Tbs cocoa, baking powder, and salt.  Blend in milk, melted butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Pour batter into square pan- 8x8” or 9x9”. 
• In small bowl combine remaining ¾ cup sugar, brown sugar and remaining 4 Tbs. cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top; do not stir.
• Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set.  Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
• Spoon into dessert dishes and top with ice cream. 

Serves:  8-10

Thai Chicken Pizza

Adapted from All Recipes

I think my current obsession must be peanut butter in entree dishes!  This pizza was fantastic.  It's pretty difficult to ruin a pizza, though, so I always love the new types of pizza we try.  This one is very reminiscent of California Pizza Kitchen's Thai Chicken Pizza.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• One pizza recipe (see Recipe Index)
• 7 oz. Thai Peanut Sauce
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 8 oz. cooked, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• ½ cup fresh white bean sprouts
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts

Directions:

• Prepare pizza according to recipe directions.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Cook pizza crust for 12 minutes.  In the meantime, stir Peanut sauce and peanut butter together in a small bowl.  After crust has completed cooking, spread the peanut sauce mix over the crust.  Arrange the cheese on top, then top with pieces of chicken and green onion.
• Bake the pizza for 8-10 more minutes in oven.  When pizza is done cooking, top with sprouts, carrots and peanuts.
• Slice into wedges and serve.

Note:  Next time top with chopped cilantro, as well.

Baked Cheese Tortellini

Adapted from Food Network-Giada De Laurentiis

I found some tortellini on sale and wanted to find a new way to use it. I found this recipe which was simple and we all enjoyed. I plan to try it again with meat tortellini next :)

Ingredients:

Olive oil

2 cups marinara sauce

1/3 cup cottage cheese

parsley to taste

thyme to taste

1 pound purchased cheese tortellini

2 ounces smoked Mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8X8X2 inch baking dish.

Whisk the sauce, cottage cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with the smoked Mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

French Bread

Adapted from A Taste of Richmond-Recipe from Eden Dixon

My hubby is completely obsessed with breads-I decided to bake this delicious French bread to go with the meal we were having. It is incredibly easy and compliments any Italian dish.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

1/8 cup oil

Dissolve sugar in warm water and then add the yeast and let sit about 5 minutes to dissolve. Add oil and salt. Add half the flour; mix and add rest of flour. Knead dough; let rise until double. Spread olive oil on the pan and drizzle with corn meal and then with sugar. Set pan aside. Shape dough into loaf and place on cookie sheet. Slit top of loaf and let rise. Cook at 375 for 30 minutes. When finished baking, brush with butter.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

I loved this recipe. I think bananas and pancakes make an amazing combination:) I will definitely make this again.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

butter

2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving

maple syrup

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute, until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter, and maple syrup.

Cheesy Spaghetti Bake

Adapted from Ivory Family Favorite's Cookbook

It was one of those busy days where I would have zero time to make dinner. I found this recipe which I was able to make ahead of time and just pop it in the oven!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Italian Sausage

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large can spaghetti sauce

12 ounces spaghetti, broken in half and cooked al dente

8 ounces Mozzarella, grated

1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Cook sausage, mushrooms, onion and garlic until brown. Drain. Add spaghetti sauce. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, uncovered. In glass baking dish, layer half of the cooked spaghetti, half of the Mozzarella cheese and half of the sauce; repeat. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Braised Balsamic Chicken

Adapted from All Recipes

My husband didn't have to work tonight...it's been awhile since I made a good dinner and it was very overdue.  This recipe was delicious, flavorful and healthy.  Just what we needed. 

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ onion, thinly sliced
• ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried rosemary
• ½ tsp dried thyme

Directions:

• Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a medium skillet and brown the onion, bell pepper, garlic, mushrooms and seasoned chicken breasts.
• Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over chicken and vegetables.  Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 10  minutes.
• Serve with coucous.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza

Adapted from Allrecipes

So, you are supposed to make this on a pizza pan, but I wanted to make it into 2 dishes so that I could keep one for the Superbowl party we had and another to take to our ward Linger Longer.  This was super easy to throw together, which was great since I had to clean my house for the party too.  :)

Ingredients:

• 1 (18 oz) package refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup whipped topping
• 2 cups cold half-and-half
• 1 large package instant chocolate pudding mix
• ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

• Press cookie dough onto an ungreased 12-inch pizza pan.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-16 minutes or until center is set and cookie is lightly browned.  Cool completely.
• In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and whipped topping until blended.  Spread over crust. 
• In a bowl whisk cream and pudding mix for 2 minutes.  Let stand until soft set.  Spread over cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with nuts.  Refrigerate until serving.

Pesto Gnocchi

Adapted from Taste of Home

My husband has been working the 3-11 PM shift most of this week = not a lot of cooking by me.  I just can't see the point of cooking a full dinner for one person.  Thus, I have been eating leftovers {Bleh}.  I am definitely not a leftover person.  However, I did make this quick and easy dinner one night.  It was delightful to have something fresh and that was full of veggies.  Gnocchi is reminiscent of pasta, but made out of potatoes and is very satisfying.  Give it a try!

Ingredients:

• 1 (18 oz) package of potato gnocchi
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• ½ cup chopped sweet bell pepper
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• ¼ cup prepared pesto
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• Salt, to taste
• Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions:

• Cook gnocchi according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the chicken until juices run clear.  Remove from skillet.  Sauté the  zucchini and bell pepper in oil until crisp-tender.  Add the chicken for the last several minutes of cooking the vegetables. 
• Drain gnocchi; add to chicken mixture.  Add the pesto to skillet, as well.  Gently stir until coated. 
• Stir in tomatoes.  Sprinkle with salt, to taste.  Serve with Parmesan to add, as desired.

Croissant Scramble

Adapted from Home Cooking the Costco Way

This was so delicious, I'll definitely make it again! The only downer was that-as you can see- there was so little croissant for all the goodness I was putting in it. Next time I will make sure I have very LARGE croissants.

Ingredients:

2 large croissants

vegetable oil

5 tablespoons chopped green pepper

3 tablespoons chopped onion

6 eggs

2 tablespoons cream

2 tablespoons mushroom

salt and pepper

tomato

avocado

Slice croissants in half. Set aside. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add oil to coat the pan. Add peppers and onion and cook until slightly tender. Whisk eggs and cream until fully blended. Add eggs to the pan and cook until no longer runny. Just before the eggs are finished, add the mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Place slices of tomato in the croissant along with slices of avocado. Fill with egg mixture.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Adapted from Deuel Creek Ward Cookbook

This has become a regular recipe for us. I love it because I always have these ingredients on hand and it's delicious!

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1 cup flour

lemon juice

1/2 cube butter

Mix lemon pepper, seasoned salt, and flour. Pour lemon juice into a separate dish. Pound out chicken breasts-this allows them to soak up more flavor. Dip chicken breasts in lemon juice and coat in flour mixture. Repeat. Melt butter in frying pan and cook chicken until juices run clear.

Southwest Chicken and Black Bean Pasta

Adapted from the blog elrolovesfood.blogspot.com

I saw this recipe on one of my friend's food blogs and knew that I had to try it!  The combination of ingredients called to me...cumin, feta, pasta, etc...  I could tell this dish was going to be fantastic.  And it was!  My husband was quick to pack up leftovers for his lunch the next day, foregoing his usual sandwich.  And we are not leftover people, so that says a lot! 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbs garlic, minced
• 2-3 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 small roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 lb pasta, cooked al dente (such as penne or rotini)
• ½ cup fresh cilantro

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, and garlic.  Sauté until cooked through, but not browned.  Remove chicken and set aside.
• Add jalapenos and green onions; sauté 3-4 minutes.  Stir in black beans; heat about 3 minutes.
• Add feta and chicken mixture.  Heat thoroughly.  Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes.  Toss pasta gently with sauce and sprinkle with cilantro
• Notes:  Add a bell pepper next time.

African Chicken Stew

Adapted from All Recipes

Another peanut butter dish.  Each of the main dishes that have involved peanut butter are different, though....different veggies {this time potatoes and carrots}, different meats and this one is a bit spicy due to red pepper flakes and cumin.  And all so satisfying.  

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 3 lb chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large potato, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¾ cup peanut butter
• 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• Extra water as needed
• Fresh parsley or cilantro, as garnish {optional}
• Unsalted peanuts, as garnish {optional}

Directions:

• In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and add garlic, onion, potato and carrot to the pan; sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Season with cumin, parsley, black pepper, red pepper and salt.  Do not let garlic brown.
• Mix in chicken broth.  Place lid on skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.
• Remove lid and stir in the peanut butter and garbanzo beans.  Make sure the peanut butter is bended in.  Add more water, as needed, until reach the desired consistency.  Replace lid to simmer for 10 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.  Remove from heat. 
• Serve over rice or couscous with parsley/cilantro and peanuts as garnish