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.