Oh it has been a while

Well more like over a year! Holy cow. A lot has happened in all this time. Had another baby who was in the NICU for a while. Been really struggling with the terrible 3’s with my other little one. Some days I want to rip my hair out. lol. And I also had my computer crash so I am just getting back online after what feels like forever! If I can get myself back into being creative in the kitchen I will come back and start posting some recipes!

Parmesan Crusted Salmon

I came up with this recipe while trying to find a new way to cook salmon. Typically I would wrap salmon in foil and back or sear in a hot pan. Now that I’ve come up with this, my family will be eating it more often! Note that I use frozen salmon in this recipe. Feel free to subsitute with fresh if you wish. We can’t get real fresh salmon in these parts so frozen is the next best thing.

Parmesan Crusted Salmon

Ingredients:

4- 4oz salmon fillets, thawed

1 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (like Kraft)

1 tsp kosher salt (more or less depending on what you like)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

2 eggs

2 TBSP melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Dry thawed salmon with paper towels. In a shallow bowl beat eggs. In another shallow bowl combine all dry ingredients. Dip salmon in eggs first, then into the dry mixture. Make sure the fish is coated really well. The thicker the crust the better! Drizzle with butter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until fish is nice and flaky!

 

The Lady & Sons Frosted Pumpkin Bars

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a die hard Paula Deen fan. It came as no surprise when I flipped through The Lady & Sons Just Desserts book and saw these babies, they made the top of my “MUST TRY” list. I love pumpkin. I craved it throughout my entire pregnancy with my son. Even my sister in laws GOd awful, make you want to puke pumpkin pie didn’t kill my love for pumpkin. Pumpkin and I still get along great! 🙂 Though I still shudder when I think about the little pieces of pumpkin shell in my pie.

Okay, okay….back to the recipe.

The Lady & Sons Frosted Pumpkin Bars

Bars

4 large eggs

1 2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cup oil

1 16 ounce can pumpkin

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing

1 3 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin until fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Gradually add to egg mixture, mixing at low speed. Spread batter into an ungreased 15x10x1inch jelly roll pan (I used a cookie sheet). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until center of cake is done. Remove from oven and cool completely.

For icing, cream together cream cheese and butter; add vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Frost cake with icing and cut into bars. These freeze well.

Yields 24 bars.

Rosemary Pork Chops

I am not a huge fan of pork chops but I have to say that the flavor in these chops are amazing! What’s even more amazing is how easy these are to make. It tastes like you spent hours slaving in the kitchen. 🙂

ROSEMARY PORK CHOPS

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
4 boneless pork chops

DIRECTIONS
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine soy sauce, water, brown sugar and rosemary. Add pork chops. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refridgerate for 3 hours.

Drain and discard marinade. Place chops in a greased baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear.

Emeril’s Gumbo Ya-ya with my own Red Beans & Rice

First of all, I apologize for the LONG absence. I am still in the process of getting the site put up. I just love how busy summer time is. 🙂

Now back to the recipe. I love me some Gumbo. As a kid, I would look at the stuff and gag. As an adult, I look at it and drool. I just can’t get enough of it! This recipe I saw Emeril make on his show Emeril Green. It is fairly easy but it is time consuming. I promise you this though, this dish is well worth the time and effort. If you are having guests for dinner and you want to impress them. This is the dish to make.

Here is the direct link if you would like to download a printable version.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/emerils-gumbo.html

Emeril’s Gumbo Ya-ya

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
1 large chicken or roasting hen (about 6 pounds)
8 cups water
2 medium-size yellow onions, quartered
3 ribs celery, each cut into 6 pieces
5 bay leaves
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
1 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons or about 3 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 pound chopped andouille or other smoked sausage
2 tablespoons chopped green onions or scallions (green part only)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Hot cooked white rice, for serving

Method:
Put the hen, water, quartered onions, celery pieces, 3 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of the salt, and 1 teaspoon of the cayenne in a large, heavy pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, partially covered, until the hen is tender, about 1 hour. Remove the hen, strain and reserve the broth.

In a large, heavy pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat, combine the oil and flour. Stirring slowly and constantly, cook until a dark roux is formed, (it should be the color of dark chocolate), 20 to 25 minutes. Add the chopped onions, bell peppers, chopped celery and chopped garlic. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are very soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and remaining cayenne and continue to stir. Add the reserved broth and stir until the roux mixture and broth are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick and flavorful, usually 1 1/2 hours. More water may be added if the sauce gets too thick.

Meanwhile, remove the skin from the hen and pick the meat off the bones, discarding the skin and bones. Coarsely chop the chicken meat. Add the chicken and the sausage to the gumbo. Cook for 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes before skimming off the fat that has risen to the surface.

Serve the gumbo in individual soup or gumbo bowls over hot white rice and garnish with green onions and parsley.

Red Beans & Rice

1 can red beans

Chicken broth

1 cup long grain rice

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Drain beans and reserve the juice. Add enough chicken broth to reserved juice to make 2 1/2 cups. Combine all ingredients in a large skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let rice sit covered for 5 minutes. Then eat as much as you can before everyone else digs into it. 😉

I am moving!

To an actual website, that is! Over the next week or so I’ll be building my site so I will probably be MIA from here. With the new site you will be able to navigate through it much easier and it will look nicer (hopefully). Please be patient with me! 😉

Spicy Sausage & Turkey Rigatoni Bake

I threw this dish together at the last minute using up a few things before they went bad. I was amazed by how tasty this dish turned out. My 16 month old son LOVED it!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1 lb hot pork sausage

29 ounce can tomato sauce

1 TBSP dry basil

1 TBSP dry parsley

2 TBSP garlic powder

1 tsp salt

dash pepper

1/2 parmesan cheese (the Kraft stuff or fresh if you prefer)

2 cups mozzarella cheese

24 ounce box rigatoni noodles

Directions:

In a large skillet brown together ground turkey and pork sausage. Drain off grease. Add tomato sauce and seasonings. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, cook and drain rigatoni according to package directions. Once the meat sauce is done simmering, mix together with noodles. Pour into 2 lightly greased 9×13 pans. Sprinkle 1/4 parmesan cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese over each one. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted.

NOTE: This dish freezes pretty well. If you decide to freeze part of it, omit the cheeses and don’t bake it until you are ready to use it. If sealed properly, this will stay good for at least 3 months.

Wacky Cake

Well, I am finally back from my vacation and I brought home the perfect souvenir. A recipe for the tastiest chocolate cake ever! This came straight from my grandmother in-laws kitchen. I don’t know why it is called a Wacky Cake. The only thing I find wacky is the fact that there are no eggs and it uses vinegar. I have never had a cake that was so rich in chocolate and so incredibly moist. It tastes great alone or it can be frosted. I made one tonight and I put peanut butter frosting on top. YUM! (I’ll try to post some pictures tomorrow 🙂 ) This one is a keeper!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 cups cold water

Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Lots of stuff coming soon

I promise! I had so much I wanted to do yesterday but I spent most of the day being really sick and taking care of a toddler. Just imagine me hugging the toilet, trying hard not to miss while also trying to grab my son before he runs off and gets into trouble. What a task! Today is much better though. We spent most of the day lounging by the pool soaking up the rays! Jealous, aren’t ya? 😉

So next week I am heading on a mini vacation to my grandmother-inlaws house in Oregon. Hopefully, I will come back with tons of recipes to share. She is a fabulous baker and she’s going to teach me a few things I need to know. Like how to make a pie crust. I’ve tried and tried and I just can’t do it.

Well, that’s the latest. I have a few recipes I will post this week so stay tuned! Hopefully, I’ll have some new recipe photos too. There are some that are totally MIA. I also hope to have a new banner soon. This one really bugs me for some reason. Maybe because it’s so boring. Any suggestions?

Frosted Butterscotch Cookies

I found this recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Cookbook. It is now one of my all time favorite cookies. The flavor is out of this world and they freeze really well. Even when frosted. The only thing I did wrong was NOT freeze most of them. I have absolutely NO willpower and ate most of them in 2 days. So if you are like me, freeze them all. They defrost in a flash so do not panic!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 8oz container sour cream

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 recipe Browned Butter Frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the brown sugar and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Add baking soda, powder and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Add flour and sour cream. Beat until well mixed. Add nuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks and let cool. Frost with Browned Butter frosting. Makes approx. 40 cookies.

Browned Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

5 TBSP boiling water (may need more, so boil extra)

In a medium saucepan heat and stir butter over medium low heat until golden brown. (Do not scorch.) Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Using a wooden spoon (or be like me and use a mixer) beat until frosting is spreadable, adding more water as necessary. Use immediately because this frosting will harden.