m+m

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I Don't Eat Seafood So....

...Marty decided to make scallops for lunch one day while I was at work. Perfect timing ;)

Takin' It Back to the Old School.... ;)

...and by old school, I mean cafeteria time! On the menu: Salisbury steak with a mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and carrots and peas. Of course I added my own little touches and fancy-fied the dishes a bit :)

Ground beef + onions= a yummy patty.

Add the mushrooms.

Add the beef broth to make the gravy.

Carrots + peas cooking away in chicken broth, butter and bay leaf.

Looks a little bit better than a cafeteria tray, ehh?!

Salisbury Steak Recipe:
[Serves 4]

- 1 lb. ground beef
- about 1-2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- about 2 TBSP olive oil
- S&P
- 1 container of mushrooms (I like to use white and baby bellas), thinly sliced
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter
- 2 TBSP flour
- 2 C beef stock

In a medium sized bowl mix together with your hands, the beef, onion, S&P and Worcestershire Sauce. Form 4 beef patties and set aside. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, place the patties into the oil and brown on both sides. The cook time will depend on how you like the beef cooked.
Once the patties are cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the butter and mushrooms. Scrape up all of the yummy beef scrapings from the bottom of the pan. Cook the mushrooms for about 5 mintues. Then sprinkle in the flour and stir into the mushrooms with a whisk for about 1 minute. Next, whisk in the beef stock. Bring liquid up to a boil and then simmer until thickened into a gravy.
Pour mushroom gravy over Salisbury steak and serve!

Carrots + Peas Recipe:
[Serves 2]

- 2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced at an angle
- about 1 cup of frozen peas
- about 1 1/2- 2 C chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- S&P
- 1 TBSP unsalted butter

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the chicken stock, bay leaf, carrots and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring up to boil and cook the carrots until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add the peas and simmer until liquid is just about gone. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve!

Breakfast Time!

What is better than a huge home cooked breakfast on a snow day?! The only thing I can think of are a few mimosas ;)

Biscuits and gravy + eggs over medium + hashbrowns + sausage= a very fulfilling breakfast!

Marty's heard shaped fried egg. hahahaha

Grilled Chicken Topped w/Fresh Basil + Tomato Salad

This is a simple healthy recipe [minus the side of gnoochi!].

Fresh tomato + basil + garlic + red wine vinegar salad.

Grilled chicken breasts.

Side of gnoochi cooked with shallots + lots and lots of garlic + Italian seasoning + red pepper flakes.

Pretty + colorful!

Tomato + Basil Salad Recipe:

- about 1 1/2 C different colored tomatoes, diced or quartered
- 1/4 C fresh basil, torn or chopped
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- S & P, to taste

Throw everything in a bowl and mix together!

Cajun Time!

This Cajun chicken pasta dish is one of Emeril's recipes. It was very easy to make and super yummy!

Much easier than printing the recipe!

Most of the ingredients. Marty got the blackening seasoning from Louie's.

Seasoned chicken sautéing.

Veggies sautéing.

Cream + pasta + tomatoes + chicken added.

Topped with the cheese and green onions

Served. [I used fettucine instead of linguine.]

Recipe:

- 1 lb. linguine
- 1/4 C kosher salt
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 1/2 lb boneless chicken breast, cubed into 1 inch pieces
- 2 TBSP blackening seasoning or creole seasoning
- 1 C finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 TBSP finely chopped pepper (habanero, bell)
- 1 TBSP minced garlic
- 1 1/2 C heavy cream
- 1 C diced tomato
- 1/2 C reserved pasta water
- 1/2 C green onion tops, chopped
- 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 TBSP fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Bring a stock pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook the linguine until tender.
While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce:

Set a 12 inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted, season the chicken with the blackening seasoning and add to the pan. Sear the chicken until well browned on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onions and pepper to the pan and saute until the onions are translucent about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the cream and 1 TBSP of seasoning and chicken to the pan. Cook the sauce until the cream is reduced by about half, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, linguine and reserved pasta water and cook, tossing to incorporate about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and top with the green onions, Parmesan and parsley. Toss to blend and serve immediately.
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Our Very First Rack of Lamb

I am not a huge lamb fan, but am trying to get used to it....so I agreed to try to cook our very first homemade rack of lamb. The pics that I have posted are rack of lamb #2. Unfortunately I did not get pictures of the first rack that somehow caused the grill to shoot up to 700 degrees, CHAR the lamb and burn off the bones!!

Garlic & red wine marinade.

Soaking up the goodness for about an hour or so...

Decided to grill it inside on the grill pan for Round #2 and then finished it off in the oven.

Served the lamb with a garnish of baked Parmesan crisps!

What goes better with any meal than a bottle of Rombauer??!

The lamb turned out absolutely delicious with a red wine, rosemary demi-glaze, along with the mashed potatoes!

A Fun Appetizer & Drink

This is an appetizer and drink that Marty loves! He made both of them :)

A large wheel of brie cheese that were cut into mini bries!

Wrapped in puff pastry, baked and topped with honey!

One of the ingredients to Marty's new favorite drink- the Moscow Mule!

Always use fresh lime juice.

Another ingredient.

Squeezing the fresh lime juice into the ginger beer and vodka.

Moscow Mule!

Mexican Grilled Chicken

This was a recipe I invented using my black bean recipe, grilled chicken and roasted fresh corn. It was healthy and delicious!

My black beans.

Oven roasted fresh corn with Mexican seasonings.

Grilled Mexican seasoned chicken.

Finished product!

Finally Blogging Again!

I know it has been a very long time since I have added posts to our blog and I apologize! As I was uploading all of my 250 pictures since my last post, I realized that I will have to turn back time...to Christmas! Here you go!