Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

I made these on Friday for the first time for a friend's "girls night out" happy hour.  I am always hesitant to bring something to share when I haven't had it yet, but thankfully, they turned out "okay".  I made them again tonight with some minor changes and they are getting better.  The first night, based on the original cooking instructions, they weren't as crispy as I'd like.  Tonight, I added corn starch and cooked them on a broiler pan (to allow for air to get through) versus just a cookie sheet.  They were definitely better and more the texture I would like.  They may be perfect with a quick broil at the end to add that last minute crisp.

Ingredients:
1/2 of cauliflower head, cut into florets & rinsed
1 cup water
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn starch
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c Franks hot sauce
1/4 c Rockfish Johnnies Hot Sauce (if you don't have it, use hot sauce...but ask me where to get it!!)
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter
Light Blue Cheese Dressing

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Combine water, flower & corn starch in a bowl.  Mix well.
Add florets and combine well
Place mixture on broiler pan (note - line bottom of pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up & spray top with Pam cooking spray)
Cook in preheated oven for 20 minutes
While cauliflower is cooking, melt butter (with maybe 2 min left on cauliflower).  Then add hot sauce and Rockfish Johnnies Hot Sauce.  Mix well.
After 20 minutes, drizzle hot sauce mixture over cauliflower.  Place back in oven and cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve with a side of blue cheese dressing

Enjoy!

Baked Mahi-Mahi with a Ginger, Garlic & Lemon Reduction

I made mahi-mahi last Friday (Lent) and wanted something to dress it up a bit.  I found a sauce online that called for cream, etc... and decided to use the basics of that but lighten it up considerably. B and I threw this together and it actually turned out really good.  The measurements are all estimates because we literally were throwing a dash of this or a pinch of that in...but hopefully if you try it, you'll be able to replicate it.

Ingredients:

Mahi-Mahi fillet - we had about 3/4 - 1 lb

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 shallot, minced

1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Lemon rind, grated

 1-2 tsp Fresh lemon juice

1/4 c chicken stock (low sodium)

Salt & Pepper, to taste

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Salt & Pepper the top of the Mahi fillet

Add olive oil to medium size pan over high heat..  Once the oil is hot, place the mahi, skin side up, in the pan and sear for 30-45 seconds.  Remove from pan & place in baking dish (with some baking spray).  

Bake in oven for about 6-8 minutes, until fish flakes

Meanwhile, add garlic, shallot, ginger, lemon rind, lemon juice & stock to a small sauce pan.  Warm the sauce, stirring frequently.

When fish is done, remove from oven and place on plate.  Tent with foil for about 3-4 minutes to rest

Place 1 fillet on fresh plate and drizzle with the sauce.  

Enjoy!

Turtles (Pretzels with Rolo Candy)

We had a St. Patrick's Day party to attend and were asked to bring something.  In addition to some other items, M wanted me to bring something salty / sweet.  These fit the bill and were gobbled up.  They are super easy and fun!  I drizzled a little white chocolate on about 1/3 of them just to change up the look but you can easily just do the basic recipe and have a quick winner!

Ingredients:
Small round pretzels
Rolo Chewy Caramels in Milk Chocolate
Pecan halves
White chocolate morsels (if desired)

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Line pretzels on the cookie sheet and top with 1 Rolo candy (wrapper removed).
Place in preheated oven for 3-5 minutes until the chocolate is soft - but not melted.  Mine took about 4-1/2 minutes.
Remove from oven and immediately place 1 pecan half on each Rolo candy.  I removed the parchment paper / pretzel from the cookie sheet and placed on a cooling rack to prevent any further heating / cooking.
Allow to cool thoroughly.
If you want to drizzle white chocolate on top, place morsels in a microwave save bowl.  Heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after 30 seconds, until melted.  I did 1 full minutes of heating for a small amount of chocolate.  I used a chop stick (very fancy!) to drizzle the chocolate on the tops of the prezels / Rolo.

Enjoy!

Lamb Chops with Rosemary, Thyme and Garlic

I wanted to make a nice dinner for M's birthday this week.  He chose lamb chops so I went to a new butcher in town and purchased kidney chops.  I found this recipe and thought it sounded like something he'd love.  The only change we had to make (from the original recipe) was to cook the chops in an oven after searing them to even get them to rare.  They had nice flavor and were tender.  The house smelled amazing while they were cooking too!  I served them with balsamic brussel spouts and oven roasted dill potatoes.  Delish!

Ingredients: 
Serves 3-4 people
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Course sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6-7 kidney lamb chops

Directions:
In a food processor, add garlic, rosemary, thyme, cayenne and salt.  Pulse until combined.

Add olive oil and pulse into a paste

Rub the paste on both sides of the chops.  Return to refrigerator for about an hour or more.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking to get to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Heat grill pan over high heat until almost smoking.  Add the chops and sear for 2 minutes.  Flip the chops and sear another 3 minutes.

Put pan and chops into oven.  Cook for another 10 minutes.  Remove pan (be careful to use a hot pad) and place on plate.  Tent for about 5 more minutes to allow the chops to rest.

Enjoy!

Salmon with Garlic and Dijon

M always cooks any fish that we get, mainly because I'm afraid I'll dry it out!  He bought some salmon for dinner but we ended up going out that night and then he went to work for the week.  Since I didn't want to waste the fish, I was determined to find a recipe I could make.  I found this one and thought it would be easy enough for me and B would like it.  Wow - this was a hit!!  B not only loved it, she devoured it and asked for more!  This is a winner and will be made again!

Instructions: 
1.5 lbs salmon 
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped - I didn't have any so I just used some dry parsley
2 large OR 3 small cloves of garlic, pressed
1.5 tsp Dijon mustard 
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 cup mild olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Lemon slices (mostly for effect)

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Line a rimmed baking dish with foil. (you will regret it if you skip this step...clean up will be messy)In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley, 2-3 cloves pressed garlic, 1.5 tsp dijon, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/8 cup olive oil and 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice. Mix well. 
Cut salmon into even portions: Lay them onto your lined baking dish skin side down. 
Generously brush all sides of your salmon with the sauce and top with fresh lemon slices
Bake at 450 °F for 12-15 minutes or until just cooked through.  I had thicker slices of fish so mine took the full 15 minutes.  

Enjoy!

Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary

We were invited to dinner at a friend's house and I offered to bring a side dish.  I have wanted to make these for a while so this was a perfect opportunity to try.  They are a little labor intensive (not as bad as I would have thought though) to cut them without slicing right through the potato.  A trick that's mentioned on the original site was to cut a small slice off the bottom of the potato so it would sit still on the cutting board and pan...worked like a charm!  These were really good but next time I want to try a little Parmesan cheese on them.

Ingredients: 

4 medium russet potatoes2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil2 tablespoons butter2 cloves garlic, halved

1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, do not chop leaves
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon melted butter
sea salt
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves , finely chopped for garnish

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 450˚F. Line a baking pan with foil. While oven is heating, prepare potatoes. Cut a small thin slice off one long side of each potato. This will give a flat surface so potatoes will not roll around.Place a potato on a work surface with the cut side down. With a sharp knife cut thin vertical slices from one end to the other, cutting almost all the way through, but being careful not to cut all the way through. You can place small wooden dowels, or chopsticks on either side of the potato to keep your knife from slicing through. For me, it works better to just take a bit of care with each cut and to use a very sharp knife.Combine olive oil, butter, rosemary leaves and garlic in a small microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for 30 seconds, stir and cook another 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, add lemon zest and set aside.With your hands, rub potatoes all over with a bit of olive oil. Arrange potatoes on prepared pan. Place in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush all over with about half of the olive oil/butter mixture, separating the slices slightly with a knife to get some of the oil mixture between the slices. Return to oven for another 15 minutes and repeat brushing with oil.Return potatoes to oven for 15 minutes. At this point you should have used up most of the oil/butter mixture and should have just the rosemary and garlic left in the bowl. Add one tablespoon of butter to bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds.After the 3rd 15-minute stint in the oven, remove potatoes, brush with the melted butter and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Bake for another 10-20* minutes or until crisp and golden on the exterior and soft of the inside. Remove from oven, sprinkle with chopped rosemary and serve.

Note:* ~ Total baking time is approximate. It will depend on the size and density of your potatoes along with your oven. Total baking time is 55-65 minutes.

Spinach Mushroom Chorizo Bites

I found this recipe and tried a few Friday's ago (for the regular neighbor Friday appetizer happy hour).  We all agreed it was good but needed a bit more - think bacon; sausage; spicy things.  I made it again tonight with some chorizo pieces.  It's better but I still think it could use a kick - maybe red pepper flakes?  Anyway, the recipe is a great base recipe for an appetizer and you can definitely spin it to be your own.

Ingredients: 
¾ all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp kosher or sea salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
2 links of chorizo sausage, chopped into small pieces and cooked through
Pinch of salt
1 handful baby spinach, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Marinara sauce for dipping

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin and set aside.
Break chorizo into bite sized pieces and saute in a medium size skillet.  When they are done, set aside on a plate covered with paper towels.  Reserve any oil left.  
Add mushrooms to the skillet and a pinch of salt and saute until mushrooms begin to release liquid, 2-3 minutes. Add spinach and garlic and saute for another 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted and garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, oregano, and parsley. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk and cheese then add to the flour mixture and stir gently just to combine. Stir in mushroom/spinach mixture then the chorizo. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  
Gently stir the batter. Divide evenly between the cups of the muffin tin. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until set and browned on top.
Serve warm with warm marinara.

Enjoy!!

Skillet Toasted Pasta with Chicken Sausage

I think I really should have some Italian in me ... somewhere?!  I love pasta...and potatoes (at least I can blame that on the Irish).  Anyway, I found this recipe and was simply intrigued at how it could possibly turn out by making pasta the way you make risotto.
I followed the recipe for the most part but didn't have an onion on hand so I just threw in a little onion powder.  I'm sure the real onion would be great!  I also used probably 4 cups of chicken stock (reduced sodium) and 2 cups of water.  I didn't end up using it all.  I also added more than 1 cup of the stock at a time to create a little "boil" - you can see (hopefully) in the pictures below.  I think that helped the pasta cook.
All in all, this was so flavorful - a little smokey and creamy - which is crazy since there is no cream, milk or butter in the whole meal!  An easy weeknight meal that is so tasty!

I cooked the chicken sausage whole for a few minutes, then chopped it and finished cooking it so it had a little crispy edge

Here's the pasta after it was "toasted" and as I started adding the liquid

I added more than 1 cup of liquid to enable a small simmer / boil for the pasta

 The finished product - AMAZING!

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

Olive oil

12 oz. penne pasta

1 small sweet onion, chopped

¾ pound spicy Italian chicken sausage

2 Tbls fresh lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 Tbls Parmesan cheese

Italian Seasoning

Instructions:

In a pot heat chicken stock & water to a simmer, do not boil.

In a large skillet, swirl a little olive oil. Heat over medium high heat. Add sausage and onion. Break up sausage, and cook until browned and cooked through. Remove from pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Swirl about a tablespoon of olive oil in skillet. Add penne tossing to coat in the olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly toasted.

Add about a cup (or more) of chicken stock to the pan. Stirring freqently, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add another cup of stock. Keep doing this until the pasta is cooked through.

Add sausage back to the pan. Add Parmesan cheese, squeeze lemon juice over pasta, and season with salt and pepper. Stir and heat until sausage is warm.

Serve with additional cheese, and Italian Seasoning if desired.

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

It's been so cold here and I was craving a hearty soup.  I found this recipe on Pintrest and liked that it didn't look super labor intensive.  This soup is pretty fast to throw together and turned out really tasty!  I didn't add the bell peppers but followed the rest of the recipe.  I'd definitely make this one again!

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Ingredients:

1 lb Italian Sausage, rolled into 1/4 teaspoon size balls

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 red bell peppers, diced (I omitted these)

1 bay leaf

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

8 cups chicken broth

2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes (I only used 1 can that had basil & oregano)

1-1/2 cups chopped kale

2 cups cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown the mini sausage balls until cooked through - about 5-7 minutes.  Drain the grease & place on a plate lined with paper towels

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion and cook until tender.  Stir in garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.  Stir in peppers, bay leaf and red pepper flakes.  

Stir in broth, tomatoes and kale.  Add the cheese tortellini and cook until the pasta is tender - about 7-10 minutes.  Stir in fresh basil and season with Salt & Pepper.  Stir in mini sausage balls & heat until warm.  Remove bay leaf & serve.

Enjoy!

Spiced Boneless Chicken Thighs

I was in the mood for chicken but wanted something a little different.  I found this recipe and thought it sounded good.  I had everything on hand to make the marinade too so I did that.  This was very flavorful and tasty!  The best part is you can whip up the marinade and it doesn't require hours to sit.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
Salt & Pepper
1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 cloves of garlic
Couple dashes of Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees
In a large bowl, combine Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, garlic and red pepper flakes.  Add the chicken and toss to coat.
Place chicken in a baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Tots with Dill Dust

I saw this on the Food Network while I was working out one day (why do I torture myself and watch food shows while working out?!).  I really like dill so I thought I'd try it for our Super Bowl gathering.  I cut the amount of Kosher salt that was called for in the dill dust and it was still WAY too much.  Other than that, this is a good recipe.  Next time, I would put maybe a couple teaspoons of Kosher salt and more dill.

Ingredients - Dill Dust:

1 bunch dill, roughly chopped

1-2 tsp Kosher Salt 

Ingredients - Sweet Potato

1 large sweet potato

Kosher Salt

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups Safflower Oil

Directions:

For the Dill Dust - Heat oven to 250 degrees.  In a small food processor, blend dill and salt until it's finely ground.  Place mixture on sheet pan and bake until dried, about 30 minutes.

For the Potato - Fill pot with cold water and a little Kosher salt.  Place potato in water and let it come to a boil.  Boil for approximately 5 minutes, until you can insert a knife into the exterior of the potato but the inside is still firm.  

Remove potato from pot and place on cutting board to cool.  Once it's cool, peel the potato.  Cut into small / rough chunks and put in a large food processor.  Pulse the potato 10-15 times to make smaller chunks.  

In a small bowl, combine flour & pepper.  Slowly add that to food processor and pulse a couple of times to mix.  

Heat oil to 350 degrees.  Form potatoes into small balls and gently place a few at a time in the oil.  Fry the potatoes, turning a couple of times, until they are crispy & browned - about 2 minutes per side.  Remove from oil & place on paper towels.  Sprinkle a little of the dill dust over the potatoes as they come out of the oil & are still warm.  Continue frying in small batches until the potatoes are done.  

Enjoy!

Cajun Chicken Puffs

We had some people over for Super Bowl and I wanted to try some new appetizers.  I found this one on Pinterest and thought it looked easy enough but good.  It takes some time if you bake the chicken yourself (you could buy already cooked chicken to speed up the process).  I baked mine with some Cajun seasoning.  The original recipe is for a Garlic chicken but I wanted a little more kick.  I thought these were just "ok" when I had them for Super Bowl.
I made a 2nd batch today and kicked it up a little by adding very little cream cheese, a bit of light Mayo, maybe 3-4 tbsp of Mexican shredded cheese and a few dashes of Rockfish Johnnies Hot Sauce.  I also cut the triangles in half to make the dough smaller.  I think these were perfect!
If you haven't tried Rockfish Johnnies, you're missing out on some really great hot sauce!  You can purchase it from their website or learn where to buy it in certain stores.

Here's what they looked like on Super Bowl.

Here's what they looked like today:

Recipe (for the spicier version):

2 oz cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)

1/2 c cooked shredded chicken (I seasoned mine with Cajun spice)

2 (8 oz) cans refrigerator crescent rolls (I used low fat)

1-1/2 tbsp light mayo

3-4 tbsp shredded Mexican spiced cheese

A few dashes of Rockfish Johnnies Hot Sauce

Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Mix cream cheese, chicken, mayo, shredded cheese and hot sauce until well blended

Unroll crescent rolls.  They are already pre-cut into triangles.  Using a sharp knife, cut each triangle in half to form 2 triangles.  

Place a small amount of chicken mixture in each small triangle and roll up.  

Place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil & sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 375 for 11-14 minutes, until the rolls are a golden brown.  

Enjoy!