The BEST Breadsticks Ever -danger warning

If you make these bread sticks you'll be glad and sorry at the same time. They are evil in their yumminess and in the butter factor. They are easy too which makes them even more dangerous.

I got this recipe from my sister in law Amber who got it from her rad neighbor Kara. I had these once and I'm still talking about them, they are that good.

1 TB yeast dissolved in 1 1/2 cups warm water
2 TB sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cube butter
Garlic Salt to taste
Parmesan Cheese to taste

Combine sugar and warm water, then add yeast. If it bubbles, you are good to go. Knead dough for 3 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Melt 1 cube butter in cookie sheet. Roll out dough, cut into sticks. Roll each one in butter on cookie sheet. Once finished, sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese. Let rise 10-12 minutes. Bake 400 degrees, for 10-15 minutes.

Amber's Easy Chicken

You know how you are always looking for ways to use Chicken breasts that are easy, produce decent leftovers and are something your kids will eat? Amber made this chicken when I was visiting. Katie and Jessica literally shoveled it into their mouths making yummy noises. It wasn't one of those dishes that you eat and think "man, I'm going to make this next time my husband's boss comes to dinner". It is simple and you might think forgettable. Except it's not forgettable. You keep thinking about it because of it's simpleness. You know you need to add it to your repertoire of chicken dishes because it's that easy and good and your kids loved it. So here it is - Amber should be very happy to know I didn't forget it at all, but have now made it myself.

4 chicken breasts
1 stick of butter (I cut this to 1/2 stick and added some chicken stock)
Good Seasons Salad Dressing Packet (the dry seasonings only)
1 can cream of chicken soup (although it would be great with cream of mushroom or broccoli)
1 stick of cream cheese (go ahead and use the light)
egg noodles (boiled and drained or any kind of pasta or rice)

Stick chicken, butter (and stock optional) in your trusty crock pot and season with your Italian Dressing Packet. (I used about 3/4 of the packet) Cook on low all day while you are running errands, highlighting your hair, Christmas shopping whatever. (Or you can do what I did and throw the chicken in frozen and crank that baby up to high for like 4 hours then turn it down to low once you catch up with those people who planned ahead and thawed their chicken) About an hour or two before dinner, dump in your soup and cream cheese. Stir it around, shred the chicken with a big fork, whatever makes your skirt fly up. Serve it over the pasta with a big ol' side of broccoli and you have dinner. Come on, is that easy or what?

Last Of The Summer Salad

6 ears of corn
6 zucchini
1/4 red onion (finely diced)
6 tomatoes
tiny fresh mozzarella cheese balls (la perla - i think they are called. You can get the regular small bite sized balls and cut them into 4 pieces)
Balsamic Vinaigrette - you can buy it or make it yourself
Salt and Pepper to taste
Crispy fried pancetta bits


Toss corn and zucchini in olive oil and season with salt and grill on a BBQ until caramelized and done. Cool in the fridge. Dice onion and cube tomato into small little pieces. Strip the corn off the cob and cut zucchini into small little pieces like the tomato. The largest pieces in the salad are the tomatoes and zucchini, then the cheese should be about that size too, then the onion is the smallest. Toss with the balsamic dressing, season with salt and pepper and then crumble the pancetta over the top and serve. Crunchy, veggie summer bliss!

Yogurt Cream With Berries and Orgasmic Face

This was on my best friend The Pioneer Woman's Website and let me tell ya, it is the best thing you have ever tasted. Honestly people this is so great.

1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups plain unflavored yogurt
2/3 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
Berries - you better have a lot on hand because you are going to eat several helpings of this stuff.

Mix cream and yogurt together. Now carefully drop little spoon fulls of the brown sugar all over the top of the cream/yogurt mixture but DO NOT STIR. Cover in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next morning, stir it all together. Get out a fancy glass and spoon in some berries (whatever kind you like) and spoon a healthy dose of this cream over your berries. Now prepare to make an orgasmic face after you take that first bite. Yep. There it is. That face. Does it get better than this?

Crab or Shrimp Louie - Perfect for Summer

A bed of lettuce. This is the only salad I use iceberg for however, it is much better for you if you use a darker mix of green.

Top bed of lettuce with: sliced black olives, sliced hardboiled egg, cucumber and tomatoes.

Top veggie bed with a lot of crab meat or shrimp. If you do shrimp, I like the bay shrimp that are small. Don't forget to clean and shell whatever type of seafood you choose.

In a seperate container mix 1 part thousand island dressing, 1 part cocktail sauce and 1 part maynaise. Add chopped pickle and lemon juice and garlic and stir until you like the consistency and taste of the dressing.

Serve with some saltine crackers on the side. Season your salad with salt and pepper so it won't be bland.

Chicken Marsala

I love Chicken Marsala. But I've had some really bad chicken Marsala in my time. There's nothing worse than bad chicken Marsala. For this reason, I usually shy away from ordering it anywhere other than Carraba's and Biba's and I've never found a recipe that I could totally trust. Then I came across this recipe from my new favorite recipe blog http://www.smittenkitchen.com/. This chick puts out fantastic food even more fantastic photos of food and even much more fantastic stories about her food. Her chicken Marsala really looked good, seemed easy and a perfect solution as to what to feed my in laws when they came for dinner Sunday night. And guess what cats and kittens? It WAS! The chicken is moist and great, the mushrooms made this great sauce and I served it with linguine with just a smidgen of light Alfredo and green beans. The Marsala mushroom sauce was perfect with the noodles and because I had used so little sauce on the noodles, the end result was perfect. The only variations I made were I used boneless skinless breasts, more mushrooms than it called for and a re hydrated some dried porcini mushrooms to give it a more earthy flavor. In my opinion, you don't need any fancy mushrooms. If you have dark meat loving people, you could do 1/2 boneless thighs and 1/2 boneless breasts. The meat does not need the skin that the recipe calls for.

Chicken and Mushroom Marsala

Gourmet, June 1995
Serves 6
3 whole boneless chicken breasts with skin (about 2 1/2 pounds),halved

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion, sliced thin

3/4 pound mushrooms, sliced thin

1/2 cup Marsala1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet heat oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown chicken in 2 batches, transferring with tongs to a large plate as browned.
Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and saute onion and mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Add Marsala and cook mixture, stirring, until Marsala is almost evaporated. Add broth and chicken with any juices that have accumulated on plate and simmer, turning chicken once, until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter.
Simmer mushroom sauce until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and salt and pepper to taste, stirring until butter is just incorporated. Spoon mushroom sauce around chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

My Love of Goat Cheese

Goat cheese has become really popular. Cheese seems to be that way. It's like there's always some new cheese homecoming queen that is currently the popular cheese. In the 80's Pepperjack was all the rage. Then Brie...all you ever heard was Brie Brie Brie. Then, asiago which I hate. After that we learned Gorgonzola is different but similar to bleu cheese and goes great on a salad with pear. We then discovered we couldn't eat just Parmesan but HAD TO BE SURE it was Parmasano Reggiano because that was better. Buffalo Mozzarella began showing up on menus paired with ripe vine ripened tomatoes and freshly snipped basil. (my fav) Now, it seems like the newly crowned princess of cheeses is Goat. I have loved Goat for awhile but now am seeing it used in many ways that I am loving so much! Don't scared of the goat you guys. It's got the consistency of cream cheese, but is sharp and can be used on a lot of stuff. It comes in a log and is just so yummy. Here are some ways to use goat cheese and begin your very own affair.

Appetizer: take french baguette, slice it, drizzle with olive oil, salt and toast in the oven until not super crisp. Spread Goat cheese on top while it's still hot. Top with finely chopped toasted walnuts and drizzle liberally with honey.

Salad: fresh greens, roasted beets (short cut, get a can of whole beets, quarter them and roast them in the oven then cool completely), goat cheese, candied pecans and a great vinaigrette.

Entree: Fillet Mignon crusted in rosemary, thyme, kosher salt and black pepper, topped with a single slice of goat cheese as soon as it's done. Broil goat cheese under broiler to brown. Serve with spinach and sauteed mushrooms.

Dessert: In a bowl, arrange fresh Bing cherries, figs, dates, apricots and apple slices. Serve with goat cheese drizzled with honey on the side.

The Drought Is OVER

Okay - I finally cooked last night. It's been awhile you guys. I mean, AWHILE, like in I can't remember what I made last, as in I have no more room in my fridge for take out containers, as in my husband and my kids were ready to revolt.

Last night, Mike called as usual on his way home and I said "don't stop anywhere to pick anything up because there's Lasagna in the oven. " You know it's bad when his response was "cool, from WHERE?" From my hands, our pantry and our fridge you idiot.

So I made a nice salad with a white truffle and balsamic herb dressing. Garlic bread seasoned with garlic & wine seasoning and sea salt. And my favorite Lasagna (recipe below) with extra mushrooms thrown in and some cheddar cheese mixed in. We had fresh Reineer and Bing Cherries that I picked up at the Farmers Market on Wednesday for dessert.

Mike and the kids were silent and making yummy sounds the whole time. Mike was all like "this is the BEST garlic bread I've ever HAD" and Katie was like "mommy I LOVE LASAGNA!" and Jessica was just silent, pounding down her food with gusto. As I looked at my family, so happy eating this meal I had prepared with love I thought...well that ought to hold em over for awhile, thank goodness. Cooking is exhausting.

Lately...

I've been off my game. Lost my mojo. Missing the mmmmmm....in Amy. I haven't been in the mood to cook. We all I have the food. In the freezer. But there's no sizzlin, no heat, no spice in my life. Are we still talkin' bout cookin'? In any case, I just haven't been feelin it. My husband, my kids, my waistline are ready to revolt. I mean seriously, how much take out can one family live through? I realized I had hit an all time low when I opened a can of Chunky Vegetable Beef Soup...for myself. Ewww. Something has to change.

Tomorrow night I am making Chicken Marsala from my new favorite cooking website...www.smittenkitchen.com. This chick and her husband cooking amazing food in an 80 sq foot kitchen in NYC and have amazing photos and funny stories, instructions and musings on life. In the mean time, here are some of our favorite take out joints.

Pollo Loco - this is #1 by far. We all love it. Stuff that yummy chicken in those warm tortillas with those great beans inside too. And they have corn on the cob. My girls love any place that has corn on the cob.
Pizza Bell - here's the pizza I made up. It is the best pizza ever. I have some in my fridge right now. NewYork Style (surprisingly this is NOT a thin crust) with pesto sauce, salami, chicken, pineapple, olives, artichoke hearts. Trust me people, just try it. Even my pepperoni and black olive robot husband loves it.
IronWok Chinese - If you live in our town, this just opened about 4 months ago. It's a step down from PF Changs but not a big step down and some dishes are even better. The price is like maybe 1/4 of Puff Daddy Changs.
Spaghetti Factory - They have take out down to a science. Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese...doesn't get better than that.
Raleys/Bel Air - they have a meal of the day that is 12 bucks, feeds all of us and gives leftovers and is different each day. Tonight was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans almondine. Oh, and rolls.
Nugget - this is a grocery store that has a prepared foods section that dogs anything I have ever seen. Except maybe EatSees in DC and NYC. (way better than WholeFoods)

I must cook. I must cook. I must cook.

My Favorite Sandwich

This sandwich is a version of a lot of different sandwiches rolled into one. I have it every Thanksgiving with turkey leftovers, but it's great any time of the year. I mean what's not to love? turkey? check! bacon? check! sweet soft bread? check! yummy cream cheese spread? And CHECK! (that's the best part)

Roasted Turkey Breast (deli turkey is fine)
3 to 4 slices bacon cooked crisp
2 TB cream cheese
2 TB whole berry cranberry sauce (ocean spray is fine)
2 slices Kings Hawaiian Bread

Mix cream cheese and cranberry sauce together in a small bowl. Spread onto both slices of bread. Add turkey and bacon. You can add lettuce if you want but don't add tomato because it will make the bread too wet. If you want pre sliced bread, use buttermilk or potato bread.

Woodcutter Pasta

This pasta is flavorful, hearty, not acidy, rustic and perfect for a guy. I served it last night and Mike loved it.

1 lb penne, rigatoni, bow ties or some other really hearty pasta boiled very well - past al dente
4 Sweet Italian Sausages (take casings off so it resembles ground meat & not sausage)
1 onion chopped coarsely
1 fennel chopped coarsely - if you don't like or can't find fennel use celery
1 lb mushrooms
1 can sliced black olives
3 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
5 TB Alfredo sauce (I buy the refrigerated kind)
10 TB tomato sauce
2 tsp sugar
Paramagiano Reggiano to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste (this dish needs some salt at the end)

Cook sausage, onion, mushrooms and fennel until veggies are soft and sausage is cooked through. Drain off as much grease as possible. Add olives, garlic, diced tomatoes and heat enough for some of the liquid to evaporate from the tomatoes. Add tomato, Alfredo, sugar and cheese. Toss with very well cooked penne, rigatoni, bow tie or some other hearty pasta. Season to taste and top with some more cheese.

Real Healthy - Real Easy - Real Cheap - Chicken Quesadillas

Obviously, my versions of this TexMex classic are going to be delicious because I'm so cool. In fact, I have several delicious versions. This one, created this very evening for dinner, is healthy and cheap also. I'm not a big poster girl for healthy recipes because I refuse to post any recipe that is not delicious also. I'm going to give ingredients and instructions exactly how I made these tonight and you can play around with whatever ingredients you have.



1 pkg Kirkland Signature (Costco) or Foster Farms or Tysons cooked and grilled chicken strips cut up into tiny pieces. (This invention is more expensive but makes cooking with a little bit of lean protein very very very easy. Bake or boil or grill your chicken breasts if you want)
1/2 onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 can drained corn niblets
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
1/2 diced red bell pepper (if you love green use green, if you love orange use orange)
1 can black olives chopped up or a can of sliced olives or you can cut this out if you really want to make these super low fat. You get maybe an olive per quesadilla so just chill and use them.
Cooked brown or white rice (cooked in fat free chicken broth) 2 cups
Monterrey Jack/Cheddar Cheese lowfat blend shredded
olive oil
couple of shakes of Tabasco (i used 2 tiny shakes and it was fine for my kids)
cumin (about 2 tsp)
gray salt (use whatever you have)
garlic powder
Whole Wheat Tortillas



In a tiny bit of olive oil, saute onion, pepper and celery in a big skillet. Add can of corn and continue to cook until onion/celery is soft and corn starts to roast. Add tomatoes with juice, olives, beans, cumin, Tabasco, and garlic powder. Get it simmering and add cooked rice and the chicken. Now taste it. Now salt it, add some more cumin, garlic, Tabasco until you like the filling.



Now heat a grill pan or another skillet. Brush a tiny bit of olive oil on a tortilla. Place oil side down in skillet. Now, add the tiniest bit of shredded cheese, a couple of big spoons of filling and fold over to make a quesadilla. Grill on both sides until it is toasted and cheese is melted. Cut with kitchen scissors into strips. The kids loved these with strawberries and some carrot sticks on the side. They even asked for more. Mike said that they were awesome, not spicy but not bland either. The corn and black beans make it. Adding the rice binds it so you don't have to add too much cheese and gives extra whole grains. This is a low fat, high fiber, high protein meal with colorful veggies and good fats like olive oil. Don't give in and reach for the sour cream. There are enough textures and flavors you won't miss it. Serve with strawberries or a medley of berries topped with yogurt and you can even skip dessert.

Yankee Pot Roast

This is a great Pot Roast that cooks well in the oven, left alone for several hours. It's one of those set it and forget it recipes that feeds a lot of people, looks great on a plate and that everyone likes.

1 4 to 5 lb Boneless Chuck Roast

2 Onions

8 carrots scrubbed and end chopped off

1 lb sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cans Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup

Salt and Pepper To Taste

In a large dutch oven roasting pan that has a cover, place cut up onions on bottom, season roast with salt and pepper to taste and place on top of cut up onions. Pour both cans of soup on top and toss in sliced mushrooms. Bake covered at 300 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. (in last hour add carrots) Meat should be moist but fork tender. Take everything out of roasting pan with a slotted spoon. (Mushrooms and Onion pieces should be mostly out). Dump liquid in a gravy separator or a glass bowl if you don't have a separator. (you can keep roast, onion, mushrooms & carrots warm in the oven turned off covered tightly with foil while you make the gravy) Add some water, sherry or beef broth to bottom of roasting pan and turn on a burner. De glaze the pan with the liquid scraping all the bits off the bottom. Transfer liquid and bits to a medium sized pot. Add now separated mushroom/beef broth from roasting pan skimming off as much fat as possible. Bring to a boil. In a small cup or bowl, whisk cornstarch (maybe 1 TB) and water together and whisk into hot broth to thicken slightly. Thicken to your liking for gravy. Serve with mashed potatoes, fresh green beans and rolls. Serve onions and mushrooms with beef. I usually arrange carrots around the outside of the platter with the roast in the center with the mushrooms and onions piled on top. Gravy can be served in a gravy boat on the side.

The Girls Favorite - Steamed Snow Crab Legs

In honor of the girls birthday, I am posted their favorite special meal. CRAB. If Mike and I go as fast as we can, we still can't crack crab fast enough for them. They will eat at least 3 to four clusters each with claws. They are crab lovers but are not often crabby.

1 lb Snow Crab Legs Per Person
Biggest Pot ya Got
Water
Butter



Put some water in the pot. Throw the rinsed crab leg clusters in. Steam with a cover on for about 5 minutes. Melt some butter in a bowl. Go to town crackin and dippin'. It don't get any better than that.

My Version Of Sunday Fried Chicken

Obviously there are a lot of opinions on fried chicken. My mom? Makes GREAT fried chicken. My mother in law? GREAT fried chicken. Bobby Flay my secret boyfriend from Food Network? Fabuloso Fried Chicken Paula Deen, Emeril, Rachael, the list goes on and on. Everyone has a different technique that they SWEAR makes theirs the best. So you know what, I took a little from here and a little from there and basically do a combo of all the great fried chickens in the world. And you know what...I make the best fried chicken. It's great hot, it makes great pan gravy, it's great cold with potato salad. I really think it's great. But I take no credit. I just did the "thing that makes it great" from everyone.

2 Packages Best of Chick Pieces (skin on or off your choice. I like off on the breasts and thighs and on for the wings and legs)
Buttermilk with small dash of hot sauce (Tabasco, Louisiana hot sauce whatever. It's red, use it carefully and you are good to go)
Eggs
6 cups white flour
2 TB corn meal
6 TB Emerils Essence Seasoning
2 TB Garlic Salt
1 TB Black Pepper
2 TB Poultry Seasoning
Corn Oil
1 stick of butter
Honey
A big cast iron skillet seasoned well. Or a large electric skillet. ( i like the electric skillet better because it holds the exact heat and is non stick and won't rust

Wash and dry chicken. Season with plain salt and pepper to taste. Soak in buttermilk for 8 hours. In the meantime combine flour, cornmeal, all the seasonings together. Put 3 cups of seasoned flour in a paper bag or in a wide square bowl or an 8x8 glass dish. Dredge chicken just out of the milk in the flour lightly. Then dip into beaten egg that has been lightly salted. Then put back into seasoned flour and REALLY coat it. Push the flour into the chicken and make a nice goopy coating. Immediately put it into a pan that is about 325 to 350 degrees of oil and one stick of butter. Cook on one side until light golden then flip. Then turn down to like 325ish and continue to fry until chicken is done and outside is a dark crispy brown. Drain on paper bags and paper towel. While still hot, drizzle a little bit of honey on each piece. Let cool enough so you can eat it. You won't be able to wait that long and you will burn your lips and mouth and have a burn on your top lip for like 4 days but it's all part of the experience of the chicken baby. You won't be able to cook all your chicken at once. Don't stress. If you have to add more oil and butter, make SURE it is to temperature before you put any chicken in it or you will have soggy greasy chicken. Drain off oil and use bits in bottom of pan and extra pepper, flour, butter and milk to make a white gravy. Serve with biscuits and GREAT blackberry jam, mashed potatoes and green beans. This might be your favorite meal ever. And you might keel over from a heart attack shortly thereafter. But you will die with the best taste in your moth.

Please HELP - Need you to comment

Does ANYONE have an enchilada sauce that they use that isn't too spicy? I have bought El Paso, Ortega and some other brand in a yellow can all labeled MILD and my enchiladas come out so spicy we can't eat them. And we are NOT wusses. Mike likes his salsa and chips HOT, I like mine MEDIUM. We love the actual jalepeno peppers that come with nachos and we love Buffalo Wings that make us sweat. But for the life of us we can't figure out this enchilada thing. All I make my enchiladas with are: chicken, corn, black beans, cream cheese, sour cream, grated cheddar/jack cheese, green onions, olives, corn niblets, corn tortillas and this dang gum enchilada sauce. Please help...i am at a loss.

Asparagus With Mushrooms and Dijon Garlic Sauce

This is a GREAT recipe if you aren't so sure about asparagus. This is great with steak or grilled chicken or salmon.

2 bunches asparagus with the tough woody ends trimmed off
1 lb sliced mushrooms
1/2 stick butter
2 cloves garlic
2 TB Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Put some water in a skillet and boil asparagus until done. Don't leave them crunchy or mushy. They should be cooked just like you want to eat them. Empty water out of the skillet. Add butter and saute mushrooms and garlic until done. Add mustard and cooked asparagus. Season to taste. This is a GREAT side dish.

Grilled Artichokes

In case you can't tell, most of my cooking inspiration comes from my dad. Last night, for my mom's birthday, we had perfectly cooked and seasoned fillet, perfect baked potatoes, a salad with my dad's healthy salad dressing and grilled artichokes. Artichokes are by far, my favorite veggie. My mom ate an artichoke almost every day when she was pregnant with me. I truly believe that is the reason for my deep love of artichokes. If you have never cooked an artichoke you are missing out. I think they intimidate people. But please embrace the artichoke. It is artichoke season right now. The globe giant artichokes are best. The following recipe is the best way to prepare them.

4 globe artichokes

1/2 stick butter

3 TB vinegar (any kind, I like cider or red wine vinegar)

4 cloves of garlic - just dump them in whole

olive oil

kosher or sea salt

aioli for dipping (recipe follows)

Slice the top of each artichoke off. Slice stem so artichoke can sit up by itself with the petals sitting up. Take scissors and cut off the top 1/4 of each petal. This is the thorny part. Give artichoke a good rinse under water. Get a big stock pot of water boiling on the stove. Add butter, vinegar and garlic cloves to the water. Add the artichokes and cover. Turn heat down to about medium low. You want it to still be a rolling boil but not boil over. Boil artichokes for about 35 minutes. Get a pair of tongs and carefully remove them from the water. Slice them in half with a large serrated bread knife. Scoop out the purple leaves that are prickly in the middle with a spoon. Rub each half of artichoke with olive oil and sprinkle kosher or sea salt. Grill over direct flame for about 5 minutes on each side. They should have some grill marks but not be black. Serve with aioli, mayonnaise or melted butter with lemon on the side. To eat: pluck each petal off and dip in whatever sauce you choose and scrape teeth from top of petal to the bottom. Discard petal in a bowl. Eat entire bottom or heart. It's the best part.

aioli

2 or 3 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and chopped. (If they've started to sprout, don't use them for aioli.) Large pinch coarse sea or kosher salt

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

1/2 lemon, juiced 2/3 cup pure olive oil (not extra virgin)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper
Place garlic and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, or in a blender. Pulse for 2 seconds. Add the egg yolk and lemon juice, and pulse on and off until blended. Turn on and begin adding the olive oil (pure first, then extra-virgin) in a thin stream. If it becomes too thick, thin it out with some room-temperature water and continue adding oil until you've used it all. Finish with pepper and (if necessary) a bit more salt. The reason for using 2/3 pure olive oil is to keep the flavor of the oil from becoming overpowering. This is a perfect example of how by using a fully-flavored extra virgin oil you can use much less, thereby saving money and getting better flavor.

FAKE IT - Club Med Salad From Raley's

This recipe will only help those of you in California although the principle can be applied to anyone with a fresh deli case at their grocery store. Raley's/Bel Air has this great pasta salad in their fresh deli case called Club Med Pasta Salad. It is in essence, shell pasta, feta, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and the BEST creamy pesto cold dressing. I don't like serving premade stuff to company - or my family for that matter. But with the littlest bit of help, this salad goes from ordinary to truly one of the greats. The following recipe serves 4 people as a side dish.

1 lb club med salad from Raley's/Bel Air
1 Diced Tomato
1 Can Regular Black olives (small) NOT KALAMATA
A few fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons (technical term is to chiffonade the basil but cut into ribbons is so much more me even though I love saying "chiffonade" pronounced "shif-oh-nod" in a snooty French accent)
A bit of ground pepper and a tiny bit of sea salt

Stir everything but basil to combine and present in a pretty white bowl with the ribbons of basil on the top.

Ode To My Dad & His Lamb Chops

Yesterday for Easter dinner we had something that I didn't like. My dad was making both lamb chops and a pork loin roast on the grill. I knew in advance that I was having none of the lamb because I hate lamb. It's just "lamby" tasting and I just hate it. My dad presented the New Zealand petite chops on a beautiful platter garnished with fresh rosemary. The problem was - they looked really good. "Mike, do you like lamb?", I asked. "I'm not really sure, I haven't really ever had lamb." he said. "well, I don't like it, but you take a chop and give me a tiny piece just so I can taste it because I haven't tasted lamb in a long long time.", was my reply. So he cut me a little piece and a topped it with some mint sauce (not mint jelly). I prepared to make a yucky face and confirm to myself what I already knew...I am not a lamb person. But then something funny happened. Both Mike and I fell in LOVE with these lamb chops. You don't understand...they were sooooo good. Not lamby at all. Just plain melt in your mouth great. So, I appeal to all of you who say you hate lamb or who haven't tried it. Go right this instant to Costco. Buy the New Zealand lamb chops in the fresh meat case. Fire up the grill and make the following recipe today. Serve it with the Greek rice (recipe follows this) and a salad and you will discover that we are ALL lamb people. All I can say is Baaaaaaaa!!!

Lamb Chops

Drizzle each chop with good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil on each side.

Rub fresh thyme leaves, fresh chopped rosemary leaves on each chop.

Throw into a ziploc bag that contains a little bit of Balsamic Vinegar, more olive oil and more of the thyme and rosemary.

Toss the chops in the bag and marinate overnight.

Fire up the gas BBQ grill.

Sprinkle some kosher salt and black pepper on each chop.

Grill over medium high heat until they are medium to medium rare. DON'T OVERCOOK

Let them rest about 10 mins after they come off the grill.

ENJOY

Greek Rice

We are having Greek rice tomorrow for Easter. Dad is BBQing lamb chops and pork loin in his most excellent way. Mom will make a jello, veggies, slice fresh pughleise bread and will make Greek Rice. We have been having this rice FOREVER since I was a little girl and Grammie Bea made it. We aren't Greek. We hail from Hawaii and normally are soy sauce rice people. We eat rice a lot and we always use soy sauce. always. We don't do pilaf, cheese & rice, cream of whatever soups and rice, rice pudding etc. BUT, we for some reason do this Greek rice on holidays. It was unappreciated when I was a kid. I just saw more freakin rice. But now that I am a growed up, I truly appreciate the delicate flavors and yumminess that this rice holds. It is great with fish, pork roast or lamb. Also if you grill an herb crusted chicken breast, it's great too.


Steamed White Rice (Let's say 5 cups cooked rice)
5 TB butter
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest (just the bright yellow part)
OPTIONAL: when you steam rice add 2 cans sliced mushrooms or 2 cups sauteed and sliced fresh mushrooms OR toasted pine nuts and raisins.
Lots of salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Salmon - In Honor of My Trip to Portland

(sorry for no picture this time) This is a great way to cook salmon. It ends up salty, sweet and the topping tastes like candy. It's sooooo good.

Salmon fillet or steaks (whatever makes your skirt fly up - enough for 4 people)
1 cup kikkoman soy sauce
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp crushed or minced ginger or 1/2 tsp dried ground ginger (optional)
1 tsp crushed garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Steamed white rice (I like jasmine or sushi rice for this recipe)

In a bowl make a paste with the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and mayo. Lay some foil down on a cookie sheet or preheat and grease your gas grill. Spread a HEAVY layer of sauce top of each piece of fish. Either bake or grill until it is done but do not flip in the fish in the cooking process. This is really good on the grill on a plank of cedar or with cedar chips to give it some smoked flavor. But it's great in the oven too! Serve with steamed rice.

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

I grew up as an only child. So casseroles were NOT part of my life. Egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, hamburger, peas, tuna fish etc...were just not included in mom and dad's dinner rotations. We had to feed 3 people. That meant a dinner salad, a piece of meat, rice or potato and a steamed veggie of some sort. Occasionally my dad would break out an Asian stir fry or a great pasta dish. But 9x13 pans did not grace our table. So...when I went away to college to BYU, I began a secret love affair. With casseroles. My roommates were part of big Mormon families with 4 to 6 kids and were basically casserole experts. I picked their brains, sampled their dishes and occasionally called their moms for advice on how to perfect my casseroles. I was in leftover heaven surrounded by tuna surprise and chili mac. Then, I married Mike. He was from a big Mormon family too. In fact, he was the oldest of six. And upon getting married and sitting down to dinner in which I proudly served my famous tamale pie, he politely said, "Honey, this is just great... really really really great. It's just um... I grew up on casseroles my whole life and I got so tired of casseroles. You can make ANYTHING for dinner, really ANYTHING. I'll cook too. I just don't want to eat casseroles." Thus, ended my casserole affair. Except for the occasional pan of brownies or lasagna, my 9x13 pans have sat unused and dusty.

So I dedicate this post to what might have been. For one brief shining moment, cubed chicken, cream of chicken soup, cheese and I ...man we were something.

4 Chicken Breasts - cooked and diced into small pieces
1 pkg frozen broccoli florets - cooked according to package directions and drained
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 oz container of sour cream
6 cups cooked white rice
3 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

In a big bowl, mix everything except 1 cup of cheese. Spread into a 9x13 pan. Top with cheese. Cover and bake at 325 until bubbly and hot. Uncover and bake 10 mins more. Let sit for 15 mins before serving.

Overnight or Super Easy Lasagna

I was feeling guilty about the bread recipe I just shared. So I'm going to give you a great lasagna recipe that is actually from Weight Watchers but you can't tell at all. The best part of this recipe (well there are a couple of good parts) is that you don't have to boil the noodles, it's super cheesy without being greasy, it's very easy and can be made up to 48 hours before you bake it or just before you bake it. So you can plan ahead or not. Flexible lasagna, that should be it's title. No, flexible, non greasy, super cheesy, yummy lasagna that will make you feel less guilty about eating that bread. Add a salad with my dad's healthy salad dressing and you can eat 1/2 the loaf.

1 pkg jimmy dead reduced fat breakfast sausage (in the tube)

1 jar prego tomato, onion and garlic spaghetti sauce

1 15 oz container of lite ricotta cheese

1 lb skim or part skim mozzarella cheese

1 egg

1 TB dried oregano

2 TB Parmesan cheese

1 can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 can sliced olives, drained

1 can diced tomatoes not drained

10 lasagna noodles (not baked) the ruffled edges kind

1 cup water

Cook and crumble sausage. Take paper towel and wipe up some grease in bottom of pan although there really isn't much. Add mushrooms, olives, spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes and water. Cook until it barely comes to a simmer then take off the heat. Beat egg, ricotta and oregano in a separate bowl. Grab your 9x13 pan. Layer a little bit of meat sauce in bottom of pan just so noodles won't stick. Add layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 ricotta mixture on top of noodles. (a rubber spatula works good for this part) Sprinkle half the mozzarella cheese on top. Spoon about 1/3 of meat sauce on top of mozzarella. Repeat process with noodles, ricotta, mozzarella and then the rest of the meat sauce. Top with 2 TB of Parmesan. Cover with foil and pop in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Or proceed to baking directions now.

Baking: Bake UNCOVERED at 350 for 55 minutes. Take out of oven and cover tightly with foil for 15 minutes. Let sit another 5 to 10 minutes uncovered. A weight watcher portion is 1/10th of the pan. In reality it feeds about 8 people max if you have salad and bread and 6 if you don't. We always add 2 cans olives and 2 cans of mushrooms just because I HAVE to change recipes (it's a thing I have) and we really like mushrooms and olives around here.

The Best Garlic Herb and BUTTER Bread

Look, if you came here for low fat recipes, you probably know by now you are in the wrong place. I will offer some healthy recipes if they are super good like My Dad's Healthy Salad Dressing. But I have a skinny doctor husband who surprisingly needs a meat, side dish and veggie every night. The only exception is Japanese food. He LOVES all things Japanese, from sushi (including the raw stuff), udon, gyoza, katsu, teriyaki, sunomono, sukiyaki etc. But - I digress. This is about this BREAD. It is amazing. The only way you can make it is to not change this recipe. I know it's loaded with butter. You should not eat this everyday. But it is really really really good and should be experienced once in a very great while when you are really craving garlic, butter, salt and yummy bread. You won't be sorry. So lets get rollin...

1 loaf of French Bread sliced horizontally so you have two long halves of the bread.

2 sticks of salted butter (don't abandon me at this point!)

Fresh garlic, crushed and Grey or Sea Salt to taste OR garlic salt

Fresh thyme leaves chopped up fine

Soften the butter but don't melt it. Spread one stick on one half of the bread and the other stick on the other half. This will seem like a lot of butter. But butter is in the title of this recipe. It is in fact in all CAPS. So just spread it on, don't miss a spot of bread, go all the way to the edges, get a tattoo and decide to just go for it. Spread crushed garlic on top of bread to your taste. I usually use 2 cloves per side, but I like garlic. Sprinkle with grey or sea salt to taste. I just give a light sprinkle over the top. These pieces will be cut small so you need to make sure each piece has a little bit of salt. You don't want under salted bread. Trust me. Okay, now bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes until the butter is melted and has soaked into the bread. Turn on your broiler and while watching the whole time, broil top of bread until it is golden and toasted. Remember, golden brown butter means flavor so don't under broil the bread but don't burn it. This is tricky but just watch it the whole time. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with thyme. Cut into max 2 inch slices.

You know you are drooling. Just go make it and get it over with already.

Grey Salt

There is a salt that comes from the sea on the Brittany Coast of France. It is grey in color and has a very mineral, salty and peppery flavor. My cousin Ali introduced it to me this last summer. It used to be very pricey (like $20 for a tin in specialty food stores or online only) but now it can be found at my local Raley's for $9 for the same sized tin for which I used to pay double. It is excellent on meats, popcorn, veggies, sliced tomatoes, baked potatoes, fries...anything you put salt on. Jessica's favorite is to sprinkle it on sliced apples. My girls have developed such a taste that they always ask for "grey salt" specifically instead of salt. If I tell them they have to have the "normal" sea salt that we have in the salt mill, they have a cow. If I ever offered them plain ol' Morton's Iodized Table Salt I think they would die. Anyway, check out grey salt. Besides the drawback of develping food snob toddlers, you'll love it!

Brown Sugar Turkey Meatloaf

You can make this with lean ground beef or turkey. I normally would prefer the beef version but in this case both Mike and I prefer the turkey version. It is very very good, isn't as greasy and makes awesome sandwiches. This is what we had for dinner last night with mashed potatoes and broccoli. It's nothing fancy - just good comfort food. Enjoy!

2 lbs ground turkey breast (or the leanest ground beef you can find)

1 envelope liptons onion soup mix

1/2 diced onion

1/2 cup ketchup

1 cup crushed saltine crackers or 1 cup plain breadcrumbs

3/4 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

Mix all ingredients above with heavy duty spoon or your hands. Form into a loaf in a 9x13 pan. Should reach end to end. I try to make it about the size of a piece of bread so we have the right size of meat for sandwiches in the next few days.

Mix 1/2 cup ketchup with 3/4 cup brown sugar in a cup. After you form the loaf in the pan, pour this over the top and spread it around the sides and ends. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or until juices run clear) and let sit up for about 10 minutes. You can make a great pan gravy with butter, flour pan bits and either chicken broth or beef broth depending on what kind of meat you use.

Leftover meatloaf sandwiches - wheat bread, mayo, a little ketchup, slice of meatloaf and thin slices of dill pickle. That's it. I like these better than the hot meatloaf!

Menu Planning and Buying In Bulk

I HATE to grocery shop. I really hate it. I've tried delegating this job to Mike, ordering groceries online and eating out way more than I should. None of this worked. So recently, I just took a moment to be pissed and then took a breath and accepted that I will NEVER be able to avoid this chore. So...the only way this is going to work for me is to buy as much as possible in bulk, planning out menus so I have to go once/week for fresh produce and live off of everything else for as close to a month as possible.

With that said, this takes some prep work but it is totally worth it if you are operating on a budget AND hate grocery shopping.

Here is what I do:

Costco: buy meat, cleaning supplies, bath supplies, soda/bottled water, frozen fruit/veggies, some canned items, milk, eggs, cheese and some prepared meals. I just bought 6 lbs of hamburger, 12 chicken breasts, 2 meals of salmon and 8 tilapia fillets. The question arises...what the heck am I going to make with all that? Here's what I came up with:

Hamburger 6lbs: meatloaf, tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, shepherd's pie, beef mac n cheese. This will give a family of four at least 13 nights of meals including leftovers. Chicken Breasts: Flautas, Fajitas, Chicken and Broccoli Casserole, Chinese Chicken Salad, Chicken Marsala Lasagna. This will give a family of four 11 nights of meals. Salmon: Miso Salmon and Blackened Salmon. This will give a family of four 2 nights of meals. Tilapia 8 fillets: Japanese Panko Fish, Fish Tacos. 2 nights of meals. Shrimp 2lbs: Shrimp pesto linguine, chilled shrimp salad, shrimp and bacon with rice. 4 meals. GRAND TOTAL: THIS WILL FEED A FAMILY OF FOUR 32 NIGHTS OF MEALS. So approximately one month of dinners if you don't eat out at all which we do once/week so this will enable us to have people over for dinner a couple of times and still make it through the month.

After I planned my dinner menu, I bought as much of the ingredients as I could at Costco and a discount grocery store. I also purchased cereal for at least 3 weeks, bread (one goes in freezer), frozen juices, side dishes and other snacks and stand by items like pb&j, cheese, lunch meat, produce (apples, bananas, salad mix, broccoli, green beans, corn, peas, stir fry veggies, carrots, celery, onions and potatoes), soda for the month, bottled water, cleaning, laundry and bath supplies, dried pasta, sauce and seasoning mixes, canned soups and dried fruit, a month of diapers & wipes, ziploc bags, drink mixes, flour, sugar, some spices, handsoaps and glade refills. Oh paper towels and toilet paper too.

I think my grocery total for the month will be right around $500 which really isn't that bad for four people.

I know those people who cook at home and cook simple meals that yield a lot of leftovers really can stretch their budget. I know my meals aren't very gourmet and I could do a lot more salads, vegetarian dinners, lowfat cooking. I try to use light, lowfat and whole grain substitutions as often as possible except for pasta. I hate whole wheat pasta. But I don't buy white breads or cereals, I use a lot of rice and we have a green veggie each night that I cook. I'm trying to keep it real, simple and as fresh as possible as long as I don't have to do major grocery shopping every few days.

Hope this look into my life and my meal plan can help you on your budget, ideas for buying in bulk and meal ideas.

Happy relaxing (instead of stressful shopping)!

Anything Wrapped in Bacon HAS to be good!!!

Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon w/pineapple

I made these little darlings for Valentines dinner with Mom, Dad, Grammie Bea, Mike and the chicks. Everyone loved them. The pineapple really makes them.

2 dozen large shrimp peeled and devained

24 pineapple chunks (from a can)

12 slices of bacon (not thick sliced) cut in half

toothpicks

Place pineapple chunk in the curve of the shrimp. Wrap in bacon. Secure shrimp, pineapple and bacon with a toothpick. Fry at medium high heat until bacon is crispy and carmelized. Drain on paper towels and serve alone on a platter or with a brown sugar and pineapple sweet and sour sauce (recipe to follow soon)

Coconut Cake

My coconut cake is famous. It's not mine though. My friend Cherie gave me the recipe in 1996. Since then, I have made it for every Easter, every Mothers Day, sometime during the holidays, every 4th of July and usually for a birthday or two during the year. Oh and don't forget the surprisingly regular occasion of a luau. The funny thing is, every person I have given the recipe to now does the same. It makes me happy just to know that Cherie and a host of her friends like me and a host of my friends are all making and serving the same cake on Easter. Hope you luuuuvvvv it. I can honestly say if you don't - there is something wrong with you.

1 white cake mix baked according to pkg directions into 2 rounds

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup sugar

Cool whip - trust me

Fresh Whipped Cream 1 pt

1/2 cup sugar

2 to 3 more cups of shredded sweetened coconut

48 - 72 hours before you want to serve the cake. Cut cakes horizontally to make 4 layers. Mix sour cream, 1 cup coconut and sugar together. Fill in between layers of cake. It will glop out of the sides. Take cool whip and seal the edges and top of the cake with a THIN layer of cool whip. It's okay to even see crumbs through the coolwhip. you are using the coolwhip like mortar to seal the cracks so nothing leaks out. Day of or right before you serve it. Whip cream and sweeten with sugar. Frost cake generously on all sides and top. Cover entire cake with coconut (sides and top) Serve alone or decorate with fresh flowers, strawberries, sliced pineapple and cherries etc.

Basil Red Mashed Poatoes with Browned Butter

When we lived in DC our favorite restaurant was Mike's American Grill in Springfield, Virginia. Our favorite thing on their menu was their blackened prime rib with these potatoes. I weaseled the potato recipe out of them late one night. I have made this for lots of folks for lots of occasions and almost always someone cries. They are the bestest.

Stuff you need to go hunt for:

5 lbs redskinned potatoes
1 pt half and half
2 sticks brown butter plus 1/2 stick for topping
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
2 TB salt
2 TB garlic powder
1 TB black pepper

Boil scrubbed potatoes with skin on until they are done. While they are cooking brown your butter in a skillet. It should be the color of caramel or honey and smell nutty. Reserve about 4 TB of butter for topping. Mash potatoes with half and half, butter, basil, salt, garlic and black pepper. Top with rest of browned butter and serve. Let the weeping begin.

Beef or Chicken Fajitas

It is widely known by my friends that I make the best fajitas on the planet. This is not a braggie thing, my mom discovered a recipe in a newspaper before fajitas were really a thing and we've been making them this way ever since. You won't be sorry if you look for actual skirt steak. It's easy to find at most grocery stores that have a good meat dept. We throw a mean cinco de mayo party every year. It's just an excuse to serve these fajitas. We also make them for 4th of July or anytime we feel like great fajitas.

3 lbs skirt steak (or flank steak, boneless chicken breasts)
2 cups soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 TB oil

Mix everything except steak together in a jar or tupperware container. Let sit for 24 hours. Pour over meat and marinate overnight up to 24 hours. Grill over very very hot coals or heat on a gril until temperature of meat is about 135. Bring inside and let meat rest for 15 minutes tented with foil. Slice as thinly as you can and serve with cooked onions, peppers, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes and olives wrapped in warm flour tortillas. Serve a salad and spanish rice on the side. (If you do chicken make sure your internal temperature reaches 165 before taking it off the grill.

Shepherd's Pie

My mom made Shepherd's Pie for me when I was growing up. My dad always really liked it. I wasn't too crazy about it but then after I got married I started playing around with different techniques to make it better. A few years back, we settled on this recipe as the best and easiest version. It makes a great weeknight one dish meal because your meat, starch, dairy and veggies are all in one pan. Enjoy!

Gather Up the Following Stuff:
1 lb very lean good quality ground beef
2 cans drained sliced mushrooms
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I know I don't usually use this ingredient, just trust me)
1/2 onion diced
1/2 bag frozen corn niblets or 1 can niblets
1/2 bag frozen peas
7 russet or 9 yukon gold potatoes
1/2 brick cream cheese
milk
butter, heated and browned in a skillet
salt and pepper to taste

Brown and cook beef, onions and mushrooms in a big skillet. Add soup, peas and corn. Stir to combine and spread into a 9x13 glass dish. Boil potatoes in salted water until done. Mash with cream cheese, milk and browned butter. Season with salt, pepper, garlic salt/powder etc to taste. Top beef mixture with mashed potatoes. Dot top of casserole with little bits of butter and bake uncovered in a 325 degree oven until heated through and bubbly. This rocks!

Dad's Healthy Salad Dressing

Who wants to take a big bite of healthy salad and bite into a ton of oil and grease? Well, if you enjoy ranch, 1000 island or most vinegar based dressings that is basically what you are doing. But who wants to buy light or fat free dressing that tastes disgusting? NOT ME! But I love salad. So what's a girl to do? My dad came up with the best salad dressing I have ever tasted PLUS it has almost no oil. Can it be true? It can! Keep reading girls. The secret to loving salad again is right here. Oh, and this will make enough dressing for a gigantic bowl of salad to feed all of your family and friends. Or store in a container in fridge until you need more. Just bring to room temperature before serving.

3 TB Balsamic Vinegar
3 TB Honey or Splenda
2 TB Olive Oil
2 TB Wheat Germ (that's right, I said wheat germ, get over it. This is the secret)
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Sprinkle of salt
Couple of grinds of black pepper

Mix Vinegar, Honey, Oil and Wheat Germ in a mug (I use a small teacup) and then place in microwave for 15 seconds. Stir again. Season it up and dress whatever salad you want with it. My dad sometimes will add some yellow or dijon mustard, real sugar or play around with lighter vinegars. Important - when it comes out of the microwave...taste it! Play around with the sweetness or vinegar so you have it to your liking.

Here's why it works (for those science types out there): The wheat germ soaks up the oil. Heating it up makes the wheat germ absorb the oil even better. This creates a yummy texture that will actually cling to the items in the salad. We use oil to bind the dressing onto the lettuce or the tomato or whatever. Instead, you have this thicker consistency that actually sticks to the salad. This does 2 things. First, you need way less oil. Second, you need way less dressing. Third, you won't have a bunch of dressing at the bottom of your salad bowl. Oh, that's 3 things. I guess you got a bonus. But honestly, this works and you'll love the dressing. Don't forget salt and pepper. People never season their greens enough. Tonight, my mom put in spring lettuce mix, avocado, a ripe anjou pear, tomato, whole black olives, roasted sliced almonds and cucumber. It was great!

Cornbread and Sage Encrusted Pork Tenderloin

I thought it would be fitting that my first recipe is one of my "Go Tos" when company comes over. I discovered the basic concept about 3 years ago and have tweaked it until I got it how we like it. We serve this meal with a tossed green salad with oranges, sweetened almonds and an OJ sweet dressing (recipe to follow), sautéed spinach with apples, pine nuts and golden raisins, steamed and sweetened carrots and an herby creamed fresh corn. Okay...let's go!


Stuff you'll need to round up:

2 pork tenderloin roasts

8x8 dish of cornbread (you can buy corn muffins if you don't want to make cornbread)

3 TB chopped fresh sage or 2 TB dried rubbed sage

4 TB Dijon Mustard

1 clove crushed garlic

2 TB oil

2 TB butter


And here's what you do to make it:

Heat oil in the skillet until hot

Season pork with salt and pepper

Brown pork tenderloins on all sides

Take pan off the heat and transfer roasts to a baking dish (like a 9x13)

In pan, melt 2 TB of butter and garlic on low heat then turn burner off

Stir in crumbled cornbread & sage with salt and pepper to taste (set aside)

Brush browned pork with Dijon mustard on all sides

Begin taking cornbread mixture by handfuls and press it onto all sides of pork. The mustard will help it stick and you want to continue until you have a think coating on all sides of each roast. Any extra cornbread and can be pressed on top of both roasts


Bake at 350 degrees uncovered until tenderloins reach internal temperature of 150. This should take about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Tent with foil if cornbread starts to get too brown. Let this rest for about 15 minutes and transfer to carving platter. Cut slices about 3/4 inch thick to make medallions of pork. Give each person about 3 or 4 medallions.

Stock Your Pantry

People are always asking me what are the staples in my pantry/fridge/freezer so I can create meals over the course of the week and not have to run out for ingredients? I have twin toddlers and going to the grocery store is something I avoid at all cost. This list helps me and I try to keep these things on hand. Don't be overwhelmed that it is so long. Build it slowly. Hope it helps you build a rockin pantry.

Freezer

• Chicken Breasts - buy in bulk (Costco/Sam's Club) and freeze 2 breasts per pkg


• Chicken Thighs - (boneless) buy in bulk


• Lean Hamburger or Ground Turkey Breast


• Package of steak


• Salmon


• Frozen vegetables (peas, corn, broccoli florets, chopped spinach, diced onions)


• Frozen homemade stocks (chicken, vegetable)


• Spaghetti Sauce that you've made previously


• Stewmeat


• Italian Sausage


• Ground Pork


• Boneless pork loin or pork tenderloin roast


• Frozen puff pastry


• Assortment of grated cheeses (mozarella, cheddar etc.)


• Butter

Fridge

• Kikkoman Soy Sauce


• Minced garlic (found in produce section)


• Minced or crushed ginger (found in produce section)


• Box of Good Quality Chicken Stock (if no homemade in freezer)


• Apricot or Peach Jam


• Dijon & Yellow Mustard


• Mayonaise (Bestfoods)


• Ketchup


• Pesto Sauce


• Sundried tomatoes in olive oil


• Heavy Cream


• Whole Milk


• Butter - store excess in freezer


• Parmaseanno Reggiano


• Assorted Cheeses


• Good quality olives - green


• Thai peanut sauce


• Thai sweet chili sauce


• horseradish


• sour cream


• cream cheese


• eggs

Pantry

• Parsley Flakes


• Italian Seasoning


• Herbes de Provence


• Ground Sage


• Rosemary


• Colemans Dried Mustard


• Sea Salt


• Kosher Salt


• Grey Salt


• Black Pepper


• Emeril's Essence


• Garlic Powder


• McCormick's California Style Garlic Salt


• Onion powder


• Cumin


• Paprika


• Sesamee Seeds


• Lemon Peel


• Brown Sugar


• Honey


• White Sugar


• Washed Sugar


• Baking Soda


• Baking Powder


• Vanilla


• Whipped Cream Stabilizer - called whipit


• Karo Light Corn Syrup


• cinnamon


• whole nutmeg - you'll grate the nuts


• Extra Virgin Olive Oil


• Vegetable Oil


• Vegetable Shortening - Crisco


• White Wine


• Red Wine


• Sherry


• Marsala


• Balsamic Vinegar


• Red Wine Vinegar


• White Vinegar


• Apple Cider Vinegar


• Rice Vinegar


• Flour


• Cornstarch


• Quaker Instant Oatmeal


• Calrose Rice


• Cornmeal


• Assorted cake mixes


• Gelatin (unflavored)


• Dried Cranberries


• Dried Apricots


• Raisins


• Breadcrumbs


• Mushrooms


• Black Olives


• Kalmata Olives


• Potatoes


• Onions


• Artichoke Hearts


• Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix


• Angel Hair dried pasta


• Lasagna noodles


• Linguini dried pasta


• Sweetened condensed milk


• Pineapple slices in juice


• Peaches in light syrup


• Bisquick