Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Slow Cooker Crandberry Pork!




Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) can cranberry sauce
1/3 cup French salad dressing
1 onion, sliced
1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast
Directions
1.In a medium bowl, stir together the cranberry sauce, salad dressing, and onion. Place pork in a slow cooker, and cover with the sauce mixture.
2.Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours, or on Low for 8 hours. Pork is done when the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Caramelized Baked Chicken!



Ingredients
3 pounds chicken wings ( I used boneless Skinless breasts)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cups ketchup
3/4 cup honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TBS sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3)Mix together the oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken.
4)Bake in preheated oven for one hour, or until sauce is caramelized.

* Again this isn't my picture, my computer won't let me use my pictures for my blog*

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce!





Ingredients
•1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut crosswise into 3 pieces
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•5 tablespoons butter, divided
•3/4 cup chopped onion
•1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
•2 tablespoons minced garlic
•1 cup dry Marsala wine
•1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
•2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
•2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish
•12 ounces dried fettuccine
Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.

While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.

*I got this from www.foodtv.com, recipe & picture (something is up with my camera) it was yummy although I would cut back in the mustard. JMO*

Monday, February 15, 2010

Banana Muffins with Marscapone cream cheese frosting!




Ingredients
Muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed
Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Directions
Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly. The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

To frost the cupcakes: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone cheese and then beat in the honey. Spread the frosting over the muffins. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

( I made these & wished I would have used a different frosting, just a plain old cream cheese frosting would have been great with these. The one here is OK, you also don't need frosting the muffins are delish all by themselves.)

Shrimp & Scallop Lasagna!





Ingredients
12 lasagna noodles
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup grated Romano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 pound sea scallops, cut in half or quartered if very large
3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 10-inch aluminum foil pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the lasagna noodles until they are just done, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet and cook the onion over low heat until very soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute more. Over medium-low heat, stir in the flour with a whisk, then gradually add the half-and-half, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly before adding more. When the sauce has thickened to about the consistency of whipping cream, add the cheese and stir well. Add the salt and pepper and stir again. Add the scallops and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, then add the shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until the shrimp turn pink. Turn off the heat.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the sauce from the skillet into the prepared pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with 4 noodles, placing them side by side. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles, distributing half of the seafood evenly. Layer 4 more noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, and remaining seafood. Cover with the last 4 noodles and the remaining sauce. (For the top layer, do not spoon any seafood on top of the noodles; just use the sauce.) Tuck in any edges of the noodles so they're all coated with sauce. Top with the Parmesan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, uncovered, until bubbly. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

Soft Sugar Cookies!





Ingredients
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1.Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until fully absorbed. Cover dough, and chill for 2 hours.
2.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a clean floured surface, roll out small portions of chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
3.Bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

(Some of these I just used the decorative sugar crystals & others I just baked off & then dipped in melted semi sweet choclate & white choclate. Then I sprinkled them with jimmies. I put them in the fridge to get the chocolate to harden. They turend out super cute & yummy. Just make sure you don't bake them too long otherwise they get hard.)

Avacado & Feta Salsa!



Ingredients:
2 plum tomatoes or ripe on the vine, chopped
2 ripe avocado - peeled, pitted and
chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or anything you have works well.
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
1. In a bowl, gently stir together tomatoes, avocados, onion, and garlic. Mix in cilantro. Gently stir in olive oil and vinegar. Then stir in feta. Cover, and chill for 2 to 6 hours.

*this is so yummy, you have to make it*

Friday, February 12, 2010

Lemon Meringue Pie!





Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 lemons, juiced and zested 2 tablespoons butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
4 egg whites
6 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
3. To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

* I have made many Lemon Meringue pies & this one wasn't my favorite but still very good* Look for my favorite Lemon Meringue pie recipie in the coming months.:)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 2/13/2010

Thursday, February 4, 2010

#30 Sausage and tortilli Soup!!






Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
4 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped ( I used a large can of whole tomatoes)
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves ( I used 1 tsp of dry basil)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used 1 tsp dry parsley)
Directions
1.In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
2.Saute onions and garlic in drippings. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
3.Skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

*this would also be good with Spinach!!*

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

# 28 BBQ Pulled Pork!














3 lbs pork roast boneless




8 cups of beef broth




1 18 oz your favorite BBQ sauce (you could also make your own)








Put pork roast and beef broth into slow cooker




cook on low for 6-8 hours




Take roast out & shred with forks




put into oven safe dish, pour BBQ sauce over meat & mix to coat




cover and bake at 350*F for 30 minutes




serve on rolls