Monthly Archives: May 2014

Orzo and Shrimp Salad

May 26, 2014Pasta and Grains, Seafood/ Fish, Soups/ Salads / Stewsorzo, Salad, shrimpdmariebates

I have to admit something upfront. This recipe is an adaptation of a salad I tasted at my grandson’s birthday brunch. However, I do not feel too guilty because I think most recipes are a take on some other recipe floating around the cooking stratosphere. At some point in time haven’t we all taken a recipe we liked and did something a little different to make it our own? Yes, admit it. You have. Of course, I will give my daughter-in-law credit for giving me the idea for this shrimp pasta dish. Thanks Nat!

Orzo shrimp salad is one of those pasta dishes that is light but filling so it can be used as a side dish or as a main course. The first time I made this pasta salad we had it as a main course with a nice mixed green salad on the side. The next day we had the leftovers as a side dish with my teriyaki salmon recipe.

This one will be a crowd pleaser and can be made to accommodate both vegetarians and non-vegetarians at any party. Just leave out the seafood. The salad will still be tasty and will have folks coming back for seconds!

Orzo and Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups orzo pasta
2 lbs raw shrimp peeled and deveined
8 cherry tomatoes cut in half and sliced
½ cup diced tomatoes
2 baby cucumbers peeled cut in half and sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp fresh chopped flat parsley
1 tsp fresh chopped dill or dried
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup Gazebo Room Greek Salad Dressing and Marinade
½ cut feta cheese
Juice from 1 lemon

Optional:
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tbsp scallions
½ cup Italian dressing

Prepare orzo according to package. Set aside and let cool. Rinse shrimp and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. In a large frying pan melt butter and oil over medium high heat. Add shrimp to pan and cook until pink. Remove from pan and place in bowl. Pour lemon juice over seafood.

In a large bowl add pasta, seafood with juice, feta cheese, veggies and seasonings. Top with salad dressing and mix until well blended. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Sole to Soul

May 25, 2014Seafood/ FishCrabmeat, Fishdmariebates

I have always thought of food as the “glue” that holds families together. In our family, and I am sure in many other families, food is often the centerpiece of special gatherings whether big or small. Food brings people together to create wonderful memories and enrich the soul. Some of my fondest memories are of bonding with my mom while preparing dinner every day or when we would plan out a big family Christmas dinner. I remember how my mom would measure out every thing she used in a dish even though she had made it a hundred times. To this day she still measures out every ingredient just to make sure she gets it right. I on the other hand usually measure by sight or by how much I “think” should go into a recipe. My cooking is about experimenting and trying different things to give an ordinary dish a slightly new taste.

I thought of my Sole to Soul recipe while watching a cooking show featuring how to prepare fish in the most traditional way by just baking it with a pat of butter. Boring……….!!! In my opinion, food should nourish both the body and the soul. Plain ol’ fish may nourish the body but does nothing for my soul. However, when I added capers to a lemon butter sauce and a little spice to a nice piece of sole it gave it a kick, jazzed up my spirit and definitely warmed up my soul.

Memories …

If you keep a memory
let this be one
There’s nothing more precious
than the elements of love
Remember on those chilling nights
the gifts we often gave
Laughter, smiles, tender love
and dreams along the way

D. Marie

Sole to Soul

Ingredients:
4 Sole fillets (use flounder if sole is not available)
1 tbsp fresh flat parsley chopped
Juice from 3 lemons
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup flour
1 cup frying olive oil or vegetable oil + 1tbsp of oil
1 tbsp capers
½ stick butter
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp old bay seasoning
2 tsp dill

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour 1 cup of oil into a large frying pan over medium high heat until very hot.

Rinse fish and pat dry and lay on a sheet of wax paper. Season with salt and pepper. On a plate mix together flour, garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, old bay seasoning and smoked paprika. Coat each fillet with seasoned flour and place in hot frying pan in batches. Brown until crispy on one side then turn fillet to brown on the opposite side. Place on a layer of paper towels to drain then place in a long casserole dish.

Pour off oil from frying pan. Return to stove and reduce to medium heat. Melt butter along with 1 tbsp oil then add lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, cayenne pepper and capers. Stir for one minute then pour mixture over fish. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 10 minutes. Base with pan juices after 5 minutes to prevent fish from drying out. Remove from oven and serve.

Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

May 25, 2014DessertsChocolate Chip Cookies, cookiesdmariebates

Okay, I know my general philosophy for fixing food is “healthy, quick and easy”. But sometimes you have to try quick, easy and tasty. Stuffed chocolate chip cookies are quick and easy to make and definitely tasty. This is one of those desserts you can get the kids to help you make and gives them something fun to do.

The first time I made my Chocolate Cherry Bomb dessert I found I had a lot of whipped topping left over and did not want to waste it. So I tried to come up with something that would pair well with the chocolaty coffee flavors in the topping. I remembered a cake dessert my daughter-in-law likes to fix with chocolate chip cookies and thought I could simplify it into an individual dessert or snack.

If you have time to make a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies, go for it! If you are short on time or you do not like to bake, you can always find homemade style chocolate chip cookies at the grocery store or farmer’s market. Stuffing the cookies is easy. Just put a spoonful of whipped topping on a chocolate chip cookie and smooth it out to the edges of the cookie. Place another chocolate chip cookie on top and you have made your first stuffed chocolate chip cookie. This is so easy you can get your kids to stuff the cookies as long as you trust them with a butter knife. Refrigerate the cookies in a plastic container to keep them fresh.

Try making this quick, easy and tasty treat the next time you have a picnic or it’s your turn to bring dessert to a party. I bet the only thing leftover are the crumbs!

Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coffee liqueur
2 tbsp unsweetened chocolate powder
½ cup sugar

In a large bowl whip together heavy whipping cream, mascarpone cheese, vanilla, sugar, chocolate powder and liqueur. Start out on a low speed to mix and gradually increase speed to high. Whip until mixture is firm and forms peaks.

Add a spoonful of whip topping to the flat side of one cookie. Spread evenly over cookie and then place another cookie on top of the filling flat side down to form a sandwich. Repeat until all the cookies are assembled and enjoy!

Smothered Pork Chops

May 18, 2014Meat/ Poultrypork chopsdmariebates

Southern, smothered and fried are three words that seem to naturally go together. One of my favorite meals growing up was my Mom’s smothered pork chops. It took me a while to learn how to master making smothered pork chops the way my Mom does but now even she says ”these are as good as mine”. I think most women will agree that if Mom says a dish tastes as good as her own (and Mom is a great cook) she has hit the jackpot!

When I was around 12 years old my Mom would have me sit and watch her cook everyday until she trusted me to use a knife. It became my job to cut up veggies and measure out ingredients. A couple of years later she passed the baton and I was trusted to make the entire meal. My test of whether or not I had done a good job was if my Dad cleaned his plate without knowing I had cooked. After all, it is hard to complain about a meal once you have sopped up all the drippings.

Now years later I can still tell if a meal is a family hit by whether or not they clean their plates.

To keep my smothered pork chops healthy I use lean center cut chops and frying olive oil to reduce the amount of fat. Also, instead of making a heavy gravy I allow the fried pork chops to steam so the chops make their own gravy seasoned with onions.

Southern, smothered and fried are three words that say de-li-cious!

Smothered Pork Chops

Ingredients:
4-6 lean center cut pork chops or loin chops
1 large onion sliced
1 medium green pepper sliced
1 ½ cups of flour
1 ½ cups chicken broth
½ cup vegetable oil or frying olive oil
½ tsp Gravy Master seasoning and browning sauce
½ tbsp Adobo seasoning
½ tbsp garlic powder
½ tbsp onion powder
½ tbsp seasoned salt
½ tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp salt

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.

Wash pork chops and place on a sheet of wax paper. Season both sides of pork chops with salt, ½ tsp of pepper and smoked paprika. In a large plastic bag combine remaining seasonings and all but 2 tbsp of flour. Place 1-2 pork chops in the bag and shake to coat the chops. Shake off excess flour and place in hot oil. Brown pork chops for approximately 5-6 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.

After pork chops are done pour off all but 2 tbsp of oil and add any crispy goodness back to the frying pan. Reduce heat then add onions and green peppers to the frying pan. Cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add flour and stir until the flour begins to brown but do not let it burn. Slowly pour in chicken broth and whisk to smooth out any lumps. Add browning sauce stirring constantly until well mixed. The sauce will thicken as it cooks to create gravy. Return pork chops to frying pan and cover. Simmer over medium low heat for approximately 20 minutes. Add additional broth or water if gravy is too thick.

Enjoy!!!

Teriyaki Salmon

May 16, 2014Seafood/ Fishsalmon, teriyakidmariebates

Does anyone else out there have a “go to” meal? I think everyone should have at least one meal they can pull out of their mental file and know it will be perfect without much fuss. My “go to” meal is teriyaki salmon with noodles and sauteed asparagus.

Salmon. What can I say about salmon? Besides being one of the healthiest fish to eat because of the omega 3 fatty acids it provides, salmon tastes fantastic! Just a few seasonings and lemon brings out the natural flavor of salmon. Adding a nice teriyaki sauce just enhances the flavors and brightens up the fish. I have tried a lot of different teriyaki sauces but have fallen in love with a spicy teriyaki sauce from Culinary Circle called Shanghai -Inspired Five Spice Teriyaki Marinade & Dipping Sauce. The sesame and ginger in this sauce are well balanced and does not overpower the salmon.

There are several types of salmon (pink salmon, king salmon, sockeye and more) each with a different taste, coloring and fat content. Pink salmon is the most common and has a lower fat content than others like king salmon which has a very high fat content. I prefer pink salmon and look for well marbled fillets which helps keep the salmon moist while cooking. To add another layer of moisture buy salmon with the skin still in tact which will also retain moisture in the fish. No matter what type of salmon you choose it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and will be both delicious and healthy. So if you need a “go to” meal to add to your mental file for a quick and easy dinner, think about teriyaki salmon. Your family and friends will love it.

Teriyaki Salmon

Ingredients:
2-3 fresh salmon fillets
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp dill
½ tsp parsley
½ cup teriyaki sauce
½ stick of butter melted
½ tsp smoked paprika
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse salmon and pat dry. Place on a broiler pan or in a long casserole dish. Pour lemon juice and melted butter over each fillet. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, old bay seasoning and smoked paprika. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with teriyaki sauce. Bake an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and let salmon rest for 3 minutes then……

Enjoy!

BIG SALAD

May 10, 2014Fruits, Soups/ Salads / Stews, Vegetablesapples, currents, lettuce, nuts, Saladdmariebates

If you are a sitcom fan, then you know about Elaine’s love of and constant search for the “BIG SALAD”.

Salads are a healthy quick and easy dish to make when you don’t have a lot of time or you are too tired to fix a big meal. The great thing about salads is that they are very versatile. You can custom design every salad by using whatever is available in your pantry or frig. Every salad you make can become a work of art that is both pleasing to the eye and definitely pleasing to the stomach.

On nights I do not have to cook for the family I will make a Big Salad and load it up with whatever I can find in the fruit bowl or refrigerator. Apples, dried cranberries, golden raisins, nuts and olives are a household staple so that is the base of most of the salads I make. Because my son only likes iceberg lettuce and my husband and I like mixed greens, I usually keep both on hand. Sometimes I mix various types of lettuce to keep things festive.

Cheese, cheese, cheese. I love cheese! Whatever you do, do not forget to add cheese to your salad. Feta, Blue Cheese, Shaved Parmesan or just plain cheddar will give your salad that extra boost and provides good protein. To keep things light, I like to use Gazebo Room Greek Salad Dressing and Marinade to top it off. This dressing has become a family favorite and brightens up the salad with a unique taste.

I never did discover what made Elaine’s Big Salad so delicious but I am sure my Big Salad recipe is sure to make you smack your lips.

Salad Fact:
Did you know that in ancient times salads were considered an aphrodisiac? The next time you feel a little frisky try fixing that special someone a Big Salad and they will love you for it!

BIG SALAD

Ingredients:
1 bag of mixed salad greens
5-6 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
5-6 calamata pitted black olives
2 slices of crispy cooked bacon chopped
¼ cup sliced avocado
½ green apple sliced thin
1 tbsp feta cheese
1 tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried cranberries
1 tbsp golden raisins
1 tbsp almonds
1 tbsp cashews
1 tbsp walnut
1 tbsp croutons
2 tbsp favorite salad dressing

In a BIG bowl layer the mixed greens, tomatoes, avocado, apples,bacon black olives, cranberries, golden raisins, cheeses, nuts, croutons and salad dressing. If you want an even bigger salad, add some chicken or seafood to make this a truly wonderful meal.

Eat up!

Orange BBQ Chicken Wingettes

May 10, 2014Meat/ PoultryBar-B-Que, Chickendmariebates

Who does not like BBQ? My husband! At least he was not a fan of BBQ until I served up a beautiful plate of Orange BBQ Chicken Wingettes. I received so many compliments from him about how great the chicken tasted I was wondering if I could get away with making this simple meal a couple of times each week.

Since deciding to share my recipes with the world I have been spending more time thinking of new and creative ways to tweak the same old meals. This one came to me while I was driving to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. Usually we have chicken or fish a couple of times each week and it was a chicken day.

I have to admit I sometimes get tired of eating chicken but the idea of BBQ wingettes seemed a little more exciting than baked chicken. When I got to the grocery store there was a huge display of bright naval oranges. The smell of the oranges made me think what a wonderful combination it would be to pair the orange with a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce. I like Stubbs Sweet Heat BBQ sauce. The acid from the orange kept the spiciness in the sauce from overpowering the taste of the chicken and added a nice twang to the dish.

BBQ is not just for spring or summer. BBQ is nice to eat any time of the year and brings back sweet memories of messy fingers, cool breezes and the laughter of friends and family sharing a fantastic meal.

Spring

Cool and even, the wind blows
against green leaves and tall stems

Shadows form under the sun’s beam
moving slowly on graveled curbs

Stronger it grows creating miniature hurricanes
swirling brown dirt up to sting unsuspecting eyes

And tiny bugs tumble in somersault fashion
along the solid ground

While watermelon scents of fresh cut grass
twist ’round the nose as the breeze pushes by

D. Marie

Orange BBQ Chicken Wingettes

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken wingettes rinsed
1 large naval orange
1 cup Stubbs sweet heat BBQ sauce
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp Adobo seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place chicken in a large bowl and squeeze the juice of the naval orange over the chicken. Include some of the flesh of the orange with the chicken. Sprinkle the seasonings on the chicken and mix. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Spray a long, lipped cookie sheet with cooking spray. Spread the chicken on the cookie sheet and pour the juices from the bowl over the chicken. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until chicken is done and golden brown.

Remove the chicken from the oven. Coat the bottom of a large casserole dish with BBQ sauce. Add the chicken to the casserole dish and then pour the remaining BBQ sauce over the chicken. Cover and bake an additional 15 minutes on 325 degrees to heat the BBQ sauce.

Serves 4 to 6.

Spinach and Quinoa Cakes

May 6, 2014Pasta and Grains, VegetablesQuinoa, Spinachdmariebates

Quinoa. Pronounced keen-wah. What is that? The first time I heard about Quinoa was through my daughter who is a very health conscience individual. We were talking about different healthy foods and she mentioned how she likes Quinoa. Kiddo (nickname from her Dad) told me it was similar in some ways to Couscous which I love. The difference between the two (at least for me) is that Quinoa has a crunchier texture, nutty taste and is lighter than Couscous. To really enjoy Quinoa I have found it is best to add additional flavors during the cooking process or mix it with other foods. I usually cook Quinoa in chicken broth rather than plain water to give it an extra boost of flavor.

I came up with a Spinach and Carrot Quinoa Cake when I saw a frozen vegetarian patty that looked kind of gray and blah. To really be good, food should not only taste good but look good. Vibrant colors and presentation add to the pleasure of eating. The bright green, orange and yellow in the Spinach and Carrot Quinoa Cake will make you say “yummy” even before you take a bite.

As always, I use my family as guinea pigs when trying new dishes. To be honest, I was not sure this one would go over very well since my son does not like cooked carrots. Surprisingly, I got a thumbs up on the first try, carrots and all.

Spinach and Quinoa Cakes

Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups low sodium chicken broth
1 egg beaten
½ cup shredded carrots
1 bag baby leaf spinach
1 cup Quinoa
1tsp dried parsley
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare Quinoa according to package using 2 cups low sodium chicken broth.

In a medium sauce pan melt butter and olive oil. Add ¼ cup of low sodium chicken broth to the pan then add spinach and carrots. Cook spinach and carrots until spinach is wilted stirring occasionally. Gently squeeze veggies in a colander to drain. In a large bowl mix together veggies, Quinoa, egg and seasonings.

Spray lipped cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place a small cooking ring (I made my own out of foil and will tell you how later) on the cookie sheet and fill with the Quinoa mixture. Slowly remove ring and reshape if necessary. Repeat until all of the mixture is used. Bake for 15 minutes and serve.

Optional:
½ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
½ cup sliced sauteed mushrooms

Foil Ring:
Take a 3-4 inch piece of foil and roll it like a cigar. Curve the foil around until it forms a ring about 2 inches in diameter. If you want bigger cakes, make a bigger ring. You can cut off the excess or wrap it around the ring.

dmarie-dining

Healthy, Quick and Easy

Monthly Archives: May 2014

Orzo and Shrimp Salad

Sole to Soul

Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Smothered Pork Chops

Teriyaki Salmon

BIG SALAD

Orange BBQ Chicken Wingettes

Spinach and Quinoa Cakes

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