Tag Archives: blogger

Kicked Up Mussels

Main Course, Seafood/ Fish, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

The other day I was watching an old episode of the Barefoot Contessa about a seafood salad she was making for a friend and it included mussels. That got me to thinking about an old mussel recipe I had but never really tweaked. Since I needed a new post idea I decided I would work on creating a Kicked Up Mussels recipe.

Both my hubby and I love seafood and besides eating a lot of chicken we eat a lot of fish. Once in a while I will throw together a shrimp or scallop meal if I have the ingredients. That is one of the issues I have in creating new meals during the week. It is too easy to keep using over and over again the same ol’ staples I keep in the pantry. Preparing a special meal takes planning and sometimes calls for an extra trip to the grocery store. Because I work full-time I don’t always have a lot of time to be creative with dinner. However, I have been known to have a burst of creativity now and again if I have not had a tough day at work. The weekends are really the best time for me to test out recipes and take my time to fashion a new recipe or try an old recipe with a new twist.

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Okay, back to the Kicked Up Mussels. I had to search a couple of my old recipe journals to find my mussel recipe and was happy to discover it was a pretty simple one. My original recipe called for beer instead of white wine like most other recipes. I could not remember if this was a good idea or bad idea. But hey, I use beer in a few of my recipes and I have not heard any complaints yet so I guessed it was a good idea. Since I was using beer instead of wine I had to find a nice light beer with a hint of citrus flavors rather than a dark beer which I thought would be heavy. I am not a beer drinker so my apologies to true beer drinkers if I don’t know what I am talking about. I did a little research by perusing the beer isle at a local liquor store with a large variety of beers. I landed on Namaste White which is by Dogfish Head Brewery located in Delaware.

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As a non-beer drinker I must say I enjoyed taking a swig of Namaste White after adding most of it to the mussels. The combination of orange, lemongrass and coriander in the beer along with the brininess of the mussels and aromatic herbs was genius. All right. I may not be a genius but the combination of flavors was genius. I will even go as far as to say my recipe would be welcomed in any 4 star restaurant. The proof is in the pudding. You be the judge and try it out.

Kicked Up Mussels

Ingredients:

2 dozen mussels cleaned

3 plum or tomatoes diced

3 cloves garlic chopped

2 shallots diced

1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced

1 Namaste White beer

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp parsley

½ tsp thyme

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

Clean mussels by running them under cold water and gently scrub them if necessary to remove dirt from the shells.  Use a knife to remove the fuzzy beard if present. Arrange mussels in a large skillet. Set aside while sauteing tomatoes.

Place olive oil in a medium sized non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic shallots, jalapeno pepper and tomatoes. Season with salt, black pepper and thyme. Stir then saute for 2 minutes. Move mussels to heat and pour tomato mixture and beer over mussels. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and shake to mix tomatoes and mussels. Cover and cook for 3 minutes until mussels pop open. Discard any mussels that do not open. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. Serve with crusty bread to sop up the delicious sauce.

Tip: Cultivated mussels vs. wild mussels. 

If you purchase wild mussels, they may be a little gritty which means your mussels will be crunchy.  To make sure you remove any sand from the mussels dissolve about 1/4 cups of salt and 2 cups of warm in a large pot along with 2 tbsp of flour or cornmeal.  Add the mussels then cover with water.    Soak for 1 – 2 hours.  Drain then rinse the mussels with cold water.  Most mussels you find in the grocery store are cultivated and do not contain a lot of sand or grit so there may not be a need to soak the mussels.  Just clean the shells. To be on the safe side I would soak the mussels as I described.

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Crostini Delights

Appetizers, Meat/ Poultry, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

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Not too long ago I was watching an episode of the Sandwich King on the Food Network channel and he gave me an idea for a recipe. Granted, his version of a steak crostini was much more high end than mine but I would put my Crostini Delights up against his any day. No Jeff Mauro, that is not a challenge.

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My family is not big on eating beef so making a light dish with a little beef was right up my alley. Crostini Delights can easily be adapted to whatever you like on slices of french bread. Before I made my Crostini Delights for my hubby he only raved about having bruschetta which I layered on thin slices of french bread. Now, he raves about the “Delights”.

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On the Sandwich King, the host flashed fried thin slices of filet mignon and built layers of meat, pesto, rosemary, gorgonzola cheese and sliced cherry tomatoes. Like I said, his version is high end. My version uses deli slices of London broil instead of filet mignon which still has great flavor and is very tender. To make the crostinis my own I paired different ingredients to create a melt in your mouth treat. Put this recipe on the list for your next dinner party as an appetizer and I am sure your guests will be raving about the great taste of the Crostini Delights.

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Crostini Delights

 Ingredients:

1 thin crusty french bread loaf

½ lb deli sliced London broil

¼ lb sliced provolone cheese

2 Roma tomatoes sliced then cut in half

½ cup gorgonzola cheese

¼ cup BBQ sauce

basil leaves

olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice entire french bread loaf at an angle to create bite sized pieces of sliced. Drizzle olive oil over each slice of bread. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes until bread is lightly browned. Remove from oven.

While bread is baking, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Pour BBQ sauce around the bottom of the pan then add the slices of London broil. Quickly toss the meat in the warm pan until well coated with sauce. Turn off heat.

Once the bread is lightly browned layer each slice with gorgonzola cheese, London broil, a basil leaf, two pieces of tomato then top with a little provolone cheese. Place back in the oven for a few minutes until the provolone cheese melts. Serve immediately.

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Skillet Pecan Pie

Desserts, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

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It’s time to try out a new dessert on my hubby since my youngest is in college. Hubby has let it be known that he enjoys Pecan Pie. That was news to me because he usually raves about my mom’s apple pie and sometimes carrot cake. I learned through some prodding that hubby was first introduced to pecan pie at a restaurant he worked at as a teenager. It was a buffet style restaurant and pies that were not sold were often given to the employees to take home. Sweet Deal! Pun intended.

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Personally, I was never a big fan of pecan pie until now. I usually go for fruity pies like cherry, blueberry or my mom’s sweet potato pie. The one time I tried pecan pie as a kid I thought it was way too sweet. I blamed it on the pie but maybe it was just what the baker liked. Skillet Pecan Pie is not too sweet. Granted it is sweet but your lips will not pucker and your eyes won’t twitch from taking a bite of the pie.

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My Skillet Pecan Pie is similar to how I made my Skillet Apple Pie. The filling is of course different along with part of the process. After baking the pie, I leave it in the oven for an hour to help it set. I would never have known that part of the process if I had not read several pecan pie recipes to figure out exactly how to pull it all together.

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I was pretty pleased with the end result after a few tweaks here and there. Like any other recipe I share it is up to the chef to prepare the dish based on his or her likes and dislikes. I was just glad hubby gave me a thumbs up. Once he settled down with a slice of pie, his cup of Starbucks coffee and a big smile on his face I knew my Skillet Pecan Pie was blog worthy.

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Skillet Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust

4 eggs

1 ½ cups chopped pecan halves

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup melted butter

¼ cup pecan halves

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk eggs until foamy then whisk in brown sugar, butter, flour, milk and vanilla until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans and set aside.

Spray a medium sized cast iron skillet with cooking spray.  Mold pie crust into skillet leaving a little over hang. Sprinkle crust with powdered sugar. Pour filling into pie crust. Top with pecan halves then gently fold the extra crust towards the center of the pie. Place on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes then reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake 30 minutes more. Crust will be golden brown. Turn oven off and leave the pie in the oven for 1 hour. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

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Pepper Steak

Main Course, Meat/ Poultry, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , , , ,

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Today was a non-chicken day since we had just enjoyed a chicken pasta dish and I planned on making chicken again in a couple of days. Only certain folks can eat chicken almost every day but I am not one of them. I do like chicken just not every day. There are times when I think I might grow feathers if I eat one more chicken dish.

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Because it was a non-chicken day and I had run out of ideas I decided to flip through a food magazine to get help with what I could prepare for dinner. Half-way through the magazine I saw a beautiful picture of a Pepper Steak meal and Bingo I knew what we were having for dinner. I had a few red and green peppers that were getting soft and I always have onions on hand. I checked the freezer and I had a package of thinly sliced sirloin petite steaks. One pepper steak dinner coming up!

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Granted, I had not made Pepper Steak in many, many years. I couldn’t even find my original recipe so I had to look up a couple of recipes online. I more or less combined a few of the recipes I found and then added my own twist.

A few tips on how to make a good Pepper Steak.

  1. Be sure to buy thinly sliced steak. Trust me. If you use a thicker slice of steak, the meat will be tough and chewy.

  2. Marinate the steak to make the meat flavorful and tender.

  3. Use ginger in the marinade. The flavor is bold and pairs well with the beef.

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Pepper Steak may become one of my new favorite dishes besides pork chops. I surprised myself with how good this dish was on the first try. I think the next time I prepare the recipe I will add snow peas or pea pods to jazz it up even more. Then again, why mess with a good thing.

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Pepper Steak

Ingredients:

1pkg sirloin petite steak sliced thin. Cut into strips.

4 plum tomatoes cut into chunks

1 red onion cut into chunks

1 lg green pepper cut into chunks

1 lg red pepper cut into chunks

¼ cup beef or chicken stock

Marinade:

¼ cup soy sauce

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

½ tbsp Adobo (optional)

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

Mix marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Place steak in marinade and stir to coat meat. Set aside and let stand for 10 – 15 minutes. Reserve any marinade not absorbed by the meat.

Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Brown meat in batches. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Once all of the meat is browned, pour off all but 1 tbsp of oil (if necessary, add a little oil). Add onions and peppers to the wok along with seasonings. Stir then cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, steak, beef stock and any remaining marinade. Stir to mix. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 5 – 10minutes stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

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White Bean Chicken Soup

Appetizers, Main Course, Meat/ Poultry, Soups/ Salads / Stews, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , , , , ,

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OMGoodness! It is COLD today so what better time to make a big pot of soup. That is exactly what I said to myself on the way to Trader Joe’s to pick up a few items for dinner. I might not have felt so chilled if I had cranked up the heat in the car but that still would not have warmed me on the inside. To make that happen I needed a nice bowl of homemade soup.

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My choice was either chicken noodle soup or a White Bean Chicken soup. I planned to have spaghetti the next day for dinner so chicken noodle soup was out and White Bean Chicken soup was in. Keep in mind I did not have a recipe for White Bean Chicken soup but not having an actual recipe has never stopped me from cooking. So, while strolling the aisles of Trader Joe’s I made up the recipe that would become “the soup”.

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Most soups are pretty easy to make. They are a one pot dish that only needs a little tender love and care and lots of seasoning. Because it was freezing outside I was in the mood for a healthy, hearty soup. I figured the white beans and chicken would make it hearty plus filling with lots of protein while the mirepoix and cabbage would make it healthy. Did I just hear someone say what the heck is mirepoix? Yes, I did. It was my hubby. He asked me this question while I was writing down the recipe when I got home. I was talking out loud to myself trying to remember how to spell mirepoix and hubby asked “What the heck is that?” When I told him it was diced carrots, onions and celery he said “Why don’t you just say that?” My response was I wanted to sound fancy like the chefs on TV. I know. It is always better to keep it simple.

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Simply put, White Bean Chicken Soup is comfort food. Whether it is freezing cold outside or you want a flavorful homemade meal in a bowl, this soup will do the trick.

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White Bean Chicken Soup

 Ingredients:

3 cans cannellini beans rinsed

1pkg sliced pepper chicken

1 container mirepoix (diced onions, celery and carrots)

6 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 cups chopped cabbage

¼ cup heavy cream

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

½ tbsp Adobo

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp lemon pepper

Shred chicken and set aside. Mash ½ cup of white beans (this will help soup to thicken) and set aside with remaining beans.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add mirepoix and seasonings to the pot and stir. Allow the vegetables to sweat for 3 – 5 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and add white beans then stir. Reduce heat to medium. Mix a spoonful of broth into the measured heavy cream. Add the mixture to the pot. Stir and let simmer 3 minutes.

Place chicken in the pot and stir. Cook for 20 minutes then add chopped cabbage. Stir to mix in the cabbage. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes until cabbage is softened and cooked through. Serve with crackers or crusty bread.

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Kale and Sweet Potato Remix (Baby Girl’s Recipe)

Side Dish, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , , , , ,

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The holidays are over but I still have a story to tell about our last Thanksgiving celebration. My daughter-in-law came up with the idea of having the ladies make new dishes out of our holiday leftovers. Nat made a delicious pasta dish out of leftover steamed broccoli ( Nat’s Broccoli and Pasta Remix ) and my daughter made a tasty dish using leftover roasted sweet potatoes and fresh kale.

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Baby Girl’s Kale and Sweet Potato Remix was pretty impressive and quite simple to prepare. Leftovers are great. At least in my book. I think the seasonings blending together overnight make some dishes taste even better the next day. That was true for the sweet potatoes we used for the Kale and Sweet Potato Remix. Of course using all fresh ingredients is fine too. You don’t have to wait until you have leftovers to make this yummy dish. If you need a recipe for leftover kale or sweet potatoes this is a wonderful recipe to pull together.

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When Baby Girl thought of this recipe she decided to step it up a little by using two types of kale – red kale and curly green kale. I don’t remember ever seeing red kale in the grocery store or maybe I did see it but did not know it was kale. Anyway, the red kale was beautiful and had a sweeter and more delicate flavor than the curly green kale. The combination of the two types of kale created a nice balance between the slightly bitter and sweet flavors. Adding sweet potatoes only elevated the dish and made it blog worthy.

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Nice going kiddo! One more recipe to add to your repertoire and mine.

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Kale and Sweet Potato Remix

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic chopped

3 lg sweet potatoes peeled and cubed

1 bunch Redbor kale clean and remove stems

1 bunch curly green kale clean and remove stems

½ jalapeno pepper seeded and diced (leave a few seeds for spice)

¾ cup white cooking wine

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place cubed sweet potatoes on a greased cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with jalapeno peppers, salt and pepper then toss to coat with olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 35 – 45 minutes until sweet potatoes are slightly browned and fork tender. Remove from oven and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute to prevent garlic from burning. Pour in white cooking wine and stir for an additional 2 minutes.

Increase heat to medium high and add Redbor kale. Cook for 6 – 8 minutes until the kale is wilted. Add the remaining kale. Season with salt and black pepper then cook for 15 – 20 more minutes until tender. Stir occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and add sweet potatoes to the kale. Gently toss to mix kale and sweet potatoes. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

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Nat’s Broccoli and Pasta Remix

Pasta and Grains, Side Dish, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , ,

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During the holidays families often have to split time when their adult children are married. Our family is no different than any other family. Every year we share the kids with the in-laws. Last year my daughter-in-law came up with a great idea so that my hubby and I did not feel left out on Thanksgiving day since it was not our turn to host the family. Instead of having a big Thanksgiving celebration with all the kids and grand-kids, we had a big after Thanksgiving family leftovers celebration.

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All the ladies were charged with coming up with a dish using leftovers from Thanksgiving. Besides being able to spend time with my kids and mom I got a few new ideas to share on my blog. Nat created a tasty pasta dish from leftover steamed broccoli. This was a very simple dish but was packed with flavor from the garlic, white wine and parmesan cheese. I knew Nat’s Broccoli and Pasta Remix would be a good recipe for my blog when my youngest grandson jumped right in and gobbled up the pasta. Who could argue with a pasta connoisseur like little Ant?

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Thanks Nat for creating a new family tradition and a way to still share the holidays with our kids and grand-kids.

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Nat’s Broccoli and Pasta Remix

Ingredients:

1 box gemelli pasta

4 garlic cloves chopped

2 shallots diced

1 small onion diced

1 lemon

3 cups leftover steamed broccoli or 2 lg broccoli heads cut into florets

1 cup white wine

½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

4 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ tbsp salt

½ tbsp black pepper

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp thyme

Prepare pasta according to package then set aside in a large bowl. Reserve ½ cup pasta water.

Place 6 cups of water along with 1 tbsp of salt and bring to a boil. Blanch broccoli then drain. Place into a cold water bath to stop the broccoli from cooking. Reserve ½ cup of the broccoli water.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and cook 3 – 5 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add shallots and cook for 1 minute then add garlic. Cook until vegetables begin to brown stirring constantly so that garlic does not burn. Pour in white wine and cook for 1 minute. Add broccoli to the pan season with salt and black pepper. Stir to mix then remove from heat.

Pour broccoli mixture to the pasta along with broccoli and pasta water. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and gently toss together.

Optional: Red pepper flakes to add a little kick!

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Hot Pepper Relish

Appetizers, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , , , , , ,

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I have said in my blog posts on many occasions that my family loves spicy foods. Actually, that is an understatement at least for my hubby and kids. I like some spice but not as hot as they do.

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Every year I grow a variety of peppers and each year they seem to be more plentiful. This year was no different and as the farmers say “We had a bumper crop” of peppers. The sunlight on our porch is just right for my pots of peppers and cherry tomatoes. Whenever I try to grow veggies in the backyard, the veggies shrivel up and died no matter how much tender love and care I give them. I guess there are too many trees casting shade so not enough sunlight reaches the plants. This year I bought several types of hot peppers along with bell peppers for my hubby because he likes to cut them up on his eggs and uses them in salsa.

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Because we had so many peppers I had to come up with a new recipe since I did not want all of those peppers to go to waste. I already had enough pepper sauce courtesy of my mom but I did not have a something spicy to use as a topping for chicken, beef, vegetables and hubby’s eggs. The only thing I could come up with was a Hot Pepper Relish. At least that is what I call it. Hubby wanted me to call the recipe Ed’s Pepper Hots but that just did not roll off of my tongue. Relish is a better description and to make sure I was not totally off base I checked out the local grocery store to see if they had pepper relishes. They did.

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This recipe is not for the faint of heart. The peppers I used were so hot I could still smell the pepper juice on my fingers after washing them in really hot water several times. Yes, I would suggest wearing gloves when you cut up the peppers and no, I did not. Big mistake and I will not make it again. The next time I make Hot Pepper Relish I will add a few milder peppers to balance out the heat so that I can enjoy it too. For now, hubby is thoroughly enjoying the Hot Pepper Relish and is adding it to everything.

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Hot Pepper Relish

Ingredients:

8 – 12 fresh hot peppers seeded and diced small (hot cow horn, jalapeno, hot banana)

6 cherry tomatoes quartered

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red onion diced small

1 tsp cilantro

½ tsp dill weed

sprinkle of salt and pepper

juice from ½ a lime

Place all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Spoon into an airtight container. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to marinate. Serve with your favorite chips or use as a condiment with your favorite foods.

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Lentil Stew

Appetizers, Main Course, Soups/ Salads / Stews, Uncategorized, Vegetables, , , , , , , ,

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Don’t ask me why but I have had lentils on my mind for the past week. I think it was because I wanted to make some red lentil soup and discovered I didn’t have any lentils. Since I usually find them at Trader Joe’s I had to wait until my weekend ritual of running errands to be on that side of town. Once I got to the store and spotted the red lentils I also spotted green lentils which made me think of a Lentil Stew. Again, I don’t know why.

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Sometimes my imagination kicks in and I just come up with ideas for combinations of food. For the Lentil Stew I thought of carrots, potatoes and tomatoes as the right combination of vegetables to add to the lentils to make a stew. Yes, a stew not a soup. To me, stews are a little heartier than a soup even more than those soups that are thick and packed with vegetables. Stews have a slightly different consistency than soups and are surrounded by a kind of gravy. In the case of Lentil Stew it makes its own gravy.

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Lentil Stew is the type of dish I would make during the winter or on chilly fall days. Granted, the day I first made this stew it was not really chilly but there was a nice gentle breeze. Now that I have tested out the recipe, I know what I will be preparing it quite often when the gentle breezes turn into strong cold winds.

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Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

1 pkg green lentils (soak overnight in cold water then drain)

½ cup red lentils (optional)

½ cup shredded carrots (slightly chop)

2 cans roasted diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

2 small potatoes diced

2 scallions diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp minced garlic

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp basil

¼ tsp ground ginger

Add lentils and water to a large pot. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer while preparing vegetables.

In a large frying pan add olive oil and potatoes over medium high heat. Season potatoes with a little salt and pepper. Saute potatoes until slightly browned. Reduce heat to medium then add onions, carrots, tomatoes and remaining seasonings to the potatoes. Stir and allow veggies to soften. Add veggies and chicken broth to lentils and stir. Allow stew to simmer for 20 – 30 minutes until lentils are tender. Taste to determine if you need more salt. Add additional broth if stew is too thick.

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