On the Menu Monday!

I realized I haven't eaten a home-cooked meal in over a week! No wonder I'm exhausted and feeling run down. Living on hospital cafeteria and restaurant food is not the best option, but sometimes we just have no choice. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE to eat out! Just not everyday for over a week.

Since I am back home and finally have some down-time, I decided to purge a bunch of magazines (pulling out what I liked and recycling the rest). I found some great tips and inspiration, along with some yummy-sounding recipes I'm excited to try out.

Here's some of what I found:

~ Added to my Book Wish List: Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan. It is a story of her love of pastries and Paris complete with whimsical drawings and yummy recipes I can't wait to try. She also has a blog....check it out.

~ Precious/Sorrento Cheese is offering a FREE 46-page downloadable pasta cookbook.

~ Rachael Ray Magazine and On-Cor announced a contest to win a NYC Rachael Ray Show Getaway Package! Enter here.....Good luck!

~ Have you noticed how mini-desserts are all the rave now? These shot glasses of decadence somehow make us feel less guilty because of their tiny size. As if calories only count on full size servings. Or maybe it's so we can have a sampling of more than one flavor? I'm not sure, but I agree....I love them! Move over Cheesecake Factory and PF Changs, I may just serve up my own mini- dessert bar at my next gathering!

Pier 1 Imports offers up a wonderful guide to hosting Tasting parties.  their website is packed with great ideas and recipes. Here is one that I am anxious to test out:

Serve in 12 mini shot glasses.

3 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp sugar

8-oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

4 oz baking chocolate or chocolate chips

8-oz whipped topping

chocolate shavings or wafers for garnish

• Melt butter in microwave bowl, add cracker crumbs and sugar, mix thoroughly. Place about a teaspoon of mixture in the bottom of each glass. Press down.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese and vanilla until fluffy.
• In smaller microwavable mixing bowl, melt together milk and chocolate until melted and creamy. Add to cream cheese mixture, mix thoroughly. gently fold in whipped topping.
• Fill each glass to the top with chocolate mousse. Garnish with a dollop of whipped topping and chocolate shavings or wafers.

Enjoy the "little" things in life!

-dw.

Takin' a bit of southern goodness home with me...

I LOVE Cracker Barrel restaurants! The problem is the "closest" one to me is in Boise, Idaho (which isn't at all close to where I live or travel to). Soooo, I decided to do a little digging and see if I could re-create some Cracker Barrel goodness after I return home from my southern vacation.

Jackpot! I found some copycat recipes at Recipe Lion!

While waiting in the gift store last weekend I spotted jars of their Fried Apples. They looked delish!!! I wanted to try them out at dessert time....but after eating dinner, I just didn't have room. I'm planning to indulge tomorrow night when I make my last (sniffle, sniffle) visit before heading back home.

They sell them online too, so if when I become addicted I can always have them delivered. Although shipping takes time...I may need to cook my own! If you want to start enjoying these asap as well, here is the copycat recipe compliments of Recipe Lion! Yea!

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Fried Apples
Cooking Time: 20 min

Ingredients

6 large tart green Granny Smith apples
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup bacon drippings
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, melt bacon drippings.
*Bacon drippings adds a crisp flavor to this copycat fried apple recipe.
2. Pour apples evenly into the skillet. Sprinkle with lemon juice, brown sugar and salt.
3. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, until apples are tender and juicy.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

enjoy re-creating what you love in your own kitchen!
-dw.

Firecracker Seafood Marinade

We tried another new recipe from my collection....this time a marinade for salmon fillets.

I prefer my salmon simply barbequed with lemon, onion, garlic and mayo, but this was a nice variance from the everyday usual. While the recipe says to marinate for 4 hours (which I did for the salmon) I decided to add a pop of flavor to my jumbo prawns as well by giving them a "quick" coating before I sauteed them and they were delicious too.

Firecracker Salmon Marinade:

4 ounces salmon fillets
1/2 cup peanut oil
4 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp sesame seed oil

1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp green onions (substituted 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes)
2 cloves garlic, minced (substituted 2 tsp fresh chopped garlic)
2 tsp crushed red pepper (we used 3 tsp - we like extra heat)

Add all ingredients together in flat baking dish, add fish, and marinate for at least 4 hours.

Our score: 8

enjoying new approaches to family favorites.
-dw.

Ready, Set.....Let's Try Out Those Recipes!

I confess......I have been a collector of recipes since I was in my late teens; and while I've always collected them, I haven't always cooked them! It's not that I haven't meant to, it's just another example of how time gets away from us. Like most women, I got busy with work and family and tended to just fall back on the quick, in-my-head favorites that I knew everyone (already) loved. Well now, with my children grown and gone and life slowing down for me a great deal, I've decided to break out the recipe files and start experimenting! It is my hope to try at least one new recipe each week (give or take). I'll promptly dispose of the recipes we do not enjoy, and share with you those we do!

Week One was a recipe I pulled from Taste of Home magazine and couldn't wait to try out! I love breakfast casseroles and was excited to try one with a different spin - a crust made up of hash browns! Mmmm....it was every bit as tasty as it looked! My rating: 9

Hash Brown Sausage Bake

Prep: 30 min. Bake: 40 min.



Ingredients:


1 package (20 ounces) refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1 pound bulk pork sausage (we used Jimmy Dean)
1/3 cup chopped onion (we omitted)
1 cup (8 ounces) 4% cottage cheese (we used 2% instead)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 slices process American cheese, chopped (we used grated Colby Jack cheese instead)


Directions:


In a large bowl, combine the (melted) butter, bouillon and hash browns. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 10-in. pie plate. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.


Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the sausage mixture, cottage cheese, eggs and cheese.


Pour into crust. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6-8 servings.


Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 338 calories, 23 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 134 mg cholesterol, 704 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 13 g protein.

Okay, so it isn't the best thing for my diet, but it was sooooooo delicious! We can't wait to make it again!

One last confession......All the culinary credit goes to Bryan, as he prepared the entire meal! I only conferred on the recipe substitutions and did the shopping! What a deal, right?!

enjoy trying new things,
-dw.