Feta and Lemon Dip with Pita Chips
This dip is easy to put together and goes really well with pita chips or fresh vegetables. You can also use goat cheese. If you usually have either one of these cheeses on hand, this is a quick appetizer for unexpected guests to whip up and serve. Click here for the recipe….
Asian Honey Sesame Chicken
This recipe rivals a chicken dish from a good Chinese restaurant with a delicious Asian glaze made with honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and is topped with toasted sesame seeds. You cut chicken breasts or pork tenderloin into 1-inch pieces and dredge it in egg and then dip it in cornstarch before you fry it. I seldom fry, but this dish is worth the splurge. You make the glaze and bring it to a boil in the wok and cook for 3 minutes and then add the partially cooked chicken pieces and cook it another 5 minutes or until you have a nice glaze. Click here for the recipe….
Banana Bread with Streusel Topping
I got this recipe from Miette’s pastry shop in San Francisco, one of my favorite bakeries. It has a wonderful streusel topping made with pecans, brown sugar, flour, and butter that really make the banana bread decadent and special. The banana bread is vegetable oil based and is nice and moist. I like to add a touch of ground cloves and nutmeg to my batter along with the cinnamon. I love the crunchy sweet, crunchy streusel topping. If the bananas are getting too ripe to eat, I just put them in a ziplock back in the freezer and when I have enough, I make banana bread. Just thaw them out, peel them and lightly mash before adding them to the banana bread. Click here for the recipe….
Sloppy Joes
When my niece and nephew were younger, I really wanted to cook with them and show them how to make their favorite meals. My nephew said he really liked sloppy joes, so we started with that. I had good memories of my elementary school sloppy joes and that was probably the last time I had them so I went looking online for recipes. I found one that had red peppers, celery and onions and we made it. I liked the fact that it had the added fiber of celery which probably wasn’t going to make a big taste statement, and I love red peppers. The mixture is made sweet and sour with the addition of molasses, cider vinegar, and my addition of balsamic vinegar and just play around with them until you get the right balance you want. Click here for the recipe….
Caramelized Onion Dip
I love caramelized onions in anything, but this dip is extra special when you take the time to make caramelized onions and mix it with softened cream cheese and sour cream. I added a little balsamic vinegar and fresh thyme and that’s about it. It would also be delicious with the addition of some crispy bacon or pancetta bits. Click here for the recipe….
Sautéed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Oregano
These green beans are a great side for roast chicken or pork chops and are packed with flavor. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes on hand, just use a can of diced tomatoes. It’s also a great side dish to make if you have cherry tomatoes that are not at their prime. Just roughly chop them. You can also use fresh or dried thyme, tarragon, rosemary or basil. Click here for the recipe….
Cinnamon Sugar Puff Muffins
These muffins start out very ordinary and are quickly elevated to deliciousness after a dunk in melted butter and a roll in cinnamon sugar. I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman and added vanilla to the batter because vanilla always makes everything better! They are very moist because of the solid shortening in them and even keep a day or two, but it’s best to eat them right after you finish making them when they are warm and right out of the oven. Click here for the recipe….
I hope you all had a great Easter. We had a really nice relaxing afternoon with our family. My theme for the table was inspired by a woodland spring and I used the wood stumps and wood chargers I had made last year for the foundation of the table. I found some ferns in the yard that I used for texture and color, and bought some moss and little bird nests that I scattered along the table. I put some pansies in little glass dishes, and used daffodils to add a pop of bright color. I used the glass domes to create some height and tucked little flowers I bought from the craft store for additional bits of color scattered throughout the table. I printed some antique Easter cards and put them at each place setting and laid a daffodil over the plate for more color. My favorite part of the table were the bird nests which I hope really signified spring ~ one of my favorite times of the year. Happy spring!
Quick Korean Beef
This dinner takes 20 minutes and that’s because you have to wait for the rice to cook. It is so quick and really tastes great for a dinner you want to get on the table without a lot of fuss with a wonderful Asian flavor. You make a quick sauce with brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic. Quickly sauté the beef and when it is almost cooked, drizzle the sauce, stir quickly and cook for a few minutes and pour over the rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve some kimchi on the side. It’s that easy! If you like things spicy, put some gochujang paste which is used like ketchup as a condiment in Korea over the dish. It is made from fermented red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt and fermented for months in large earthenware pots that are kept outside. Click here for the recipe….
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs?!!! I like to make a big batch and freeze some for a day where I don’t feel like cooking but want a great homemade dinner. The meatballs are really moist and tender because I mix fresh bread crumbs with milk before adding it to the ground beef. I use all ground beef, but you can change the ratio around and use 20% ground pork with the beef if you want. I used to sauté the meatballs in a skillet and add them to the tomato sauce, but now I just put them on several baking sheets and bake them. It is so much faster and less work, and I don’t think any flavor is sacrificed. I make the meat mixture in my large Kitchenaid mixer and allow it to sit and develop flavor while I am starting the tomato sauce. I keep the tomato sauce very simple and use canned crushed tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano and fresh basil. If I don’t have fresh basil, I use the frozen basil cubes I get at Trader Joe’s and put them in right before I put the meatballs in. I made some Cheesey Garlic Herb Bread to go with the spaghetti. Click here for the recipe….
