A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Artisan Egg Bread Topped with Freshly Roasted Garlic on Steakhouse Night at Home

Juicy Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon, baked sweet potato, a nice deeply rich cabernet, and hot out of the oven home-made bread smeared with soft butter and heaped with sweet roasted garlic, all served on nice linens with pretty stemware--night out at a restaurant? Nope, night in at home. 

 For great recipes and the full explanation behind the method, I highly recommend this book and its sequel Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (whole grained recipes). I was given these books as gifts (Thanks, Ann!) and they've quickly become two of my favorites. For years, I kept angel biscuit dough in the fridge so we could have fresh bread with dinner every night and/or kept frozen dinner roll dough in the freezer for the same reason. One of the things I like most about this book and its concepts are being able to make a week's worth of dough at one time and just pull off as much as I want to bake at one time, whether it's a small loaf or several dinner rolls. 

There is something so homey, cozy, and comforting about the smell and taste of warm fresh home-made bread that nourishes like nothing else. The ultimate topping? To me, that's a  little olive oil or butter, and either bitingly fresh minced garlic or its smooth and suave cousin, the sweet and mellow roasted garlic.  Directions for roasting garlic follow the bread recipe--such and easy thing to do while waiting for bread dough to rise! The reward is VERY worth it, and a plus side is the leftover garlic freezes beautifully to be used as needed in other recipes.

Better Than Mom's (Sorry Mom!) Lasagna

 

 

Sorry, Mom, even though you were a fabulous cook, I think in this one instance I beat you at your own game. 

I love lasagna but with only two of us it's something I only get to make when we're having company.  You just can't make a small lasagna!

So for New Year's Eve, that's what I did, although I stepped up a few of the ingredients my Mom used to use, switching out ricotta and cream cheese for the cottage cheese, and using a 50/50 mix of ground beef and country sausage for my Slow Cooker Meat Sauce. 

We were all pretty pleased, patting myself on the back. The result was rich without being overwhelming and not too wet, not to dry, perfect texture. Will be making these changes always from now on.

 

Give Peas a Chance: Split Pea & Sausage Soup

 

Brain:  "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

Pinky:  "I think so, Brain, but if we give peas a chance, won't the carrots get jealous?"

 

I've always thought that split pea soup couldn't be split pea soup without chunks of ham in it until the other day when I had no ham in the freezer but did have a roll of light country (sage) sausage.  I may never use ham again!  The sausage and all of its seasonings added a depth of well-roundedness to the soup that the ham just doesn't quite make.  Viva la sausage!

 

Mediterranean Pork Soup

 

I had these leftovers from the Med Pork and Orzo Pilaf:  2 cups Orzo plus about 4 oz of the pork loin left. What to do? 

 

Simple.  I diced up the pork, and added it, along with the orzo pilaf, into 2 qt saucepan  along with a 15.50 oz can of chicken stock, 1/4 cup half & half, and simmered for 20 minutes blend flavors. Then I tasted and added a bit more salt and pepper--an easy soup for two from leftovers.  I left half home for Gene's dinner and took the other half to work for my dinner.

(Just FYI, the soup was much soupier than the first photo shows.  In that I used a slotted spoon to drain off most of the broth so you could actually see what was in it. Then I garnished with a little shredded colby/jack cheese.) 

Mediterranean Pork Loin Stuffed with Sweet Peppers and Feta

 

I was craving something hearty and good for us, something with lots of flavor but simple and full of vegetables when I went to the freezer and what did I spy but a pork loin...and a bag of Mediterranean mixed veggies....and in the pantry was a jar of sweet pepper bruschetta topping...and orzo...and on the counter was a small ciabatta loaf....put it all together and what do you get? Exactly what I was hungry for!

 

Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

 

Nothing says summer like tomatoes off the vine...and I couldn't wait so I actually pay way too much for vine-ripened tomatoes at the grocery but they were worth it!

Good & Good For You: Blood Orange & Lavender Olive Oil Muffins

 

My sweet tooth has been acting up a bit lately. No matter how much I try to feed it broccoli, it screams for sugar. I hate it when it gets cranky, but I will persevere. I'm a firm believer that I can eat healthy AND still satisfy my sugar cravings. My sweet tooth demanded orange: Orange martinis?  Orange jelly candies?  Orange Cake?  What we compromised on, my sweet tooth and I, was a batch of these delicious and good-for-you blood orange and lavender olive oil muffins.  Sweet, but not too sweet, and a treat without being empty calories.  With the addition of the whole wheat pastry flour, these muffins are a little heavier, a little more toothsome than so-called muffins that are really fluffly cupcakes masquerading as breakfast food.  More than breakfast, these are a fruity, flower-scented snack, that also contain a serving of good daily fat, for tea time or any time of the day I need a pretty little pick-me-up. 

This post supported by Healthy muffin recipes

Fresh Mussels and Shrimp over Pasta

 

 

At every Italian restaurant Auntie Miranda and I have been to together that has had mussels on the menu, we've always shared an order. They are always served as an appetizer in a large bowl with the mussel broth nicely seasoned, with crusty baguette slices on the side.  Every single time we always say to each other "Instead of (fill in the blank) why didn't we just order a plate of these for each of us and ask them to put a side of plain angel hair in that wonderful broth?"  I don't know why we never remembered either but I finally recreated the dish at home--so easy and so yummy!--when my grocery store had steamer-ready mussels on sale.  I thought "This is the night I make that dish!"  It was a good as I had hoped.

Better-than-Sonic Homemade Diet Cherry Limeade

 

Tall, juicy, refreshing, AND GOOD FOR YOU?  You bet!  Each tall water glass, about 12 oz, has only 45 calories and counts as a fruit serving... Yum!  I don't mind drinking water during the day but the evenings are when I miss soda the most and this is a great substitution. I love diet cherry limeades so it doesn't feel like a sub at all and I like knowing that I'm NOT drinking empty calories but something that tastes like dessert while giving me needed vitamins and antioxidants.

Home-Made "Hostess" Cupcakes--Worth Every Minute!

 

Being in charge of our monthly work (night shift) birthday parties, I have way too much fun making up the food themes and cooking. This month was no exception.  The theme I foisted upon my fellow coworkers for February was "White Trash/Trailer Park" where we feasted on Pigs-in-a-Blanket, Sloppy Joes, Cheese-in-a-Can, and junk food like these mock-Hostess-cupcakes. Okay, junk food that's good for you.  Okay, junk food that's not chemical-laden and bad for you.  Yeah, I can live with that definition for these.

Well worth every minute it takes to make them from scratch, they're also simple to decorate even for a novice decorator armed with a pastry bag and two basic tips.  They're even more fun to eat. Of course!

There are three parts:  The Cupcake, The Filling, and The Chocolate Frosting