Alfredo Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

We love meals stuffed inside other foods -- potatoes, squash, etc! Buffalo chicken spaghetti squash is a huge favorite in our house. So when I saw the recipe (and pictures!) for a 4 Cheese Roasted Garlic Alfredo Stuffed Spaghetti Squash on one of my favorite sites, Half Baked Harvest, I knew I had to try it! 

I am sharing the original recipe below, but I did make a few changes. 

I roasted the squash ahead of time to make sure it was cooked through, as she mentioned in her notes even though my squash were on the smaller side. I really l love the flavor of a nicely roasted squash. I used an Italian blend of cheese, as well as additional mozzarella and parmesan for this recipe. I also baked and chopped chicken thighs to add in to this to make it a little heartier. 

I used heavy cream (because I had it on hand from making chowder). I mixed the cream, cheeses and spices together, but held off on the spinach for the moment. 

I filled one squash half with this mixture for my non-spinach loving girl.

After filling that one, I added in the spinach for the remaining halves.

I baked according to the recipe. I had started the garlic when I began the squash so I was able to take it out earlier, let it cool and make the garlic butter ahead of time. I did pop the squash back in the oven under the broiler after putting the garlic butter on top. 

It was delicious and a perfect addition to your menu as this weather is turning chilly. 

4  Cheese Roasted Garlic Alfred Stuffed Spaghetti Squash from Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c whole milk or heavy cream

6 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

1 c shredded fontina cheese

1/2 c shredded mozzarella or creamy gouda

1 c shredded provolone

2 medium spaghetti squash, halved and seeds removed

1/4 c parmesan

1 head garlic

olive oil

2 Tbsp salted butter, at room temperature

Instructions:

Preheat over to 425.

In a medium bowl, mix together milk, spinach, sage, thyme, fontina, and mozzarella. Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Place the squash in a baking dish and season cut sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 of provolone cheese into the bottom of each squash, then evenly divide the milk/cheese mix among the squash cavities. Top with the remaining provolone and parmesan. Cover the squash with foil.

Slice off the top portion of the garlic head to expose some fo the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap it up.

Bake the squash and garlic for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from both and continue baking the squash and garlic another 15-20 minutes or until the squash is tender and the cheese is golden brown on top.

Let the garlic cool, then squeeze the cloves out into a bowl. Add the butter and 1 Tbsp sage. Mash the cloves into the butter with a fork. Spread the butter over the squash, then use a fork to scrape the squash into strands, mixing the cheese with the squash. Enjoy!

Notes

Roasting the Squash: If your squash is on the larger side, pre-roast it for 20-30 minutes before adding the cheese mixture.

White Chicken Chili

I was going away for a weekend ski trip and was bringing dinner. Regina shared this chili recipe. It was a huge hit. I made it again on Friday a cold, snow day for us and Molly also loved it. I love that it is quick. The only change I made was I like the cilantro lime pesto from this recipe. When ever I have cilantro that is starting to go bad I make this. I added 1 cup of this to the chili with the corn.  Thanks for the recipe. 

Sweet potato Waffles

Molly like Erin loves a big hearty breakfast. Over the years we have found that waffles work well. Make a mix for the week, then in the am heat the waffle iron, pour batter in and wait for a hot crispy waffle.  We have done regular and usually every fall we have a spell of pumpkin waffles but this year we found a sweet potato one that is a winner. The recipe also says that you can make ahead and reheat in the toaster. 

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1 cup all purpose flour 

2 TBSP sugar 

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 - 1 1/3 c milk 

1 cup mashed orange sweet potatoes

4 TBSPS butter, melted 

1) In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

2) In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, sweet potato and butter. 

3) Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mis until just combined. 

4) To make waffles:  Heat a waffle iron and brush with high-heat oil. Ladle the batter into waffle iron, being careful not to overfill. Cook until golden brown. 

5) To make pancakes- add a little extra mils to thin the batter. Heat a large cast iron pan or griddle over medium - low heat. Add a small amount of high-heat oil just to coat. Spoon batter into the pan. cook until bubbles begin to form in the center of the pancakes. Flip the pancakes and cook until brown.  While trying to find a waffle Maeve might enjoy, I found a peanut butter one that was also very good. 

Ice Cream Social

Somehow this never posted. I wanted so save amounts. While planning an ice cream social graduation open house I found the site that lays out how much you need for an ice cream social for 200 or 250. We were not planning that many but this called for scooping to control portions and we were not. Katie also was able to provide me with the figure of 10 - 15 oz of ice cream per person. So I'm sharing our plan and what we had left over. 

I was able to get Kemp's ice cream in gallon tubs on sale for $4.99 and had the freezer space to store it so I got. 

2 gallons vanilla

2 gallons chocolate 

1 vanilla frozen yogurt

1 cookies and cream

1 chocolate chip

3 mint chocolate chip (1 ahead of time and then night before it was on sale for $3.99 the girls love mint ch chip I got 2 more) 

2 quarts sherbert 

4 quarts non dairy ice cream 2 vanilla 2 chocolate (one of each soy or coconut milk) 

Erin said it was all about the toppings. 

So I started buying in after easter sales and putting away 

2 big bags M& M, 

1 regular bag of peanut M&M

3 bags Hersey Kisses 

2 bags Recess Peanut butter cups

1 bag mini kit kats 

1 bag mini snickers 

1 bag coconut 

1 big container peanuts

2 pints ice cream sprinkles (one rainbow & one Chocolate ) bought from Grand Old Creamy 

Gummy Butterflies (5lbs) 

2 packages Oreos 

1 bag marshmellows

2 packages mint Oreos 

3 bunches Bananas 

10 cans Whipped Cream 

5 jars of cherries 

4 bottles of chocolate sauce (store bought) 

4 boxes of waffle bowls

3 boxes of waffle cones

2 boxes of sugar cones

1 large box of cake cones

1 box of sample cones

Homemade toppings 

1 quart strawberries topping (Grandma's recipe) 

1 quart hot fudge 

1 quart peanut butter topping

1 pint butterscotch topping 

1 pint nondairy hot fudge topping

We served homemade cookies Grandma made Peanut butter, Sophia Haley - snickerdoodle and chocolate. 

Ice tea, lemon aid and pop. I had hoped to have L shaped tables on the porch but it did not work so we has wash tubs of ice set up on the counter and rotated ice creams out (did I mention it was 90 degrees out) . Most toppings were on a round table. I had a big bin with ice for toppings to stay cool - whipping cream, store bought chocolate, strawberries and butterscotch toppings.  And then we had a separate table for all the peanut stuff. 

We had a lot of food left over. The only things to go completely were the chocolate chip ice cream and the 5lbs of gummy butterflies. Would do 1/2 the homemade toppings next time or less store bought. 

Baby, it's cold outside ...

 So much of my cooking inspiration comes from family. Yesterday, my sister posted to our Facebook group looking for her own inspiration:

Hey sisters. We are going to a trivia night fundraiser. Each couple is bring one savory & one sweet thing. I’m thinking somewhat hearty BC it will serve as dinner, and easily portable. There are 4 couples. Any suggestions?

The responses started rolling in:

Mini beef wellingtons in puff pastry or mini reubens en croute

Empanadas

Tomato-basil-parmesan soup shooters with grilled cheese & caramelized onion toppers

Pulled pork or Italian beef or buffalo chicken sliders. We all must be feeling the cold since most of our suggestions are for warm food!

So, I had to have tomato-basil-parmesan soup with a grilled cheese and caramelized onion sandwich for lunch.

Full disclosure: I’ve been craving a grilled cheese and caramelized onion sandwich for a couple of weeks now.

I had great When Pigs Fly Sourdough Bread in my freezer; you know, just in case of emergency. I had an assortment of cheeses in my deli drawer, from various cheese platters that didn’t get finished, but I just couldn’t bring myself to through out. And I had caramelized onions in the freezer; again, just in case of emergency. Whenever I make caramelized onions, I make a ton, then freeze them in small batches for just this type of emergency. Voila! The perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

This recipe for caramelized onions is adapted from the base of The New Basics Cookbook’s Onion Soup au Gratin recipe. Simplicity is key in this recipe.

Caramelized Onions

8 T butter
8 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Rosemary, thyme, or cayenne, optional

Melt butter. Add onions and garlic, and cook, covered, for about 5-10 minutes until onions are “sweated”. Once, onions are translucent and soft, add sugar, salt, pepper, and other flavorings, if using. Continue cooking until onions are light brown and sugar is melted and incorporated with onions and their juices.

Next up, the Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup. Again, this is an easy fix, perfect for unexpected visitor for lunch, even if that visitor is a craving.

Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup

1 can Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
1 can milk
1 t dried basil or 1 T basil pesto
¼ t freshly ground pepper
¼ c Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, then warm in saucepan over low flame. Do not boil or milk will scorch. Serve topped with a dollop of basil pesto and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Leftovers by any other name (part 4) ... Put an egg on it

hash trio with poached eggs

At Thanksgiving, my friend Kelly said she has a put an egg on it rule for her leftovers: If you can put an egg on it and make a meal out of it, it is a good leftover. And in this season, we really do need new ideas for leftovers!

Last night, in an effort to clean out the remainder of our Thanksgiving leftovers, but not eat the same meal again, I made three kinds of hash with poached eggs. Hash is basically cooked meat and/or vegetables cut into small pieces and cooked again, usually with potatoes. I love onions in my hash, some people also like bell peppers in their hash too. We had ham and sweet potato hash, potato duo hash, and garden vegetable hash. They were delicious, and it was a joy to eat a new meal.

Ham and sweet potato hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover sweet potatoes

Leftover ham

Seasonings

Potato duo hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover sweet potatoes

Leftover mashed potatoes

Seasonings

Garden vegetable hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover eggplant

Leftover zucchini

Leftover summer squash

Leftover beets

Seasonings

How to make your hash

Melt butter in a skillet. Add finely chopped onion and saute until soft. Add chopped meats and vegetables. Saute until hash starts to brown and crisp. Serve topped with an egg -- poached, fried, or soft-boiled work best.

What leftovers do you have in your refrigerator? Hash is versatile, make up your own!

Mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I have 3 versions of Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar recipes.  One is from here Katie added to a comment under a Choc PB bar Eileen posted.  One is in my hand writing, from Mom's house before I got married (1 1/2 sticks butter, 18 oz PB, 1 pack Graham crackers, 1 LB confectioners sugar)  and then I have a 3rd off of a Nestle's chocolate chip package.  As a non chocolate lover, I don't make them often however, whichever one I've used in the past (2 or 3 times) they came out very crumble.  The bars didn't hold together, I was quite disappointed with the results.  Therese has requested them and I'd love to bring them with us next Saturday for Parent's weekend.  Can someone who makes them regularly confirm the recipe? 

Baby, It’s cold outside

In recognition of our incredibly cold (30-40 below zero this week, eek!), I am re-posting this blog entry from Winter 2009. Enjoy! And stay warm!

Yesterday I had 2½ sick kids (the baby had it first, but was slowest to make a full recovery; her 2 older brothers were more violent about it, but also most eager to get out of the house & back to their lives). It had gone through the three of them so fast, that I was holding my breath for the rest of us not to get it. I needed something that could be ready for whomever was up for eating, whenever they were up for it.

I found this great Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe at allrecipes.com. When I ran to the store for more ginger ale, I also picked up a roasted chicken, I had all the other ingredients in the pantry. It was fabulous to smell it simmering in the crock pot all day, perfect for a hearty dinner on a cold night (the older brothers declined in favor of Lipton Noodle Soup, they weren’t that recovered; but loved the smell and are already begging me to make it for Super Bowl Sunday, which I might), and the leftovers were nice as a light lunch for a girlfriend and myself today. When we had the soup for lunch, I had no more of my homemade tortilla strips, so I just used chips. If we dropped in a few whole just before you ate the soup, they got just soggy-crunchy enough that they added great texture!

The diced green chiles are mild enough for even a delicate taste bud (or sensitive stomach), but if yours are uber-mild (or uber-sensitive), leave them out (and even substitute tomato sauce for the enchilada sauce if you must).

Chicken Tortilla Soup

8 servings

1 lb chicken, shredded, cooked

1 (15 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed by hand

1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (4 oz) can diced green chile peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth

1 t cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t salt

¼ t black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (15 oz) can black beans

1 (10 oz) package frozen corn

¼ c chopped cilantro, plus additional for garnish

7 corn tortillas + cooking spray to make tortilla strips for garnish (or tortilla chips)

sour cream, diced avocado for garnish

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray both sides of tortillas with cooking spray. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips (or chips) over soup. Serve with additional cilantro, sour cream, and avocado.

Smoky Maple-Mustard Salmon Recipe (Low Sodium)

Last night, I made this salmon dish with the mustard maple sauce from eating well.com, Smoky Maple-Mustard Salmon Recipe. It was simple and delicious. Everyone enjoyed it. We are carefully watching sodium in my house, so this coming in at 276 mg of sodium is great!

INGREDIENTS 

• 3 tablespoons whole-grain or Dijon mustard 
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup 
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika or ground chipotle pepper (see Notes) 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (*obviously could be omitted, but because it is so low even with this, I kept it in.)
• 4 4-ounce skinless center-cut wild-caught salmon fillets (see Notes) 

PREPARATION 

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
2. Combine mustard, maple syrup, paprika (or chipotle), pepper and salt in a small bowl. Place salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the mustard mixture evenly on the salmon. Roast until just cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes. (*I turned the broiler on for the last minute or two of cooking which gave the sauce a really beautiful look and tasted great!) 

• Notes: Smoked paprika is made from smoke-dried red peppers and adds earthy, smoky flavor. Look for different types of paprika at some large supermarkets or at tienda.com or penzeys.com. 
• 
  
• Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets or online at penzeys.com. 
• 
  
• Wild-caught salmon from the Pacific (preferably Alaskan) is considered the best choice for the environment because it is more sustainably fished and has a larger, more stable population. Farmed salmon, including Atlantic, should be avoided, as it endangers the wild salmon population. For more information, visit Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch at seafoodwatch.org. 
• 
  

• NUTRITION

  
  
  Per serving: 148 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 53 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 23 g protein; 0 g fiber; 276 mg sodium; 434 mg potassium.
  
  Nutrition Bonus: Omega-3s 
  
  Carbohydrate Servings: 0 
  
  Exchanges: 3 lean meat
  
  

I served it with brown rice and steamed asparagus with balsamic glaze. Both of those dishes had no sodium, so the total count  was the 276. 

Side Note: The brown rice without salt or butter or being cooked in broth (as I often do) was really bland and boring, so we'll play with that a little more. I did find a no salt added broth so perhaps we'll try that next time. If anyone has a great flavor, low-sodium rice recipe, please share. I do like cilantro, lime and garlic mixed into my rice, but that only goes with certain dishes. I guess I'll have to play with it. 

One of the biggest lessons we are learning is to check every label, because not only are we surprised by what ingredients have a lot of sodium, we have also been pleasantly surprised by the ones that are very low or even 0. Those are the things we will focus on having on hand to perk up things that seem a bit more boring. 

Overall, this one is a keeper!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Dig in to this delicious Butternut Squash Lasagna

I love cooking with the seasons. And fall is all about comfort food for me. I love the colors, taste and feel of the root vegetables that are so prevalent. We received a butternut squash from our CSA last week and I was determined to do something fun with it. 

I have had lasagna noodles in my pantry for ages that I hadn't used, so I decided to do a butternut squash lasagna. I looked up a few different recipes, but none of them seemed just right to me. Also, I had no ricotta in the house and I didn't want to go to the store. So, I chose 3 of my favorite recipes and combined them, and played with them, and voila, created a new favorite Butternut Squash Lasagna recipe. It was a huge hit! 

Side note, as my husband was eating leftovers of the lasagna for lunch, he said to me, "I could eat this everyday. Forever." Pretty high praise!

• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 Box lasagna noodles
• 1 cup marinara sauce (homemade or jarred)
• 1/4 c. roasted red pepper, pureed (homemade or jarred)
• 1 handful of basil leaves, chopped
• 6 sausage links
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 6 Tbsp Butter
• 1/4 c Flour
• 6 cups milk
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Step 1: Make Butternut Squash Puree

Cut Butternut Squash in half.

Brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake face down at 400 degrees for 1 hour. 

When done, let cool enough to be able to handle.

Scoop insides out, place in bowl and mash.

Set aside.

Step 2: Cook Lasagna Noodles

Boil one box of lasagna noodles according to directions.

I really find spreading out the cooked noodles on a baking sheet or parchment paper drizzled with olive oil makes a huge difference in the finished product.

Step 3: Make Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce

Blend marinara sauce with roasted red peppers.

Mix in chopped basil.

Set aside.

Step 4: Make Filling

In a hot pan over medium-high heat, sautee garlic and onion in olive oil. 

Remove sausage from casings and add to pan. 

Once cooked, remove to a bowl and mix with butternut squash. 

Set aside.

Step 5: Make Bechamel Sauce

Melt flour in a sauce pan over medium heat. 

Whisk flour into melted butter. Continue cooking over low heat, while whisking. You do not want to let the flour brown.

Slowly whisk in milk, raise heat to medium. 

Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking continuously until thickened (about 10 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat to low and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes. When complete, set aside.

Ready to Assemble (from left): Butternut Squash Sausage filling, cheeses, red sauce, bechamel, lasagna noodles.

Step 6: Put the Lasagna Together

In a 9x13 dish, place a thin layer of Bechamel Sauce.

Add about 5 lasagna noodles on top of sauce, slightly overlapping.

Top with 1/2 of the Butternut Squash Sausage filling.

Top with 1/4 c each cheese

Top with a thin layer of Bechamel Sauce

Add another layer of noodles, Butternut Squash Sausage filling, cheese, Bechamel Sauce.

Top with an additional layer of noodles, Bechamel Sauce, Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce and remaining cheese. 

In the midst of layering: Bechamel, noodles, Butternut Squash Sausage filling

Bake

Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Uncover for the last 5-10 minutes. Let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot.

It was a multi-stop process, as lasagna tends to be, but so worth it! You can easily prep this in stages and can make up to a day ahead to have it ready to pop in the oven for when you need a delicious, hearty meal. You can also bake it ahead and store in smaller serving containers to be available for dinners on the go. 

November 4th is National Candy Day

Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold.
— Judith Olney, author of The Joy of Chocolate

Raise your hands, who has a sugar hangover from Halloween? So, now that we’ve eaten all the candy we can in the last 3 days, what do we do with the rest? I’ve always subscribed to the “eat as much as you can the first couple of days, then get it out of site” theory. To get it out of sight, I usually put the hard candy in a baggie under the passenger seat, for something to pull out on long rides. For the chocolates, I freeze them and we pack them when we go skiing or to the beach or on hikes or picnics throughout the year.

Today is National Candy Day, so I thought I'd share some ideas:

A few years ago my friend, Jeanine, and her daughters gave me a brilliant idea! Bake with it!! Where you would ordinarily put chocolate chips or nuts or raisins, put crushed Halloween candy. The crushing is easiest if you freeze it first, then you only need a few whacks with a meat mallet or a rolling pin. You can put M&Ms or crushed Snickers in brownies or crushed Milky Way in oatmeal cookies. Or, try this version of chocolate chip cookies, just use your favorite Halloween candy in lieu of chips.

Halloween candy cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

2¼ c flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
¾ c sugar
¾ c brown sugar
1 c butter (2 sticks)
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
3 c crushed Halloween candy

Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in crushed candy. Drop by large, rounded tablespoon onto baking sheets. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Fall Dinners from the Slow Cooker

Every fall with back to school and the return of fall sports schedules I struggle with dinners. I do love to use my crockpot, both for the sake of convenience, and for the comfort food meals that we all love as the weather begins to change. 

I just saw this post for 15 Fall Dinners from the Slow Cooker from theKitchn.com and thought I'd share. 

It looked like some new ideas, as well as some new twists on old favorites. 

The recipes included in the post are:

1. Curried Vegetable and Chickpea Stew

2. Slow-Cooker Vegan Pumpkin Curry

3. Slow-Cookier Chicken Burrito Bowls

4. Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce

5. Slow-Cooked Brisket & Onions

6. Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili

7. Slow-Cooker Sausage & Spinach Lasagna

*the only time I tried lasagna in the slow cooker, I did not love it. Not sure I'll try it again.

8. Slow-Cooker Chicken in Milk

*Hmmm.... We'll have to look at this one a bit. Sounds a little bizarre to me.

9. Slow-Cooker Black Bean Enchiladas

10. Slow-Cooker Korean Short Ribs

11. Slow-Cooker Tuna Noodle Casserole

*I enjoy a tuna sandwich, but have never made a tuna casserole. Not sure I'm up for this one either. Plus, the picture has peas. (YUCK!) I'll probably pass on this one.

12. Slow-Cooker Pork Carnitas

*This picture looks so good to me! And I love, love, love pork carnitas!

13. Slow-Cooker Celery Soup with Bacon

14. Slow-Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

15. Slow-Cooker Coconut & Green Curry Pork

I'll be sure to let you know what I try and what we think. Please do the same if you try any!

Mom's Chocolate Decadence Party

My Daughter's School does a silent auction each year where the big deal is what we call Great Gatherings. So I hosted a Mom's Chocolate Decadence Party, Thanks Bridget for the name. It was a 4 course chocolate meal. It was a lot of fun to search for recipes, try them out and come up with the finial menu. Of course I was luckily enough to have Katie and Regina to consult. Katie also created the Beef Tenderloin En Croute with chocolate- port sauce, she used her beef en croute recipe and the chocolate - port sauce from allrecipe.com, the cheese and chocolate plate ideas came from canada but I used local cheeses. I had originally planned dipped bacon, but found snap guide with the chocolate bacon roses, they looked great but were hard to get the middle of the bacon cooked all the way.  The only recipe I really created was the Balsamic Chocolate Brussels Sprouts.A week before the party Molly asked for Aunt Katie's Balsamic Brussels Sprouts, while make them I thought of the party and decided to melt white chocolate with the butter and coat them.

Appeitzers

Cinnamon-Cocoa Almonds

Cheese and chocolate plate 

Chocolate  bacon roses

Chocolate Strawberry Hummus

Salad/pasta course

Pear salad with chocolate vinaigrette

Chocolate pasta with cream sauce

Main dish

Shrimp in white chocolate

Beef Tenderloin En Croute with chocolate- port sauce (see above) 

Cocoa -cinnamon roast sweet potatoes

Balsamic Chocolate Brussel Sprouts (see above) 

Drinks

Chocolate peanut butter martini

Wine

Irish cream

Deserts

Salted Chocolate Pots with caramel sauce  

Chocolate Fudge

Chocolate for dipping served w/fruit

Chocolate Peanut Butter Martini

This winter, my husband, my friend Katie and I tried out a little fun with our favorite combination - chocolate and peanut butter (really, we all really really love it! Yeah, who doesn't...).  The result was a silky, smooth, delicious chocolate peanut butter martini. To. Die. For. 

I posted a picture of the martini on Facebook and got so many likes, comments and requests for the recipe, I had to share it! 

Place in shaker with ice: 

1 part Godiva Chocolate Liquer

2 parts Reese's infused vodka

1 part (or less if you don't like too sweet) pb simple syrup

Shake, strain into martini glass. 

mini peanut butter cup garnish (I actually used the dark chocolate ones from Trader Joe's. So good!)

**For Reese's infused vodka -- melt 1/3 cup Reese's mini pb cups in a double boiler. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of vodka. Pour into glass jar, store in freezer. Shake before using. You want it chilled before you use it.

**Pb simple syrup -- dissolve 1 c sugar in 1 c water, add 3/4 c pb and melt together over low heat. Heat until syrup consistency. Can store in a squeeze bottle or mason jar. You can strain this if you have any pb chunks in it.

As Katie noted is often the case with martinis, 1 is not enough; 3 is too many. Luckily, she could walk home.;) Seriously, this is a decadent, delightful treat. Cheers.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! ENJOYING SEASONAL COOKING

Yeah grilling weather!

After a long, cold winter, we are really embracing the beautiful, warm weather. Like so many, we are anxious to get outside and soak up the sun. Any excuse to be outside will do - whether is is sitting at the sports fields, or at home bike riding, gardening, reading or cooking -- we are doing as much of it as possible outside. Oh yeah, for us, this warm weather effects our eating and cooking, and tends to mean grilling, sandwiches and salads!

I thought I'd share a few of our recent grilling successes with you.

On Saturday, we enjoyed grilled steaks, 

Caprese Salad, Greek Salad and smashed baby potatoes. For the potatoes, I steamed some new baby potatoes, once they were soft, I tossed with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Then, I laid them out on a foil-lined baking dish, took my potato masher and lightly smashed each one. I placed in a 400 degree oven until the tops got slightly browned and crispy. So delish!

On Sunday, we enjoyed pork ribs. I finally feel like I got our ribs right! I sprinkled the racks with little Montreal seasoning, wrapped tightly in foil and popped them in the oven (275 degrees) for 2 hours. They were tender and fragrant. Almost  good enough to eat right then... but we waited. We grilled the ribs to get a nice char on them, basting with bbq sauce at the end of the cooking time. The ribs were awesome!

We paired the ribs with corn on the cob (really sweet and delicious for the first of the season!) and a Greek salad again (we seem to be on a bit of a kick!).

Grilled sausages, peppers, onions and portobellos

Monday was once again another beautiful day. I cannot resist fresh fruits and veggies in the warm weather. And growing up, warm days often meant "wedges" (or heros, subs, hoagies, sandwiches, whatever you call them). One of my Dad's favorites was sausage and peppers, so with a nod to Dad, that is just what we did. I started off some Mild Italian pork sausage and chicken sausage with tomato and basil in the oven, then finished them off on the grill. 


I tossed a variety of veggies -- mini peppers, portobello mushrooms and onions with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and added them to the grill. Once I took the veggies of the grill, I drizzled them with a little balsamic glaze. We paired the grilled sausages and veggies with kale salad and cole slaw.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

In honor of Mexican Independence AND Taco Tuesday, today we enjoyed a household-favorite  -- Honey Lime Shrimp Tacos. 
For the marinade, I combined about equal parts honey, lime juice (I squeezed 3 limes) and olive oil. To that, I add the zest of one lime, minced garlic and a splash of tequila. Then I add in handfuls of chopped cilantro. I always add in handfuls of chopped cilantro. I went a little heavier on the lime juice and a little lighter on the oil. If don't want to use tequila, you could use white wine or broth. I choose tequila. Place shrimp in marinade and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. 

Marinating Honey Lime Shrimp

Take the shrimp out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Heat a grill pan over med-high heat. No oil is needed because of the oil in the marinade. Cook the shrimp on one side until they start to curl and get opaque in the center and pink on the edges, then flip over and cook on the other side. They get a beautiful caramelized color from the honey, but you do need to watch them or they will burn. These are great with any taco fixings or over rice or salad. Today, we served them with soft and hard taco shells, guacamole, black bean and corn salsa and a salad. 

I find with cooking I go in spurts, so my recent successes have inspired me, but I do not know what is up next for the week. I have some zucchini and green beans in the house, so it will likely be something with them. 

What are you making this week? Hope you are enjoying a little warm weather eating!

My hubby's artsy grilling photo

Three-Cheese Scalloped Potates

Scalloped Potatoes with New Potatoes

Update on Eileen's Scalloped Potatoes Post from a couple of years ago (Christmas Dinner):

I just made these potatoes with new baby potatoes. I sliced them thinly and layered with the sliced onion, cheese, flour, butter, salt & pepper as directed.

I used the cheese I had in the house, so mine was a combination of parmesan, cheddar and creamy toscana. It came out perfectly!

I am just sharing this to encourage you to play around with the recipe as much as want, or with what ingredients you have on hand. This recipe is wonderful and really versatile. 

Enjoy!

Glorious Grilled Lamb Chops

Glorious Grilled Lamb Chop. Yum.

As we always did at home growing up, I still tend to serve ham or lamb (or both, depending on the size of the crowd) for Easter. For one of the first times I can ever remember, this Easter it was just George, myself and the kids. We were traveling earlier in the week and had a few friends over for an Easter egg hunt and brunch on Saturday, so we decided to keep Sunday really simple and low-key, and it was wonderful!

Ingredients for lamb chop marinade.

We decided to go with grilled lamb chops for our entree. I haven't done lamb chops a lot, and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with them. I did know that I didn't really want to run to the store, so I wanted to just go with what I had in the house. I looked at a few recipes, and didn't have everything for any of them, so I decided to take pieces of a few and put them together. 

In then end, I mixed up a little marinade/paste of:

• the juice from half a lemon 
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic 
• 4-5 tablespoons dijon mustard 
• 1-2 tablespoon anchovy paste 
• and a little olive oil

Seriously, so easy. And so good.

Can't wait to grill these up.

Some of it I just eyeballed until it looked like a consistency I'd like. I rubbed this onto two frenched racks of lamb chops (about 2 lbs total) and refrigerated for a few hours. 

I took the chops out and brought to room temperature before grilling.

We (George) played around a little with the grilling technique. Overall, he grilled the chops about 20 minutes total, mostly over indirect heat. (A little note: For medium lamb, I read that when touching, it should feel like the tip of your nose. It was perfectly cooked!) Before taking them off the grill, he seared them on each side for a beautiful color. They were fantastic.

Halfway through the meal, Holland and George asked me to please write down what I did so we could have these again. (Here you go, Holland and George.)

Perhaps the highest praise of all, however, was when my 7 year old animal lover (who was not happy that we were eating little lambs) reached for her second chop. "I really don't like the idea of eating baby lambs," she said, "but this is delicious."

And that, my friends, is the story of our glorious grilled Easter lamb chops.