I adapted this recipe from the April 2017 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. This dish works for brunch or for a side with dinner. I think it would also be nice if you added some cooked, quartered potatoes to it. That would make a full meal for brunch. It’s easy to put together and is a fresh tasting spring dish.

 

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon
 
Ingredients
  • 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • juice and zest of one lemon
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 container (5.3 oz) plain Icelandic skyr or Greek yogurt
  • 1 tbsp capers chopped
  • 1 tbsp brine from capers
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (plus more for garnish)
  • 6 ounces smoked salmon
  • 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved
  • 2 scallions, green tops thinly sliced
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place the asparagus on a baking tray.
  3. Mix the oil, lemon juice and zest, and honey in a small bowl then pour over the asparagus and toss.
  4. Bake for about 15 minutes until the asparagus is tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
  5. Mix the skyr with the capers, caper juice and dill.
  6. Place the asparagus on a platter and arrange eggs, fresh dill, salmon, and scallions on the platter.
  7. Dab the skyr mixture over the asparagus and spread it around a bit.

 

 

I adapted this recipe from the April 2017 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. This dish works for brunch or for a side with dinner. I think it would also be nice if you added some cooked, quartered potatoes to it. That would make a full meal for brunch. It’s easy to put together and … Read more

Bacon Bomb

I gave into my baser instincts. I saw the video on this page (use Google and let it translate the page for you) and I had to make it. Had to. I know, it’s over the top. It’s outrageous. But it is made with my two favorite things in the whole world – potatoes and bacon. You must watch the video.

Ok, so you watched it, right? The recipe calls for a mere 45 slices of bacon. 45! I didn’t make the recipe or at least I didn’t make it in that volume. Instead of using a cast iron pan, I used two mini pie pans. I put about 6 slices of bacon in each, with each piece of bacon having overlap on each side so it could meet in the middle. Then I filled the center with sliced potatoes. I sprinkled a little onion powder on them and some salt

Bacon Bomb

and pepper and some grated cheddar cheese. I put the mini pie pans on a baking sheet and baked them at 340 degrees for about two hours.

The result was insane. Totally insane. Super crispy bacon surrounding amazingly soft potatoes with melted cheddar cheese. It was a once in a lifetime calorie and fat bomb. Make it once just so you can say you did. Then put it out of your mind. If you can.

I gave into my baser instincts. I saw the video on this page (use Google and let it translate the page for you) and I had to make it. Had to. I know, it’s over the top. It’s outrageous. But it is made with my two favorite things in the whole world – potatoes and … Read more

recipeI’ve always kept my recipes in binders. I have different binders for different categories (entrees, breads, cakes and pies, cookies and other desserts, and then other). Each binder is divided into subcategories (for example, the other binder has apps, soups, veggies, potato, pasta, condiments, beverages and more). Once I started my blog, many of the recipes I created ended up being posted there, as well as recipes I’d tried and blogged about. I find it really convenient to just come to my blog and search for the recipe I want. However, the bulk of all of my recipes are in the binders. And sometimes it takes me forever to find something since the recipes themselves are not alphabetized or sorted in any way. Often I just kind of know where the recipe I am looking for is placed within the section, but sometimes I page through endlessly trying to find something.

So I’ve concluded I need to convert to a more modern system. But what? Here’s what I’m contemplating:

  • I could scan in every last page I have and then save them by name and create folders for the different categories. It would take me months to scan in the recipes in those giant binders though.
  • I could start to save recipes digitally now so that at least moving forward things will be easy to access, and just leave the print recipes in the binders. That makes it hard to know where to look when I want a specific recipe though.

A big sticking point for me is that when I want to find a recipe I am usually in the kitchen. My computer is upstairs. Yes, I could save it all to Google Drive, but I find that things can be hard to see on my phone, particularly if I’m looking at a scan. I could use Evernote which would allow me to create tags which could be useful, but it’s the same problem with trying to see it on my phone. So I’m not entirely satisfied with the digital option, at least not as it stands today.

How do you organize your recipes?

I’ve always kept my recipes in binders. I have different binders for different categories (entrees, breads, cakes and pies, cookies and other desserts, and then other). Each binder is divided into subcategories (for example, the other binder has apps, soups, veggies, potato, pasta, condiments, beverages and more). Once I started my blog, many of the … Read more

Mississippi Meat 2-10-2016 5-55-05 PMMississippi Roast is the latest internet sensation recipe making the rounds.  The recipe cooks a chuck roast in a slow cooker with a packet of ranch dressing mix, a packet of gravy mix, butter and pepperoncinis. It’s touted as being easy and fabulous. I was dying to try it but I don’t have a slow cooker and am not a fan of dried mixes. The New York Times then published a recipe making it from scratch, but still in the slow cooker.  I decided to give it a try by cooking it in my Dutch oven at a low temp. This method was quite successful, but I wasn’t pleased with how it turned out. First off, I don’t like pepperoncini, so I left that out. The meat turned out incredibly tender but it was also just too greasy for me. So with a few tweaks, I present my Scratch Mississippi Roast in a Dutch Oven which is a modification of the NYT version of the recipe and is, I think, not too greasy and more flavorful than the original.  This recipe comes out incredibly tender and it melts in your mouth. The herbs and spices give it real body and it totally awakens the chuck roast which can be kind of dull in many incarnations.

Scratch Mississippi Roast in a Dutch Oven
 
Ingredients
  • 1 chuck roast (1.5-2 lbs)
  • ¼ cup flour
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • olive oil
  • 2 tbsp mayo
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp dried dill
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp dried chives
  • 1 tsp buttermilk
  • 1 tsp sour cream
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup beef broth
Instructions
  1. Heat the Dutch oven on the stove and preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Add a tablespoon or enough olive oil to coat the pan.
  3. Dredge the roast in flour and then brown both sides of it.
  4. Remove from the pan.
  5. Add all the other ingredients to the pan and stir until everything is mixed and combined then add the roast.
  6. Cover and bake for 5 hours.
  7. Remove from the oven and use a fork to shred the meat.

 

Mississippi Roast is the latest internet sensation recipe making the rounds.  The recipe cooks a chuck roast in a slow cooker with a packet of ranch dressing mix, a packet of gravy mix, butter and pepperoncinis. It’s touted as being easy and fabulous. I was dying to try it but I don’t have a slow … Read more

rice pudding barLooking for a fun new dessert option for your next party? Try a rice pudding bar. This is more interesting than a make your own sundae bar, but requires very little extra work.

For the rice pudding (serves 8):

7 cups whole milk

1 cup arborio rice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup sugar

Add the rice and milk to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, stirring regularly, until the rice is cooked and the mixture is very thick (about 20 minutes). Stir in the sugar and vanilla and cook another two minutes. Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate at least 6 hours.

 

You can use whatever toppings you would like for your rice pudding bar, but here’s what I used.

Toppings

1 quart of strawberries, stems removed and sliced, mixed with 1 tablespoon of sugar and allowed to rest an hour to become juicy

Chopped toasted almonds

Cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon)

Whipped cream

Chocolate sauce

 

Other ideas you might consider for toppings:

Blueberries or other berries

Caramel sauce

Honey

Crushed hard candy

M&Ms

Sliced bananas

Vanilla sugar

Nutmeg sugar

Pumpkin pie spice

Other chopped nuts

 

This was a big hit and something I’ll be making again.

Looking for a fun new dessert option for your next party? Try a rice pudding bar. This is more interesting than a make your own sundae bar, but requires very little extra work. For the rice pudding (serves 8): 7 cups whole milk 1 cup arborio rice 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/3 cup sugar Add … Read more

Matcha Chicken 3-23-2015 6-05-11 PMMatcha (a green tea powder) and lemon olive oil gives the chicken a very laid back vibe in this dish. Cooling yogurt sauce and rice pair perfectly with it. If you don’t have lemon olive oil, use regular olive oil with a teaspoon of lemon juice for each tablespoon of oil.

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
Lemon Matcha Chicken with Yogurt Cilantro Sauce
 
Ingredients
  • 4 boneless chicken breasts
  • ½ teaspoon matcha powder
  • 1 tablespoon lemon olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • ¾ cup Greek yogurt
  • top of 1 scallion, chopped
  • 1 packed tablespoon of fresh chopped cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon lemon olive oil
  • Rice
Instructions
  1. Rub the chicken with olive oil, matcha and salt and pepper to taste and allow to marinate between half an hour and an hour.
  2. Cook chicken on the grill or saute in a pan until it is cooked through (165 degrees).
  3. While it's cooking, mix yogurt, scallion, cilantro, oil, salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
  4. Serve with rice.

 

Matcha (a green tea powder) and lemon olive oil gives the chicken a very laid back vibe in this dish. Cooling yogurt sauce and rice pair perfectly with it. If you don’t have lemon olive oil, use regular olive oil with a teaspoon of lemon juice for each tablespoon of oil.   5.0 from 1 … Read more

Clam Chowder 3-1-2015 7-22-55 PMI spent summers in Maine as a child where clam chowder was a staple of our lives. I still love to make it, but it’s a tough one because it does not freeze well, so I have to make the right amount so that there won’t be more leftovers than we can eat. I recently made up a batch but was out of celery so I had to improvise. I also admit I regularly use flour to thicken and do not have the patience to wait for the potatoes to do the work. Yes, I’m a cheater, but you’d never know eating this. This soup is ready in about half an hour and will serve 4 for dinner with a little bit leftover for lunch the next day.

Before I share the recipe, I also have to comment on the clams. I’m a cheater so I’m not using fresh clams. You shouldn’t be surprised. For years I was using frozen clams, but I stopped using them because they were from China and I wondered what was actually in them. Now I use canned clams in juice that is from Maine. They taste much better, are more tender, and the juice adds flavor. This soup is always a big hit in my house and it’s perfect for a cold day.

Cheater Clam Chowder
 
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • ¼ cup flour (I used gluten-free)
  • 1 tsp celery salt
  • 16 ounces bottled clam juice
  • 13 ounces canned clams with juice
  • 2 cups skim milk (I used lactose-free)
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 large carrot or 2 small, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium potato, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook bacon in a large pot until crisp. Remove the bacon and leave the grease.
  2. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent.
  3. Stir in flour and cook for about a minute.
  4. Add celery salt and clam juice, and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add clams, milk, cream, carrots, parsnip, thyme, parsley and salt and pepper.
  6. Cook over medium high heat, keeping it just below a boil for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and soup is thickened.

 

I spent summers in Maine as a child where clam chowder was a staple of our lives. I still love to make it, but it’s a tough one because it does not freeze well, so I have to make the right amount so that there won’t be more leftovers than we can eat. I recently … Read more

muffin tin new coverI’m excited to announce the release of my new ebook, The Original Muffin Tin Cookbook!  Several years ago, I wrote The Muffin Tin Cookbook for a large publisher. That edition is now out of print. Lots of people have emailed me asking how to buy it. Due to popular demand, it’s now back as an ebook. All the same great recipes are here. This was the very first book about muffin tin cooking ever published, so I’m happy to be able to bring it back.

The book includes recipes for entrees, appetizers, veggies, sides, potato and rice dishes, muffins, mini-pies, cupcakes, snacks, and much more.

Muffin tin cooking is easy and fun. It’s a great way to get your kids involved in cooking. Kids are willing to try new foods when they are presented in the shape of muffins – something they already love. Muffin tin cooking makes portion control easy for adults also. One muffin cup is one serving. The portions are easy to freeze as well.The book offers recipes for regular size muffin cups, mini and jumbo. There’s also lots of information about the types of muffin tin liners and pans to choose from (so many options!).

Enjoy the book yourself or give it to your mom, your sister, your college kid, your single brother or friends with kids.

This book was so much fun to write and I still often make the recipes from it. I hope you will enjoy it!

 

I’m excited to announce the release of my new ebook, The Original Muffin Tin Cookbook!  Several years ago, I wrote The Muffin Tin Cookbook for a large publisher. That edition is now out of print. Lots of people have emailed me asking how to buy it. Due to popular demand, it’s now back as an … Read more

I was so excited that the authors created a gluten free book for this series (there are several books in this 5 minutes a day series). Good quality gluten free dinner bread is really hard to come by. Store bought bread is fine for sandwiches, but sometimes I really miss French bread, challah, and Italian bread.

gf artisanFirst, let me say that the bread from this book is very good. It’s not exactly the same as gluten bread, but it’s incredibly close. I’ve made several recipes from the book. I recommend it but suggest you understand what’s involved before jumping in.

Secondly, this is most definitely NOT 5 minutes a day. Here’s how it works. First you need to make the flour blend and you probably don’t have all the flours you need at home so you have to go buy them.

Boule, basic artisan bread

Boule, basic artisan bread

You need to mix the flour and have a place to store it because the mix is not used up by making one batch. Then you make the dough. It has to sit out for 2 hours, then you refrigerate it. The day you want to bake some, you have to measure a pound of it and let it sit out for an hour. You need to preheat the oven with a pizza stone and a pan of water. Then you bake the bread on the pizza stone. If you use parchment paper under it, you have to pull it out halfway through (I did this because I do not have a pizza peel and did not want to buy one). It bakes for 45 minutes. Then you are supposed to let the bread cool completely before eating (2 hours). To accomplish all of that for dinner, I would need to start right after lunch. Not really doable on most days.

That being said, the bread is really, really good. The basic artisan bread recipe makes a bread that has a wonderful crunch on the outside and a good texture on the inside. The flavor is good. It’s not gummy or sandy as some gluten free breads are. It’s also not too heavy and not too light.

I also made another recipe from the book for the challah bread and from that I made challah, cinnamon rolls, and monkey bread. All three were very good. That dough is very wet and sticky and hard to manipulate but I managed. It’s basically the same many step scenario with this bread as well, however it was really wonderful to finally have challah again after years without it.

Boule, sliced

Boule, sliced

The only book I have that rivals this is How Can It Be Gluten Free, which has hands down the most amazing dinner roll recipe you will ever taste in your life. Both books require their own flour mix, so now I’ve got two containers in my pantry, plus my containers of Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Flour Blend and Cup4Cup.

I was so excited that the authors created a gluten free book for this series (there are several books in this 5 minutes a day series). Good quality gluten free dinner bread is really hard to come by. Store bought bread is fine for sandwiches, but sometimes I really miss French bread, challah, and Italian … Read more

valentine dessert genericOnce the holiday decorations are put away, things settle down, and the reality of winter sinks in, things can start to feel a bit glum. I combat this in two ways.

Decorate for Small Holidays

I decorate for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. Valentine’s Day decorations go up right after the Christmas decorations get put away. I transition from that to St. Pat and then to Easter which carries me through until it really starts to feel like spring. I decorate my tabletop all-occasion tree for all of these holidays and have wreaths as well as a few things to set around the house for each. It helps me feel as if the house is not bare and cold.

Focus on Food Holidays

I look for excuses to cook fun food throughout the winter. These are the holidays that are reasons to celebrate at my house.

Feb 1 SuperBowl: We always have cheese nachos with guacamole for the SuperBowl and I also buy soda, which is generally banned in my house. We all watch the beginning of the game together and then kind of drift off to our separate areas. I usually make brownies as well so we can be as fat as possible.

Feb 14 Valentine’s Day: I always make a heart shaped dessert for this day.

Feb 17 Mardi Gras: I make a king cake for Mardi Gras, which is a sweet bread with frosting and green, gold, and purple sprinkles. You bake a charm or small toy inside and the person who finds it is the king.

Feb 18 Ash Wednesday: We don’t celebrate Ash Wednesday per se, but I usually buy paczki donuts for the gluten eating members of the family the day before and then I buy fastnachts sometime during Lent as well. I may make some gluten free this year because I miss them so much. Lent is also fish fry season here in Buffalo, but that’s another gluten bomb, so I’ve learned how to make my own beer battered fish fry with gluten free flour.

Feb 19 Chinese New Year: I make homemade fried rice, buy some gluten free dumplings, and make a third dish, often chicken lo mein or beef with broccoli. Unfortunately I can’t find gluten free fortune cookies which is the missing piece!

March 17 St. Patrick’s Day: St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal around here. Buffalo has the second largest parade in the country. I always make corned beef with cabbage and carrots and potatoes and cheese soda bread. Then we have reuben soup the next day with the leftovers.

April 5 Easter: I always make a ham for Easter and often serve a carrot dish with it.

What food holidays are on your calendar this winter?

Once the holiday decorations are put away, things settle down, and the reality of winter sinks in, things can start to feel a bit glum. I combat this in two ways. Decorate for Small Holidays I decorate for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. Valentine’s Day decorations go up right after the Christmas decorations … Read more

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