Roasted asparagus with lemon breadcrumbs

We love asparagus. My husband LOVES asparagus! And we've decided we like it best a little crunchy, and al dente if you will :)

When you cook asparagus at a high temperature, it concentrates its flavor and guarantees a tender (and not mushy) texture. Sprinkle crunchy breadcrumbs on the asparagus  just before serving for extra texture.
Ingredients
2 lbs asparagus, trimmed
1 tbs olive oil
Course salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 C panko bread crumbs
1/2 lemon juice and zest
Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Arrange asparagus on baking sheet, and drizzle with oil. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Roast until tender, 18 - 20 min, then transfer to platter.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium a skillet over medium heat. Add panko, and cook stirring frequently until deep golden brown, 8 - 10 min. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and zest. Season with salt.
Top asparagus with bread crumbs

Healthy Veggie Dip

A healthy alternative to that yummy veggie dip... use Greek Yogurt!

Ingredients:
1 big container of PLAIN Greek Yogurt (any brand will do, just make sure it is PLAIN Greek Yogurt)
1 packet of Dip Seasoning Mix (Ranch works well, and so does Garlic & Herb)
Directions:
Mix together and enjoy!

I have found that the dip tastes the most flavorful after a day of sitting, so I make the dip a day ahead. Also, just as a disclaimer, you can taste the Greek Yogurt, and it doesn't taste like Sour Cream. But remember, this is a healthier alternative, tastes great in its own way, and gives you the same "dip sensation" as the Sour Cream dips you are use to making, but better for you! I think this dip is definitely work a try :) We love it in our home!

Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip

I cooked some Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches for my husband and my visiting brother last weekend. And although we ate a ton (it was a good batch), we still had a good bit of left overs. There wasn't enough for every one to have Buffalo Chicken for another meal... so I thought, why not make a dip that every one can enjoy! I just made up the recipe as I went, and it turned out well! Let's just say, there wasn't any left for more "leftovers"!

Ingredients:
Left over Buffalo Chicken from  a previous recipe (see the hyperlink!) [about 1-2 chickens worth for the dip]
1 block of cream cheese
1 C cheese (I did a mozzarella and provolone mix, because that is what I had. It worked well! A lot of other people would do a sharp cheddar, and that is tasty too)

Directions:
Heat up Buffalo Chicken on stove. Add cream cheese till melted completely. Add cheese till melted. Serve Hot and with corn chips! Enjoy!

All you need is some Buffalo shredded Chicken, cream cheese, and some extra cheese! I tried a mozzarella/ provolone mix and it was great!

Final Product! We polished this dish off lickity split :) Yummmmm

Dijon Mayonnaise Sauce

5 min or less to create this yummy sauce that compliments Salmon sooooo well! Whether it is a Salmon Patty Sandwich or a Filet, you will love this sauce, and the simplicity is hard to beat!

From Taste of Home Simple & Delicious Cookbook
Ingredients
1/2 C Mayonnaise
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 tbs dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dill weed

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

Easy Cheesy Chili Dip

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!! I think that's Super Bowl XLVI to be exact :)
Now, I may not be a football fan, and commercials are ok (though this year seemed to turn more commercial fans then football! Funny how things change!), but an excuse for good food and good company ALWAYS have my vote!

Here is a quick dip recipe! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 block of cream cheese
1 can of hormel chili (I like the spicy kind!)
1 bag of tortilla chips

Directions
Place chili and cream cheese in a pot over the stove. Heat on Med/Low and stir till completely blended together. Then, Serve!

It's that easy! I normally just serve in the pot I cooked it in, because it never has enough time to make it into a bowl before it is gone!!! But if you do want to have the dip out longer, I would suggest putting it in a small crock-pot/ heating dish because the dip is best when hot.

Sweet Cheesy Biscuits

Better than Jim 'N Nick's Cheesy Biscuit
from plainchicken.com

ingredients
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbps sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

directions
Preheat oven to 425. Stir together all ingredients just until combined. Scoop into a mini muffin pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden. **I used a medium spoon and got 20 muffins**

Sorry for no picture on this one... I made them to go with the Potato Soup and I made them at a friend's house so they would be piping hot! I didn't feel comfortable taking a picture of them there... haha it still feels weird taking pictures of food!

Anyways, my review? They were good. They were fluffy and bite sized, which was perfect. And the cheese was a nice touch. But I honestly didn't care for the sweetness, and I am a SWEET addicted person! I love sweets. But I would've liked more of the buttermilk taste with these. SO the search continues for some Cheesy Biscuits!

Red Potatoes with Dill Sauce

(by cravingsandravings.blogspot.com)
Ingredients
3 pounds red potatoes
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried dill weed, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons sea salt for cooking potatoes

Directions
Wash potatoes and cut away any bad spots on them. Slice into wedges or cut into large cubes. Rinse well after cutting.

Cover potatoes with cold water and add salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 12 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.

While potatoes are cooking, melt butter or margarine in the microwave and add seasonings. Mix well, let sit for a few minutes and taste. Adjust seasonings as desired. I don't add any salt until after I mix the butter with the potatoes and taste. The potatoes will absorb salt while cooking, so keep that in mind!

When potatoes are done, drain and set back over the turned off burner for a minute. That will let them dry out as remaining water cooks off. Add butter mixture, mix gently, taste and adjust as needed. There is no going wrong with this dish -- add more butter if you want it, add more pepper. Serve immediately!

Leftovers, if there are any, are wonderful browned and scrambled with eggs.

Hot Sweet Potatoes

I know sweet potatoes are healthier than regular potatoes, if the sweet potatoes aren't COVERED in sugar and butter :) I found this recipe for a Spicy Sweet potato and had to try it out! I had trouble with my ingredient substitutions (I didnt have the garlic and onion powder, so I used fresh... which were to wet for the dry rub... So I added some water and oil to make it more of a marinade, which then made the flavors not as spicy and strong BUT they still tasted awesome!). Also, I didn't do the smashing part, because I just wanted to try slices, but next time I will! Hopefully making crispier edges!
With all that said, this was a great idea and a great recipe! Instead of giving you my take, I think the original was better, so I will just write that recipe (and I will be following it for next time!).

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
1 & 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic

Directions:
Put 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and set the timer for 10 minutes – time from when you put the potatoes in, not from when the water starts to boil.
These ended up taking about 12 minutes, though I pulled out a couple that were just a touch thinner a couple minutes sooner than that. You want them to be somewhat soft but not cooked through. Let them cool off for 10 or 15 minutes – they will hold together a little better for the next step.

Blend the spices together really well with a fork, making to sure to get the sugar completely incorporated. Then I added about ten coarse grinds of black pepper and mixed that in too.

Being careful not to squash them too much, flatten each sweet potato disk slightly. I did this right on the parchment paper on my baking sheet, and used a small bowl with a clear bottom, so I could see what I was doing. The potato stuck to the bowl each time, but I just carefully slip a spatula in there and they came right off and stayed together nicely. If they had come apart on me at all, I’d have just pressed them back into a circle on the pan. I drizzled each of them with a mixture of two tablespoon melted butted and two tablespoons olive oil and then sprinkled each one with the spice mixture, pressing it lightly on the surface. I carefully turned them over and coated the other side with the butter/oil and the spices.

This is my version, with the marinade and sliced sweet potatoes.

I roasted them in the oven, set at 375º for about 15 minutes, turned them over and roasted them another 10 minutes, till they had a nice crust on both sides from the caramelization of the sugar and spices.
If I were using fresher potatoes – and normally I would be, since it is unusual for them to sit around very long here – I would skip the parboil and begin roasting them right on the baking sheet from the start, and then when they got soft enough to flatten I would proceed with the rest of the steps. You actually don’t have to flatten them at all of course, but it does provide more surface area and some ruffly sort of edges for getting more crunch on them – worth the bother in my opinion.


These really tasted good and my husband wants me to make them again, yay! I just wish it had MORE flavor, which could have been accomplished with the rub version, or soaking the potatoes longer (maybe).

Fried Rice

We do a lot of versions of Asian foods in our home; I like to kid that we were both probably raised in Asia at some point in our lives and didn't know it! Boy, do we love Asian flavors :) So here is my go to recipe for a quick and easy fried rice, which is awesome if you have left over rice, and need a paring to that awesome asian chicken dish you just slaved over ;)
Fried Rice

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked white rice
3 tbs sesame oil
1 cup frozen vegetables (thawed)
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions:
On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated! **You could really play around with this rice too! Try adding some diced ham, or green onion :) Yum!

Baked Apple Chips

Ingredients:
2 apples
Cinnamon


Directions:
Thinly slice the entire apple. Remove apple core (I used a bottle cap to get the perfect circle)!


Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place apple slices on it.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.


Bake at 275 degrees for 1-1.5 hours. After about the first 40 min, flip them over so they bake evenly.


Mine turned out a little crispy.... I forgot to set the timer so they cooked longer! But still tasted alright AND the best part? My house smelled heavenly while baking these healthy snacky apples!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:
One medium sized pumpkin
Salt
Olive oil

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.



2 In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water (more if you like your seeds saltier). Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.



3 Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes.


When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating.

Either crack to remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.

Deluxe Bean Dip and Guacamole

This is a super simple recipe that can be done on the fly! Sometimes, my husband and I have it for a meal too! It's just different and fun and SUPER tasty! I have adapted it from my mom's version, who adapted it from those 7 layer bean dip recipes. So try it and make it your own!

Deluxe Bean Dip:
Ingredients:
2 cans of fat free refried beans
1 jar of salsa (I like medium and chunky, for the heat and texture)
1 small can of black olives
1 small can of diced jalapeno peppers (we like spicy!)
1 bag of shredded cheese (the taco/ mexican blend is usually a good bet!)
TORTILLA CHIPS! yum!


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a 12X9 (glass, oven safe) dish, put both cans of beans at the bottom. A spatula works best to help out. Then put in enough salsa to cover the beans with a nice thin layer. Then sprinkle the olives, and sprinkle the jalapenos on top. Then lastly, sprinkle the cheese on top.
Now really, everything is cooked... but I like to get it nice and hot. I usually set the timer for 30 min, and then just check on it and see if the dip is boiling, and the cheese is browning. Want toastier cheese? Turn on the boiler and give it a good half a minute.

And you are done!

Guacamole:
I just made this up and tasted as I went, but I like the taste, so I wanted to share!

Ingredients:
2 avocados, pitted and scooped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the (pitted and scooped) avocados in a bowl, mash with a fork. Add minced garlic, diced tomato, diced onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix and Serve! You can add cilantro if you want, but my husband prefers not so no cilantro here!

Seasoned Chopped Potatoes

If you read my last post, about Microwave Potatoes, then you know that not every potato adventure of mine is successful. Actually, before this blog, I have had several unfortunate encounters with potatoes. I don't know. They are one of many weaknesses for me! But boy, I love them! So I keep trying.
Luckily, here is a winner recipe! I just made up the recipe so I am pretty proud, and the chopped potato part? It was me trying to fix the whole "under-cooked /over-cooked" thing.

What are your favorite potato recipes?

Ingredients:
6 small potatoes
olive oil
minced garlic
rosemary leaves
salt
ground pepper
thyme leaves

Directions:

Scrub potatoes under running water and then poke holes using a fork (about 7 times in each). Chop potatoes into bite sized cubes.

In a large bowl, put potatoes in and then add the ingredients (olive oil, minced garlic, rosemary leaves, salt, ground pepper, and thyme leaves). Sorry there are no measurements on this one... they are all "season to taste" things, so sprinkle on as much (or as little) as you want of all! Then, stir till evenly coated on all potatoes.

Place on a cooking sheet. I would cover it in foil for easy clean up (but I forgot to when I made it! oops!).
Cook at 350 for 45 - 60 min.


I served our meal with fresh baked baguette bread (drizzled with balsamic vinegar), broccoli, and cooked chicken tenderloins. OH! and some Cosmopolitans :) It was a fun meal! And tasty!

Microwave Potatoes

Last night, I wanted to make some baked potatoes... but those take FOREVER in the oven. And regardless of my husband getting home so late, I was MAKING baked potatoes! I had a mission!

So began the microwave tests!

I did a little web research and found one that said cook for 5 min, turn over, then cook for 5 more min.... FAIL. The potato was hard, and wrinkly... it looked like a moon rock, and was just as tough! I wish I took a picture because it was so weird!

So, maybe my microwave is too powerful, I don't know, it's the apartment's microwave. But THIS is what I found works:

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
a fork (for poking holes)
olive oil
salt
pepper
shredded cheese, butter, or any toppings you want heated up on potatoes.

Directions:
Scrub the potatoes under running water. Then poke holes all over into the potatoes using the fork.
Rub potatoes with olive oil.
Place potatoes on a microwave safe plate. Lightly salt and pepper the potatoes.
Cook in microwave (on HIGH) for 2 min and 30 sec.
Take out and turn the potatoes over, salt and pepper if needed.
Cook for another 2 min and 30 sec (on HIGH).
Take out, and cut down center of potatoes, use fork to fluff up (if needed).
Put cheese (or other toppings) in the openings and heat up for 30 sec in microwave (or until cheese melts).
And SERVE!


Play around with your microwave and get to know the intensity of it. You may find your own secret microwave potato recipe!

Share with me your experiences!!!!!!