Lemon Chicken Tarragon

This is one of my favorite recipes when hosting guests. It is very easy and comes out with such a light refreshing flavor. This is another recipe from my Aunt Robin that is a great crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

10 saltine crackers finely chopped

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in lightly greased baking pan.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in mustard, lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper, and pour mixture over chicken.

3. Mix together crackers and cheese and sprinkle over chicken.

4. Bake until chicken is cooked and topping is golden, about 35 minutes.

Asian Inspired Scallops

Last week was a very hectic week and I didn't cook as much as I would have liked. So on Friday I decided I wanted something delicious and low in calories, scallops! I absolutely love seafood so when I want a treat I turn towards shrimp, scallops, or fish. I also wanted to use a lot of ingredients that I already had so I decided to make my own recipe. I was inspired by kabobs but seeing that is it February I tweaked the recipe just a little so I didn't have to stand outside in the cold. Surprisingly, it turned out very well!

Ingredients:

6 tbsp soy sauce

3 tsp wasabi powder

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1 lb scallops

8 mushroom caps halved

Directions:

1. Preheat grill or for me the panini press (which doubles as a grill for me).

2. Combine the soy sauce, wasabi powder, honey, and ginger in a bowl. Toss scallops and mushrooms in sauce.

3. Grill scallops and mushrooms until finished, about 4-5 minutes. I turned them halfway to allow for even grill marks.

4. Toss over rice or couscous.

Of course you can always add more delicious veggies. I just happened to have a bunch of mushrooms in my fridge so this worked!

Fresh Salsa

This past weekend we were blessed with a 60 degree Saturday in January. To take advantage of the beautiful weather we decided to have a cookout. One of my favorite summer appetizers is a homemade salsa. Below is my simple, delicious, and healthy salsa. 

Ingredients:

1/2 bushel cilantro

1 lime

1/2 jalapeno

1 clove garlic

pinch of salt

1 can whole tomatoes

Directions:

1. Remove leaves from cilantro and place in food processor. Add half the jalapeno, with seeds for extra heat, and the clove of garlic. Cover with juice from the lime. Chop in the food processor. 

2. Add the whole tomatoes without adding the juice. Chop in food processor. Add salt to taste. 

And that is it! You can add less lime if you would like your salsa thicker or add fresh tomatoes when they are in season. It is a super simple recipe but seems to be the hit of every party! Here is hoping for more warm winter days! 

Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce

David and I decided to cook Christmas Eve dinner for the family this year. We wanted something simple but with a lot of flavor. I found a recipe by Giada De Laurentilis on the Food Network website for Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce. Below is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound penne pasta

1/4 cup olive oil

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, and deveined

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (15 oz) can whole tomatoes, drained, roughly chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup white wine

1/3 cup clam juice

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of slated water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the shrimp turns pink and is cooked thoroughly, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the shrimp and set aside.

3. Add the tomatoes, 1/2 cup basil, 1/4 cup parsley, and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine, clam juice, and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 7-8 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan, the cooked shrimp, the cooked pasta, and the remaining herbs. Toss together until all ingredients are coated.

4. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.

The meal came together very quickly and was delicious. We will definitely be making it again!

NOTE:

- You can replace the heavy whipping cream with milk to make it less fattening.

- If the sauce does not thicken you can add a teaspoon of corn starch to aid the process.

Roasted Tomatoes with Shrimp and Feta

After one too many unhealthy dinners I have decided it is time to start cooking again. David and I had been doing a great job cooking delicious healthy meals over the summer but with the cold weather our healthy eating habits took a hit. So, I decided to get us back on track with a favorite recipe that I got from my Aunt Robin, roasted tomatoes with shrimp and feta. It is super easy and super delicous. Below is the recipe:

Roasted Tomatoes with Shrimp and Feta

Ingredients:

- 5 large tomatoes cut into eigths (I used grape tomatoes)

- 3 tblsp olive oil

- 2 tblsp minced garlic

- 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

- 1 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, pelled and deveined

- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

- 2 tblsp lemon juice

- 1 cup feta crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Place tomatoes in a large baking dish. Spook the olive oil and garlic over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss.

3. Place on top rack of oven and roast for 20 minutes.

4. Remove baking dish from oven and stir in shrimp, parsley, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with feta.

Getting ready to cook the shrimp

5. Place back in oven for another 10-15 minutes or until shrimp are cooked.

Shrimp cooked for 10 minutes...beautiful pink color

6. Serve with warm crusty bread.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. For the two of us we had a huge dinner and two more lunches afterwards so this dish goes a long way!

Poppy Seed Bread

Since my family of four will be staying with my grandmothers for Thanksgiving we decided we should bring something festive for us to eat each morning. My family's go-to breakfast bread around the holidays is a  poppy seed bread with an orange glaze. It is actually more like a desert but around the holidays sweets are appropriate at every meal. Below is our delicious poppy seed bread recipe. 

Getting all the ingredients together

Poppy Seed Bread:

Ingredients: 

- 3 eggs, slightly beaten

- 2 1/4 cup sugar

- 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- 1 1/2 cup milk

- 3 cup flour

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 tbl poppy seeds

- 2 tsp almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 loaf pans. 

2. Beat together eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and milk. 

3. Sift together dry ingredients. Then beat into egg mixture.

Dry mixture sifted together

4. Stir in poppy seeds and almond extract.

Adding the poppy seeds and almond extract

5. Divide batter into prepared loaf pans. 

6. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

The pans filled and in the oven

7. While the bread is cooking begin to prepare the glaze.

Ingredients for the delicious orange glaze

Orange Glaze

Ingredients: 

- 1/4 cup concentrated orange juice thawed

- 3/4 cup powdered sugar

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp almond extract

Directions: 

1. Combine orange glaze ingredients.

2. Mix until the glaze has no lumps remaining.

Mixing the glaze....once complete there should be no lumps

3. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes. Top with glaze while the bread is warm.

Bread straight out of the oven

Bread freshly glazed

Sugar Cookies Part II

Tonight I finished one of the more time consuming parts of sugar cookies...the icing. I had about 5 dozen cookies and it took almost 3 hours but in the end they are always worth it.

Sugar Cookie Icing

Gather your supplies

Ingredients:

- 1 cup confectioners sugar

- 2 tsp. milk

- 2 tsp. light corn syrup

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Stir together sugar and milk

2.  Beat in corn syrup and extract (you can also add food coloring as desired)

Finished Icing

I outline each cookie before spreading with the filler color. The outline color should be a little thicker so it does not run off your cookies and can support the filler color. I make my outline frosting, put it in a ziplock bag, and snip the corner to get a nice thin line when I squeeze it out.

My outline color in my handy ziplock bag

Make sure to let your outline color dry for a few minutes before putting the inside color so it can support the slightly less thick frosting.

Cookie with outline icing and filler color

I also like to apply sprinkles to add additional depth. I added red and yellow for the leaves and added frosting detail for the acorn top with additional icing.

Leaves with additional sugar details

Acorns with additional frosting detail at top

Finished sugar cookies

Let the baking begin...sugar cookies

With Thanksgiving only a few days away it is time to start baking. Since we will be traveling to North Carolina I knew I had to bake something that traveled well. So I decided to go with the classic and crowd pleasing sugar cookies. While I love the end result this is one recipe that takes a while to make. Below is my recipe which is perfect for sugar cookies with small details like the sharp points on the leaves I cut. This recipe does not spread or rise much like other cookies which makes it perfect for detailed cookie cutters.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

-          6 cups flour

-          3 tsp. baking powder

-          1 tsp salt

-          2 cups butter

-          2 cups sugar

-          2 eggs

-          2 tsp. vanilla

Getting the ingredients together

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover baking sheets with parchment paper. (This will ensure your cookies do not stick.)
2. Cream butter and sugar (Make sure the mixture is creamy before moving to the next step.)
3. Add eggs to butter and sugar mixture one at a time. Beat well between each addition. Then add the vanilla.
4. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to butter and sugar mixture.

Adding the dry ingredients to the egg mixture

5. Chill at least 2 hours. (I chill overnight since this is what will keep the mixture from sticking while you roll it out.)

The dough ready to chill

 6.      Roll out  dough to about ¼” thick and cut cookies. (Remember this will be about the thickness of your finished cookies since this dough does not rise much.)



1/4" thick dough



Cookies ready to be baked on the cookie sheet

 7.      Bake for 8-10 minutes (You will want to watch your cookies closely. They will only brown on the edges and the remainder of the cookie will remain the light dough color. If you wait for the entire cookie to brown then they will burn. I usually cook them for 10 minutes.)

Cookies straight out of the oven

At this time you have finished your sugar cookies. However, they are not complete until the frosting has been added and the cookies are decorated. I will be completing this step tomorrow since it is very time consuming….stay tuned for additional directions.