Bloomin' Brie Bowl

Mmmm.....we had this very tasty appetizer for, well, an appetizer on Easter.  It was very good.
The only thing that I would change would be to use a larger round of Brie.  8 oz was just a bit too small, we felt, for all of the bread.  But if you can only find an 8 oz round go ahead and use it.  : )  Anyway, it was really tasty.  You should give it a try!

Bloomin' Brie Bowl

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 round sourdough bread (1 pound loaf)
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 (8 ounces) Brie cheese (or larger if you can find it.)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix spices and sugar; set aside.
3. Place bread on baking sheet. Cut circle in top of bread and remove bread center to make room for the wheel of Brie.
4. Spread butter on bread; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the spice mixture.
5. With knife, make 2-inch cuts at 1-inch intervals around edge of bread.
6. Remove rind from Brie and place in bread. Sprinkle Brie with remaining spice mixture. Replace top of bread.
7. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. To serve, remove bread top and break into bite size pieces. Dip bread pieces in hot Brie.

Recipe from foodchannel.com

Parmesan Encrusted Salmon

This is a really yummy way to cook salmon.  I didn't really measure anything when I made this - I spread 1 clove of minced garlic on each fillet of salmon (they were big), then sprinkled the Italian seasoning on and covered each fillet with cheese.  Yum! 

Parmesan Encrusted Salmon Fillet

4 (4-ounce) salmon fillets, thawed
1 1/2-2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Spray a baking sheet or shallow pan w/ non-stick cooking spray.
Place the salmon fillets on the baking sheet, skin side down.  Spread the garlic on the fillets, then sprinkle with Italian seasoning and salt.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese onto the fillets.
Bake the salmon for 10-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Serves 1.


Recipe altered slightly from food.com.

Macaroni and Cheese... with beans

This recipe is tweaked just a bit from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious and it is really quite tasty.  I haven't liked quite a few recipes from that cookbook, but every now and then I get that urge to cook a little healthier and I end up trying a few more.  Anyway, the texture is not quite as creamy as your average mac and cheese since it has a bean puree, but it's still yummy (and you can add a bit more milk to make it a touch creamier).

Macaroni and Cheese with White Beans

2 - 2.5 cups spiral pasta
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned white beans, rinsed and drained (I used Great Northern)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until al dente.  While pasta is cooking, combine milk and beans in a food processor and process until smooth.
In a large saucepan, over medium heat, cook bean mixture about 1-2 minutes.  Add cheese and cook until melted and creamy, 1-2 minutes longer.  Stir in spices.  Serve warm.

Sopa de Lima

Since it's snowing it seemed like a good soup day. J naturally didn't try it but everyone else was really liked it. Being the lime lover that I am I was drawn to this. I was a little concerned that it might be too tart with 6 limes in it so I only put the juice of 5 and it was perfect - you could taste the lime but it wasn't too tart. I may just try 6 next time...

Dad tried it and said, "Mmmm, this is good. This is a keeper. It tastes very similar to what we ate in Mexico." Nice.

(I love that my picture is upside down - it just adds character, don't you think?)

Sopa de Lima (Mexican Lime Soup)

9 C chicken broth

1 C shredded chicken 

1 tsp onion powder

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 tsp olive oil

1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced

4 green onions, chopped

3 large roma tomatoes

1 can black beans, rinsed

5-6 limes, juiced (to taste)

1/2 lime

1/3 C chopped fresh cilantro

Cooked rice

Sour cream

Tortilla chips or strips

Combine broth, chicken, onion powder, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and thyme in a large stock pot; bring to a simmer.  Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat the oil over medium-hot heat; add minced pepper, onions, and tomatoes and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. (You may need to turn the heat down to medium so they don’t scorch.)  Add tomato mixture to soup along with black beans; bring back to a boil. Add lime juice and the 1/2 lime; cook another 10 minutes over medium heat. Remove pot from heat and remove the 1/2 lime; stir in the cilantro.

Put a scoop of rice in each soup bowl* then top with soup. Add sour cream and chips if desired. 

*If you add the rice to the soup bowls rather than the whole soup it keeps the rice from getting soggy and soaking up all the broth so store any left over rice separately as well.  

Serves 8.

Altered slightly from a recipe on allrecipes.com.  

Irish Apple Tart on a Plate

I love trying to find authentic Irish recipes to make on St. Patrick's Day. Yesterday we had this delicious treat for dessert. I got it from IrishAbroad.com, which is kind of a fun site with all sorts of Irish stuff. Not that I looked at it all - only the recipes! The lady who gave this recipe (Imen McDonnell) is an American that married an Irish farmer and now lives in Ireland. I thought it was pretty fun to get her take on Irish food!
Now for the tart. Imen says that many Irish people bake pies on a regular plate. I thought that seemed like a fun idea so I looked at the bottom of my plates and found one that said it was oven-safe. It's a hideous thing that came with Chad when we got married. Good thing I kept it around though, eh?
Because plates are more shallow than pie pans, this doesn't have as much fruit as a normal apple pie would and is therefore, I suppose, considered a tart. And the crust is not regular pie crust. It is more like a cookie crust and is really good! It has LOTS of butter in it. Once a year for this treat, I guess! Although my kids all started to say they were going to choose it for their treat for FHE. Maybe more than once a year!

 

Irish Apple Tart on a Plate

For the apple filling 

2 1/2 to 3 cups of thinly sliced apples 

1/2 cup of sugar 

2 tsp of cinnamon 

a squeeze of one lemon (or a splash of bottled lemon juice)

1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger

Mix everything together and let sit for 30 minutes.

To make the pastry 
(Enough for two tart cases) 

550g (3.5 cups plain flour) 
120g (generous 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar (I used regular white)
320g (scant 1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter (I used 1 1/4 c.)
pinch of salt 
1 egg 
2 egg yolks 
1 tsp natural vanilla extract

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl; cut the butter into pieces and work it into the flour with your fingertips. Now make a well in the middle of the flour-and-butter mixture and add the egg, egg yolks and vanilla extract. Stir with a fork to incorporate the flour evenly until you have to begin using your hand. Using one hand only, bring the dry and wet ingredients together (this might take more time in the winter). 

Divide the pastry in half. Roll one half as big as the plate. Fill with apple filling. Roll the other pastry half big enough to cover the plate. Cover and pinch the edges together to seal. You can flute the edges, but mine didn't stay looking too fluted once it cooked!

 Heat oven to 180 c / 350 F. Place plate on a cookie sheet, if desired. Bake for about one hour (check after 45 minutes). 

Serve with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Recipe from irishabroad.com

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Mmmmm...these were tasty.  Jeff loved them.  If you have a caramel lover in your house you should give these a try.  I would say just make sure that you sprinkle the salt on evenly so that you don't have too much in one bite.  And I don't think I used quite as much salt as it calls for and it was fine, so maybe use a scant tablespoon.  : )  My caramels also took a lot longer to melt - that could be because they were stored down in the freezer, uh, I mean basement, and also because our microwave is not as high-powered as some.  Just fyi.  : ) 

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Ingredients

2 cups butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

4 cups flour

1 14 oz bag caramels, unwrapped (About 40 - 50 individually wrapped)

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper, spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat until creamy. Add in vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in flour until a soft dough forms.

Press half of the dough into the prepared 9 X 13 pan. Refrigerate remaining half of dough.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven while you prepare the caramels.

Place the caramel in a microwave safe bowl. Add the cream and vanilla, and microwave for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the cooked crust (Do your best to pour it evenly over crust as it is very difficult to spread). Sprinkle salt over the top. Removing remaining dough from fridge and crumble it evenly over the caramel.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until filling is bubbly and the topping is firm and golden brown. About 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

 

Recipe and picture are from joandsue.blogspot.ca

Seared Scallops with Lemon Orzo

We had this tasty combination for dinner tonight.  The lemon orzo was really good, and if you don't like scallops, it would go well with another mild fish or with chicken.  I served this with a green salad with oranges and gorgonzola cheese and Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette and it all went rather nicely together. 

Seared Scallops with Lemon Orzo

1 -2 tsp. olive oil or cooking spray

1/2 cup onion, minced

1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)

1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds sea scallops

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tsp olive oil, OR coat with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in pasta, broth, and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente. Stir in chopped chives and lemon juice. Keep warm.
2. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops evenly with salt and pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with pasta mixture.

Recipe altered slightly from cookinglight.com

Monte Cristo Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

Jeremy gave these a 10 - we even ate them cold because we first had to console two nearly inconsolable girls.  So you know they're good if they were a 10 while cold!  We had them with garlic mashed potatoes and garlic and walnut broccoli.  Yum!

This recipe is slightly altered from Rachel Ray

Monte Cristo Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 slices Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese
• 4 slices honey ham
• Flour, for dredging plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  
• cornstarch – if needed
  

Serves 4

Preparation

Halve chicken breasts through to make 8 cutlets; pound very thin, about 1/4 inch. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Spread a semi-thin layer of Dijon on inside of the cutlets and sprinkle with thyme. Fold and arrange 1 slice each of cheese and ham on 4 cutlets, leaving a little chicken exposed all around. Place the remaining cutlets Dijon-side down over the top and press down at the edges to form 4 stuffed cutlets. Dredge in flour.
Beat eggs and lemon juice together in a shallow dish.
Heat a large skillet with oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium to medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter into oil.

Turn 2 stuffed cutlets in egg batter and add to pan. Cook about 8 minutes, turning occasionally or until cooked through and golden. Transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil. Melt another tablespoon into the pan and brown remaining cutlets. Remove to the platter.

Add remaining butter to pan and sprinkle in flour 1 minute, whisk in stock and thicken to form gravy; season with salt and pepper. Whisk in maple syrup. While whisking, bring to a boil. If necessary to thicken, remove a small amount of liquid and mix with 1 Tbsp cornstarch then slowly return to pan while quickly whisking.
Halve stuffed breasts, top with gravy and serve.