Blue Cheese Pear Salad with Maple-Balsalmic Salad Dressing

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of white balsalmic vinegar
• 3 tbsp of real maple syrup
• 1 tsp of dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• pinch of salt

Salad:

• 2 cups of baby spring mix
• 1 red or bosc pear, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/4 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup of candied pecans
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• pinch of salt and ground pepper

Candied Pecans

• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 cup of pecan
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch of optional: cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chipoltle pepper or ancho pepper

To make Candied Nuts:
Melt butter in medium sauce pan over medium heat until melted. Removed from heat. Add sugar and mix until melted into the butter. Mix in the nuts and seasoning until coated. Allow to cool.

Place salad greens, onion and pear into a bowl. Spread crumbled blue cheese over, then candied nuts and dried cranberries.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients until well blended. Pour dressing over salad before serving or serve on the side.

I take this to work with me for lunch for the week. I take a little to work each day with the dressing in a small seperate container. That way your salad doesn't wilt in the dressing before you eat it.
Pin It

Fried Chicken with Ancho Honey and Buttermilk-Bacon Mashed Potatoes

Fried Chicken

• 3-4 lbs of chicken drumsticks (This is what my family likes, you can use thighs, etc.)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of self rising flour
• 1/2 cup of cornstarch
• 1tbsp seasoned salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup biscuit mix
• 1 envelope italian dressing mix
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 2 eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup of water
• Peanut or corn oil for frying

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix to blend the ingredients thoroughly.
Dip the chicken pieces into the egg mixture and then into the dry coating mix: repeat so each piece is double-coated.
Preheat the oil in heavy skillet over medium--high heat. Brown the pieces skin side down for 5 minutes.
Turn and brwon the undersides of the pieces for a few minutes. Transfer to an oiled baking pan. Cover with foil, sealing it on oly three sides of the pan.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remvoe the foil, then bake for another 5 minutes or until the coating is crisp

Ancho Chile Sauce

• 1 cup of honey
• 2 tbsp of ancho chile powder or chipotle chili powder

Mix together in a bowl. Drizzle over chicken.

Buttermilk-Bacon Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs of red bliss potatoes, chunked and boiled with the skin on
• 3 tbsp of butter
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 4 cloves of roasted garlic, smashed into a paste
• 1/2 cup of chopped bacon
• salt and pepper to taste 

Put all ingredients in a bowl and smash together. You can add more buttermilk to reach the consistency you like.

I am forever trying to think of ways to use leftovers. So, I used the leftovers from the whiskey mushroom sauce. I mixed in the leftover whiskey mushroom sauce and minced chives. It was delicious!

 

 

Pin It

Mushroom Whiskey Sauce for Steak, Funeral Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts and Brown Butter Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Steak and Mushroom Whiskey Sauce

• Steak, cooked and seasoned the way you like it
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2-3 cups of sliced shiitake mushrooms
• 3 tbsp of Jack Daniels whiskey
• 1 tbsp balsalmic vinegar
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tbsp minced fresh chives

Melt butter in skillet until simmering. Add onions and garlic cook on medium until the onions are transluscent and golden brown.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and add all of the mushrooms. Mix with the onion mixture. Cook until soft and browned. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the whiskey and balsalmic vinegar let it boil for a minute to burn off the alcohol. Turn the heat down to medium and add the heavy cream. Let it bubble for about thirty seconds and then remove from heat. Stir in the chives. Serve over just cooked steak.

Funeral Potatoes

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• Dash of hot sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• 2 cups, shredded, Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 26 oz bag of shredded hashbrowns
• 1/2 cup of sour cream

Topping

• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 1/2 cups cornflakes, slightly crushed

In a skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until transluscent.
Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.
Combine the chicken bouillon cube and boiling water. Mix until the cube is completely dissolved. Add it to the onion and flour mixture. Add the salt, pepper, worcestershire and hot sauce.
Bring to a boil and then decrease the heat to medium-low to simmer. Stir frequently, let simmer for about five minutes until thickened.
Take the skillet off the heat. Add in the sour cream. Add in the cheese and mix until smooth.
Add in the hashbrowns and mix until coated.
Put mixture into a 9x9 baking dish.
Mix the cornflakes and melted butter. Sprinkle evenly over the hashbrown mixture.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I used southern hashbrowns because that is my preference and it turned out just fine.

Brussel Sprouts

• 1/2 lb of bacon, chopped
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 lb of brussel sprouts, trimmed
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 4 tbsp of butter

In a electric skillet or heavy bottomed pan. Fry the bacon until cooked through. Remove and set aside.

Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon grease until onions are soft and transluscent.

Add the brussel sprouts and stir so they are coated in the bacon grease.

Add the chicken broth. Cook, covered over low heat until brussel sprouts are easily pierced with a fork. About fifteen minutes. Stir in the butter and the bacon right before serving.

I used the chicken bouillon cubes and made my own chicken broth. It is cheaper.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am going to post the link to the blog that I got the recipe from. This lady put in some serious time on these cookies. And, she has amazing pictures and a really good sense of humor.

I am a very picky cookie eater. I wasn't blown away by these cookies. For the amount of chocolate in the cookies they didn't taste very sweet or satisfying. Maybe, if I would have used real butter it would have tasted better. I recommend opening two pages the one with the pictures and then the link at the bottom of the page that has a very short concise recipe.

http://mouthfromthesouth.com/brown-butter-bacon-chocolate-chip-cookies/


Pin It

One of My Favorite Lunches

Apple Chicken Salad

• 1 can of cooked chicken, drained
• 1 lg granny smith apple, cored and shredded
• 5 oz of dried cranberries
• 8 oz of easy spread cream cheese
• 2 tbsp miracle whip
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

In bowl, combine cream cheese, miracle whip and apple cider vinegar until smooth.

Mix in chicken, granny smith apple, cranberries, paprika, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and chill overnight.

I like to eat mine on a whole wheat berry bread. MMMM :) For somebody on a budget this is a cheap lunch that provides a lot of servings. I make this on Sunday and have enough leftovers for lunches through out the week. Pair this with carrots or broccoli for a healthy and wholesome meal.



Meatloaf with Bacon and Gruyere Cheese



Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup ketchup, plus more for serving
• 1 small onion, grated
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup grated Gruyère or Cheddar (3 ounces)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl combine the beef, bread crumbs, ketchup, onion, bacon, garlic, egg and 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Transfer into a loaf pan and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Next time, I will cook the bacon first. I also, highly recommend doing this as the texture of the bacon in the meatloaf wasn't very appetizing. I know the picture doesn't look very appetizing but it really did taste pretty good.


 

Steak, Chipotle Sweet Potatoes, Stuffed Bell Peppers and Salad with Pumpernickel Croutons

First off, I don't have a recipe for the steak. I let my husband make the steak. And, we like our steak very plain. Just a simple marinade and grill it off.

I love this sweet potato recipe. My husband hates sweet potatoes and this is the only way we can eat them. My husband actually loves this recipe.

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes (about 2-1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

Directions

• Place sweet potatoes in two cookie sheets. Drizzle with 1/2 cup vinaigrette and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat.
• Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until tender, stirring once. Cool slightly; transfer to a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk the remaining vinaigrette, cilantro, honey and peppers. Pour over potatoes and gently stir to coat.

My family is on a tight budget and therefore, to save money I do not put the cilantro in it. That is how the original recipe states to do it so I wanted to leave it as it is. Usually, I use a bottled balsamic vinaigrette but I tried my own recipe tonight.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Beat the vinegar in a bowl with the sugar, garlic, salt and pepper until sugar and salt dissolves. Then beat in the oil by droplets, whisking constantly. (Or place all the ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake to combine.) Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Toss a few tablespoons of the dressing with the salad mix and desired salad ingredients, top with blue cheese and serve immediately.

If not using dressing right away, cover and refrigerate, whisking or shaking again before use.

There were some pros and cons to making our own vinaigrette. First off, it tasted better than the bottled version. I also tripled this recipe so I would have enough for the potatoes and our salad. A negative was it was thinner than the bottled version and therefore didn't stick to the sweet potatoes as well. I am sure if you make it the night before it would thicken up and you wouldn't have this problem.

I spent a lot of time googling for the best stuffed bell pepper recipe I could find. I was unable to find one that suited my tastes. All of them didn't really have what I wanted. So, we made our own.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

• 1 tube of Chorizo
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 cups of cooked rice
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
• 3 tbsp chopped black olives
• 4 bell peppers

Cook the chorizo, onion and garlic in a pan until the chorizo is done. (The onion will finish cooking in the pepper)





In a large bowl, mix together the cooked rice, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and the chopped black olives. (We used a spicy spaghetti sauce.)



After, the chorizo is cooked mix it all together.
Cut the bell peppers open wide and remove the stem and inside of the bell pepper. Stuff them with the filling and put them in a 8x8 glass baking dish.



Bake at 425 degrees for about thirty minutes. Check doneness with a fork near end of cooking time.



We made a simple salad with mixed greens. We use pretty normal (aka boring) ingredients for our salad. Tomatoes, baby bella mushrooms, cucumbers and onions. This time we made pumpernickel croutons.



Pumpernickel Bread Croutons

• 1 Loaf of Pumpernickel Bread
• Oil for frying
• Sea Salt

Cut the bread into 1 in. cubes.
We have a deep fryer like a Fry Daddy that we fried them in.
Put a handful of cubes into the hot oil. Let them fry for about a minute. Enough to be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
After, they are are done sprinkle with sea salt.



Pin It

Mr. Stirfry

I read many reviews on this restaurant. After reading them I really didn't want to go eat there. But after much begging from my husband I decided to go give it a try. First off, Mr. Stirfry has four gorgeous dining rooms with very tasteful decoration. They have a full sushi bar, a hibachi bar and five or six full buffet tables. This restaurant has it all every chinese dish that is traditional and a lot of main american dishes. A lot of the reviews came down on their fried rice and crab rangoon. The reviews stated that the fried rice had a "funny taste" and that the crab rangoon was so different that it wasn't traditional. Neither my husband or I thought that the fried rice had a funny taste. And, the changes to the crab rangoon was well accepted by us. I don't really like crab rangoon except for the middle parts I usually throw the fried parts away. This was a very crisp neat crab rangoon. Also, their egg rolls are by far the best I've had.

But, the part I need to mention is the sushi bar. I have hated sushi for a very long time. UNTIL now. Their sushi is amazing. Hand made right in front of you by their sushi chefs. I even was bold enough to try their eel sushi which was delicious. I personally give this restaurant a good review and will eat there many times in the future.

Another thing that must be mentioned is their service. Several of the reviews online reported bad service. I went on a very busy night so my server couldn't stand right next to my table the whole time like the reviews stated. They did get very handsy cleaning the table before we were ready too. But this was nothing that interrupted our eating or bothered us in the least bit. We did not get ran out for not adding a tip at the cash register. We just tipped at the table and had no issues with it. I am definetely going to be returning to this restaurant for some delicious sushi.
Pin It