My first blog award!!

Thanks Dianna!!! You are so sweet!!

My 'acceptance speech' consists of 35 quickly answered questions ... meaning concise answers, and not my usual rambling ones.

1. Where is your cell phone? in my purse
2. Your hair? ponytail right now
3. Your mother? in heaven
4. Your father? probably at home
5. Your favorite food? seafood, especially sushi or shrimp
6. Your dream last night? none that I remember
7. Your favorite drink? diet wild cherry pepsi or champagne if we are venturing to the drunken side. :)
8. Your dream/goal? to finish nursing school
9. What room are you in? playroom/computer room
10. Your hobby? cooking, reading, scrapbooking
11. Your fear? losing another loved one
12. Where do you want to be in six years? a nurse
13. Where were you last night? at home doing school work
14. Something you aren’t? co-dependent
15. Muffins? take em or leave em
16. Wish list item? new bedroom furniture
17. Where did you grow up? the ville
18. Last thing you did? discussion boards for Nutrition class
19. What are you wearing? sweatpants and a t-shirt
20. TV? foodie shows, medical dramas and too much reality tv
21. Your pets? Daisy & Slyvester, my fur kitties
22. Your friends? totally fab of course!
23. Your life? crazy beautiful
24. Your mood? happy
25. Missing someone? my mom
26. Vehicle? Chevy Blazeer
27. Something you’re not wearing? socks
28. Your favorite store? World Market
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. When was the last time you cried? last week
32. Your best friend? so many for so many different reasons
33. One place that you go over and over? Wal-mart
34. One person who e-mails me regularly? Jenny
35. Favorite place to eat? seriously depends on my mood, but generally I can always go with Ramsi's

I get to bestow this award on 6 others .... be sure and check out these wonderful women.

Deanna- because she is definitely a fun mama!


Smitten Kitchen


The Denia Interlude


Chasing Cheerios

What do you want for Christmas?

So, I'm making my list and checking it twice....

Okay, so not a year goes by that I don't put some kitchen/foodie stuff on my list for Christmas. Anyone else? What are you asking for for Christmas for the kitchen or otherwise?

My foodie Christmas wish list...
- a new wok(mine has a dent and I can't take it anymore...I'm throwing it out!)

-saffron(most expensive spice ever but so darn good...I can't wait to get creative with it)

-Barefoot Contessa, Back to the Basics cookbook (sometimes her personality gets on my nerves, but I love her recipes! I love her use of fresh ingredients!

-And for the stocking...silicon muffin cups and some chocolate. I specifically requested the chocolate bars from World Market this year...chocolates infused with chili peppers, green tea and honey and sea salt...yum yum!

Festive Fall

I always get festive with the fall cooking the week of Halloween. Here were my adventures this year.



Dinner in a Pumpkin
2 lb. lean hamburger
1 (8-12") diameter fresh pumpkin

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 med. onion, chopped
12 sm. mushrooms, sliced
1 med. bell pepper
1 1/4 c. uncooked rice
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
5 tbsp. butter
1 #303 can stewed tomatoes
2 c. beef broth
1/4 c. grated Cheddar or Longhorn cheese
Parsley sprigs
8 to 12 cherry tomatoes
Wash the pumpkin and cut the top stem out to create a lid. Scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers. Melt the butter but only 2 tablespoons and take a plastic sandwich bag to dip into the melted butter to oil the inside of the pumpkin. Turn the pumpkin on its side and remove to sprinkle inside with 1/2 teaspoon salt.Saute onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and garlic in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Add the 2 pounds lean hamburger, brown, and drain. Then add the rice and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add the remaining salt and pepper, the stewed tomatoes, and the beef broth and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes then fill the pumpkin with this mixture. Replace the pumpkin lid and place the pumpkin in a shallow greased baking pan. Bake approximately 1 to 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Pumpkin is ready when tender and should remain firm enough to hold the filling without danger of collapsing. If necessary, more beef broth can be added as needed. When baked, remove from the oven, lift lid and sprinkle inside with the 1/4 cup cheese. Return pumpkin to oven, lift lid and sprinkle inside with the 1/4 cup cheese. Return pumpkin to oven without lid until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, replace lid and garnish around the bottom of the pumpkin with fresh parsley and cherry tomatoes. Serve from the pumpkin, scraping some of the pulp into each serving. Serve with green salad and French bread. Serves 12.


Maryland Pumpkin Seeds
4 cups pumpkin seeds, raw, rinsed and dried on papertowels
1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning
a good drizzle of olive oil

Drizzle the oil over the seeds. Sprinkle with the Old Bay and toss well to coat. Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees.


And lastly here are the "kitty kat" cookies me & my 3 year old son put together...

Two Childhood Favorites Combine

I of course like every other kid grew up eating macaroni and cheese and with my mom it almost always was homemade instead of the blue box powdered stuff. I also grew up eating plain macaroni and tomatoes. Still one of my favorites today. So I decided to combine the two for a retro rewind with a twist.

I don't really have an exact science to my mac and cheese. I also used boiled noodles, topped with a little cracked black pepper and butter. Mix in 2-3 cheeses of your choice and a little milk and bake. So in addition to that I added some stewed tomatoes. I thought it was pretty darn good actually, but I think I still prefer both dishes separately.

Salmon Pouches

I just kinda whipped this up one evening. It was healthy, quick and quite good.

On a piece of foil I placed some bell peppers & banana peppers. Salmon on top. I sprinkled with salt and pepper and some minced garlic. Then threw in some grape tomatoes and a drizzle of white wine. Make a foil pouch, stuck in the oven for about twenty minutes and viola!

I was short on my fresh veggies but I think this would be extra special with some fresh asparagus.

Baked Spaghetti

I try not to make this too often because its definitely not the healthiest dish in the world although I do try to make it as healthy as possible, but we sure do love it in this house. Its a great dish for taking to someone as well. I recently took it to a friend that just had a baby.

Baked Spaghetti

8 oz spaghetti, cooked according to package
2 T butter
1 cup fresh grated Parm
24oz cottage cheese( I use low fat)
1 lb ground beef ( I use lean)
24oz spaghetti sauce
8oz shredded mozzarella

Toss cooked spaghetti in butter and place in a foiled lined pan. Top with Cottage cheese and then parm. Brown ground beef in pan. Drain and add sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour on top of cheese layer. Top with mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 400. Remove foil and bake 15 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Bridal Shower Treats

I also recently hosted a bridal shower. I went with a finger food theme and the bride requested a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. I think everything turned out rather nicely if I do say so myself.

Here are a few peeks of some of the fare.

Bacon & Tomato Tarts


Fig, Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Crostini




Smoked Salmon & Cucumber Roulades


Devil's Food Cake with Homemade Peanut Butter Icing
(this icing was quite greasy, but wow was it ever sinfully delicious!)

Hummingbird Cake

I am not a baker. I love to eat the sweets, but I do not like to make them really. Too much measuring and following of instructions. I'm way too crazy for all that. lol I like to cook so I can tweak and do my own thing, thus, always breaking the rules. With that being said I was asked to make the dessert for a friend's baby shower and she requested a Hummingbird Cake. I did some searching took a couple of recipes and put them together to still make it my own creation. It got rave reviews unless everyone was lying. :) Seriously though, I would have picked chocolate any day myself, but this did turn out really moist and flavorful.

Hummingbird Cake
1 yellow cake mix, mixed up using directions on box
Add to mix:
1 can crushed pineapple drained
2 cups of banana, mashed
1 cup of chopped walnuts
Bake at 350 in two nine inch pans for 1 hour and cool.

Frosting:
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 pound butter, softened
1 pound powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blend all together and frost middle, top and sides of cake.
Sprinkle with more chopped walnuts.

Salt & Pepper Calamari & Shrimp

I love the salt and pepper calamari at a local chinese buffet, so this was my attempt at making it myself. I was quite pleased with the results. The addition of shrimp was good too!


Salt & Pepper Calamari & Shrimp
Toss cleaned shrimp and squid in a little cornstarch, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Be generous with the pepper. Saute all until crispy in sesame oil and a drizzle of chile oil. Drain on paper towels.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

This is one of our new favorites for a quick dinner.



Buffalo Chicken Salads
Toss together:
Salad greens of your choice
tomatoes
cucumbers
hard boiled egg
croutons
shredded cheese
Cut up buffalo chicken tenders

Cauliflower Salad

This was quite tasty. The original recipe called for cauliflower and broccoli, but I only had cauliflower on hand.

Cauliflower Salad
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
2 cups hard-cooked eggs, diced (optional)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Crumble and set aside.
In a medium sized salad bowl, layer in order the broccoli, cauliflower, eggs, cheese and bacon.
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Drizzle dressing over top and serve.

Going Greek

One of my favorite chicken recipes. Minimal ingredients and impossible to mess up.

Greek Chicken

Chicken thighs, with skin left on
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
Greek Seasoning

Rub chicken with oil and then seasonings. Bake on 200 for 2-3 hours depending on size until chicken is cooked through and skin is crisp.



Last time I served this up with a Greek salad: cukes, tomatoes, black olives, feta and dressing.

Salmon with Pecan Coating

Salmon with Pecan Coating
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons butter, melted
5 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
6 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
salt and pepper to taste
6 lemon wedges

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, butter, and honey. In another bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.
2. Season each salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with mustard-honey mixture. Cover the top of each fillet with bread crumb mixture.
3. Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at thickest part, or until salmon just flakes when tested with a fork. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.

**The only change I made was to use a whole plank of salmon instead of fillets**

Teddy Bear Snack Mix

I made this for my sweet little boy and his friends when we hosted a teddy bear picnic at the park.

Teddy Bear Snack Mix
-chocolate chip teddy grahams
-chocolate chocolate teddy grahams
-honeycomb cereal
-mini marshmallows
Toss all together and snack away!

Linguine with Clams

Whole clams, EVOO, parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, mushrooms...
Tossed with pasta...