Crispy Baked Rosemary Chicken

Crispy Baked Rosemary Chicken

Are you like me and just sometimes crave some crispy chicken? Don’t go through the drive through of your favorite fried chicken joint…try this Crispy Rosemary Chicken. This chicken will be so much more satisfying with more flavor but without the breading. There simply is no need to bread and fry your chicken (which is sooooo messy!) when you can throw this very easy main dish together.

Did you catch that I said “very easy”? I really meant it. Just throw oil, herbs and chicken in a bowl, stir, and bake. The hardest part of this chicken is taking a spoon and basting the chicken at the end (basting is the secret to crispy chicken). Want to make it a full meal? Throw some potatoes and a veg in the oven too! Try this truly simple Crispy Baked Rosemary Chicken this week and let me know what you think. You won’t regret skipping the drive through!

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Cool Weather Coming!: Parmesan Tortellini Soup

Parmesan Tortellini SoupAll of Central Florida is abuzz right now…tomorrow morning we will be waking up to temperatures in the 50′s. For us Floridians, this is a wonderful reprieve from the heat and humidity that calls for fuzzy socks (what? no flip flops?) and relaxing on the back porch. It also means we will all collectively be craving soup. There will be beef stews, chicken noodle soups, and other crock pot concoctions made up this week. I want a quick soup that can be ready for a visit to my back porch. That’s where Parmesan Tortellini Soup comes in. This easy soup is not only quick but is unique in its use of a parmesan rind to flavor the broth. The addition of cheese tortellini gives this soup some heartiness too. I plan on making some this week…how about you?

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Shrimp Piccata

Shrimp Piccata

In my opinion, lemons are one of the most useful ingredients in cooking. They add a unique flavor to some of my favorite meals. That flavor can be assertive, a flavor that knocks you on your you know what, or lemons can be mild with a sweet backnote that leaves you craving more. Lemons add something delicious and zesty to iced tea, lemon blueberry bread, salad dressings, lemon cream cake, and one of my favorites…Shrimp Piccata.

Shrimp Piccata combines the wonderful lemon with lightly breaded shrimp, dry white wine, tangy capers, and buttery noodles (or rice). The combination is simply delicious while the preparation is so easy to prepare. Bread shrimp, saute, add sauce, pour over pasta or rice. Done. Grab some crusty fresh baked bread and make yourself some Shrimp Piccata tonight!

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Bacon Cheeseburger with Garlic Mayo

Bacon Cheeseburger with Garlic Mayonnaise

For many people, this last weekend was a long, three day holiday weekend. For whatever reason, a three day weekend equates to cheeseburgers for many of us. I think the cheeseburger calling has something to do with a need for grilling on long weekends…a celebration of all things grilled regardless of the weather or the season. Think about it…can you recall a holiday weekend where you walk outside and don’t smell the neighbors grilling?

Well, the weather didn’t hold out for grilling this weekend but that never stopped a good cheeseburger, did it? This Bacon Cheeseburger with Garlic Mayo is full of flavor from the tasty, toasted onion roll to the zesty garlic mayonnaise to the delicious juicy burger. Don’t wait for the next holiday weekend to make these burgers though – whip some up this week!

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Sea Bass with a Tomato and Green Olive Sauce

Sea Bass with a Tomato and Green Olive Sauce

I visited a specialty market recently and found some very nice looking sea bass, which I cannot always find in my local grocery store. I knew I wanted to try something a little different. After some research on the flavors that go well with this flaky fish, I decided on serving the sea bass with a Tomato and Green Olive Sauce. I have to say that although I am not generally a fish lover, this sauce would just about make me eat anything it is served over! The sauce is slightly creamy and wonderfully salty with the briny olives. A very slight kick is there too. When the fish was devoured, I saved the sauce and had a very tasty pasta lunch the next day. Pick up some sea bass soon and fall in love with this Tomato and Green Olive Sauce!

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Greek Spiced Chicken Kebabs

Greek Spiced Chicken Kebabs

My sister was recently traveling and brought me back a gift…uniquely shaped skewers. They are kind of elegant and shaped like an anchor of sorts. It took me about a month to find the perfect first dish to skewer with my new toys but I finally decided on Greek Spiced Chicken Kebabs. I didn’t want to make the standard caprese skewers or pineapple, chicken and grilled veggies…I knew it had to be something I hadn’t tried before. In the end, these kebabs were pretty tasty. They were great with some eggplant and a greek salad…and some smooth red wine, of course. The leftovers were perfect on a salad for lunch the next day too! Give these very easy, very delicious Greek Spiced Chicken Kebabs very soon.

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Make Tonight a Pizza and Movie Night: Personal Pepperoni Pita Pizza

Personal Pepperoni Pita Pizza

Whether you are cooking for one or your entire family, personal pizzas make everyone happy. You get what you want on your pizza and so does everyone else. I like the idea of setting out a variety of ingredients and letting everyone build their own personal pizza. One of the best ways to make this happen is to use pitas as your pizza crust. A pita is the perfect personal pan pizza size, is thin enough to not overwhelm the perfect pizza bite but is also thick enough to create a sturdy pizza base. 

Today, I was focused on pepperoni and green peppers. When I have pepperoni pizza, I prefer the taste of the zesty pepperoni in every bite. I accomplish this by buying my pepperoni in thin slices in the deli of my grocery store (sometimes called sandwich pepperoni). Rather than the thicker slices of small rounds of pepperoni, I have thin slices that are perfect for layering on my pita. I also think that a homemade pizza sauce, which takes about ten minutes by the way, is the way to go. The jarred stuff just doesn’t give me the freedom to make this Personal Pepperoni Pita Pizza my own. 

Buy some pitas this week and treat you and your family to a movie night with personal pizzas! It will be a perfect end to any day.

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Roasted Salmon with Balsamic Mustard Glaze

Roasted Salmon with Balsamic Mustard Glaze

So, the health powers that be say I should be eating fish twice per week in the interest of living longer and healthier. I can do that…I think. I have never been a huge seafood eater. Growing up I pretty much ate shrimp, and that was it. No salmon, tuna, crab or lobster. As an adult I generally still eat mild seafood such as tilapia or mahi mahi. Or the ultimate in healthy…crab or lobster masked by a delicious, creamy mayonnaise and cheese concoction. Yummy!

My sister makes a delicious salmon with an apple glaze so I knew I could handle salmon. Maybe she will let me post her recipe here some day (hint, hint, Jennifer).  The one thing I really wanted though was something especially easy to make. That’s how Roasted Salmon with Balsamic Mustard Glaze was born. Place salmon on parchment paper, season, roast in oven, add glaze. See? Easy.  If you are trying to up your intake of healthy seafood, or if you just like salmon, give this recipe a try soon. You will enjoy it!

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Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Horseradish Mayonnaise and Crispy Shallots

In the interest of watching my weight (watching it do absolutely nothing these days!), I generally lean towards the turkey, no mayo kind of sandwich. Sometimes I get a little crazy and go for the ham and Swiss cheese. Not today! Today I want a hot sandwich that is overflowing with all the fixin’s! 

This Hot Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Mayonnaise and Crispy Shallots is a perfect way to beat the sandwich blahs! It sounds more complicated than it actually is. I simply sautéed some deli roast beef, mixed some horseradish and mayo, and fried up some shallots…all in about 15 minutes. Add aged sharp cheddar cheese, an onion roll, lettuce and tomato and you have a hearty, filling, and amazingly delicious sandwich. 

Whether you crave a tasty hot sandwich for lunch or dinner put this Hot Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Mayonnaise and Crispy Shallots at the top of your list. I am confident you will truly enjoy it!

Hot Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Mayonnaise and Crispy Shallots Recipe

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Mayonnaise

2 1/2 Tbsp Prepared horseradish

4 Shallots, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp Olive oil

2 Tbsp Vegetable oil

1/2 lb Deli roast beef, thinly sliced

4 Slices Sharp cheddar cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 Onion rolls, sliced in half

4 Slices Tomatoes

Romaine lettuce leaves
Directions

  1. Stir mayonnaise and horseradish until well mixed. Taste for horseradish flavor, adjusting to personal taste. Set aside.
  2. Heat sauté pan over medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil, not the full tablespoon. Add the roast beef in batches. Cook until lightly browned. Add a splash of olive oil between batches. Sprinkle with salt and pepper when hot. Set aside.
  3. In the same pan over medium high heat, add vegetable oil. When hot, add shallots and a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove to paper towels to drain.
  4. Toast onion rolls. Spread mayonnaise mixture on both sides liberally.
  5. Layer roast beef and cheese to bottom half of roll. Put under broiler for 3-5 minutes to melt cheese.
  6. Add crispy shallots, tomato and lettuce. Top with remaining half of onion roll. Serve warm.

Peppered Steak Salad with Buttermilk Garlic Ranch Dressing

Most of the time I know I should eat a salad for dinner, either because I had a larger lunch than I expected to eat or because I just know I should. I don’t know about you though, but my intentions to eat the salad almost never works out…it just never feels like a dinner. Dinner should feel like a full, hearty meal with a protein, a veg, and a carb. That’s just how I see dinner. This salad gives me that feeling of heartiness that I am searching for after a long day at work. Plus, I get to use up my leftover Ranch dressing!

Peppered Steak Salad with Buttermilk Garlic Ranch Dressing is not only hearty with boldly flavored steak, but it has multiple types of lettuce, colorful veggies, and my favorite ranch dressing. I like to mix up the lettuce to add more flavor. Sometimes I substitute the spinach with arugula, which adds more peppery flavor. Or I will just be a little lazy and grab a bag of lettuce mix at the store. Either way, this feels like a steak dinner without all the fuss…plus I get more veggies than I would have with any other meal.  Have a hearty dinner tonight with this Peppered Steak Salad with Buttermilk Garlic Ranch Dressing.

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