Whole berry cranberry sauce that will turn the non believers!

I have so many family members who would never eat whole berry sauce until I started making this. They called it "sticks and twigs" before! It's a quick cook recipe that is made ahead and fills the whole house with warm cozy aromas of cinnamon and citrus. Perfect for a snowy winter Sunday! I think it has a nice mixture of sweet and tart.

Ingredients:
(1) 12 oz bag whole fresh cranberries
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup mandarin oranges, roughly chopped (you can also use clementines or any other small orange with minimal/no seeds)
1 cinnamon stick

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until berries burst- about 15 minutes.

Cool completely at room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick, then transfer to a bowl or food storage container and refrigerate until dinner time!

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Cucumber Salad, a recipe

This recipe is so light and refreshing. Perfect for hot summer nights when you don't feel like cooking and a great use for the bounty of cucumbers available during these warm months!

Ingredients:
4 small to medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 tsp dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Place the cucumbers into a bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over cucumbers. Place a lid on the bowl and weight it down to submerge all cucumbers. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 an hour before serving. Enjoy!

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Grilled Corn with Herb Butter, a recipe

With the summer season upon us, many people look for new ways to enjoy the old favorite- corn on the cob. Here's my slightly kicked up version!

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn
1 stick butter, softened at room temp
2 TBSP fresh finely chopped parsley
1 TBSP fresh finely minced chives
2 garlic cloves
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt

First, peel back the corn husks but DO NOT remove them. Pull out the silks and dispose of them. Recover the corn in the remaining husk.

Submerge corn in a container of cold water for 10-15 minutes. Mine needed help staying down, yes that's a Jungle Book coffee mug contributing to the cause. This allows the husks to absorb water, which keeps them from catching fire on the grill.

While corn is soaking, make your herb butter. Mash butter with a fork until smooth. Add parsley, chives, garlic paste and a dash of red pepper flake to the butter and stir to combine.

To make garlic paste, smash two garlic cloves with your knife. Sprinkle with salt then press and smear with the side of the blade repeatedly until a smooth paste is formed.

Remove the corn from the water and drain on a dish towel. Peel back the husks and slather with the butter.
Replace the husks over the corn and place on a hot grill for 15 minutes.

Spoon the rest of your butter mixture onto a piece of wax paper, roll it into a tube and chill or freeze for future use.

Delicious on baked potatoes!

Take the corn from the grill, allow to cool for a couple of minutes, then remove the blackened husks and serve!

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Zucchini Pancakes, an easy summer side dish!

I spotted this dish yesterday while channel surfing. It is from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa program on Food Network. The measurements and ingredients are not exact to hers, since I made it from memory and used ingredients I had on hand. The original that aired on the show can be found here.

Ingredients:
2-3 medium zucchini, shredded
1 medium sized shallot, minced
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 TBSP parmesan cheese
3 large eggs, beaten
6 TBSP flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1 TBSP butter

Shred your zucchini and place it into a bowl with papertowels in the bottom. This allows some of the water to drain out which will help the zucchini crisp up in the pan and not turn out soggy.

Once the zucchini is drained, put it into your mixing bowl. Add the minced shallot, garlic and egg. Combine well.


Add the parmesan, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. You may or may not need a bit more flour if the zucchini is too wet. Mix all ingredients together.



In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP olive oil and 1 TBSP butter over medium heat. Once butter is melted, spoon the batter into the pan just as with regular pancakes. Work in batches, don't crowd the pan.


Cook 2-3 minutes on each side; they are ready to flip when they begin to get tiny bubbles on the surface. Can be kept in a warm oven for up to 30 minutes.

***Keep in mind that these ARE pancakes and will have the consistency of such, they are not super crispy like a hashbrown patty might get. Larger shred of the zucchini and a drier batter might yield a crisper result.

Enjoy!

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Baked Penne, an easy any night of the week recipe!

Sorry for being so recipe heavy on the blog this week! It's been chaotic around here and cooking is the one thing I do consistently so it's a simple thing for me to post.

This is an easy dish to make, which can be prepared ahead of time and then baked just prior to serving. Today I prepped it a little ahead so that dinner would be ready early for Austin and his friend to eat before they take off to their school dance.

Ingredients:
1 lb Hot or Sweet Italian Sausage (I use a mix of both)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz jar prepared alfredo sauce
1 lb box penne rigate pasta
1 medium onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat a large sauce pan over medium and cook sausage until no pink remains, 9-10 minutes. Drain fat and add onion and garlic to the pan.

Cook until onion begins to become translucent, 2-3 minutes.

Add canned tomatoes to the pan, increase the heat to medium high and cook down until liquid reduces by half, 4-5 minutes.


Cook penne to al dente (6 minutes), drain well and return to pot. Combine with the sausage and tomatoes, then add the jar of alfredo sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella.
Stir to combine.

Transfer to a 13x9x2 casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.
Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with fresh herbs if you have any on hand and serve!

Enjoy!

Don't forget to enter my earring giveaway! You have until May 27th to comment for a chance to win these cute little seashell earrings.

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Super Simple Summer Vegetables, a recipe

Ingredients:
2-3 yellow (summer) squash
2-3 green (zucchini)
Olive Oil to drizzle
2 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Cut squash on an angle, about 1/4 inch thick. Create a foil packet using (2) 15" sheets of aluminum foil, doubled up. Place the squash in the center of the foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper.


Fold the top and sizes of the foil over to create a tightly sealed packet.

Place on the top rack of your grill while cooking your main dish (such as this Grilled Lemon Chicken). Approximately 15-20 minutes.
Open the packet and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, serve immediately.

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Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, an easy recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2-2 lbs fingerling potatoes (my store happened to have purple ones today)
Olive Oil to drizzle
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the potatoes in a single layer on the tray, cutting in half any that are much larger than the rest so they cook evenly. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes, sprinkle with parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper.




Roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley, tossing with a spatula to coat.

Enjoy!

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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole, an EASY Recipe

This is one of the simplest, prepare ahead dishes I can think of and it's tasty, so the kids don't complain about eating their veggies!

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed into bite size pieces (I typically use 3 boneless breast halves, but left over roaster chicken works equally well)
(1) 12 oz bag frozen broccoli cuts, brought to room temp
(2) 10.75 oz cans of broccoli cheese soup (Campbell's Healthy Request Works well for this if you're trying to make it a little less fattening)
(1) 6 oz package instant stuffing (such as Stove Top)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 13x9x2 casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Pour stuffing mix into a microwave safe bowl and mix with chicken stock (this adds flavor without having to add the butter). Cover and microwave for 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked chicken, broccoli and soup.

Spread evenly across the bottom of the casserole then top with the cooked stuffing.


Bake for 30 minutes or until stuffing pieces begins to crisp on the top and soup is bubbly.

If I'm making this ahead (like today), I am sure to let all the ingredients cool completely before I assemble it. Then, once it's prepared (but before it's baked) I cover it with plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge. Remove it about 15 minutes prior to cook time to bring back to room temp, then bake it as noted above.

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Easy Stuffed Pork Chops, a recipe

Ingredients:
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 apples, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 box of instant stuffing mix
6 thick cut boneless pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
flour for dredging
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter

Optional sauce:
1 cup white wine, chicken stock or apple juice
1 TBSP butter

Directions:
Heat 1 TBSP of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, onions, garlic and apples and cook until the apples begin to soften and the onions are translucent; 10-12 minutes.

While veggies are cooking, make your instant stuffing according to package directions, then set aside to cool.
Once veggies are done, add them to the stuffing mix, sprinkle in the raisins and fold to combine.

Using a paring knife, cut a pocket into the side of each pork chop. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the pocket and secure with toothpicks.
***PLEASE NOTE*** I did not actually HOLD the pork chop while I was cutting, I laid it flat on the cutting board with my hand on top of it. This photo is to illustrate where the cut should go ONLY, PLEASE don't ever cut anything like this!


Season both sides of the pork chop with salt and pepper then dredge lightly in flour.

Using the same pan you used for the veggies, add the other TBSP of olive oil as well as the TBSP of butter, return to medium heat. Once the butter is done bubbling and begins to smell nutty, add the pork chops to the pan. Brown 2-3 minutes on each side.


Line the bottom of a lightly greased casserole dish with the remaining stuffing to make a bed for the pork chops. Lay the chops on top and cover tightly with foil.

Place into a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until internal temp reaches about 160 degrees. Transfer to a serving platter, being careful to remove all the toothpicks! Recover with foil. The carry over cooking that occurs should bring the temperature up to 165 degrees without drying out the pork.

To make the sauce, add a cup of white wine, chicken stock or apple juice to the skillet, scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Add 1 TBSP butter and simmer for 5-6 minutes until reduced by half. Pour over the tops of the pork chops and serve!

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