Garlicky Broiled Salmon and Tomatoes

I got this recipe from Real Simple a few months ago. They promoted it as a 15-minute dinner, and they are not kidding. Quick, easy and delicious!

4  6-ounce pieces skinless salmon fillet

4 medium tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably hot

2 tablespoons olive oil

kosher salt and pepper

8 sprigs fresh thyme

4 cloves garlic, sliced

Heat broiler. Place the salmon and tomatoes, cut-side up, in a broiler-proof roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the salmon with the paprika.

Drizzle the salmon and tomatoes with the oil and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Scatter the thyme and garlic over the top.

Broil until the salmon is opaque throughout and the tomatoes are tender, 8-10 minutes.

Yield: Makes 4 servings.

Chocolate Orange Muffins

These are perfect after school snack. This recipe makes 12 regular muffins or 36 miniature muffins. I love to make the miniature muffins because they are so dang cute.

2 medium-size oranges -- cleaned
3 oz semisweet chocolate
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter at room temp.
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I have used sour cream)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

Heat oven to 375. Grease muffin cups or use baking cups.


Finely zest the oranges and chop the chocolate into small bits with a knife

Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add orange zest.

Stir in the yogurt, orange juice, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well, the batter will be quite liquid.


Sprinkle flour, then chocolate, over batter. Fold gently, just enough to blend in flour.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups. Bake 15 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch. For the mini muffins bake about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.

************

Here is an alternative method to make these yummy muffins. It saves me time.

Use the pulse lever of the food processor to coarsely chop the chocolate. Tip out onto waxed paper.

Remove orange peel and place in the food processor with the sugar. Process for about 40 seconds or until finely chopped. Add butter and process a few seconds until creamy. Add eggs one at a time processing after each addition. Add yogurt, oj, baking powder and baking soda. Process a few seconds to blend. Fold in flour & chocolate. Continue as above.

Green Chile Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, grated
1 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1 can chicken
3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pepper, to taste
(Optional: I add 4 cubes* cauliflower, 1 cube* of zucchini)

PREPARATION
1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is tender. Stir in potatoes and carrots; cook one minute. Stir in flour; continue cooking for one minute.
2. Stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Stir in milk, chiles, and celery salt; heat to simmering. Add chicken and optional vegetable cubes. Add cheeses; stir and heat just until cheeses melt. Do not boil. Add pepper to taste. Serve in individual bowls and eat!

*I am still making vegetable purees and freezing them in ice cube trays. Griffin will still eat a bowl full of vegetable puree at almost every meal. I have been putting these "vegetable cubes" in everything I make, soups, pasta, on pizza, even in scrambled eggs. So you may see these in other recipes.

Tennille's website picks

Here are a few great websites!

www.picky-palate.com The great thing about this
website is that there is so much to choose from. New
recipes are added almost daily, main dishes and
lots of desserts.

www.downrightdelish.wordpress.com This one has
lots of recipes also, and rates them from easy to
difficult.

Foodie websites you want to share?

Hey girls...I thought we could keep a running list of good food/cooking websites as a resource for when we need ideas! To share a website, either just leave a comment here or make a new post giving the link and a short review of the website (and/or list some favorite recipes from it). I'll make sure it gets a permanent spot on the sidebar.

I've started the list with a few for you to search and browse.

A new one I've been looking at recently is The Rookie Cookie. Lots of good stuff here covering the whole range of feeding a family. If you're wondering how to make meals more healthful (i.e. using brown rice, quinoa, flaxseed, etc.), she has tasty-looking options.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks is awesome. I don't know if anything on this site is necessarily healthy, but it all looks delicious. She's entertaining to boot.


Another blog I like: This Week for Dinner. Her blog isn't exactly organized well, but at least there is a link to look at only Recipes (she has a "Menus" link as well...over two years' worth of meal planning...lots of ideas!).

Banana Cake

Symonie gave me the Silver Palate Cookbook several years ago for Christmas and I love so many recipes in it. This is one of our families favorites. Cord especially loves it the next day chilled.

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 tsp baking soda
5 Tbs buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
cream cheese frosting
1 1/2 to 2 firm but ripe bananas
1 1/2 cup walnuts chopped

PREPARATION
Grease & flour two 9" layer cake pans and preheat oven to 350°.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add mashed bananas and mix thoroughly.

Sift dry ingredients and add to butter/egg mixture. Stir until flour is incorporated. Add buttermilk and vanilla. Mix for one minute.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on rack for 10 minutes, unmold and cool on rack for 2 hours.

When cooled frost the bottom layer with cream cheese frosting. If desired arrange slices of banana over the frosting and place the second layer on top (I usually just put the bananas on top of the slice as it is served so I don't have brown bananas in the left over cake). Frost the rest of the cake

Cover the sides of the cake with chopped nuts, holding nuts in palm and pressing firmly to sides of cake. Dust top with powdered sugar.

ENJOY!

Sautéd Spaghetti Squash

INGREDIENTS
1 spaghetti squash
3 Tbs. butter
1/2 of a medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
salt & pepper to taste

PREPARATION
Cut the spaghetti squash in half and rub a little olive oil on the edges. Place the squash face down on a cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350.

Scrape out the inside of the squash and set aside.

In a sauté pan cook the onion & garlic until soft. I like to caramelize the onion and if you do this you may need to add a little oil because the butter will burn.

Add the reserved squash to the pan and sauté. Add salt & pepper to taste. Sometimes we add a pinch of cinnamon to give it a different flavor.

Martha's Mac & Cheese

I love this recipe for mac & cheese, I got it out of Martha Stewart Living many years ago. The nutmeg gives it such a great flavor but I usually leave out the cayenne pepper because my kids don't like it. I also use what cheese I have on hand most times. One thing I never leave out is the breadcrumbs -- sooooo good!

Serves 12 (can be cut in half easily)

INGREDIENTS
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 pound elbow macaroni

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.

2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

3. While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

4. Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.

5. Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

6. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

Quick Chicken & Dumpling Soup

INGREDIENTS

3 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped fine
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
2 celery ribs, sliced thin
2 potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2" cubes
8 cups chicken broth
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded into bite size pieces (about 3 cups)
2 1/4 cup Bisquick
2/3 cup milk

PREPARATION
1. Melt butter in pot over medium-high. Cook onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, chicken, salt & pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.

2. Mix Bisquick with milk and drop by teaspoon into pot. Simmer for 10 minutes, then put lid on and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Teriyaki Chicken Lo Mein

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup soy sauce*
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
4 packages ramen noodles, broken into large pieces, seasoning packets discarded
1 16-oz. bag coleslaw mix
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/4" thick slices
1 Tbsp. olive oil

*I used a mixture of regular soy sauce & the very thick sweet soy sauce you can get at Asian supermarkets

PREPARATION
Simmer soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sugar, and cornstarch in large saucepan over medium high heat, whisking often, until thick, 2-3 minutes. Take out half the soy sauce mixture & put in a bowl. Add water to saucepan with remaining soy sauce mixture and return to a bowl. Add ramen and cook about 4 minutes. Off heat, stir in coleslaw mix, cover and keep warm. Then heat oil in a skillet and cook chicken, then add soy sauce mixture from bowl. Transfer noodles to platter and top with chicken. Serve!