Strawberry and Chocolate Nachos

These may be the best nachos you have ever had!  They are super rich, so you probably don't need to make as much as you think, but you should make them!

Baked Cinnamon Chips
Chopped Strawberries
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 bag Chocolate Chips
1 Tbs. Vegetable Oil
whipped cream

Add sugar to chopped strawberries, let sit.  Melt chocolate chips in microwave with vegetable oil.  Plate chips, place strawberries on top of chips and drizzle with melted chocolate.  Top with whipped cream.  Enjoy!!

I found this recipe on an adorable blog called Our Best Bites.  It is a must try!

Baked Cinnamon Chips

We have been buying Stacy's Pita Chips in Cinnamon Sugar, so I had to try to make my own.  It is a lot more work than buying, but probably cheaper, and still good! I always like the idea of making my own everything.  I don't always stick to making it all, but it is always good to know it can be done.

Flour Tortillas
Melted Butter
Cinnamon Sugar mixed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly brush each side of the tortilla with melted brother then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp.  My oven liked 11 minutes exactly!

Baked Mashed Potato Balls

I had leftovers of the Feta Mashed Potatoes, and they were so good that I wanted to serve them again. Unfortunately my better half doesn't eat leftovers, so I had to find a way to make them new again!  These turned out ok, but I think I might try to pan fry them next time instead of bake them. I will let you know how that goes!
(I must have been to excited to eat because I didn't take a picture!)


Cold Leftover Mashed Potatoes
1 Egg, beaten and diluted with 2 Tbs water
Seasoned Bread Crumbs or Crushed Corn Flakes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll mashed potatoes into balls, dip balls in egg mixture, then roll in breadcrumbs or corn flakes.  Place balls in a buttered baking dish and bake until heated through.  Once heated, place under broiler, turning occasionally to evenly brown.


I kind of made this recipe up.  I saw Paula Dean do this with her leftovers, but she deep fried them.  I am sure that is WONDERFUL, but I am still not completely comfortable with deep frying on my stovetop.  I learned how, and it really wasn't too hard (if my memory serves), I have just never tried it at home!

Feta Cheese Mashed Potatoes

This is a great alternative to traditional mashed potatoes, and the best part is no gravy is required to make them good.  I find that if the mashed potatoes are made well and seasoned correctly, no gravy is needed; be sure to always salt and pepper to taste.  My rule is to taste everything before it is served and salt and pepper won't even need to be on the table.  

1 1/2 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes, pealed and cubed

4 cloves garlic, pealed

1 (4 oz. pkg) Feta Cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender.  Drain water and transfer to a mixing bowl; mash.  Add the feta, cream, salt and pepper.  Beat until fluffy.

  *A little side note: when draining the water, reserve some of it in a separate bowl.  If you find that the cream doesn't make the mash creamy enough, use the potato water.  It has all of the flavor and won't add more calories.

Serves 6

Chicken with Mushrooms and White Wine

Yummy!  I got this recipe from my packets from Viking Cooking School.  Every time I cook from one of these recipes it always turns out delicious!  Seriously, if you are looking to take a class, Viking is the place to go.  I have also taken classes at Orson Gygi, and Viking wins hands down!!
The Viking recipes use wine in a lot of their recipes.  For those of you that don't drink, don't worry, the alcohol cooks out and just leaves the wonderful flavors.  Also, if you are worried about not being able to use all of the wine, if you just re-cork it, it maintains well enough to cook with until it is gone.  That is what I do, and it always works.  In fact, even though this recipe calls for Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay (both white wines) I used a Reisling which is much sweeter than the others, and it still turned out wonderful.  So to wrap up the wine lesson, if you want to cook with it, just buy a cheap bottle of red and a cheap bottle of white to have on hand, works every time!

Chicken with Mushrooms and White Wine

8 boneless chicken breast halves, skin on (nope, I used boneless and skinless)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 Tbs vegetable oil

3 pound mushrooms or wild mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 

  *Note, instead of using white button mushrooms, I always try to use Crimini or Baby Bellas,         much more flavor

6 large shallots, minces

3 Tbs. Fresh Thyme, chopped

3 Tbs. Fresh Tarragon, chopped

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay

Salt and pepper both sides of chicken and lightly dust flour on both sides.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat; add oil.  Saute chicken until brown, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.  Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil. 

Add the mushrooms, shallots and herbs to the skillet.  Saute mushrooms until soft and golden brown and all of the liquid has turned to a glaze, about 15-20 minutes.  

Add the wine and stock to the skillet, cook to reduce by half.  Return chicken to the pan, simmer until chicken is heated through and the liquid has thickened.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

This obviously makes a lot of food, I was only making it for 2, so I cut down a lot of the ingredients.  I used a ton of mushrooms because they would have gone bad otherwise, but that is okay because they were also delicious mixed with the mashed potatoes.  Enjoy!!

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

Coming in at number 8, broccoli is definitely a superfood.  I fully enjoy this green cruciferous vegetable, however it isn't loved by all, so I added in some cauliflower.  Both pack plenty of Vitamin C and because of their similar shapes and sizes they cook together well... usually!  The high heat required to give the cauliflower a nice golden brown, may have been a little much for the broccoli to take!  It still tasted great, it just looks a little overdone.

1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
1 medium head broccoli (also about 2 pounds)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
(I also added paprika and a little garlic salt sprinkled over the top)

  Adjust oven rack to lowest position, and heat to 475 degrees.  Trim outer leaves of cauliflower and cut stem flush with bottom.  Cut head into 8 equal wedges so that the core and florets remain intact. Repeat process with broccoli.  Place wedges cut side down on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with 2 Tbs. olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic salt; gently rub to evenly distribute oil and seasonings.  Flip vegetables and coat again.

  Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to roast until bottoms of vegetables are golden brown, about 8 to 12 minutes.  Remove sheet from oven and gently flip vegetables over using a spatula.  Return to oven and continue to roast for another 8 to 12 minutes.  Season again with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle again with olive oil.

Recipe from Cooks Illustrated.

Quinoa with Mushrooms

Quinoa is listed as one of the 10 superfoods, so I had to give it a try.  The grain is high in protein and fiber and is a naturally good source of iron.  It also packs zinc, vitamin E, and selenium to help control your weight as well as lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes.  Superfood for sure.  The only downfall this has, it is hard to find.  Apparently not all grocery stores got the memo of its greatness, and don't yet carry it.  Not to worry, Whole Foods is always a good source for anything that is good for you!

This dish turned out pretty well.  I think a little more flavor can be injected into the quinoa, but the mushroom mixture made it into a nice side dish.  Enjoy!

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 (8 oz) package mushrooms, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (I think I added about 3 cloves)

1 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed

3 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook the onions and mushrooms, adding the garlic half way through.  Cook until browned, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

  Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add quinoa and let brown, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low; simmer 15 to 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. 

  Stir the mushroom mixture into quinoa and cook another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese to serve.   

Recipe from allrecipes.com by Jen Cardenes

Glazed Salmon

Salmon is always a huge hit for dinner in my house.  Usually it is steamed in foil with a butter on the grill.  Yummy every time.  I tried to mix it up last night and found a recipe for a marinade/glaze, it too was yummy!  The recipe called for grilling directly on the grill, but I didn't do that!  I am always concerned with fish that it will just end up falling apart.  So again, I wrapped them in foil before I put them on the grill.  This made the following recipe into less of a glaze than it should have been, but the flavor was still there.

*I don't have a pic of the salmon, because it fell apart before it hit the plate!

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets

  Whisk together all ingredients, pour into resealable plastic bag.  Add the salmon filets, fully coating with marinade mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour, turning occasionally.
  Preheat grill on medium heat.  Lightly oil the grate.  Grill salmon until browned and the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 5 minutes each side.
  *Alternately, wrap the salmon filets in foil, folding up the ends, creating a pouch.  Grill about 10 minutes on medium-high heat until salmon flakes easily with fork.


Original recipe contributed to allrecipes.com by HWaldron