Oh #$!%, no lemon!

Went to make lemon dill salmon tonight and we were out of lemons. I called 2 people and they both had lemon juice but no lemons (and we all know that is just not the same). So off I went to the pantry to try to invent something. Here is what I came up with...

Honey Dijon Crusted Salmon with Bacon
1 part honey
1 part dijon mustard
french fried onion rings, crushed
cooked bacon (one slice per piece of salmon)
salmon

Mix the honey and dijon mustard, spread over salmon. Lay one slice of bacon across each piece salmon, sprinkle with onion rings.

Bake @ 375 for 30 minutes.

Yum

First Day of School

Today is Ansley's first day of school so I let her pick dinner.

Are you ready????

frozen fish sticks and smiley faced fries

It's a pizza party!

Matt and I have a group of friends that try to get together about once a month. Usually we do the same ol' thing. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and everyone brings their "best" side dish. Last week though, my girlfriend called me with an idea.... a pizza party. Everyone would bring their own ingredients and make a pizza for everyone to share. I immediately got excited and told her I would make my Wild Mushroom Pizza (see Pizza Heaven post). All week I thought about it, excited. On Friday though, Matt says "Hey hun, why don't you try a buffalo chicken pizza. I would REALLY like that." At first I told him, no way. I was excited and set on my Wild Mushroom Pizza but then the wheels started turning.... what would I do for sauce? How would I prep the chicken. By the time I woke on Saturday, my mind was made up. Buffalo Chicken Pizza it is.


Buffalo Chicken Pizza
FRESH uncooked pizza dough (mine was "fresh" from the Publix deli)
bleu cheese dressing
2 chicken breast, slow cooked for 8 hrs in crock pot
buffalo sauce
crumbled bleu cheese
2 cups mozzarella
scallions

When chicken breast is cooked, shred with fork and smother in buffalo sauce, set aside.

Roll out the dough to full size. Pour on bleu cheese dressing and smear to cover the crust. Top with chicken, mozzarella, bleu cheese, and scallions. Bake until crust is cooked completely.

Oh and yes, it is amazing.

Oh Garlic, My Garlic

I love garlic. For years, every meal started the same- with a clove of garlic. I used garlic like other people use water when they cook. Everything tasted so good, little did I realize everything also tasted the same.

After Rylan was born I had to give up garlic. I cried. Really... She was about 5 weeks old when I realized her little tummy couldn't handle it. So for the last 6 months I have been experimenting with different ways to flavor my food. I have even grown my own basil and chives. I use parsley, dill, and basil a lot but not as much as I used garlic. I found myself missing garlic less and less as I discovered new flavors and realized all my meals didn't need to taste the same.

Tonight though, I broke down. Rylan is almost 7 months old and eats all kind of stuff on her own. Her tummy is matured quite a bit and I had nothing major on the agenda for tomorrow so I figured, what the hell. I made sauteed spinach with garlic and damn, it was good.

Here's hoping Rylan doesn't make me pay for it tomorrow.

Unexpected Inspirations

Cooking inspirations are everywhere. The other day I was feeding Rylan a jar of apples and chicken and it got me thinking... YUM. From there, the wheels started turning for a few days. What could I do to make a chicken and apples entree? Finally I settled on chicken baked with apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Sounds good, doesn't it. Eh, wrong. I thought it sucked. Matt, Ansley and my parents loved it. Too me, it was too dry. I think next time (yes, there will be a next time) I will marinade the chicken in apple juice and will cook it at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time.

It was nice, though, to have my parents over. My mom has thyroid cancer and ever since she had her surgery to remove the thyroid she has been SOOOOO tired. I called them at the last minute and invited them to come eat. Should have known better than to have them over when trying something new.

Tonight I am thinking Mushroom Pork medallions and sauteed spinach. I was going to wait until the weekend for this one but the mushrooms are telling me otherwise....

Destination Mexico

I had a relapse.... had takeout or went out 5 nights in the past week. It was so yummy to have all my old faves but I will admit- I missed my kitchen. My house didn't smell the same, my kitchen didn't feel the same and my pants aren't fitting the same. Hopefully, if we can avoid cancer diagnoses and job offers in war-torn countries, we will get back on track this week.


To kick off a yummy cooking week, we are heading to Mexico! I am recreating the buffalo cheese fries that we had on our cruise last summer (fries smothered in buffalo sauce and a blend of 3 cheeses topped with scallions, blue cheese crumbles and sour cream). I am turning them into the main dish and doing buffalo chicken strips on the side. We will be washing them down with some Dos Equis, well we will if Matt makes a beer run soon. Not the least bit healthy but fun and full of good memories. That, my dears, is what it is really all about.