The best Greek Seasoning that I have found
3. Add chicken and drizzle with Greek Vinaigrette
4. Serve and Enjoy!
The best Greek Seasoning that I have found
Posted by Mary Ann at 1:13 PM 1 comments
Labels: chicken, family favorite, main dish, poultry, quick and easy, salad
On Friday night we celebrated my little brother's 16th birthday and had a Cake Taste Test. We tested 8 cakes and voted for our favorites. This is the winner- a light, white cake with lime zest, frosted with strawberry buttercream and whipped cream
Posted by Mary Ann at 2:50 PM 1 comments
Labels: cake, dessert, strawberries, strawberry buttercream
Posted by Mary Ann at 2:34 PM 1 comments
Labels: birthday cake, cake, cupcakes, dessert
Posted by Mary Ann at 2:25 PM 0 comments
This cake was super dense and sweet. In my opinion, there was way too much frosting. If I were going to make this again, I would reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup, reduce the oil by 1/2 cup and reduce the frosting recipe by at least half.
Posted by Mary Ann at 2:25 PM 0 comments
Praline Mini Bundt Cakes (from Betty Crocker)
These mini cakes are a doctored-up cake mix. Start with a yellow cake mix and mix according to directions. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup toffee bits. Bake in a mini bundt pan that is greased and floured, for 18-23 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely.
In a 1-qt saucepan melt 1/4 cup butter over medium-high heat. Stir in 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbls corn syrup, 1 Tbls milk, and heat to a rolling boil-stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Immediately drizzle over mini cakes and sprinkle with additional toffee bits.
My sister discovered this recipe that plays up a cake mix. It tastes a little like banana bread and has a very light texture.
Posted by Mary Ann at 1:28 PM 0 comments
This is my son's favorite dinner, so with all those leftover hard boiled eggs..... it is no wonder that we had egg salad sandwiches! I first saw this idea in Martha Stewart's Kids magazine, but ended up making my own version of egg salad and just using her idea as a template for the faces.
The makings for the faces- sliced olives, bell peppers, grape tomatoes, sliced baby dill pickles, sliced egg "eyes", peas, carrot coins, shredded lettuce and whatever else you want.
Some people in my family like their bread toasted, others do not
Then put on the eyes, shown here without yolks
Eyes with yolks
Posted by Mary Ann at 9:35 AM 2 comments
Labels: eggs, family favorite, salad, sandwich, vegetables
I am so excited! This is my first time participating in Tuesdays with Dorie- A group of bloggers that are baking their way through Dorie Greenspan's Baking: from my home to yours- by taking turns each week choosing a recipe, baking, and blogging about it. Everyone posts on the same day and I had a lot of fun!
I have never attempted to make flan before, mainly because it isn't my favorite dessert, so this was a good opportunity for me to bake something I probably wouldn't have otherwise.
cooling to room temperature
My biggest disappointment with how these turned out was mainly that the outside edge was not smooth at all so it didn't look as pretty as the picture. I had a hard time getting them out of the ramekins and I think that I loosened them too much with a knife around the edge.
The best part about making the flan was serving one of these individual servings to my husband and awaiting his response. He took one bite- nothing. He took another bite and I started asking him questions. He loved the hint of coconut flavor and also loved the thin layer of caramel because it added just enough sweetness. He also liked the texture and finished his portion. I was amazed because he is picky and I thought for sure that he wouldn't like this at all. I stand corrected! Thank you Dorie and fellow bloggers for inspiring me to try something new and getting my husband to love it!
Posted by Mary Ann at 9:03 AM 19 comments
Labels: dessert, eggs, Tuesdays with Dorie
This year I thought it would be nice to have a simple Easter dinner. I decided that we were going to eat something that Jesus might have actually eaten during the time he was on the earth. We had broiled fish, bulgur, and honeycomb (I added some veggies for nutritional reasons!)
I bought this Taboule mix because I knew that is contained bulgur and just made it my own way.
Bulgur Pilaf
Brown 1 cup bulgur in 2 Tbls olive oil in a saucepan. Set aside. Saute 1 cup chopped red onion in 1 Tbls olive oil until tender. Add bulgur, seasoning packet (that comes in the box), 2 cups low sodium chicken broth, the juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tbls fresh parsley, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until bulgur is tender and liquid is absorbed.
The package of honeycomb produced alot of curiosity! What an ordeal I had to go through to get it. My sister, my mom and I were out at a Wilds Oats store trying to find some honeycomb. That store was in the process of being taken over by Whole Foods, so their inventory was changing. They called another store location that had 1 container of honeycomb left and they held it for us. Too bad when we got in the car to drive to the other location, there happened to be a blizzard. We made it eventually and then the price of that tiny container, almost made me change my mind. I don't think it was that hard to come by 2000 years ago.
Our honeycomb-very sweet, as you can imagine. A tiny bite of this was really all you needed.
I steamed fresh green beans, wax beans, and thin slices of carrot in the microwave and then seasoned them with salt and pepper.
Broiled Fish
Mix in a bowl -1 Tbls chopped green onions, 1 Tbls chopped fresh parsley, 1 Tbls chopped fresh dill, the juice of 1 lemon, and a few Tbls olive oil. set aside
Posted by Mary Ann at 11:38 PM 0 comments
Labels: fish, grain, main dish, pilaf, vegetables
Ham, Cheese, and Spinach Strata (Family Fun Magazine)
3 or 4 large day-old croissants
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
3/4 cup diced ham
6 eggs
2 1/4 cups half-and-half
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
Step 1 Butter a 9- by 13-inch casserole. Using a serrated knife, cut the croissants into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes (you will need 6 cups) and scatter half of them in the casserole. Set the remaining cubes aside for now.
Step 2 Melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Add the onion and sauté it over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the spinach (you may have to do this in batches) and cover the pan. Let the spinach cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 3 Spoon the spinach over the croissant cubes in the casserole. Then sprinkle on half of the cheese and all of the ham. Next, add the remaining croissant pieces and the rest of the cheese.
Step 4 In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, half-and-half, mustard, salt, pepper, and basil just until blended. Ladle the liquid evenly over the layers in the casserole. Press the croissants down gently with a fork to dampen all of it. Cover the casserole with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step 5 Heat the oven to 350°. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the strata in the center of the oven until it is puffed and golden brown, about 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer the casserole to a wire rack and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 12 servings
Bubbly Berries and Grapefruit (Family Fun Magazine)
2 red grapefruits, halved, seeded, and sectioned
1 pint fresh strawberries, rinsed and halved or quartered
1 (25-ounce) bottle sparkling cider
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Step 1 Alternately spoon the grapefruit sections and the sliced strawberries into 6 goblet glasses until you have enough fruit in each to make a nice serving.
Step 2 Slowly pour enough sparkling cider over the fruit to almost cover it. Add a sprig of mint to each goblet, and your treat is ready to eat.
Makes 6 servings.
Easter Breakfast Rolls (from A Christ-Centered Easter)
1 pkg frozen bread or roll dough, thawed or your favorite homemade dough recipe for rolls
6 Tbls sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon
1 bag large marshmallows
1/4 cup butter, melted
Divide dough into individual roll-sized portions. Press each portion into a flat circle. Place 1 large marshmallow in the center of each roll. Pinch roll dough very firmly around the marshmallow. Roll each into a seamless, or nearly seamless, ball with your hands. Brush rolls with melted butter. Sprinkle sugar mixture over rolls.
Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight. On Easter morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take rolls out of the fridge and bake for 15 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. These rolls will be hollow in the middle- a fun take on the empty tomb.
This was a really great Easter breakfast because I put the strata and the breakfast rolls together the night before and just refrigerated them overnight, so all I had to do was pop them in the oven on Easter morning and assemble the fruit.
This was a great way to make Easter morning special for us. I think it is going to be a new tradition!
Our passover platter- Lamb koftas, dried figs, herbed goat cheese, dates, and cucumber
Lamb koftas with homemade grape juice
Lamb Koftas (Martha Stewart's Outdoor Living Magazine)
1/2 cup coursely chopped onion
1 piece (1/2 inch) fresh ginger, peeled
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 tsp garam masala (less if you are not familiar with its taste)
1 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 large egg
1 pd ground lamb
3 Tbls safflower oil (I used olive oil)
1 recipe Cucumber Raita*
1. Pulse onion, ginger, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add int, cilantro, garam masala, salt and pepper; pulse until finely choppped. Add egg and lamb; process until fully combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
2. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; flatten into patties. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat; add oil. When hot add patties in batches until cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Or use an indoor grill pan like I did. Heat to medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add patties and drizzle with olive oil. Cook a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Cucumber Raita- 1 English Cucumber, peeled and seeded 1 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves, juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp coarse salt - Cut cucumber into 1/4-inch dice. Transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients; stir to combine.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine 3 cups flour and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium sized bowl. Slowly add enough water so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and it is soft and workable. Add more flour if dough is too sticky.
Divide dough into 3 portions. On a floured surface, roll out each portion as thin as possible. Transfer to a lightly oiled cookie sheet and prick dough lightly a few times with a fork. Bake immediately until browned, turning once. Carefully slide onto a wire rack to cool.
Posted by Mary Ann at 10:23 PM 0 comments
Posted by Mary Ann at 10:13 PM 0 comments