Butter-Almond-Crusted Fishwiches

This is what I made the night my son told me I should open a restaurant. This sandwich is the reason my son thinks I am amazing. Well, one of the reasons.

I saw this recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray and thought it would be a good dinner. The kids love fish and I want to like slaw. The fact the the slaw here uses dijon mustard, dill pickle relish, a little honey & oil, (none of that gross white stuff), made me very hopeful.

I decided to follow the recipe as closely as I could. (Of course, I had to get rid of some of the fat, like the butter which I reduced almost to nothing to cook the fish in).
I bought some freshly baked Italian sandwich bread from a local bakery and got to work.

I used fresh breadcrumbs, which I made with whole wheat bread, in the breading.

The combination of flavors was really great. The fresh thyme stood out. The almonds in the breading were really delicious.

My kids and hubby raved about this. I really like it too.

I don't really know what else to say about it besides it was absolutely fantastic. Definite repeat.

Recipe for Butter-Almond- Crusted Fishwiches * I used 1 Tbls of oil in the slaw
and 1 1/2 Tbls dijon mustard
* I made my own breadcrumbs, using 3 pieces of whole wheat bread
* I didn't use the all that butter when cooking the fish

B-day stuff: Chocolate Cake with Whipped Frosting and brunch from The Pink Princess Book

Here is my little Ry-Bear. She turned 5 on October 25th. She loves the carousel, animals and dinosaurs, but sometimes has a thing for pink and princesses, too.
When we discussed her b-day cake, her first choice involved pink and princess, but she quickly changed her mind to dinosaurs and green frosting. I asked her multiple times and the dinosaur/green frosting combo was the winner.
She wanted to decorate it, so I let her put the little plastic dinos on top and then all the kids help throw the dinosaur eggs (candy-coated chocolate covered sunflower seeds) on top. Kind of relaxing to let the kids do all the work.
I had no problem getting rid of the extra frosting. The recipe for cake and frosting are below. Nothing too spectacular, but good enough for a birthday.
For her birthday brunch, the birthday girl flipped through the pages of Pink Princess Cookbook and chose a menu. The kids helped me prepare all of the food for our brunch.

I was not planning on taking pictures of this brunch, but my mom and husband both protested when I told them I was just going to have a relaxing time with no pics. They insisted. So, I grabbed the camera when everything was on the table (not the usual place for taking pics of food in my house) and I tried to get a decent shot of the brunch. Bear with me on these :-)
Ry chose Mini-Marshmallow Smoothies to start us off. I adapted the recipe from the book and placed 1 sliced banana, 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup vanilla yogurt, and 1 1/2 cups skim milk in the blender. I blended it well, then poured it into glasses and added the colored mini-marshmallows. (The adults enjoyed smoothies w/out marshmallows).
Next up
Blackberry Biscuits
1 can large-size refrigerator biscuits
1 cup canned blackberry pie filling
1 tsp ground cinnamon mixed w/ 1/4 cup sugar

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Slice or divide each biscuit in half. Press one half in the bottom of 8 of the muffin cups, covering bottom completely. Leave 4 of the muffin cups empty.
Spoon 1 Tbls pie filling on top of each biscuit half.
Cover pie filling w/ remaining biscuits halves.
Sprinkle tops w/ cinnamon-sugar mixture. I used decorating sugar too
Bake for 15 minutes.
Serve warm.
Fairy Tale Fondue
3/4 cup heavy cream
12 oz white chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla

Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot, about 2-3 minutes.
When hot, add the chocolate and stir until it is just melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla.
Serve with your choice or fresh strawberries, banana slices, pound cake, pretzels, grapes, etc. for dipping
This was Ry's fave thing to help make for the brunch.

Little Ladybugs
12 seedless red grapes
12 toothpicks
12 whole strawberries w/ stems
1 package mini chocolate chips

Place a grape on a toothpick, sliding it all the way to the end of the stick. This is the ladybugs head.
Place a strawberry on the toothpick, stem end first, and slide it down to touch the grape. This is the body.
Lay the ladybug down and carefully push the pointed ends of several chocolate chips into the strawberry to make the spots.
Raspberry Tea Sandwiches
8 slices white bread
1/2 cup soft spread cream cheese
1 Tbls raspberry preserves
1 pint fresh raspberries

Cut bread into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. In a bowl combine cream cheese and raspberry preserves. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on each bread cut-out and place raspberries on top.

Classic Cucumber Sandwiches
1 English cucumber, sliced
8 slices whole wheat bread
2 Tbls softened butter
salt and pepper
cherry tomatoes for garnish

Cut crust off bread and cut into shapes with cookie cutter.
Spread butter on each cut-out. Lay cucumber slices on top.
Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with cherry tomatoes


The whole brunch was really fun to prepare and even more fun to share. It was a great birthday!

Recipe for Chocolate Cake

Recipe for Whipped Frosting

CEiMB-Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

This week's CEiMB recipe- Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, was chosen by Pam, whose blog- Cookies with Boys, is a really great one- she always has great healthy recipes and delicious treats. She just seems like the kind of person that you would really want to have living next door. She has 2 adorable little boys and I am sure if she was your neighbor she would probably bring you a plate of cookies or invite you over for a lunchdate.
You can find the recipe on her blog or by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.

The night that I made these for dinner my husband walked into the kitchen, looked at the pan I was cooking in and asked, "What is that?"
I said "BBQ for sandwiches."
He replied, " Well, I know what it is, but you don't ever cook stuff like that."

So, I guess that was his reaction when he saw me cooking something "normal". I thought it was pretty funny.

I don't really know that much about BBQ. I don't have a certain taste that I am looking for in the sauce or anything like that. I can't tell the difference between vinegar-based or whatever. In fact, the word BBQ meant to me growing up, that we were going to have a BBQ in the backyard, cooking something on the grill.
When I moved to the south, I soon realized that BBQ is actually a food. The confusion with words and phrases didn't stop there, but I won't go into that.

So, anyway- I made this sauce as is, because I wouldn't really know how to change it and I am not that particular about this stuff anyway. I left out the liquid smoke because I don't have any and this dinner was enjoyed by all. If I did make it again, I might mess around with the sauce and add something to give it a little heat and I would probably cook my own chicken to shred because the rotisserie chicken I found was quite pricey.

I had some of the BBQ leftover and I ate it the next day over some salad greens. It made a pretty tasty salad.

Check out the other CEiMB members by going to the Blogroll!
And if you haven't already entered my giveaway, go and comment for your chance to win a cookbook!
Recipe for Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches


One Year Ago- Lunchbox #2

Mothers Day Tea Party

I saw this really cute idea for a Mothers Day Tea Party in the May issue of Family Fun Magazine and decided it was the perfect way to celebrate this upcoming holiday with my family and friends. We made the wrapping paper hats, the fans and the cute little tea party foods. It was really fun.

Our party was for girls only and everyone had to make their own hat. I made the petit fours, tea sandwiches, lemon scones, and strawberry lemonade. I made Dorie's Perfection Pound Cake the day before our party and wrapped it up really good overnight and cut it into shapes the day of the party. The icing for the petit fours was the most difficult part because at first it was too thick and hard to cover the cake pieces with and then I thinned it out so much that is was nearly non-existent. It didn't really matter- the kids and adults loved them anyway. We had alot of fun.

We ate our fun little foods (the lemon scones would make a great Mother's Day breakfast or brunch item), played some games and enjoyed each other's company.

This was the perfect way to celebrate. Happy Mother's Day!!!

Mother's Day Tea Party from Family Fun Magazine

Pastel Petits Fours
Dainty and sophisticated, these cakes (adapted from "Pink Princess Tea Parties" by Barbara Beery) are a real showstopper -- especially for a special occasion like a Mother's Day Tea Party. And since they're made from store-bought pound cake, they're surprisingly easy to prepare. You can decorate the tops with sprinkles, colored sugar, or candy flowers.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 (16-ounce) pound cake (I used Dorie's Perfection Poundcake)
9 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Liquid food coloring
Decorations, such as sprinkles, colored sugar, and candy flowers

1. Cut the entire cake into 1-inch-thick slices. Then use 1-inch-wide cookie cutters or a knife to cut round, square, and diamond shapes from each slice. Place the cake pieces on a wire rack set on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the powdered sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup water, and vanilla and almond extracts until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes. As the icing cools, it may start to stiffen; if so, stir in a spoonful of water to keep the icing smooth and flowing. Divide the icing equally between two or three small bowls. Stir food coloring, a drop at a time, into each bowl until the icing is the desired shade.

3. Working with one piece of cake at a time, spoon on the icing to cover it completely, then add sprinkles, colored sugar, or a candy flower before the icing sets. Let the cakes stand, uncovered, until the icing is dry, about 30 minutes. Store them in an airtight container for up to three days.

Makes about 30 cakes.

Tea Sandwiches
Any sandwich can be a tea sandwich, as long as it's sliced into neat, nearly-bite-size pieces. Here are some of our favorites -- adapted from "Pink Princess Tea Parties" by Barbara Beery -- to get you started. For extra fanciness on a special occasion like a Mother's Day Tea Party, use a cookie cutter to punch out shapes from your sandwich bread.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
FOR SANDWICH NO. 1:
Wheat bread
Cream cheese
Walnuts
Honey
Pears
FOR SANDWICH NO. 2:
White bread (I used the rest of our baguette)
Herbed cream cheese (I used vegetable cream cheese)
Tomatoes
Black olives
FOR SANDWICH NO. 3:
Baguette
Nutella
Bananas
FOR SANDWICH NO. 4:
Mini pita breads (I used plain pita chips)
Hummus (We had 2 kinds of hummus-roasted red pepper and plain)
Cucumber and tomato
FOR SANDWICH NO. 5:
Wheat bread
Sliced turkey
Provolone
Basil pesto

1. Spread wheat bread with honey-walnut cream cheese (made by combining 1 package of softened cream cheese with 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts and 2 tablespoons of honey). Top with sliced pears and a second slice of bread.

2. Cover white bread with herbed cream cheese, tomato slices, and minced black olives.

3. Top thin slices of baguette with Nutella and sliced bananas.

4. Fill mini pita breads with hummus and slices of cucumber and tomato.

5. Sandwich sliced turkey and provolone between two pieces of wheat bread spread with basil pesto.

Glazed Lemon Scones
Light and lemony, these biscuit-like cakes will make a refreshing addition to any Easter brunch menu. Plus, they're a fun and easy pastry for kids to help prepare, particularly when it comes time to pat and slice the dough and drizzle on the glaze.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Scones:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup heavy or whipping cream, plus a little for brushing
1 egg yolk, beaten slightly
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons heavy or whipping cream

1. Heat the oven to 400°. Grease a large, heavy baking sheet (preferably not a dark one) and set

it aside.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest and toss the mixture with your hands.

3. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the cream, the yolk, and the vanilla extract and use a fork to blend the liquids within the well. Then use a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients, just until the dough holds together.

5. Scrape the dough onto a flour-dusted surface and then, using floured hands, knead it gently three or four times to form a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk about 3/4-inch thick, then cut it as you would a pie into 8 wedges. Transfer the pieces to the baking sheet, leaving at least 1/4 inch between them. Brush the tops lightly with cream.

6. Bake the scones in the center of the oven until golden brown, about 16 to 18 minutes. Allow them to cool on the sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack.

7. While the scones continue to cool, make the glaze. Combine all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk them until the mixture is smooth. If necessary, you can thin the glaze with water, stirring in no more than 1/2 teaspoon at a time. When the scones have cooled for another 10 minutes, drizzle each one generously with glaze.

Makes 8 scones.

Coming Monday- Vegetable Frittata and Flaky Biscuits

Slow Cooker- Cook Once, Eat Twice

Cook 2 pot roasts in your slow cooker one day and a few days later...

Add a few more ingredients to the leftovers and you have Cheesesteak Sandwiches

I love meals like this, where you cook once and can make 2 dinners. This pot roast was very tender and delicious, and that is coming from a non-beef lover. It was tasty and the sandwiches were great as well. I added a little more liquid than the recipe called for originally and also added some onion for flavor.

Slow-Cooker Pot Roast (adapted from Southern Living Magazine)

2 (2 1/4- to 2 1/2-lb.) eye-of-round roasts, trimmed

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 (1-lb.) package baby carrots

1 (28-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes

1 cup chopped celery
1/2 large red onion, chopped

2 cups beef broth

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1. Rub roasts evenly with 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper.
2. Brown roasts on all sides in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat (about 10 minutes). Place roasts, side by side, in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Add carrots and remaining ingredients.
3. Cook, covered, on LOW 10 to 12 hours or until tender. Remove roasts from slow cooker; shred 1 roast, and serve with 2 cups vegetable-and-gravy mixture. Shred remaining roast. Store remaining roast and 2 cups vegetable-and-gravy mixture in separate airtight containers in refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months.

Cheesesteak-Style Sandwiches

1 medium-size sweet onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cooked and shredded Slow-cooker Pot Roast

5 (6-inch) hoagie rolls, split
10 provolone cheese slices (about 6 oz.)

2 cups Slow-cooker Pot Roast gravy

1. Sauté first 3 ingredients in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 15 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with Creole seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Spoon shredded pot roast and bell pepper mixture evenly onto bottoms of split rolls, and top with provolone cheese; replace tops of split rolls. Place sandwiches on a baking sheet.
3. Broil 6 inches from heat 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and top of rolls are toasted.
4. Microwave Slow-cooker Pot Roast gravy in a glass measuring cup at HIGH 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve sandwiches with gravy for dipping.