Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
On a recent Saturday night we had our best friends over for dinner. As we usually end up standing around our kitchen counter instead of sitting at the dining room table or lounging in the living room, making a variety of appetizers seemed to be the best menu.
I decided to go with an Italian theme, as our basil plant was ready for picking. Tomato Bruschetta, prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe, and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs filled our menu. Hanging out at the kitchen counter, we were able to pick at the foods, sip some swamp water, and chat.
The meatballs were filled with fresh…
Cheese & Onion Crisps
While I thoroughly enjoy cooking and baking, sometimes the simplest of recipes makes the best dish. Over the past few weeks, I have found that to be true.
Last night, I decided to try a new recipe for baked ricotta. I was hoping for a flavorful dip that I could serve with lavash chips. To make this recipe two egg whites needed to be whipped until soft peaks formed. It seemed silly to use my stand mixer for 2 egg whites, so I whisked them by hand. While it wasn’t tiring, it did require a bit of time, and when I…
Tapas Mushrooms
Although I often refer to my husband’s and my late Monday dinners as Tapas Night, not all of our meals consist of tapas dishes. We have had flatbread pizza, fondue, and salad, just to name a few alternate meals. However, for a significant portion of these dinners I make an assortment of appetizer dishes.
Although we vary our dinners, tapas is our favorite menu for this dinner. Eating appetizer-style dishes seems to lend itself to a slower paced meal, which is perfect when only two are dining. With the items brought to the table in their serving dishes, we…
Smoky Swiss Fondue
I have to admit I’m a little behind in posting this recipe. Smoky & Swiss Fondue was my husband and my late night Monday dinner. . .last week. However, it’s been one of those weeks that seems extra long. Let’s just say that what was supposed to be two separate weeks of business travel for my husband became one two-week trip due to a cancelled flight caused by rainstorms at O’Hare last Friday. So, with many end of the year school activities and four kids missing said husband over the weekend, I had other things occupying my time that were…
Mango Pineapple Salsa Salad
Our 11 year old daughter and my husband have been working together on a small container garden. Most of the plants are herbs and have been growing slowly. However, this weekend our daughter noticed that the cilantro was getting quite big and could be used for cooking.
This prompted the big question, “What can we make with cilantro?” After explaining that cilantro is a common ingredient in Mexican or Spanish dishes, she and I decided to make sort sort of homemade salsa.
In an attempt to make this dish more appealing for her, so that she would get to sample the fruits…
Coconut Shrimp
When I was planning the week’s menu, I asked the kids for some input. Our 13 year old son requested shellfish for dinner one night. However, he wasn’t certain how he would want it prepared. With a week of rain and cool temperatures forecast, I suggested soup. That wasn’t quite what he had in mind. My next suggestion was coconut shrimp, and that sounded perfect to him.
I had made coconut chicken tenders a couple months ago, and the recipe was a hit. They were easy to make and had a decent amount of crunch even though they were baked instead…
Goat Cheese and Nectarines
Last Friday night was a typical weekend night for us. Our 13 year old was headed to the movies with a friend, and our 11 year old had 2 friends over for dinner. The three girls were thrilled with the idea of take-out pizza for dinner, although my husband and I were less excited. To please everyone, we ordered pizza for the girls and decided that the adults would enjoy some munchies later.
After a day of work and an evening of bringing different kids to different places, we wanted appetizers that were simple to prepare. We had a package of…
Spiced Cauliflower
A while ago we purchased lamb shanks while grocery shopping. We put them in our freezer, saving them for a special “dinner for two” night. Last Sunday seemed the perfect day for cooking them. After defrosting them overnight, we slowly braised them with red wine and an assortment of spices and vegetables.
Unfortunately, while they were cooking, it seemed that fate had other plans, and the shanks were put aside until Monday. However, there was a hidden benefit to that. I hadn’t planned an interesting side dish for Sunday, but with dinner delayed a day I decided to go to the…
Mushroom Pate
Lazy Sundays are wonderful. With four children, these don’t happen all that often. However, this past Sunday was a free day without a schedule.
We started our day by savoring several cups of coffee, watching food shows, and making a little breakfast. This relaxing start was followed by shopping for new kitchen decor. I am very lucky in that my husband enjoys shopping with me. We went to a couple stores, found a few chicken pieces for our kitchen, and then headed to the grocery store.
As we were braising and roasting lamb shanks for dinner, we decided to make an afternoon…
Zucchini Cakes
When I was working on this Monday’s tapas menu, I wanted a veggie dish that would compliment our Greek theme. Zucchini seemed to be a prevalent ingredient in Greek menus that I reviewed. As both of us like zucchini (and the kids generally don’t), it was a great veggie to use for our adults only meal.
I decided that it would be fun to use the zucchini for a fritter sort of dish. However, I am not a fan of frying which means that I had a problem, as fritters are fried dishes. So, what I decided to do was make…
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