Month: August 2013

Lemon Meringue Pie

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When life gives you lemons….. make a pie! August 15th is National Lemon Meringue Pie day. I don’t know who makes this stuff up, but it’s an excuse to try something new. I’ve never made a lemon meringue pie before, and actually I’ve never eaten a lemon meringue pie before!

My blog post about Blueberry Bars received the most likes. And I realized that the correlation between like and sugar was probably pretty accurate.  And when my Goat Cheese Cheesecake became my top post, I knew I’d have to venture into the baking world some more.

Stuart was my sous chef in this endeavor. And we had a great time together in the kitchen. Our song (Then, by Brad Paisley) even came on Pandora! Stuart started the lemon filling on the stove while I separated the eggs and made the meringue.

Lemon Meringue Pie Filling Lemon Meringue Pie Filling

Meringue Meringue Meringue

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

  • 9 in pie crust, baked and cooled
  • 1 1/4 C sugar
  • 1/2 C flour
  • 1 1/2 C water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of 1 1/2 lemons
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Steps

  1. In a saucepan whisk together flour, water, salt, and 1 1/4 C sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once at a boil, cook for one more minute – still stirring constantly – or until the mixture becomes gelatinous. Remove from heat.
  2. Temper the egg yolks by whisking in 3-4 tbsp of the mixture. Pour egg yolks into the saucepan, return to the heat, and cook one more minute – stirring constantly.
  3. Stir in butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into the baked pie crust.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  5. Use an electric hand mixer to make the meringue by beating the egg whites with vanilla, cream of tartar, and 6 tbsp sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks are formed.
  6. Top pie with meringue. Make sure to “seal” the meringue to the crust.
  7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the meringue is golden.

*This recipe is adapted from http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/lemon-meringue-pie.htm*

Lemon Meringue Pie 1

Lemon Meringue Pie 2

Copy Cat: Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

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Applebee’s is one of my favorite American chain restauarants. In high school my friend and I would share the appetizer platter, and I have ever sense been addicted to their Spinach and Artichoke Dip. There was an Applebee’s in Auburn and we would frequent the place. My entire day could be ruined by four little words, “I’m sorry, we’re out [of spinach dip].” I think I’m going to have to find another Applebee’s Copy Cat recipe for that soon… thinking about it is starting a craving… and the nearest Applebee’s to me is 20 miles away.

Copy Cat: Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad 1

When Applebee’s introduced the 2 for $20 menu, I discovered the most delicious restaurant salad — their Oriental Chicken Salad. This blog post, despite the first paragraph, is to divulge a Copy Cat recipe. I baked the chicken in the oven, so it’s not a perfect replica, but it will do in a pinch!

Oriental Chicken Salad

Ingredients (serves 2):

  • 1 1/2 hearts Romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 C broccoli slaw
  • 1/4 C sliced almonds
  • 1/2 C Chow Mein noodles
  • 1 large chicken breast (seriously, ours are giant)
  • 1/2 C flour
  • 1-2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/2 C panko
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 C mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/8 tsp sesame oil

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Slice chicken into strips, season with S+P. Dredge chicken in flour, coat in egg, and roll in panko. Place chicken on a greased baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through.
  3. Whisk together honey, vinegar, mayo, mustard, and sesame oil. Refrigerate until serving.
  4. Assemble salad, top with cooked chicken, toss with dressing.

*This recipe is modified from Amy at http://veryculinary.com/2013/06/19/applebees-asian-chicken-salad/*

Copy Cat: Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad 2

Half Square Triangles

~ lk529 ~ 12 Comments

Adding Half Square Triangles (HSTs) to your block repertoire can add so much versatility to your quilting designs. There are multiple tutorials out there for creating HSTs, but this is the way I was taught and it works beautifully well.

Here’s the how-to for a Half Square Triangle:

Your first step will be to determine what size square you need to be working with. Think of the HST as simply replacing a solid square. Take the size of that square and add 1 1/8” to that. Example: a 4” finished HST will need to be cut to 5 1/8”. Don’t forget to ALWAYS make a practice block with scrap fabric before committing.

You will then cut your fabric to that new measurement. Sandwich the two fabrics so that right sides are together.  Half Square Triangles 1

Draw on the center line of your sandwich. Then draw on a line 1/4″ from that on each side.

Half Square Triangles 2

Sew on the two 1/4″ lines.

Half Square Triangles 3

Cut down the center line. You now have two HSTs. Open them up and iron to them open – unless your quilt pattern suggest otherwise, iron so that the folded seam is pressed against the darker of the two fabrics. “Quilters always iron to the dark side”.

Half Square Triangles 4

You will now have to trim down the HSTs to your finished size plus ½”. So for that 4” block, you need to trim the HST down to 4 1/2”. Do this by treating your diagonal seam as straight and trim off the top and right side to just slightly larger than size.

Half Square Triangles 5

Flip the block and now align your ruler with the cut edges. Finish to the right size (4 1/2″).

Half Square Triangles 6

With HSTs you can assemble pinwheels, diamonds, and even the ever-so-popular chevron. You can even use them in the border of a quilt to create a candy cane stripe zigzag!

Half Square Triangles

Chorizo Carbonara

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I didn’t plan my weekly menu over the weekend so therefore didn’t have a grocery list to go shopping either. My freezer was devoid of protein (one chicken breast and a pound of bacon) so we made a quick pit stop at the local Winn-Dixie with the intention of only buying some meat – whatever was BOGO that week. Even though chorizo was not on sale, Stuart wanted it (if you want to save money, leave your husband at home).

Because I didn’t want to rush back to the grocery store, I had to find a chorizo recipe where I had all of the ingredients on hand. I stumbled upon this Chorizo Carbonara. Chorizo Carbonara 1

This recipe might be the simplest Mexican Monday dinner yet! It only takes 4 ingredients and 10 minutes. It’s a pasta dish, so you know I’m one happy girl!

Chorizo Carbonara

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb fettuccini pasta
  • 3 links Mexican chorizo, casing removed
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 C heavy cream

Steps

  1. Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
  2. Brown chorizo in a small, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Drain any excess fat.
  3. Whisk together egg yolks and heavy cream.
  4. Drain pasta. Using two forks, toss with cream mixture – make sure to do this quickly so as not to scramble the yolk and coat the pasta. Add in the chorizo.

*This recipe is adapted from Caroline at http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/04/chorizo-carbonara-recipe.html*

Chorizo Carbonara 2

Chorizo Gravy

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Once upon a time, in our first year of marriage, Stuart was craving a Southern classic: White Sausage Gravy and Biscuits. But I didn’t have any traditional sausage. I did the best I could with what I had – chorizo. It wasn’t technically a white gravy anymore, but it was pretty awesome!

Last week’s Mexican Monday (tomorrow’s post) involved chorizo so I had some leftover and decided to remake this gravy.

The seasonings in the chorizo give the gravy a light orange color and adds tons of extra flavor. Most sausage gravies have a lot of pepper in them, but I don’t add any additional seasonings – the pork takes care of that for me.

Chorizo Gravy

Ingredients:

  • 3 links Mexican chorizo, casings removed
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 C 2% milk

Steps

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, brown chorizo, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Once cooked through, use a slotted spoon to remove the chorizo and put on a paper towel lined plate.
  2. Using the fat in the pot, make a rue with 2 tbsp flour. Whisk.
  3. Whisk in milk. Continue to stir over medium-low heat until milk thickens into a gravy – about 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in cooked chorizo and serve atop biscuits.

Chroizo Gravy 3

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Strawberry Pomegranate Smoothie

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Stuart

Stuart and I are very different people. He is very outgoing, (thinks) he’s funny, and is never shy. He does a great job bringing me out of my shell, but never pushes too hard. Because of him, I have accomplished things I never thought I’d do! (like Tough Mudder!)

And just like our personalities would suggest, my husband likes to get creative in the kitchen with smoothie flavors and spice mixes. I typically need that recipe to reference – but I’m getting better and have my fair share of pork rub recipes!

This tart smoothie is a Stuart Everson Original.

Strawberry Pomegranate Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 C raspberries
  • 5-6 strawberries
  • 1/2 pear, peeled
  • 3/4 C plain yogurt
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • juice 1 lemon
  • 6 oz pomegranate juice

Steps

  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Smoothie Ingredients Strawberry Pomegranate Smoothie 1 Strawberry Pomegranate Smoothie 2

 

 

Crescent Calzones

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What do you do when your attempt a fancy dinner fails and there’s no time for take-out? Crescent Calzones! (Even better when your husband keeps you calm in the kitchen, makes you laugh, and helps you cook!)

Crescent Calzones 1 Crescent Calzones 2 Crescent Calzones 3 Crescent Calzones 4 Crescent Calzones 5 Crescent Calzones 6

An Original Recipe

Crescent Calzones

Ingredients:

  • 1 can crescent rolls (will yield 4 calzones)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 C jarred marinara sauce
  • 1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 C packed spinach leaves
  • 12 slices pepperoni
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp Herbs de Provence
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp cornmeal

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Pinch together two crescent triangles to create a rectangle. Do this four times.
  3. Fill each rectangle with sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and spinach. Only do this on one half so you can fold over the remaining dough. With a fork, crimp the dough together. Cut a slit in the top of the dough with a sharp paring knife. Place calzones on a baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal – you could simply spray the sheet with non-stick cooking spray if you want. Note: you can substitute whatever protein/veggies you’d like. It’s a pizza – the limits are only in your pantry/fridge!
  4. Brush each calzone with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoning and salt.
  5. Bake 12-15 minutes (or according to crescent directions).

Crescent Calzones 7 Crescent Calzones 8

Lemony Shrimp Scampi with Orzo

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

My favorite Food Network star is Giada De Laurentiis. (If I could be her for a day, I would!) I record her show Giada at Home and sit with my laptop on the couch and take notes. That’s me furthering my education – Food Network. 😉

Lemony Shrimp Scampi with Orzo 1This recipe was on the episode “Viewer’s Choice 2” and it looked like a perfect weeknight dinner. I was hoping to have some friends over for dinner the night I planned to make this dish, so I was prepared for making the full 4-6 servings. It ended up being just being the two of us, but none of the food went to waste! I took it to lunch the next day, and we even used it as a side dish later in the week too.

Lemony Shrimp Scampi with Orzo

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb orzo pasta
  • 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
  • 1/3 C extra-virgin olive oil
  • zest and juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1/2 C white wine
  • 5 C arugula or spinach or other (I simply used a store bought organic salad mix)

Steps

  1. Cook orzo in boiling pot of salted water until al dente.
  2. Whisk together 1/3 C olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
  3. In a large skillet, saute shallots in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat. Add in the shrimp and season heavily with pepper and salt. Once shrimp are pink, curled, and cooked through remove and set aside.
  4. Deglaze the skillet with white wine and add in your greens. Once the greens are wilted and most of the wine is evaporated add in the cooked orzo and shrimp.
  5. Toss with the vinaigrette from step 2.

Lemony Shrimp Scampi with Orzo 2

BLT Salad

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

How do you make Salad Night exciting? Bacon! Bacon makes everything better, right?

The game of sandwich to salad and salad to sandwich is a fun one to play – caprese salads make great panini so why not turn the BLT into a salad? BLT Salad 1

This BLT Salad is better than the American classic BLT Sandwich because this salad has a balsamic-mayo dressing!

BLT Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 romaine hearts, chopped
  • 2 on-the-vine tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 6 slices of bacon
  • 2 handfuls croutons
  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • zest of 1/4 lemon
  • S+P

Steps

  1. Cook bacon until extra crispy (in your preferred method – in the oven, on the stove top, or in the microwave). Transfer to a paper towel to absorb extra grease. When cool enough to handle, break up the bacon.
  2. Whisk together mayo, balsamic, lemon zest. Season with S+P to taste.
  3. Assemble salad and top with dressing.

*This recipe is adapted from Lyndsy at http://www.dinnervine.com/2012/09/blt-salad/*

BLT Salad 2

Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf

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What is more comforting than meatloaf? But what is also more boring than meatloaf? Not much. This meatloaf recipe gets a makeover into a Mexican Monday favorite. The refried beans keep the loaf moist and the pepperjack cheese gives it a slight kick. Top it with enchilada sauce and sour cream instead of ketchup or barbecue sauce and you’re in for a flavor overload.

In a pinch I have substituted taco sauce in place of the enchilada sauce and it gives it just a little bit more heat. I guess in that instance it’d be called Turkey Taco Meatloaf!

Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb ground turkey
  • 1 C refried beans
  • 1 C shredded pepperjack cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 C breadcrumbs or panko
  • 1/2 tsp each chili powder and cumin
  • 1 C enchilada sauce (or taco sauce!)
  • 1/2 C sour cream
  • 1/2 C honey

Steps

  1. In a large bowl, combine turkey, beans, cheese, breadcrumbs, seasonings, egg, and salt and pepper. Put into a loaf pan, cover, and set in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. You can also prepare this the night before.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce, sour cream, and honey.
  4. Top meatloaf with about 1/2 – 3/4 of the sauce (save the remainder for leftovers or topping your meatloaf slices) before putting in the oven. Bake uncovered one hour.

*This recipe is adapted from Carrian at http://www.ohsweetbasil.com/2013/04/turkey-meatloaf-enchilada-style.html*

Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf 1 Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf 2 Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf 3