Sesame Salmon

 

A few posts back I shared a recipe (Chicken Tikka Masala) from Club House's spice packs that are
available in grocery stores. We liked the ease of the spice pack so much that we decided to try another one - Asian Sesame Salmon.

Here are the spices that the included in the pack:

• 2 tsp McCormick Gourmet Sesame Seeds
• 1 tsp Club House Dehydrated Minced Garlic
• 1 tsp Club House Dehydrated Minced Onion
• 3/4 tsp Club House Ground Ginger
• 1/2 tsp Club House Crushed Red Pepper

And here are the ingredients that you will need to add:

• 1/3 cup Belly Bee Honey
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 lb salmon fillets

 And this is how the recipe suggests you bring it all together:

1. In a small bowl, combine the honey, green onions, soy sauce and spices, except red pepper, until well blended. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired. Place salmon in 13" x 9" baking dish. Spoon honey mixture evenly over salmon.
2. Bake salmon in preheated 375F oven for 30 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork, basting occasionally with honey mixture.

This recipe was VERY simple and one that I probably will not bother buying the spice pack for again, now that I have the recipe (the recipe is kept in the inside of the package) and because I have all of the supplied spices already in my kitchen. My only improvement to the recipe would be to let the salmon marinate in the honey mixture for several hours in the fridge, or even overnight. However, if you are looking for a quick and healthy meal try this exact recipe - I know you'll enjoy it!

Bon appetite & enjoy!

2013 Easter Dinner

Easter dinner has become the holiday meal hosted by the Richey/Larkin residence now for two years
- and we love it! Last year was our first attempt at a formal dinner for our guests and although it was a stressful first time experience, we did learn a lot and were able to better prepare for the dinner this year.

Steve and I decided to keep several menu choices the same as last year because everyone seemed to really enjoy them, but we did decide on a few new dishes (all of the recipes have their links below).

Here is what we made for dinner:

• Balsamic Maple Glazed Ham
• Green Bean Casserole
  NOTE - I chose to use Cream of Chicken instead of Cream of Mushroom
  
• Creamy Chive & Onion Sweet Potato Mash with Pecan Topping
• Glazed Rainbow Carrots with Pecans & Dried Cranberries
  NOTE - I chose to use pecans and dried cranberries instead of walnuts and raisins
•  Lemon Parmesan Broccoli

And for dessert we made Creme Brule!

This year I also decided to stop into Sweet Janes
in downtown Halifax for a few Easter treats at everyone's place - it was a great surprise for everyone and a nice way to help decorate the table.



Notes from dinner:

• Steve takes care of preparing, cooking and carving of the Easter ham. And he does a great job! Our ham this year was delicious and juicy!
• The green bean casserole has turned into my brother's favorite dish we make! I made this dish last year as well and felt that it would be best to use the cream of chicken (instead of the cream of mushroom) to ensure that everyone around the table would like it - I do not like mushrooms!
• My Dad loves sweet potatoes, so we decided to make the sweet potato dish again. It continues to amaze me just how much the chives and the cream cheese enhance this dish
• I regularly refer to the Inspired Magazine (from Sobeys) for recipe ideas, especially for holidays. And this year I loved that they had a full Easter menu planned out - so I decided to try two of their dishes: Glazed Rainbow Carrots and Lemon Parmesan Broccoli. Both of these recipes were great and added lots of color to the menu. At first several of our guests were not sure what to think of the Rainbow carrots but eventually came around to them and loved them! The only mistake that I made to the entire dinner was adding a bit too much lemon to the Lemon Parmesan Broccoli (I decided to half the recipe, but forgot to half the lemon needed - so needless to say there were some sour faces around the table).
• The creme brule was a new adventure to me. It was my first time making a custard and using the mini blow torch (Steve had bought it for me for Christmas!). I decided to pre-make the creme brule the night before and let them sit in the fridge over night. About an hour before we were going to eat them, I sprinkled on the brown sugar and perfectly torched them. The final product was deliciously sweet and creamy!

Overall we had a wonderful time hosting Easter dinner again at our home! Thank you to our guests who made it all worth it!

Bon appetite & enjoy!

Cheese Snacks

For Easter this year I decided to put out a light snack as our guests arrived - something to nibble on while they watched golf!

A few weeks back while I was grocery shopping I noticed a small 'All You Need is Cheese' magazine on a stand in the dairy section. I took a quick read through the magazine at the time and thought that I may be interested in putting together a few of these snacks for a future gathering - and it worked out that Easter was the perfect time!

I decided to use two of the recipes from the magazine (also listed online):

1. Stacked Veggies & Havarti
2. Roasted Bell Pepper Bruschetta with Jalapeno Havarti

I used Foxhill Cheese for both of the recipes, and chose to use Foxhill's jalapeno Gouda in place of the jalapeno Havarti for the second recipe.

These were simple, tasty and crowd pleasing treats to have before Easter dinner this year - everyone loved them!

Give them a try next time you need a quick snack to serve.

Bon appetite & enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

 

Steve and I both love Indian food! So when we came across a simple spice pack for Chicken Tikka Masala from Club House in the grocery store we decided to give it a try.

The spice pack was inexpensive and provided us with all of the spices and their required quantities that we would need (so this did save us a small amount of time). The pack came with:

• 2 tsp Club House paprika
• 1 tsp Club House dehydrated minced garlic
• 1 tsp McCormick gourmet garam masala
• 1/2 tsp Club House ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp Club House crushed red pepper

The ingredients that we needed to provide were:

•  2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt

And here is how you bring it all together:

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add chicken, onion and lemon juice. Saute for 10 minutes. Stir in all spices, except red pepper. Simmer for one minute, stirring constantly.
2. Stir in tomatoes until well mixed. Combine cream, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in tomato mixture. Stir in red pepper, to taste. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently.
3. Serve with cooked basmati rice or naan bread.

Overall the recipe was simple and tasted great. However, Steve and I both noticed how similar this recipe was to past butter chicken dishes that we have made. After doing some research I found that these two dishes do tend to be similar, the main difference is the butter chicken is made with a heavier cream and more butter (good to know!).

Next time you are walking through the spice aisle at your grocery store, take a minute to look at the spice packs that Club House has to see if any may interest you (especially if they are on sale!). It also gives you a good opportunity to try a few new spices, without having to buy the whole bottle.

Bon appetite & enjoy!

Turkey & Bean Burritos

 

Burritos can be a great way to mix together lots of your favorite tastes while also making a good attempt to eat relatively healthy. You are able to get in at least one serving from all of the food guide's food groups (grains, vegetables, dairy and protein) while really enjoying your meal!

When Steve and I are not adventuring to Eastern Passage for some of Habarneros' famous burritos we are at home making our own (ours do not rival Habarneros at all, but we still enjoy them).

We recently came across a recipe for turkey and bean burritos in our Better Homes & Gardens: every meal easy cookbook. So we gave the recipe a try and we really liked it. Below are the ingredients and the recipe so that you can enjoy them too!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 8 8" flour tortillas
• 12 ounces uncooked ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion (we used one small yellow onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15 ounce can black beans or pinto beans, rinsed & drained (we used black beans)
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
• Salsa (additional salsa for dipping, etc is optional)
• Sour Cream (optional)

And here are the steps to bring it all together:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Stack tortillas; wrap in tin foil. Heat in the oven for 10 minutes to soften.
2. Meanwhile, for filling, in a large skillet, cook turkey, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in beans, the 1/2 cup salsa and the chili powder. Heat through.
3. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the filling onto each tortilla and top each with 1 tablespoon cheese and 1 tablespoon lettuce. Fold bottom edge up and over filling, just until covered. Roll up, tucking in sides. If desired, serve burritos with additional salsa and sour cream.

This recipe made approximately 8 burritos! So come hungry or have friends over for dinner!
Next time I would like to add some guacamole and some refried rice to mine - so of course this recipe is also on our 'must try again recipes' list.

Give this one a try and share with us what you added to yours!

Bon appetite & enjoy!

Parmesan Chicken & Broccoli

In the heart of winter, who doesn't love a rich, creamy delicious casserole?!

The other week it was Steve's turn to pick our weekly recipes and he came across a perfect winter casserole dish from the Better Homes & Gardens: every meal easy cookbook - 'Parmesan Chicken & Broccoli'.

Here are all of the ingredients that we used for the recipe:

• 1 cup rice (we used instant rice and used 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions (4)
• 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
• 3/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 16 ounce jar reduced far Alfredo sauce
• 3 cups frozen broccoli (we used fresh)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 diced cooked ham (we chose to not use the ham)
• 1 2 ounce jar diced pimientos, drained (we chose not to use the pimientos)
• Ground black pepper
  

And here is how we brought it all together:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Cook rice according to package directions; remove from heat and stir in half the green onion. Divide rice mixture among four 12 ounce individual au gratin dishes or casseroles (we chose to just use one medium casserole dish); set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook the chicken strips, Italian seasoning, and garlic in hot oil over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from heat. Stir in Alfredo sauce, broccoli, cheese, ham and pimientos (if using). Season to taste with ground black pepper. Spoon chicken mixture over the rice. Bake, covered for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes or more until heated through. Then add the remaining green onion to the top.

The recipe is intended to make 4 servings; however, for us it made about 6 servings because we used the medium casserole dish and used more rice.
This was a very easy and tasty dish to try - we have added it to our list of 'must try again recipes' and will be adding in more vegetables next time too!

Give this one a try when you need a good warm wintery meal, but need something other than beef and potatoes!

Bon appetite & enjoy!

Cranberry Pound Cake

 

My Dad LOVES cranberries!

So naturally when he came across a Cranberry Pound Cake recipe in his monthly Downhome magazine he passed it along to me and asked me to make it 'when I had some time' aka make this now!

The first time that I made this recipe was around Christmas time, as a 'surprise' for my Dad on Christmas Day. The recipe was very easy to follow and left everyone who was able to enjoy it with smiling faces (the best part of any creation is seeing people enjoy it!). However, the one thing that the recipe did not inform me of is that it could actually make enough batter to fill two bread pans - something I had a learn the hard way (I stepped away from the oven as it was baking and the loaf began to overflow into the bottom of my oven..).

The second time that I made this recipe was in February just after Valentines Day (soon after I had another call from my Dad informing me that he and his friend enjoyed it so much that they wanted more 'when I had some time' aka make this now!). This time I tried to see just how much the loaf would rise on its own - this lead me to make two loaves that were slightly uneven. Next time I will simply just split the batter in half and make good medium size loaves.

If you know someone who really enjoys cranberries in baked goods then I urge you to try this recipe - it is simple to make and delicious to eat!

Bon appetite & enjoy!