Easter Dinner Menu

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asparagus, dinner salad, Easter, family, food, foodie, ham, meal

Since we go to my in-laws for Easter dinner, my parents came up to celebrate Easter early with us this year. Hubster and I have a week off from school, Pumpkin however only has two days (and baseball practice everyday but Sunday!!!). The only day that worked for our Easter was Friday night! Wanting to spend more time with my family, we kept the meal simple.

Easter Dinner 2012

Our Easter Dinner Menu:
Spring Salad with Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette
Glazed Turkey Ham
Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce
Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Cauliflower Casserole
Angel Food Cake w/ Lemon Whipped Cream, Raspberry Whipped Cream and Topped w/ Fresh Strawberries

Passover Seder or Easter, what was on your menu? 

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Curried Carrot Ginger Soup

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carrot, curry, food, foodie, garbanzo, Garbanzo beans, ginger, meal, onion, recipe, soup, vegetarian, yogurt sauce

I’ve stated many times before that Hubster is not a soup fan. I however cannot get enough of it, especially during the snow squalls and is bitter cold. The restaurant where I worked during grad school served a ginger carrot soup that was sweetened with brown sugar. However, I believe that carrots are sweet enough as if and need a lil’ added kick.

Curried Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter, 1 small onion diced, 5 large carrots (peeled and chopped), 2 Tbsp. grated ginger, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 c. cooked garbanzo beans, 1 c. vegetable stock, 1 c. coconut milk, 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. curry, fresh ground sea salt,  fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
At the bottom of a pot, sauté onions in butter. Add garlic, ginger, curry, salt, pepper and warm. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Blend soup in high power blender. Garnish you chopped cilantro, yogurt sauce, curried pecans, and/or red pepper flakes.

Notes:
I look forward to trying yellow carrots in this recipe, one I grow my own.
For Hubster, I added chunks of chicken and many curried pecans to curb his meat cravings.
For a vegan version just swap in olive oil for the butter.

What soup has warmed you up recently?

Honey Chicken Stir Fry

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carrot, chicken, chicken stir fry, dinner, easy dinner, food, foodie, honey chicken, meal, quick and easy, quick dinner, red bell pepper, soy sauce, stir fry, yellow carrot, zucchini

Finally back in the kitchen! I haven’t taken a complete hiatus, but I haven’t cooked anything new over the holidays. Our lives are busy, I never feel like I get as much do as I actually want to get done. So it’s time to start prepping meals ahead of time.
I like to buy and cut/slice/dice veggies and chicken ahead of time and vacuüm seal them for later use. This is a fantastic use of a surplus of summer veggies, just vacuüm seal and freeze. Stir fries, casseroles and soup tend to be the best meals to prepare this way, as well as anything you want to put over pasta or rice. Tonight’s dinner was simple to cook, since I prepped everything ahead of time.*

Honey Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 5 Tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. minced ginger, 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 orange carrot, 1 yellow carrot, 1 zucchini, 1/2 red bell pepper, green beans, steamed brown rice

Directions:
Cut, dice, slice, julienne and chop veggies anyway you like (I played around with all of these techniques, have I mentioned before that I love my crinkle cutter and julienne peeler?). Cut chicken into small pieces. Warm oil, garlic, and ginger in wok. Add soy sauce and honey and stir until dissolved. Add chicken pieces and cook until chicken is done. Add veggies and sauté until tender. Serve over hot brown rice.

*Disclaimer: I did find the yellow carrots already sliced in the freezer section, this was a score because I love love love them and can never find them in our regular produce section. That’s one root veggie I plan to grow this year.

What’s on your dinner plate?

Breakfast On The Go

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breakfast, brunch, cheese, food, foodie, meal, pastry, postaday2011, quick, quick meal, recipe, roll, sausage, sausage rolls

Got breakfast?
Back to school is the perfect time to play around with quick grab and go options. And breakfast rolls have so many possibilities, it’s difficult to get bored. Any combination of meat, cheese, veggies, and condiments will work. You can prep these ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze. Simply microwave in the morning and enjoy.

Breakfast Rolls

Sausage Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry (or other quick baking dough), turkey breakfast sausage, cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard

Ham Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, turkey ham, swiss cheese, Dijon mustard

Pancake Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, turkey sausage, maple syrup

Monte Cristo Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, turkey ham, smoked turkey, swiss cheese, provolone, maple syrup

Apple Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, apple slices, cheddar cheese

Banana Roll Ingredient:
puff pastry, banana, peanut butter

Bacon & Egg Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, cooked turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, any cheese or condiment

Berry Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, red raspberries, dark chocolate chips (just a few)

Breakfast Roll Directions:
Cut the dough into rectangles, layer with condiment, cheese and meat. Roll dough up and press closed. Place seam side down and bake about 375°F for about 10 minutes, or refer to dough directions.

What combination are you going to create?

 

Sausage & Watercress Penne

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dinner, easy dinner, easy meal, easy recipe, food, foodie, lunch, meal, pasta, penne, postaday2011, quick & easy, quick and easy, quick recipe, recipe, sausage, watercress, yellow pepper

A tasty heap of comfort food is the perfect way to end the day…

Sausage & Watercress Penne

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey sausage, 1 lb. penne, 3 c. chopped watercress, 1/2 shallot (minced), 2 diced yellow bell peppers, 1/2 c. dry white wine, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
Cook penne according to package. Drop sausage by the spoonful into pan of shallow water and simmer until meat is done (water should be gone, if not drain water). Remove sausage from pan then add wine and deglaze pan.  Toss peppers, shallots and watercress in pan and simmer. Sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt. Return sausage to pan. Pour over pasta and garnish with freshly grated pecorino romano.

*I actually use turkey breakfast sausage for this recipe. I prefer the flavor of breakfast sausage over the other varieties…
*Some people use only the watercress leaves, I roughly chop the leaves and stems alike, it adds to the texture.

What are your weekend plans?

Potato & Spinach Curry

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curry dish, dinner, food, foodie, lunch, meal, postaday2011, potato, potato curry, potatoes, recipe, side dish, side dishes, spinach, supper, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe

There are tons of herbs and spices you can use in any curry. I like to play around with different tastes, so even if the main ingredients are the same, the flavor can be completely different. Hubster loves potatoes, but not spinach; mixed together as a curry though and he loves it. I would eat this dish as a main dish, Hubster prefers it as a side.

Potato & Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, olive oil, 3 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1/4 tsp. red chili powder, 1/4 tsp. turmeric, 1/8 tsp. ground ginger, 1/4 tsp. cumin, 1/8 tsp. coriander, 1/8 tsp. ground fennel,  pinch of cardamom, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Bring water and 2 bay leaves to boil in a medium sauce pan. Peel and cube potatoes, lightly boil in water for about 4 minutes In a frying pan add all herbs and spices (except salt) and dry roast over low heat. Add potato cubes, olive oil and tomato paste and cook until potatoes are Remove from heat and make sure potatoes are well coated. Allow dish rest for a few hours (you can skip this step if you don’t want to wait). Reheat potatoes and toss in spinach leaves until wilted. Serve hot over basmati rice.

What is on your menu tonight?

Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerine & Pomegranate

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autumn breakfast, autumn brunch, beverage, beverage recipe, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipe, chinese apple, comfort food, crème fraîche, crème fraîche substitute, dessert, easy meal, fall breakfast, fall brunch, favorite foods, food, foodie, gourmet brunch, grilles, grilling, holiday breakfast, holiday brunch, meal, mimosa, pomegranate, pomegranate seeds, postaday2011, pound cake, recipe, seasonal food, tangerine, tangerine pomegranate, vegetarian recipe, winter breakfast, winter brunch

Grilled Pound Cake with Crème Fraîche, Tangerines & Pomegranate

Yesterday morning we started off our New Year with something sweet… grilled pound cake. We only consumed one loaf, so today I wanted to play around with a new idea and use part of the other loaf. Use butter rum pound cake recipe or almond pound cake recipe. Crème fraîche is impossible to get here and when it is available, it cost a fortune. I however didn’t have time to make crème fraîche, so I made a quick and easy substitute.

Ingredients:
butter rum pound cake, crème fraîche, 3 tangerines, 1 pomegranate

Directions:
Heat grill pan over medium heat. Use a bread knife to slice the pound cake. Lightly butter each side of cake, place on hot pan and grill  for about 30 seconds before flipping. Remove promptly from heat. Spread crème fraîche on one slice of pound cake and top with another slice. Peal tangerines and break into segments, remove any seeds. Add 1/2 a tangerine to each plate and sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds.

Crème Fraîche Substitute:
Whip together 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 a c. of sweet whipped cream (homemade, not out of a tub or can). You’re supposed to let it stand just like you would making true crème fraîche, but then it’s not any faster. Make and let it sit awhile with you mix the pound cake batter.

*Garnish with a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar if desired.

Yesterday Hubster walked to the store to get orange juice and instead returned with an orange, pineapple, apple… I thought this would be a tasty variation for a mimosa…

What was on your breakfast plate?