Salmon Stuffed Shells

The photos I have are dated August 4th, and now I'm not sure how I made this, exactly; but, it is based on my Salmon Meatloaf recipe...

Salmon Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo shells, cooked and drained
1 can (15 oz.) salmon, cleaned
1/2 c. chopped broccoli
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 c. bread crumbs
seasonings: dill, garlic powder, onion powder
white sauce* or Hollandaise
Asiago cheese, shredded

1. Heat oven to 325˚.
2. Mix seasonings and cheeses in large mixing bowl; add eggs and blend well. Flake the salmon into bowl; mix. Stir in broccoli.
3. Prepare your sauce—I used a packet of Hollandaise sauce mix with some lemon juice added. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a baking pan.
4. Fill each shell with salmon mixture; place in pan. Continue until your shells are used, you run out of filling, or your pan is full.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until it's bubbly around the edges and the cheese is gooey in the center of the pan.

White Sauce

2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 c. milk

Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add flour and stir quickly; allow to cook briefly, but not brown. SLOWLY add milk, a little at a time, allowing sauce to thicken between additions. Season with whatever you like, such as garlic or cheese...or both! Serve or use immediately.

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icanhascheezburger.com

Casey's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake

I was having a vanilla shake with frozen raspberries added to it, and Casey decided he wanted a shake, too. This is the result...

Casey's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake

1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 c. milk
2 t. peanut butter
7-8 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in the blender; mix until smooth.

Poached Salmon

Poached Salmon

2 (4 oz. ea.) salmon filets
1 1/2 c. vegetable (or chicken) broth
1 t. dried minced onion flakes
seasonings: salt, chives, dill, oregano, 1 bay leaf, paprika

1. In a large skillet, simmer onion and seasonings in broth for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Carefully add salmon filets into broth, baste with broth, then lightly salt fish, and place lid on pan.
3. Allow to simmer for 6-8 minutes over low heat. Check doneness by prodding with a fork—fish should flake easily and not be tough.
4. Spoon some broth over the fish, and serve while hot.
   

NOTE: I made a lemony Hollandaise sauce to go with this, but I don't have a recipe; I just kinda threw it together. And I wanted it to be lemony, but I added too much lemon juice!

Egg Sandwich for Breakfast

This was my breakfast one morning last week...it was sooooo good!

Egg Sandwich for Breakfast

1 hamburger bun (or English muffin)
butter
1 egg
1 slice of cheese

1. Use a non-stick pan, and add a dab of butter.
2. Butter your metal egg ring and place it into the pan to heat up. *
3. Carefully crack the egg and drop it into the ring. (or you can scramble the egg first, if you prefer; I was lazy that day.)
4. Butter your hamburger bun and place it in the pan face-down to toast. (or prep your English muffin however you like it.)

5. Allow the egg to cook on one side, lifting up around the edges if it puffs up and starts to run over the ring. Run a butter knife along the edge of ring to loosen the egg, then remove the ring (put it in the sink—it's HOT!). Flip the egg over to finish cooking.
6. Put the toasted bun on a plate, put the egg on the bun, top with cheese. Eat & enjoy!!!



* I don't know where I got that particular egg ring; I've had it forever. It's nice cause it's got that little handle on it, and some of the cake rings and English muffin rings I've seen in stores or online don't have the handle. Below are some I found online:

LINKS:
Williams-Sonoma: Round; Heart; Daisy
Chef's Catalog
Sur La Table
Cooking.com
King Arthur Flour

Gripe Of The Day

UPS does it again!!!

I am getting more and more disgusted with UPS. Of all things to smash...didja have to put an extra "grind" on my coffee? Seriously.

I mean, what do they do with these packages? Is it that hard to process cardboard boxes without crushing them? Whoever works in the sorting facilities, I hope they're pleased with themselves. Well done, jackasses. You smashed yet another one of the boxes sent to me. Am I on a list somewhere now? WTF?

"Oh, here's another one for that 'Goldie' chick..." says the UPS warehouse worker, as he prepares for a Kevin Butler 56-yard-field-goal-kick with my Gevalia shipment....

Unbelievable.

UPS sucks.

Gooey Marshmallow-topped Brownies

Goldie's Brownies

1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1/2 c. cocoa
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. half-and-half (or milk, if that's what you have in the fridge)
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350˚.
2. In medium sauce pan, melt butter; stir in cocoa powder. Stir over low heat until smooth.
3. Remove from heat, and stir in half-and-half. Then, blend in sugar, flour, egg, and vanilla.
4. Pour into greased 11 x 7" baking pan. (or you can use an 8" square pan.)
   
5. Bake 25 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and add chips and marshmallows.
7. Bake for another 5 minutes until marshmallows melt. DO NOT OVERBAKE!

NOTE: I used both semi-sweet chocolate chunks and milk chocolate chips in the photos above. You can basically do no wrong with these additions! :)

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Homegrown!

This was my first batch of beans from the garden. And one small acorn squash which turned out to be buggy. :(

Chocolate Coffee Bread

This recipe makes a hearty loaf which is probably best served for breakfast...or dessert. Or you can make a sandwich out of it, like Brenda did! LOL!

Chocolate Coffee Bread
(adapted from Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook)

1 c. warm water
1 pkt. active dry yeast
2 T. instant coffee granules (I used Maxwell House)
2 T. butter, softened
1/3 c. brown sugar, packed
3 c. flour
1 t. salt
2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 egg, beaten
1 t. instant coffee granules
1 T. coarse sugar (Turbinado sugar)

1. In large glass or plastic mixing bowl, combine yeast packet contents with warm water; allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir.
2. Add coffee granules, butter and brown sugar; mix well.
3. Carefully measure flour and salt together; add into yeast mixture.
4. Stir to combine, then knead into a soft dough. Knead in chocolate chips a little at a time until all are incorporated.
5. Allow dough to rise for about 30 minutes, then punch down and shape into a large oblong loaf.
6. Place on a large, greased cookie sheet, cover with waxed paper and allow to rise again in a warm place.
7. Heat oven to 400˚.
8. Make 5 diagonal slashes in the top of the loaf with a baker's lame or a thin-bladed serrated knife. Make 5 additional slashes in the other direction, creating a criss-cross pattern over the top of the loaf. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with a mixture of the teaspoon of instant coffee granules and coarse sugar.
9. Bake 18-20 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a butter knife.

(NOTE: this recipe can also be made with your bread machine, placing ingredients into pan in the order in which the manufacturer recommends.)


LINKS: Baker's lame:
King Arthur Flour ($6.95)
Sur La Table ($6.00)
ChefTools.com ($7.99)

Veggie Pizza Burgers

This was a quick mid-week dinner one night...I kinda made it up as I went along...

Veggie Pizza Burgers

2 hamburger buns
butter
garlic powder
tomato paste
2 Morning Star Prime Grillers veggie burgers
1 can mushrooms
2 mozzarella string cheese sticks
shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning

1. In a large frying pan, make hamburger buns into garlic bread by spreading with butter and sprinkling with garlic powder:
2. In another small frying pan, saute mushrooms until nicely browned.
3. Microwave veggie burgers to thaw them, then add to pan; dash with Italian seasoning.
4. Place strips torn from string cheese over burgers, then put lid on pan to allow cheese to melt.
5. Take out buns and spread tops with tomato paste; add shredded cheese. Place burgers on bottom buns and generously heap the mushrooms on them. Serve immediately!

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Turco a Hawk

In what I consider to be an odd twist of fate, former Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco is now a Chicago Blackhawk.

I have followed Marty's career for a while and considered him to be a "good guy" (as long as he wasn't playing against my team). It all goes back to a tv show that's not on anymore called "NHL Cool Shots," which was a 1/2 hour program where they'd focus on different NHL players and teams.

The episode which sticks in my mind was one featuring the Dallas Stars doing a photo shoot for a calendar sold to raise money for the Humane Society. In this episode, Marty Turco was posing with this little black and white kitten, and talking about a similar cat he had when he was a kid. Well, that won me over! LOL!


Now, it sounds like he appreciates the opportunity to become a Blackhawk: The Blackhawks are a first-class organization in a world-class city and at this point in my career I am excited to be a part of a team that will give me such a good chance to win the Stanley Cup.”

I'm also LOL'ing because of the name I gave to the tacos I make with ground turkey, instead of ground beef....

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Chocolate Chip Pancakes for Casey

No real recipe here, just a picture. I did add some brown sugar and vanilla extract to the (box mix) pancake batter, so they'd taste more like chocolate chip cookies. Problem with dropping the chips on like that is: when you flip them over, the chips kinda melt and make a mess of the pan. But, according to Casey, they were great.

Turkizo

What else are you going to call a taco made out of turkey-chorizo burgers?

Turkizo

I thawed out 4 turkey-chorizo burgers, and fried them in a pan, breaking them apart as they cooked:

Put on a flour tortilla; add cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream:



Related links:
Chorizo Burgers
Chorizo Burgers Again

POLL: What is your favorite summer pasta salad?

Mayo-free rotini salad with carrots & peapods

POLL: What is your favorite summer pasta salad?

Is it the deli salad with the elbow macaroni and the creamy sauce? Or maybe it's the one with bits of salami, olives and mozzarella? Something else?

Or maybe your favorite is the one that you make yourself?

Is is hot? Or is it served cold?



My favorite is my grandma's tuna-macaroni salad....recipe to follow on Monday...

Olive Tapanade

This was a quickly-put-together mixture that didn't really follow any of the 5 or so recipes which I have in my recipe archives. It still turned out lovely. We put it on the Tomato Rolls and the Impossibly Squashed Pie.

Black Olive Tapanade

1 can black olives
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. Parmesan, grated
2 T. Romano, shredded
1 t. minced dried onion (or use fresh, if you prefer)
1 t. lemon juice
garlic powder, to taste
1 string cheese, diced very small

1. Coarsely chop olives, or pulse them in a food processor, until they reach your desired texture. (I wanted them to remain a little bit chunky.)
2. Mix chopped olives with olive oil, Parmesan, garlic and onion.
3. Shred in the Romano:
4. Chop/dice up the mozzarella string cheese, and mix it in...
   

Tomato Bread Rolls

This was going to be tomato herb bread, but since we were taking it to our friends' house, I decided it would be more reasonable to make dinner rolls. Worked out wonderful! Very good with the olive tapanade, too!

Tomato Bread Rolls

1 c. warm water
1 pkt. active dry yeast
3 c. flour
1 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
2 t. dried minced onion
2 T. tomato paste
pinch of: oregano, garlic & paprika

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir yeast into warm water; allow to set 5 minutes.
   
2. Add to bowl: tomato paste, onion, seasonings and brown sugar. Mix well.
   
3. Add flour and salt.
4. Stir and then knead to form a dough. (may require additional flour!)
   
5. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour).
6. Punch down and divide into 12-15 even sized dough balls. Place into prepared 9x13 baking pan.
7. Cover and allow to rise in a warm spot; check them after 30 minutes.
8. Bake at 375˚ for 17-22 minutes, or until tops are nicely browned.

Impossibly Squashed Pie

This turns out sorta like a quiche, but there's no dry crumbly crust on the bottom, which is what a lot of people object to with your typical quiche. I served this with some yummy olive tapanade, the recipe for which will be posted tomorrow...

Impossibly Squashed Pie

1 medium yellow squash, sliced
3 eggs
3/4 c. Bisquick
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. milk
seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder
sharp cheddar for topping

1. Mix Bisquick, eggs, milk & ricotta.
2. Place slices of squash in a buttered pie plate; add seasonings.
3. Pour egg mixture over the top.
   
4. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet (just in case it decides to overflow!) and sprinkle cheddar on top.
   
5. Bake at 400˚ for about 35 minutes. Top should be browned and center should not be jiggly.
   

Happy Birthday, Thumper!

It was 14 years ago today that I brought Thumper home.

He's such a good kitty; never gets into things, is polite, has a sense of humor, wants to hang out with us all the time. Thumper has been a very good friend to us, and we appreciate him every day. But today is the day we celebrate his homecoming. :)


Related links:
Thumper's Story
Cat Magnet
Thumper Took My Spot I
Thumper Took My Spot II