Thanksgiving Leftover Poppers and Savory Cranberry Sauce

This year I cooked up Two Turkey's for Thanksgiving and now I have a fridge that is overflowing with leftovers. You only have about 5 days to eat your leftovers or they will go bad. Here is one of my favorite appetizers to make after Thanksgiving, they are great for all those football parties going on over the weekend! Also I have totally deserted my blog for the past year and I am sorry! I am BACK now so get ready to start cooking!!

Stuffed Turkey Jalapeno Poppers with Savory Cranberry Sauce

8 jalapenos

1 8oz package cream cheese - softened

1 cup shredded leftover Turkey

1 bunch scallions - diced with 1 inch green stem

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1tsp pepper

1/8 tsp dry mustard

1 package bacon

Preheat Oven 425 degrees

Rinse your jalapenos then cut lengthwise and spoon out the veins and seeds. (Wash hands or wear gloves) In a standing mixer with paddle attachment blend cream cheese, scallions, turkey, mustard, S&P. Blend until fully mixed and creamy.

Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the jalapeno boats. Carefully wrap 1 piece of raw bacon around each jalapeno. Make sure you wrap them pretty tight. The bacon will shrink in the oven.

Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes until your bacon is crisp. Place on platter with your cranberry dipping sauce and serve.

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup whole cranberries

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 shallot diced

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup chicken stock

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

Sauté garlic and shallot in small sauce pan with olive oil until fragrant. Add whole cranberries, sugar, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer for another 10 minutes until the sauce has cooked down into a jam like consistency. Take off heat and let cool completely.

Happy Eatings!
#MandapMeals

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is an amazing recipe that I always bust out during the holiday season. You can use this from Halloween through New years and it's always a crowd pleaser. The Pumpkin cake is so moist and when it's topped off with cream cheese icing you just can't go wrong.

Pumpkin Spice Cake:

11/2 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2tsp salt
2tsp baking powder
2tsp cinnamon
1Tbs molasses

In a mixer blend you vegetable oil and eggs together until pale yellow, add in your molasses and pumpkin puree and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl place all your dry ingredients and mix with a fork or whisk until well blended. With mixer on low slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Once all ingredients is blended and smooth pour into a well greased bundt pan.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Pull from oven and let cool, once cooled remove from pan.

Cream Cheese Icing:

8oz Cream Cheese softened
1/2 stick butter (room temperature)
1lbs powdered sugar
2tsp vanilla

Blend cream cheese and butter until smooth, add vanilla. Slowly pour in powdered sugar while blender is on low. If your icing seems to thick add in some milk.

Slice your cake in half horizontally. Smooth a layer of icing in the middle, place the top of your cake back on and top with another layer of icing.
*You can top your cake with any extras you like...I top mine with spices apples and golden raisins. You can use caramel or candied nuts as well!

Enjoy and Happy Eatings!!
Krystal

Pasta Bravo - Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Sometimes I have an abundance of vegetables and herbs that I need to use before they go bad. When that happens I always think of pasta. I had a couple red bell peppers that I wanted to use and I also had a jar of roasted red peppers so I thought roasted red pepper sauce. It's bright, vibrant, and has a wonderful flavor. I also had some ripe tomatoes from my dad's garden that I could never put to waste.
Add in some fresh basil that I needed to use, some garlic, fresh spinach and there it was, our dinner!

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1 jar roasted red peppers
2 red bell peppers
1 28oz can whole tomatoes
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper
parmesan cheese
Fresh Spinach (optional)
Cooked Chicken breast (optional)

Take your red bell peppers and roast them under the broiler until they are black on all sides. Once

they are black take them out, place them in a bowl and put plastic wrap over the bowl. Wait 20 minutes then take them out and peel the skin from the peppers. Place the roasted peppers and the canned tomatoes in a food processor and puree. In a large sauce pan heat some EVOO and your garlic until fragrant. Add in your tomatoes and roasted red peppers as well as your basil. Let simmer for 25 - 30 minutes. Once again take your sauce and place in a blender. Blend until smooth. Place your sauce back in the sauce pan and pour in your heavy cream along with some parmesan cheese. Let simmer on low. Meanwhile bring your water to a boil for your pasta and salt it. Cook your pasta until al dente. Strain your pasta and pour into your red pepper sauce. Add in your spinach and chicken. Make sure to season with salt and pepper!

That's it!!! Happy Eatings!
K

Baked Trout with Lemon Dill Linguine

Sunday dinner is a must at our house and I always love having guests. It seems the only way I am able to get one of my best friends over on occasion is if I tempt him with food and a few cocktails of course. This weekend was a full blown Midwest summer meaning hot, humid, and muggy! Like when you step outside you start to sweat! After a day of baseball all I could think about making for dinner was something light, refreshing, and simple.
I decided on some Steelhead Trout since it was on sale at Kroger. I figured I would cook that up and serve it over linguine tossed in a lemon dill sauce. I threw in some sugar snap peas for some texture and I also served a caprese salad with ripe tomatoes from my dads garden. Needless to say this dinner hit the spot and my dinner guest left full and satisfied.

For the Trout
1 1/2lbs Trout
2 diced scallions
1 bunch fresh chopped cilantro
2Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
S&P

Bake 375
Place Trout in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Pour 2Tbs Olive oil over the trout and rub. Sprinkle the fresh herbs all over the top of the trout. Pour in your white wine. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

For the Linguine
1lbs linguine
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine
zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic minced
S&P
Fresh Dill
Grated Parmesan

Get a pot of boiling water going and season with salt once it comes to a boil. Cook your linguine until al dente, in the final 2 minutes of cooking your pasta throw in your snap peas for a quick blanch then pour out and strain with your pasta. (reserve a cup of pasta water)
Meanwhile in a large sauté pan heat up a 2 count of EVOO and add your garlic. Cook until fragrant, add your lemon zest and juice, white wine, cream, dill, and salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes until your sauce thickens.  Add some grated parmesan at the end.
Turn off your heat and toss in your pasta and snap peas. Add some pasta water if needed.
Serve immediately with the trout and fresh grated parmesan on top.

This whole dish takes about 25-30 minutes to cook and it's totally YUMMY!

Happy Eatings!
Krystal

Charred corn chowder w Shrimp and Poblano Quesadillas

Sweet summer corn is in full effect and I can't get enough of it. While running errands the other day I made a stop at a local farm, I picked up a dozen cobs of sweet corn. I only need to feed a family of 4 so I thought I would use some of the cobs for soup. It was a great idea if I don't say so myself.
I always tend to go towards more of a Mexican flavor when I make corn chowder so to go along with our soup I decided on shrimp quesadillas. I picked up some fresh cilantro, raw shrimp, a couple poblano peppers, avocados, and I swung by my dads house to pick a couple fresh vine ripe tomatoes from his garden. I knew I had everything else at home to whip up this delicious meal.
Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as our family did!

Charred Corn Chowder                                                    

6 ears sweet corn
2 yellow onions sliced
1 quart low sodium chicken broth
1 cooked Poblano pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
S&P

Set oven to broil
Shuck your corn and clean it thoroughly. (Let soak in water) Once your corn is clean, dry it and place on a baking sheet with your poblano. Rub your corn with a little olive oil just to coat. Place in oven under the broiler. Continue to check your corn turning each cob when one side starts to brown. For your poblano, you want it to blacken on each side. Once your corn is lightly browned on each side take out of the oven and let cool. Once your poblano is charred on each side place in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile in a soup pot sauté your onions and garlic until translucent. Pour in your chicken broth, cumin, and bay leaf. Let simmer. Take 5 ears of corn and cut the corn off of the cob and add to the soup. Cut the corn off the last cob and set aside for the end. Take your poblano pepper and peel off the skin. It should be very easy to do at this point. Take out the seeds and place the whole pepper in the soup. Continue to simmer for another 25 minutes.
Take the soup out of the pot a few cups at a time and place in a blender. You need to puree your soup. Be very careful with this part. Blend your soup in small portions until it is all smooth. DO NOT blend hot soup with the entire lid on or it will explode from the steam. Take the middle part of your blender lid off, letting the steam escape. Use a kitchen towel to cover the whole while blending.
Once all your soup is smooth, place back in your soup pot and season with salt and pepper and add the remaining whole corn kernels.
Garnish your soup with fresh cilantro, sour cream, avocado, fresh diced tomato, and lime juice.

Shrimp Quesadilla's

1/2 lbs.  raw shrimp
16oz bag Monterey Jack Cheese
Small Flour tortillas
1 can unseasoned black beans
1 can Hernedez salsa verde
1 poblano pepper

Peel and lightly chop your shrimp. Mix with the salsa verde and  then place in a sauté pan and cook until shrimp is pink and cooked through.
Do the exact same thing to your poblano pepper as you did for the soup. Once it is peeled and seeded dice it up and set aside.
To assemble: In a large skillet on med high heat, place one tortilla in the pan, add your cheese (I use a lot) then spoon on some black beans, then your shrimp and some of the poblano, add a little more cheese and then top with another tortilla. Flip your quesadilla over and brown the other side. When your quesadilla is golden brown on each side and your cheese is melted take out of the pan and cut into to four's.
I serve my quesadillas with the same garnish as the soup!

Happy Eatings!

Brie Quesadillas with Mango Salsa

Made these quesadillas last night and they were wonderful, quick, and delicious.
Sometimes I have to be quick on my feet with meals in my house. With work, picking up the kids from school, sporting events, and guitar lessons I don't have a lot of time to prepare a full on meal. I still want our food to be home cooked, fresh, and taste good though!
All you need is some large flour tortillas, brie cheese, mangos, red bell peppers, cilantro, limes, jalapeno, and an avocado.

For the Mango Salsa:

1 ripe Mango - peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper - small diced
1 jalapeno -  seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 2 limes
1tsp sugar
1tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and let stand for at least 20 minutes.

For the quesadilla:

Large flour tortillas
Brie cheese - at room temp

Heat your skillet with some olive oil at med heat. Place your tortilla in the skillet and add sliced brie covering one side of the tortilla. Flip the other side of the tortilla over the brie. Once the bottom side of the tortilla is golden brown flip the quesadilla to brown the other side. This process only takes about 4-5 minutes.
Cut your quesadilla in 4 pie pieces. Top with mango salsa and fresh diced avocado.

That's it.


***The Mango Salsa can also be used as a topping for your eggs the next morning, or to top grilled fish, chicken, and steak!

Happy Eatings!!

German Chocolate Caramel Bars

Words to describe these bars...Ooey, gooey, chewy, crunchy, chocolaty, deliciousness! I don't think I need to elaborate any more than that to convince you to make these ridiculously amazing treats!

Here's what you need to do:

German Chocolate Caramel Bars

1 box German Chocolate cake mix
1 small can evaporated milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup melted butter
1 11oz bag of caramels

Pre heat oven 350 degrees
In a bowl combine your German chocolate cake mix, melted butter, and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk. The batter will be dough like. Grease a 9X13" pan, spread half of your cake mix throughout the bottom of the pan to cover. Place in oven and bake for 6 minutes.
While that is baking put your caramels in a pot over medium heat along with another 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk. Heat until all the caramels are melted. Take the caramel and pour over the already baked cake mix. Spread evenly. Take the rest of your dough and place on top of the caramel. The dough will not cover the entire top. Try to spread as much as you can with your fingers.
Top with the chocolate chips and place back in the oven for another 28 minutes.
Let cool and cut into squares.

**Sprinkle some sea salt on top or add some toasted nuts for a little something extra!

Vodka Sauce w Linguine - Quick, easy, delicious

This is my go to meal when I have no time but want something to warm me up. It is always a crowd and kid pleaser. If you are new to cooking this is the recipe for you. It's easy to follow, takes little to no skill, and the result will surely impress!

**Remember always read through your recipe and instructions first! It will help you with organization and timing.

Vodka Sauce

1 jar traditional marinara sauce
1 cup vodka (I like to use a good vodka, but whatever you have will do)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup heavy cream at room temp
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
salt & pepper to taste
1lbs Linguine

Over med heat add a two count of olive oil and sauté your minced garlic until fragrant. Add in your marinara sauce and vodka and simmer for about 20 min. You want to cook out the alcohol. After 20 minutes stir in your cream slowly and reduce your heat to low. Add in your parmesan, red pepper flake, salt, and pepper. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
Have a pot of boiling slated water ready. Stir in your linguine and cook until al'dente. Take your pasta directly out of the boiling water and place in your sauce. Turn off the heat and cost your pasta with the sauce.
Serve with fresh parmesan cheese and a good crunchy bread. The sauce is perfect for dipping!

***Some great add in's to this dish are spinach, shrimp, or chicken.


From The Mandap household to yours.......Happy Eatings!

Pork Shoulder and all it's Glory

This week pork shoulder was on sale at the grocery and I am not one to deny the pig. When you are shopping on a budget and trying to get the most out of your food, pork shoulder is the way to go. Our family got 3 delicious meals out of this pork shoulder.
The best way to cook this piece of meat is low and slow. I use a Dutch oven but a crock pot works just as well. Rinse your pork, score it on the fat side, and place it in your pot. I season mine with plenty of salt, cumin, oregano, and pepper. I also add in one diced onion, some minced garlic, and one bunch of fresh cilantro. Add in about 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pot. If using a Dutch oven place in the oven at 325 degrees for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. For a crock pot cook on high for about 5 hours. You want your pork to be fork tender so you can easily shred the meat.

The first night we basically turned our kitchen into our own Chipotle. I made some cilantro rice, heated up some black beans (yes from a can!), cut up some cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, and topped with shredded Monterey jack cheese and sour cream. I also had some flour tortillas and salsa verde out. It was perfect. My boys made their own tacos and I made my own burrito bowl! Kids seem to eat more when they feel they made their own food.





The second night I took some of the shredded pork, placed it in a bowl and added 1 cup of Herdez salsa, 1/2 cup Herdez salsa verde, the left over black beans, 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese and mixed it all together. I placed the mixture in a casserole dish and topped with corn muffin batter. Just use your favorite corn muffin mixture and follow the directions on the box. I always add in sweet corn from a can to my corn bread. Once you top your casserole with the corn muffin mix, bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until the muffin mix is cooked through.
This meal was perfect for our cold weather. I used up all my leftovers from the night before and it was such a good hearty meal.

Lastly we made our absolute favorite breakfast. My husband and I used to frequent this charming Hawaiian café in San Diego called Lelani's. They had this dish the Ono Kahlua, it's like corned beef hash and eggs but the Hawaiian version and so much better! Every time I cook pork shoulder I recreate this dish for my husband. He loves it and you know ladies the way to a mans heart is through his stomach! All you do is cook some rice, place your rice on a plate and top with some warmed up shredded pork shoulder. Then fry up 2 eggs any way you like (we like ours sunny side up, the yolk just adds this extra sauce..mmmmm) place your eggs on top of the pork and that's it. Serve it with soy sauce and hot sauce! Best breakfast ever!






There you have it, Pork 3 ways! It may take a few hours to cook this pork but the end result is 3 easy and delicious meals that will get you and your family through the week!

Reuben Dip - Your best game day snack

Around Cincinnati we love our Sauerkraut and we love a good dip at a football party! This Reuben dip goes hand in hand with fall, football, and a good brew. It's tangy, cheesy, baked until it's bubbly, and oh so bad for you (shhhh!). I actually got this recipe from one of my mom's friends and every time I serve it up someone is asking me for the recipe, so here it is.

Reuben Dip
16oz sauerkraut
8oz   Swiss cheese
8oz   buddings corned beef
1cup mayonnaise
Rye Triscuit's for serving


Pre heat oven to 350

Strain your sauerkraut in a colander. Cut up your corned beef into small pieces and shred the entire 8oz of Swiss cheese. In a mixing bowl combine the sauerkraut, corned beef, and Swiss cheese. Add in the mayonnaise and blend together. You want a tuna like consistency. You may need to add more mayonnaise. Once the dip is all mixed and has a nice consistency place it in a 9x13in baking dish and spread evenly. Bake until its bubbly about 25 min.
Serve hot with Rye Triscuit's on the side.
There you go easy cheesy Reuben Dip!!

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage

Halloween has come and gone and we have officially stepped into November. With the cold brisk air and the leaves that are covering my yard, I know it won't be long until those leaves turn into to snow. November is a great month with so many exciting things happening. The leaves have officially changed to their full fall colors, there is a smell of bonfires and football in the air, and at the end of the month we get to reconnect with our loved ones around a table full of some of the greatest things in life! I love to cook always, but I really love to cook in the fall.
I made a Butternut Squash soup the other night that was so delicious, it was perfect to set the tone for the upcoming holiday season. This is a simple recipe with big flavor. It's so smooth and silky, and a nice piece of a toasted baguette that has been rubbed with garlic makes for a perfect utensil!
My boys love this soup and I hope your family does to.

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage

2 butternut squash (peeled and cut into cubes)
2 apples ( peeled and cut)
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup fresh chopped sage
1/2tsp nutmeg
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
salt
pepper

First peel, cut, and clean your butternut squash. Butternut squash has seeds inside you want to make sure you spoon them out, just like a pumpkin. Cut your squash into large cubes and do the same with your apples. Heat your soup pot on med high and add a couple Tablespoons olive oil. Saute your onion until translucent then add in your garlic, apples, salt,  and butternut squash. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Add in your sage and cook another 2 min. Pour in your chicken broth and let simmer for a good 30-45min. You want your butternut squash to become fork tender and for all the flavors to come together.
Take your soup off the heat and very carefully with your emersion blender (hand blender) blend on high until your soup is totally smooth. Place your soup back on a low heat and add in your nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I top mine with some fried sage and a toasted garlic baguette on the side for dipping!
Embrace the season and cook from the heart, that always works for me!!

Simple Autumn Centerpiece - DIY

Today I took a look around my house and I almost threw up in my mouth....do you ever have that feeling? I have two young kids a black lab that sheds everywhere and my husband and I both have full time jobs. Cleaning the house let alone decorating it for the different seasons, seriously takes a back seat. Yet on some rare occasions I get a crafty bug up my butt and for one day I am the crafty mom. The queen of the DIY projects, as long as the projects don't take longer than the time in between my kids leaving and coming home from school!:) Also it has to be a seriously cheap DIY project, were on a budget over here!
So today I did a swift google search on some autumn centerpieces got some ideas from a couple that I liked, took a look around my house at what I had on hand then to the store I went. I was thinking rustically intimate, I found a bag of gourds at Home Depot for $6.95 and a small white pumpkin for $3.95 I grabbed them and I was outta there! Next I ran over to Pier One, you can find good deals in the clearance area but only in the clearance area. That store reminds me of how seriously broke and untalented I am at decorating. Anyways I did splurge on these really cute napkin rings they were $3.95 a piece. Then I picked up a green candle on clearance for $5 and 3 tea light candle holders for $0.50! That was it! This was the beautiful result...   

 

For the centerpiece I used some of my old mason jars I had saved, my candle I bought fit in the opening of the large mason jar. I used some smaller mason jars as well and placed tea light candles in those along with the other 3 tea light candles that I bought. We have an abundance of empty wine bottles around our house (thanks to me) so I thought those would add a nice touch. I decided to keep the label on because it just seemed to match. I used the top of a corn cob from the bag of gourds I bought and pushed it inside the wine bottle. Having some height is nice! On the right is my place settings with the napkin rings I splurged on, aren't they perfect! Luckily I had some fall placemats! I also spray painted a couple of the gourds with gold spray paint I had left over from a cake project. Anyways I was pretty proud of myself! Lets see how long this table stays looking this way!!
I hope this inspires some of you do-it-all moms, craftily challenged, or anyone who is just looking for a easy and cheap DIY.
***Coinciding with my fall table for dinner I made homemade corned beef reuben sandwiches, sweet potato fries, and a cold cider beer!! It was awesome!!

5 quick tips to battling the grocery store

 

The grocery store - It's this daunting task that looms over our head on a weekly basis..ughhhhh. It only gets worse as the kids grow and consume food like a vacuum. One day your pantry is packed and you get a feeling of relaxation and pride, patting yourself on the back and saying "you did good today, you will not have to make any extra trips to the grocery this week." hahahahaha yeah like that really happens.
Lets get real here, to me the grocery is like any test I used to take, I wait until the last minute then I am scrambling around only to realize the end result is going to be an ultimate fail. Like when you come home from the grocery and you realize you are missing one ingredient to every meal you had planned!
Well now that I am getting older and wiser, I have realized that good preparation is key. Here are a few tips to help you get through those grocery aisles like a breeze.

1. Plan out your meals for the week-
I know this sounds like a lot of work but having a clear idea of what you will be eating every night helps you not over purchase. When you don't know what your going to make you tend to buy a bit of everything which then leads to food going bad. You know you do it, you think ooh that looks good maybe I will use that and then you never get around to it. Have a plan ladies!

2. Write out a grocery list..and don't leave it at home-
This is a very obvious tip but lets face facts, we are busy with a million other things and we don't always have a list on paper. The one in our head never seems to be good enough. Write it down and remember it!

3. Use your coupons-
Every grocery store offers them. Mine even sends them to me in the mail. Go through them, know which ones you will use and use them. If you don't you are just throwing money away.

4. Avoid at all costs taking your kids with you-
I am sorry if that sounds harsh but seriously going to the grocery is bad enough, you don't need to add in pushing around that damn car cart that takes corners like a semi. Also your kids make you buy stuff that you normally wouldn't..let's save that money, mama needs a new pair of shoes! No kids!

5. Do not go to the grocery store hungry or tipsy-
Last but not least, shopping while hungry or a little buzzed. Not good ladies, it disrupts your whole purpose of being there. You will want to buy everything and eat everything which will directly lead to what I stated above "you will come home with a bunch of randomness and nothing that you can pull together to make one meal!" Save yourself from making multiple trips to the store during the week.

That is all, happy shopping ladies and I say ladies because you know the men ain't doing it! 

Chicken Piccata

This is one of my go to dishes during those busy work days. It takes a little work in the beginning but if you can manage that, you will have a delicious dinner and enough left over for later in the week! This is also a hit with the kiddos!

Chicken Piccata

3 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
3 lemons
1/2 cup white wine
1tsp capers
2Tbls butter
1 cup fresh arugula
Shaved Parmesan
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400
To prepare your chicken breast take your cutting board and wrap it in plastic wrap. Take one chicken breast and butterfly it (slice on the side of the breast and cut almost all the way through, so when you lay it flat it looks like a butterfly). Cover the breast with another piece of plastic wrap and then pound out. You want your chicken to be thin (you do not need a meat mallet for this, I used the back of a thick wooden spoon). Repeat this process with all 3 pieces of chicken. Once your chicken is ready set aside and prepare your flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. Have 3 separate plates set out. First plate take your flour and season it with a little salt and pepper, then whip your eggs and have those in your second plate, finally place your bread crumbs in the third plate. Season your chicken well with salt and pepper. Have a large skillet on the stove heating up with about 2Tbls olive oil. Take your piece of chicken dredge it in the flour and shake off any excess, then dip in the eggs, and end with bread crumbs. Make sure both sides are lightly coated. Place your chicken in the skillet and brown on both sides for about 2-3 minutes. Add more oil if needed in between each piece of chicken. Place your golden brown chicken on a foil lined baking sheet. When all your pieces of chicken are browned put in the oven and start on the sauce.(the chicken will only need to cook about 10 minutes in the oven)

For the sauce, wipe out the skillet you used to brown the chicken. On medium heat take the juice of all 3 lemons, the white wine, and capers and bring to a boil. Reduce your liquid by about half. Turn off your heat and add the 2Tbls butter. Swirl until your butter is melted. Place your chicken on a large platter and pour the lemon butter sauce over top. Finally take the 1 cup fresh arugula and toss it with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Place over the chicken and top with shaved parmesan.

This dish is so lemony fresh, and yummy! If you can get through the pounding out and breading part it is fairly easy and quick to make! My family loves this chicken and I hope yours will to.

**Pasta or wild rice make a great side to this dish
***This chicken is great the next day over a fresh salad for lunch

Basil Peach Cobbler

First Sunday of NFL Football yesterday and I went a little cray in the kitchen. Made sweet chili lime chicken wings, heirloom tomato salad drizzled with homemade bleu cheese dressing, baked mustard fries, and basil peach cobbler!
 I had received a bag of fresh picked peaches and they were totally ripe. I needed to use them before they went bad. So I decided fresh peaches, fresh basil, a little sugar and spice, done!

Here's the recipe:

Filling
3 pounds peaches
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbls Flour
zest of an orange

Topping
1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter cold cut into cubes

For the filling mix the ingredients with the sliced peaches and place in a baking dish.

For the filling add all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix together. With the mixer on add in your cubes of cold butter. Continue mixing until the ingredients starts to hold together and feels moist. Crumble your topping over the peach filling.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

**You can make this dessert ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator before baking. Bake while you are eating dinner and it will fill your house with an amazing aroma. It will be warm and bubbly just in time!

Why your mother (and one day you) goes to the bathroom with the door open!

Things you tell yourself when your younger:

"I will let my kids do what they want"
"I will clean my room when I want to"
"I will wake up whenever I want to"
" I will be the coolest parent ever"
"I WILL NOT go to the bathroom with the door wide open"

Things that actually happen when your older:

You do not let your kids do whatever they want, you make your kids clean their room as you continue the never ending task of cleaning your own house, you do not wake up whenever you want because you either wake up for work or from your kids standing at your bedside staring directly at you asking for breakfast over and over again until you drag yourself out of bed on a weekend at 7am, and finally yes, you find yourself sitting on the pot with the door wide open.
Why you ask...?? Well here are the events that lead up to the moment where modesty is thrown out the window forever.

I distinctly remember multiple times as a teenager my mother yelling from the other room asking me to get in here so she could have a full on conversation with me while she is sitting on the toilet with the freaking door open. A relationship with your mom as a teenage girl is already difficult enough, I mean everything she does is embarrassing, but this tops it all. C'mon does the woman have no modesty? No, actually she doesn't and later in life I have learned why.
One day if your lucky and if you wish you will be pregnant. And so it begins. You will go to multiple OBGYN appointments straddling your legs for whomever and if you are so very lucky like I was your hospital will be a "teaching" hospital. So when your about to give birth to your first child and you are in the middle of a contraction your doctor will come in with 10 med students and ask if it's ok for them to watch?!! Why not, there is already a million other people in here staring directly at my crotch, lets go ahead and add a few more. That's what I was thinking. What I replied was "I DON'T CAAAARE!!" due to the fact my son's head was crowning and I just wanted that dam baby out! After that you just try regain any self respect you have left and you don't let anyone look in the direction of your crotch for a good 6 months and that includes yourself. No one wants to see that! Then comes the time that all first time mothers struggle with. Conquering the shower. You know, when your husband is at work and you have been in your PJ's for 3 days straight and you absolutely have to take a shower because your hair is so greasy that it's in a pony tail with no pony tail holder. "What do I do with the baby though?" you ask yourself. "What if he cries, or somehow falls out of his swing, or rolls over, or climbs out of his crib???" Newborns can do that can't they? So what do you do, you take a shower with the door wide open and the curtain half way pulled back so you can watch your sleeping baby.
There you go...the beginning of the end....
When kid #2 comes along your attitude has totally changed. Going to the bathroom or taking a shower is now your one and only source of peace. I would look forward to taking a shower for days. I say days because you are still in your PJ's all the time, this does not change except your in your PJ's for a week instead of 3 days. I specifically remember one day when I was so proud of myself. My kids were a little bigger now and I was working part time. It had been a long week with work and the kids, but I had managed to clean the house, get the laundry done, and make an awesome dinner. I of course was still in my robe but when my husband got home I had it all planned out. I would feed them and while they were eating I would go and take a nice long shower. I tell my husband "I am going to go shower, you watch the kids". Finally peace. I am just starting to relax when I hear my youngest  knocking on the door, the door was locked of course. After multiple knocks he stops, a couple minutes later I hear the door knob turning and then I hear a little voice say "mom are you taking a shower?" and there is my son standing in the bathroom with a set of tiny toy keys that he managed to open the bathroom door with! Are you serious! I scream down to my husband to get up here and get my son. So he comes up and grabs him, but does he think to close the bathroom door...NO! The door is wide open letting all the nice warm air out and once again I am standing naked for all to see. You have now officially arrived.
This is your life. You can not escape the opening of doors when you are trying to have a moment of peace. By the way my husband can go sit on his throne for a half hour with not one kid trying to get in??? WTF.
At one time your mother was modest and had privacy, then she had you, and now you have kids and no privacy. It's an ongoing cycle. No way of escape.
I am my mother...you are yours...and that is all.
I did conquer being the coolest parent ever though at least in my mind!

Tuesday Tip: Chefs Knife

Do you own a nice chef's knife for your home kitchen? I am not talking about the big knife that came in your knife block as a wedding gift....unless it was a really nice wedding gift! Every cook should have a good chef's knife. This is something you should splurge on (a little). You can find a good knife for around $80, but they definitely go up from there depending on the brand and type of steel. For a good home cook you don't need to get to technical and you don't need to break the bank.

Some good brands are:

Wusthof - you can find these at Williams Sonoma
J.a. Henckels- these are at Bed Bath and Beyond, and are your cheapest option
Shun - This is a Japanese steel and will be your most expensive choice. Williams Sonoma, Macy's, Bloomingdales, and Sur La Table will carry an option.

When you are working with your knife at home always have a safe cover and place to store it. Also remember the sharper the knife the less likely you are to cut yourself. When you are finished using your knife never put your knife in the dishwasher or down in the sink! This is for 2 reasons, 1.Someone could reach down in the sink and cut themselves and 2. Your knife could rust.
The proper way to clean your knife is to run it under warm water, wipe it clean, dry it, and then put it away.

Just a little Tuesday Tip.

Best Bloody Mary Ever!

In the spirit of this 3 day weekend, I will share the best Bloody Mary recipe ever with you! These Bloody's have gotten myself and a few of my friends through some hard mornings and onto some beautiful Sunday Funday's! Take this recipe and share it, I guarantee you will be praised!

1 48oz can Tomato Juice
2 cups Vodka - the good stuff
2 cans beef broth
3 Tbls worchtershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp tabasco sauce
salt and pepper

Mix all the liquids together in a large pitcher, add your salt and pepper to taste. Pour over ice and serve with bleu cheese stuffed olives, celery stick, and a lime wedge!

Your Welcome!!! 

Mastering the Art of my life....

As I sit here on a Sunday afternoon doing laundry, folding laundry, and cleaning bathrooms the movie Julie & Julia came on. Maybe you have seen it or maybe you haven't, but this movie actually means something to me. It's about Julia Childs and a young professional woman named Julie. The movie goes back and forth between the 2 women's lives. One taken in present time which is Julie who is a young professional woman that is unhappy in her job and releases stress by cooking, the other story taken in the past about Julia Childs life and how she became...well Julia Childs the chef.
Both stories have an underlying message that is the same, one that I totally relate to as many women/men do. The question we all ask ourselves "what do I want to do with my life?".
In the story of Julia Childs life she was in government like her husband. They traveled all over the world and ended up in France. There only her husband worked and she found herself bored. She kept thinking of things she liked to do but nothing was what she really wanted to do. She finally found Le Cordon Bleu the French cooking school and that was it for her. For the present day New Yorker Julie, she was working a 9-5 job and about to turn 30. So she decided to start a blog about how she would learn to cook by cooking her way through Julia Childs cook book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. After about 3 months of blogging about her experiences she was the 3rd most popular blog and got a huge write up in the New York Times. Which basically led to the making of this movie I am blogging about. (it was based on a true story)
I wish things were that easy. I am not saying these ladies had it easy, like most of us they were lost. I mean your a kid and you think when I grow up I am going to do exactly what I want to do. Well kudos to those of you who did, but for many of us it does not come that easy. I am a 32 year old mother of two, a wife, a homemaker, a bill payer, a housekeeper, and a sales professional. I love to cook and want to write about it and teach others how to do it and I want to cook on T.V. . I KNOW what I want to do. It's just how the hell do you get there? People say work hard, well I do work hard, they say don't give up, I never give up. I have tried out for the Food Network 4 times, I tried out for Masterchef once and made it, but only to be sent home for not causing enough drama.

The true issue is how do you do it all????

How do you get there and still pay your bills and take care of your family. Do you just go for it and quit your salaried job to go work in a kitchen to learn from a chef and build from there?
Well, I did that. It was exactly what anyone who wants to cook for a living should do. As long as you have no kids and a mortgage to pay.
This is not a blog about me complaining, even though it kind of sounds like it. It's about what inspires us and how to stay inspired throughout your life. So many things get in the way or just deter us from our dreams. I always told myself I wouldn't be that mom who tells her kids "Mommy gave up her dreams when she had you, you were enough". I'm sorry but that's a bunch of bull. I love my kids and I would do anything for them, but that doesn't mean I have to give up on myself. On the other hand being a mother and being married I feel I have to constantly reinvent myself. It's easy to let all those little strings take priority over number one. It's a balancing act that I am still trying learn.

So I will continue to work, blog, make custom cakes, and most importantly COOK until I get to exactly where I want to be.
To everyone else out there, everyday is an opportunity to take back who you are and become who you want to be....
As for myself, I will continuously watch this movie to stay inspired and remind myself it's never to late. Also I always tend to make such a delicious meal when it's on!

5 tips for a perfect Grill Out

Just because it's Labor Day weekend doesn't mean summer is over or the grill will need to be put away. We grill almost year round in our household, but on long holiday weekends it's always a staple. To me there is nothing better than getting together with friends and family, cracking open an ice cold beer, and firing up the grill. Ahhhhh pure happiness. You really can't go wrong with hosting a cook out, but just in case here are a few tips to help you along the way.

5 Tips for a great Grill Out

1. Depending on which type of grill you are using Charcoal vs. Gas you need to know when it's hot and ready. Obviously there is a temperature gage on your gas grill but not always on your charcoal grill. With Charcoal you want your coals to be smoldering, gray on the edges and still a little black in the middle. Rule of thumb for both types of grills is when you place your hand over the grill and it's to hot for you to hold your hand their for a couple seconds, then it's ready. You want a nice hot grill so it sears the outside of your meat but keeps the inside juicy.

2. When grilling don't move your proteins around to much. Place them on the grill and leave them, don't poke at them or flip them over every minute. Also don't cut into your meat to see if it's done or not. Meat will firm up the more it's done. Chicken obviously you want to feel totally firm, for red meat, rare will feel squishy with no give, med rare will be a more bouncy, med you will start to feel it firm up with just a little give, and well will have no give to the meat.

3. When cooking red meat always bring your meat to room temp before cooking. This will allow the meat to cook evenly. Also always allow 5-10 minutes of rest time for your proteins when you pull them off the grill. This will allow all the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. This will keep your protein tender and juicy

4.Having your grill properly cleaned is a must. Always clean your grill after each cook. It's easier to clean when it's hot. Also brushing your grill racks with some oil before you cook will help to keep your proteins from sticking.

5. Have a cooler of Ice Cold Beer around at all times. Everything at grill out's tastes better with an ice cold beer!