Sorry, sorry!!!

I have neglected you all this week, and I'm so sorry! It was a busy week, and I really only cooked on Tuesday (and I did post that meal). Last night I was all alone as Eddie was in Dallas and Oklahoma on business. I spent the evening packing and picking up, as we are celebrating our anniversary out of town this weekend. As I type, I'm in a hotel room, awaiting his return from Dallas. :) I can't wait to see him again... Even 2 days feels like forever.

Our anniversary is on Sunday, and we celebrate our first year as husband and wife. I can't believe it has been a whole year since we were married. My goodness, time flies! We have really had a wonderful year, and sometimes I can't believe how much I love this man and that he is actually mine. It really is a wonderful feeling, though.

I won't be updating this weekend, but I promise, next week, I will have several things for you. I am also working on something fun, coming up in the next month or two... I'll tell you a little bit about it.

For New Year's this year, we went with several friends to New Orleans. Of the four newlywed couples on the trip, I was the only one whose husband did not complain about my cooking (or rather, lack thereof). When I started the blog a few weeks ago, I guess my friends started reading. (thank goodness!) One of the wives from the trip had a great idea, and I definitely think we will try it... She said we should all get together (and offered her house, too), and I could help them all make a full meal, start to finish. Then we can have the guys come over and eat the food (I doubt they'll complain about that end of the bargain). Then I can feature the recipes on the blog and include the photos from our evening!

I thought it was a super cute idea, and I really can't wait to try it out! I'm sure it will be tons of fun, and I'm sure that I will learn a few things along the way, as well as teaching them. What do you think? Let me know... I'd love to hear your opinion!!!!

Enjoy your weekend (I'll definitely be enjoying mine!), I'll be posting photos next week, and you'll get a slew of new recipes coming up!

Xoxo
Jen

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Well I hadn't posted in a few days, but I hadn't really cooked much since my last post - we had a very busy President's Day weekend.
Some of the highlights:

Farmer's Market - where I purchased several of the fresh ingredients that are used in today's post! Yum!
Boat Show - we went to see the huge yachts and really enjoyed ourselves and pretending we could afford yachts that were over 100 feet long.
Coconut Grove Arts Festival - Lots of delicious food and drinks, and some pretty good art, too. ;)
Movies - "Just Go With It" Super cute, super funny movie. Eddie and I were in stitches the whole time!  Definitely recommend the movie - the kids in the film might actually be my favorite part, they were too adorable!

At the Arts Festival

At the Boat Show

On to the food... as I mentioned earlier, we went to the Farmer's Market and bought a few fresh ingredients for the week. One of the things I've really been wanting to make is stuffed Portobello mushrooms, so I made sure we bought some mushrooms.

The recipe packs a very flavorful punch and was pretty easy to make (I feel like I say that about all my recipes. lol).  The original recipe was for the mushrooms to be grilled, but I didn't really feel like grilling anything, so I went with this way.  I liked this meal a lot - it is very light (the original recipe says it is 216 calories per serving!), so after a weekend of stuffing my face with anything and everything you can imagine, this was a great light meal to have at the beginning of the week. And again, it was very flavorful - the cheese and oregano give it a great taste.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients
2 portobello mushroom caps
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 cup bagged baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup Italian-seasoned panko
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Remove brown gills from undersides of mushrooms using a spoon; discard gills. Set mushroom caps aside.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushroom caps, garlic, and onion; saute 2 minutes. Remove mushroom caps from heat. Add oregano and spinach to skillet; saute until spinach wilts.

Transfer spinach mixture to a medium bowl; stir in remaining 1 teaspoon oil, cheese, panko, vinegar, and pepper. Divide evenly among mushrooms, spooning onto gill sides.

Return mushrooms to skillet, and saute mushrooms with filling for 5-7 minutes.

I served this with asparagus spears, which I also sauteed (in the same skillet), after seasoning with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Enjoy!

Xoxo, 

Jen

Recipe adapted from: Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals

Alfredo Pasta with Chicken and Italian Sausage

So I'm going to admit something...

I use store bought sauces! Ahhh, there I said it!

On my cooking "bucket list" several items are sauces, and a lot of times, for simple sauces, I make them myself. Pesto, for example, is one I absolutely do not buy - it tastes sooo much better from scratch. But whenever I make pasta it is usually because I'm not in the mood to work too hard. Today was one of those days.  I'm pretty sure that making alfredo sauce from scratch will do one of two things. 1) Make me never want to eat alfredo sauce again because I will know just how fattening it is (that happened to me with hollandaise sauce :(  So sad.) 2) Make me never want to eat store bought alfredo sauce because it is so good.
So one day, soon, I will make my own.  But for today's recipe, I let myself off easy and went with something that wouldn't make me work too hard. <b></b> So if you consider yourself a sauce snob, either stop reading here or find yourself a recipe for alfredo sauce from scratch and throw it together, substituting it for the store-bought one I include.

I was looking through my freezer and found some Italian sausages, so I decided to add those into the mix.  I enjoyed it, but it might not be something that everyone likes. You can sub the sausage for shrimp, or you can cut it out altogether if you want. Either way, the recipe was delish, and Eddie might as well have licked his plate clean (always a great sign, right?).

Alfredo Pasta with Chicken and Italian Sausage

Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 links Italian sausage
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 1/2 cup Rotini pasta
1 jar alfredo sauce
chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Once ready, set aside.
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil.  Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, place in pan, along with sausage links. Once chicken has become golden on one side, flip over, adding the chicken broth to the pan (this keeps everything very juicy).  Add the mushrooms and parsley.  Turn the sausage links periodically so that they cook through.
Once the chicken and sausages are cooked, remove from heat and cut into strips. Add the mushrooms, chicken and sausages to the cooked pasta. In the same pan where you cooked the chicken, pour the alfredo sauce until just boiling.
Serve the pasta mixture and pour the warmed alfredo sauce over it, garnishing with parsely. Enjoy!

Xoxo, 

Jen

Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

Right after my hubby and I bought our home and had finished furnishing and painting the place, we invited our parents over for a home-cooked meal by yours truly. I was petrified. What the heck should I make? How could I be sure it would be good? So I went with something simple and straightforward, with ingredients I knew everyone would enjoy. 

It was super easy, and the chicken came out the way my father-in-law likes it - "con color".  

Last night I wasn't feeling so hot, so I decided to do something I knew and could finish quickly. This time, I changed it up and instead of doing chicken breast strips, which meant I would have to cut up the chicken, I used whole chicken thighs, since I had them defrosted already. It was very full of flavor, and I was done cooking it, including prep and everything, in under 20 minutes.  (You can't say that's not fast!) Definitely a great weeknight meal, and one that I know I'll be repeating again. 

Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

Ingredients

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 2 skinless chicken breast fillets

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp paprika

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Stir in the chicken, onion, garlic, and paprika over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side.

Once cooked, add the lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot, and enjoy!

Adapted from Best Ever 30-minute Cookbook by Jenni Fleetwood

Xoxo, 

Jen

Happy Valentine's Day... Chocolate Truffles

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  What are your plans for tonight? I WAS going to cook for Eddie, but on Friday I found out that I have to attend a funeral for a childhood friend today, and I spent the whole rest of the weekend in the kitchen, so we decided to make reservations at a yummy steak house near our home. As much as I enjoy being in my kitchen, I really needed a break for today.

What's Valentine's Day without some chocolate?
This past weekend was a marathon in the kitchen. I cleaned up on Saturday, and Sunday it was a mess AGAIN. But of all the things I made this weekend, these might just be my favorite. I never thought they'd be this easy to make... goodness gracious. They were a little messy, but so worth it in the end. They are delicious, and they literally just melt in your mouth.
I rolled them in cocoa powder AND confectioner's sugar, which made them taste amazing - the sugar gave them a little sweetness, but it wasn't overpowering. You can flavor them with any kind of liquer you have on hand or like. I wanted to do Amaretto (my absolute favorite), but didn't have any on hand, so I went with the Grand Marnier. I only used a little bit, and it gave it a nice hint of orange.
Again, these were a great, fairly easy thing to make. While they chilled, I was able to do several other things.  I definitely recommend making them to keep on hand if you know you are going to have people over, or you can make them as gifts - wrap up a few of them and you have a delicious homemade gift!


Chocolate Truffles
Yield: about 25 truffles

Ingredients
8 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
Grand Marnier or liquer of choice (optional, to taste)
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for rolling
Confectioner's sugar, for rolling

Directions
Place chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat heavy cream and Grand Marnier to just boiling in a small saucepan.
Pour cream over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute or two, so chocolate melts. Whisk until completely smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until chocolate hardens (I actually put the chocolate into the freezer for about 45 minutes.
When chocolate has hardened, scoop out using a teaspoon, melon baller, small ice cream scoop, or other rounded tool (I used a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon that was rounded). Roll in cocoa powder and sugar until fully coated. Dust off excess.
I kept them in the fridge - they taste so good when they are cold. :)

As always, Enjoy!

xoxo,

Jen 

A Pink Twist on a Weekend Favorite...

So Eddie & I just finished devouring this and thought I needed to share right away. I was cleaning out magazines, which I do a couple times a year, because they start stacking up.  However, before tossing them, I always tear out recipes I'd like to try.  I came across this one from Everyday with Rachael Ray and tore it out, but since we still hadn't had lunch, I decided to make it for today's lunch... after all, it is pink!  I love gourmet burgers, so I definitely thought this was deeee-lish.

I didn't have all the ingredients listed, so I substituted and did a few things differently. All those changes are included in my post (for the original recipe you can click the link at the bottom of the post).

The recipe was fairly simple, and I halved everything in the original recipe, since I'm only cooking for two.  What I like about it is that you can really add things as you like... you can top them with onions, spinach, anything really. I opted for Baby Bella mushrooms because I had them on hand and didn't want them to go bad. :)

Open-Face Salmon Burgers with Honey Mustard

Ingredients
3 Tbsp whole grain mustard (regular deli mustard will do as well)
3 Tbsp honey
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
2  6 oz skinless salmon filets, cut into cubes
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp Olive oil
Softened butter, for spreading
1 English muffin, split and toasted
2 Tbsp feta cheese, for topping

Directions


In a small bowl, stir together mustard and honey.

Using a food processor, pulse the salmon to finely chop. Place salmon in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add 2 Tbsp of the honey mustard mixture, the parsley, Old Bay seasoning, and lemon zest. Mix well and form 2 large burgers.

In a non-stick skillet or griddle, add the burgers and mushrooms and cook, turning the burgers once, over medium-high heat. Cook 6 minutes for medium-rare, 10 to 12 minutes for medium-well.

Lightly butter the English muffins. Top each muffin half with the salmon burgers, mushrooms, remaining honey-mustard sauce, and feta cheese.


Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray - 30 Minute Meals

Enjoy!

Xoxo, 

Jen

Pink & Popular

This recipe might actually be the easiest thing you ever prepare - I say prepare because there is not a second of cooking involved. Literally.  I always keep the ingredients for this on hand in case people invite us somewhere at the last minute.   And in trying to keep with a Valentine's theme, this is a pink little dish.  If you have a Valentine's party this weekend (or an "I Hate Valentine's Day" party) - this is a great option. But then again, it's great for anytime!

If you have ever tasted a Cuban pastelito de guayaba y queso and enjoyed it, you will LOVE this. And if you haven't had the aforementioned treat or haven't enjoyed it when you did have it, you will hopefully like this anyway. 

I decided to make this because this is the dish that when people tell me they are having a party or get-together, I ask, "What would you like for me to bring?" 8 out of 10 times, without hesitation, the response is, "Guava dip!"  I think it is so funny, because it is the simplest thing to make, but it is a real crowd pleaser. Everyone loves cream cheese, and while some people may not like guava, I promise that they at least will not spit this out. I always serve it with Tostitos Scoops - I find that the difference between the sweet flavor of the dip and the salty chips goes very nicely. Plus, people get to scoop out a good amount, which they always like. ;)

So here's another pink recipe, one that you can keep in your back pocket for emergencies.  

Guava Dip

Ingredients

1 12 oz tub of whipped cream cheese

1 16 oz jar of guava marmalade

1 bag Tostitos Scoops or desired crackers

Your starring ingredients!

Directions

In a large bowl, empty the contents of the cream cheese jar. 

Use a mixer to smooth out the cream cheese. 

Gradually add in the guava marmalade, mixing the whole time.

Mix until both ingredients are totally incorporated. 

Pour into a serving dish and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until the dip firms up.  

Remove from refrigerator, serve with chips or crackers. 

Enjoy!

*See, I told you it was easy!

xoxo, 

Jen

A Little Valentine Something

I want to post these so that anyone who decides that they want to bake something for Valentine's Day has something to go by.

The first time I ever baked from scratch (I had definitely used boxed mixes before), I decided that I was going to make cupcakes. Specifically, red velvet cupcakes.  So I got my researching on, and I decided I was going to follow the recipe from Annie's Eats.
Her stuff always looks so good, and I am constantly finding myself jotting down things I want to try. When she posted the recipe for the red velvet cupcakes, and I decided to stop jotting and immediately get to doing.

I made them, they disappeared. I made a batch for Thanksgiving, and I've made a few more since then, and each time, they disappear more quickly than the last.

The first time, I followed the recipe to perfection, and got rave reviews.  The next time, however, I strayed a little bit from the original recipe - I like my red velvet to be a little more chocolate-ey, and these only had a little bit of cocoa powder, so I added in chocolate chips. I crossed my fingers when I saw people bite into them, and the look on my brother-in-law's face was priceless. He actually apologized to his mother and mine for voting my cupcakes the top dessert of the evening. lol

The cream cheese frosting is amazing - that I follow exactly. (Except I make a little more than the recipe calls for - which Annie tells you to do - because you can never have enough cream cheese frosting).

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2½ cups cake flour
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cocoa powder

½ cup of semi sweet chocolate morsels (I use the mini kind) 

1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

For the frosting:*
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.  Beat on medium speed until well blended.  Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Recipe adapted from: Annie's Eats.

Rack of Lamb Anyone?

So this past weekend, Eddie (that's my one and only) went to Costco and called me to find out what we needed. I rattled off the usual list and we hung up. He called me back to ask, "Do you like lamb?" I said yes, although I've never made lamb before. "Ok thanks. Bye!"
And he came home with a Frenched rack of lamb.
Great.

Last night he asked me to make it, and since I had not planned on making it, had to find a recipe that didn't call for the lamb to be marinated for several hours before cooking.
Well the one I found was fairly simple, quicker than I'd ever imagined, and tasted absolutely amazing.

So I guess this will be the first recipe I share on here.

Roasted Rack of Lamb

(Pardon the poor-ish quality of the picture -
I took it with my phone, since my camera was not on hand.)

Ingredients
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp dried or fresh rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

1 rack of lamb, trimmed and frenched
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard


Directions
Preheat the over to 450 degrees. Move oven rack to center position.

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 2 Tbsp olive oil.  Mix well and set aside.

Season the rack all over with salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large heavy oven proof skillet over high heat. Sear rack of lamb for 1-2 minutes on all sides. Set aside for a few minutes.  Brush rack of lamb with the mustard, then roll in the bread crumb mixture until evenly coated. Cover the ends of the bones with foil to prevent from charring.

Arrange the rack bone side down in the skillet. Roast the lamb in the oven for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on how well you would like it to be cooked.
Carve between the ribs and serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com.

Fresh Start

Starting a blog is always sort of scary. What the heck do I write?
I've started them a few times and always end up deleting them because I don't think I have enough to say or enough that people will actually care to read.

What's different now? Well, I've been asking myself the same thing.
I'm just an ordinary young woman - a jack of all trades, master of none.  I was married almost a year ago (my anniversary is February 27th).

In the last year, I've learned a lot - about myself, about my husband, and about what I want my life to be like. I suppose this blog is an attempt to sort everything out and keep a kind of record of my attempts at lots of things. I suppose I will be posting about photography, cooking, baking, teaching, and travel, for the most part.  Basically, things that make me happy on a daily basis - hence the name, Everyday Delights.

I also have so many people who ask me for recipes and tips on different things... I figure this is an easier way to share than just e-mailing people one-by-one. I'm sure it will be slow going at first, but hopefully I can create some kind of a schedule for myself and update on a regular basis. I'll certainly try. :)

I hope you enjoy, feel free to comment, and let me know if there's anything I can do to improve the blog!

For today, I'll leave you with some of my favorite shots, taken by Yours Truly...

Our puppy Bella, a Lhasa Apso, at 5 months. 

A dock along the Mississippi

My handsome hubby. :)

Happy Reading...

Jen