Baked Salmon

So, I know that salmon is one of the healthiest fish for you- so I decided to make it for my family. They loved it- but it's too fishy for my tastes (I'm overly sensitive!)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons light olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2-4 (6 ounce) fillets salmon

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together (aside from the fillets). Marinate fillets in the mixture for 1-2 hours. Remove skins if you want (I had my husband do that!). Bake in a glass casserole dish with foil covering it for 35 minutes at 375 degrees (until fish is flaky- it'll still be pink in color). I served over rice with sweet potato fries and yellow squash.

Spicy Beef and Cheesy Grits

This was another of Pioneer Woman's hits! You can find her much more beautiful photos and recipe HERE, and I made it with sauteed brussels sprouts/spinach and bacon. This meal combo was SO good- something really different from our standard meals- full of flavor and lots of good for you ingredients!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

From Carrie

One of the hardest things I've found to bake are chocolate chip cookies- mine are either flat, burnt, too doughy, not sweet enough, etc. when I make them from scratch. Of course they don't always turn out even from the pre-made dough, so I was super excited to get this recipe from my new neighbor, Carrie. This is officially my new standard Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe!!

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, shortening and white and brown sugars. Mix well. Then add the eggs, and vanilla and mix throughly. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Add the dry mixture, one cupful at a time to the cooke dough and mix well. (1/2 of extra flour will make the cookies come out puffier, so add another half cup if desired). Add the bag of chocolate chips and stir. Refridgerate at least 2 hours (overnight is what I did). Preheat oven to 375 and make round tablespoonfuls of cookie dough and place on greased baking sheet; balls should be 1-2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool cookies on a baking rack or on paper towels on the counter. Enjoy! Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Orzo Salad

I wanted something to go with our shrimp shish-ka-bobs- and this fit the bill! It was light, yummy and a good alternative to pasta salad!

INGREDIENTS:
Orzo, cooked
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Salt/Pepper
Black Olives, sliced
Artichokes, chopped (I included the marinade)
Tomatoes, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Cucumber, chopped
Lemon Juice

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Yummy!

Superbowl Grub

This is mostly for my memory- because every Superbowl shopping trip I make, I'm always trying to remember what I made last year- I always remember it was GOOD, just don't want to forget anything!

In the crockpots:
Rotel/Velveeta Dip (serve with Tortilla Chips)
Little Chicken Weinies (I like the chicken better than beef) with a yummy BBQ sauce- like Extra Hot Gates or Johnny Harris) and toothpicks come in handy to serve these (I forgot this year!)

Sub Sandwich:
2 tubs of Pillsbury French Loaf Bread
Non-Stick Spray
Garlic Salt
Oregano
Basil
Hard Salami
Turkey
Ham
Muenster Cheese
Baby Swiss Cheese
Onion, sliced thin
Green Pepper, sliced thin
Tomato
Lettuce (shredded)
Mayo
Salt/Pepper
Italian Dressing

I put the dough in a circle on a round cookie sheet- spray with non-stick spray, and sprinkle seasonings on top- bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. When it's done, cut the top off and layer ingredients. Cut into smaller portions... so yummy!

Wings:
I bought a frozen bag of Tasty Bird's wings- they were already fried and coated in buffalo sauce, I just had to bake them in the oven. I did pour some of my own sauce (melted butter and hot sauce, with some Tabasco) on top of half of them because I like wings really saucy (my husband doesn't!). I mix sour cream, mayo and blue cheese crumbles with salt and pepper for a dip and cut up celery to go with it.

Puppy Chow:
The recipe for this is on the back of the chex box- called "Muddy Buddies"... but I like using the corn chex instead of rice chex because the rice chex always taste stale to me once done. Basically chocolate chips, peanut butter, vanilla, butter and powdered sugar. Easy and fun to make! Always get more chocolate chips than the recipe calls for- it never coats enough!

Guacamole:
I use 2-3 avocados, diced onion and tomato and cilantro and a seasoning packet from the produce section. It's always a hit.


And that was it! Yummy food!! :)

Edamame Succotash

From Rachael


INGREDIENTS:
1 can of corn
1 pkg of edamame, steamed (I buy it in frozen bags that steam in the microwave)
Heavy Whipping Cream
Salt/Pepper
Butter

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all in a bowl and heat in the microwave. Super easy and delicious!