Honey-Mustard Salmon

Celebrating my 100th post! It's a good one too, you must try it!

2 salmon fillets, I always get boneless and skinless
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
olive oil

In a small bowl combine butter and brown sugar, microwave a few seconds til blended together. Add in brown sugar, dijon mustard, soy sauce and honey. Whisk til smooth. In a skillet, heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add in salmon fillets, lightly brown each side for a few minutes. Transfer into an olive oiled baking dish and bake at 400 10-15 minutes or until they flake easy with a fork but before white solids start to form on top of salmon. I personally like my salmon a little more dried out and less fishy tasting so I over cook mine.
Once plated, brush on honey mustard sauce. I served this with asparagus and rice.

Chicken, Brocoli Potato Bake

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
1 cup Italian Dressing
1 tub 10oz original Philadelphia Cooking Creme
1/2 cup milk
4-5 small russett potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 cups frozen brocoli florets
1-2 cups Kraft shredded Triple Cheddar with a touch of Philadelphia....(yum)
salt & pepper

Put chicken is a shallow dish with Italian dressing, set in fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
In a large bowl mix milk and cooking creme, stir in potatoes, half of the desired amount of cheese and brocoli.
Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Set chicken on top, throw away remaining marinade. Salt and pepper it up and bake covered at 375 for an hour or so until potatoes are soft. Top with remaining desired amount of cheese and bake until melted.

Tasty, warm and creamy!

Chili-Mango Chicken over Rice

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tbsp red onion chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 mango peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
black pepper to taste

--Combine the chicken pieces, cornstarch, soy sauce and sesame oil in mixing bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
--In a wok or large skillet, heat the peanut oil on high. Add the onion and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add the peas and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the chicken with its marinade and stir fry until it begins to brown.
--Add the mango, chili garlic sauce, and pepper. Stir fry until the chicken is cooked through and the mango becomes saucy, about 1 minute more.

Serve with rice.

Herb Crusted Tilapia

4 Tilapia fillets
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

In a bowl mix all ingredients then spread out on plate. Dab each side of each fillet on plate. Heat 2-3 tbs olive oil in large skillet over medium heat, when hot add fillets. Flip when golden brown. Fillets are done when they flake easily with a fork. 5-7 minutes.

Serve with a wedge of lemon

Garlicy Green Beans

8oz fresh green beans
1 cup corn kernels
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

In saucepan bring 1 inch water to a boil, add green beans and corn kernels for 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat. Drain and transfer to a bowl, add olive oil, dijon mustard, zest and lemon juice, garlic and cilantro.

Perfect side dish to fish!

Chocolate Haystacks

These little yummy chocolate peanut butter haystacks are addicting. I did not attach a picture and you'll know why when you make them.

2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups broken pretzel sticks
2 cups marshmallows
1 cup lightly salted peanuts
(m&m's would probably be really good too)

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together. Add pretzel sticks, marshmallows and peanuts. Stir until well coated.

Scoop out 1/4 cup haystacks on wax paper lined cookie sheet and keep in fridge until you eat them all!

Beef & Cheese Stuffed Shells

Well a ways down there is another Stuffed Shells recipe, and I still had half the box of Jumbo Shells leftover so I had to use them and so I threw this together. I liked this one even better!

1 lb ground beef
Jumbo shells, about 24-30
1 15oz Ricotta cheese
1 14oz Hunts Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1 14oz Tomato Sauce
1 package shredded Parmesan cheese
olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning

--In the pot of water for pasta drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle in some italian seasoning and garlic salt. Cook shells til soft. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle.

--Brown beef in skillet also with a little italian seasoning and garlic salt.
In a sauce pan pour in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, a tbs olive oil, garlic salt and italian seasoning. Simmer for a few minutes.

--In a large bowl combine ricotta, beef, handful parmessan cheese, and 1/2 the tomato mixture.

--In a 8x8 baking dish pour in a little tomato mixture in the bottom. Stuff each shell with beef mixture and arrange in dish. Top with remaining tomato mix then top with desired amount of parmesan.

Bake at 375 until sauce us bubbly and cheese is melted, 30-40 minutes.

Best Blueberry Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 egg

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients and blueberries. Make a well in the middle. In a small bowl combine the butter, milk and egg. Pour into dry ingredients and gently stir until well moistened but don't over mix.

Makes about 30 mini muffins (9-12 minuutes) or 12 regular muffins (15 minutes) filling liners to 3/4 way full.
Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean and golden brown

Super moist and fluffy!

The Perfect Chicken Salad Sandwich

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken, skin removed
1/2 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup mayo with olive oil
2 tbs mustard
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp garlic salt
pinch of paprika
freshly ground black pepper
lettuce and tomato for topping
Combine the chicken, celery, carrot, red onion, mayo, mustard, celery salt, garlic salt, paprika and pepper in a bowl. Mix well.

I served on fresh croissants from the bakery. Best chicken salad sandwich I've ever had!

Strawberry Peach Crumble

1 pound strawberries, halved or quartered depending on size
1 pound yellow peaches, sliced (I used frozen)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, chilled and cut into 1/2" cubes

For the filling: In a medium bowl mix lemon juice and flour until smooth. Add peaches, strawberries and brown sugar. Mix until coated well. Pour into a buttered 8x8 glass baking dish.
For the topping: In the bowl of a food processor, add flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt, pulse until mixed, add cubes of butter and pulse until butter is pea sized. Crumble over fruit mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and crumble is golden brown.

Shrimp Orzo with Summer Veggies

Awesome summer dish!

8 oz Orzo pasta

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided

1 zucchini, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 tablespoons Classico Pesto

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 pound small or medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed and cooked

1 large tomato

Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar together. Chop up veggies and add to olive oil and vinegar mix, let set for up to 2 hours. Mix pesto, lime juice, and remaining olive oil and vinegar, add shrimp and let set for up to 2 hours. Cook pasta in boiling salted water. Rinse with cold water and drain. If shrimp is already cooked then add the shrimp and veggies in a saucepan together over medium heat until shrimp and veggies are steamy, 10-15 minutes.

Spread pasta out in a large bowl or serving dish, top with the shrimp and veggies. I also made more of the pesto marinade for serving. Chop up tomato and sprinkle on top.

This can be served hot, room temp or even cold. We did warm and it was fantastic. Even great as leftovers.

Chocolate Banana Bundles

2 Tbs butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 ripe bananas halved lengthwise

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

chocolate syrup and vanilla icecream for topping

In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar until blended. Add bananas, stir to coat. Remove from heat and set aside.

Unfold puff pastry. Cut into four rectangles. Place halved banana in the center of each one. Overlap two opposite corners of pastry over banana. Pinch tightly to seal. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Serve warm with vanilla icecream.

Yummy chocolatey fruity dessert!

Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Shells

20 Jumbo Shells, cooked and drained

1/2 pound ground sausage

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use Bertoli Organic Olive oil, Basil & Garlic)

2 cups chopped broccoli

15oz Ricotta cheese

1 cup Mozzarella cheese

1/4 Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

garlic salt and onion powder to taste

Cook shells accordingly

Brown sausage

In a large bowl mix all cheeses, broccoli and seasonings. Add sausage. Stir well. Drain shells, rinse with cold water to you can touch them. Pour 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce into 9x13 dish. Stuff each shell with mixture. Set in dish. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over shells. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

This is quite good, I might try a different vegetable next time.

Peanut Butter Puffs

Perfect little kid snack and fairly healthy

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/4 cup honey and 2 Tbs brown sugar. Heat and stir until just boiling and brown sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, stir until smooth. Then add 1 3/4 cup rice krispies and stir until evenly coated. Set aside to cool. Then scoop out and form into small balls. Let stand on wax paper in fridge for a few minutes then store in airtight container at room temp.

Fiesta Salsa Dip

So when I throw something together, I don't measure anything out. So I was really wanting a good salsa dip one afternoon and used everything I had on hand to come up with this...

2 tomatoes
2 avacados
1/2 red onion (I only had half, it could use the whole thing)
1 jalepeno, cleaned (2 wouldn't be a bad idea)
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup corn
4 garlic cloves
handful cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
a few Tbs olive oil
salt&pepper
garlic salt

Chop, dice, mince whatever you gotta do, throw it all together in a big bowl and stir together. Serve with tortilla chips. Hit the spot!

Creamy Italian Chicken Orzo

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks 1 zucchini, chopped 1 10oz tub Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb cooking creme 1 can diced tomatoes 2 cups hot cooked orzo pasta

Cook chicken and zucchini in large skillet on medium heat until chicken is done. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooking creme and tomatoes, cook and stir for a couple minutes. Serve over pasta.

Santa Fe Mexican Pie

1 lb ground beef

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed

1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup frozen corn

2 green onions, sliced

1 10oz tub Philadelphia Santa Fe cooking creme, divided

3 flour tortillas, 6inch

3/4 cup Mexican Style shredded cheese

In large bowl, combine browned beef, black beans, tomatoes, corn and green onions. Add 3/4 cup cooking creme, mix lightly. Spoon 1/3 of mixture into a 9 inch pie plate. Top with 1 tortilla, half the remaining beef mixture and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Cover with second tortilla, remaining beef mixture, 1/4 cup shredded cheese and remaining tortilla. Top with remaining cooking creme and shredded cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Asparagus Cream Pastry

Great new & delicious appetizer!

1 8oz package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbs lemon juice

pinch of basil

1 lb fresh asparagus

Olive oil for drizzling

In small bowl combine cream cheese, parmesan, lemon juice and basil. Unfold puff pastry sheet on greased baking sheet. Cut into 6 rectangles. Spread cream cheese mixture on each pastry. Trim asparagus to be a bit shorter than pastry, alternating directions of spears, place 4-5 on each pastry. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with shaved parmesan.

*I served this with Tomato & Basil soup.

Lasagna Casserole

Got this delicious new idea for lasagna from a friend Jennifer. You must try this one out!

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
1 pound medium shell pasta, cooked and drained
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 24oz carton small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs beaten
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs dried parsley flakes
1 jar spaghetti sauce

1.) In a skillet cook beef and onion, drain. Season with salt and pepper

2.) In a large bowl mix pasta, 3 cups mozzarella, cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper

3.) Pour into greased large casserole dish, top with beef mixture, then spaghetti sauce. This will make a lot, so either put into 2 pans and freeze one, or a huge casserole dish.

4.) Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and top with remaining mozzarella and bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Great with french or garlic bread and salad.

Enjoy!

Lemon Broccoli Chicken over Rice

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup uncooked rice

10oz tub Philadelphia Original Cooking Creme

1 tsp lemon zest

In a skillet over medium heat, put in 1 Tbs olive oil, add your chicken strips, season with garlic salt, onion powder, and lemon pepper seasoning. Stirring often while cooking.

Start cooking your rice according to package.

When chicken is done, add broccoli, and cooking creme, stir together, let set for 2 minutes, add lemon zest.

Serve over rice.

I went to one of those Philadelphia Home cooking shows and picked up this yummy recipe. Those new cooking creme's are pretty easy and good to cook with.

Mexican Casserole

1 pound ground hamburger
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 can Mexicorn
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1 10oz package corn chips
1 14oz can enchilada sauce
1-2 cups shredded cheese

In a skillet, brown hamburger and onion over medium heat, drain grease, add corn and green chiles. In an ungreased shallow 3qt baking dish, layer meat mixture, corn chips, and enchilada sauce, top with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until heated through.