Good ole steak & potatoes

This year I decided to give something up every month...since food is one of the things I love the most, I chose certain food items. In January, I gave up carbs...bread, pasta, rice, etc... now that January is over I have to admit that I wasn't completely turning my head to those scrumptious, fluffy, hit-the-spot pieces of bread, but most of the time I stayed focused.

This month I am giving up meat...so I will only eat fish. Rightly so, in the last days of January I picked up some New York strip steaks to cook. Every now and then a homemade dish of classic steak and potataoes is all one needs to get through the day.

Smashed Fingerling Potatoes
1/2 package of fingerling potatoes
salt
pepper
3 green onions
1/3 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter

First you want to, dice up your potatoes then boil them until a fork can slide through them. Then you drain the water out, add in the butter, salt, pepper, milk and green onion...before you start to smash them let them sit for a few minutes. This gives the butter time to melt. Then smash away, your potatoes should be left between chunky and creamy. We love to keep the skins on our potatoes (they are packed with nutrients!) and we like some chunks. If you prefer smooth mashed potatoes use a hand mixer to blend them together. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Sauteed Kale
1 bunch of fresh kale
salt
pepper
olive oil

You always need greens on your plate, right?! Kale is a great alternative to spinach or broccoli, they are super healthy and delicious. Wash your kale, cut off the stems and roughly chop them up. Heat up your skillet with olive oil, drop in the kale and cook for 10-15 minutes. Cover for the first five minutes to help circulate the heat and soften the kale. I don't want my kale to get mushy so I remove the cover to let them saute and get slightly crispy before serving. (You could always add mushrooms, onions, or other spices to jazz up this green!)

Classic New York Strip
2 steaks (or however many you need)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

This is the classic way of cooking up a steak. Steaks have a lot of flavor and you don't want to overcrowd that natural flavor with too many spices. I let my steaks rest in olive oil for about 10 minutes at room temperature, I get my pan nice and hot, sprinkle on the salt and pepper then place the steaks down on the grill pan.

My amazing, culinary friend, Amanda, taught me how to tell if your steak is done as you'd like. If you feel the palm of your hand regularly that is rare, if you move your thumb to your forefinger that is medium-rare, the middle finger is medium, ring finger that is medium-well and the pinky is well-done. So if you press on your steak as it cooks you should be able to gauge when it is done to your liking. We prefer our steaks to be medium to medium-rare which is about 4-5 minutes per side.

Once everything is done, plate up and eat up! Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Sweet & Savory

One of my favorite combinations is sweet & savory...I love the way they compliment each other. Ice cream and caramel for example...delicious union! The recipe I am going to share is one that does the very same thing. Pork is one of those meats that greatly compliments sweet tones. I had some butternut squash in my fridge that I needed to use, which became the perfect partner for pork.

One of my favorite ways to cook pork is by using a crust with nuts, any nut combination will do. Two of my favorite are almonds and pistachios. They create a crunchy texture and salty finish which leaves this pork to die for!

Almond-Pistachio Crusted Pork
4 pork chops
1/4 cup crushed almonds
1/4 cup crushed pistachios
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup milk


First I take my pork out of the package, grab a fork and poke holes all in it to help tenderize the meat and allow flavors to reach inside the pork. Then I pour the milk over the chops in a bowl. I let that sit for 30 minutes while the milk helps tenderize the pork even further and makes a creamy coating. While the pork is taking a milk bath I get my butternut squash ready.

Roasted Butternut Squash Puree
1 medium sized butternut squash
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 chopped onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp marscapone cheese

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and sprinkle on all the spices/onion, drizzle with olive oil then pop in the oven for one hour at 350 degrees to get nice and tender.

Meanwhile you can get your brussel sprouts ready, warm a pan on medium heat, add olive oil and pour in your brussel sprouts. Sprinkle with a bit more olive oil, salt and pepper. Keep them on medium for about 10 minutes then reduce to low until ready to serve. Mix them around a bit to get crispy on the outside.

When your pork is ready to go, remove from the fridge. Put your chopped nuts in a bowl, add salt and pepper and mix together. Dunk your chop into the nut mixture from the milk mixture and onto a baking sheet. Make sure the pork chops are evenly coated with the nut mixture, to create a crispy crust. Pop that into the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

One the squash is roasted, remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, peel off the skin and chop up into squares, add to a bowl. Add in the milk, chicken stock and marscapone cheese, stir together. Then use your emulsion blender to smoothly blend all the ingredients together. (If you don't have an emulsion blender, use a regular blender or food processor instead.) Once blended make sure to taste to see if you need any more salt or pepper. The mixture should be thicker than soup, more like a puree.

Then check on your pork by cutting into the meat, if it is dark pink you want to cook it a little bit longer. Once it is done, take it out to rest. Then turn the heat off on your brussel sprouts. Spoon the puree onto your plate then place the brussel sprouts on the outside and place the pork on top of the puree. Then dig in!

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Start your Winter day off right

In order to start your cold, blustery day off correctly a fulfilling breakfast is much needed. Eggs are a fantastic way to fill you up without a lot of calories or fat. Enjoy this simple yet mouth watering breakfast recipe.

Omelete

6 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
salt
pepper
3 English muffins
ground turkey
fresh berries
green onion
shiitake mushrooms

Slice disks out of the ground turkey and cook until juicy and slightly crisp. Chop up your green onions and shiitake mushrooms, add them to a pan on medium-low heat. Scramble the six eggs, whisk in milk, salt and pepper. Toast up the English muffins. Remove the onion-mushroom mixture and pour in 1/3 of the mixture, once the eggs start to solidifiy flip and add in onion-mushroom mixture plus shredded cheese. Flip one half over to create an omelette, leave for one minute then remove from heat.

Plate the omelete top with cheese and a few green onion slices with a side of turkey sausage, English muffins and berries. This meal will jumpstart your metabolism and give you energy to conquer the day!

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Acorn Squash Soup

Nothing is better than a hot bowl of comforting soup when the winds are chilly and the clouds unleash rain across the city.

I stumbled upon this recipe as I looked in my fridge and found an acorn squash, the only thing I had made before with this gorgeous ghourd was chutney but this time I wanted to make something good for the soul.

Acorn Squash Soup with Fresh Sage

1 acorn squash/2 people
1 yellow onion
1 leek
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 carton of chicken stock
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup milk (or heavy cream)
salt
pepper

I started as you would with any squash, you cut them in half de-seed them and place on a baking sheet. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating up, slice up some onions, garlic, bits of fresh sage and leeks place those inside of the hole of the squash and drizzle with olive oil. Place the squash in the oven for one hour to soften and bake.

While the squash is baking light your Dutch oven or soup pot on low heat, add olive oil and the rest of the onion, leeks, a few sage leaves and garlic. When they become golden (30 minutes) add chicken stock, salt and pepper. Once the squash is done, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Once the squash are cooled pour the contents inside the squash into the pot. Strip off the squash skin, chop up into inch cubes and add to the pot. Raise the pot's temperature to medium heat and stir. After 15 minutes use your hand emulsion blender to blend the squash soup together. Be careful not to raise the blender above the soup, blend for 10 minutes until creamy and smooth. Then add your milk/heavy cream. Let the soup finish for five minutes then you are ready to serve.

Once you pour the incredible soup into your serving bowls, grate fresh parmesan cheese on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh sage leaves. This soup will knock your snuggie right off, it is down right delicious! Perfect for entertaining or as a quiet Sunday meal.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Sunday Funday Burgers and Mac n Cheese

What Sunday wouldn't be perfect without a juicy burger and creamy, cheesy mac n cheese? We are pretty healthy in our house but every so often we crave a big burger and some smack your lips macaroni and cheese. This can be easy to throw together from leftovers!


Bacon-Monterrey Jack Burger with Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

1 lb of ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 cup monterrey jack cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup crisp, crumbled bacon
5 mushrooms sliced
1/4 onion sliced
salt
pepper
whole wheat buns (or bread)

Saute mushrooms and onions on medium-high heat with olive oil. Meanwhile, pound out your ground beef add bacon and cheese, then create patties about 1/4 lb (about an inch thick). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat up grill pan and grill burgers for 5 min per side or less depending on how you prefer your burgers to be cooked. Place buns or bread slices on the grill pan to toast, pile on your sauteed veggies and let the devouring begin!

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

1 box of rotini pasta (or elbow, penne)
2 cups of cheese (I used a combination of colby jack, queso fresco, habanero and cream cheese)
1 cup of milk
3 Tbsp butter
salt
pepper

Heat water on stove til boiling, sprinkle with olive oil and add pasta. Cook til al dente then add cheese, milk, butter, salt and pepper (preferably in a dutch oven or large sauce pan). Cover and let sit for 2 minutes to melt. Stir, cover and let sit for another 2 minutes over low heat. Assess and add more milk if it isn't creamy enough. Plate with your fantastic burger and indulge in your Sunday Funday meal!

Enjoy! xo Lo

Refreshing Picnic Lunch

Summer days are perfect for lazy, picnic lunches under an Oak tree. Too bad in Texas that would only be possible @ 7 am or 9 pm...but luckily the Northern states have gorgeous summers which are perfect for picnics.

If I was living in say Connecticut, upstate New York, Northern California or Washington state... I would make these lovely, refreshing, healthy items; tropical fruit salad, field green salad with strawberries and soft-boiled eggs as well as homemade, freshly baked sesame seed French bread.

Tropical Fruit Salad

3 kiwis sliced
2 mangos sliced
2 bananas
3 Gala apples
3 nectarines
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest

After slicing up all the fruit, place in a bowl and toss with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to keep the fruit fresh and tasty. Super easy and healthy.

Field Green Salad with Fresh Lemon Vinaigrette

2 cups field greens
1 English cucumber
handful of strawberries, sliced
2 Roma tomatoes
3 soft-boiled eggs (bring eggs to boil then turn off heat & let sit for 15 minutes)

Agave-Lemon Vinaigrette

1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
pinch salt
pinch pepper
1 tsp parsley
1 Tbsp agave nectar

Squeeze lemon juice into a bowl, whisk in olive oil, agave nectar and seasoning.

Once you assemble the salad, drizzle the fresh dressing over the top. The lemon will bring out the flavors in the strawberries, tomatoes and cucumber.

Sesame Seed French Bread

5 1/4 cups organic unbleached flour
1/2 cup organic low-fat milk
1 cup warm water
2 packages of active dry yeast
3 Tbsp of butter
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
pinch salt
pinch pepper

Add milk, sugar, salt and butter into a saucepan over low heat. Let butter melt and sugar dissolve, add active dry yeast packages to lukewarm milk mixture. Once the yeast has dissolved, pour into mixer. Add in 4 1/2 cups of flour and warm water- mix on level two for one minute. Slowly add in the rest of flour 1/4 cup at a time. Keep mixing at level two until the flour begins to stick together and pulls off all extra dough off the bottom and sides of bowl. Knead dough on level two for one minute then place dough into a greased (with butter or Pam) bowl. Cover bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm, room temperature area to rise. Let dough rise for one hour. Once dough has doubled in size place on floured surface and punch out dough. Split dough into two halves. For one half I cut three long strips and braided them for a pretty bread design. I drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and sesame seeds then placed on a greased baking sheet into the oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

For the other half I rolled the dough out, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled on salt, pepper, oregano and basil then rolled the dough up almost like a jelly roll. This would fold in all the spices. Then I placed in a greased bread pan, drizzled the very top with olive oil and sprinkled with stone-ground oats for a nice finish.

Pack all these homemade items up in a picnic basket, grab a blanket, ice tea and spend a lazy day outside snacking on these refreshing, healthy foods!

Enjoy xoxo Lo

Easy, Elegant Entertaining

One of my ultimate favorite things to do is to celebrate life by entertaining. To most entertaining is a daunting, stressful idea...I am here to clear the air and help you realize that entertaining can be easy and elegant. The first thing you want to do is come up with your theme, this is what you'll usually center your food and decor around. Being creative with serverware is another tidbit I love to focus on, the details will truly pull in all your guests and having them saying, "Wow!" all event long.

The first thing I love to do is have a beautiful arrangement of flowers, candles, glasses as a tablescape for my guests to see. With the help of my fabulous friend, Amanda Kordes, we found some wild sunflowers that I picked, which looked lovely for our Southern Ladies Cooking Club. We then surrounded the sunflowers with beautiful glasses, antique pieces and some chocolate-berry compote cupcakes.

Chocolate Berry-Compote Cupcakes

2 cups organic unbleached flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 Tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 cup organic skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate

Combine soft butter and sugar until creamed. Add dry ingredients, mix until blended. Add milk and vanilla, blend well. Melt chocolate and add with eggs, slowly. Pour into greased cupcake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking put blueberries, blackberries and raspberries into a sauce pan with sugar on medium heat.

Berry Chocolate Icing

1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
4 cups powdered sugar
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate

Add soft butter into mixer, mix until creamy. Add corn syrup, mix on high til creamy. Slowly add in powdered sugar. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (if you don't have one put a metal  bowl on top of a sauce pan with a bit of water, make sure the bottom of the bowl cannot touch the water, bring the water to boil, once boiling turn heat down, chocolate will melt, stir constantly to avoid burning). Add in chocolate, put in a piping bag or ziploc bag to ice cupcakes.

Meanwhile, stir berries until the sugar has reduced the fruit into a jelly-like compote. Remove from heat to cool. Once cooled put into a piping bag or ziploc for cupcake filling.

When cupcakes are down, let them cool, then poke little holes in each cupcake, fill with berry compote and ice with piping bag. Ta da!

The next thing I like to have out when my guests arrive is a few things to snack on, when I was registering for my wedding I found this tri-bowl serving set that I just loved, it was perfect to put a few snacks in when entertaining. You could put in almonds, cubes of cheese, cherry tomatoes, dark chocolate, granola, berries, etc.

After my wedding I received some really fun serverware plates from Martha Stewart's Living collection. They are all different pattens of various leaves, this one in particular I used for some cajun jalapeno poppers that delighted any palate!

Cajun Jalapeno Poppers

My husband and I decided to make two different kinds, one had a batter on it and one was left simple. We took 1/2 package of cream cheese, cajun seasoning, fresh jalapenos (completely de-seeded and cleaned), bacon, 2 Tbs flour, 1/4 cup milk. For the battered poppers we first mixed the cajun seasoning into the soft cream cheese (and in the flour), filled each half jalapeno, wrapped in bacon then dipped into the cajun spice flour, dip into milk then back into cajun spice flour mix.

For the un-battered jalapeno poppers we mixed the cajun spices into the soft cream cheese, wrapped in bacon. We baked all of the jalapeno poppers into 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cream cheese should be bubbly and bacon should be crisp.

Enjoy all these lovely recipes and ideas for your next girl's night in, birthday party, dinner for the in-laws or for your special someone.

xo Lo

Cornflake Encrusted Pork

How many of you love fried chicken or fried pork chops? With this recipe it'll be like eating fried pork chops but for half the calories! I had tried cornflake encrusted chicken and decided I wanted to try this recipe on my pork cutlet. My husband and I love pork so with this dinner I paired fresh strawberry, spinach salad and sauteed onions and mushrooms.

Ingredient List

2 pork cutlets
1 1/2 cups of basic cornflakes
1/2 red onion
5 button mushrooms
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cups of fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh, sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
salad dressing of choice

Heat oven to 350 and allow pork to tenderize in milk for 30 minutes. Assemble your pork, in one dish put in cornflakes, in the next dish put in flour,  salt, pepper and paprika (mix together), take the pork from the milk and dredge into the flour mixture, back to milk then finally into the cornflakes. Once completely covered put the pork onto a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Put in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes.

While your pork is baking, chop your onion and mushrooms. Heat saute pan to medium heat and drizzle in some olive oil, throw your veggies in to saute. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, assemble your salad, rinse your spinach, slice your strawberries, cut your cherry tomatoes in half. If you have a salad spinner (I highly recommend one) put your spinach in there to get rid of all the water, if not pat down with paper towels. On your plate pile up our spinach, sprinkle on strawberries and tomatoes. Use whichever dressing you prefer, we used bleu cheese dressing. Once the pork is done add that to the plate with your sauteed veggies. Enjoy this simple, healthy meal!

xo Lo

Piled High Southwestern Burger

Who doesn't love burgers? There is a wide spectrum of burgers, my husband and I went to In n Out Burgers yesterday and they are simple and delicious. I like to find ways to spice it up a bit and create burgers that are outside of the box. On this summer day, my husband and I were working with the last bit of groceries we had. I had ground beef, veggies, eggs, black beans and cornmeal. I decided to whip up piled high southwestern burgers on black beans, green chile cornbread, sauteed onions, a fried egg, cherry tomatoes and fresh cilantro.

The first thing I did was form my beef patties, I added some salt, pepper and garlic then I set those aside and allowed the flavors to merry. I then started to make my green chile corn bread, I used one cup of organic stone ground corn meal, half a can of corn, a small can of green chiles, salt, pepper, one egg, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup of milk; mix this altogether and pour into a pan to bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

While the cornbread was baking, I poured a can of black beans into my sauce pan and cooked them on medium heat. Next, I chopped my onions into thin slices, sliced the cherry tomatoes in half and roughly chopped the fresh cilantro. I put the sliced onion into a saute pan with olive oil on medium heat, along with putting the burgers onto my grill pan with olive oil. My dad always taught me growing up that sauteed onions are the base to any delicious homemade recipe. I use olive oil because it is healthier than butter or other oils, plus I personally love the taste. After a few minutes I flip the burgers, check on the cornbread, stir the onions, stir the black beans and it's time for the eggs. I love eggs, I try to use them in every meal I make...especially fried eggs, I firmly believe fried eggs are Heaven topped on any meal :)

Once the cornbread was done, I removed it from the oven to cool. Then I cracked the eggs into a saute pan with (you guessed it!) olive oil. The key to a fantastic fried egg is generous portion of olive oil (2 Tbs), salt and pepper, then once it starts bubbling up flip over, when the egg is flipped over turn off the heat and let it finish for a few minutes. Then I began to pile my southwestern burgers, first I plated the black beans, next came the corn bread, the burger, sauteed onions, fried egg and last but not least fresh slices of tomato and cilantro.

Once you dig in, the yolk spreads it's luscious, velvety flavor all over the burger and that first bite is darn good! Enjoy! I'd love to hear your comments.

xo Lo