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

Restaurant Style Dinner

After a girl's night with my great friend Amanda Kordes, an aspiring chef, who had gone to Culinary School in Kentucky, I learned a few new tricks to help take my meals up to the next level. This particular night for dinner I had flank steak, leftover veggies, arborio rice (Italian-Style risotto rice), rye bread, leftover enchilada sauce, queso fresco and swiss cheese.With all of that I made this restaurant-worthy dish:

Savory Spice-Crusted Flank Steak

2 lbs flank steak
1 clove chopped garlic
1 Tbs flour
1 tsp paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
pinch salt
pinch pepper

With the flank steak, I chopped up my garlic then I sprinkled that all over my steak. Next, I combined the savory spices and flour to create a flavorful crust. I dipped the flank steak into this spice rub and made sure every inch was covered. I put my grill pan on medium-high heat, drizzled with olive oil and laid the flank steak on the grill pan. The grill pan helps create a lovely crust, grill marks and juicy flavor.

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

1 cup Arborio rice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
olive oil
pinch salt
pinch pepper
5 button mushrooms
1 garlic clove
1/4 chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup grated swiss cheese
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco

I begin by boiling my chicken stock then adding the risotto with a touch of olive oil, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, I slice my mushrooms, chop my onion and chop my garlic. After about 15 minutes I add the onion, mushroom and garlic to a saute pan on medium heat. Once the risotto is soaking up the rice and beginning to fluff up, I add the mushroom mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper. I cover and turn down the heat to low.

Vegetable Ratatouille

While my steak was cooking, I decided to use my leftover veggies to create a ratatouille.

1/2 zucchini
1/2 yellow squash
3/4 cup brussel sprouts
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup okra
1/4 cup black beans
Italian seasoning

I took a bowl, poured in the chopped tomatoes with the juice, Italian seasoning and all the veggies. I combined the flavors then drizzled olive oil on a baking sheet. I lined the veggies in a pretty, colorful pattern then baked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Spanish Bruschetta 

2 slices of bread (any bread will work)
leftover enchilada sauce (or marinara sauce)
1/8 cup grated swiss cheese
1/8 cup of crumbled queso fresco
pinch basil
pinch oregano
salt
pepper

I cut my bread in half and grated the cheese, then combined the cheese with the sauce mixture and sprinkled the seasoning in. I mixed that together and spooned the mixture on top of the bread, I turn on the broiler and placed the bruschetta under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp and bubble up.

My husband and I prefer our meat medium-rare, if you want to know what temperature your meat is feel the meaty part of your palm. With no clinch of your fist that is what rare feels like, then take your thumb and touch each finger, that meaty party of your hand will firm up as you make your way down to your pinky which is well-done. I took the meat off the pan and let it rest for a few minutes on a cutting board. Meanwhile I added the cheese to the risotto and stirred that up. I checked on my veggies and took them out with the bruschetta. I sliced up the flank steak and served the steak on a bed of risotto with a side of vegetable ratatouille and Spanish bruschetta toast points.

Enjoy!!

xo Lo

Lunches On The Go-Go!

During the week most people think of lunch last. I'm here to help you make a fast yet healthy lunch that you can grab on the go or take to work.

Beans & Rice with Cheese

1 can of black beans
1 cup Basmati rice
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Boil your water and add your rice with a pinch of salt. Put beans in a saucepan and heat up until they are nice and bubbly. Shred your cheddar cheese, set to the side for final topping. Once rice is done, spoon into a bowl, top with beans and finally, top with cheese. The cheese will start to melt and create a cheesy, bean goodness. This meal is stacked with protein, calcium and a healthy dose of carbs.

Grilled Italian Panini

two slices of bread
leftover veggies (cooked, from a previous meal)
sliced turkey
swiss cheese
olive oil
almonds
cookies

For this panini, my husband was on his way home for lunch and he was super hungry. I knew I had leftover zucchini, squash and onion, along with a little bit of swiss cheese, whole wheat bread and sliced turkey. I started by lightly drizzling the outside of the bread and placing on the panini press. I heated up the leftover veggies and turkey in a saute pan. Then I placed slices of cheese onto the slices of bread, added the veggies and the turkey- combined both slices and put the press on top of the sammy. After a few minutes the cheese had melted, which glued the sandwich together. I plated the sandwich with some almonds and homemade Snickerdoodles. My husband loved the panini!

Follow these recipes and surely you can create a homemade fast, delicious lunch when you've got to go-go!

xo Lo

Almond-Cornmeal Crusted Pork with Rice Pilaf & Broiled Veggies

I love a great flavored crust on pork, chicken, turkey or fish. Sometimes you find one and get stuck on using it all the time. When I made the following recipe I was determined to find a new rub that would turn into a delicious crust on my pork. I looked in my fridge and had pork chops, smoked almonds, cornmeal, brussel sprouts, yellow onion and rice. I became inspired and hit the ground running with my apron on.

Almond-Cornmeal Crusted Pork

My husband and I keep almonds in our house as a staple snack, not once did I think of chopping these almonds up and using them as a fabulous pork crust!

1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
2 pork chops
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of paprika

Chop your almonds, I used half plain and half smoked. Add in your cornmeal and seasoning. Have your grill pan or saute pan on medium heat with olive oil. Once the pork chops are coated on both sides, into this flavorful, nutty mixture place onto your hot pan. Cook for 25-30 minutes, flipping occasionally.

Rice Pilaf

1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbp olive oil
1 cup Basmati rice
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch of basil

Meanwhile, add some chicken stock into your sauce pan or dutch oven. Put one cup of basmati rice into the boiling liquid. Add in olive oil and seasonings, cover and stir sporadically.

Broiled Veggies
 1/2 yellow onion
1 cup brussel sprouts
1 clove garlic
1 Tbs olive oil
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch basil

Chop up your yellow onion and brussel sprouts into thick slices or halves. Set the veggies aside and make your seasoning mixture by adding one chopped garlic clove to a bowl, pour in the olive oil, add salt, pepper and basil. Give that mixture a toss and add in your veggies to coat. Put another saute or grill pan on medium heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil and add your thick disks of onion and halves of brussel sprouts, face down, that way they'll get beautiful grill marks.

Once your pork is done, make a cut inside, make sure it is mostly white with the faintest pink color. Stir up your rice, turn your veggies and serve. I hope the smoky, nuttiness of the crust on the pork will delight your palate and the comfort of the rice pilaf and veggies will please your soul.

xo Lo

Wiatrek-Style Brunch

Every Saturday morning my husband and I love to cook brunch, while our coffee is brewing in our French press I look in the fridge to see what I have to work with. Our brunch philosophy is to grab onions, any other veggies, saute and throw some fried eggs on top...yum! Today we had, smoked bacon sausage, red potatoes, yellow onion, button mushrooms and eggs. The first thing I did was to dice up my potatoes and onions to get them on the grill pan. It is important to cook the potatoes first because they take awhile, the smaller you cube them the faster they will cook. To make yummy home fries, you want them to be crispy on the outside and a little soft on the inside. Next I decided to chop up and saute the rest of the onion and button mushrooms.

Once my base was on it's way I chopped up the sausage to add that to the extra onions and mushrooms. Add some salt, pepper and continue to stir your breakfast items. Once everything is almost done, put a bit of olive oil into a hot saute pan and crack in your eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste then flip after they start to bubble. Once you flip them, turn off your heat. I plated by putting the sausage, onion mushroom mixture on the bottom, potatoes in a sidecar plus your luscious fried eggs on top.

When you cut into this egg, the yolk will flow all over your sausage, put that and some potatoes all on your fork and dive in!

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

Ay Mamacita! Chicken Enchiladas Suizas

Yesterday was my husband's mother's birthday, she passed away 10 years ago and would've been 57 years old. We decided we wanted to celebrate her birthday and memory by eating what she would've eaten. My husband tells me she loved hamburgers, Dr. Pepper and Mexican food...so he put me up to the challenge to make some homemade enchiladas.

After stopping by the grocery store for our necessities I got to work, if you have a dutch oven or large sauce pan grab it and follow the recipe below.

Ingredient List

3 cups water
2 cups chicken stock (always better than chicken broth)
2-3 lbs of roma tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
1 yellow onion
3 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
1/3 cup of Mexican crema (or sour cream...but Mexican crema is miles better)
1/3 cup Queso Fresca (white Mexican crumbly cheese)
12 white, corn tortillas (try to get the "homemade" kind)
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup vegetable, canola or olive oil (for frying)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 can of black beans
salt & pepper

The first thing you want to do is put 3 cups of water, 2 cups of chicken stock, chicken breasts, bay leaves, 2 cloves of garlic (whole) , salt and pepper into your dutch oven or large sauce pan, turn it up on medium-high heat. Once the pot comes to a boil, turn down to medium to simmer and set your timer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn your broiler on high, place tomatoes and jalapenos on baking sheet with aluminum foil underneath- put tomatoes and jalapenos in broiler for 12 minutes.

Start dicing up 3/4 of your onion, turn chicken, tomatoes and jalapeno to make sure all side are being cooked. After 12 minutes put tomatoes into a blender, slice jalapeno in half, de-seed and peel off the skin. Pour remaining juices from the pan into the blender, take out garlic cloves from the chicken pot and put into blender. Place additional garlic clove into blender as well. Puree the tomato-jalapeno mixture until smooth.

Once chicken is done take out of pot and place on a plate to cool. Discard the bay leaves and pour the chicken liquid into a bowl for later use. Drizzle olive oil into the same dutch oven or sauce pan and saute the diced onions for about three minutes, or until they are golden- on medium heat. After the onions are golden, pour in the tomato-jalapeno puree. Change heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Add in 3 cups of chicken stock liquid and let the sauce cook down- about 20 minutes.

After the chicken has cooled, shred chicken and discard skin, bones and icky stuff. Add in Mexican crema and half of the queso fresca, let sit until sauce is ready.

Get oil ready for frying in a skillet or saute pan. When tomato-jalapeno sauce is ready pour 1 1/2 cups onto the bottom of a 13x9 deep, baking dish. Save extra chicken stock and tomato-jalapeno sauce for later use, think soups, rice, pasta or chicken!

Fry tortillas 20 seconds per side, immediately stuff about 2 Tbs of chicken mixture into each tortilla roll up, seam down. (This is easier as a two person job.) Once all tortillas are stuffed, sprinkle any extra chicken on top then pour another cup of the sauce on the enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining queso fresca and remaining sliced yellow onion.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until hot and cheese has melted throughout. While enchiladas are baking put can of black beans into a sauce pan with olive oil and heat up. To plate pour beans on the plate then pile enchiladas on top with additional queso fresca. If this doesn't make you want to drink a margarita, I don't know what will!

xo Lo

Breakfast for Champions

As I have mentioned before, breakfast is my all-time favorite meal of the day...and I loathe missing it. Eggs are definitely my favorite ingredient when making breakfast but this next recipe comes as a close second. Salmon Lox and Bagels, piled with lucious cream cheese, salty capers, crunchy red onion and juicy tomatoes. Plus I made a side of berry fruit salad to go with this decadent creation.

My husband and I absolutely love lox and bagels...recently we were staying at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas for our honeymoon and found ourselves ordering the Bellagio Cafe's salmon lox and bagels more than a few times for breakfast. As soon as we got back home my husband insisted that we buy everything to make our own salmon lox and bagels. This recipe showcases that:

Salmon Lox & Bagels

1 package of fresh smoked salmon
1 package of original cream cheese (none of that low-fat stuff...yuck!)
1/4 cup sliced red onion
2 Tbs capers
1/2 lemon
fresh bakery bagels (we used whole wheat but any kind is delicious)
tomatoes (we used cherry tomatoes)

Now for assembly, toast the bagels in a toaster, toaster oven, on a skillet or we toasted them on our grill pan. We lightly drizzled olive oil on each and placed face down with the press on top. Meanwhile start your fruit salad.


Berry Fruit Salad

You want to make sure you use fruits that won't perish easily. Stick to berries: cherries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries. I added kiwi to this batch and it only worked well the first few days then the kiwi started to get mushy. Rinse your fruit, pat down, add to bowl, add some lemon zest, a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and your refreshing fruit salad is ready!

Back to your Lox and Bagels

Slice up your red onion into thin strips, slice your tomatoes into thick slices, once your bagels are toasted remove from pan and let them cool. Once cooled, spread the cream cheese on top (I love cream cheese so I make a thick layer), top with capers (that way they don't roll off your bagel), then add the onion, tomato and place pieces of smoked salmon at the very top. Squeeze fresh lemon to bring out the fantastic flavor of smoked salmon, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper. Then you are ready to serve!

This recipe may seem a bit odd to some of you but you must try this breakfast...with the combination of flavors it will be as if fireworks are going off in your mouth. Bon appetit!

xo Lo

Kickin' Lake-Style Fare

My husband and I are huge fans of the lake, we try to go as often as we can. Our family has a lake house off Lake Buchanan that we like to call our home away from home. Every time we go, I love to come up with recipes that I can share with our family. This weekend I wanted to make margaritas, deviled eggs, noodle salad and a banana bread. The night before we left I started assembling my dishes that way I didn't have to spend all my time inside at the lake.


Banana-Walnut Date Bread

I usually make banana bread but this time I had chopped walnuts and dried dates in my pantry so I decided to incorporate those.

6 ripe bananas- mashed up
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter
4 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped dried dates

Heat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar til creamy in mixer, add eggs and mix well. Slowly add flour, baking soda, salt. Blend together. Lastly add bananas, nuts and dates- finish mixing. Pour mixture into two greased, floured loaf pans and top with a few dates and walnuts. Bake for one hour- you'll know when the bread is done because if you stick a butter knife down inside and it comes out clean, they are done.

Noodle Salad

1 cup of tri-color rotini pasta
1 cup of tri-color bowtie pasta
3 cups of chicken stock
5 stalks of celery finely chopped
1 yellow onion finely chopped
1 package of frozen peas
5 hard-boiled eggs
3 roma tomatoes
3/4 cup mayo
1/8 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Bring chicken stock to boil, add in pasta. While that is cooking put another saute pan on the stove to boil a dozen eggs (for your deviled eggs) and an additional five for your noodle salad. Once the eggs are in the boiling water, turn off the heat and set your timer for 12 minutes. Next, start chopping up the celery, onion and tomato. After a few minutes check the pasta you want it to be slightly past al dente (which means it is soft but not mushy), once your pasta has reached that point you want to drain in a colander. Keep the extra liquid, you can use it in the future for soups, stews, making rice or more pasta. Next add in the frozen peas that way they can thaw out, add the chopped onion, celery, tomatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil and mayo.  Once the hard-boiled eggs are done chop them up and add to noodle salad, mix up the salad and taste. You may need to add more salt, pepper or mayo. What you don't want to do is add too much mayo because then it throws off the entire dish. This noodle salad will impress any friends or family, especially on the lake!


Bacon-Tomato Deviled Eggs

1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
8 cherry tomatoes
6 strips of Hickory smoked bacon
1/4 cup mayo
salt
pepper
paprika

Once the eggs are boiled, let them cool and slice in half, scoop out the yolk into a bowl. Chop up cherry tomatoes, fry up bacon. Add cherry tomatoes and crumbled bacon into bowl (save a few bits of each for the garnish). Add mayo, salt, pepper, paprika to bowl. Mix up the yolk mixture til nice and creamy (yet a bit chunky) you want all the yolks to be creamy not chunky, the only chunks should be from the tomatoes and the bacon. Spoon the mixture into the egg white halves, place some of the crumbled bacon and chopped tomatoes on the top plus a sprinkle of paprika. This delicious appetizer will gone in a matter of minutes!


Agave Margaritas

2 Tbs of agave nectar
4 limes
1 orange
1 Tbs kosher salt
Margaritaville Silver Tequila

The first thing you want to do is chill your glasses in the freezer. In your shaker add ice, 1 Tbs of agave nectar, lime juice, fresh orange juice and tequila. Shake it up. Take out your margarita glasses dip the rim in the remaining agave nectar, dip in the kosher salt, fill your glasses and bottoms up!

This lake-style fare will surely impress any company you have or you may be visiting. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any commentary.

xo Lo

Cooking Outside the Box

I'm always finding ways to cook what I want without having to leave my kitchen for extra groceries. My cooking style is opening up my pantry and fridge, gain inspiration for a dish to make then figuring out how to make it work. That is exactly what I did for this dinner and dessert recipe. I had some pre-seasoned BBQ chicken, leftover quinoa and fresh veggies. Plus I just got my Kitchen Aid standing mixer from my wedding registry so I definitely wanted to break it in and bake. I wanted to make my husband's favorite cookie, the snickerdoodle but I was missing a few ingredients including butter and I had minimal cinnamon.

The way I put everything together was to cook the chicken on the grill pan, make a quinoa with toasted pine nuts, garlic and apricot in addition an easy vegetable tian. Quinoa is one of my favorite grains to work with, it is a powerhouse grain that is pumped up with protein, it's fairly plain which is great when cooking because you can add anything to it. For the vegetable tian (which is a fancy way of saying layered roasted veggies), I had half a zucchini, carrots and yellow onion. Before assembling the side dishes, place the BBQ chicken onto the grill pan with olive oil and cover, start timer for 30 minutes.

Vegetable Tian

- Heat oven to 425 degrees
- Slice up any veggies you have that roast well into thick slices (zucchini, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion, carrots)
- Chop up two cloves of garlic
- Place veggies in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and poultry seasoning
- Neatly place into a baking dish, layering the veggies every other
- Place into oven for about 30 minutes


Apricot, Toasted Pine Nut Quinoa

- Take a 1/4 cup of pine nuts (or any nut you have) roughly chop up
- Heat saute pan at medium heat and toast pine nuts
- Chop up two cloves of garlic, after pine nuts are toasted add the garlic into the saute pan with olive oil on low heat
- Chop up five apricots

Meanwhile, get your ingredients ready for the cookies:

My Twist on Snickerdoodles

- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of yogurt margarine
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/8 tsp of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbs of plain sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp cloves, 1 tsp nutmeg (to roll dough in before baking)

Mix together margarine, olive oil and sugar into your mixer- blend until smooth then add egg. Combine dry ingredients into a separate bowl, once blended add dry ingredients slowly to wet mixture. Blend well then roll dough into small balls the size of walnuts. Roll each ball into sweet spice mixture, bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. This should make about three dozen small cookies.

Once the cookies are in the oven, add extra (or newly made) quinoa to the pine nut, garlic mixture. Check on the veggie tian and flip the chicken. Add apricots to the quinoa after a few minutes. After 30 minutes everything should be out of the oven, cooked and ready to eat. Plate your delicious meal and enjoy!

xo Lo

Dill Salmon with Quinoa, Cucumber Salad & Fresh Peas

In the heat of summer, seafood dishes are refreshing and exciting for the palate. Salmon is a common fish that most people prefer, dill is a beautiful herb to enlighten the flavors in any salmon dish. Recently, I've been digging into quinoa, one of the most amazing grains available. This is the one grain that is a protein versus a carbohydrate and can take on almost any flavor you pair it with. Cucumber salad is one of my personal favorites for summer, the coolness of the yogurt sauce and the spike of the dill is a gorgeous combination in hot temperatures. Peas are an easy veggie to chef up, I always add them into a saute pan with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.

For this recipe, I took a filet of salmon added olive oil, salt, pepper and dill then set aside to let the flavors merry. I grabbed the quinoa, added it to a saute pan with olive oil and let the quinoa get toasty, after a few minutes I add chicken stock, this will enhance the flavor of any grain or pasta dish. Next I created a yogurt sauce with one cup of plain Greek yogurt, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. I place this yogurt sauce into the fridge to let the flavors come together. Next I thinly slice the cucumber, sprinkle with salt in a colander and let sit to drain out the water.

Next, I check on the quinoa, give it a stir then I grab some yellow onions, dice them up and throw them in a saute pan with olive oil, these will go into the quinoa when it has absorbed the chicken stock. This dish has a lot of components that are time sensitive. It is important not to cook the salmon right away because it cooks so quickly that it'll be waiting for the other dishes to finish and get cold.

Once the quinoa is absorbed, scoop it into the saute pan that is holding the onions and stir. Rinse the cucumbers, add the dill-yogurt sauce and place back into the fridge to chill. Stir the peas, turn the heat lower (peas cook quickly). Finally, place your salmon onto the grill pan with olive oil. Salmon does not need a lot of time to cook, you want a crispy sear on the outside and a velvety medium-rare inside. Which means you only need to cook the salmon for 2 minutes on each side, unless you prefer well-done fish then you would cook it for about 4 minutes on each side.

Time to plate, place the salmon on the dish, the creamy onion quinoa, fresh garlicky peas and refreshing, cool cucumber salad. This dish will make you love summer nights!

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

Opa! Greek Salad

My ancestry on my mother's side is Greek and I take pride in that heritage, luckily my mom raised my brother and I on Greek food since we were little. I've always had a versatile palate thanks to my parent's upbringing and encouraging me to try foods from different cultures. I love Greek food, the bitterness and sharpness of flavors is aromatic and enlightening to me. Some may have a hard time eating Greek food so I thought I'd start with a simple, fresh Greek salad to help ease you into Greek-style cooking.

On this particular day, my mom and I had been shopping all day for my wedding, we were both on diets and super hungry. We went to the grocery store and thought what better than a classic, fresh Greek salad!

Our grocery list consisted of:

- rotisserie chicken
- one package of feta cheese
- one can of kidney beans
- one can of garbanzo beans
- one can of beets
- kalamata olives
- one head of romaine lettuce
- one package of spinach lettuce
- one package of cherry tomatos
- one English cucumber
- sun-dried tomato hummus
- one red onion

I chopped up the chicken into bite size pieces, washed both lettuces, sliced cherry tomatoes in half, roughly chopped the lettuce, thinly sliced the red onion then added all of those ingredients into our large wooden salad bowl. Next, I topped it with sliced cucumbers, the can of garbanzo beans, can of kidney beans, and can of sliced beets. The beans give the salad some heartiness and protein along with the beets give the salad a tad of sweetness. Tossed that up a bit, added crumbled feta cheese, which adds a tangy, sharp flavor and a bit of hummus on the side. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper...enjoy!!! Maybe we'll explore spinach and cheese pie or Moussaka next!?

xoxo Lo

Grillin' Summer Feast

Are you afraid of your grill? During the summer I always crave grilled meats and veggies...there is absolutely no reason to be afraid of your grill. Anything you cook in a saute pan or in the oven, you can cook on the grill. This day my Aunt and cousin had flown in from New Hampshire and I was determined to grill them a Texas-style meal. My new husband loves pork ribs and I recently discovered a chocolate-spice rub (thanks to Paula Deen) and tweaked it a bit to fit my culinary style. We always check our calendar to see what veggies are in season and try to purchase locally. We decided on: chocolate-spice rubbed pork ribs, baby portabella mushrooms, parmesan corn on the cob and red onions.

Chocolate-Spice Rubbed Pork Ribs

Grab a rack of ribs from your local store, make sure they are not frozen, take them out of their packaging and let them rest at room temperature while you get the rub ready.

Rub
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs Italian Seasoning
2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs olive oil

Combine rub ingredients together and brush over rack of ribs. Use your hands to make sure every inch of the rack of ribs is covered with the spice rub. Cover with aluminum foil, let the rub rest and marry into the pork ribs. Once your grill (I prefer charcoal, for flavor purposes) is ready place the ribs on the grill, set your timer for 20 minutes.

Veggies
Grab 4-6 corns on the cob, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Half unwrap your corn stalk leaving a few of the leaves on the outside, drizzle each with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and salt & pepper to taste. Then wrap the corn back up and place on grill.

Buy two packages of baby bella mushrooms, cut in half, marinate in soy sauce, cilantro, agave nectar and Worcestershire sauce. Once they have marinated for 30 minutes place on skewers then place on grill.

Mushroom Marinade
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup cilantro
1 tsp agave nectar
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

Grab two red onions and slice thickly, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper then place on grill.

I decided to serve all these spectacular dishes outside, in Texas it finally starts to cool down around 7:30-8 p.m.  We impressed our New Hampshire family with some southern comfort, grillin' style food from Texas. Enjoy!

xo Lo

My favorite meal of the day

What is your favorite meal of the day? Mine is hands down breakfast! Everything about breakfast makes me smile, the smell of coffee brewing in the wee hours of the morning, getting settled on my comfy couch with a book before anyone else in the house wakes up. Then as my tummy grumbles I decide what to make. On this particular day I was feeling a bit over-worked from having a bit too much fun the day before so I knew I needed a good breakfast fix. Pancakes with a fried egg on top smothered in Maple syrup...mmmm! This dish will get your sugar levels back on track, add some healthy protein and carbs, before you know it you'll feel back on track to conquer the day.

The recipe I used:

Pancakes:
1 1/2 cups of 1/2 whole wheat flour & 1/2 organic unbleached flour
2 large organic eggs
3 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
a pinch of salt
pinch of fresh nutmeg
1 1/4 cups of organic milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Combine dry ingredients into a bowl and wet ingredients into a mixer. After blending separately add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together. Oil up your skillet and add 1/2 cup of the pancake batter, let sit til bubbles appear on the sides then flip and continue.

Eggs:

Grab a few large eggs
salt & pepper

Make sure your skillet is hot with olive oil in it, crack the egg gently into the skillet. Add a pinch of salt and pepper on top. Once the egg starts bubble on the sides, gently flip. Turn your skillet off, assemble your pancake on the plate, top with the egg then smother with Maple syrup and dig in!

What did you think of this recipe? xoxo Lo