Essence of Summer in the Winter FOR ONE

After being in California for a week, I have already missed the sunshine that was there.

Essence of Summer in the Winter FOR ONE J

An easy salad when you are missing the sun that summer brings.

1 Cucumber

4 Thin slices of onion (as thin as you can get it)

2 Tsp extra virgin olive oil

3 Tsp white champagne vinegar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Slice cucumber to like thickness and throw in onions. MIX and that’s it! The longer you let it sit in the fridge the yummier.

Crab cake alternative, Salmon Cakes

I was craving crab cakes but to get enough crab to feel like you actually ate crab can be sometimes very expensive so a great alternative I have created

Salmon Cakes Approved By Hubby

20 oz. Salmon drained boneless skinless

2 eggs

1/3 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese ( I know it sounds weird but it works)

¼ Tsp. Pepper

¾ cup panko bread crumbs

¼ cup bread crumbs

6 shakes of hot sauce ( any will work)

1 Tbs. Parsley

¼ of medium onion chopped

1/8 Tsp. salt

½ stick of butter + 1 tbs

2 tbs. oil

3 tbs. Flour

Cook onion with butter on medium heat until the onions are translucent and then set aside.

In one bowl mix salmon, eggs, cheese, pepper, panko, bread crumbs, hot sauce, parsley, onion, and salt. Form into patties that are about ½” thick, I made about 6 of them, but you can make them the size you want. On a plate with the flour put a light coating of flour on each. In a skillet, melt butter and oil on medium heat. Cook until golden brown on each side; while you are waiting for the rest of them to cook off make sure you put them in a low heated oven so that the ones that are done do not get cool.

Scones Ala Weronique

Scones Ala Weronique

This is a great recipe when you’re craving something sweet but with not a lot of sugar in them. Make sure every time you start a new recipe you look through the whole recipe even the instructions so that you are not surprised by anything. This recipe is so fast from start to end that will satisfy your sugar craving without feeling too guilty. J

2 Cups of flour plus extra for flouring surface

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tsp. baking powder

¼ Tsp. baking soda

½ Tsp. vanilla extract

1 stick of FROZEN butter

½ cup sour cream

1 egg

1 cup frozen fruit ( I use Blackberries)

½ cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400. Put the rack 2^nd from the bottom.

In 1^st bowl you will need to mix sour cream, egg, and vanilla.

2^nd bowl mix together sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and flour. Once that is all mixed together, take a micro planer and grate the butter into the dry ingredient bowl. Mix that all together so it feels like sand, where there are not big chunks of butter. Toss in fruit and chocolate.

Mix wet ingredients into dry only until incorporated slightly, it will look like there is not enough liquid but there is , now on a lightly floured surface dump the whole bowl on the surface and pat down firmly into a 3” pile. The patting down firmly will start to soak up the remaining dryness.  Gently cut into 8 slices, as you would a pizza. With a spatula, transfer wedges to a cookie sheet with parchment paper. If you have excess flour falling off or it wants to fall apart on you, don’t worry just pat it together on cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup ( Serves about 4-5 bowls)

2 Chicken Breast

32 oz. Chicken Broth Low Sodium

8 oz. Tomato Sauce

6 oz. Tomato Paste

½ medium onion

¼ Cup Salsa Verde

3 Cups water

2 Tbs. Olive oil

1 Bunch Cilantro

1 Can corn low sodium

1 Can black beans

Spices:

1 Tbs. Chilli Powder

½ Tbs. Garlic

½ Tbs. Pepper

¼ Tsp. Cayenne

¼ Tsp. Salt

Toppers: Whatever you like, examples:

Cilantro

Chips

Cheese

Sour Cream

Avocado

You will need two pots, one medium, one larger soup pot and a blender. In medium pot put water and two chicken breast and cook until chicken is cooked and then set aside. Once chicken is cooked skim the white stuff that’s floating around. Let cool.

In the large heat up the oil and chop up onion (does not need to be perfect because we will blend it), cook on medium until translucent. Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste,  green salsa and all spices. Cook until boil. In the meantime, shred cooled chicken with fingers and add water that chicken was cooked in into the soup. Set chicken aside. Now take cilantro bunch and blend with some of the liquid of the soup until pureed. If you don’t like how the onions that are in the soup then make sure you blend all of the soup.( I hide the onions from my husband, he doesn’t like them, so, I blend them) Pour everything back into the pot and now add corn, black beans, and chicken. Bring to a boil and then you’re done, the longer it simmers the more developed the flavors are but otherwise it is good right away. Add more pepper and salt if needed to your unique palette.

Apple Pie Cookies…………..Need I say more YUM

I wanted to make my usual white chocolate cranberry cookies but I was out of white chocolate and cranberries so I came up with this recipe because I did have apples. So here it is, soo good.

Apple Pie Cookies…………..Need I say more YUM

2 sticks unsalted butter (1 Cup) Softened

1 Cup packed brown sugar

1 Cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbls applesauce

¼ Tsp clove

1 ½ Tsp cinnamon

3 Cups flour

1 Tsp baking soda

5 oz. dried apples ( I found them at Trader Joes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, clove, cinnamon and white sugar until smooth.  (Starts to turn a light brown) Beat in the egg and apple sauce. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the dried apples. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 15-16 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Twist on Pork and Beans

Cooking for two II

This is soo easy, hope you like it.

Twist on Pork and Beans

Pork Chops:

3 Pork chops

½ tsp Cumin

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Pepper

½  tsp Cayenne

3 Tbs. Olive oil

Cooked Rice I like mine cooked in ½ chicken broth for more flavor

One Can Favorite Baked Beans

Green Salad

Pre-heat oven 350 F

Combine all spices and sprinkle on front and back of pork chops. Heat a skillet and medium high with oil. Cook until golden brown on each side. Transfer to oven for about 10 minutes and then plate. And your done J.

Cooking for Two: (The easy, nothing fancy way)

Cooking for two and not having leftovers can be hard. Sometimes there is too much left over and you’re eating it for the whole week and it can get very BORING. Some tips that I have to for you is to use websites such as Allrecipes.com where you can adjust the amount of servings you would like to come out of a dish. For my husband and I would do 3 servings so I know that my hard workin’ man gets enough to eat at the end of his day.

One of my favorite recipes is making CHICKEN TACOS so easy and using my slow cooker allows me to do whatever I want while it is cooking.

            Chicken Tacos:

                        2 Chicken Breast

                        1 Jar of Salsa Verde

                        5 Tortillas

                        Whatever toppings you like

            All you have to do is dump the chicken breast in slow cooker with the whole jar of salsa verde and put it on low until you can pull apart the chicken with a fork about 4-6 hours depending on whether or not you have frozen or thawed chicken.  Then your DONE! Soooo YUMMY.

            This is a great recipes for making other things:

            Enchiladas, all you do when the chicken is cooked, roll that into tortillas with some Mexican cheese mix in a casserole dish and cover with red or green enchilada sauce and bake on 350 until everything is bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Taco salad by adding black beans, corn, tomato, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce and chips for some crunch.