Pasta in Pink Salmon Cream Sauce

I used to make this dish a lot and for some reason hadnt made it in a while.

After making it tonight I remembered why I used to make it so often ;) It's really good and easy.

- 4 pieces of frozen salmon

- lemon pepper (for salmon)

For the sauce:

- garlic powder

- pepper, salt

- pepperflakes

- basil

- terragon

- about 5 tablespoon tomatoe paste (I use the tubes to not waste a can)

- about 2 tablespoon pesto

- a little squirt worshestershire sauce (or however the heck you spell that)

- about 1 1/2 cup white wine

- about 1 cup cream

- Pasta of choice

Season the Salmon with lots of lemon pepper and bake it at 400 degrees until it flakes off a fork (about 20 minutes), pull it apart and put it all in a pot

Add the wine to it and bring to a quick boil, then turn down to medium heat and add the cream as well as all the seasonings for the sauce. (Season to taste. Add or take away as you like).

Boil pasta according to package directions and serve with the Salmon sauce. Easy and yummy!

Egg Free Chicken Cordon Bleu

Having a child with a severe egg allergy forces me to find alternatives for many recipes that call for egg (but then again half the time he refuses to eat it anyway..)

- chicken breast

- ham for each breast (the amount depends on the type of ham you have or your personal taste)

- 1 slice of cheese per breast (I used pepper jack for added flavor)

- panco breadcrumbs

- a few tablespoon of sour cream mixed with a little milk

- balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic powder, basil and terragon (to marinade the chicken)

- 2 cans of diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperflakes, terragon and 5 tablespoon sugar for the marinara sauce

Marinade the meat in the marinade listed above for at least 2 hours.

Slice the meat in the middle, creating a pocket.

Fill it with ham and cheese (my chicken was very thin so I put only a little ham and cheese inside and put the rest on top

Dip the chicken in the cream then in the breadcrumbs

Set the chicken on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle more breadcrumbs on it until the whole piece of chicken is covered.

Do this with all the chicken you have.

Bake on 395 for about 35 minutes (cooking time might vary depending on thickness of chicken.. mine was thin)

Mix all the ingredients for the marinara sauce and blend them well (I use one of those handy stick mixers)

About 10 minutes before end of cooking time put some marinara sauce on top of each breast and if you like also a few sprinkles of grated cheese (optional)

Finish baking.

I served this with spaghetti and used the leftover marinara sauce for the pasta.

Bon appetit!

Meat Pie

Another one of those dishes that I made up. I liked it but I think next time I will add some sour cream or something to make it a bit smoother.










- 1 roll of refridgerated pie crust
- 1 lbs (or however much is in your pack) ground beef
- a few handful of broccoli florets
- a few baby carrots, about 8-10 (or 1-2 regular carrots)
- seasoning to taste
- a couple of tablespoon of tomatoe paste, more couldnt hurt
- a squirt of blue cheese dressing
- 5 slices of pre cooked bacon, chooped
- about 1 cup of prepared mashed potatoes (boxed)


Fry meat in a pot, chop carrots and broccoli into tiny pieces, add to the meat. Season the meat (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, terragon, paprika..) add the bacon to it, the tomatoe paste and the dressing.
Prepare the mashed potatoes in a seperate little pot and add to the meat mixture to help bind it.
Line a small baking dish with the pie crust, fill it with the meat mixture and fold the crust that's overlapping over the meat. Slice the top and bake according to pie crust directions until the crust is golden brown.

I served it with curry ketchup and corn on the cob. Turned out to be a tasty weeknight meal. My husband got seconds and thirds ;)

Oven Baked Jambalaya

I found this recipe online and it is sooooo good. It is wonderful for a potluck event as it feeds about 16 people!


1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
2 large bell peppers (whatever color you like), chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3 bay leaves (I used 6)
3 tablespoons Creole Seasoning Blend
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes (I used one of those and one can petite diced tomatoes)
7 cups chicken stock
3 cups chopped cooked ham
3 cups cooked andouille sausage, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups frozen cooked shrimp

(I used chicken and sausage only)

4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt butter in large stock pot. Saute onion, green pepper, celery and garlic until tender, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add tomato paste and cook to brown slightly, stirring constantly.

Stir in bay leaves, Creole seasoning blend and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour into a large roasting pan.
Squeeze tomatoes to break up into pieces, and add to mixture in pan. Stir in juice from tomatoes, chicken stock, ham, sausage, chicken, shrimp and rice. Mix well.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through baking time (I did not stir it to let the rice settle). Remove bay leaves before serving.

Easy but delicious Meatloaf

- 2 lbs ground beef
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried minced onions
- Worshestire sauce (or however the heck you spell that)
- ketchup (approximately 1 cup)
- chicken stuffing (croutons type dried bread)
- 1 egg
- 1 envelope of onion soup mix

Season the beef the way you like it, add a couple of handful chicken stuffing. Add a good squirt of the sauce nobody can pronounce as well as a few good squirts of ketchup (I would say I used about 1 cup). Add the egg and onion soup powdered mix.

Mix everything really well by hand and add stuffing if needed until the meat has a comsistency that can be shaped and stays in place.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Line a baking sheet or dish with foil, spray with Pam and shape the meat into a nice loaf, setting it onto the foil. I put some cheese into the middle but I didnt think you could really taste it, so next time I will leave that out.

Bake the loaf for 1 hour and enjoy!!

Sour Beef and Dumplings

Aaaaahhhhhh, a taste of home... well my home at least. I was graving some good old german food so I decided to make Sour Beef and Dumblings.

The mix for the dumblings you can get in many grocery stores that have an international section. I believe Giant has them. They are simply called potatoe dumplings.

Please keep in mind that this beef should marinate in the vinegar for about 3 days, so plan ahead.





Ingredients:

- white vinegar
- water
- small onion
- beef roast
- 5-6 juniper berries
- 5-6 bay leaves
- pepper, salt
- about 3 packs of brown gravy mix (have extra on hand just in case)

- One pack of of potatoe dumplings (prepare those according to package directions)


Peparation:

- Season the beef with salt and pepper and put it into a large plastic container with lid. Add diced onions and fill the container with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water, just enough so the meat is covered in fluid. Throw in the juniper berries and bay leaves.
Seal the container and let it sit in the fridge for about 3 days.

Fast Foward to Cooking Time:

- Sear the meat in a hot pan until the outside is nicely browned.
Don't get rid of the vinegar mix yet!

Set the meat into your crockpot. You now want to add enough fluid to make sauce with it. I use half of the vinegar mix and then the rest just water so it doesnt get too sour.

Cook on High for 4 hours (I dont use the low setting because I want the meat tender, but dont want it to fall apart) Of course you could cook it on the stovetop like any other roast as well, but the crockpot gives amazing results.

After 4 hours carefully lift the meat out of the pot and stir in brown gravy mix (amount of packaged depends on the amount of fluid you have, play it by ear)

Set the meat back in while you cook the dumplings (and whatever veggie you may want to serve. Green beans are often served with this)


Slice the meat, serve with gravy (you may or may not need to run the sauce through a strainer) and dumplings. Enjoy!!

Apple Streusel Cake - my favorite!

This recipe is actually super simple but its so good.


For the Dough:

-200 g unsalted butter (I used two full sticks.. making it a little more than 200gr)

-1 Egg

-200 g Sugar

-400 g plain flour

- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder





For the filling:



- 1 small bag apples .. any kind that isnt too sweet works best



- 5 tablespoon brown sugar



- about 2 tablespoon cinnamon




Peel the apples, remove seeds and cut them into small cubes.


Put them into a pot with the brown sugar and cinnamon.


Turn stove on high, then turn down to medium as soon as you can tell the pot is heated up.

Let the apples cook slowly. stirring occasionally. You want them to become very soft.... and trust me.. you will LOVE the smell!


Ones they are cooked all the way you can either leave them as they are or you can break them up a little with a potatoe masher to whatever consistency you like your filling to be)




While the apples are cooking you can preheat the oven to 345 degrees and prepare the dough.



Just mix all of the ingredients and mix really well by hand.


At first the dough seems dry but keep working it and it will quickly turn into a nice smooth dough.



Grease a Springform and use a little over half of the dough to layer the bottom and side of the form.


Then pour filling into the springform.



Last break up remaining dough over the filling, spreading it nice and evenly.


The crumbs will "melt" a little while baking and build a pretty layer on top of your cake.



Bake for 45-50 minutes, The cake is done when the crumbs have turned into a nice golden brown color.




This cake is wonderful fresh but I like it even better the next day.