Henry Dinner

So all I have to say this summer is thank goodness for Henry for keeping me sane! These are recipes from one of the dinners we had together.
Dinner:
Tilapia with mango salsa
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets
1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, parsley, garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the tilapia fillets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper in a bowl. Add the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil grate.
4. Remove the tilapia from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the fillets until the fish is no longer translucent in the center, and flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve the tilapia topped with mango salsa.

We paired it with green beans and broccoli steamed. And this delicious new wine...Root 1...mmmm












For dessert, we made Henry's oatmeal bars.
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 c rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 c butter, softened
3/4 c blackberry preserves

preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease 8x8 pan
combine brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats with hands. put 2 cups of mixture in prepared pan
spread jam over top
add the remaining crumb to top and lightly press into jam
bake for 35-40 minutes
allow to cool before cutting
Paired with Yellow Tail vino

Guest Appearance by Mark and Dinah

So summer has begun, and Dinah just finished her boards. We decided to make some dinner and watch some movies :D
Mark came up with this AWESOME chicken recipe and we made veggie foil packs! Dinah came up with the secret to passing the boards...cake in a mug.

Chicken with 40 cloves of Garlic:
40 cloves of garlic
Whole chicken cut up
Olive Oil
Thyme, Oregano, or basil
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the cloves of garlic. Salt and pepper the chicken. Brown the outside of the chicken in a pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Put the chicken in a pyrex pan, add the cloves of garlic and 1/2 a cup of olive oil. Add a sprinkle of whatever herb you like best.

























Cake in a Mug
This is the coolest thing I have ever seen!
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons milk
splash of vanilla
1 coffee mug
Frosting and sprinkles
Mix all well in a mug. Cook for 3 minutes in the microwave. (Watch it cook...soo cool!!)
Ice and add sprinkles. enjoy!

Brinner...again

This Brinner was before bowling again! Love traditions :D
I made monkey bread and sausage souffle. Two really easy things to make...but sooo delicious. Sausage souffle is grandma's recipe, but we had a few vegetarians in the group this day, so I had to make a big modification (but no one even noticed). Enjoy the monkeys showing why the monkey bread is so named :D

Sausage Souffle:
1 lb morningstar farms vegetarian ground sausage
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk
6 slices white bread, cubed
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
Defrost the ground sausage (and if you are doing in with normal sausage, cook it first) and mix in a HUGE bowl with other ingredients. Pour into a casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.










Monkey Bread:
I think everyone knows how to make this super easy recipe, but I just posted it so I don't always have to look it up when I want to indulge.
4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut biscuits into fourths. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a medium bag with the biscuit pieces. Arrange the pieces in a pan. Melt the butter with the brown sugar and boil for 1 minute. Pour over biscuits. Bake for 45 minutes.

Breakfast with Mom

So this is cheating..but mom came to Akron for some work and I stayed in her hotel room. This is what was delivered to us in the morning....that's right. Everyone be jealous!!
:) love you mama!

Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

These are so amazing, and beautiful for Christmas with the coordinating colors!

1 1/4 c all purpose flour

1/3 c sugar

2 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c butter, cut up

1 tbsp red food coloring

3 oz white chocolate (coarsely chopped)

1 1/2 tsp shortening

Finely chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Cover an dprocess wiht o/off turns until combined. Add butter and red food coloring. Process with on/off turns until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Process until mixture formes a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough lightly until nearly smooth. Roll or pat dough to 1/2 inch thick. Using a floured 1 1/2 inch round cutter, cut out dough. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press scraps together and re-roll.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until centers are set. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

In a heavy small saucepan, melt white chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly. Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate. If desired, sprinkle with pistachios. Let stand on waxed paper until set. Makes about 24 cookies.

Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti

1/4 c butter, softened

1/2 c sugar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 egg white

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

2 c all-purpse flour

2 tbsps poppy seeds

1 tbsp finely shredded lemon peel

Coarse sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in the egg, the egg white, lemon juice, and vanilla until combined. Beat or stir in flour, poppy seeds, and lemon peel

Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a 7x2 inch log. sprinkle with coarse sugar. Place logs aobut 3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool on cookie sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees. Transfer baked loaves to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place slices, sides down, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Turn slices over; bake 10-12 minutes more or until dry and crisp. Transfer cookies to wire rack; let cool.

Salted Peanut Bars

So, I have to apologize for the lack of posts...life has been sooo crazy in the new year. Ash in Med school, Amy applying for and getting in to med school...phew. I am updating some posts...try whatever you wanna!!

Salted Peanut Bars -- A thick, gooey layer of carmel goodness breathes new life into the salted nut candy bar!!!

1/2 c butter, softened

2/3 c packed brown sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla

1 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c crushed pretzels

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1/4 c powdered sugar

1 c salted coctail peanuts

1 14-oz pkg vanilla carmels, unwrapped

3 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with heavy foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan; set pan aside. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, egg yolks, and vinalla. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. In a small bowl, combine flour, pretxels, baking powder and baking soda. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden sppon, stir any remaining flour mixture. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine marshmallow creme and peanut butter. Microwave on 100% high power for 1 minute or until softened, and slightly melted. Stir in powdered sugar. Spread mixture over crust. Sprinkle with salted peanuts.

In a heavy large saucepan, combine unwrapped carmels and milk. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until carmels are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour caramel mixture evenly over peanut layer. Cool in pan on wire rack. Using the foil, lift the uncut bars out of the pan. Cut into bars. Makes 48 bars.