Easy and Delish Rack of Lamb

I told you I'd be back!! And this is a good one for all those lamb lovers out there. I know it's not a taste that's for everyone, but if you're interested in trying it, this recipe is easy and so flavorful. Rack of lamb is also a lot less gamey and easier to cook than something like a leg. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com, and followed it exactly, except I used panko instead of fresh bread crumbs.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (7 bone) rack of lamb, trimmed and frenched
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Move oven rack to the center position.
2. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss in 2 tablespoons olive oil to moisten mixture. Set aside.
3. Season the rack all over with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy oven proof skillet over high heat. Sear rack of lamb for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. Set aside for a few minutes. Brush rack of lamb with the mustard. Roll in the bread crumb mixture until evenly coated. Cover the ends of the bones with foil to prevent charring.
4. Arrange the rack bone side down in the skillet. Roast the lamb in preheated oven for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the degree of doneness you want. With a meat thermometer, take a reading in the center of the meat after 10 to 12 minutes and remove the meat, or let it cook longer, to your taste. Let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes, loosely covered, before carving between the ribs.

These went over really well for Christmas Eve. I served them with roasted red potatoes and green beans with roasted garlic and almonds.

Tasty Shrooms

So, over the past few months, while NOT blogging, I have been cooking...some. I've gone back to work part time, been spending a TON of time outdoors, and really just been uninspired to cook. I'd love any suggestions on how to get out of this funk!!! My husband has had 3 weeks of leave from work, and has actually made some pretty tasty food. I snapped a pic of one appetizer he made, although it could have easily been the entree. The cheese in this dish is way expensive (he somehow snuck it into our cart at Wholepaycheck, I mean Whole Foods).

Grilled Chimichurri Mushrooms with Haloumi

Ingredients:
8 medium size wide capped mushrooms (we used three giant ones)
sea salt (or kosher salt) and freshly ground black pepper.
5 oz Haloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices

2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
a handful of flat leaf parsley
1 small red chile, seeded and finely chopped
3 tbsps white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. For the chimichurri sauce, put the garlic, herbs, chile and vinegar in a small blender and mix to a coarse paste. Using the feeder tube at the top of the blender, drizzle in all but a tsp of the olive oil to form a thickish sauce.
2. Preheat a grill pan until hot. Brush each mushroom liberally with the chimichurri, then place on the grill pan. Cook until the mushrooms have released their juices. Season to taste, then keep warm.
3. Brush the haloumi slices with the remaining oil and place on the grill pan for about 2 mins on each side, until slightly golden and crispy.
4. Place the mushrooms on a serving dish, along with grilled cheese, and drizzle any remaining sauce over them.

This is definitely a tasty treat! If you're looking for just a good chimichurri recipe (awesome on steak and fish), this is a really yummy one! Writing about this makes me want to turn a blind eye while he throws that pricey cheese in the cart again!

There will be more, I promise!

Well, it's been a crazy busy couple months, and YES, I have been cooking. I've even been taking pics....just to remind myself of what I've been cooking once I get back into blogging mode. That said, tonight is not the night. We moved from NC to CO (LOVE IT!), and I started working again last week. So...just a preview, I'm looking into some crock pot meals, so you'll have some of those coming up (I know, you can hardly wait). If anyone has any crock pot recipes they recommend, I'd love to have them.

Spinach Bacon Quiche

I've always loved quiche. Growing up my Mom always made Quiche Lorainne, which is great, but I usually make something a little bit jazzier. Tonight I found my recipe on allrecipes.com. I'll put my substitutions in parenthesis after the actual ingredients in the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 eggs (I used 2/3 cup of All Whites)
  
• 2 cups milk (I used evaporated skim milk)
  
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided (I used swiss)
  
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I used 5- never too much bacon!)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained(I used fresh)
  
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat eggs; whisk in milk, 1 cup cheese, onion, bacon, salt, mustard and paprika. Add spinach. Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between the center and the edge comes out clean.

The next time I make this quiche I will definitely dry to squeeze as much liquid as I can out of the spinach, as the quiche was a little bit soggy. I might also decrease the milk b/c I couldn't fit all of the liquid in the pie shell. Otherwise, the flavor was great. Since it was just me and the kids, I served it with steamed rice and corn, to ensure they'd eat something. Both of them did try some of the quiche!

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

I definitely have my second son to thank for any interest I have in baking. I've never had much of a sweet tooth, but when I was pregnant with him, I LOVED to make cookies. Funny thing is, the kid didn't even touch his birthday cake, or these cookies. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com . I halfed the recipe, and added 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup white/milk chocolate chips. I also only didn't have quite enough oatmeal, so I added some ground flaxseed. They were YUM!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Not Eggstrodanary

My neighbor made this mac and cheese for me awhile ago, and gave me the recipe (it was SO good!). I must've missed in the recipe sharing that she'd never put the eggs in it b/c she thought it was weird that it called for them. I found out why. What started out as a creamy dreamy sauce turned curdly and weird...like scrambled cheese eggs and mac. That said, the stuff tasted FANTASTIC. The only substitution I made was that I used skim milk. This is Paula Dean's recipe:

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese


Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
• 2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
  
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 cup whole milk
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Feta Cheese Turkey Burgers

Oh, these were so insanely good, and even better reheated. I can't wait to make them again. The recipe is from allrecipes.com, with no alterations.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the grill for medium high heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine turkey, feta cheese, olives, oregano, and pepper. Mix together, and form into patties.
3. Lightly oil the grate. Place patties on the grill. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through.

I served them over sauteed spinach and roasted red peppers. I will leave out the peppers next time, and sprinkle feta over the top

I served wild rice on the side. I received a 6 cup Aroma rice maker for Christmas, and I couldn't be happier with it! My rice is PERFECT everytime!!

YUMMY Chicken Veggie Soup

I often come across recipes the day I use them. I'm pretty good at keeping fresh veggies and meat stocked (I tend to go to the grocery store once a week). So, I saw that I had some zucchini that needed to be used, and allrecipes provided me with this recipe. I tweeked it a bit, and here's what I ended up with:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used 10 baby carrots)
  
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used 2 small zucchini)
  
• 1 medium red or green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups chicken broth
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken and cook about 1 minute. Mix in garlic and onion; cook until tender. Stir in carrot, potatoes, zucchini, and red bell pepper. Pour in tomatoes with juice. Season with red pepper flakes, basil, broth and bay leaf, and continue cooking until vegetables are tender and chicken juices run clear. Season with salt and pepper just before serving.

I let this simmer on my stove on low for quite awhile, but I would guess it could be done in a 1/2 hour or so. It's definitely one that could be done in a crock pot. I'll definitely be making it again.

Slacker Foodee

That's me. Slacker. We're moving in a couple months, and I've officially become obsessed with finding our perfect house...a task that seems nearly impossible! As a result, my desire to blog when I have time to sit down has diminished. I didn't even blog about Christmas, and OH BOY did I cook!! So, maybe I'll start with a recipe from then, and add some more later...pace myself!

New Potatoes with Caper Sauce

Ingredients

• 12 small new potatoes, scrubbed (I used 6 medium red potatoes, cubed)
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons capers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced green onion
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine the softened butter, capers, green onion, Parmesan cheese, parsley and vinegar in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. If potatoes are large, cut into halves or quarters. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
3. Add the caper sauce to the pot of drained potatoes and toss gently to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

These potatoes are FANTASTIC! I served them for Christmas dinner with a standing rib roast, and hmmmm....what was the veggie?? Oh yes, fresh green beans!

More to come later, for all of you avid readers (HA!)