Simple Baked Stuffed Shrimp with Hericot Vert and Champignons

Baked Stuffed Shrimp, with Hericots Vert, and champignons.

Otherwise known as Baked Stuffed Shrimp, with French cut green beans, garlic, mushrooms and a pinch of Tarragon!

This was a dish I came up with based on what we had laying around.  Was a typical Sunday in the Price household – fire going, reading, watching movies – basically a totally lazy day.  Never made it to the grocery store to get the ingredients for an awesome beef chili that I got from Cooks Illustrated magazine – more on that later – what an AWSOME magazine!!!  HIGHLY recommended!

So, anyway, no energy to go to the store, so I made what I could with what I had.  Sunday is no diet day, so no worries about fat, etc.  We LOVE baked stuffed shrimp,  - it's a simple, decadent treat.  We always keep frozen, jumbo shrimp – 21-25 count per pound.  Had half a bag of French cut green beans, some leftover mushrooms from an omelet,  some garlic,  and a pinch of Tarragon.  Needed a can of lump crab meat, which I usually keep at least one around for seafood stuffing ( not the cheap regular crab – its about 5 bucks a can, but well worth it!  I only use it for stuffed shrimp), some bread crumbs., parmesan cheese and an egg for the shrimp and we were good to go!

Here is the recipe:

Baked Stuffed Shrimp:

8 frozen shrimp, thawed in warm water, peeled, and butterflied

1 can lump crab meat

3 frozen shrimp – cooked in the microwave for 1 minute, and minced

1 egg, beaten

4 tbs (or so – only to bind) plain bread crumbs

3 tbs parmesan cheese

pinch cayenne pepper

1 tsp old bay seasoning

¼ tsp dill

3 twists each of fresh ground sea salt, and pepper

Shake of paprika

1 stick butter, melted into coffee cup

Haricot Vert:

½ bag frozen French cut green beans

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs butter

½ can sliced mushrooms

SMALL pinch of dried tarragon ( a little goes a LONG way with this spice)

Directions:

For the Shrimp: pre heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, gently fold can of crab, minced shrimp, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, old bay, cayenne, dill, salt, pepper and beaten egg.  Mixture should be thick, and easily molded into small balls.  On a small baking pan, lined with foil, and gently brushed with olive oil, place butterflied shrimp.  Place 1/8 of the stuffing mixture, molded into about a golf ball size ball, on each shrimp.

Place in oven, and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Divide butter into two small serving bowls, serve with shrimp.

For beans: Melt butter, and sauté garlic till tender.  Add beans, mushrooms and tarragon – pinch of salt and pepper, and heat through out as shrimp are cooking.  Beans take about 10 minutes or so on med-high, so start about halfway through.  Serve with shrimp, and enjoy –

Bon Appetite!!

How Little Do You Feel Like Cooking - Reprise.....Awsome Pasta Sauce!

Home from a rough day of work, glass of wine in hand, and BOY do you NOT feel like cooking!  Been there, done that - in fact, I am there almost every night.  Lynne and I often forage through the fridge trying to decide what to eat.  

SOOOOO , pasta occasionally raises its tasty head.  We often keep a jar of tomato basil sauce handy – I happen to like Barilla, but it really doesn’t matter, since the transformation from jar to plate is pretty much complete before I get through with it.   So here goes – Dan’s Kitchen Sink Pasta Sauce: Sauce with what ever you have around in it – everything but the kitchen sink….. ok, maybe I am working this too hard… already, did this recipe once on the blog, ( check out November 2010 “ how little do you feel like cooking” post )  but added mushrooms this time…. Seriously, this takes a jar of pasta sauce into the home made realm…: this is good enough for a second hit - last time,  I promise!

Here we go:

1 Jar Tomato Basil Sauce, of your choice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced fine
1 hand full 3 color frozen peppers, rough chopped
3 turkey sausages, de skinned, and diced fine
3 tbs olive oil
5 twists fresh ground sea salt, 3 twists fresh ground pepper
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
pinch red pepper flakes
½ 28 oz can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
Hand full of sliced mushrooms

Heat the olive oil, add garlic and onions.  Sauté until translucent, add sausage, cook thoroughly , mincing with a spatula to small pieces.  About 8 minutes.  Add mushrooms, and sauté for about 4 minutes until just starting to soften.  Add peppers,  diced tomatoes and spices, sauté till warm through out.   Add jar of sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 20 minutes minimum – the longer the better. 

Cook 2 portions of whole wheat pasta according to instructions, ( Regular if you  are lucky enough not to be on a carb restricted diet) and serve with fresh ground parmesan cheese… 15 minutes total, and tastes like you went out to dinner. Serve with a nice red wine – preferably in front of a fire, and life is good….. 

Apologies for the repeat, but this is a great, simple way to eat home made quick and easy!

Bon appetite!

Baked Brie with Pears and Rasberry Jam

This is a fairly simple recipe, and a great party appetizer.  As an aside, I always cut off the white coating on the brie ... which can be a pain, but to me is worth the effort.

Servings: 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 wheel (8 oz.) Brie cheese
• 1 box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Dough Sheets
• 2 pears, fresh
• 2 Tsp. butter
• 3 tbs Raspberry Jam
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Remove puff pastry dough from box and let thaw if frozen
2. Slice pears into wedges, about ¼ to ½ inch thick (no core pieces)
3. Melt butter in a sauté pan and sauté pears until tender
4. Place pears on a flat plate and place in refrigerator to cool
5. Remove white coating from Brie wheel
6. Stretch puff pastry out, place pieces side to side and roll lightly to pull seams together
7. Crack eggs into a bowl and whip with ½ cup of milk
8. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash onto seams of dough to seal
9. Spread Golden Raspberry Jam on top of the brie
10. Place cooled, sliced pears on top of the jam and then place the puff pastry dough over the cheese wheel
11. Egg wash the edges of the dough and fold around the brie to fully envelope the wheel of cheese
12. Carefully flip the wheel over and place it on a baking sheet pan
13. Gently brush egg wash all over puff pastry dough, being careful to NOT leave any puddles of egg wash
14. Bake in 350 degree F oven until crust is golden brown
15. Remove from the oven and let set for 15 to 20 minutes before serving
16. Place on your favorite serving tray, surround with slices of French bread, crackers and fruit and enjoy.

Delmonico Potatoes - a family favorite!

Lynne makes this at all of our family gatherings - its always a hit!

 

 

Delmonico Potatoes

This is an easy, and AWSOME potatoe recipe! Guaranteed to be in the family for generations!

Ingredients

1	Bag Frozen Hashbrowns – cubed or shredded
1	Can Cream of Chicken soup
1	Container sour cream
2	Cups shredded cheddar cheese
½	Cup shredded swiss cheese
1	Small onion, diced
¾	Cup Butter

Directions

1.     Mix all ingredients in large bowl.      

2.     Place in a greased casserole dish or large oven proof bowl.

3.     Top with Panko Bread Crumbs.

4.     Bake 11/2 to 2 hours at 375 degrees, or until brown and bubbling.

Enjoy  -Bon Appetit!

Oven Roasted Stuffed Plum Tomatoes with Gorgonzola and Bacon and Spinach

        

This is a great side dish – we had them with a small New York Strip the other night – Kind of a twist on the stuffed mushrooms I made last week!

Ingredients:

2 large plum tomatoes

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 twists fresh ground sea salt ( or a  pinch of regular – not too much )

3 twists fresh ground pepper ( about 1/8 tbs)

1/8 tbs garlic powder

¾ tsp dried basil

2 strips bacon crumbled

¼ stick cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

2/3 cup fresh spinach, chopped fine ( frozen will work – just not as well)

¼ cup or so of Panko breadcrumbs.

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees

Slice the tomatoes in half, and scoop out the seeds.  In a small bowl, mix olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder with a whisk.  Add tomatoes and toss till well coated.

In the microwave, cook bacon on a paper towel at 1 minute per slice, plus one minute, then crumble.  Soften cream cheese in microwave for about 15 seconds on high, depending on your microwave – just watch it so it doesn’t melt.  Place chopped fresh spinach on a paper towel, and GENTLY heat for about 10 seconds on high – just barely warm, so watch this, or it will reduce to nothing VERY quickly!

In a separate bowl, mix basil, bacon, cheese and spinach with a fork, until well mixed.  Make 4 “snowballs” out of stuffing, and place in tomatoes.

Place tomatoes on small cookie sheet on foil or parchment paper, top with Panko bread crumbs, and drizzle with remaining olive oil.  Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Serve.  They make a nice, unusual side dish – especially simple for company!

Bon Appetit!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

 Had this for dinner the other night.  10 minutes from start to finish – and it is REALLY tasty – the goat cheese and tomatoes are a totally awesome taste combination. 

This is a super simple, super tasty recipe that is good for lunch or dinner.  It is from Suzanne Somers' Eat Great, Lose Weight cook book, slightly altered for two servings and our personal taste.  Her recipes are great, and always user friendly, and her diet plan makes sense nutritionally.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, (sliced in ½  width wise to thin them down if too thick - then becomes 4 servings.  They should only be about 1/2 inch thick.)

3 tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small clove garlic minced

1/2 to 2/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped

1 small package of goat cheese crumbled – about 4 oz or so ( although for me, the more the merrier!)

Mixed greens.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil, and sauté garlic till just starting to brown.  Add chicken and sauté until juices run clear – about 4 minutes per side.  The breasts can also be done on the grill.  Slice breasts on the diagonal into about 1 inch wide strips.

On a serving of mixed greens ( larger if dinner, smaller if lunch – about a handful)  Layer sliced chicken over greens, and top with sun dried tomatoes and crumbled  goat cheese.  Finish with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.  I recommend you make your own dressing over bottled – much tastier, and better for you because there are no preservatives.  Here is a basic recipe:

4 tbs high quality aged balsamic vinegar

12 tbs extra virgin olive oil

3 twists fresh ground sea salt

3 twists fresh ground pepper

pinch of garlic powder ( SMALL pinch!)

Add vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic in small mixing bowl.  Whisk in olive oil slowly, until it emulsifies, and turns a nice creamy color.  Serve immediately.  You can always re emulsify the dressing by re whisking before serving.

Dan's Kitchen Sink Shrimp Scampi - 15 minutes to awsome!

Dan’s Kitchen Sink Shrimp Scampi

Ok, here is a dish I made tonight, again, just with whatever I had sitting in my freezer or fridge ( hence the "kitchen sink", as in everything but....)  I keep frozen jumbo shrimp in the freezer pretty much all the time (21-25 per lb)  They are a super lo cal meal, simple to fix, and it was REALLY good!.  Throw in some shallots and garlic... basic necessity, and some veggies - and you are good to go!

Here are the ingredients I had to work with:

12 jumbo frozen shrimp, thawed, shelled, and cut in ½ width wise

½ bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets, thawed, and pressed in paper towel to remove liquid

2/3 cup sliced mushrooms

12 cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 small shallot, diced small

2 hand fulls baby spinach

3 or 4 shakes parmesan cheese

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 tsb dried basil

about 4 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

Sauté garlic and shallots in oil and butter , till translucent – about 2 minutes.  Add broccoli and cauliflower, sauté until warm – about 4 minutes.  Add mushrooms, and sauté until starting to turn soft- about 3 minutes.  Add shrimp and lemon juice and sauté until opaque – about 3 or 4 minutes.   Finally, add tomatoes and spinach, red peppers and a couple of shakes of parmesan cheese -  sauté till warm – about 1 or 2 minutes – just till spinach starts to wilt. Add another splash of lemon juice, or another tbs of butter if it is looking dry.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.  15 minutes from start till awsome!

There are practically NO calories in this meal –(ok, some from the oil and butter and cheese - probably about 350 per serving.. not much for a dinner meal - leave the butter  and cheese out to cut calories - the oil is a good fat!)  and it tastes awesome!  This will make enough for 2, with leftovers for a lunch.  Got some feta cheese - yum!  add it in!  ( yes, more calories.. but there is room...)I have even used blue or gorgonzola ( just a little goes a long way with a dish like this!)  You can serve it OVER the spinach if you wish ( or whole wheat pasta, but we aren't doing pasta for the time being) I just like to heat the spinach up with the sauce.  

Enjoy, Bon Appetite!

Carrot Soufle - if your kids hate carrots - give them this!

Ok, I am on a roll - first Brussels Sprouts, now carrot soufle - lets make veggies fun!!  This is an amazing dish, hot OR cold.  I guarantee your kids will love it.  I have made this for cooking classes, even as a sampler for a retail kitchen supply store, and everyone walking by that tasted it loved it.  Super simple, a GREAT holiday side dish, but also good for everyday cooking.  Let me know how you like it!

Carrot Soufle

Ingredients

1 lb carrot (steamed soft, then mashed)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter, softened but not warm or melted

3 eggs, beaten                   

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (to taste)

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the baking dish.

2.       Mix all ingredients in bowl with a mixer.

3.       Pour into an 8x8 inch glass baking dish.

4.       Bake 45-50 minutes, until knife comes clean.

5.       Can be served hot or cold.

6.       Refrigerate after finishing serving/cooling.

7.       Shouldn't be kept for more than a couple of days, as it will lose its flavor and freshness.

8.       Servings really depend on how much you choose to serve

Enjoy!  Bon Appetit!

Brussels Sprouts - love them or hate them? Try them like this!!

Ah Brussels Sprouts!!!  I am thinking YUM, and you are probably thinking….. YUK!!  I would say 8 out of 10 people think they hate these petit chou’s (sorry Tory…) but that is probably because they haven’t had them prepared right!  Sprouts are incredibly good for you – they are LOADED with vitamin C, and a bunch of other good stuff.  Here are a couple of ways to prepare them that are my favorite – and I would be willing to bet they will become yours as well!  One word of advice – use FRESH sprouts.  Frozen are sort of ok for these recipes, but they tend to be too soggy, and just don’t have the same flavor.

OK, here goes:

Sautéed Brussels sprouts, with shallot, garlic, baby portabella mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients:

One package fresh Brussels sprouts

1 small shallot, diced fine

3 cloves garlic, diced fine (almost minced)

1tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

2/3 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms ( a good handful anyway – pre sliced are fine, just chop up a bit more)



Quartered sprouts



Cut the bottoms off the sprouts, cut in half, from top to bottom, peel outside couple of leaves away and discard.  Cut in half again, (again from top to bottom) so you have wedges.  Keep any leaves that fall off at this point. 



Just warm the tomatoes - don't let
them get soggy!



Heat  olive oil, and 1 tbs of butter over med high heat in sauté pan,  add garlic and shallots.  Sautee till translucent – about 2 minutes.  Add sprouts, stirring often.  Stir in mushrooms and remaining tbs of butter when sprouts are turning bright green – about 4 or 5 minutes. Sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes.  Add tomatoes, cook until heated through, but not soggy – about 2 minutes or so.  Serve.


 



Finished product!  Steak looks more rare than
it was in this photo - but I do like it rare!



I served these with a London broil that I marinated for a couple of hours in Guinness beer, Worcestershire, salt pepper and garlic. 

A quick tip when marinating a London broil – score the steak on both sides with a knife in an x pattern ( not deep, just break the surface)  helps the marinade work in faster. 

Ok, version two:

Shredded Brussels sprouts with shallot, garlic and gorgonzola.

OK, I know, a double whammy – sprouts AND blue cheese….. keep an open mind here!

Ingredients:

One package fresh Brussels sprouts

1 small shallot, diced fine

3 cloves garlic, diced fine (almost minced)

1tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

½ cup or so of crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue cheese

Cut the bottoms off the sprouts, then cut in half from top to bottom.  Remove outer leaves.  With a paring knife, cut the core of the sprout out in a triangle shape ( it is simpler than it seems – just cut out the solid part in the center of each half) 



Cut solid center out in a triangle





Peel sprout quarters

Cut the sprouts in half again, so you end up with wedges.  Peel the leaves off down as close to the core as you can, and save in a bowl. ( It’s ok to keep the little part that won’t peel – not the triangles from the center, but the part around that.)



Add cheese at end, don't let it all melt



In a med sauté pan, heat olive oil and butter.  Add shallots and garlic, sauté till translucent.  If you’ve been trying my recipes, this should be a pretty familiar step – I use these two ingredients in about 90 percent of what I cook…  Add sprout leaves  -  sauté until bright green, stirring often – probably about 3 or 4 minutes.  Add the cheese, stirring constantly till partially melted – about a minute.   Serve.  

 

I served this with a petit sirloin, and some garlic smashed potatoes.   You can add crumbled bacon to this recipe to take it a step further.  I cook about 3 or 4 strips of bacon in the sauté pan, remove the bacon, and cook the sprouts in the bacon grease instead of oil and butter.  OK, it’s a heart attack on a plate, but boy, what a way to go!

Well, enjoy the sprouts – let me know what you think!

Bon Appetite!

Finished product!  Yum!












Pork chops in mushroom cream sauce, with sauteed green beans - 20 minutes to home made awsome!

Ok, here is another "diet" recipe.  Pork loin chops in mushroom cream sauce with sauteed green beans.  This is a great recipe, and super easy to make:

Ingredients:                                                                          

Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce, with sauteed green beans


2 boneless pork chops
4 tbs olive oil
1 small shallot, diced small, split in half
3 cloves garlic, diced small, split in half
2 tbs olive oil * NOT extra virgin
2 tbs butter
1/2 bag frozen green beans ( or about a cup of fresh - fresh is preferable)
1/2 pkg mushrooms, diced
2/3 cup 1/2 and 1/2
Salt and pepper to taste

In large saute pan, place 2 tbs olive oil, and one tbs butter, melt over med high heat.  Place chops in pan, and brown on each side - about 5 minutes per side.  Remove meat to separate plate, lower heat to med.  Add 1/2 shallots, garlic, and sautee till translucent - about 4 or 5 minutes.   

 Sautee mushrooms



Add mushrooms, saute till tender, abut 4 minutes.  Slowly add cream, stir to remove brown bits from bottom of pan.  Add pork back, and simmer over low/med heat till warmed through.



Re heat chops in sauce



Sautee beans, garlic and shallots

Pan roasted green beans:                                                                    

1/2 package frozen green beens, or about 1 qt fresh 

1/2 shallots and garlic from above
2 tbs olive oil, and 1 tbs butter

In small sautee pan, heat olive oil, and melt butter.  Add garlic, and shallots, saute till translucent.  Add beans.  Cover, and sautee for 5 minutes, stirring ( or shaking) regularly.  Remove cover, increase heat to med high, and finish beans till warmed through and starting to brown.

This is a great recipe, and a standard fall back for Lynne and I when we want a great home cooked meal in about 20 minutes.   Awsome!

 


 Bon Appetit!



Chicken Piccata - the first step down the long road to loosing weight!

Well, Lynne and I are going on diets….. so how do you do a cooking/food blog on a diet?  Well, I am going to start posting recipes we are using to loose weight.  We are using a combination of the South Beach diet and Suzanne Somer’s diet.  Both are low carb, high protein diets, but South Beach uses more lean protein, hence it is a bit more heart healthy. 

That is a good thing, considering I have had cardiac issues in the last few years.  Both diets start out with virtually NO carbs – no sugar, no bread, no pasta, and worst of all no alcohol… ugh.   Makes sense, since your body converts starches ( potatoes, bread, pasta, etc) to sugar, and  alcohol to sugar… and ultimately sugar to fat. But we both have fairly stressful jobs, so not being able to come home and have a glass of wine is an issue… more on that later.

So, some “diet” recipes.  Please keep in mind, these are NOT calorie counter recipes – they are healthy eating recipes : healthy fats such as olive oil, almonds, etc.   Buy the books – they explain the diets well.  Suzanne Somers cook books have AWSOME recipes that are easy to make, and good for you!  We are just leaning them down a bit fat wise….  The trick to these diets is portion control.  Small portions, with several snacks a day, keeps your metabolism cranking.  I don’t pretend to be a diet expert – so please keep that in mind.  These are just good, simple recipes that taste good, and can help you loose weight.

So, we made Chicken Piccata yesterday.  One of my favorite dishes – diet or not.  VERY easy to make, totally company quality – sure to impress guests!  I served it with oven roasted broccoli – super simple and very good!  This is an adaptation of the Suazane Somer's recipe from her book Eat Great, Loose Weight.

 I would make this anytime - on a diet or not!

Chicken Piccata with Oven Roasted Broccoli



Ingredients:

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts 

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 cup white wine

2 tbs capers

1 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs butter

Cut the breasts in half length wise
( make them ½ as thick as they are in the package).  Place each ½ breast between a waxed paper layer, and pound with a mallet till ¼ inch thick.  Place on separate plate.  Season each piece with fresh ground sea salt and pepper.

Brown Chicken



In a large skillet, over a med-high heat, heat olive oil, and add chicken breasts ( don’t overlap).  Brown for about 3 minutes per side, then remove to a separate plate, and cover with foil.



Reduce wine



Lower heat to medium, and slowly add wine, scraping the pan to remove any brown bits.  Add lemon juice and capers,  and simmer, stirring constantly.  (Caper jars are fairly small – to get 2 tbs, I use the handle of a spoon, and put about 3 scoops into the pan).  Reduce at a low boil for about 5 minutes.   

Lower heat, then add butter, stirring constantly.  Add salt and pepper to taste to sauce.  

Pour sauce over chicken and serve with vegetable.

 

Oven Roasted  Broccoli

8 Pieces frozen, or preferably fresh broccoli

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt/Pepper to taste

Instructions:

Pre- heat oven to 400 degrees

Toss broccoli, olive oil, garlic powder and  salt/pepper in small bowl till coated well.



Place on  foil coated cookie sheet

Place in oven for 15-20 minutes.  Remove when starting to turn brown.

This is a super simple, and VERY tasty meal.  Enjoy!



Bon Appetit!



Dan's Snowstorm Stuffed Shrooms

THATS alot of snow!

Made these for lunch today, while I was contemplating shoveling two feet of snow off the walk out to the cars - about a 100 foot trek.... Came up with the recipe based on what I had in the house at the time, since I clearly wasnt going anywhere to get groceries!!  These were FANTASTIC!!  Highly recommended by my wife!

Dan’s Snow Storm Stuffed ‘Shrooms…

6 large mushroom caps

¼ stick cream cheese

½ cup gorgonzola cheese

5 strips bacon crumbled fairly small

8 cherry tomatoes, diced

½ tsp garlic powder

fresh ground salt and pepper to taste ( about 6 or 7 twists)

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs ( more or less for texture)

Pre heat oven to 375

Place bacon on paper towel, and microwave bacon – 1 minute on high per strip, plus 1 extra minute, on high.  Make sure it is crispy, but not burnt.

De stem mushroom caps ( they should be about 1.5 to 2 inches across), place on a paper towel hole down, and microwave for 1 minute on high.  Set aside.

Soften cream cheese in microwave for about 20 seconds or so – don’t completely melt, but should be pretty soft – easily mixable.  This is what binds the mix.

Place mushrooms hole up on a foil covered baking sheet (lightly brush it with olive oil to keep them from  sticking)



Dan's gonna be late for work tomorrow!



In a medium mixing bowl, mix cheeses, tomatoes, bacon and bread crumbs.  Use only enough bread crumbs to bind mixture so you can make little balls out of it with your hands.  Stuff each mushroom with about a 1 inch ball or so of mixture .

Bake for 20 minutes, or until warmed through.  Don’t over cook or the cheese will liquefy!

Serves 2 for appetizers. 

Serve with a nice, cold,  Sauvignon Blanc, or Fume Blanc

Bon Appetit!

Thats alot of snow!!

Comments, Please!

My daughter and I have been building this blog for about the last couple of months.  It has been totaly cool - we have had hundreds of page views from around the world... all for something she and I love to do on a daily basis.

One thing though - we both would LOVE it if you commented on the recipes that you have tried!  Please let us know if you thought they were truly "easy".  Let us know any changes you made to the recipes - changes are good - all recipes are only a guideline - not a bible!  I rarely measure anything, so for me to post these recipes is sometimes... challenging... because I cook very loosely, by taste.

 Sign up as a follower - still trying to figure out how to get the blog to email followers of new posts.... hopefully that is possible.  If you have any favorite recipes of your own, please email them to me at navyart@danielprice.com , and I will be happy to put them up on the blog! 

Thanks again for reading, and bon appetit!

Dan and Tory

Fettucini Alfredo, with home made sauce - hmmmmmmm good

Fettuccini Alfredo – ah, so good, so easy, and oh soooo fattening!  Ok, I get it! This stuff is a heart attack on a plate... or, in this case, a bowl.  This is a total treat – but oh so worth it!  I made it tonight, as a last hurrah before Lynne and I go on a lean protein, low fat diet.  We both are trying to loose some weight for our son’s wedding in July – I  need to loose it, she doesn’t, but we both are doing the diet.

So if you are feeling like a decadently rich meal, that takes about 20 minutes total to make, this is your ticket!

Ingredients are simple, technique even more so:

About a 1 inch bunch of white fettucini ( Please don’t use whole wheat…..just ain’t the same!)

1.2  stick butter

½ cup parmesan cheese, or fresh shredded parmesan reggiano cheese

¾ cup heavy cream

2 cloves garlic diced fine

1 small shallot, or ½ med shallot diced fine

3 slices proscuito diced rough

2/3 cup peas

10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise

Salt and Pepper to taste.

In a 3 qt sauce pan, bring 2/3 of the pan of water to boil, after salting, and adding a sprinkle of garlic powder.  Add pasta when comes to a boil, stirring periodically.  Cook till  al dente – about 8 minutes or so.  Test regularly, don’t overcook!

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate sauté pan, melt 2 tbs butter , and sauté garlic and shallots till translucent. Add proscuito, and peas,  sauté till curly, about 3 minutes.  Remove from pan to a separate bowl. 

Rinse sauté pan, and melt stick of butter .over med high heat.  Add cream when butter just about all melted.  Whisk constantly until comes to a boil.  Slowly pour in cheese as you whisk.  ( the parmesan cheese you get in the super market for spaghetti is fine, the fresh ground parmesan – reggiano is even better.  I tend to use a little more than the recipe calls for - maybe another 2 tbs or so- it is totally to taste)  Continue to whisk as sauce thickens.

Drain pasta when done, splash with extra virgin olive oil ( about a tsp at most) and stir to separate, add sauce, proscuito and peas, fresh ground salt and pepper to taste ( about 4 turns each from an average grinder )return to med high heat, stirring regularly and heat till bubbling – about 4 minutes. 

Serve in a bowl, sprinkle with fresh ground cheese.  Enjoy!

Then go jogging in the morning.....

Buon Appetito!