What We Ate Last Week

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These got double approval from RJ. I would love to share the instructions but I followed them exactly and I don't want to plagiarize. Another hit from the cookbook Barefoot Contessa At Home. If you want the recipe let me know and I'll figure out how to get it to you.

Mini Ravioli Pasta with Shrimp

This was seriously good. And it made enough that RJ and I ate some for lunch the next day, and it tasted even better.

1 package dried ravioli noodles (The have these at Trader Joes in the died pasta section. If you shop elsewhere I would try orzo instead).

1 lb. shrimp

Between 1/4 c. and 1/2 c. olive oil

3 lemons (about 1/2 c. juice)

1 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon pepper (plus more for shrimp)

2 persian cucumbers, diced

1/4 c. chopped fresh dill

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1/2 c. (or more) crumbled goat cheese

Cook ravioli according to packaged directions. Drain.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place shrimp on baking sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper. Bake for 5-6 minutes; until cooked.

Whisk together juice from 3 lemons, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour over the still warm pasta and stir to coat.

Add red onion. shrimp, parsley, dill and cucumbers to ravioli mixture. Allow to cool. Add feta.

Serve at room temperature.

Creamy Chard and Squash Pasta

I made this dish last week b/c we needed a quick and easy dinner, and the yellow squash and chard in the garden was ready for harvesting!

Two large handfuls of swish card; chop rips about 1 inch big, and save leaves for tomorrow's meal

2-3 yellow crookneck squash, diced about 1 inch

1-2 large zucchini, diced about 1 inch

3/4 c. - 1 c. heavy cream (I used half&half)

approx. 3/4 lb pasta noodles

1/4 c. butter

1/2 yellow onion chopped, or 2 leeks

salt and pepper

Boil a big pot of water. Blanch chard ribs for about 3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Add noodles to boiling water and cook according to package directions.

Meanwhile melt butter in large skillet. Saute onion and/or leeks about 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add chard ribs, yellow squash, and zucchini. Cook over medium heat approx. 4 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook until reduced by two-thirds.

Drain pasta and set aside.

Mix chard mixture with pasta. Apply salt and pepper to taste ( I am pretty generous - particularly with the pepper.) ENJOY!

Dill Potato Salad, Sautéed Chard Leaves, and Panko Crusted Asian Salmon

The potato salad recipe was again a Barefoot Contessa. The salmon was supposed to be but I started doing my own thing half way through the recipe and ended up with this:

Heat oven to 500 degrees.

Line 8x12 inch baking pan with foil.

Put in salmon steaks. Brush on olive oil.

Make sauce. Mine was a crazy mixture of soy sauce, hoison sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, toasted sesame oil. and minced ginger.

Coat salmon with panko crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs). Pour sauce over crumbs. Bake for 13-18 minutes depending on thickness of salmon.

It was good but next time I might try broiling instead of baking b/c the crumbs weren't very crispy.

And the sauteed chard was easy. I got the recipe here.

Happy Eating!

What We're Eating

Two of my friends asked that I start posting what I cook. I'm not a chef. I don't make up my own recipes or "cook by my nose" as one of my talented friends does. But, I do consistently put good meals on the table and I do it on a fairly tight budget. So, welcome to what we eat:

Homemade Mojito

Guacamole Salad with Tortilla Chips

Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip

Mojito

RJ actually mixed this yummy cocktail together. It features rum, mint from the garden, agave syrup, and tonic water.

Guacamole Salad

This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe that I altered just a bit.

3 persian cucumbers (or 1 basket cherry tomatoes), chopped

1 yellow bell pepper seeded and chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed

1/2 c. diced red onion

2 jalapeno peppers, minced (I used 1.5)

1 teaspoon lime zest

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil (I recommend a tad under 1/2 cup)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

2 hass avocados chopped

Mix the cucumbers (or tomatoes), black beans, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl.

Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt & pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper. Pour over bean mixture.

Fold in avocados before serving. Serve at room temperature with tortilla chips for scooping. (Or it would be really good over a bed of greens).

Santa Maria Style Tri-Trip

Good old Trader Joes! Already marinated and in the meat section.

I really like this meals b/c it's simple and super tasty. If you prep all the ingredients for the salad earlier in the day and whisk up the dressing, then all you have to do is stick the meat on the BBQ and throw the salad together. Giving you plenty of time to hang with the family.

Pantry Failure

So Eat Out The Pantry Week failed.

The weather got gorgeous and warm; too nice to be inside cooking up lentils and red beans (the kinds of things stuff in the back of our pantry). Instead we've been eating out, inviting ourselves over to friends houses for dinner (well, we aren't that rude, we just go on evening walks and happen to be linger on their front porches around dinner time!), and putting down delicious salads such as this:

Once again the recipe is from Simply Recipes, but I jazzed it up a bit with the addition of goat cheese. And the oranges are homegrown! YUM!!

(I've plugged Simply Recipes so many times I'm curious - has anyone gone there? What did you make? And was it any good?)