Spinach-Stuffed Baked Salmon

This is super easy to make and Chad loved it. Add a side of veggies and some rice and it's a complete healthy meal.

Spinach-Stuffed Baked Salmon

1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
2 Ounces Fresh Spinach Leaves
1 Teaspoon Grated Lemon Zest
1/2 Cup Chopped Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Rinsed and Drained if bottled.
2 Tablespoons Chopped Walnuts
Cooking Spray
4 Salmon Fillets, Rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Plain Dry Bread Crumbs
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano, crumbled
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/8 Teaspoon Pepper

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom. Cook the spinach and lemon zest for 2 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted, stirring constantly. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the bell peppers, basil and walnuts. Let cool for 5 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 400*F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Lightly spray the foil with cooking spray. I just put the salmon in a glass casserole dish instead.

3. Cut a lengthwise slit in the side of each fillet to make a pocket for the stuffing. Be careful to not cut through to the other side. With a spoon or your fingers, carefully stuff a scant 1/2 cup spinach mixture into each fillet. Transfer to the baking sheet. With a pastry brush or spoon, spread the mustard over the fish.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over the fish. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray.

5. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and the filling is warmed through.


****I made this with a half of salmon - I didn't cut it into fillets because it was easier to just do the whole salmon instead of cutting and stuffing each piece. I believe I cooked it for almost 20 minutes as a half a salmon.****

Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who wouldn't love brownies AND chocolate chip cookies merged together?!? I saw this recipe and couldn't wait to make it. Picky Palate has tons of cookie recipes and "stuffed" cookie recipes. There are so many that you just want to cook them all.

Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes Roughly 12-16 Cookies

1 Box Brownie Mix (I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate)
2 Sticks Softened Butter
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips


1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare brownie according to packaged directions. Let cool completely then cut into 1 1/2 inch squares (I made mine smaller).

2. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, continue to beat until well combined.

3. Place flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips.

4. Place a large cookie scoopful of dough on top of a brownie square and another large scoop on the bottom. Gently press and enclose brownie with dough adding pinches more dough to cover sides if needed. Place 6 filled cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake for 18-22 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

Pizza Monkey Bread

I got this recipe HERE and couldn't wait to have a reason to make it. So on Tuesday I made it for Devin and Cameron for dinner. They said it was good but regular monkey bread is better! Kids!!! I didn't get to try it because for some reason I didn't buy enough dough. Next time!

The recipe was for Pepperoni pizza only. I added mushrooms, ground turkey sausage and olives too. You could add whatever you'd like to this recipe. I also didn't do each little ball the same. That way there was variety.

I apparently didn't take any pictures when it was done cooking before the boys ate it - oops! Next time I make it I will add a finish picture to this post. You can however, click the link above and see the images on the food blog I got the recipe from.

Pizza Monkey Bread

You can take the long route and make your favorite pizza dough and marinara sauce, or the short route and pick up your favorite pizza dough and red sauce from the store.

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I used already chopped garlic)
4 Tbsp butter
2 lbs pizza dough (I bought Pillsbury Pizza Dough)
6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (you'll need ~48 pieces)
48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package)
2-3 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving


1.Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.

2.Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.

3.Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten (a kitchen scale makes this very easy). Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.

4.Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.

5.Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (I dabbed the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush to keep butter use low - there will be 1+ Tbsp leftover - and my hands butter free. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).

6.Repeat until all of the dough is used.

7.Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400.

8.Bake for ~35 minutes, until the top is very brown.

9.Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

10.Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Strawberry Soup

I found this recipe on another food blog - yes, I know I'm addicted to food blogs. Here is the blog where I found the recipe: Jason and Shawnda FoodieBride

I saw this recipe and just couldn't wait to make it. Strawberries were in season and Chad's parent's were coming over for lunch so I thought what a great time to make this. It was super easy to make and if you make a larger batch you can put some in the fridge for the next day. I skipped the mint as I didn't have any. I also used the full 2/3 cups of milk.

The pictures I got weren't great since I was in a hurry to serve the soup! Next year I will take much better images though and replace these ones.

Strawberry Soup

Makes 2 Cups

1 lb strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1 Tbsp sugar, plus more to taste
Juice and zest of 1 small orange
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 - 2/3 cup milk
Mint, for garnish

1. Roughly chop strawberries and place in a small sauce pan with sugar, orange juice, zest, and water. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, squashing the strawberries into sauce with your spoon until they break down into a thick sauce.

2. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Taste for sweetness and add additional sugar if necessary.

3. Place chilled strawberries, yogurt and 1/4 cup milk in a blender. Puree. Stream in additional milk to get to the desired consistency. Chill until very cold, serve garnished with mint.

Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

I found this recipe on Baked Perfections Food Blog - LOVE this blog along with several others that I am finding amazing recipes on. I love fresh blueberry muffins so I couldn't resist trying this recipe since afterall it is blueberry season.

Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 Muffins

Muffins:

2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups blueberries, dusted in flour

Topping:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 400* F. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a medium bowl mix together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a large bowl beat together eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar. Mix in oil, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix dry ingredients into wet mixture (be sure not to over-mix, batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups so they are 2/3 of the way full.

To make the topping: mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.



The Muffin Topping



Twitter Crockpot Chicken and Rice

I am having to give this a name myself because I got this recipe from Women's Health magazine. They had this small section where they posted people's recipes from Twitter. Literally the tweet only had the ingredients with no name for the recipe and no "real" instructions.

It looked so easy I said "what the heck we'll try it". It actually is really healthy and it turned out great. It has gone onto our "make again" recipe list. It's super easy you just dump everything into the crockpot and walk away.

It made enough for Chad and I plus one serving for lunch the next day. So I'd suggest doubling or tripling this recipe. I will probably add in a veggie next time too like corn or something.

Twitter Crockpot Chicken and Rice

1 lb Chicken Breasts
2 Cans Black Beans
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Brown Rice (I used white because I didn't have brown - I didn't use instant rice)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Cup Water (I ended up using 2- 2 1/2 Cups because the rice needed more to cook)


Put everything in the crockpot on low for 6 hours.


**You could add a lot of other things to this recipe to make it your own. We topped it with sour cream and a little shredded cheese.**

Brownie Rubble

Food Network Magazine does this page in the very back of the magazine called "Name This Dish!". This Recipe was in their May 2011 issue and it had no name yet but look SO good. So, I decided to make it for Easter. However, I had to wait until this month's issue of Food Network Magazine to find out what name was the winner - Brownie Rubble!

This dessert is extremely good!! It was a huge hit. The brownies are amazing being made from scratch. You will LOVE this recipe if you like brownies or even desserts lol.

Brownie Rubble
Active: 40 Minutes | Total Time: 1 hr 20 min
Makes: 12 to 18 brownies (I cut into bite size and it made a lot more)

2 Sticks plus 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, plus more for the pan
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
6 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
2 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
4 Large Eggs, Cold
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Mini Marshmallows
1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
3/4 Cup Unsalted Roasted Peanuts


1. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with foil, pressing it into the corners and up the sides; leave an overhang on 2 sides. Butter the foil and dust with flour. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 400*.

2. Bring 1 inch water to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Put the chocolate and 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons butter in a heatproof bowl; set the bowl over the saucepan (do not let the bowl touch the water). Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the saucepan.

3. Add the sugar, cocoa and salt to the bowl and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition, the batter is thick and shiny. Add the vanilla, then add 1 cup flour and mix until combined. Spread in the prepared pan.

4. Bake the brownies until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and scatter the marshmallows, chocolate chips and peanuts on top. Return to the oven; continue baking until the marshmallows are golden, about 5 more minutes.

5. Let cool in the pan on a rack, 30 minutes. Lift the brownies out of the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board to cool completely before slicing.