Salmon Packets

 It's been a while, eh? Sorry about that. I've been cooking lots of new, yummy things, I just haven't taken time to take pictures or post them. But this was too good NOT to! And so simple!

Put everything in.... 

And Dinner is served. 

Salmon Packets with roasted Squash

Ingredients:

2-4 Sockeye Salmon filets

1/2 onion, halved then sliced thick

handful grape tomatoes per filet

handful of red grapes per filet

2TBS capers per filet

1-2 lemons, quartered

2TBS white wine per filet

1TBS olive oil per filet (grape seed oil would be great too)

sea salt and fresh pepper

For the Squash:

2 Zucchini squash, diced into fairly large chunks

1- 8oz pkg button mushrooms (baby bells my favorite), cut in half (remove the stems)

1/2 onion, diced (fennel would be great too)

2TBS-1/4C olive oil

sea salt and fresh pepper 

1 C. prepared Quinoa

Instructions:

 Preheat oven to 400.

 Line a cookie sheet with foil, then prepare 2-4 sheets of foil for packets. Spray lined cookie sheet with Pam. 

Place salmon filets in center of each sheet of foil. Add sliced onions, tomatoes, grapes, capers and lemons. Starting with one side, fold up edge of foil, creasing the center in as if to form an envelope. Bend the top corner over to seal. Repeat on opposite side, leaving a small opening in the top to pour liquid ingredients. 

 Add white wine and oil. Seal opening shut. Continue until all filets are used up. Line up on one end of cookie sheet. 

For the squash:

On the same cookie sheet, add veggies. Pour oil over, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix around until well coated. Spread out evenly across cookie sheet.

Bake entire sheet for 25 minutes. Once in the oven, start the Quinoa per package directions.

To serve: Divide Quinoa between plates. Fork out salmon and cover with veggies and sauce from foil packet. Side with squash mixture.

A Post! Father's Day Feast --- plus sides perfect for summer!

 I know what you're thinking... SHE'S ALIVE!! Or maybe it's more like "Who are you?!" I honestly can't give you a definite reason why I've been MIA this time. I've been cooking, coming up with new recipes... just haven't really felt in the mood to post anything, and most times by the time the food is done, I just want to EAT it, not take pics of it! But Father's Day is here and my husband picked the meal: Filet Mignon, Corn on the Cob and Dutch Oven Potatoes (Mac salad is left overs from last's nights Ribs and Fries -- we don't always eat like this, I promise!! ) I'm on a carb-overload this weekend, for sure!!

Here's my little secret about the steaks: pay attention to your meat dept.'s sales on WHOLE beef tenderloins. When it's on sale, grab one (or two if budget allows). Ask the butcher to filet it into 1.5" steaks. If he's super nice, he'll not only filet it, he'll trim the steaks of fat, and grind the small bits into ground beef for you (it's only happened to me once... but it was AWESOME!). Bring the steaks home, individually wrap each one and place all of them into a freezer storage bag in the freezer. Easy to pull one or two out for thawing the day you need. A whole tenderloin can be pricey, but you end up with about 10 steaks, plus either the pound of ground beef or a pound of stew meat, so at about $4-5/per steak that's a great deal -- especially knowing what GREAT quality they are. I mean come on... these are so juicy and tender and mmmmmm.... Plus, they're perfectly portioned, each one being about 4oz! No need to marinade these beauties!

The other two recipes I'll include in this post are wonderful additions to any summer BBQ. I love Mac Salad with fries and a steak. And Dutch Oven Potatoes go with anything! Just FYI: if you're making this meal, start the potatoes first, preheat the oven, then once you add the potatoes to the pot, you can start the steaks. Macaroni Salad is best made the day before.

Filet Mignon

Ingredients:
4- tenderloin steaks, about 1.5" thick
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1TBS olive oil

Sauce:
1C drinking wine
2TBS Worcestershire Sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat oil in oven-safe skillet. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper on all sides, and to scorching hot pan. Allow to sear for 5 minutes -- DO NOT TOUCH! Allow to sit the entire 5 minutes, set your timer.
When the timer buzzes, transfer the entire pan into the oven.
For Rare: roast 5 minutes
For Medium (seen here): roast 6 minutes
For Well: roast 8 minutes

Take pan out of oven and allow to "rest" for 5 minutes. You may cover with foil for this, or just leave it as is.

After 5 minutes, remove steaks from pan to serving dish. Turn stove on to medium and add wine and Worcestershire sauce.  Be careful as the pan may still be hot -- I know from experience! Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes scrapping up any browned bits with wooden spoon or whisk. Serve over steaks. (Great as a gravy for mashed potatoes too!)

Literally, that simple. Just remember this: 425 for 5/6/5. Easy peasy!

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Macaroni Salad -- my mom's version, with a twist of me. 

Ingredients: 

1 pkg cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled (unless using English), and diced
a bunch of Radish, sliced
a bunch of green onions, mainly greens sliced
about 2 C macaroni, cooked and cooled
1C mayo
1C milk
2TBS Worcestershire sauce
1TBS mustard
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Prepare macaroni and allow to cool in colander.

Prep all veggies into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add macaroni.

In a small jar (great if your Mayo is almost gone, just use it's jar!), add mayo, pour in milk, Worcestershire, and Mustard, close tightly, and shake for a good minute or two. Pour into large bowl. Combine well. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to enjoy.

Great to add baby shrimp!

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Dutch Oven Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4"
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2lb bacon
2 garlic cloves, minced
dash of celery salt, red pepper flakes, thyme
salt and pepper
season salt

Instructions:

Cook bacon until crispy in large skillet. Drain all but about 2TBS of bacon grease. Add onion and cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add minced garlic, cook another minute.

Add potatoes and all seasonings, gently stir. Add about 1C of water and once it boils, turn the head down to low, cover and allow to simmer about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Careful as to not break apart the potatoes -- trust me, you don't want mush!

Uncover and allow to cook another 2 minutes. Enjoy with ketchup! 

Fish cooked in a Bag with veg

 One of my goals this year is to eat healthier. Did you know the Food Guide Pyramid is no longer in use? Now the USDA wants our meals to look more like this:

I like it. It helps me know how much of each item we should be eating during our meals. Much more simple! So tonight, I sort of just threw this meal together. No, really. I did. And I got the recipe from Cook This, Not That!


If you haven't seen the Eat This, Not That! books, you really should check them out. They have changed the way I eat. That and Food, Inc. on Netflix instant. Worth the time, trust me!

This recipe is so simple and you can make it with any kind of fish you like.

Ingredients:

Fish fillets (3-4oz each, I used Mahi Mahi)
Onions, sliced (or fennel sliced)
grape tomatoes, halved
marinated artichoke hearts, cut up
olives, sliced (your choice here, I used manzanita)
lemon slices
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper
Olive oil
White wine vinegar (or white wine)

Parchment paper (or foil)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Take 2 large sheets of parchment or foil, place a fillet in the center of each, and top equally with the artichokes, tomatoes, olives, fennel or onion, and lemon. Drizzle with oil and wine; season with salt and pepper. Fold the paper over the fish and seal by tightly rolling up the edges, creating a secure pouch. It's important the packets are fully sealed, so that the steam created inside can't escape.

3. Place the pouches on a baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with lemon and rice and fresh veggies.

Fish Fry Friday

 --- Fish Tacos two ways, plus sauces... in recipe card form.

Let me know what you think of the new recipe card look... Would you rather me post them this way, or the old way of typing everything out? These can be printed as regular 4x6 photos, then placed into a photo book turned into recipe book.
We had this for dinner last night (grilled version). It was delicious. I didn't have yogurt for the white sauce, so I used sour cream. It wasn't as runny as it should've been... but it had a nice kick to it. The salsa makes a ton, so be ready with a couple of bags of chips (which we are lacking... so not cool). I think this is going on the menu again for next week, it was just that good.

Chipotle Chicken

This chicken has a serious KICK to it... and it's so good as a taco, burrito, or enchilada filling. Move over Cafe Rio... 

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

3 Chipotle Peppers + a little juice

2C tomato juice (or 1 can sauce + 2C water)

1 onion, chopped

1 can diced green chiles

1/2 bunch cilantro (optional)

3 juiced lemons +1/2 rind

salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot (or crock pot). Add a bit of water to completely cover the chicken, if necessary). Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cook for an hour and a half to two hours (if using crock pot, cook on high 4 hours), stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from broth, shred into large bowl or pan. Add a little of the broth, discarding the whole peppers and lemon rind. Place on tortillas, top with guacamole and sour cream or yogurt.

And a new feature here at Dancing in the Kitchen... I will provide a printable recipe card! Show some love would ya?!

Cola Pork + sides

A friend posted this recipe on her blog the other day and it sounded so good, I had to try it. The picture she had attached looked like she used ribs instead of chops (which she didn't) and that got me thinkin... I don't like pork. Plain and simple... it's not my favorite. But I can say I do like ribs. I prefer the meatier Country Style type without bones... but this past summer we ate PLENTY of baby backs smoked on our charcoal BBQ (recipe to come soon). With this sparked interest, I thought I would try out this "Coke Chop" recipe only substituting the chops for country style boneless ribs. It was yummy... and the best part, it IMMEDIATELY started to smell once the crock-pot was turned on. My mind kept switching between the tragedy in Japan and the BBQ aroma filling my house all during church. I was torn....
And the recipe is so easy. I do have to say one thing.... don't get a strong flavored BBQ sauce. I would use an Original flavored, or something a little more mild. I only had Hickory Bourbon flavored sauce on hand, and it was a little too much. But once again... I recommend Stubbs brand sauce. Yum!

No more waiting... here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

6oz (or 1C) Coke
1C Ketchup
1C BBQ Sauce
Country Style ribs, or 4 Chops

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to crock pot. Cook either 4-5hrs on HIGH, or 7-8hrs on LOW. Enjoy.


That simple. Now for the sides.
I have grown up on both of these sides... and they will always be a favorite of mine. My husband has come to love the Dutch Oven Potatoes. He hasn't tasted the Mac Salad, otherwise I'm sure he'd like it too. But for now, that's all mine!!

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

Elbow macaroni (cooked and drained)
cherry tomatoes (halved)
cucumber (peeled and diced)
bunch of radish (sliced thinly)
green onions (sliced)
about 1C Mayo
about 1C milk
2TBS Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Prepare all veggies into a medium to large bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Add cooked/drained macaroni.
In a small jar with a lid (or practically empty Mayo bottle), add the milk, mayo and Worcestershire sauce. Tighten lid and shake well. Pour over macaroni mixture and stir until well combined. Refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.


Dutch Oven Potatoes

Ingredients:

4-6 potatoes (washed, peeled and sliced)
1lb bacon
half an onion (diced)
season salt
pepper
garlic salt
pinch of onion salt and celery salt

Instructions:

Cook the bacon in either a large skillet or dutch oven. Do not discard oil. Once browned, add onions and cook about 2-3min. Add potatoes and all seasonings. Add a cup to two cups of water just to almost cover potatoes. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to med-low and allow to cook until potatoes are tender. Turn heat back up to barely brown potatoes and have water completely evaporated.

Sunday Pot Roast Make-over

A post?! It's amazing, right?! I finally have a desire for food again!! And you know what that means? I have some delicious recipes I'll be posting here in the near future. I'm really excited. I love food, I always have. But the past few months have been rough... but I'm finally starting to gain a little weight (1.5lbs in 21 days) and I can stand having my oven turned on again! Yay!!



This recipe comes from an old friend. A few days after my son was born, she surprised me by asking if she could bring over some food. I was so grateful, but I didn't think much about it... and then she arrived.... with an ENTIRE Pot Roast dinner. I could not believe it! She was so sweet to have done that! One bite and I thought I was in heaven. It was the most moist, full of flavor roast I've ever had. Definitely not the regular Sunday Pot Roast. Well.... I have her recipe... will I share? Of course!!! lol.
I was so excited to try this out for myself. After that meal, I had tried over and over again to recreate it... but nothing ever worked. So finally... FINALLY... I got it! And you know... left overs don't get eaten very well around here... not with this meal. It's only Wednesday and it's all gone!! I like to warm everything in a bowl covered in the lovely juice, so once the big stuff is gone the juice is like a soup in itself. YUM!!!

Here ya go...

Pot Roast

Ingredients:

Rump Roast
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Salt (I didn't have, so I used Garlic Powder)
Parsley
EVOO
Beef Broth
Water
Sliced onions
Quartered Potatoes
Baby Carrots
1-2TBS cornstarch

Instructions:

Heat a saute skillet over med-hi heat. Cover meat all over with lots of salt and pepper, garlic salt/powder and parsley. Once skillet is smokin hot, add a little EVOO. Sear meat on all sides until nice and brown.
Add meat to crock pot and fill 1/3 way with beef broth and 1/3 with water. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. After the 4 hours, add baby carrots, onions and potatoes and cook an additional 1.5-2 hours until potatoes are tender.
Pull everything out of crock pot keeping it on high (or you can transfer juice to a stock pot). Add cornstarch, whisking constantly, until desired thickness is achieved. (If using stock pot, bring juice to a boil and add cornstarch whisking constantly.)

Yum!! Pot Roast Sunday will not be boring again... I promise!

BBQ Beef

As I was planning out our Dinner Calendar for the next two weeks, I was trying to figure out quick and easy Sunday dinners that would also be delicious. I'm not a huge fan of the classic Roast with potatoes and carrots. And we had chicken last week. So then it hit me... why not cook up a roast and turn it into BBQ Beef sandwiches?
Mmmm.... I have been so excited. Plus, I already had the BBQ sauce and onion. All I needed was the meat and rolls. Piece of cake!
I also slipped in a "secret ingredient" to help boost the health factor, 1/4C Red Pepper puree (see "Veggie/Fruit Puree" tab above). When I told my husband (who has serious texture issues with veggies) that I slipped a secret ingredient into it, he made me promise not to tell him what it was until he finished eating it. Which, by the way, every bite he kept raving about how delicious it was! Once he was finished I told him what it was that was "hidden" in there. He didn't even care. YES! AND, if you skip the usual KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce and go with Stubbs Mild, you'll save yourself 30 calories and 10 grams of sugar per serving!! It's definitely worth a try... it was so good. And you don't even need rolls. I served it up on rolls and we ended up scooping it up with some chips and not even eating the bread. Yum!!

Is your mouth watering? Mine is and I've already eaten!

Ingredients:

1 Roast (try to find a lean one with not a lot of "marbling", trimmed of all visible fat
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 bottle of Stubbs Mild B-B-Q Sauce
1/4-1/2C Red Pepper Puree (could try carrots or squash too)
1tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1TBS minced garlic (2 large cloves, 4 sm cloves)
1/4C red wine vinegar, plus a little to deglaze
Water to cover

1TBS-1/4C flour, to thicken as needed

Instructions:

Heat a large skillet on med-hi heat.
Combine salt, pepper and garlic and mix well. Spread all over Roast. Add roast to hot skillet and brown all sides. Remove roast to crock pot.
Lower heat on skillet and allow to cool just a bit, about 1 minute. Carefully pour in a little red wine vinegar and using a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Add contents to the crock pot, as well as the rest of the vinegar.
Add the onions and 1/2 bottle of sauce. Add water to just cover meat. Give pot a little stir to combine all the ingredients.
Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours.
About 5 hours into cooking, add the Red Pepper puree and mix well into liquid in the pan. Continue to cook until the meat is tender and starts to shred easily. Remove the meat to a plate and using 2 forks, shred.
Add a bit of flour to the pot and whisk well. Add the rest of the BBQ sauce and replace the shredded beef. Mix well and allow to cool a bit before serving.

A Perfect Halloween Dinner

It's quick, it's easy and it's my husband's favorite. It's Tater Tot Casserole. I had never had it until I met him. I think it's safe to say his sister makes it best... but I do what I can! :)

Ingredients:

1lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 bag frozen tater tots
about 1 C shredded cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
onion powder
red chili flakes
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Heat oven to 450 (or whatever the Tater Tot bag says).
Brown meat in skillet for about 5 minutes. Add onion, onion powder, salt, pepper and chili flakes and continue to cook until beef is completely browned. Add to casserole dish and mix in soups. Spread to cover entire pan and top with cheese. Lay out the tots to completely cover. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little more cheese. Cook for about 25 minutes, until tots are golden brown (again going by package timing). Allow to cool for a few minutes. Enjoy.

For a little Halloween fun (and if your family likes it), spread a little Ketchup over the top to look like "blood" ooooh scary!

Happy Halloween!!

Iron Chef - my way

Secret Ingredient: Ground Italian Sausage - mild.
The Meals: Butternut Squash with Stove Top/Sausage and Biscuits and Gravy.


(My husband doesn't eat squash OR stove top and it's one of my favorite meals in the fall/winter so I needed a solution for last Friday's dinner. Since I knew I would only need a little bit of cooked sausage for my Squash, I searched for a good sausage meal to make for him. It was a little hectic trying to get 2 completely different meals cooked at the same time... but I did it and they were both delicious!! )

Butternut Squash with Stuffing and Sausage

Ingredients:

1 Butternut squash
1 box of Stove Top Stuffing
1/2lb. Italian Sausage
Shredded cheese
2TBS. butter/margarine
Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Cut squash in half lengthwise and spoon out seeds. Cut each half in half and place cut side down in large baking dish. Pour a little water in the bottom of your pan. Bake for 30-55min. until a fork can easily be inserted.
2. Meanwhile, brown sausage and prepare stove top. Combine and set aside.
3. Take squash out of oven and allow to cool a few minutes. Drain water from pan and turn squash quarters over so flesh side is up.
4. Sprinkle each quarter with a little salt and pepper and rub a little butter over each. Spoon stuffing mixture onto each and sprinkle cheese on top.
5. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden.
Enjoy!!


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Biscuits and Gravy

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Biscuits
3/4lbs. sausage (the fattier, the better)
4C milk
4-8 TBS flour

Instructions:

Prepare biscuits as instructed on package. Brown sausage in skillet. As soon as sausage is completely brown, turn to medium heat. Add flour by the tablespoon, stirring constantly. Let the flour BROWN before adding another tablespoon (if you don't, your gravy will taste like flour). After you have added enough flour to make the gravy as thick as you like, whisk in the milk. It will thicken as it cools.

Chicken Pockets

This meal is so simple and quick. And it really only calls for a handful of ingredients. A great meal idea on those days you're stretched for time. My first time tasting a similar recipe was from my husband's sister, Maarsi. I instantly fell in love.

Chicken Pockets

Ingredients:

1 can chicken breast
2 8oz cream cheese
2 crescent roll tubes
2C mozzarella cheese, shredded
Salt
Pepper
Celery Salt
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Italian Seasoning
1/4C Panko Bread crumbs
drizzle of olive oil
*once again, I just throw the spices in until it tastes right. Feel free to experiment.


Instructions:

1. Set oven at temp. according to roll instructions.
2. Allow cream cheese to soften, either by leaving out for a few hours, or microwaving for about a minute. In a large bowl, combine chicken, cheeses and spices. Set aside and prepare the rolls.
3. To prepare the rolls, open and unroll one tube. Separate rolls, not by the crescent shape that they're supposed to be, but in rectangles (2 rolls = 1 rectangle). Place onto a cookie sheet (each tube should yield 4 rectangle pockets.
4. Place about 2 heaping TBS in center of pocket. Enclose filling and pinch edges closed, leaving a little gap in the top. Continue until all 8 pockets are filled. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
5. Bake 25-40 minutes until outsides are golden brown.