Pecan Crusted Scallops

We went to Aldi today and it strikes me as odd or perhaps apropos that I spent $60 on primarily cheese. And a binge purchase-- scallops.

I have been so hungry for scallops. I got twelve jumbo scallops for $10. 

I decided to crust them in pecans. Normally one would grind the pecans and mix them with good quality breadcrumbs but I went gluten free and just used pecans.

I found some recipes online but didn't like the sound of any of them so I used them as a base. I found one that served with orange butter (1/2 cup orange juice to 2 tablespoons butter). I wanted mango butter. So I took 2/3 cup of frozen mango chunks, thawed them in the microwave with water, and puréed them in the food processor. I added three tablespoons butter and processed it with the mango.

I put this mix on the stove so the heat would melt it partially but not reduce it to liquid completely.

Next I put 1 cup pecan halves into the food processor, figuring a touch of mango and butter wouldn't hurt. Ground those as much as I could.

To flavor my scallops and make them sticky for my pecans, I whisked together:

- three tablespoons honey

- about one and a half tablespoons Briana's Blush Vinaigrette 

- about one teaspoon ground ginger

(The inside of the scallops ended up tasting like maple syrup when they were done. Not sure why.)

I rolled each scallop into this sticky mess and pressed it into the ground pecans. I arranged them in a Pyrex dish, poured the extra goop on them and baked at 425 for twelve minutes.

I served with a nice dollop of the butter, put some extra butter on the plate for the Brussel sprouts and used my mother-in-law's leftover zucchini pie as a compliment. Really good stuff. 

Chicken française pasta

My husband came up with the suggestion of "chicken française pasta" when I first got some boneless, skinless chicken on clearance at Target.

Today we pulled it out of the freezer and gave it a shot.

Ingredients:

- chicken, boneless, skinless and cut into smaller pieces

- lemon juice, about half a cup (two fresh lemons?) 

- one stick butter

- peas

- broccoli

- pasta of choice

- 1/2 cup fresh dill from the garden

- 1/2 cup fresh parsley from the garden

- about six chives fresh from the garden

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder 

- about 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper (plus another 1/2 teaspoon)

- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 

- your favorite olive oil 

Heat about one tablespoon butter over low heat in cast iron skillet. Add equal parts lemon juice. Add the garlic powder and the Italian seasoning.

Stir until nicely combined. Add chicken. Increase heat to medium. 

Cook pasta to desired doneness. Drain and set aside. 

When chicken is done, push the meat to one side of skillet. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper. Arrange skillet so empty side is over the heating element.

Add about 1/2 stick butter to empty side of skillet, add fresh herbs and cook while trying to push the sauce around the empty side of the skillet to minimize how much sauce the chicken absorbs. 

Add vegetables to empty side of skillet. Combine both sides of skillet until everything is evenly mixed and evenly heated.

Pour olive oil (cold pressed extra virgin imported from the Middle East is my fav) over the pasta and mix so they are just a tiny bit wet and kind of glistening.

Put pasta in bottom of serving bowl. Top with desired amount of chicken-vegetable mix.

This was incredible!

Alaskan Sockeye Salmon with herbed butter

Last night after work I spent $19 at Target. Some discounted stirfry beef, a quart of half and half, a bag of very veggie salad, blueberry breakfast bread and three Alaskan wild caught sockeye salmon fillets.

Daughter is making salmon with herbed butter (recipe on the back of the Archer Farms salmon package), red potatoes and brussel sprouts (both will probably be sautéed in the skillet with the same herbed butter).

The salmon, according to the package, should be broiled 12 to 16 minutes.

The herbed butter (enough to serve on three filets) is:
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon herbs (basil, chives, and/or parsley)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- dash pepper

OMG Roasted Asparagus

I have mixed feelings about asparagus. I love good asparagus. But poor asparagus is stringy, bitter and can trigger my gag reflex.

I didn't have the highest expectations of this fresh asparagus, it came from Target after all. On sale $1.59 for 12 ounces. Grown in Mexico.

I sliced the asparagus down the middle, not straight through, just enough to let the butter in. A small cut. I used my pastry brush to coat the asparagus with the scallion butter I made earlier. (See previous post)

I roasted for ten minutes at 450, sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper and some fresh ground sea salt.

Return to the oven five more minutes and voilà! Best. Asparagus. Ever.

Hurricane Chicken (in lemon butter sauce)

To get ready for the storm, we put the following in the crock pot:
- 3 pounds chicken thighs
- 2 pounds drumsticks
- juice of 2.5 large lemons
- drizzle of olive oil
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 bag snow peas
- fresh ground pepper
- water to fill crockpot

My husband liked it as is, but I would have preferred the water greatly reduced for better butter flavor.

Pesto ravioli primavera

I started a cream sauce while browning beef kielbasa (which I divided into four segments and froze three of them) but I never got the cream sauce done... So, I made this:

- about 1.5 cups diced beef kielbasa
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons flour
- about 2 tablespoons garden fresh dill
- 1 large leave sorrel
- about 7 basil leaves
- 2 cups peas
- 2 cups cauliflower, carrots and broccoli
- 2 packages trader Joe's ravioli

I put the butter in my Le Creuset skillet and browned the meat. I carefully pushed the meat to the side, added the oil, and incorporated the flour as if I were going to start a cream sauce. I added all the herbs.

Meanwhile, I cooked the ravioli and added the vegetables so it could all cook at the same
time.

The sauce smelled so fragrant I opted not to make the cream sauce after all. The family ate it all.

Ravioli in Leftovers

On Wednesday, while my daughter was in dance class, I recycled the leftover chicken stuffed with broccoli from Williams' on Monday night into a fabulous ravioli with cream sauce dish.

I started by heating two tablespoons butter over low in my Le Creuset skillet. When it melted, I whipped in two tablespoons of flour my stirring it around with the bottom of a plastic measuring spoon. Then I added one cup half and half and one cup 2% milk, a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of four color peppercorn. I used a wooden spatula to stir until it boiled.

Separately, I prepared one bag of Wegmans Ravioli Florentine. I always get raviolis with green vegetable matter inside. It's an easy way to increase our vegetable content.

I chopped the remaining chicken breast until the chicken, broccoli and ham were all diced into small pieces. Then, I added this to the cream sauce and let it simmer. I added the cooked ravioli and let it soak over very low heat, stirring frequently, until everyone came home from dance class.

Biscuits and corn

Made skillet biscuits and vegetarian sausage sandwiches for dinner, a request from the family.  I haven't made biscuits in a while... and the child especially asked for them. I like them made in the Le Creuset skillet.

For a side, I made a mix of white and yellow corn. Then, I sliced some green pepper from the garden very tiny. I melted in a small skillet two tablespoons of butter, added a pinch of four color peppercorn and a pinch of garlic salt. Heated that on low and added the pepper. Used that as sauce for the corn.

Gravy

From all recipes.com:

BEEF GRAVY
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups water
* 3 teaspoons beef bouillon
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. Combine water, bouillon, flour, onion and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until thickened.

I used chives instead of onion and instead of beef bouillon/water I used a can of beef broth.

This was my first gravy and it had no lumps and wash a great consistency.

Farm Fresh Cream Sauce

I didn't go to the grocery store yet, in part because the tire on the car exploded and in other part because we have so many random items in this house that I like the challenge of using what we've got.

This morning I was thinking vegetables rolled in cold cuts. But then I decided on pasta for dinner. We have some tri-color rotini, and some lunchmeat ham my mother-in-law brought last week. I thought I could combine those. We also have some raw milk that's a week old and we always have plenty of butter.

Ingredients:
- Tri-color rotini
- Leftover cold cut ham
- About 4 tablespoons butter
- About 1 teaspoon organic four color pepper
- 1 cup raw milk
- 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
- dash nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 cups peas

So I made the rotini.

In my Le Creuset skillet, I started with with a pat of butter and some four color peppercorn. I tossed all the ham into the skillet, heated over medium and fried both sides. I removed the ham from the skillet and put it on a cutting board. I added two tablespoons of butter to the skillet, reducing heat to low. Stirring constantly, I added the butter.

The base of this recipe came from the Betty Crocker 25th Anniversary Cookbook.

This is probably the first time my flour-butter base for the cream sauce actually came out as liquid and not as a lump. I think it's because of the even heating in the cast iron skillet. After stirring it until bubbly, I removed the skillet from the heat and added the milk. Stirred until everything melted and mixed together.

I returned the skillet to the heat, added the rest of the herbs (dill, garlic salt, remaining pepper, nutmeg) and stirred constantly as it thickened. When it got almost bubbly and a nice consistency, I added the peas and the ham and stirred until everything was warm.

Then I added the rotini, and stirred together.

My stirring technique for this involved a wide plastic turner where I scraped back and forth across the skillet.

It was my best cream sauce ever.

Sweet Potato Crunch/Casserole hybrid

So, yesterday I thought I would serve some sort of sweet potato with the chicken. The cordless can opener battery died a few turns into the can and the manual can opener just would not latch. (Husband even tried.)

Now that the Gizmo is recharged I got the can open. And I made a use-up-leftovers kind of baked sweet potato dish.

For the potato base:
- 1 can sweet potatoes, drained
- 2 handfuls brown sugar
- About one-half cup farm fresh milk
- 1 egg
- 1 handful raisins

Over top, mix and spread:
- 1/4 cup walnuts (all I had)
- about 1/4 cup leftover pie crumbs
- about 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

Coat with three tablespoons melted butter.

Arrange in Pyrex bread loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes

Garlic Multigrain Biscuits

This afternoon I made my multigrain yeast biscuits that I invented a couple weeks ago. They are in the oven now. I changed the liquid from 1.5 cups warm milk to 1+ cup warm soy milk, one container papa john's garlic sauce and 1/2 cup warm water.

I hope to serve them tonight with a meat and cheese platter, dates, and organic spring mix with bacon dressing (I got out of the freezer).

A friend stopped by today with various meats, some cheese and some vegetables so any shopping I do in July will be skewed if you're tracking how much I spend.

Salad with chicken strips

I intentionally flipped meals today-- I knew it was going to get hot and that I was probably going to burn out before the end of the day.

So I made the mac and cheese for lunch, before the house got hot, and planned salad with chicken for dinner.

Iceberg lettuce and romaine mix with cabbage and shredded carrots from the warehouse club, mixed with spring mix from Aldi. Used organic ranch dressing, the Nature's Promise Giant brand.

And I poured Frank's red hot buffalo sauce in with my ranch dressing to give it a kick.

Now the chicken. Boneless, skinless tenders from the freezer. Cooked slowly in butter with a pinch of four color organic pepper and fresh ground garlic salt.

Shrimp Scampi?

So we stopped at the Purple Cow Creamery since Little Miss got money from her grandparents for her kindergarten celebration.

We were on the way home and talking about the possibilities for dinner when my husband and daughter selected pasta. Now, I'm a once-a-week kind of pasta gal so I didn't really have interest in pasta. But I didn't have any better ideas so I asked the fateful question, "Pasta and red sauce pasta or pasta with butter/olive oil pasta?" To which my husband replied, "Oooooh. That would be good with shrimp."

Now, my anemia is proving a problem but I decided to be a good mom and said, "Tell ya what. If you don't mind waiting as long as it takes for me to make it, I'll make pasta with shrimp. But it might be 7 o'clock by the time I get it on the table."

"I'll help," he replied.

"I know," I said. "That's with your help. Otherwise it'd be breakfast."

Since I don't like shrimp, I got two small pieces of chicken out of the freezer for me and about 15-20 shrimp for them.

I sent hubby to the garden where he collected:
- chives
- spinach
- oregano
- parsley
- basil

I prepared the Le Creuset skillet with about:
- one tablespoon butter
- one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- one clove sliced garlic

Simmered on low and added the herbs (and spinach) in ripped pieces. Once they got nicely cooked and aromatic, I added:
- the shrimp
- chicken
- the juice of about 1/3 a lemon (from my freezer and thawed in the microwave)
- another tablespoon butter

When I flipped the chicken I added to the "meats" in the skillet:
- about 1/2 teaspoon four color organic peppercorn
- about 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground garlic sea salt

Started a pot of spaghetti: half regular, half whole wheat

Once the chicken cooked, I added a can of peas to the skillet (ran out of frozen)

When the spaghetti finished, I drained it and returned it to the pot with the contents of the skillet and another teaspoon butter plus 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Then I mixed the juice from the remaining 2/3 of a lemon with a tablespoon butter (All in all the whole recipe was about 1/2 a stick of butter for 3 large servings and 3 small servings) over medium low in the skillet, stirring constantly until the color starts to change. Poured that over the pasta.

Dished onto plates, sprinkled asiago on top.

Trail Matzo

Gayle suggested slathering my leftover matzo with butter, adding chocolate and walnuts and baking it in the oven for a Girl Scout style trail snack.

I made a sauce of 3.5 ounces intense dark chocolate, 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, one stick butter, and one cup peanut butter. I added about 3 tablespoons dried strawberries and about half a cup candied ginger, torn into chunks.

I put the matzo on cookie sheets and added the chocolate, then I added walnuts and baked at 350 for five minutes.

I should have sprinkled the strawberries and ginger on top with the walnuts instead of in the sauce. I didn't use enough. If I did it in the sauce thinking it would allow the ginger to blend into the chocolate. We'll see.

It worked well, but next time, I'm going to spread the chocolate and the goodies more evenly.

Shrimp with broccoli

A friend bought a bag of shrimp for us to help celebrate my birthday. Tonight I made a shrimp, broccoli and egg noodle dish.

I sauteed the shrimp in butter, 3/4 clove garlic, and lemon juice. Sprinkled with it's a dilly.

Sauteed broccoli in olive oil and a touch of butter. Added that to the cooked pasta, added some extra virgin olive oil and a tad more butter. Mixed.

Added the shrimp. Mixed.

Added shredded asiago.

served.

Chicken with cornflake sludge

This is one of those meals that did not do what I intended.

Ah, well. Win some, lose some.

I started with a hint of butter and an equal amount of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and a teaspoon of fresh rosemary snipped into tiny pieces.

I took some chicken, sliced into tenders, and had my daughter grind some four-color peppercorns and some McCormick garlic salt (packed in France, go figure). Added the chicken and some chicken broth. I cooked the chicken about four minutes on each side, then I coated with eggs, and "breaded" with crushed cornflakes, made more 50/50 lemon butter sauce and added some olive oil for a "frying" effect and returned everything to the Le Creuset skillet.

The cornflakes fell off.

I added a whole bunch of steamed baby carrots from the freezer, thawed in the microwave, added a few dollops of butter and some more chicken broth and placed the entire skillet in the oven.

Meanwhile, my husband is making cheapo mac and cheese from a box for a second side.

keep your fingers crossed. I'm going to need it.

The result: FABULOUS!!!

Leftovers in lemon-butter sauce

Today for breakfast we had raisin bran and I forgot to have my second breakfast. That made the morning challenging.

It's cold and rainy so my multigrain pizza crust didn't rise properly (still tasted fairly good and kind of like a soft pretzel). But the pan pizza came out nicely.

The perfumed pineapple, well, my daughter over perfumed it and I over-buttered the crumbs again so it was far from perfect but edible.

But I made up for all of this with dinner.

I started with some white rice in the steamer.
Assembled the following:

• Le Creuset skillet
• 1 clove garlic sliced
• extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed)
• butter
• lemon juice
• 1 crown broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces (2-3 cups?)
• 2 chicken sausages with apple (from Trader Joe's), sliced
• 1 chicken breast prepared "chicken frances" leftover from the diner last night, chopped
  
• leftover rice from the diner

• 1 slice garlic bread from the diner

Okay, so I started with two tablespoons of olive oil and a slice of butter in the skillet as I dropped the garlic in on low. I added the chicken, because it came out of the fridge and was cold. Then the sausage. Then the broccoli. Every time the liquid got absorbed, I pushed everything to one side of the skillet (now at medium heat) and added a couple tablespoons of butter and equal amounts of lemon juice and blended them vigorously. Then I let the sauce seep to the other side of the pan and mixed everything up again.

I probably made this little batch of sauce three times and then I added the leftover rice from the diner and two heaping serving spoons of white rice from my steamer. More vigorous stirring.

Then, when the liquid disappeared and the rice started to stick, I moved everything to the coolest side of the skillet, reduced the heat to low, and added another couple tablespoons olive oil and mixed it up one last time.

And served.

I put the garlic bread in the skillet (once I pushed everything to the side, again) and fried each side a minute to get it warm without getting it soggy. Who says you can't reheat garlic bread?

All in all, I used 3/4 stick of butter and equal amounts lemon juice for the sauce. I love lemon-butter sauce.

Sausage and rice with veggies

Tonight I prepared Trader Joe's chicken sausage with apples (3 sausages) in my Le Creuset skillet with about 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 2 cloves fresh garlic. When the sausage finished cooking, I sliced it and added the broccoli from one broccoli crown and a couple cups of fresh chopped cauliflower. I let that sizzle for a while until the vegetable soaked up all the "juice" and then I added another tablespoon olive oil, the last of my French butter (probably three tablespoons) and about three tablespoons champagne vinegar.

And then I added the long grain white rice I had cooked in the steamer with garlic powder and four color black peppercorn. (It was 1.5 cups unprepared rice) And stirred it all up and let it cook until the rice turned a soft yellow (and wanted to stick to the bottom as I stirred. I stirred constantly.)

I was nervous about it because of the champagne vinegar, but it was good. Really good. I had two plates and I'd really like another...

Asparagus

I steamed a pound of asparagus tonight. I forgot to store it in a small glass with an inch of water like they always recommend, but it was prime asparagus so it was salvageable. Heloise-- the syndicated columnist with the helpful household tips-- recommends rinsing the asparagus in cold water, then snapping the wooden ends off, by bending and letting the stalks naturally break wherever they break.

My husband will eat the woody pieces, so it's a waste for me.

I placed the pound of asparagus in the steamer for 15 minutes. Then, I heated a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in my Le Creuset skillet.

Then I placed the steamed asparagus in the skillet, sprinkled liberally with garlic powder, ground about 3/4 teaspoon four-color pepper and added less than 2 teaspoons butter. And sauteed for five minutes.

Great stuff! (Even the little one loved it!)