Simple Yet Gourmet

I am always on the hunt for good breakfast recipes I can do during the week.  I try really hard to make healthy breakfast foods to start the kids off with.  I came across this yesterday and made it for the kids this morning.  I was in love with it!

For Saint Patrick's Day this year I decided to make an Irish dinner for my family. We had Corned Beef and cabbage and Irish Soda Bread. I have always wanted to make Irish Soda Bread and this was the perfect opportunity to try it! I have to say, it turned out amazing!

A friend of mine has a husband who  is in love with Almond Poppy Seed Muffins.  She asked if I had a good recipe, but I had never made ALMOND poppy se ed muffins.  I decided I needed to add a good almond recipe to my muffin file, so a hunting I did go.

People have asked me for a good pork chop recipe. I have never been a fan of pork chops, I feel they are the "dry" white meat, so I didn't have any to give! But I did go on the hunt for some and came across this one which is a keeper, Mike and Maddie loved it!

Chocolate chips for breakfast?  Yes, please!  What better way to start the day than with melted chocolate oozing out of some scrumptious banana nut muffins? These muffins were featured on the Food Buzz, and for a good reason. The smell of them cooking in the oven is Heavenly, and the final result doesn't disappoint.  We all loved these muffins, and the chocolate chips helped entice my increasingly picky 3 year old to eat some as well!

Several years ago, I sampled a Milk Chocolate Coconut at See's Candies.  It was love at first bite.  Ever since then I have made a mandatory stop every time I went into the mall to get one of these delicious chocolates.  I love them so much !  However, there are two things I didn't like about them.  1) I had to go to the mall to get them, and 2) they are SO expensive.  I think the last time I was there I paid about 75 cents for 1 chocolate. 

For a perfect accompaniment to any type of fruit, try out this dip.  It's fluffy, sweet, and so good!

Chicken salad sandwiches seem to be the go to item for baby and bridal showers.  I wanted to make some for the baby shower, but had a dillema.   While I like the main components in the salad, I really do not like the taste of raw onions and celery.  However, I still wanted some crunch and flavor in the salad.

The kids have figured out that their mom loves holidays!  We will decorate and celebrate any holiday, from Christmas to St. Patrick's Day (we drive Mike nuts!)!  On Valentine's Day I love to leave sweet notes and a little surprise telling the kids how much I love them.  This year, I cut out paper hearts and left a trail of them from each bedroom to the kitchen, they had a blast with that one.  In the kitchen I had set the table with cute plates and cups and made them each a goodie bag.  For breakfast,  I made crepes with fresh strawberries and homemade strawberry syrup, delicious.  The syrup was easy to make and just perfect for our Valentine breakfast!  It would be great on waffles, French toast, poppyseed cake or ice cream!  Have fun this this super easy treat!

These delicious little morsels were a hit at the baby shower.  The raspberry puree added just a small amount of raspberry tanginess which nicely complimented the sweet and creamy cheesecakes and gave them a beautiful marbled look.  I loved that they came in a cupcake form, making them easy to eat!  These were not too complicated to make, but I definately suggest using a water bath while baking them.  Annie said she didn't use one on hers and didn't think it made a difference, however; I made two trial batches without the water bath and the cheesecakes fell in the middle both times.  I finally wised up and tried them with a water bath and they turned out perfectly!  It was so easy too.  All I did was put some water in a cake pan and placed the muffin tin over that.  Easy schmeezy.  So try them out.  If you like cheesecake, you'll love these!

During the warmed months I love to do a lot of grilling with salads.  We never buy French fries, but always have a bag of red and Idaho potatoes in the pantry for a night when we need a quick side dish.  This particular evening we had made our favorite flank steak recipe, which I still need to post.  I had made a big green salad and cut up a bunch of fruit but was still needing something else.  So I cubed some little red potatoes, tossed then with olive oil, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt and baked them in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  They were the perfect thing for the meal, plus they were easy and quick!

As promised in my last post , here is one of the recipes from the baby shower.  I decided not to go with the great white punch due to need for a punch bowl, which I couldn't find.  Instead I took some Country Time Lemonade and made it extra delicious by mixing in some homemade raspberry syrup.  I made the syrup a few days in advance to save time.  The morning of the shower all I had to do was pour the lemonade in a pitcher, stir in the syrup and slice few lemons to top it off.   A delicious drink with very little effort!

I love pesto in any form!  My other love is cheese.  When we had a Fondue party for a church function and this yummy dish was served, I was in heaven.  My friend Kristine was willing to share this gem with me, so I in turn will share it with you.  Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest, but the recipe is divine!  Instead of making my own pesto, I buy the fresh kind in the cheese section (right next to the Brie) at Sam's or Costco, easy, easy!  I serve it with bread, broccoli, carrots, pears and apples, but use your imagination and see what combinations you come up with!  It is a quick and easy recipe that your family and friends will love!

So making a roast is not always as easy as one makes it out to be.  Sundays have always been my favorite day to make one.  Put it in the oven as you leave for church, then when you come home dinner is ready to eat.  I like to use real lean roasts which makes for a dry piece of meat sometimes.  With luck not on my side all the time, I decided to come up with a fail proof recipe.  So here is what I came up with, which turned out fabulously!!  This has now become my "go to" recipe for Sunday Pot Roast!  Let me know what you think if you give this a try, I would love to see comments with your opinion!