Fondue for Date Night!

Last weekend I was in the mood to make something totally different, something beyond the norm of a workweek and something that I can really dig into. And dig I did. I had made fondue before when I had a fondue party for my old dogpark committee. That was probably about 7 years ago! Wow... what took me so long to do it again? Good question.

So off to create my surf and turf fondue night. For my meat selection, I chose sirloin steaks and medium shrimp. I cut the steak into cubes for easy dipping. I also purchased some Parmesan and herb bread from Harmon's grocery that I cubed as well (for the cheese fondue mentioned later in this post). I had the perfect serving dish for it too.

For my broth, I combined the following
2 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup dry white wine
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
salt & pepper to taste

To cook, simmer the above ingredients in a saucepan for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand for 2 hours. Yes, two hours. The time is needed to allow the flavors to blend. Then just before you are ready to serve, strain into a fondue pot and bring to a boil. A lot of meat fondues use oil instead of broth. I find it makes the meat way too heavy and using broth cuts way down on calories. 

Meanwhile, which my beef broth was blending, I made three sauces to dip my meat into. The first was a combo of 1/4 cup fat free sour cream and some adobo sauce mixed in. If you like hot spicy, use a lot of adobo. If not, just a bit will do. Chill until ready to serve. 

Another sauce I made was a horseradish sauce. All I used were 1/4 fat free sour cream, 1 Tablespoon strained prepared horseradish, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and a dash of paprika. Paprika is a strong flavor for me so I used a mini-dash. Chill until ready to serve.

The final was a Roquefort butter for the beef. It only took 1 oz Roquefort cheese, 1/8 cup butter (softened), 1 teaspoon of brown mustard, 1 small clove of garlic (crushed) and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. You can make this just before you are ready to eat. 

What's a fondue meal without a cheese fondue to dip the bread? I love cheese fondue and I can actually say that I have made cheese fondue in Switzerland! Really! What an amazing experience that was.

Here is the recipe for my cheese fondue
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
salt to taste
dash of Cholula hot sauce
1/2 cup fat free half and half
3 oz Swiss cheese, cubed
3 oz fontina cheese, cubed
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup good beer

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour and seasonings and let it bubble. It will look like paste or at least it did for me. Remove from heat and slowly add in half and half. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Add cheese and sherry and stir until cheese is melted. Blend in the beer and serve.

Since we only could find one of our fondue pots, we used the fondue pot for the broth since it needed to stay super hot for cooking the meat. We got creative for the cheese. I set the oven to 350 and basically "cooked" a baking dish until the dish was hot. I served the cheese in that and it kept it hot. Be sure to use a hot plate.

There you have it! It's a bit complicated and takes some time and planning, but worth it for a nice date night at home. I added a salad and some white wine and it was just hubby and I, having fun creating our dinner together and having some much needed one-on-one time.  When is your next date night? What do you do to spend some romantic time with your spouse or significant other? Let me know!

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Pure Fitness Nutrition Meal Replacement Bar Review

I'm on the go a LOT with a full time job, church responsibilities, blogging and other errands. I can't always get a healthy meal in and stopping at McDonald's or Wendy's gets old after awhile. When I was given the opportunity to try some meal replacement bars, I jumped at the chance. This seemed like a product made just for me!

These protein bars from Pure Fitness Nutrition are 100% natural and pack 25 grams of protein into each bar, are low calorie and gluten free which is what most of us are looking for.

The three bars I was sent were:

• Peanut Butter Jelly Crunch
• Dark Chocolate Cranberry
• Banana Chocolate Nut

The first I tried was the Peanut Butter Jelly Crunch. I'm all about anything peanut butter so this was the one I ate first. It was good, not overly sweet and quite chewy. In fact the bar is quite large for me and I only ate half of it at my first sitting. I wrapped it up and it was just as fresh the next day. This bar definitely filled me up while sitting at my desk at work. I ate the bar instead of my normal yogurt for breakfast and it did the job.

The next one, the Dark Chocolate Cranberry blended two of my favorite flavors; dark chocolate and cranberry. Hubby hates both so I knew this bar was mine..... all mine! I liked the combination of sweet cranberries and how it contrasted with the dark chocolate flavor. Again, this bar is large and a bit heavy so I only ate half at a time. Seriously, it is filling! Each bar has 3 grams if fiber so that's part of it.

The last one, Banana Chocolate Nut was probably my least favorite, but it's probably because I prefer my bananas in their natural peel and not really any other way. I'm not even a big fan of banana bread! I know, odd right? Anyone who is a fan of banana bread, banana milkshakes and the like will probably gobble this right up. It was good, but I liked the other two much better.

So my final thought is this: for $18.99 for a pack of 6 or $29.99 for 12, it's not a bad deal at all and it's better then hitting the drive thru and paying twice that for an unhealthy meal that would not leave you satisfied. If you are interested in purchasing your own, go to their website and look around. They have several other flavors aside from the three I tried and I'm sure there is something there for everyone.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

8 Great Recipes for a Memorial Day Barbecue

With the Memorial Day holiday coming up and the weather getting warmer by the day, now is a great time to gather family and friends for an outdoor party.

Not sure what to make? I'm always looking for new grill ideas and after a quick trip around the My Recipe Magic and a look back into my archives, I have some great recipes to share that are sure to please everyone.

Turkey Burgers with Cilantro Mayo by Lori's Culinary Creations 

If you're in a fishy mood, here is a recipe for Orange Grilled Salmon found over on Favorite Family Recipes

A great vegetarian option would be the Grilled Italian Polenta found on Dancing Carrots blog. 

 

A nice side dish is some Marinated and Grilled Broccoli by Lori's Culinary Creations

Or a flavorful Zucchini Pesto Pasta Salad from Little Kitchen Big Flavors. 

Who doesn't love a traditional potato salad. Here's a Fully Loaded potato salad by Good Recipes Online

And for dessert, how about some Cherry Lime Cupcakes from Home in the Finger Lakes?

Or a Fresh Cherry Tart from What's Cooking with Ruthie

WIth all these new recipes, you will be sure to have a fun Memorial Day barbecue and build some lasting memories with your friends and family.

Hamburger Pasta Casserole

Pasta, pasta, pasta!!  So easy to make, so versatile to use. The possibilities are endless especially when you have a plethora of leftovers that need to be eaten and the family is hungry. I had this challenge earlier this week. So where did that evenings culinary adventure take me? It took me to a casserole dish that combined an earlier spaghetti recipe with a pound of hamburger and some leftovers and turned it into a delicious dinner that can also be a freezer meal for a later date. But that did not happen here since hubby gobbled up the leftovers. So no freezer meal for me. 

Ingredients

8 oz Angel Hair pasta
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb lean hamburger meat 
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1/2 of a 15 oz can of tomato sauce
3/4 cup fat free sour cream 
Half of a 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup low fat cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup low fat Monterrey jack cheese, divided

For complete nutrition information, click the magic button  

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to package directions. I usually put a teaspoon of olive oil and some garlic in the boiling water. The oil keeps the pasta from sticking and the garlic adds flavor. Drain and set aside.

In a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil and add the chopped garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add the ground beef and crumble it while cooking. Drain any excess fat before going on to the next step.

Stir in the tomato sauce (you can use jarred pasta sauce too if you would like), the sour cream, thyme and salt and pepper. Stir until beef is covered with the sauce mix.

Mix 1/4 cup of each cheese with the pasta and arrange the mix in the bottom of a large baking dish. 

Next, layer the spinach on the top of the pasta then the beef mix.  Top with the remaining cheese and the panko bread crumbs. 

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. I like my panko topping golden brown, so I turned on the broiler to high and cooked it an additional 3 minutes. Perfect!!

Boy was this good! My original plan was to freeze half of this for a later date, but hubby made sure that wasn't going to happen!! With this dish, it's an all in one meal. You've got your meat, veggies and pasta. The cheese within the pasta base gave it more flavor and the chunks of spinach was delicious. This meal is sure to please the entire family, even those who are not spinach fans. 

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Banana Buckwheat Pancakes

I'm always looking for good recipes for pancakes since hubby loves pancakes and I love fruit. I've always said why not combine fruit into my pancake recipes and have the best of both worlds? Since I took a grains and flours class last summer, I've tried incorporating buckwheat flour into my regular recipes for breads, cupcakes and pancakes. Buckwheat is a wonderful substitute for all-purpose flour in my recipes and it's better for you too. For today's pancakes, I added bananas and the result was a delicious pancake that was a big hit at my house. 

Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

1 egg, beaten

1 cup 1% milk

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 banana, sliced thin, then in half to form half moon shapes

a little butter, as needed to prepare the pan

For nutrition information, click the magic button  

Directions
In a large bowl, combine buckwheat flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (if you choose to use). Whisk these dry ingredients together.

One at a time, add the egg, milk and oil to the dry mix, blending well after each addition. Add the sliced banana and stir together. 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the small amount of butter and after the butter melts, pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter for each pancake into the greased skillet. 

Cook each pancake for 1-2 minutes, or until the edges look brown and bubbles break the surface. I find buckwheat pancake batter to be thinner then regular flour batter, so don't be surprised if your pancake is thinner then what you are used to.  Flip the pancakes and cook on other side for about a minute, or until cooked through. Serve immediately.

I served mine with more sliced banana and a couple of strips of bacon. Hubby just has to have bacon with breakfast. These pancakes were very good and the chunks of banana made each bite just heavenly! You would never realize this was not made with regular flour, with the exception that they are thinner. But no worries... they are just as good and your family will absolutely love this pancake recipe!

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Garlic Shrimp over Rice

As faithful readers, you know how often I cook with shrimp. It's been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and it was part of a meal we would eat at a local fish place in Berkeley. CA when I was growing up. As I've grown into an adult, shrimp recipes have always found a way into my ever growing culinary arsenal and I cook it frequently. Coupled with one of my other favorite foods, GARLIC, this is an easy and flavorful meal.

Ingredients:

12 oz medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, sliced into rings
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

For complete nutrition information, click the magic button

Instructions:
Thoroughly rinse the shrimp and pat them dry with paper towels.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes; saute one minute. Increase heat to high. Add shrimp and paprika. Paprika has a strong flavor, so if you're not that into it, use less then 1/2 teaspoon Cook, stirring quickly, about 2 - 3 minutes.

Add lemon juice; cook 1 minute more, just until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve over instant white rice and corn for a quick weeknight meal. 

So there you have it. An easy shrimp recipe that comes together quickly on those busy weeknights. Enjoy!

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Crusted Chicken with Zesty Jalapeno Sauce

You know those days when you have just pulled chicken breasts from the fridge and now you're standing there wondering "what would go good with chicken tonight?"  or "baked chicken again? HELP!" There are so many recipes for chicken out there that it can make your head spin.

Well, help is here! I recently had this dilemma and after looking in the fridge so long that my ears started getting cold, I pulled out some leftovers and got to work. This recipe is adapted from Elly Says Opa's recipe but instead of using my popper ingredients as a stuffing, I changed it a bit and made it a sauce to put on top of my chicken. Then my husband said "Let's add bacon" and it went into the sauce as well.

5 strips of bacon
1 cup corn meal
1 egg, beaten
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise
1 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced
1 cup chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1/4 cup chive & onion flavored cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plain cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
For complete nutrition information, click the magic button

Cook the bacon until crispy. Set the bacon fat aside... You'll use it later. Chop the bacon and set it aside.

Heat another large deep skillet with olive oil. 

Put the egg and corn meal in two different coating trays. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg, then into the corn meal. Place the chicken in the skillet and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crust is crispy and chicken is no longer pink on the inside. The best way is to use a food thermometer to ensure it is cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile, in the bacon skillet, heat the bacon fat. Add the jalapenos and cook until soft. Add the chicken broth and garlic, scraping the bottom of the pan to add more bacon flavor. Add both cream cheeses and stir until smooth. Add the cheddar cheese and blend until melted. 

Finally, add the chopped bacon and serve as a sauce over the chicken. 

The chicken turned out to be so very moist and tender with a crispy crust that was very flavorful in itself. The sauce was not as spicy as I thought it would be. Cooking it in the bacon toned down the heat while keeping the jalapeno flavor intact. And using two different cream cheeses gave the sauce a hint of onion and keeping it soft and creamy. 

Now, I cheated and used canned corn as a side dish. It was a "Fiesta Blend" that we found at Big Lots and I think the black beans and peppers added some zest to an otherwise boring side dish. 

So, next time you're standing there in front of the fridge, scratching your head to find a good recipe for chicken, give this one a try. It's juicy chicken with a jalapeno punch. 

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