Pineapple Ham Salad

I told you I would give you a recipe for the rest of that ham steak and here it is. This is so delicious and colorful, it is perfect for Summer.




The recipe. I got this from an old Taste of Home magazine.




You will need a tortilla or a pita, whichever you prefer. I would have preferred pita bread, but I didn't have any.




You need some pineapple, the leftover ham, lettuce and mayo.




You also need some carrots and some honey mustard.




Chop up your ham.




Chop up your carrot.




Measure out some pineapple.




Get all the pretty colors together in a bowl.




Add in the mayo and the honey mustard.




Give it a stir!!




Grab a tortilla or a pita and line it with some lettuce.




Then add some of the salad.




Roll it up, and serve. The tortilla didn't keep the dressing in so well, so I think a pita pocket would have worked out better. It was still fabulous. The crunch of the carrots with the tenderness of the ham went really well together.

I'd like to thank everyone who is giving me a Thumbs Up on Stumble Upon. I have noticed more traffic coming from that site and I really appreciate the encouragement and I am so glad people enjoy this blog!

Steamed Smoked Ham and Egg

This is the last of the steamer recipes for a while. I really love my steamer so I will be breaking out again soon I am sure. It is just such an easy way to cook!








I broke this recipe into a single serving.




Here are your ingredients, this is so easy and so tasty.




For this recipe I get to make toast and I get to butter it using the butter I keep in my new favorite thing, my butter crock. This thing is awesome. You load it up with one stick of butter and then fill the crock with 1/3 cup of cold water. You turn the butter holding side upside down and set it inside the crock of water. The water creates an air tight seal and you can leave your butter out on the counter. Granted, you can leave your butter out on the counter ANYWAY but I will be darned if this thing isn't the cutest idea. Ok back to the recipe.




I did not use fresh spinach so I got to skip the blanching process.




I used my cute little pyrex container which I first sprayed with a little PAM. I added a little salt to the spinach also.




I admit that I have never bought ham before, I just never even thought to. I am strange like that about my shopping for meat, I stick with what I know, I need to get better about that. I will have a recipe to use the leftovers of the ham steak in my next post!




Cube it up.




The recipe calls for Cayenne, but I wanted to use this chili pepper instead because I love it.




Of course you need your egg too.




drop in the ham and break the egg over it.




sprinkle with your desired chili powder and drizzle some cream over it. I also hit it with a little bit of salt.




Pop it in the steamer for 6-8 minutes and toast up some bread.




This was DELICIOUS and so satisfying. I love eggs, I love dippy drippy egg yolk. I should have got a picture of when I pierced the yolk with my fork because the golden yellow goodness spreading over the other ingredients just made me smile.




I will definitely be making this again!

Steamed Garlic Chicken with Cucumber and Grapes

I am back with some more STEAM heat! Several folks commented that the chicken looked raw in the last post. You can always brown it up before steaming if you think that is more aesthetically pleasing. I am doing some more steamed chicken today.




The recipe came from the Steam Cuisine cookbook.




I made the full sauce recipe but only one chicken breast. I will tell you what I did with the leftover sauce later. For now, lets grab some ingredients.




Delicious garlic. Get it minced up with a knife or in your garlic press.




Season a chicken breast with some salt and pepper.




Add the garlic and put it in the bottom level of your steamer. It is important that if you are cooking with a multi-tiered steamer that you put the meat on the bottom so it doesn't drip down over your other food. Get this guy steaming!




While it steams, we need to chop up a cucumber.




The smaller you chop the faster it cooks.




Grab some grapes. Tell the dogs you are so sorry but grapes are bad for them and then make a mad dash when one goes squirting off the counter. It is inevitable!




Cut them in half.




Add them to an additional tier of your steamer and set aside.




Now we need to make our sauce. I am not promoting Ms. Ray here at all, it just happened to be on sale and I wanted to give it a try.




Get some chicken broth and cream in a sauce pan and get it cooking over a low heat, you don't want it to boil.




Grab some delicious tarragon and add that to the sauce also.




In the last couple of minutes of cooking, add the cucumber and grapes to the steamer.




Separate an egg as we want just the yolk.




Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the egg.









Grab your veggies off of the steamer and stir those into the sauce. I made the full batch of sauce and then the next day I pureed the leftovers and it made a delicious creamy soup!




I had some leftover carrots in the fridge so I just threw those in the microwave with a little pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.




The meal was tasty, healthy and so easy. I have one other steamer recipe coming up for you this week. I hope you are enjoying these!

Steamed Chicken with Spicy Raisin Sauce

I bought an electric steamer a couple of years ago but did not use it much. I found a cookbook called "Steam Cuisine" recently and there were several good recipes in it that I want to share. Steaming is a very healthy way to prepare food and it is so simple. You don't have to buy an electric steamer, you can use bamboo steamers or a simple steaming basket that can be picked up for very little money. Lets let off some steam!












This is my steamer, I love it. It has other tiers that can be added on top of the first for steaming veggies and meats for different lengths of time.




Here are the ingredients for your sauce. yep, that is Rachael Ray on my chicken stock. The rest is butter, raisins, cinnamon and red wine.




To season the hen you need, cinnamon, lime and paprika.




Put those three things together in a bowl and mix them up.




Your hen should not have giblets inside so just give it a rinse and pat it dry.




Cut it in half down the middle.




Season it with the spice mix.




get it in the steamer and then we start working on our sauce.




Get all of the sauce ingredients in a pan but leave out the butter.




This probably wouldn't have looked so odd if I had used red grapes, but I just didn't have any!




when the sauce has reduced stir in the butter. Grab your chicken from the steamer and you are ready to plate.








This was REALLY good. I had never steamed chicken before and it turned out so juicy and delicious. I served it with more cole slaw, but it would have been great with rice or mashed potatoes.





I have more steamer recipes coming up this week!

Roasted Lemon and Bay Leaf White Fish from Ainsley Harriot

Once again I bring you a toaster oven recipe. My brother got me a shiny new toaster oven for my birthday and I love it. It is larger than my old one and it is shiny and clean. Toaster ovens are a pain in the butt to keep clean, in my experience. My old one started to get too horrifying to cook in and food started to taste off, so it was time for a new one.




Shiny and beautiful, thanks to my brother!




This recipe comes for an Ainsley Harriot cookbook I recently picked up used. It is called Gourmet Express. It has a lot of single and 2 serving recipes. Preheat your oven or toaster oven and lets get cooking!




You need a nice plump clove of garlic. Sure the one clove was for four servings, but that doesn't matter to me, I love garlic. The more the merrier!




I ran it through the garlic press.




And ended up with glorious minced garlic.




You need some pepper, I used white pepper because it looks nicer than black pepper and that is the only reason.




Add the pepper, parsley and salt to your garlic.




drop in a teaspoon or so of olive oil and give it a stir.




Grab some white fish. I used Pangasius because that is what I had on hand. I really like the flavor of this fish. You could also use tilapia or halibut.




pat it dry if its a little wet and get it rubbed up with the spice and oil mixture.




It is ready to go, but now it needs its bed of lemons and bay leaf.




One lovely lemon.




Slice it up thin and lay it out on some foil.




I didn't have whole bay leaf, but this worked just as well.




Sprinkle it over the lemons.




Lay your fish over the lemons and bay leaf and pop it in the oven.




Serve it with a salad or as I did with leftover cole slaw.




This is a wonderful summer dish. You could also do this in a steamer and it would be fabulous. I have some steamed recipes coming up next week, so stay tuned!

Also, if you look to the right you will see I have some links. I don't get money from these sites and this is not a commercial but I truly enjoy each and every one of them. If you have a little extra time check them out I think you will find you like them just as much as I do!

Thank you again for taking the time to visit my blog and have a fabulous weekend!

Shrimp in Coconut Broth from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Hello from sunny and HOT Arizona. I hope all the weather drama has managed to miss all of you guys out there. Today I am sharing a shrimp recipe, which I haven't done yet.








This recipe can be used to make two meals, one for now and one for later. I just did the one for now part because I have learned that freezing meals simply means they go in the freezer then 6 months later go in the trash. Lets go grab some ingredients and get a pot of water boiling!




I bought cooked shrimp instead of raw, which means I over cooked them a bit, but I have learned my lesson and will not be doing that next time.



Next time I will just let them thaw and throw them in at the last minute to heat through.



Some chicken broth. I discovered that press and seal wrap stuff works great to store cans for a day or so in the fridge. I don't know how safe this is so if you end up with botulism please don't sue me :)



coconut milk



lime, ginger and garlic



delicious and amazing sriracha sauce. I adore this stuff.



stinky but always delicious fish sauce



and yes, I am sorry pasta purists named Patience, I am using whole wheat pasta.



so your water is on and getting hot



meanwhile get your coconut milk and chicken broth heating through and barely bubbling



add in the fish sauce, garlic, ginger, chili sauce and lime juice and cook that for a couple of minutes.



get your pasta cooking



drop in the shrimp, OR wait if they are cooked already....



drain the pasta



dump it in with broth, (if you are using pre-cooked shrimp, here is where they join the party)



ganish with some parsley and enjoy!



I really liked this but it was sort of challenging to eat for me, because of the long noodles and the broth it was hard to get everything on a spoon. BUT the broth itself was heavenly and I could drink it daily. Next time I might try making it with Orzo or Elbow noodles, something that stays on the spoon a little easier!

Taco Pork Chop

I hope you guys are having a great Father's Day. I'd like to take a second to thank some readers of this blog and of my dog blog who sent me the most wonderful wedding gift, a gift card to Penzeys Spices. On this Father's Day their Father is in Iraq serving our country, so this thank you is truly from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for the gift card, and thanks to him for your brave service.

So what did I get with my spice money? Take a look....




It was so much fun shopping with my sister at the store and getting a bunch of things I have always wanted. I even picked up the Penzeys' magazine and it is wonderful. I even had some money left over at the end!

So thank you again to Moco, Foley, Dawson, Edgar, Clara, Grammie, Pappy, Peanut, Flash and your Mom, Dad and brother and sister.

Now lets get cooking!




This is a toaster oven recipe from an old toaster oven cookbook I found used. First thing, get your toaster oven preheating to 350 degrees.

It says to use cheese flavored tortilla chips, but I didn't have any of those.




I used plain




But spiced them up with a little Ancho Chili Pepper.








Grab your pork chop and send it for a roll through the chips.

Get a foil lined baking pan ready and spray it with a little of this junk or some oil or butter.







Drop your chop on there and get it in the toaster oven.

Now lets make our sauce.




Garlic powder, ketchup, butter, chili powder and some hot sauce. I forgot to grab the cumin before I took this picture, but some of that will go in also. Grab a small sauce pan and get it over medium/low heat and start adding your ingredients.




Ketchup




Cholula




Butter and spices




Give it a stir and keep stirring until your butter melts and its combined nicely.




Pull your chop out and get ready to plate.




When my sister was here I got this thing of cole slaw for lunches so I had to finish that after she left. I got sick of cole slaw for sure.








This turned out really great. If I made the sauce again I would do a little less ketchup and a little more hot sauce, but it was pretty darn good and very easy. The chips on the pork really made it taste great.

Spicy Chicken Pasta

I want to say thanks for all the great feedback on the pizza. A couple of you have even made it already so that makes me so happy and is really humbling! I do hope you all love it as much as I did.

I am such a sucker for pasta. It is so easy to make in a single serving size and it is just delicious. This recipe is not too spicy but has a really great flavor to it. It does include tomatoes, which are causing people to hit the panic button these days, but they are cooked and there are lots and lots of tomatoes out there that are perfectly safe to eat. If you are still uncomfortable grab a can of diced tomatoes, drain them and you are ready to rock!




Your recipe comes from Everyday Food. It calls for Penne, but I didn't have any so I substituted. First thing to do is get some water boiling for the pasta!




This doesn't have many ingredients so go gather them all up. You need some chicken, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, a tomato, a lemon and some pasta. (the hubby's BLT is in the making behind the red pepper) Spinach didn't manage to make it in the photo because I simply forgot about it until I needed to add it!




Cut the chicken into small cubes so that they cook up nice and fast.




Dice your tomato, or grab your can and drain it off.




Juice your lemon into something and fish out the seeds, or use a strainer to catch them. Set this aside for now.




I used Gemelli pasta because it is cute and it was on sale. Get it in the pan and get it boiling.




Reserve some pasta water to help make the sauce. I always do this toward the end of the cooking because I usually forget and pour all the water down the drain. In the last few minutes of cooking, drop in the chicken.




While that cooks get out some spinach. This looks like a lot but it will cook down a LOT. Drain the pasta and chicken and return to the pot.




So get your tomatoes, tomato paste and red pepper flakes in with the pasta.




Give it a good stir.




Drop in the spinach and just continue to stir until it wilts down as much as you would like. When its all combined add in the lemon juice.




Plate it up and enjoy!




I promise this tastes as good as it looks.

I hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!

Caramelized Shallot and Blue Cheese Pizza

I found this recipe on the 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook. This was so good I can't even tell you how much I loved it.

Ingredients
2 medium onions
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 pizza thin crust
1/4 cup roasted garlic puree
4 ounces of blue cheese
2 Tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (drained if packed in oil)

Thinly slice onions and place in a heatproof dish. Dot with butter; add vinegar and brown sugar. Bake onions, covered with foil, for approximately 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir and continue cooking until brown and caramelized. Can be made 2 days ahead -- just cover and chill. When ready to use, bring to room temperature.

Spread garlic puree over unbaked crust. Cover with caramelized onions and bake at 450 degrees for about 13 minutes. Add crumbled blue cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and cook until cheese has melted, about 3 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.




First thing to do is get your oven going at 350 degrees. Thinly slice up some shallots or onion.




Grab some real butter.




put some small cubes of butter on top of the onion in an oven proof dish.




you will want to add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a little bit of brown sugar.




It is ready to go into the oven, but wait, someone else is going in with it!




We are going to roast some garlic also. Roasted garlic is one of my most favorite things in the world. I can eat it like candy.




To make it, just cut off the top of the head.




grab a piece of aluminum foil and put the head in it and make a bowl out of the foil. pour some olive oil over the top of the head and then seal it up!




You will end up with a lovely little garlic tent. Put the onions and the garlic in the oven for about 45 minutes.




Your house is going to be smelling FABULOUS so its going to be a great test of will power as you wait to make your pizza. Finally when you get close roll out your dough, or grab one of these premade pizza crusts.




Pull your garlic out of the oven and admire the fragrance and remember you cannot actually marry it.




The onions looked pretty darn tasty as well. Once those are out, get the oven cranking up to 425 degrees.




Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, (I was so impatient I popped mine in the freezer to get this process moving) just squeeze all the cloves out of the head into a bowl.




You will want to puree the garlic using a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon because licking the blade of your food processor is dangerous. Don't think I am kidding, I ate every last remaining drop of that roasted garlic.




Once you have it all smashed you can spread it on the pizza dough.




Layer on the onions and pop it in the oven for about 10 minutes.




Spread on the delicious blue cheese.




Get it back in the oven for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. You do not need much at all, there is already so much flavor on this pizza!




I cannot tell you how amazing this turned out. I wish you could even just smell it through the computer.




I hope you give this one a try and love it as much as I did.

Pan Fried Pork with Blueberries from Everyday with Rachael Ray

First, I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes on my wedding and my birthday. Both were fantastic and perfect. Some folks asked if the SO will stay the SO or will now be the hubby. Hubby sure has a lot more letters to type than SO but I think I like it ;) We have been together for nearly 8 years so its pretty exciting to now call him my husband.

I have mentioned before that I am a huge fan of sweet and savory foods together, I am also a huge fan of pork. This recipe turned out great and blueberries are in season right now so you can grab some fresh even though I used frozen.




The recipe comes for the Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine. Lets grab our ingredients.




Grab some shallot or onion




I had to use frozen blueberries because the store I visited had fresh on sale and they were sold out!




Some real butter.




some flour. Since this photo was taken I gave up on my gallon size bag and actually bought a plastic container to store my flour. Pour some of this out on a plate and set it aside.




Chicken broth.




Get the blueberries out to thaw if you are using frozen.




Dice up the shallot or onion pretty finely.




Now the fun part. Get a boneless pork chop and stick it between some plastic wrap.




Grab something to smack the crap out of your pork. I use this rubber mallet I got for a few bucks. I stick a plastic bag over it for easy clean up. You can use a heavy pan or a rolling pin if you don't have a mallet around.




Once you have it pounded out cut it in half.




Then just roll it around in the flour to coat it.




Drop it in the pan with a little olive oil and get it cooking. Because you have pounded the meat pretty flat you don't have to cook it too long. Once its cooked remove it from the pan and cover it up to keep it warm.




Add the shallot and cook for about a minute.




Add the blueberries and the chicken broth and let it bubble for a few minutes to reduce and condense the flavors. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the yummy pork bits that stick in the sauce.




Toss in the butter and give it a stir to create your sauce. Put the pork back in and turn off the heat. Give it a good stir and then plate it up. Spoon the sauce over the pork.




I served it with a side of my cheating instant mashed potatoes. I really need to do better with my side dishes.




YUM.

Thanks again for visiting and spending some time reading my blog!

Lemon Parmesan Pasta

I am back from the wedding and birthday vacation extravaganza so regularly scheduled posts will now resume. Someone asked about the cupcakes from the wedding and whether or not I made them, no I did not. They come from a fancy cupcake place called Sprinkles. They are based out of Beverly Hills but we got a store here in Arizona. Cupcakes are all the rage these days apparently!

I love pasta as you may have figured out. I also love meals I can make quickly after work. This is a perfect pasta dish for a busy night.




The sauce requires no cooking, just toss it with the cooked pasta.




First thing, get your water boiling.




Grab some pasta, I prefer angel hair.




Get your lemon and a zester or grater.




You want to be sure to just get the yellow part of the lemon, not the white part, it is bitter.




grab some capers, I am really beginning to love these little guys. they pack quite a bit of flavor into those tiny flower buds. (you can see the SO preparing his boca burger behind the capers)




anything tastes better with cheese.




I used my lime squeezer to rinse the capers.




you will also need some tasty olive oil. please note the SO behind eating his own dinner while watching some baseball.




Cook the pasta and then add the capers, cheese and olive oil. I also added dried parsley. Give it a toss. be careful about adding any salt to the pasta because the capers are already salty and you don't want to over season.




I hope this helps get dinner on the table on a busy weeknight for you!

Wedding Week

I got married this week so forgive the lack of posts. I will show you the delicious cupcakes we got from Sprinkles Cupcakes.




YUM