Lemon Lenguini w/ Squash and Onion Sautee

A big misconception about great food is that it's complicated to make; there are lots of hard to find, expensive ingredients and they take hours to prepare. Sooo not true! Some of the best meals I've ever had take minutes to prepare and have around 5-7 ingredients. I don't want to slave over dinner. I don't have time to slave over dinner. I'm sure you don't either. So our motto for this menu is:  Keep it simple, keep it clean! This dinner is light, heathly, and budget friendly. What's not to love about that?

Here is what you'll need:
1 pound dry lenguini pasta
3 lemons
1 large yellow squash
1 large zucchini squash
1 red onion
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium, medium-high heat. Fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Slice the squash and the onion into about 1/4 inch slices. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and add the veggies. Salt and pepper to taste. Let cook uncovered until the veggies are tender and wilted down a bit, stirring occasionally. If you like them more firm don't cook them as long.

Salt the pasta water liberally and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente. In a large mixing bowl add the zest of two lemons and the juice of all three. Wisk in about 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil. Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese and a pinch of pepper, no salt. When the pasta is done take it straight out of the pot and add it to the mixing bowl. You will need the starchy water to help the sauce stick to the pasta and it adds salt. Toss it to coat the pasta then add the rest of the parmesan cheese and the parsley. Toss it again!

Put a big pile o' pasta on your plate and a side of veggies and dig in! It is soo good.
Clean, bright flavors, simple ingredients and delicious results. Enjoy!

Parmesan Orzo w/ Peppercorn Crusted Steak

This was a, "What do I have in the kitchen to make for dinner tonight?" kinda night. I was thinkin chicken but never got it out of the freezer. So in a fit of panic I went for steak. I didn't know what to do with it though. So I rounded up some of my trusty ingredients that I always have on hand: peppercorn rub, parmesan cheese, and extra virgin olive oil. Of course I had some sort of pasta as well. Dinner isn't compete with starch. So I went with it, and my oh my! Just make it, you'll understand.

This is what you'll need:
3 6oz. New York strip steaks
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)
4 tablespoons peppercorn rub (your fave will do)
1 tablesoon butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
3 cups beef broth (get the sodium free/no msg broth)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (divided)
1/2 cup freshly grated romano cheese (divided)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preheat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat and the oven to a low broil. In a casserole dish, coat the steaks with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and the rub. Drizzle a little extra oil in the skillet and add the steaks. Sear 2-3 minutes on each side or until a nice crust forms. Transfer the steaks to a baking sheet and move to the oven to finish. Add the broth to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
Remove any left over peppercorns from the skillet. Return the skillet to a medium heat and add the remaining oil and the butter. Add the onion and cook until golden and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the pasta. Mix into the onion and allow it to toast, just a few minutes. Add the broth a ladel at a time, adding the next only after the one before it is completely absorbed. You might not have to use all the broth. The end result should be creamy but not runny. Add a 1/4 cup of each cheese and stir it in! Save any unused broth for leftovers, don't want it to be dry.
Use the rest of the cheese and the pasley to garnish!

 Buon Appetito!

It's tradition...

There are a few things we have for dinner at Easter I think would be a crime to leave off the menu. Dishes that have been an Easter staple in my family since probably before I was born.
Sour Potatoes
Country Ham stuffed with kale
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
My grams' Pudding Dessert
Honey Baked Ham
There's more to name I'm sure but these have always made their way to my plate. Besides the pudding dessert I haven't really picked a favorite dessert. I'm hoping to change that this year.
One dessert that finds it's way into many southern homes, and mine this year, is Hummingbird Cake. I had never heard of this cake until I read The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. It wasn't really descriptive but I decided to investigate. Everything I read made my mouth water. So I bookmarked some recipes. Something new to try in my expedition into extravagant confections.

One of my new favorite blogs is written by Rebecca Crump, Ezra Pound Cake. I used the recipe she posted. She adapted it from Mrs. L.H. Wiggins. It was printed in "Southern Living" in 1978. I made 2 minor changes.

Hummingbird Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, & nutmeg. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in pineapple, bananas, and pecans.
Spoon batter into cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool immediately. Once the cakes are completely cooled frost with cream cheese icing (recipe below).

I made a two layer 6" cake and 1 dozen cupcakes with this recipe. Mouthwatering delicious. They call it Hummingbird cake because it's sweetness is likened to the nectar hummingbirds feed on. And it's spicy from the cinnamon and nutmeg. Super moist. I do believe it will make its way onto the family table again.

Aren't they the cutest!!!

Cream Cheese Frosting


1/2 cup room temperature butter
8 oz. package room temperature cream cheese
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 - 4 tbsp. milk
2 pounds confectioners sugar

Cream butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar 1/2 cup at a time, adding milk as needed to get a smooth spreadable consistency.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of Rum "Cake"?

Today decided it wanted to be sunny! So I decided to bake a cake. And yes, as you might have guessed, a rum cake. Now I know I'm not a cake person, despite being really cake obsessed lately, but rum cake is one of my all time favorite desserts. I just don't ever make it. I can eat the whole cake. Not only would I gain about 20 pounds probably, I'd also be pretty sloshed. It's called a rum cake for a reason.

Here's what you need:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1 oz. box sugar free, fat free instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into buttered and floured bundt pan and bake for 1 hour. Let cool in the pan then invert onto a cake plate. Take a toothpick and poke holes all over it.

For the glaze:

1 stick of butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark rum

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the water and the sugar. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Be careful as it may steam. 

Pour over the cake! 

It will soak into all the little holes you poke and just seep all up into that cake! I go ahead and par-slice mine so all the slices can drink it up. It is so moist. And the best thing about rum cake, they're even better the next day! So be sure to save a slice for every day of the week. 

Kickin Chickin w/ Mango Salsa

It is not going to be a sunny week. It's been raining all day and the skies are grey grey grey! I need sunshine to survive. I don't like this Edward Cullen approved climate. So I'm transporting myself out of my little kitchen nook and onto an island. A sunny island, with a warm breezy, palm trees, soft sand, and rolling waves. Well, it's still raining outside but hey dinner is good enough for me! And I don't think I've posted dinner in a while.
So tonight I tried Jerk chicken. I also going to the easy way out and used a store bought marinade. I didn't have time today to mix and measure. It was definitely what I needed to help get me through this rainy evening.

Just marinate according to the directions on the bottle.
I used a split chicken breast. I covered mine with the marinade for 30 minutes. Then I cooked it at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Pretty easy right?

Mango Salsa? Yes please! Easy? Of course!
All you have to do is slice and dice:
3 roma tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
1 mango (peeled)
1 jalapeno (ribs and seeds removed if you don't like spicy)
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 of a lime
1 tbsp honey
pinch of salt and pepper

Dice up the top 5 yummies and mince up the garlic. Toss in a bowl with the lime juice and honey. Season to taste with S & P.

Cook the rice according to package directions. When it's finished, fluff it up and add the juice of 1 1/2 limes. Add a generous sprinkle of salt and cilantro and stir it up to mix.