Vanilla Bean Flan

When it comes to baking, unfortunately, that skill was not passes down to me but my vanilla bean flan is fool proof. 

Ingredients

1 vanilla bean 

1 can of condensed milk

1 can of evaporated milk

6 eggs

For the caramel sauce:

1 1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

Before you start, add the sugar and the water into a sauce pan a put over high heat. Let the mixture boil until it reaches a golden brown (it should take about 7-8 minutes. While your caramel sauce is getting ready, add the eggs and the condensed and evaporated milk and vanilla bean in a mixing bowl. Vanilla beans can be tricky if you don't know what you are doing but once you know, it's as easy as pie. What you want from the vanilla bean are the tiny pods inside With a knife, split it down the middle, length wise. with your knife scrape out the pods. with a hand mixer blend the ingredients together until combined very well. 

Once the sauce gets the golden brown color, coat an entire pie pan with it. Next pour in the egg and milk mixture. Place the pie pan in a larger pan with water in it but don't let the water get into the mixture. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 45-60 minutes. The way you know the flan is done is by sticking a knife in it. If the knife comes out clean, its done. To serve, place a larger serving plate on top of the pie pan. Invert and chill in the refrigerator. Serve when ready.

Nana's Italian Chicken Pasta

This recipe is one that my grandmother taught me. I love pasta and this is one of my favorites.

Ingredients

1 can diced tomatoes with italian seasoning

1 can of artichoke hearts

2 chicken breasts cut into little pieces, seasoned and sauteed

1 small can of chopped black olives

1 1/2 tablespoons of capers

1 box of any kind of pasta you like (I like orechetti)

Once your chicken is sauteed, add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer. Boil water and add the pasta. cook until almost dont (about a minute before the box says). Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve. This dish is super easy and is oh so yummy!!!

A quick tip: you can swap any kind of meat with the chicken. Kielbasa is another delicious substitute. 

Cheesy, Chunky, Mashed Potatoes

This is a side dish that I am 150% positive that you will love!

Ingredients

10 baby red potatoes 

2 cups of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups of a good parmesan cheese

2/3 cup of chopped parsley

4 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Start off by boiling the potatoes in salted water. The reason I like to salt my water is flavors and automatically absorbed into the potatoes (or any starch for that matter). Once the potatoes are boiled (you'll know when you can stick a fork through them with no resistance) put them into the bowl with all of the ingredients. I like to leave the skins on for two reasons. 1) I like the color it adds to the dish and 2) the skins hold the most nutrients. One last tip, I like to mash them only slightly so there are still chunks of potatoes left however, its your call. Enjoy!!!

Meatballs

Meatballs are a great treat and can be used in many different ways. they can go on top of mini-pizzas, they are a great appetizer with a dipping sauce, or the good ol' spaghetti and meatballs. 

Ingredients

1 lb of ground sirloin

3 tablespoons of chopped parsley

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1/2 finely chopped red onion

1 egg

1 generous hand full of parmesan cheese

1 hand full of italian breadcrumbs. 

In a saute pan, add the onion and garlic. while they cook down (until translucent) you can start mixing in all the other ingredients in a separate bowl. Once again, do not over mix or "squish" the meat as it will change the texture and make the meatball grainy. Once your onion and garlic are cooked, let them cool and add them to the mixture. As for myself, I like the meatballs to all come out as the same size so I will get the tablespoon size measuring spoon and form them with that measurement. Just roll them one at a time in your hands until it gets the shape of a ball. Next in the same saute pan that you sauteed the onions and garlic in you are going to sear the meat balls on each side until cooked. They should only take 2-3 minutes on each side but your nose will tell you when they are done. Once this is done add them to whatever sause or dish you would like and enjoy!  

Manicotti

Manicotti is a great dish that I love entertaining with. Everyone is happy (especially if your serving vegaterians) and you'll be the hero of the kitchen with this simple dish. 

Ingredients

1 box of manicotti pasta

1 tub of whole milk ricotta cheese

1 hand full of chopped parsley and basil (they must be fresh)

2 chopped garlic cloves

marinera sauce (spaghetti sauce)

shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese

lots of salt and pepper to taste. 

Start to boil some salted water. Once the water reaches a boil put in the manicotti cook them until they are ALMOST done. As for the mixture, mix the ricotta cheese, fresh herbs, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Make sure its well seasoned. Once the manicotti is finished boiling, spoon in the ricotta cheese mixture. As for the sauce see my recipe on "spaghetti" sauce (for this recipe, you'll want to make it without meat). Spoon a good serving of sauce onto the bottom of a baking dish (that way the manicotti wont stick) and place the manicotti into the baking dish. Top them off with another generous helping of the sauce and put mozzarella and parmesan  cheeze. Bake at 375 degrees until the cheese on top begins to turns a golden color. Serve and enjoy!

Baked Salmon

I adore Salmon and luckily enough it's a very healthy dish. My baked salmon dish tastes just right and will hit the spot!

Ingredients

Olive Oil

Parsley

1lb Salmon Filet

the zest of one lemon

the juice of one lemon

herbs de provance

salt and pepper to taste

First things first, the reason I didn't include exact amounts for this recipe is because I find that most of the time when I cook I rarely use exact amounts. I believe that when you cook you should use your senses; sight, scent, touch. All of these are your best assets when it comes to cooking. 

to begin, I preheat my oven to 400 degrees. 

remove the skin from the salmon. Next what I like to do is rub all the ingredients onto the salmon and let them marinate while the oven heats up. Once your oven is up to temp, place the salmon inside and cook for 20 minutes. Your nose will tell you when its done! I love serving a nice veggie pasta on the side or even some roasted vegetables for a healthier spin. 

Going Green

Also for more info on going green check out my friend Monica's blog

Bleu Cheese Burgers

I saw a burger recipe that Rachel Ray was making the other day and I decided to modify it. Her recipe included smokey flavors and a smoke gouda cheese. I decided to add some of my favorite flavors and make this recipe my own!

Ingredients
1lb of Ground Sirloin
1 carton of bleu cheese
1 palm full of chopped parsley
1/2 chopped red onion
1 tablespoon of cumin
2 table spoons of worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

First and foremost I'm going to start by saying that you dont want to over mix your meat. Trust me! The texture will come out very bland and they will loose all their juices to the grill so mix well but dont squish your meat. What I like to do is put all my ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix from there. Form them into 4 patties and top them off with olive oil. Cook them on the grill until they reach the desired cook temperature.

I like to put my burgers on top of a toasted Kaiser Roll with mayo, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and anything else I can dream of.

My "Spaghetti" Sauce.

This next recipe is very versatile and there are many different things your can put it on and many different ways to change it up. However, Lets start with the basics and go from there.

Ingredients

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
1lb of lean ground beef (optional)
1 large red onion
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 palm full of chopped parsley
1 palm full of chopped basil

To start I like to chop my onions long like the picture above. Put the onions in a hot saute pan with olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper. Let them sweat in the pan until they are translucent. Now (if you chose to do so) is the time to add the beef and red pepper flakes. Once again, season with salt and pepper. When you cook, you'll want to season with salt and pepper every step of the way and these are your base flavors and are essential to the total outcome of the dish. Cook the beef until it turns brown. Add the canned tomatoes and the tomato paste. Stir and let simmer. You'll need to taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Right before you finish, add one palm full of parsley and basil and stir. Let cook one more minute.

Obviously this sauce would be great on spaghetti or any other pasta for that matter. Here is another variation.

Pink sauce
all the same ingredients as above except for the pepper flakes and ground beef. You will need a small carton of heavy cream.

Once the onions have cooked down and you have added the tomatoes, add the cream as well. let it cook and you will have a wonderful pink sauce.

Want to take it up another notch? Make an Alla-Vodka Sauce by simply following the pink sauce recipe and add to that a quarter cup of vodka. Once again, you'll need to let it cook so that the alcohol can cook out.

Buon Appetitio!!!!!

Just for fun!!!

Check out this great video that I made for you!!!

Guacamole

Guacamole is a really nice treat and it tastes great! According to WebMD.com, Avacados are high in the "good fat" that has been proven to lower cholesterol. This also reduces your chances of heart disease. My guacamole is full of avocados and other fresh veggies and is a tasty and healthy snack!

Ingredients

4 Hass Avocados

1/2 diced red onion

2 vine ripe tomotoes (with their seeds squeezed out)

1 handful of freshly chopped cilantro

the juice of 2 limes

season generously with salt and pepper

I realize that getting an avacado diced up can be a pain from time to time but i have a great trick that works everytime. Take a knife and cut from the top of the avocado to the bottom on both sides. Give it a little twist and it should come apart easily. Now to take out the seed you will take the blade of your knife and hit it against the seed (do this carefully). Twist your knife from side to side and the seed should free it self from the avocado. Squeeze the contents of the avocados into a bowl. Add the other chopped ingredients and stir together. The avocado will break down easily but I like to leave a couple nice chunks of avocado.

Click here to listen to an avocados perspective on life :-)