I am so ready for summer. The few teasers of warm weather have only cemented the fact that I am done with winter. I have learned that I much prefer the transitional months - spring and fall - to the full blown deals. So the approach of spring has me pumped! As usual, I am looking forward to the change in menus. Although I know this will flip flop in six months, right now I am tired of all the warm-my-belly foods. I am ready for fresh produce and light dinners eaten outside. Things like tomatoes and peaches. So last night, Stud and I faked spring without dinner. A huge salad full of goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and avocados with some bread and salmon Stud grilled. My dad has mastered the grill and passed his salmon knowledge onto Stud and its delicious. So Stud whipped me up a delicious springtime dinner last night and I can't wait for the weather to catch up.
De-bone the salmon filets if needed. Over medium heat on a grill, place the salmon flesh side down for 7 minutes. Then flip, cover with the melted butter and garlic and grill for an additional 4 minutes. Remove from the grill and flip skin side up. The skin should peel right off leaving delicious salmon behind! Drizzle with lemon juice and you're ready to enjoy.
This way of cooking salmon has worked very well for Stud and for my dad as long as I can remember. And I leaves such good flavor. Everyone ahod really try this to make sure they are getting thier omega 3 fatty acids!
My poor angel. He had a bit of an issue with mats so he had to be shaved down basically to the skin. He looks SO TINY. And he's not showing any signs of self consciousness, so that's good. I think I feel worse about it than he does.
Beau is getting his first haircut of the summer today. Everyone thinks he is plump with all of his fur...I promise he is a healthy weight. To demonstrate the sheer volume of his fur, I leave you with these before photos. I will update this post as soon as I have a new skinny furless picture!
Whew. Yesterday was my first day at my new job and I survived. Now I just have to get back in the swing of job, class, and Beau. Should be exciting.
This was one of the first things I made without a recipe. It stemmed from college when I would throw any veggies I had in my fridge into a huge bowl of pasta with some olive oil, garlic, and dried herbs. I can also tell you that almost all veggies are good this way. My favorite combination was spinach and cherry tomatoes, and while I was marveling to my mother about my genius combination, she said "of course, and why don't you add some goat cheese and make it a sauce?" I tell you - the woman is brilliant. And my favorite college meal was born and I forced many of my friends to enjoy it as well.
Goat Cheese Pasta
1 lb whole wheat spaghetti
2 pints cherry tomatoes
1 large bag of spainch
5 oz. goat cheese
3 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
Salt
Pepper
Bring water to a boil and cook pasta. Right when you start the pasta water, start the veggies, the timing is great on this recipe. Add the olive oil and garlic to a skillet and cook just for a minute. Then start cutting the cherry tomatoes in half long-ways and adding to the skillet. As they start to soften, they will release their juices and form the sauce. Once you have added them all, add some salt and cook over simmer. Once the tomatoes are all pretty soft, add in the spinach in handfuls until it has all wilted down. Then add in the goat cheese and mix it with all the good tomato juices. Once the pasta is finished, add it to the veggies and toss until everything is well combined.
Stud is in training to run a mini marathon and it has him on this health kick. I mean, he is eating carrots as snacks. I'll stick with my M&Ms. Anyways, the whole wheat pasta in this one was our concession to health and you really can't tell when it has the goat cheese sauce on it. Goat cheese is also a not-so-bad-for-you cheese and there are enough veggies for like ten people in this pasta. Overall I call it a win for health. Stud says specifically my pancreas with the whole wheat pasta thing.
I love breakfast, it's by far my favorite meal of the day. Every once in a while, Stud and I get a hankering for breakfast for dinner, mainly so we can have some chorizo. Whenever I am at a restaurant for brunch, I have to get something off the breakfast menu, I completely ignore all those lame sandwiches. I tend to also stick to Mexican themed breakfasts, so the breakfast burrito has become a favorite of mine. It incorporates like all of my favorite foods: eggs, cheese, sour cream, fried potatoes, and avocados. And these are definitely a breakfast item as well, but due to their size, I have them more for dinner.
1/2 c. cheese
2 c. fried potatoes (tater tots and the little square hash browns are my favorite)
Salsa
Sour Cream
Avocado
2 8" flour tortillas
Cook the potatoes according to the package instructions, I use the Ore-Ida ones I have in my freezer, but leftover roasted potatoes would be great as well. In a large nonstick skillet, break apart the chorizo and cook until done. Our is pretty spicy so we get it into very small pieces. Layer the tortillas between damp paper towels - they will need to be microwaved for 30 seconds, but I like to wait until right before the eggs are finished. Whisk the eggs with about 3 T. of milk until well combined and add to the skillet with the chorizo. Cook the eggs until they reach your desired consistency and add in the cheese and let it melt. You can also add hot sauce here if you want. Once the eggs are finished, remove the tortillas from the microwave and layer the eggs with the potatoes, salsa, and a little extra cheese. I like to keep the avocado, sour cream, and additional salsa outside the burrito, it makes them easier to wrap up. To warp mine, I fold the sides in and then start at one end and roll it tightly ending so the seam is on the bottom. Stud has yet to successfully fold a burritos.
I like this meal a lot because it allows us to kinda make your own burrito. Stud always adds tons of additional hot sauce while I layer on the sour cream. His are also a mess while mine are neat and tidy. I am not surprised. These are so adaptable, you can really make them your own - add onions, peppers? Or you can serve them with some beans and really make a meal out of things. I love breakfast....
I forgot! When I wrote about Potatoes Anna, I completely forgot to tell you how I made our steaks inside! I got too distracted with the Superbowl and chili, etc etc etc. And Stud actually let me make these. He is usually the meat man in our house, and I go with that. He can do all the grilling, prep, marinating...I still kinda find slabs of raw meat gross, but I love the results so I will survive. So these steaks. So amazing. I used two filets, but I assume it would work with any steaks. And then you can pretend your in a fancy steak house instead of your kitchen.
Steakhouse Steaks (made inside!)
OK so there aren't really any ingredients...steak, butter, salt, pepper. Done. BUT BUT must be made in a cast iron skillet. It is the only requirement.
Heat the cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the steak and once the cast iron skillet is good and hot, sear each side of the steaks and the sides (I did 1/3 at a time). Make sure it's a good sear to lock in all the tasty juices. Once they are seared, place a large pad of butter on top of each steak and put in a 400 degree oven for upwards of 12 minutes, until they reach the desired done-ness. I like mine medium, which is about 135 degrees. Oh and make sure you take the temperature in the side to guarantee an accurate read. Remove from the oven and cover with foil and let sit for ten minutes and then enjoy!
Yeah, putting butter on good steak is like....I don't know....real good.
