Lemon Butter Potatoes

This potato recipe came with the Publix Aprons Rosemary-Maple Pork Tenderloin recipe found by my mother. I posted the recipes separate for tagging purposes.


These potatoes are so simple and quick to make, yet so delicious! You won't believe the ease and resulting taste of this dish, yet both factors are sure to make it a family favorite.

You will need:


             Cooking Spray                                                   4tbs Unsalted Butter

1 24oz Bag Dutch Baby Potatoes                                        Juice of 1 Lemon

                










2tbs Water                                                                      1tsp Everglades Seasoning




                          












How to Prepare:


Preheat oven to 450*


Cut potatoes in half and place them in a microwave safe bowl. Pour water on them, cover, and microwave on high for 7-8 minutes or until tender.


While waiting on the microwave, cut butter into small pieces and set aside. (If butter is soft, you can stir the seasoning into it.)


When potatoes are done in the microwave, squeeze juice of one lemon over the potatoes, stir in butter and seasoning.


Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.


Spread potatoes on baking sheet in a single layer.


Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden; stirring occasionally.

Tips:


You can use bottled lemon juice, but fresh lemon juice gives a better taste.




ENJOY!

Rosemary-Maple Pork Tenderloin

Last month when my mom went to Publix to do some grocery shopping the Publix Aprons Simple Meals counter was giving out samples of this week's recipe. My mother loved the sample, so she purchased all of the ingredients and we ended up making it that week. After trying this recipe, I could see what all of the fuss was about. It is delicious!


For tagging purposes, the potatoes shown with this dish can be found in a separate post on this blog (but will not be posted until later this week).


Also, I recently had to bring my computer in to be fixed, once I get it back I will upload more photos for this recipe.

You will need:


 1 Pork Tenderloin (approx 1lb)                                  8oz Pre-Sliced Baby Portabella



                    







  3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary                                                  1/2 cup Marsala Wine

                












   1 Medium Shallot                                                                  2 cups Beef Stock


                          















         1/4 tsp Kosher Salt                                                   1/2 cup Maple Syrup

                  










              1/4 tsp Pepper                                                      2 tbs Canola Oil      

                













How to Prepare:




Finely chop shallot.


Season pork with salt and pepper.


Preheat large saute pan on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.


Pour canola oil in pan and add pork to pan. Cook 4-5 minutes or until well browned, turning occasionally.


Remove pork from pan and cover to keep warm.


Remove pan from heat and add Marsalla.


Stir in mushrooms and shallots; cook and until wine has completely evaporated (2-3 minutes).


Stir in beef stock, syrup, and whole rosemary sprigs.


Return pork to pan, cover, and cook for 10-12 minutes or until pork is 155*F (turning pork occasionally).


Remove pork from pan; transfer to a cutting board.


Let pork stand 5-10 minutes before slicing; temperature will rise to USDA recommended 160*F.


While letting pork stand, continue to cook sauce 4-5 more minutes or until thickened.


Slice pork into 1 inch thick slices; top with mushrooms and sauce.

ENJOY!

Mango Strawberry Ice Cream - Simple Indian Dessert

This week I was browsing the internet for recipes that I may want to try. I ended up finding a recipe for mango ice-cream; being a mango fan I was intrigued and wanted to try it for myself.

I can honestly say I was not disappointed with the results, which is why I am using it as my recipe for this week.


I have included the video of the original recipe below; I say "original" because I slightly modified the recipe by adding strawberries.

 



This recipe is so simple, it only has four ingredients. However, when I went to the store I had trouble finding a key ingredient (the mango pulp), so I had to use the alternative mentioned in the video. This meant slightly more work, but not much. 


The ingredients mentioned in the video are:


30oz Mango Pulp
14oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
8oz Whipped Topping
1 Ripe Mango


The ingredients I used are listed below.


In addition to the original recipe, I added strawberries because I thought they would taste good with the mangos... and I was right. :-)




Mango Strawberry Ice Cream



You will need:


4 Ripe Mangos                        14oz Sweetened Condensed Milk

8oz Whipped Topping                  Strawberries (approximately 7)

How to Prepare:


Take 3 mangos, cut each one in half, remove the seed from each, and remove each mango from its skin.


Place the mangos in a blender and puree. Once pureed this should be approximately 30oz of mango.


Place pureed mango in a medium to large bowl. Pour sweetened condensed milk into the same bowl. Also add the whipped topping to this bowl.


Lightly fold the ingredients with a wisk. (The wisk is key because it helps the whipped topping stay light and airy which helps the ice-cream to not get too hard; do not mix with an electirc mixxer.)


Once this is well mixed, cover it and place it in the freezer for approximately 2 hours to thicken.


While waiting for the ice-cream to thicken, cut the remaining mango and the strwberries into small cubes. (The video shows you an easy way to cut the mango.)


Once the ice-cream has thickened fold the mango and strawberry pieces into it and then place it back in the freezer for approximately 4 more hours to harden.



Delicious Indian Dessert



Tips:

Make sure you cut the strawberries pieces very small, if they are too large they will be hard to chew when frozen. 

ENJOY!

The BEST Chicken Quesadillas EVER

For Valentines day my boyfriend and I took our puppies to a park and had a picnic. I wanted to bring a finger-food on our picnic to make eating easier with our puppies running around; this is how I came up with this weeks recipe.


I decided on chicken quesadillas. Being that I had never made any, I winged it; and might I say they were DELICIOUS!

What you need:


Chicken Breast Strips (cooked)                                Large Tortillas

  8 oz Shredded Mixed Cheese                                     Avocado

         Sour Cream                                                                    Lime Juice

               Refried Beans                                                                   Salsa

                                              

Pam Non-stick Cooking Spray

How to Prepare:

If chicken is frozen, thaw it. 

Place chicken in a medium bowl. Cut chicken strips into 1/2 inch to inch sized pieces. Mix in entire bag of shredded cheese. Place aside. 

Half avocado and remove seed. Using a spoon, remove avocado from skin and place it in a bowl. 

Mash the avocado with the spoon. It is ok if small chunks of avocado remain. Add 1/2 as much sour cream as there is avocado. Add approximately 2 tablespoons of lime juice to the avocado. 

Lay out 6 tortillas. 

Generously spread avocado paste to 3 of the tortillas (do not put paste on outer inch of tortilla for less mess). 

Generously spread refried beans on the remaining tortillas (do not put beans on outer inch of tortilla for less mess). 

Divide chicken and cheese mixture evenly between tortillas with avocado paste (do not put chicken on outer inch of tortilla for less mess). 

Place tortillas with refried beans on top of the chicken (beans down), forming 3 quesadillas. 

Turn the stove on medium and place a large skillet on the burner. 

When the pan is hot, spray it with Pam (I used Pam's Canola Oil non-stick cooking spray). 

Place 1 quesadilla in the pan and brown both sides, the cheese should be melted. 

Remove quesadilla. 

Spray pan with Pam and add 2nd quesadilla to the pan. Brown both sides, the cheese should be melted.

Remove quesadilla. 

Spray pan with Pam and add 3rd quesadilla to the pan. Brown both sides, the cheese should be melted.

Remove quesadilla. 

Cut each quesadilla into 8 pieces. 

Serve with sour cream and salsa. 

Tips:

You can use fresh chicken if you prefer. Cook it and slice it prior to above steps. 

I needed to use 2 large spatulas to flip my quesadillas. You can make quesadillas with one tortilla apiece by putting avocado paste on 1/2 of the tortilla and refried beans on the other 1/2, place the chicken one of the 1/2s and fold it. I made them with 2 tortillas to speed things up. 

I say serve with sour cream and salsa; however, I found them so yummy that I didn't need the sour cream or salsa. 

ENJOY!

Quick & Easy Strawberry Shortcake

This week I wanted to do a recipe that in some way reminded me of Valentines day. After brainstorming ideas that included the color red, the color pink, hearts, or chocolate, I remembered a recipe that my father gave me. It is a recipe for strawberry shortcakes and is extremely simple. My father actually got this recipe from his grandmother, so I guess that makes this a family recipe.

This recipe is flexible because it gives you options with the ingredients. 

I will be using what I have on hand in both the ingredients and preparation sections, but alternatives are listed below in the tips section. 

What you will need:

    Sponge cakes                                         Frozen Strawberries

Hood Calorie Countdown                              Reddi Wip

                  Sugar

            

How To Prepare:

Take the desired amount of sponge cakes and place them in individual bowls. 

Microwave frozen strawberries for NO MORE than 15 seconds to SLIGHTLY defrost them. 

Place 4 - 6 frozen strawberries ( or 3 whole strawberries)  on the sponge cake. 

Sprinkle approximately a teaspoon of sugar on top. 

Pour approximately 3 tablespoons (just enough to moisten the cake) of hood calorie countdown on top. 

Top with Reddi Wip. 

Tips:

If you would prefer for the cakes to be warm, you can put the cakes in the microwave for a few seconds PRIOR to adding any thing to them.


You can use fresh strawberries instead of frozen if you wish, I use frozen because I like the frost on the frozen strawberries.

If you use frozen strawberries, the pre-sliced ones are easier to (1) get your spoon through and (2) eat.

Also, if using frozen strawberries, avoid the bags with added sugar. The added sugar makes them stick together, making it harder when it comes to putting them on the cakes.

I have hood calorie countdown listed because it is in my fridge; however, half and half, cream, and regular milk are all fine to use. This depends on your taste preference. 

The Reddi Wip I am using is extra creamy. Regular Reddi Wip is fine, and so is store brand. 

If preferred, the sugar can be omitted. 

My fathers preferences were: frozen strawberries (whole not sliced), half and half or cream (whatever was on hand), regular Reddi Wip, and sugar.

ENJOY!

Party Dip

In honor of the super bowl, this week I am sharing a super easy dip. The recipe for this dip was shared with me by a family friend, Claire.

Claire and her husband Mike were hosting a party quite some time ago, which is where I was first introduced to this dip. It was so scrumptious that I had to have the recipe, which she was kind enough to share with me.

Over the years, I have tweeked it slightly for simplicity.

Party Dip

You will need:



      16 oz Sour Cream                                               16 oz Cream Cheese Softened

Cream Cheese (non-softened)

Sour Cream

Salsa (approx. 16oz, this jar is 15.5, which is fine)                8 oz bag of Shredded Cheese

Salsa

Shredded Cheese

How to prepare:

Put the salsa and sour cream into a medium bowl. 

Mix. 

Add the cream cheese. 

Mix until smooth. (May be slightly bumpy, this is ok).

Stir in 1/2 the bag of shredded cheese.

(OPTIONAL STEP) - Let sit in the fridge, for approximately 30 minutes, to slightly thicken. 

Stir.

Top with remaining shredded cheese. 

Serve with tortilla chips.

Dip prior to being topped with cheese 

TIPS:

The measurements for this  recipe are only approximates, as it is made to taste preference. 

I use the entire container for each to avoid measuring and increase simplicity. 

You can use regular cream cheese, but softened is much easier to blend smooth and makes the job quicker.

Any tortilla chips are fine, but I prefer Tostitos Scoops.

This dip is a favorite among my friends, so (from experience) I suggest doubling the recipe if having more than 5 people (especially guys) over. 

I prefer medium salsa, but mild or hot are fine too. This just depends on your taste. 

Tastes fine with any brands, I rotate between those shown and store brands, depending on what I see first.  

ENJOY!