Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

This recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes for Low Fat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread is a wonderful one. I thought about not posting it since my photo isn't the greatest but it is healthy, low fat & delicious so needed to share :)

Low Fat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
from Gina's Skinny Recipes at skinnytaste.com

* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 1 cup white whole wheat flour
* 1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)
* 1-1/8 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup chocolate chips
* 1 large egg, beaten
* 2 tbsp melted butter
* 1 cup apple sauce
* 1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini (not packed)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
Add chocolate chips and gently mix to combine. In a medium bowl, mix egg, vanilla, melted butter, apple sauce and zucchini. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Pour
batter into a large 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake at 325° for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let it cool before slicing.

My notes: I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter because my old recipe (which used a cup of oil!) had that and we like the taste of cinnamon & chocolate. The whole wheat flour I use is Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour which I find in the health food section of my grocery store. It comes in 5 lb bags and the WW pastry flour is much finer ground than the WW flour found in the baking aisle. I use it by substituting it for 1/2 of the white flour in most recipes as part of our quest to become more healthy.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

CSA veggies...chickpea salad

We are eating an abundance of veggies these days thanks to my weekly CSA deliveries, it is more than 2 people can eat in a week so I am learning to blanch and freeze a few veggies for this winter. Since I am always looking for new recipes, I immediately bookmarked this recipe for chickpea salad on my friend, Carol, There's Always Thyme to Cook's blog. She wrote it was her son's favorite but that he wanted her to hold the carrots next time :) I think we would love the carrot addition but since we haven't received any carrots in our basket yet, I refuse to buy vegetables when I can hardly eat all the ones I have :)
I halved all the ingredients on this first try of this recipe because I knew Jeff would question the chickpeas so it made a smaller batch. We served it with grilled veggies (cut up asst. veggies tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh chopped rosemary & garlic) and steaks.


Chickpea Salad as copied from Carol's blog.
Source: T @ the Deli
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 hothouse cucumber, diced (washed and seeded, not peeled)
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 carrot, shredded (optional)
little bit chopped parsley

Dressing:
approximate, it's all to taste, more or less!

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (more or less to taste, we like more vinegar than oil)
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the dressing in a jar and shake to combine. Pour over the vegetables, mix well, and chill in the frig for a bit. Serve.

My Notes: I halved the recipe with good success. We had green pepper on hand so I used that instead of a red one. This one is a keeper - Thanks Carol!

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

ice cream social time...

It's July so once again that means it is time for my friend, Suzy of Kitchen Bouquet's ice cream social. Head over to her post HERE to see almost 30 versions of ice cream from the participants as well as some ice cream history and beautiful ice cream sandwiches from Suzy. It's very hot here in MN with heat advisories so ice cream was a perfect treat to make this weekend.
I chose to make rocky road ice cream which is one of my very favorite flavors and I have made this eggless version from allrecipes.com before and we both really liked it. (sorry no photos that time)

This weekend I decided to do the custard base version and chose a recipe from Fine Cooking. I made a few modifications to the original recipe based on what I had on hand and my attempt at a shortcut that wasn't very successful.
Rocky Road Ice Cream
by David Lebovitz as copied from finecooking.com
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Table salt
5 large egg yolks
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao), chopped and melted
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1/3 cup mini marshmallows
1/3 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/3 cup bite-size chocolate chunks

In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup of the cream with the milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Warm the cream mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes.

Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with several inches of ice water. Set a smaller metal bowl (one that holds at least 1-1/2 quarts) in the ice water. Pour the remaining cup of cream into the inner bowl (this helps the custard cool quicker when you pour it in later). Set a fine strainer on top. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl.

In a steady stream, pour half of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof rubber spatula until the custard thickens slightly (it should be thick enough to coat the spatula and hold a line drawn through it with a finger), 4 to 8 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 175° to 180°F at this point. Don’t let the sauce overheat or boil, or it will curdle.

Immediately strain the custard into the cold cream in the ice bath. Stir in the melted chocolate and cocoa powder. Cool the custard to below 70°F by stirring it over the ice bath.

Refrigerate the custard until completely chilled, at least 4 hours. Then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Fold the marshmallows, pecans, and chocolate chunks into the just-churned ice cream, transfer to an air-tight container, and freeze for at least 4 hours or up to 2 weeks.

My Notes: I didn't have whole milk so I used the regular skim milk we always have on hand. Figured it had enough fat it in with all the cream & egg yolks anyway. Secondly, I made the custard at 9 pm at night and wasn't in the mood to go through all the steps with having an ice bath, I also thought "why can't I melt my chopped chocolate in the warm custard?" but obviously this was a big mistake. The chocolate melted for the most part but there were small bits (like coffee grounds) throughout the ice cream. While this didn't make the ice cream the best looking it didn't affect the taste. I also substituted marshmallow cream for the miniature marshmallows because that is how we prefer it (I also use the same substitution in the allrecipes version). While this ice cream was delicious as the person making it, I prefer the simple allrecipes version.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Simple holiday dessert...

We spent lots of time with family & friends this weekend so another dessert I made to bring to a BBQ is red/white/blue cake balls displayed to look like a flag. What are cake balls?? - Bake a 9 x 13 cake of any flavor of your choosing. This one was a dark chocolate one. Using your CLEAN hands, crumble the baked & cooled cake into into a large bowl and mix with one can of premade frosting of your choice. I used dark chocolate. Mix well with your spatula and then take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls. Freeze until firm and then dip into melted Wilton chocolate melts - the color of your choice. Easy Peasy Dessert and was very popular at 2 gatherings this weekend.

Happy Holiday weekend!

My it has been a long time since I posted here - life has been busy and computer time sometimes falls to the wayside but I'm catching up and hope to start sharing more new recipe with you soon. I'm also excited to share what I make each week out of my CSA garden box and this past week we received our 2nd delivery but the first one that included actual produce. Minnesota had a very wet & late spring so all gardens are behind. Our first delivery was 2 farm raised broiler chickens and a herb planter and the above was our delivery this week.

Of course since this is a holiday weekend, we decided it was okay to take a break from our healthy eating and splurge a little with those fresh strawberries we received :)

Orzo and Wild Rice

I'm behind on blogging but recently we tried a new recipe for Orzo and Wild Rice from the blog of a MN food writer.
It was a tasty and colorful dish so I served in on some colorful new dishes :)


Orzo & Wild Rice
from Sue Doeden's blog, All About Food
Orzo and Wild Rice

* 1 cup wild rice, uncooked
* 1/2 cup orzo, uncooked
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 of a yellow bell pepper, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
* 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cook orzo according to package directions. Rinse wild rice and put in saucepan with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered until rice is done. Kernels of will be split open, revealing the white inside. It should be tender, but still a bit chewy. Drain and set aside.

Saute onion and bell peppers in 2 tablespoons butter in large pan. When tender, add garlic and saute another minute. Stir in honey. Add wild rice, parsley, orzo, soy sauce and lemon juice. Stir in cooked wild rice and orzo, continuing to stir until heated through. Serve immediately. Makes 6 very generous servings

This was a good side dish. We had it the first time with baked fish and fresh bread and the leftovers were frozen. We had it the second time as the rice base for orange chicken and it was wonderful then as well.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

St. Patrick's Day blog crawl...

Welcome!

Today, I am joining my friend Kathleen for her 3rd annual St. Patrick's Day blog crawl. Please click HERE to go to her blog, Cuisine Kathleen, and see all the other blogs participating.
I didn't have time to make the Irish treats that her party deserves, but I did set a simple tabled themed for the day.
I love these new black/white checked plates I found at Goodwill so you will probably be seeing them often in future posts. A black tablecloth, shamrock scarf and a candle holder hung with shamrocks and leprechaun hats (found at Michael's) are about as Irish as this post goes.
I did make dessert though - Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Sherbet.
I found the recipe for Grapefruit-Buttermilk Sherbet in the January 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine and switched out Meyer Lemons for the Grapefruit.

Grapefruit-Buttermilk Sherbet
recipe from Cooking Light January 2011
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)


1 cup water
2 tablespoons finely chopped red grapefruit rind
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh red grapefruit juice
2 cups whole buttermilk
2 tablespoons vodka

1. Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rind to pan; reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain, reserving rind. Combine rind, sugar, and juice in pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat; pour into a bowl. Chill for 1 hour. Strain juice mixture, and discard solids. Combine the juice mixture, buttermilk, and vodka in the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

My notes - I made as directed except for substituting the lemons.

Marsha - Thumbs partially UP (I thought the buttermilk flavor was not to my taste)
Jeff - Thumbs down

brunch...

I belong to a Bible Study group with a wonderful group of women and we meet monthly in each other's homes. We gather at 9 am for breakfast and conversation and after the plates are cleared we go on to our lesson and then end with another cup of coffee and chocolates before calling an end to our morning (which is almost always afternoon by then!) Currently, we are doing a study called "Adventurous Prayer" and this month was my turn to host. Since it was the day after Valentine's day I stuck with the Valentine them and set my table in pink and white.
I revamped the centerpiece from the "white event" into a lighted Valentine tree and printed out vintage valentine postcards on magnetic sheets as favors.
Each month our lessons end with a "trinket to treasure", a small item such as a button or cork that serves as a visual reminder of what the main point in that lesson was. This month, the lesson was on Journaling Prayers and the trinket was a journal. I found $1 cardboard covered journals and pulled out the scrapbook supplies and decorated each one with the 12 main verses in the book.
I didn't take any photos of the food as I served it but as usual, I had plenty of leftovers so here is a photo of the plate of leftovers I served Jeff when he came in for a late lunch.
Fresh fruit, raspberry filled butter braid (this is a sweet roll loaf that is sold as a fundraiser by many of the local school kids), heart shaped mini quiches and mixed berry crepes.

Mini Quiches
recipe from verybestbaking.com
Ingredients

* 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
* 3 large eggs, beaten
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 cups (8 oz. pkg.) shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese
* 2 cups chopped, frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
* 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and lightly flour twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups.

WHISK evaporated milk, eggs, flour, salt and black pepper in medium bowl until blended. Stir in cheese, broccoli and bell pepper. Spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture into each prepared muffin cup, filling almost to rim*. Stir mixture frequently to evenly distribute ingredients.

BAKE for 23 to 28 minutes or until knife inserted near centers comes out clean and tops are lightly browned. Cool in pans for 15 minutes. Run knife or small, flat spatula around inside edges of muffin cups. Carefully remove quiches.

*NOTE: Number of quiches that you get will depend on the size of your muffin cups. Bake time may need some adjusting.

TIPS:
• Quiches can be made ahead and frozen. To reheat, place on baking sheet and bake in preheated 325° F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes or, place 2 to 4 quiches on microwave-safe plate and microwave on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 2 1/2 to 5 minutes or until hot.

My Notes: I made 8 little heart bakers instead of the muffin sized. I also added some green onion and proscuitto to make them even more savory.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Basic Crepes
recipe from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

My notes: I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 cup of sugar to this recipe to make the "sweet" version as some of the reviewers wrote this. I also read that they are easy to make ahead so I made them the night before separating each crepe with parchment paper putting them into a zip lock bag in the fridge. I prepared my cream cheese filling (8 oz cream cheese whipped with 1/4 c. powdered sugar and folding in some whipped cream until the right consistency), whipped cream and berry topping (cooked thawed frozen cherries, fresh blueberries and fresh blackberries with a little sugar and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch until thickened). I assembled by warming the crepes in the microwave spreading on some cream cheese mixture and a layer of sliced fresh strawberries, rolling and then topping with some of the cooked berry topping and whipped cream. The crepes were so easy to make I made several batches for the freezer in the plain (for savory fillings) and the sweet versions. I look forward to grabbing a few at a time (since they are separated by the parchment paper) for many quick breakfasts and desserts in the future.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Happy Valentine's Day...pear oven pancake

Happy Valentine's Day to all! We have been celebrating all week at our cute little Valentine table for two :) I bought red chargers after Christmas on clearance figuring they were good for 2 holidays and the beautiful frosted bowl was a Christmas gift from Nathan & Tammy. Isn't it gorgeous?The heart plates were "won" in the Christmas exchange game a few years back, the white plates are my Mikasa Goodwill bargains, the red heeled shoe server was also a gift from my sister which is a conversation piece every time I use it for guests.
We used it one night last week when we had breakfast for dinner and served a Pear Oven Pancake.
I really have to apologize for showing my second serving on an already messed up plate but I was so anxious to try this recipe I forgot to take photos of our first servings!

Pear Oven Pancake
recipe copied and pasted from verybestbaking.com

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
* 3 large eggs
* 1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 450º F.

POUR melted butter into 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or cake pan. Swirl to coat bottom and sides of plate.

COMBINE flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in medium bowl. Whisk evaporated milk and eggs in another medium bowl until blended. Add to flour mixture; whisk for 30 seconds or until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pie plate. Arrange pear slices on top of batter in pinwheel design, pushing down slightly. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle top with sugar mixture.

BAKE for 15 to 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

My notes: I made it exactly as written but served it with a homemade and winged caramel sauce, melted sugar over medium heat until golden and added a few tablespoon's of butter, a teaspoon of vanilla and stirred until all sugar was dissolved. It was very good and so was the pancake - we will definitely be making this one again so simple and easy.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

verasatile crockpot chicken...

Two weekends ago we were up at Jayme & Scott's helping to remodel their bathroom and Jayme made this crockpot chicken for the hungry workers. She served it with the guacomole on soft shell tacos and it was fantastic.I made it for ourselves this week, the first night we ate it as soft shell tacos.
And the second night, I added an undrained can of fire roasted tomatoes, a can of drained chickpeas, a can of drained and rinsed black beans, a can of drained mexi-corn (corn & pepper mix) and enough chicken broth to make the right consistency for soup. Served with tortilla strips and fresh avocado (and cheese for Jeff) it was one of the tastiest soups I've made.

Crockpot Chicken
recipe from Andrea Sonnek

2 to 4 frozen chicken breasts
1 package taco seasoning
1 can original Rotel tomatoes (do not drain)

Put in crockpot and turn on Low and cook for 4-5 hours, open crockpot and shred chicken with two forks and cook for one more hour.

My notes: I was making this from memory since it seemed so simple and forgot about the frozen chicken breasts. I had fresh ones so it only took 4 1/2 hours total for the chicken to be completely done.

Thanks Jayme & Andrea - this recipe is a keeper!

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

This recipe was the cover photo on the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine. While my version didn't photograph as nice as theirs it sure was tasty.
Served with roasted sweet potatoes and leftover garlic mashed potatoes for Jeff it was a wonderful meal.

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca
Cooking Light magazine - original recipe with nutrition info HERE.
Ingredients

* 4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 12 fresh sage leaves
* 2 ounces very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 8 thin strips
* 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
* Lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt. Place 3 sage leaves on each cutlet; wrap 2 prosciutto slices around each cutlet, securing sage leaves in place.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3. Combine broth, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

I made it exactly as directed. Jeff doesn't like lemony tastes to his chicken so I only put a slight amount of sauce on his serving. The prosciutto and sage really made this dish.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

the Great Cooking Magazine Challenge

Today, I am joining my friend, Suzy (Kitchen Bouquet), for her Great Cooking Magazine challenge. If you are like the both of us you have a pile of cooking magazines laying around because there is a recipe or two that you just have to try. Suzy challenges us once in a while to open them up and try those recipes we've bookmarked. Please click HERE to go to her blog and see her entry as well as the other's participating.

Last night we had a date night meal at home so it was a great time to use the new wine themed plates that Jayme & Scott gave me for Christmas. What is date night at home? Well for us it is me choosing all the activities, LOL! Actually, I make an effort to set a nice table and prepare a nice meal while Jeff opens a bottle of good wine. Then we went bowling for 3 games (on the Wii) before sitting down to watch the movie "I Hate Valentines Day".
The napkin rings and napkins were also a gift from Jayme & Scott.
I really like the wine plates, one plate features Venice...
and one Paris.
I had planned on showing a new chicken recipe we tried on Friday night but I'll save that one for later. Because yesterday, I received my March 2011 issue of Food Network magazine and it is labeled Pasta, Pasta, Pasta! The Italian Issue with a photo of Pea-Prosciutto Sauce over ravioli on the cover. This issue is going to end up dog-eared because I love pasta! The cover photo looked great and I had all the ingredients in the house so I chose this recipe to highlight.
Their website is still showing the Jan-Feb 2011 issue so since it is not yet online, I couldn't link the recipe. This recipe is one of many in an article titled Super Easy Pasta Sauces.

Pea-Prosciutto Sauce
Food Network Magazine March 2011

Cook 4 ounces chopped prosciutto in a skillet with 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until crisp, 4 minutes. Stir in 3 sliced garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Ladle in 1 cup pasta-cooking water and simmer until reduced by half, 4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream and simmer until thickened, 3 minutes. Toss with 1 pound cooked ravioli, 1 cup blanched frozen peas and some chopped parsley. Top with grated parmesan.

My notes: To lighten the sauce I used 1 tablespoon olive oil instead of 2. In the same issue of the magazine was an article on lightening up alfredo sauce by using low-fat milk and low-fat neufchatel cream cheese. So instead of using the heavy cream, I used 1/4 cup skim milk and 2 tablespoons of the low-fat cream cheese. It was a great substitution and the sauce still had a rich, creamy taste. We served the sauce over our favorite frozen butternut squash ravioli (YUM!). I also didn't have parlsey on hand so that was omitted. Recipes like this that only use a TB of tomato paste makes me thankful I started buying the tubes of paste.

For dessert I pulled out the December 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine and made

Espresso Chip Meringues by Giada De Laurentiis. You can view the recipe by clicking on the titled link.
If you make 12 like the recipe says mine were huge - about 2 1/2-3 inch diameter.

Marsha - Thumbs UP to the pasta sauce, we will definitely be making this one again! Thumbs UP to the espresso meringues, I like the sweet taste and airy texture.
Jeff - Thumbs UP to the pasta sauce, he had a 2nd helping. Thumbs Down to the meringues, he'd rather have a real cookie as he thought this one was like eating styrofoam, LOL! Just means there are more for me to enjoy.

Baked Flounder

Per the American Heart Assoc. recommendations we have been trying to eat more fish in our dinner rotations. Last night, I tried a new recipe for Baked Flounder in Lemon Sauce from Cooks.com.It was quite good even though I had an oops moment when making the very simple recipe.

Keeping it real...Jeff grabs a non matching glass and I leave the lens cap on the table :) We are such low fuss diners!


Baked Flounder with Lemon Sauce
from Cooks.com

2 lb. flounder fillets
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 c. melted butter
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. grated onions

Cut fillets into serving size portions and place in a well greased baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over fish. Bake at 350 degrees (20-25 minutes). Serves 6.

My notes: To lighten the recipe I only used 1/4 cup melted butter and I used my new Hungarian Sweet Kulonleges Paprika from Penzeys.com. My OOPS moment came when I didn't put on my reading glasses and put in 2 TB of onion instead of 2 tsp - it still was good but maybe a little overpowered by the onions. I will definitely be making this one again and actually put on the glasses.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Valentine's blend

A few weeks ago my friend, Debbie (Mountain Breath), did a beautiful tablescape post highlighting her new cardinal dinnerware. You can view her post HERE. In the post, a tin of Valentine's Blend chocolate and rosebud tea was shown so I asked her what it tasted like since I couldn't imagine the taste combination. She said it was hard to explain and so she sent me some, Thank you, Debbie! It's cold today so I used my tea set that my sister brought me home from Japan several years ago. The cups don't have handles so it's nice to cradle the warm cup in your hands to warm up.The taste is hard to describe, I smelled the chocolate more than I tasted it and spied the rosebuds in the leaves but can't say their flavor was overwhelming either. It was a great tea to break my usual green tea with lemon habit and I definitely will have it again. While I drank my tea I snacked on my new favorite cocoa roast almonds. They don't have any more calories or fat than plain almonds so they are a healthy treat that tastes a teensy bit decadent.


Marsha - Thumbs Up to the tea & almonds.
Jeff - hates tea but Thumbs Up to the almonds.

Interesting story, I grew up in a family that always had afternoon tea. As kids when we got off the school bus our farmer dad was in the house for his afternoon break and mom had tea ready with a homemade treat. We started young by having tea with milk and sugar which was mostly warm milk with a splash of tea and we later graduated to a cup of tea with a splash of milk. I don't think I had straight tea until I was a married adult which is how I usually drink it now. Oops, I got off topic - the story here is how much Jeff wanted to impress my parents the first time he met them. He arrived at our home just as tea was being served and mom poured him a cupful. He hated tea and tried to force it down and thought the milk and sugar made it even worse. Just as he got half a cup down, dad warmed it up by filling the cup back up again! He finally managed to drink it all and politely declined more but let me know later to never invite him over at tea time again :)

Parmesan Baked Walleye...

Jeff & I are trying to eat healthier so instead of the usual fried fish I tried a new recipe for Parmesan Baked Walleye. I served it over wild rice with onions, mushrooms & peas. While I love my dining room sometimes it is fun to eat in the family room so we recently added a bar height table for two. Perfect for playing gin rummy too! You'll start to see this table a lot as I look forward to starting to join in some of the table setting memes that are out in blogland.

Parmesan Baked Walleye

1 lb walleye fillets
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TB fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (I use shredded)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 TB dried parsley
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper

Mix together the parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper. Cut fillets into serving size pieces, dip into mixture of olive oil and lemon juice. Coat with the parmesan/crumb mixture and place fish in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered in a 500F degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until fillets are opaque and flake easily.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP