Broiled sesame salmon with carrots and leeks

My oldest daughter has asked me many times to make salmon for dinner and I finally did. This is only the second fish recipe I have posted which shows that cooking and eating fish isn't something I naturally gravitate to. It is not that I don't like fish. I will often order fish at a nice restaurant, but preparing and cooking it at home is still rare.

Creamy beef curry

Lately I have been really craving Asian food or more specifically Indian inspired flavors. But it has just been too hot and humid to cook something hot and spicy. Yesterday, however, we had a slight cool down and I finally had a chance to try this recipe that's been sitting on my desk for a while, just taunting me with its potential deliciousness.

Pomarola spaghetti

Sometimes the most simple of dishes made with only a few fresh ingredients can be some of the most wonderful meals I ever make. This is the case for this recipe, an authentic Italian Pomarola sauce, made from only three basic ingredients, tomatoes, fresh basil, and garlic.

Chicken, Green Beans, corn and Farro Salad with Goat cheese

Where is summer? Certainly not here in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This is such a lovely salad perfect for a warm sunny day, eating outside. Unfortunately the day I had decided to make this turned out to be a gray, cool and rainy one. Oh well, I loved this salad anyway! I have become a big fan of using hearty and tasty grains such as farro or quinoa in salads (see also my Wheatberry salad ). They just add such a nice texture and flavor and makes it more filling and satisfying than a regular leafy salad.

Grilled Cheese and Fried Egg sandwiches

This is not your average Grilled cheese sandwich! It is hands down the best one I have ever had! I haven't made anything really extraordinary lately (therefor the absence of postings last week), but I am really excited to share this recipe idea with you.

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Oh Boy, this has been a fabulous but busy week with little time for cooking and family dinners. The end of the school year is always a busy time with field trips and art exhibits and pic-nicks etc. The week started on a high note on Sunday with the completion of my first ever 5 mile (8km) running race. I did better than expected and it was so much fun to be a part of. Monday we had a pot-luck get-together and this was the perfect opportunity to make a treat I have have been eyeing for a while, Fresh Raspberry Bars with Goat Cheese (recipe to come).

I spent part of the day on a field trip with my daugthers 4th grade class on a steam boat on the Mississippi river. That was actually quite comfortable. But with no airconditioning in our house, it was brutally hot, not fit for man or beast, and certainly not for cooking. Wednesday we had the end of the year pic-nic at my daughters school. Food was provided there and we inhaled some burgers and hot dogs while following our kids around and socializing with other parents. Fun, but hectic. My two older kids didn't join us for all these events and I barely saw them this week. By Thursday the weather was back to normal and I could finally make a family meal and we could sit down and have a calm relaxing dinner (my oldest still missing from the table!). I had a recipe for Beef enchiladas I have wanted to try for a while and since it was a relatively cool day I decided to go for it. The outcome was delicious! The beef was fall-apart tender and infused with flavor. Everyone, even my 4-year-old liked this. Since it happened to be my birthday I made myself a delicious birthday cake, Brownie layers with Sour Cream Filling and Fresh Berries (recipe to come).

So there you have it. Life is crazy busy sometimes. But it felt good to take a breather and connect again around the dinner table.

Note! Cooks Illustrated used a top blade steak for these. I used a slightly different chuck steak. I think any chuck steak will work. Just cut it into smaller steaks for faster cooking. I also did not end up with enough sauce (evaporation),  so I just added a little extra tomato sauce.

Shredded beef enchiladas

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sugar

Table salt

1 1/2 lbs chuck steak

1 tablespoon grape seed oil

2 medium onions, chopped

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or

mild cheddar cheese

1/3 cup copped fresh cilantro leaves

1 small can green chilies

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Combine garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Pat meat dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook meat until browned on both sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate. Reduce heat to medium, add onions to pot, and cook until golden, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil. Return meat and juices to pot, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until meat is fall-apart-tender, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Strain beef mixture over a medium bowl, breaking meat into small pieces; reserve sauce. Transfer meat to bowl and mix with 1 cup cheese, cilantro and chillies.

With oven rack in middle position heat oven to 35 degrees. Spread 1/3 cup sauce on bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish (or use 2 smaller dishes). Microwave 6 tortillas on plate on high power until soft, about 1 minute. Spread 1/3 cup beef mixture down center of each tortilla, roll tortillas tightly, and set in baking dish seam side down.

Repeat with remaining tortillas and beef. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and spread to coat evenly. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and wrap with aluminum foil. Bake until heated through, 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese is golden, 5-10 minutes more.

Serve with shredded iceberg lettuce and sour cream (which I unfortunately didn't have. I used it all for the dessert!)

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated, Make ahead recipes, 2011

Roasted Pork Loin with black-bean and sweet potato salad

This is a wonderful family meal that I made recently. The pork roast came out really nice and moist, but the star of this meal was definitely the black-bean and sweet-potato side salad. I really like sweet potatoes but for whatever reason I don't use them much. I thought this Mexican inspired recipe looked really interesting. I love it when familiar ingredients are used in a new and different way (knew to me anyway!).  And I have to say I have good instincts.

Tomato and kale strata

This is another recipe from the May/June issue of Eating Well Magazine. I just recently discovered this publication and it may be my new favorite cooking magazine. This issue is full of wonderful and healthy recipes. There are still a few more I want to try in here. I am always looking for tasty vegetarian dishes and this meatless strata looked amazing.

Sesame chicken cucumber noodle salad

This morning I woke up with a really sore back from spending all day yesterday outside in my garden, digging and planting. But, I went for a run and now I am back to normal (I love that running does that!) We really have been cheated of any spring this year, but finally we had a decent day perfect for gardening. Our local farmers market opened up just a couple of weeks ago and I was so excited to finally go and by fresh, from local farmers. But, due to the cold spring weather we have had the growing season is lagging several weeks behind normal and there was only a few stands open, mainly with flowers. My four-year old daughter loves to go for the Kettle popcorn and those guys were there too, so she got a huge bag to take home and share with her siblings.

Flank steak with creamy two-cheese potatoes au gratin

I usually talk a lot about what my kids like and what their favorites are, but this meal is one of my personal favorites. When I can't think of anything new and exciting to make I go back to this delicious and simple meal. I have mentioned it before, that flank steak is one of my favorite meats. It is always juicy and tender and flavorful even with only a sprinkling of salt and pepper. I love to broil it which gives me perfect results every time. About 8 minutes on each side is all it takes to reach medium rare for a 1 1/2 pound steak.

Potato and butternut squash gratin with corn and ham

A very busy and eventful week end is over and now it is time to relax! I worked my butt off last week to get ready for the annual neighborhood garage sale. We really cleaned out a lot of stuff this time. It is just mind -boggling how much stuff we accumulate over a few years. The last few strays of baby equipment had to go, along with other odds and ends I have clung to for sentimental reasons. Despite a mediocre forecast we had a splendid day and lots of bargain hunters. We sold 90 percent of our things. Pretty good! The leftovers were taken to Goodwill and some things just had to find their way into the trash because they were not going back in the house. What a relief it is to get rid of excess stuff.

Asiago-crusted pork chops

Doesn't this look like the perfect weeknight dinner? I thinks so. I have made these pork chops a few times now and I just love them, and since I finally purchased a non-stick skillet they now come out beautifully golden and crusty, m-m-m!

Chicken and rice casserole with squash

Another Easter is over and once again the Easter bunny was very generous with his (or her) sweet gifts. I think my kids must have consumed 5 lbs of bad chocolate and other candy's made from ingredients a human should never ingest. It just makes me cringe! Well, a new week is ahead and I am looking forward to celebrating my 17th wedding anniversary to my wonderful Robert on April 29. Oh, isn't there something else happening that day? A royal wedding or something? Notice the sarcasm in my ignorance? I actually think it is kind of fun that we will from now on share our anniversary with Prince William and Kate. I will have to get up at 4 in the morning to see it all live, so I haven't quite committed to that yet. I am sure there will be plenty of replays, though live is always best. I am also thinking about new dinners to make for my family, but today I want to share a recipe that I made at the end of last week; Chicken and Rice casserole with squash.

Beef stroganoff

Jack Frost came back for a last blast (hopefully!) this weekend, shattering our enthusiasm for warmer days spent outside. While I am looking forward to all the spring and summer dishes I will be making soon, I went back to an old family classic yesterday, the always tasty beef stroganoff.

Twice-baked potatoes

Before the weekend my second youngest daughter Ingrid (age 9) came to me with a dinner request: She wanted me to make twice-baked potatoes and Caesar salad  ( Recipe to come). I thought that was a great idea! I just love it when my kids tell me what to make. Then I know they will actually eat it, and I don't have to try to come up with something, which is a constant challenge.

Vegetarian night, baked Ziti

Nothing says  family meal like Baked Ziti. But when you think of vegetarian food, it is probably not the first dish that comes to mind. I tend to think of vegetarian as some obscure vegetable dish with tofu in it! When I first introduced my family to the idea of having at least one vegetarian meal a week, my son put his head down and cried: " I am going to die!". Well, it has been several weeks now and he is still with us, happy and healthy (he really is a great teenager!). But I do try to make dishes that are familiar and tasty and don't suffer much from the exclusion of the meaty ingredient.

Greek meatballs with herb and lemon orzo

At the end of last week a regular cool spring weeknight turned into Greek night at our house. I love Greek food! I have been hooked since my first trip to Rhodes in my early teens (in the 80s). We ate Souvlaki (Kebobs) and Gyros every day for two weeks. I could eat Tzatziki sauce on just about anything. And Feta cheese - don't get me started! So when I found this recipe in Americas Test kitchen's 30-minute suppers (spring 2011), I immediately cried out: "I am making that!"

Peanut-chicken stir -fry

I am always looking for something new and different and this recipe from the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated fits the bill. My kids really liked this meal, a peanut chicken stir-fry served over fried noodles. My son told me over and over again how good it was. Even my two younger ones ate more than usual. They were a little suspicious of the noodle cake, but loved the stir fry.

Chicken and White Bean Soup

Soup season is not winding down here. Just before the weekend we had a typical spring blizzard here in Minnesota. Much of the snow that had melted has now been replenished. If this was in the beginning of December I would have thought it was beautiful, and cozy to stay inside, but at this point it was just depressing. I want spring! On the positive side it was the perfect weather for soup, and the Chicken and White Bean Soup featured in the latest issue of Cooking Light magazine looked very delicious and was the perfect comfort food while we wait for warmer days. I made a recipe and a half to accomodate for my family of six. That made for a slightly thicker soup and it was lighter in color than the picture in the magazine. But it was still a delicious soup that we all enjoyed, especially my husband who loves the darker meat of the chicken. I served Buttermilk cheddar biscuits along side (recipe to come).

Chicken and White Bean soup

2 smoked bacon slices, chopped
12 ounzes skinless, boneless chicken thighs,

trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup chopped plum tomato

2 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups water

2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

2/3 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)

1 (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoonchopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespon white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook bacon in a large sauce pan over medium heat until crisp (8-10 minutes).Remove from pan, reserving drippings in pan; set bacon aside.
Add chicken to drippings in pan; saute 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender. Add tomato, oregano and pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return bacon and chicken to pan. Stir in 2 cups water and broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Add orzo, and cook for 9 minutes or until al dente. Add beans; cook 2 minutes or until heated. Remove from heeat, stir in parsley, vinegar and salt.

Serves 4

Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine, April 2011

Yogurt marinated Chicken Satay with peanut sauce

My whole family loves Thai food! We have a favorite Thai restaurant here in Saint Paul, where we order take-out once in a while, but the other day I decided to make my own chicken satays. There are many different recipes out there, but I like Taylor Florence and decided to go with his version.