Scallops and Grapefruit over spinach saute

What to make when you have these two ingredients....

Yesterday, I purchased scallops and when I got back to our shore house, I looked around and realized I had about 8 grapefruits. Sounded like an interesting citrus sauce.

first, start the spinach.
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 sweet onion sliced
1T olive oil, and chopped garlic to taste ( I use at least 1 clove)

Saute the above ingredients in the heated oil until cooked. Add a large package of fresh baby spinach leaves in the saute pan, remove from heat and cover. Toss occasionally to wilt all the spinach.

Now make the scallops

1 pink grapefruit (need about 1 teaspoon of zest and 1/2 cup of strained juice)
3/4 lb of sea scallops patted dry
1T olive oil
1T butter
1 clove garlic chopped

Heat the butter and the olive oil until the butter starts to brown and add the scallops. Cook about 2 minutes a side until you have a brown sear on the outside (it might take a minute or two longer if the scallops are huge.) Flip and cook the other side. Remove from pan to a plate. Add the grapefruit juice and zest to the pan and scrape up all those brown bits. Cook until the sauce has reduced by half.

Put the spinach on a plate, arrange the scallops, drizzle the sauce over and that makes a quick and yummy meal!

Broccoli Velveeta Casserole

This is a much requested item at our church

use disposable 1/2 sheet pan

7 packages of frozen broccoli, defrosted and well drained
1 2 lb package of velveeta processed cheese spread
1 stick butter or margarine, melted

Topping
2 sleeves of ritz crackers, smashed in a ziploc bag (more if you like lots of topping)
1 stick butter or margarine, melted


Defrost the frozen broccoli and spread in the bottom of the sheet pan. Chop the velveeta into 1/2 inch cubes and mix in the broccoli. Drizzle the 1 stick of melted butter over the vegetable.

Crush the Ritz crackers in a ziploc bag, add the melted butter and shake to mix.
Spread the cracker top over the broccoli and cheese (dare I call it that?)

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and the top is browned

Shredded Beef Roast

One beef roast, can use chuck or some tougher cuts
1 onion chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 package onion soup mix
2 Cinnamon sticks

Put the onions, onion soup mix and Cinnamon sticks into the bottom of a crockpot. Put your beef roast on top. Cook on high for 5 hours and low for another 3 hours until the roast is fork tender and can be shredded with two forks.

The roast will make it's own juice and mingle well with the onion soup and the Cinnamon. Shred in the crock pot so that the juices become incorporated with the meat. You can use this on a sandwich with BBQ sauce, in a burrito, in a casserole or any other way you can think of. Use this in the enchilada casserole recipe in this blog for a tasty treat

Rita's Sausage Bread

This is a favorite at our church coffee hours and a frequent family request

1 package of pizza dough in the can that you smash on the counter to open.
1/2 pound of bulk italian sausage sauteed and broken into small pieces
1 cup of mozerella cheese shredded
sprinkle of oregano or basil (your choice)
jared spaghetti sauce for dipping
Cooking spray

Heat your oven to 350
spray cooking spray on a cookie sheet (I use one with sides)
Spread out pizza dough on pan making sure all cracks are sealed
sprinkle on cooked sausage, sprinkle over mozerella cheese and seasoning
Roll the dough into a log stretching it into a "u". Make sure the seam side is down.
Optional (brush with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese)

Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust looks browned.
Remove from oven, cut into 1/2 slices and dip in warmed spaghetti sauce
Yum Yum

Scallops with Creamy Fresh Tomato Sauce and Pasta

2 pints cherry tomatoes
2T olive oil
1 generous pinch dried chopped garlic

Roast in oven at 400 for 30 minutes
remove and scrape all the good stuff into a sauce pan.

Cook the pasta according to package directions

To the tomatoes add:
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup chicken stock or
1/2 packet of seasoning from ramen noodles (chicken variety)
and 1/2 cup hot water from the pasta
Using a stick blender, puree the mixture until smooth, place on low heat to warm.

In a saute pan, add 2 T butter and 1T olive oil
Heat until the foam has dissapated
Add scallops (that have been thawed and patted dry)
sear on first side for two minutes
Flip and sear on the second side

Toss pasta with the sauce and place scallops alongside.

Mexican Shredded Pork

1 bone-in butt end pork sirloin roast
1 jar of salsa
1T dried garlic
1 Cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Put 1/2 the salsa and the spices on the bottom of a crock pot. Put the meat on top and put the remaining salsa over the top of the roast. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours. Part way through I pulled the roast apart where the butcher had cut it and let it continue to cook.

This makes great Mexican dishes like burritos and tamales....

Crab and Fish Artichoke Dip

2/3 c. mayo (I use the regular)
2/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 package cream cheese
1/2 cup lump crab meat
1/2 cup cooked white type fish (use your favorite and break into small pieces)
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
pepper to taste

Mix the mayo and cream cheese together, breaking up the big pieces of cream cheese. Add the cheddar cheese and chopped artichoke hearts, Old Bay seasoning and the pepper. Stir in the fish and crab. Bake at 30 for 30 minutes or so until it is all heated through and bubbly. Serve with whole wheat type crackers. Yummy!

Baked Roast Pork Sandwiches

If you made the roast in the crockpot that is below, here is another way to use the leftovers.

Purchased frozen pizza dough (defrost according to package directions)
leftover pork roast from crockpot pork roast recipe
purchased BBQ sauce

divide the defrosted dough into 8 mostly equal pieces
make a circle (or something resembling one)
Sometimes the dough will get a little dry crust on it from sitting out raising so I put that side on top so it will be folded into the middle of the sandwich

Add about 1/4 cup of meat (make sure there is room to seal the tops!), drizzle with BBQ sauce, pull the edges together at the top and pinch to seal. A little meat and sauce showing is just fine.

Bake on a cookie sheet in a 375 oven for about 20 minutes (you just have to cook the dough.) Serve with extra sauce. These were a hit for after school and even breakfast. Reheating them in the toaster oven worked best.

A Roast in a Crockpot?

I know the first time I thought about this, I thought "Man that sounds weird!" But it depends on how you want to use the meat. I have discovered that pork works best. I use a pork loin (boneless or not). The crockpot I have is now oval in shape instead of circular and that works better too.

1 whole sweet onion (vadalia or equivalent)
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
if your final meal will be BBQ in some form, add about 1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
Put this on the bottom of the crockpot
put in the roast
cover the pot
turn on high and walk away.

After a few hours, things will be getting juicy.
I let this cook all day.

Remove roast from crockpot and transfer all the juices, cooked onions and tomatoes to a saucepan. Reduce by about 1/4 to 1/3 depending on how much liquid is there. Using a stick blender or your food processor, blend the sauce until smooth. Now you have a lovely gravy/BBQ sauce to pour over the meat.

The meat will basically fall apart in chunks, that's what you want and you don't want to slice it. Just put chunks on a plate, cover with the sauce and you are good to go. I serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie. If you have leftovers, you can shred the meat, heat with the sauce you made fortified with extra BBQ sauce in a pan and put on rolls for a great BBQ sandwich. I usually serve with coleslaw I have added some fruit to: raisins, small pineapple chunks, small apple chunks (or even all three).

If you don't add BBQ sauce, I use this meat as a base for a number of Mexican favorites. Burritos, soft tacos or even homemade tamales.

Warm Grilled Lime Sea Scallop Salad with Mango

Take 6 sea scallops per person, pat dry
create a marinade that includes
1T sesame oil
1T olive oil
1T rice vinegar
1t grated fresh ginger
juice of one lime
zest of one lime (the more zest the better)
Salt and pepper to taste
Toss the ingredients in a large zipper top plastic bag and let sit for about 20 minutes for the flavors to get happy

While the flavors are mingling, make a nice salad with mixed greens, some baby arrugula and radiccio. Chop 1 ripe mango into chunks and mix with the salad. Add 1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into matchstick shaped pieces. Toss the greens with 1T good olive oil, 1/2 t balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Split between two plates.

Fire up a grill pan.
When the pan is nice and hot, grill the scallops. I cook 2-3 minutes per side until you get nice lines on each side. Place on top of the greens and enjoy. This is nice with a crusty french bread

Veal Milanese

1 veal chop per person pounded thin (or use the veal made for scallopini)
(I have also used pork and chicken making this dish)
2 ripe tomatoes chopped coarsely
3 cups baby arugula, torn or chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 chopped red pepper
1-2T good extra virgin olive oil
1t balsamic vinegar
sprinkle of dried garlic either granules or chunks
coarse salt
fresh ground pepper

brush a small amount of olive oil on both sides of the veal. Sprinkle with the garlic and some salt and pepper.

Chop tomatoes, arugula and red pepper and place in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss with tongs, set aside.

Heat grill pan or large skillet, add veal. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, flipping once. Make sure it is not still pink inside.

Put veal on individual plates, top with salad. Serve with a nice wine and fresh bread.

Crockpot London Broil

1 London broil
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 package of onion soup mix
1/2 c red wine

place 1/2 the can of tomatoes and 1/2 the package of soup mix in the bottom of the crockpot. Put the London broil on top (cut into pieces if you need to make it fit.)
Put the remaining tomatoes and soup mix on top and turn on the crock pot on high for 4 hours, add the wine and put on low for another 6. Remove the meat from the sauce, add 2T cornstarch mixed in a little water, turn up to high and let cook for about 5 minutes. Add the meat back in to rewarm and serve with mashed potatoes or noodles.

Enchilada Casserole

This is a layered dish that uses leftover cooked chicken, pork roast or you can use ground beef.

2 c cooked meat (chicken chunks, pork chunks, ground beef)
1 c prepared salsa
1 large can enchilada sauce (use your spice level)
10 corn tortillas cut into pizza wedges (you can also use broken tortilla chips)
cooking spray
1 small can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can goya black bean soup
1 can corn drained (or the equivilent frozen)
1 cup grated cheddar or monteray jack cheese

spray the inside of a cassarole dish with cooking spray
put about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish. Layer half of the tortilla pieces in the bottom, sprinkle half the meat, corn, black bean soup, salsa, diced tomatoes and then add half the remaining enchilada sauce. Repeat the layers starting with the tortillas. Top with the cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until everything is bubbling away.

Serve on a bed of lettuce with a dollop of sour cream or southwestern ranch dip.

Home Made Calzones (Inside Out Pizza)

This one is easy and tasty

Use frozen bread dough and defrost according to the package directions. (You will use the dough for one loaf to make one calzone.)

Oil a cookie sheet that has sides. Preheat your oven to 350.

Place dough on cookie sheet and spread out with your fingers until it fits the inside shape of the cookie sheet. Spread about 1/2 cup of prepared pasta sauce on half the dough making sure to leave a 1/2 inch space at the edge of the dough for sealing. (use the horizontal side) Layer your choice of ingredients on top of the sauce. Tonight I used leftover ham, salami, fresh mozzarella cut in small chunks and sprinkled on top, another layer of salami, some shredded mozzarella, and then I sauteed about a cup of sliced mushrooms, half an onion, and half a red pepper. That went on top. Fold over the dough and seal the edges well. I roll it a bit and crimp it down.

Put in the oven for 30 minutes. Then brush on about a teaspoon olive oil, a sprinkle of coarse salt and some garlic chips or garlic powder. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove and let stand for about 10 minutes if you can wait that long.

You could use any number of fillings for this, all veggie, sausage and other cheeses....it's a great way to use up little bits of stuff in the fridge.

My Favorite Chicken Fried Rice

4 cups of cooked rice
3 eggs
raw veggies cut up to make 3 cups.
2T sesame oil, divided
3T olive oil, divided
2T oyster sauce

Fried rice works best with leftover rice. You can use the stuff leftover from takeout or make some a day before you need it. I use a rice cooker and make 2 cups of dry rice, refrigerate overnight. Separate the grains into a bowl. Beat three eggs and add 1T water. Pour over the rice and stir well, set aside.

Chop a variety of veggies: broccoli, carrots, onion, cabbage, pea pods. I use about 3 cups. You can also add frozen peas if you have some.

Saute the veggies in a hot wok in 2T olive oil mixed with 1T sesame oil. Add 1 c cubed chicken. Remove from pan. Add a little more of each oil, add the rice. Saute until browned. add 1-2T oyster sauce. Add back the veggies and chicken. Toss all the ingredients together and enjoy.
My kids love this!

Roasted Tomatoes with Pasta and Chicken

This is adapted from Rachel Ray who I watch on a little TV in my kitchen as I cook dinner.

Ingredients:
cherry tomatoes
dry pasta
chicken stock
leftover chicken
garlic
salt
pepper
Parmesan cheese
arugula (optional)

You will need at least 2 pints of cherry tomatoes (more is better) and it is fine if they are starting to get the little wrinkles because you bought them and forgot to use them like the ones I used last night. Put them on a cookie sheet with edges (so they don't roll all over) drizzle with olive oil (three times around the pan) sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper to taste. Peel 5-7 garlic cloves and put on the cookie sheet as well. Put in a 425 oven for about 30 minutes (the tomatoes will pop and sizzle and just look roasted.)

Cook the pasta (I used farfalle last time and it looked great)according to package directions.

Take 1/2 a sweet onion (Vidalia type) and do a rough dice, put into a sauce pan and saute until browned and starting to caramelize. Add about 1-1.5 cup of leftover chicken pieces chopped into bite sized chunks and continue to saute the onions until the chicken is reheated.

Put the roasted tomatoes in a medium sized sauce pan making sure you transfer all the remaining oil and juices, squeeze the garlic cloves to extract the soft center and put that in the pan as well. Take a stick blender and roughly puree the tomatoes. I add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and about 1/4 cup of chicken stock to make it a bit more liquid so it coats the pasta better. Be careful to not turn the sauce into mush by pureeing too much (or if you have kids that don't like to see pieces in their sauce, make it smooth.) Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese if you'd like.

Toss the pasta, the sauce, and the chicken and onion mixture together. Take some arugula leaves and slice in thin diagonal strips and toss them in to wilt in the hot mixture. Sprinkle additional Parmesan to taste.