Is it really the last week of October? I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I will be staring into the face of November next week. Saying goodbye to October is bittersweet because there were so many great moments to savor but I'm equally excited about what November has to offer. Lots more family time and memories to be made. My parents were here for a few days last week which was so great. We don't get the chance to spend as much time together as we would like so it's always a treat to have them spend the weekend with us. We all value the time that we get to hang out together because it doesn't happen very often. I don't know about you but when I have company for the weekend, I tend to do more cooking which means that we have even more leftovers than usual at our house after everyone goes home. With that being said - it's leftover week at the Davis house. Weekly Menu for 10/24-10/30 Monday - Chicken Poblano Tortilla Soup This is a recipe that I found in Cooking Light magazine. I've had it for months and I've been waiting on cooler Fall weather to make it. Tuesday - Cedar Planked Shrimp Sound familiar. Yes, this WAS on last weeks menu but well, life happened and the shrimp didn't. Giving this yummy recipe another shot this week. Wednesday - Pulled Pork Sandwiches We had the most delicious Cubano Sandwiches last weekend and I've got lots of leftover pork so it's pork sandwiches for us this week. Thursday - Glazed Roast Chicken I'm firing up the Big Green Egg to roast a whole chicken for dinner. Friday - Chicken Ranch Broccoli Calzones Using up the leftover chicken from yesterday's roast chicken. Friday nights dinners have to be flexible because I just never know what plans my family will make which makes these calzones perfect. Totally packable and totally delicious. Saturday - Date night Courtney has dinner plans so it's just the two of us for dinner tonight - sounds like the perfect opportunity for a date night. Don't you think? Sunday - Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes I simply cannot let Fall slip away without having pumpkin pancakes at least once. My family prefers plain pancakes but I LOVE these Fall inspired pancakes with warm maple syrup. Halloween is right around the corner and we have our adorable jack o'lantern ready to go. Happy owl-o-ween.
Ciao!
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I feel like I am the only girl in America that has not jumped on the Pumpkin Spice Latte bandwagon. I'm actually a fan of the yummy Fall drink - it's the 420 calories that are hard to swallow. On second thought, it's easy to swallow - just hard to burn off. Even though I've been able to resist ordering a pumpkin latte thus far, I have certainly had my fair share of pumpkin treats this month. I've made pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin roll. I've been working out a new pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe and I've enjoyed sampling each batch along the road to pumpkin chocolate chip cookie perfection. Now you know why I can't afford to drink a 420 calorie pumpkin spice latte - I need to save those calories for cookies. ;) Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies 1/2 cup butter 1/4 cup (50 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 Tablespoons (86 grams) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) 1 and 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour (spoon & level) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1/2 cup (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chunks. Use an ice cream scoop to shape cookie dough into flattened balls of dough. Bake 10 - 12 minutes at 350. This recipe was not the easiest cookie recipe that I've ever created. (But it was one of the tastiest.) The addition of pumpkin to a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe did not produce the result that I was looking for. In the end, I eliminated the egg and made some other minor modifications to create this deliciously moist and spicy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.
Ciao!
Even though we were busy with yard improvements, I made Beer Can Chicken on the Big Green Egg on Saturday night. My son though it was a very redneck way to cook a chicken but I've got to tell you - red neck or not - it was a beautiful chicken. I made this chicken to give away to some friends but I had made the same chicken earlier in the week for us to eat. (A test chicken) This was one juicy chicken. Let me start by saying that I am NOT a beer drinker. I hardly ever buy it so needless to say, I headed into the grocery store blindly. The recipe that I was using recommended using a 16 ounce beer can to support the weight of the bird so I bought the first 6 pack of 16 ounce beers that I found. Good thing my dad is coming for a visit soon to drink up the rest of the beer. This recipe came from the March/April 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated. I've never tried to cook a chicken like this before so I thought I would give it a try. (hense the test chicken) I modified the recipe a little so I could cook it on the Egg but I thought it worked out pretty well. The hardest part was getting the chicken off of the can. Glazed Roast Chicken Glaze 1 whole chicken 1 teaspoon cornstarch 5 teaspoons kosher salt 1 Tablespoon water 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup maple syrup 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup orange marmalade 1 16 ounce can beer 1/4 cup cider vinegar 2 Tablespoons butter 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon black pepper Cut 4 1” incisions in chicken breasts. Use metal skewer to poke holes in breasts and thighs. Combine salt, baking powder and pepper. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and rub with salt mixture. Refrigerate uncovered 30-60 minutes. Heat Big Green Egg or oven to 325. Open beer and pour (or drink) 1/2 of the beer out of the can. Spray can with cooking spray. If using a Big Green Egg, put the plate setter over the grate, upside down. Center a disposable aluminum pan over the plate setter. Put the can of beer in the middle of the pan. Slide the chicken over the beer can.
This chicken smelled and looked fabulous. I can't give you my opinion on taste because I gave this chicken away but I can tell you that the test chicken that I made earlier in the week was delicious. I didn't add the glaze to the test chicken because I ran out of time but after making this chicken with the glaze, I definitely think it was worth the extra effort. The glaze really made the skin crispy and golden brown. This recipe is definitely on my list of recipes to make again soon.
Ciao! You know you're a food blogger when you look at this picture and the first thing that comes to your mind is "Where is the color on this plate?" Why in the world didn't I steam some fresh broccoli or green beans to add some nice vibrant color and vegetables this otherwise dull colored meal? Clearly I'm never going to be a food stylist. I'm operating under the assumption that unlike me, you will not get distracted by the fact that this plate has no color and actually look past my dull colored plate. This was actually was a delicious meal. The grilled lemon salmon, the white rice, the white crescent roll - it was all delicious - despite the lack of color. I would definitely recommend that you make this dinner for yourself. Grilled Salmon with Lemon 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 2 salmon filets 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat grill and sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Cook salmon on grill until cooked through. Serve with equally simple side dishes. Something green on this plate would have been great but I didn't have anything on hand. This meal just goes to show that dinners don't have to be complicated and fancy to be delicious. This was a super yummy dinner and it was ready in less than 30 minutes. A little color would make it an even more attractive meal but nonetheless, it was tasty.
Ciao! I planted a single eggplant plant (Is that how you say that?) in my garden last Spring and much to my surprise, I've had TONS of eggplants all summer long and even into this Fall. I've been passing out eggplants to anyone who will take them and we're doing our best to eat as meany of them as we can. They're just so beautiful that I hate for them to go to waste. I've had to get really creative in how I use my eggplant so that we're not eating eggplant parmesan and eggplant meatballs EVERY week. Last week I made a version of eggplant lasagna that turned out REALLY good. It is SUPER easy to put together and it's got all the yummy flavors of a really great lasagna without the carbs. Eggplant Lasagna
Cut eggplant in half, lengthwise and scoop out some of the inside, leaving a 1/2 inch border around edges.
Cover dish with foil. Bake 45 minutes at 350. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Serve. Eggplant lasagna is so much easier to make than traditional lasagna AND it tastes even better. This would be a great appetizer for a party too if you made it with baby Japanese eggplant. I love the way that these look and I love the way that they taste - even more.
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