Easy Egg Nog for any time of the year!

Ok so I know that there is an unwritten rule about Egg Nog that says - only drink it during the holidays. But I say, I loooove Egg Nog (& there must be someone else out there that craves it in the summer months too). I think everyone should have the option to drink it any time they want to! Milk Shakes & Frappucinos are acceptable year round, so why not Egg Nog? For those of you that fret about this, year & year again, don't worry I am here to help! When the holidays are over and the grocery stores stop carrying it, I have a super-easy super-satisfying quick way to make Egg Nog at home!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar (even less is still yummy if you need to cut some out)

3 cups milk (nonfat for a lighter & still delicious version)

1t Vanilla

As much of your favorite vanilla icecream as you desire!

How to make it:

Take icecream out of the freezer to melt a little.

Beat together sugar & eggs

Stir in milk, vanilla & as much icecream as you want and let it melt in.

Then serve! And add rum if you would like! Yum! Yum!

Make Your Own Pesto!

You gotta love Italy for coming up with Pesto YUM! Pesto just makes so many things taste better! And the premade kind you get from the store doesn't even taste like pesto in comparison to fresh pesto. But don't worry it turns out that it is actually pretty easy to make yourself!

Ingredients:

1 bunch Fresh basil

3 Tbl Pine nuts

4 cloves Garlic

1/2 cup Olive oil

2 oz Parmesan or Romano cheese grated

How to make it:

1)Rinse basil & toast pine nuts in a dry pan until light brown spots appear.

2) Mash all ingredients except olive oil and cheese by hand for a chunky result, or puree in a food processor.

3) Add olive oil & cheese.

4) Keeps in a closed container in the fridge. Check on it in 3-4 days and if the olive oil hasn't risen to the top add some more to create a protective barrier or freeze in an ice cube tray.

*Use it in sandwiches, pasta, pizza, potatoes, fish, chicken, vegetable dishes you name it!

"Make Him Fall for You" Beef Stroganoff

Serve this to your prospect and watch his heart melt! ;)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Unsalted butter

3 cloves Garlic minced

1 cup chopped onion

2 small cans or 1 big can mushrooms (of course fresh is always best but I like to cheat on this recipe)

2 lbs sirloin or round steak cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup Sourcream

Salt & Pepper to taste

1Tsp Kitchen Bouquet

2Tsp Worchestershire Sauce

3 Tbl Flour

2 Beef boullion cubes

Brown Rice or Pasta

Fry pan

Baking dish


How to make it:

PREHEAT oven 350 degrees

1) Cook pasta or Rice


2) Melt butter into fry pan and brown the steak "well" in it.


3) Add garlic, onion & mushrooms & cook until soft.


4) Add sourcream, Kitchen Bouquet & Worchestershire.


5) Mix 3 Tbl of flour into 1 cup boullion (2 bouillion cubes in 1 cup hot water) and add to everything else.


6) Pour into baking dish, cover & bake.

*Best to bake 20 mins at 350 degrees then 300 degrees for 1 hr (or longer) but just 1 hr at 350 degrees will work just fine!

*Dinner Tonight* - Angelic Lemon & Dill Salmon

This recipe is so incredibly easy & I know it's delicious because my fiance, (who doesn't like seafood & usually trys not to do seconds) couldn't resist seconds!

Everytime I make this I don't measure anything. So please just use the amounts as a guideline.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter or approx 3 Tbl Olive Oil for a healthier version

1/2 pkg Angel Hair Pasta (I like the kind with flax in it & I cook the whole pkg and use the left overs for something else)

2 Tbl Fresh or 1 Tbl Dried Dill

Salt to taste

1/2 lb Salmon

3 Tsp Lemon juice

1 clove Garlic minced

1/2 cup Onion finely chopped

1 medium saucepan
1 medium to large fry pan

How to make it:

1) Boil water in a saucepan for the pasta. And follow pkg instructions for cooking.

2) Melt butter in a frying pan add garlic & onion cook for approx. 2 mins.

3) Add salmon, lemon & dill. Cook until salmon is done all the way through, and then flake it into bit sized chunks.

4)Add salt and add to pasta. Drizzle more olive oil or butter if needed.

5) Enjoy :)

Best Breakfast in Bed - Apple Pan Puff

On a Saturday morning when you are feeling like doing something nice. Make someone you love breakfast in bed! This recipe is perfect for splitting in half. It may seem like alot of food for 2 people, but I promise it's so scrumptious you will easily, "make room".

Ingredients:

• 2 Apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla, Almond or Hazelnut Extract

How to make it:


1) PREHEAT oven to 450 degrees


2) Saute apples in butter until soft.


3) Spread apples evenly over the bottom of a glass or ceramic pie plate, or a cast iron pan.


4) In a medium bowl, beat eggs, add flour and beat until smooth.


5) Stir in milk & extract.


6) Pour over apples.


7) Bake 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.


*Serve with Paige-shire Cream, Creme Fraiche (see previous recipe post) or Whipping Cream.

* I also like to pile whatever fresh fruit is in season on top.

Delight overnight guests w/Fancy Lemon & Ricotta Pancakes in the morning!

If you are trying to impress anyone with breakfast, these pancakes are the way to do it! They look so much more time consuming than they are. & your guest(s) will feel like they are staying at a fancy French B&B. I have even made these the night before when I am having overnight guests, put them in the fridge and then heated them in the oven or microwave in the morning for a no fuss fussy (looking & tasting) breakfast!

How to make Lemon & Ricotta Pancakes

Heat fry pan with canola oil or butter over med. heat

Briskly whisk together:
1 3/4 cups ricotta
1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbl zest from 2-3 lemons


Gently combine in 2/3 c flour

drop small spoonfulls in the fry pan & be careful when flipping, they are very delicate.

*Yummy with:

Mimosas How to make them:

Pour approx. 3 oz orange juice, chilled (fresh squeezed is best) into a champagne flute then pour approx 6.5 oz dry champagne, chilled into the champagne flute and stire lightly. Then drink AHHHHHH mmmmhmmm! YUMMY

Fresh Fruit (especially raspberries or other berries) Although peaches or nectarines might be really good!

Devonshire Cream

How to make it:

To taste mix together sourcream vanilla & sugar (I like the raw kind) & heat it up in the microwave or in a saucepan.

or Creme Fraiche

Creme fraiche is a thick cream used in sauces and soups and as a condiment for fresh fruits.

How to make it:

Plan ahead as this will take some time.

Difficulty: EasyTime

Required: 8-14 hours

Here's How:1 cup whipping cream mixed with 2 tablespoons buttermilk.Combine well in glass jar and cover.Let stand at room temperature (about 70 degrees F.) for 8 to 24 hours, or until thickened.Stir well and refrigerate.Use within 10 days.Tips:Use as a thickener for soups or sauces.Spoon over fresh fruits, puddings or warm cobblers.Can be used in boiled recipes as it will not curdle.

What You Need: 2T Buttermilk & 1 cup Whipping Cream

Paige-nang Curry

My very favorite Thai dish to order out at Thai Restaurants is Panang Curry. To me it is absolutely one of THE very BEST comfort foods. It's creamy, thick, spicey, sweet & oh so delightfully addictive! In the past I have made it at home with delicious results. But today I didn't want to waste the time it takes going to the market and get all the special ingredients required. So I just used what I already had, & I am shocked at how this scrumptious concoction completely satisfied my panang hankering!

Ingredients

• Frying pan



• 1 Head Garlic peeled & roughly chopped (Use less if you aren't a garlic lover



• 1 Small Onion (I like Walla Walla Sweet Onions so I actually use a quarter of 1) Slivered



• 1 Red, Yellow, or Green Bell Pepper Slivered



• 2 Chicken Breasts



• 2 Tbl Sesame Oil (optional any oil you usually fry with can be used)



• 1 Tbl Coconut Oil (optional any oil you usually fry with can be used)



• 1 Can Coconut Milk



• Sprinkle of Cayenne pepper to taste



• Sprinkle of Chili Powder to taste



• Sprinkle of Ginger Powder



• Salt to taste



• 1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes Cut in half (regular tomato diced)



• 2 Tbl Tomato Paste



• 1/2 cup Fresh Basil or Cilantro roughly chopped



• 1 cup Quinoa - (KEEN-wa) is a food used by the ancient Incas that is similar to rice or couscous, but is not a grain. Surprisingly a relative of spinach, it has a light nutty flavor and can be used in a side or main dish in most any cuisine.
• 2 cups Water

Cooking Instructions

1) Drizzle sesame oil & coconut oil into a frying pan turn on medium heat.

2) Cut Chicken into strips and place into oil.

3) Continually turn over strips until all sides are browned.

4) Add Garlic, Bell Peppers & Onions and cook approx. 1 minute.

5) Add coconut milk, tomato paste, tomatoes, & spices (ginger, cayenne, chili, basil & Salt) & simmer approx. 10 minutes (while it's simmering you can start cooking the quinoa!)

How to cook Quinoa in the Microwave

1) Some quinoa is sold pre-rinsed, and some is not. If you see a white powdery coating on it, it should be rinsed before cooking to avoid a bitter taste. Use a fine mesh colander or just swish it around with water in a bowl. Repeat this until the water is clear.

2) Put the rinsed or pre-rinsed cup of quinoa in your microwave safe dish. The dish should be about quart size because the quinoa will boil up quite high while cooking. Add 2 cups of water and cover loosely with a lid or plastic wrap.

3) Cook in the microwave for about 6 or 7 minutes, let it sit for 1 minute and carefully check it while wearing pot holders. It is done when it begins to stick together and the outer white ring is visible and spiraling apart from many of the grains. If it is not finished cooking, add no more than 2 tablespoons of water if it was all absorbed, and return it to the microwave for 1 minute at a time. Let it sit for 1 minute each time.

4) Once finished, allow the quinoa to sit 1 minute or more to finish cooking and absorb any water that is left.

How to cook Quinoa on the stovetop

1) In a heavy pan, bring 2 cup water to a boil.

2) Add 1 cup dry quinoa.

3) Put on the lid and turn the burner heat to low.

4) Cook for 20 minutes on low heat.
Note: Walk-away Stovetop Method - If you use a heavy pot, you can bring the water to a boil, stir in the dry quinoa, put the lid on, turn the heat off, cover it with a towel, and walk away from it. It will cook slowly by itself and stay warm for a good 3-4 hours. (Just make sure you turn the heat off before you cover the pot with the towel! )