Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

I love steak night! haha I know I say that all the time, but I like the challenge of finding new side dishes to make each week to change the meal up. This recipe is super simple and uses one of the herbs I am currently growing.

Paremesan Roasted Potatoes

1 pound potatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 table spoon Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon rosemary

fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Cut potatoes in smaller bite size chunks. Combine all ingredients and stir until all potatoes are coated.

On a foil lined sheet, drizzle a little extra olive oil on foil then lay out potatoes in a single layer. Roast until they are tender when poked with a fork.

Chocolate Cherry Mousse

I love being around kids in the kitchen. I think it's important to be able to learn something while making it fun and what's better then being able to make something you can eat? This is a great recipe that teaches the technique of folding.

Chocolate Cherry Mousse

(Adapted from the side of the Comstock cherry can)

1 (3.4 ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix

2 cups cold milk

1 (21 ounce) can comstock More Fruit Cherry Pie Filling or Topping

2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

In a small bowl with electric mixer, combine pudding mix and milk. Beat on low speed 1-2 minutes or until well blended.

Allow pudding to thicken slightly; stir in cherry filling.


Gently fold whipped topping into pudding mixture.

Spoon into parfait glasses or other dessert dishes; chill for 2 hours.

Beef Skewers with Cherry Tomatoes and Parsley Sauce

I've been doing really good keeping my New Year's resolution and I'm proud to say I'm now eating mushrooms. Yeah for me!! :) Tomatoes are another story. I'm trying really hard but it's the texture or something I just can't eat it without making a face.

Beef Skewers with Cherry Tomatoes and Parsley Sauce
Adapted from (Giada at Home)

3 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leave
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds beef filet, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
vegetable of canola oil, for the grill
40 cherry tomatoes (about 2 pints)

In the bowl of the food processor, blend together the parsley, garlic, vinegar, red pepper flakes, sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, until smooth. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil and process until incorporated.

Spoon half of the sauce into a medium bowl. Spoon the remaining sauce in a small serving bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pt the beef in the medium bowl with the parsley sauce. Toss well or coat the beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours. Note: Don't marinate the beef any longer than 3 hours because the vinegar in the marinade will break down the meat and ruin it's texture.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Lightly oil the grill pan or the grilling rack with vegetable oil. Thread the skewers, starting with a cherry tomato, then a cube of beef. Repeat with another cherry tomato and another cube of beef. Continue with the remaining skewers.

Grill the skewers for 2 to 3 minutes on each side (for medium-rare) or until desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, arrange the beef skewers on a serving platter. Drizzle with the reserved parsley sauce or serve the sauce on the side as a condiment.

Asparagus Bundles

So I have a rather late start to my day here. I had Internet issues this morning and then had to run a bunch of places today now I'm back online and trying to finish what I started this morning. I really could use a nap right now and it's not even 2:00pm!

Thank you for all your well wishes to the hubby he says THANK YOU!! Our winner of the Rachael Ray 30 minute meals 2 goes to......Kathy!! Congrats and I hope you find lots of good stuff to whip up! Please email your information at crazystar32@gmail.com so I can get your book out to you right away.

Today's recipe is a simple one yet full of flavor. I've made it a couple of times now. If you use thick bacon you might want to cook it a little otherwise your asparagus will be over cooked. I also made it with prosciutto and that seems to work best. Be sure to adjust your time in the oven if you have thinner asparagus.

Asparagus Bundles

(Adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood)

2 pounds fresh asparagus, ends trimmed
12 slices bacon
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Divide the asparagus into 12 bundles/ Carefully wrap 1 piece of bacon around each bundle, starting about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the tips. Secure the bacon-wrapped spears with a toothpick. (I didn't do this, it did fine laying the flap side down.) Lay the bundles in a low-sided casserole dish.

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, soy sauce, garlic salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Pour the hot sugar mixture over the asparagus bundles.

Transfer the dish to the oven and roast for 25 minutes, or until the spears have begun to wilt and the bacon looks fully cooked. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

Strawberry Pie

I really like when summer starts to kick off and there's lots of fresh fruit out. Our local store has had lots of fruits on sale so I picked up some strawberries to make a pie I haven't had in I don't know how long. Check out how big these are:

I didn't get any pictures of the sliced pie because we finished it up pretty quickly. Yummy!!

Last chance to enter the cookbook giveaway!! Click HERE for details.

Strawberry Pie

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup water

1/4 cup strawberry jello

2 cups strawberries, halved

baked 9 inch pie shell

cool whip

Cook first 3 ingredients until thick and clear.

Remove from heat and add jello. Cool.

Wash berries and remove stems, drain on paper towels and pat dry before mixing with cooled filling.

Mix berries with filling and pour in baked shell.

Refrigerate before serving to set. Top with whipped cream if desired.

I used the rest of the jello and made some fruit cups.