On the menu the week of April 20th...

It's really hot today and I'm sitting on my couch thinking about how I really don't want to warm up the kitchen by turning our monstrous oven on. Here's what we've got on the menu for the week if I can motivate myself to turn on the oven:

Crunchy Shrimp with Toasted Couscous and Ginger-Orange Sauce
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1141973
This recipe is really fabulous. We leave the mayo out of the sauce because my husband is mayo-averse. It would be a really nice light meal for a hot evening. I'm using mache greens from Trader Joe's instead of watercress because good watercress is hard to find.

Rosy Beet Risotto
See my blog posting from April 2008.

Tofu with Asian Veggies in Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce
Make some rice. Saute a bag of frozen asian veggies on high heat in canola oil for about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat and throw in the tofu and cook a couple more minutes. Pour a 1/2 bottle of thai red curry sauce and heat through. Serve over rice.

Mom's Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Oatmeal-Blueberry-Pancakes/Detail.aspx
Who says you can't have breakfast for dinner? I have buttermilk left over and this is how I'm going to use it. If only I can find some frozen blueberries in my freezer.

Bruschetta
See my blog posting from May 2008 - A Simple (Almost) Summer Meal. Since tomatoes aren't in season yet, I got cherry tomatoes. I'm going to chop them up and toss them with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic and basil instead of using plain sliced tomatoes. This should liven up the flavor a little bit.

I also have to make some Cinnamon Apple Cakes (See November 2008 posting "It's Been Awhile...") for Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday. I can't let our Administrative Staff down, I'm going to have to turn on the oven...ugh. At least the butter will soften quickly in this weather.

I've tried all of these recipes before and I can vouch for all of them. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake

I found a really moist and delicious recipe for Carrot Cake on myrecipes.com. I highly recommend it. You cook it in a 9X13 pan and can just leave it there and frost it in there.

Although this is a reduced fat recipe, it still has plenty of fat. It would probably taste really good without the frosting, which would greatly reduce the fat grams. So Dad, no frosting for you!

Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1054818

Easy tasty meal

I often wonder if anyone actually reads this blog, since no one ever leaves comments. So far it hasn't brought me any fame or fortune, but I do find it useful when I need a recipe I've cooked in the past.

I've made Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts several times. It's really, really easy and very delicious. Try it!

We just had it for dinner tonight and it was very satisfying. I'm always surprised by what a little amount a big bag of spinach cooks down to. Be sure to use the full 10 ounces and don't use frozen.

Freeze your extra pine nuts, they'll last longer.

My parents also love this recipe.

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1867562

Inspired Again!

My husband & I have been trying very hard not to eat out because of our recession. That means I've been cooking dinner everyday. Pretty much all the things I've posted in the past have been eaten over and over again....until today.

Today I made Parmesan-Crusted Broiled Sea Scallops. They were delicious. Jumbo Sea Scallops were on sale (and not because they were about to go bad) so Andy picked up 10 which is about 1.2 lbs. We used the recipe below which I found through a google search and happened to show up on one of my favorite recipe websites - myrecipes.com. We didn't have melba toasts as called for in the recipe, so I used panko bread crumbs that I had on hand. Panko are japanese style bread crumbs.

These scallops were fantastic! They were so rich and delicious with a crunchy outside and buttery scallop inside. We had them with asparagus which is recently in season and Trader Joe's Harvest Blend of cous cous, orzo, quinoa and baby chickpeas. It was a restaurant meal at a fraction of the cost. I highly recommend this scallop recipe.

Parmesan-Crusted Broiled Sea Scallops:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=640205