How To: Spruce Up Your Leftovers!

If you're like me, then you most likely come home from a restaurant with a doggy bag. The only problem is whatever is left over never looks as good or fresh as it did in the restaurant. Most likely your sides have already been eaten, and you're left with something like this:

Things That Make Me Smile ^_^

Hubby playing Black Ops while baby hammy munches on some turkey & fresh flowers!!

Prosciutto and Garlic Spaghetti

This was an experimental dish from about a week ago. The Mr. was at work and I still had half a box of spaghetti left from this recipe. I bought garlic from North Park Produce and it came already peeled, about 8 ounces worth! I also had a packet of prosciutto in the fridge that I didn't have a clue what to do with. This dish turned out to be so delicious, salty, cheesy, and hearty. A real comfort food.

Lobster Spaghetti

Just mmmmmmm.

This was a delicious meal. I made heated up Trader Joe's butter sage sweet potato gnocchi as a small appetizer, and this pasta was the main dish. I didn't have a recipe so I just winged it using whatever ingredients I had on hand.

To make this you really only need a few basic ingredients. I bought the lobster tails at Trader Joe's. I believe it was 12 ounces for $8.99, it might have been $7.99. Either way it wasn't over 10 bucks for a ton of washed, trimmed, and cooked lobster tails.

The End of 2010

It seems that many other bloggers are doing sweet recaps of all their fashion or fun during 2010. I would love to join in but instead I'm stuck on the couch wrapped up in a blanket cursing this time of year. As we are all very much aware, it's flu season. And I've got the flu. Lucky me!

It happens every year at this time, flu shot or not, so it was really only a matter of time. I don't get vaccinated on stuff like the flu or chicken pox or whatever else I'd get regardless because it's a waste of money and resources (although I'm sure there are many that would disagree with me on that). There are some events that I'll always remember from 2010 like this awesome blogging thing, my Godson being born, making new memories with old friends, being married for 2 whole years, and of course buying the cutest hamster in the entire world.

Wishing you all a HAPPY new year! Good luck in 2011! ^_^

Last Minute Gift Idea!

Merry Christmas Eve fellow bloggers. I'm missing the hubby since he'll be gone until the 27th, but I'm very thankful to have my dad and sister back in town for the holidays! This is going to be a great Christmas ^_^

For those of you who didn't get all of your shopping finished in time, or maybe you're looking for a cute stocking stuffer, here's a quick and easy homemade gift that is sure to please! Homemade sugar shower scrub! My sister gave me the idea to make my own when I started talking about how great all the St. Ives products look. After playing around with different ingredients and amounts I think I found an easy formula using ingredients you're sure to have on hand:

Chocolate Clafoutis--Adapted from Stone Soup

If you've browsed my recipes you can't help but notice my love of French food. Although I have volumes one and two of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the recipes can be quite difficult to tackle. One of my favorite foodie blogs is Stone Soup. Jules is all about being a minimalist cook, which means leaving behind the ridiculously complicated recipes and sticking to basics. She recently released her (free!!) ebook which can be downloaded from her blog! I love the book because all of the recipes are guaranteed to use 5 ingredients or less. Genius!

Dinner Tonight: Baked Chicken with Zucchini and Tomatoes

This is a simple recipe that you can pull off on a busy work or school night. It was as simple as, "hey! I have chicken and zucchini, what can I make?" Well, throw in a little breading and fresh tomatoes and you have a lovely and simple meal that serves 2-4 people.

Mango Chicken Sausage Pasta

This is a simple dish you can throw together on a busy weeknight. The sausage and pasta has plenty of protein and whole wheat deliciousness. The spinach will give this dish a bright fresh flavor, plus a good boost of iron and calcium!

Cranberry Orange Stuffing

Sorry for posting this so late! It's been a crazy busy week. This stuffing is absolutely delicious and very easy to make. I adapted this from Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals recipe found here. Her recipe was to serve four people, but her serving size was about an ice cream scoop full. Now, I don't know about your family, but mine is all about leftovers. I wanted to make enough to feed all 6 of us and have some goodies left over. 

Keep in mind that I undercooked mine slightly so that tomorrow when we re-heat it, it won't dry out. I say cook yours about 40-45 minutes or until it's golden brown on top and no longer a soupy texture.

Cranberry Orange Stuffing

• EVOO
• Couple pats of butter
• 7 ribs of celery diced , no leaf with the white chopped off
• 1.5 medium white onions, I chopped it super fine
• 3 bay leaves
• S&P to taste
• 2 cans (32 ounces) chicken stock
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme
• 2.5 loaves Trader Joe's Low Fat Cranberry Orange Bread

First things first, if you can't get Trader Joe's brand cranberry orange bread then don't worry about it. I'd say 2 loaves are equivalent to about 5 large cranberry orange muffins. So 7 muffins? Yikes. I'm sorry I'm not sure how big the loaves are and I forgot to take pictures before I threw away the wrappers . . . 

Preparation & Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Chop all of your veggies, saute in a skillet over medium-low heat with the bay leaves and thyme until they've reduced in size and softened. Once the oven is heated, chop the bread and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. I had left my bread unwrapped on a baking sheet for two days to dry it out a bit, which it didn't really get dry so I had to toast it up a bit. Beat the eggs and whisk in the chicken stock/broth. In a large bowl add the veggies and bread. Ladle the stock over the bread and veggies and mix until it has soaked up a lot of moisture. I ended up not using the entire 2 cans of broth because I didn't want the mixture to be too soupy, since the bread is already much more moist than regular toasted bread. It should be moist enough where you squeeze it in your hand some of the moisture leaks out, but doesn't drip down your hand. Place mixture in casserole dish and bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let cool and serve!