Rosemary & Sea Salt Rolls - Yummy!

How delicious do these Rosemary and Sea Salt rolls look? My mouth is watering. They were sooooo delicious. I will be making these again and again. I first had rosemary bread at Macaroni Grill in Atlanta, GA. It was so delicious. We would eat the whole loaf and ask for more. When I saw the my friend Ree, aka the Pioneer Woman, making these I knew they would be close to the perfection we had at Macaroni Grill. I might even go so far as to say they are even better. The best part is you start with frozen yeast rolls so you don’t even have to make the dough. These are super easy and super delicious. Add these to your dinner and you won’t regret it. Let’s get started:

Ingredients:

• Frozen, Unbaked Dinner Rolls
• Melted Butter, salted
• Fresh Rosemary, Coarsely Chopped
• Coarse Sea Salt

Directions:

Spray a small iron skillet with cooking spray (or coat with olive oil). I use the best of both worlds, olive oil spray. Place frozen rolls in the skillet, leaving plenty of room for rising.

Cover with plastic wrap (put a little spray on the top of the plastic wrap) and allow to rise for several hours. Check the package for details.

Viola! It's like magic.

After rising, brush rolls with melted butter.

Sprinkle on chopped rosemary. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Bake according to roll package directions (usually 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes - check package for cooking instructions), until rolls are a deep golden brown on top and look delicious. Let's just look at them one more time since they are so beautiful.....

Your friends and family will thank you! Enjoy!

Perfect Roast Chicken

One of our favorite and most perfect meals is a simple chicken roasted in the oven with some root vegetables. Nothing really beats the perfection of a roasted chicken and veggies. It’s easy to throw together and so satisfying. I mean, who doesn’t love a roasted chicken?? A crazy person, that’s who! Such a yummy meal. One of my dear friends, Ina (aka the Barefoot Contessa) taught me how to make the perfect roasted chicken. Well, she didn’t really have to teach me too much because it’s quite simple. Now I’d like to teach you how to make the perfect roasted chicken. Everyone should keep this recipe in their back pocket and pull it out when needed. Let’s get started:

Ingredients:

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 10 sprigs
• 5-6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, approximately
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4-6 red potatoes, halved
• Olive oil for drizzling
• 1/2 (or a little more) cup white wine or chicken broth

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Sometimes I forget this step, so this is an important reminder. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.

Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, a few rosemary sprigs, both halves of lemon, and about 5 – 6 cloves of garlic, whole. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.

Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. If you don’t have kitchen string, like me, then you can cut a little slit in the chicken and tuck the legs inside. See my photo. It’s a nifty trick. Place the onions, carrots, potatoes and garlic in roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, about 10 sprigs of thyme, a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top. Pour wine or chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. If you had to use a giant pan like I did, you might need to use a little more liquid to cover the bottom of the pan. I think it's time I buy something smaller than a roasting pan for a giant turkey!

See how the legs are tucked through the side skin? Cool trick, right?

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.

Doesn't that look delicious?? Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables and you are ready for the perfect dinner! Enjoy!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I can hear you saying...."a recipe with cinnamon AGAIN". Yeah, yeah, I recently posted two other recipes with cinnamon, but here’s another one. Guess what....I love cinnamon! Hello, my name is Dawn and I’m addict to cinnamon. Hey, I could be addicted to worse things! I could be an alcoholic, I could be a hoarder, but I'm not, I just really love all things cinnamon! And look, you all get to benefit from my cinnamon addiction and join in my fun. Two things I love are cinnamon and coffee cake. Put those two things together and I’m in hog heaven. And yes, I’ll eat like a pig and turn into a hog. This recipe makes the most awesome cake batter. It tastes a lot like my pound cake batter. I should know, I’ve sampled them both....several times.

Would you also like to make an awesome coffee cake? I’m going to assume that answer was yes and give you the recipe. This one was thanks to a Good Housekeeping cookbook I found on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble. Who knew Good Housekeeping was still publishing awesome cookbooks?? I was happy to discover this and I do love a good bargain! You’ll be seeing more recipes from this book soon. Okay, let’s get started:

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup sugar plus 1 3/4cup sugar
• 2/3 cup walnuts (or pecans), finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 3/4cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened, or margarine
• 3 large eggs
• 1 container (16 ounces) sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9-inch to 10-inch tube pan with removable bottom. I don’t have a tube pan so I just used my bundt pan and flipped the cake over after it came out. I’m sure it’s easier with a tube pan, but this method worked too! Dust the pan with flour after greasing. In small bowl, mix 2/3 cup sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon. Next time, I might double this mixture so I have more filling and more topping. Who doesn’t want more cinnamon, right??

In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat remaining 1 3/4 cups sugar and butter until blended, scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Increase speed to high; beat until creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Reduce speed to low; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping bowl. Beat in vanilla.

How beautiful is that batter?? Wish I could lick that paddle now!

Spoon one-third of batter into prepared tube pan. Sprinkle about 1/2  nut mixture evenly over batter, then spread half of remaining batter on top.

Sprinkle with a little less than remaining 1/2  more nut mixture (reserve some for topping); layer with remaining batter, then remaining nut mixture.

Bake cake 1 hour 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Check after an hour to see how things are progressing. You don’t want to burn this fabulous cake! Cool cake in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. With small metal spatula, loosen cake from side of pan and lift cake from pan bottom. Invert cake onto plate; remove bottom of pan. Immediately invert cake onto wire rack to cool completely, with nut mixture on top.

Doesn't that look delicious piping hot and fresh out of the oven? Well, it was delicious! Luckily this time I took some into work to share with others so David and I wouldn't eat the entire thing. It's not like we weren't prepared to give it a try. Give this recipe a try and you'll love it too. Thanks Good Housekeeping!

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Are you in need of a quick and easy and flavorful meal?? Pinterest to the rescue! I love Pinterest so much. There's no way I'll ever be able to make everything I've pinned, but it's fun to work through as many recipes as possible. I've had this one pinned for a while and I couldn't wait to make it. David loves cilantro so I knew he'd love this one. I didn't think I liked cilantro too much, but I was wrong! This was really delicious in this dish and oh so flavorful! The cilantro just gives it that extra flavor punch! Cilantro plus lime equals Delish! If you have about 5-10 minutes to spare, you have time to make this awesome meal! Now let's get started:

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 lb shrimp, shelled and deviened
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper 

Directions:

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. I like to use my iron skillet. It just makes everything better and reminds me of my parents and grand parents. Add oil to the pan, when hot add the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. When the shrimp is cooked on one side, about 2 minutes, turn over and add garlic. I used frozen shrimp and just warmed them in the oil with garlic. Sauté another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook. No one wants tough shrimp!

Sorry it's blurry, but you get the idea...saute' shrimp w/garlic.

Remove from heat. Squeeze lime juice all over shrimp and toss with cilantro. Serve hot.

I was so excited to use my new citrus juicer! It works great!

This is such a beautifully flavorful dish! And such a low calorie treat! Next time, I'm going to add another lime and a little more olive oil and serve it over pasta. The sauce this created was so fresh and tasty. It would be awesome over some angel hair pasta so a drop isn't wasted. I served it with rice so that helped collect some flavors too.  Give that a try this time!

Golden Rod Eggs

 

This recipe might be a little odd to some of you, but I like to think of it as unique. This has become an Easter brunch tradition in our house. I grew up on Golden Rod Eggs and can’t say that I was a huge fan of them when I was a kid. My parents made it a lot for dinner and when I was younger, but I wasn’t a fan of breakfast for dinner. I thought I was being cheated out of a real meal. Little did I know, breakfast for dinner is one of the best invention ever! My parents were way smarter than me and knew what they were doing. I love breakfast for dinner now! Golden Rod Eggs are a unique meal and I always thought my parents made it up. I had never found anyone else that had ever heard of such a thing. Sounded crazy to me.....until I met my husband. Apparently his mom used to make them growing up and it was one of his most favorite meals in the world. How could that be??? My parents didn’t really make it up to torture me with breakfast for dinner??? This was too much to handle. I couldn’t believe that another human being knew about Golden Rod Eggs. Hey, if you are out there reading this, and have heard of them, please post on this blog entry. Oh, and you aren’t my brother, sister, or Daddy. I know how you’ve heard of them.  I’d love to hear the story of how non-family members were introduced to Golden Rod Eggs. I still haven’t met anyone else who has heard of them. Maybe both of our families were “unique”. I’m sure you are dying to hear about this recipe, so let’s get started.....

 

Ingredients:

 

6-8 hard boiled eggs

1/2 stick of butter

3/4 cup milk

3-6 (plus) Tablespoons of flour

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

 

Boil eggs, peel, and gently separate the yolk from the white part. I always get my husband to help with the peeling. I hate it. It’s his way of contributing to the meal.

 

 

Dice the egg whites and finely grate the yolks.  It can prove to be a bit difficult to grate the yolks. Be gentle and use the finest grater you have. If you don’t want to go through the trouble, you can just mash them with a fork until they are broken into very small pieces.

 

 

In a saucepan, melt butter. After it is completely melted start adding the flour. I start with about 3 Tablespoons and add until I have a nice thick roux (or rue). See photo to judge how yours should look. I ended up using about 6 – 7 Tablespoons.

 

 

 

Now add the milk. Again, start with a little and add as you go. Pour in about 1/4 cup at a time, until all has been incorporate and you have a thick sauce.

 

 

 

Once the sauce has thickened, add the diced egg whites, salt and pepper. 

 

 

Now toast 6 – 8 slices of bread. This all depends on how much topping you like on each piece. We can only make 6 slices out of this recipe. Once bread is toasted, top with egg white mixture and top with grate yolks.

 

 

How does that look?? Pretty tasty! Now you have a sacred family recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy it too. Happy Easter!

Chicken Florentine Pasta

Who knew I’d be posting so many recipes that contained spinach?? If you ask my parents, they sure wouldn’t think it would be me. I was such a picky eater and never tried anything new. Now I love all veggies....once you cook them. Don’t try to serve me raw veggies. I’ll break out in a rash! ;-)  Now I love sautéed spinach, I especially love it wilted in pasta. Yum-my! Throw in some cooked tomatoes and then you’re in business. That is such a yummy combination! Look at that photo, how beautiful is that??

I just happened to be browsing my girlfriend, Ree’s (aka The Pioneer Woman), blog the other day and found this delicious recipe. It had all of my favorite ingredients....Pasta (#1), tomatoes, spinach and cheese. Ree used parmesan cheese, but I changed it up to feta because there is nothing better than pasta with tomatoes and feta. That perks up my taste buds! One of my all time favorites!

This is an easy dish to make, yet it is so full of flavor and so good for you too. Again, I shock myself when I post healthy recipes. I’m practically a licensed nutritionist and a chef.

Get ready for one of your new favorite recipes too....

Ingredients:

• 1 pound rotini (or you could use penne)
• 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3/4 cups Dry White Wine
• 3/4 cups Low-sodium Broth, More If Needed
• 1 bag Baby Spinach
• 2 cups Grape Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• Feta for garnish (or shaved parmesan)

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions in lightly salted water. Drain and set aside.

Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle on salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chunks in a single layer and do not stir for a minute or two in order to allow the chicken to brown on the first side. Turn the chicken and brown on the other side. Cook until done, then remove chicken from the skillet.

Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and quickly stir to avoid burning. After about 30 seconds, pour in wine and broth, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to bubble up, then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point.)

Add tomatoes and let cook a couple of minutes to soften.

At this point I like to smash the tomatoes with a fork a little so the juices are added to the sauce. Add spinach, chicken, and cooked pasta to the skillet. Toss to combine. The spinach will wilt as you toss everything. Turn heat off.

Help, I'm wilting......

Dish up in a nice giant bowl. This is so delicious, you’ll want to make sure you have a large enough bowl. If you have fresh basil, garnish with a few chopped leaves. I love feta cheese so I garnish with feta as well. Okay, it’s a little more than a garnish, it’s a heaping helping of feta. Toss the feta in the bowl, it mixes with the sauce and makes a delicious creamy sauce. If you don’t love feta, toss with parmesan shavings. No matter what, garnish with some type of cheese!

Now, do your best to just eat one serving....I lost on that! And I might have added more feta after I took this photo.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

As you have learned if you are a frequent visitor to my blog, I LOVE all things cinnamon. It is my absolute favorite spice. It’s good for you too! I’ve had this recipe pinned on my Pinterest for quite sometime, but just haven’t gotten around to making it. Well, we were sitting around this evening and my husband said he was craving something with cinnamon. Well  I jumped up with excitement! I have just the thing!! I looked up this recipe quickly and got to baking. This recipe is so super simple, you don’t really need a recipe. I’ll give you one anyway because I’m so nice. If you want a quick and easy recipe, you have come to the right place! We ate up this pan of cinnamon rolls in one sitting. I’m not even kidding! We are pigs and I’m not afraid to admit it. They are so yummy, you can't eat just one. Nothing better than cinnamon rolls hot out of the oven. Well, one thing is better.....topping them with icing!  Do you want a delicious and simple recipe?? Here you go:

Ingredients for rolls:

• 1 tube Refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1/4 c Granulated sugar
• 2 T cinnamon
• Softened butter to spread on dough

Icing:

• 1/2 c powdered sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 2-3 t milk (start with 2 T and see if you need more, I didn't)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Unroll crescent dough and separate. Spread with a thin layer of softened butter.

• Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

• Roll up dough as usual and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.



• I took it one step further and sprinkled the left over cinnamon and sugar mixture on top. You can't have too much cinnamon, right?
• Now of course you'll want to top them with the icing:
• Mix all ingredients together until it is your desired consistency. Use to drizzle over pastries or as a dipping icing. We did a little bit of both!

Drizzle the icing over these delicious treats and enjoy them while they are still warm. Yummy!

Beef Tenderloin

I’m so excited! I cooked my first beef tenderloin and it turned out delicious! Well, it was a bit of a struggle, but eventually it turned out perfect! There may have been a second degree burn issue and I might have pulled it out of the oven about 5 times to check it. See, I’m here to help you so you don’t have to make the mistakes I did. First rule of thumb, if you put a meat thermometer in the meat while it’s cooking, it WILL be hot and burn your skin! Do not attempt to remove without an oven mitt! That was my first mistake. Ouch, my thumb still hurts! Let’s not focus on that, let’s get back to the best piece of meat you will ever put in your mouth!

Every year at Christmastime, we go to FL to see my in-laws. Grandy always makes the best beef tenderloin EVER for Christmas Eve dinner. It melts in your mouth. I’m not even kidding, it is so delicious. I’ve wanted to make a tenderloin, but always see them in the store and think they are a little too pricey. Well, we finally pulled the trigger and bought one so we could taste the heavenly goodness at home.  I was so proud, after all the mishaps, it was the most delicious thing we’ve ever tasted! I think I heard the angels sing as we took our first bite. I’m happy to teach you how to make the best beef tenderloin you’ll ever taste too.

Ingredients:

One whole beef tenderloin (4-5 pounds) – we cut ours in half so we’ll have it again soon

olive oil

salt & pepper

poultry seasoning

4 Tablespoons of butter

Directions:

First of all, rinse and trim the extra fat off your loin. You’ll want to leave some fat because fat is just tasty. Use a sharp knife and cut as closely as you can to the meat. You could also ask the butcher to do this for you, but I did a little trimming of my own. My husband didn’t want too much removed.

He loves a little extra fat.....that’s why I married him. :-)

Coat the loin with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Now here comes the part that will sound strange, sprinkle poultry seasoning on both sides. Don’t ask me why, Grandy does it and hers was the best tasting tenderloin I’ve ever had.....until I made it myself! Just do it!

Now this is the part the Pioneer Woman taught me. I pick up stuff from all over and just combine it to make the best possible dish. Back to Ree, she says to sear it first in an iron skillet so I did! Pour a little olive oil in an iron skillet and get good and hot. When it’s hot, place the tenderloin in the frying pan to sear it. Throw a couple of tablespoons of butter into the skillet. Don’t put this in before you put the meat it, the pan will get too smoky. A minute or two later, when one side is starting to turn nice and brown, flip and repeat.

Place the tenderloin on an oven pan with a rack. Put several tablespoons of butter all over the meat (another suggestion by the Pioneer Woman). Stick the long needle of the thermometer lengthwise into the meat. Place it in a 450-degree oven until the temperature reaches just under 140 degrees, about 45 minutes to an hour. Stay near the oven and keep checking the meat thermometer to make sure it doesn’t overcook. Caution: thermometer WILL be hot!

Remove the loin from the oven when it reaches your desired temperature. Cover with foil and let meat stand ten minutes or so before slicing. Now slice and experience a little bit of heaven! No kidding, this is the best thing you’ll ever eat! Delish!

How beautiful does that look???

Wilted Spinach w/Tomatoes & Basil

 

I’m always looking for a quick side dish for weeknight meals. Cooking fresh is a plus so when my friend , Giada, taught me how to make wilted spinach with tomatoes that was perfect! Thank goodness girlfriends share recipes. What would I have done without my girlfriend? Thank you Giada! This recipe was quick and easy and full of flavor. I had no idea that I liked spinach so much until I actually started cooking it. Don't try to make me eat it raw though, that's not going to happen! If you haven’t given spinach a try, this is the dish to start with. Did I mention how quick and easy it was too?? I threw this together in minutes and it really adds to your weeknight meal. It makes it look like you put a lot of effort into perparing dinner, but you didn't really have to.......so fresh and flavorful too! Let’s get to it.....

 

Ingredients:

 

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 pound fresh spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt, black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. I didn't have shallots so I used a small onion. It was still delish!

Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, until aromatic. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.

In batches, add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and basil. Simmer 1 minute more and serve. I opted to grate some fresh Parmesan cheese. It only makes it better! Enjoy!

Tangy Tomato Beef Brisket

 

I’m so excited! I made something new again! I am loving my new love of cooking and trying out new things. Cooking is so much fun and even more fun to taste. Thanks again to the Pioneer Woman for making me curious about cooking a beef brisket. Again, I was browsing through my new cookbook and happened upon her Tangy Tomato Beef Brisket. It looked so yummy and sounded super easy. Two things that get my attention right away. I’ve eaten beef brisket, but never made one. I’m so happy I ventured out into the land of beef brisket. It’s a happy place....full of tender beef and a tangy tomato sauce. Yummy, what could be wrong with that?? I’ll tell you, nothing, absolutely nothing! Are you interested in learning how to make the easiest and most tasty beef brisket ever?? I’m happy to share my secrets with you. Let’s get started:

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 whole Beef Brisket, trimmed Of all fat (5 to 8 pounds). Since there’s just two of us, I used a 4 pound brisket.
• 1 bottle (24 Ounce) Ketchup Or Chili Sauce. Again, cut this in half for the smaller brisket 
• 1 package Onion Soup Mix

 

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Place the brisket in an oven-safe pan. Combine the ketchup and soup mix in a bowl, and then stir it around to mix. Pour in 1 cup water and stir to combine. (You can add more water if needed!). If you are using a smaller brisket, only use half the water. Also, use a little hot sauce with the ketchup mixture to give it a little extra kick.

Pour the sauce all over the brisket, and then flip the brisket over to coat the other side. Now just cover the pan with foil and roast in the oven for 6 to 7 hours (for a 5 to 8 pound brisket). For a 4 pound brisket, I cooked it 3 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven and test the brisket to make sure it's fork-tender.  Slice the brisket into thin strips, then return the beef to the sauce and keep it warm until you're ready to serve. This is looking so delicious. I wish I had a slice to eat now.

Doesn't that look delicious?? I'll tell you....it was delicious. So easy, so tasty, no reason not to try this recipe out. Thanks to my friend, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. She knows how to cook up some beef! And now I know how to cook up some beef brisket. It's a great day at the Stewart house.....says my husband. Maybe we should move to a ranch. Okay, I'll step back for a moment and just enjoy my brisket cooking skills. I hope you enjoy them too.