Valentine's Day Feast

Around here we have our own Valentine's tradition: feed the kids dinner early (usually noodles or mac & cheese), put them to bed, and have a home-cooked feast and romantic movie at home. No baby-sitter, no crowds, and easier on the wallet. We enjoy it! We keep it simple so we don't have to slave away, but it's delish! We always have Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuits, salad with tiny shrimp, and steak & seafood. This year we accompanied it with Welch's Sparkling Red Grape Cider (sometimes we do Pina Coladas) and chocolates for dessert. Dustin had seared scallops with a rib-eye steak, I had scallops and steamed snow crab legs. Here's the recipe for the biscuits:

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tb. baking powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 c. cold butter

1/2 c. milk

1 c. cheddar cheese, grated

2 tb. butter, melted

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. parsley

pinch salt

Mix flour, 1/2 tsp salt, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. Using 2 knives or a pastry blender (or your hands, like me), cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the milk, then the cheese. You can either roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/2 " thickness and cut with round cookie cutters, or just drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet in 12 equal portions (I do the latter). Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, mix 2 tb. melted butter, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, parsley and pinch of salt. Remove biscuits from oven, and immediately brush butter mixture over tops, using it all. Eat while still warm.

Fluffer Nutters

My kids are always getting bored of the same old sandwiches for school lunches, so I try to change things up every once in a while. My throw-backs or pb & j, pb & honey, or lunchmeat, but sometimes we'll throw in something different. This is one of them: fluffer nutters. They consist of pb & a layer of marshmallow fluff (aka marshmallow creme). I know, not very healthy, but okay once in a while, right? If you've never had them you've gotta give it a try. Your kids will love it (and so will the kid in YOU!). My other faves include sliced strawberries with blueberry cream-cheese, and sliced cucumbers with garden cream-cheese. Yeah, on a sandwich (not the same one, though). Mmmm!

Ropa Vieja & Sofrito

A while back I started watching the new PBS channel Create late at night, when lots of cooking shows are on. The lady who makes this, Daisy Martinez, is a riot. The catch phrase of her show and cookbook, Daisy Cooks, is "Latin flavors that will rock your world". She is lots of fun to watch, and at least this dish really does rock our world. It is so good, we've decided we don't need any other way to cook a roast. The name of the dish, by the way, means "old clothes", which references the falling-apart tenderness of the meat, NOT the way it tastes!

Ropa Vieja

One 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 lb. chuck roast

Salt & pepper

Onion powder

3 tb. canola oil

1/2 c. sofrito (see recipe below)

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Two 8 oz. cans spanish-style tomato sauce (I used regular)

1 1/2 c. water

3 tb. chopped green olives w/ pimentos (I hate green olives, so I left these out)

2 bay leaves

4 celery stalks, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 c. fresh or frozen peas (we hate peas so I leave these out & up the other veggies)

Pound roast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap with meat mallet until 1/2" thick (I only got it down to about 1" thick, and it turned out great, the idea is to tenderize it). Season both sides generously with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Heat oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet. Add roast and brown on both sides, about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Meanwhile, stir in sofrito and cumin. Stir in tomato sauce, water, chopped olives, and bay leaves. Cover (if your lid isn't ovenproof use foil) and put in oven. Bake for about 2 1/2 hours, until meat is tender. Remove from oven and take meat out of pan to cool enough to handle. Remove bay leaves. Add celery and carrots to pan, place over medium heat on stove, and bring to simmer. Shred meat and add back to pot. Stir in peas after 15 minutes, cook about 5 minutes more, adding water if drying out. Serve and enjoy!

Sofrito

2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks

3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or cubanelle peppers

16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled

1 large bunch cilantro, washed

7 to 10 ajices dulces (see note below), optional

4 leaves of culantro (see note below), or another handful cilantro

3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks

1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks

Chop the onion and cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients one at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully. Freeze sofrito in ½ cup batches in sealable plastic bags. They come in extremely handy in a pinch. You can even add sofrito straight from the freezer to the pan in any recipe that calls for it.

Makes about 4 cups.

*If you can't find ajices dulces or culantro, don't sweat. Up the amount of cilantro to 1 ½ bunches. I did this and also used regular onions and Anaheim peppers instead of the Italian ones.

Sweet & Spicy Salmon

This is my favorite way to fix salmon. I almost always serve it with baked sweet potatoes and a green salad or another green veggie. It is sweet and a little spicy, but not too spicy (even for the kids).

Sweet & Spicy Salmon

1 lb. wild Alaskan salmon fillets, cut into 4 equal pieces

2 tb. brown sugar

1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

Heat a skillet or electric griddle over medium heat. Spray the pan or griddle with cooking spray (you can also grill these, make sure to grease the rack or they'll stick). Mix brown sugar and seasoning. Sprinkle over tops of salmon fillets, rubbing it in gently. Cook fish in pan, griddle, or grill for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through, until fish flakes with a fork. Enjoy!

Blackened Fish Tacos

Before I found this recipe, I tried making fish tacos once before, and it wasn't a good experience. But I found this recipe in my Pampered Chef cookbook, and they are SO good! My kids even love them (except the one that hates all fish except tuna, no matter how I disguise it). They are quick and easy, too. I'm not really a white-fish lover, but these are really yummy.

Blackened Fish Tacos

Slaw:

1/4 c. sliced green onions

2 tb. snipped fresh cilantro

1 tb. lime juice

1 tb. vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

2 c. broccoli slaw mix

Tacos:

1 lb. tilapia or catfish fillets

1 tb. Cajun seasoning

1 avocado, seeded and sliced

8 corn tortillas, warmed

3 medium radishes, grated (I didn't use these)

For slaw, mix first 7 ingredients in small bowl. Whisk until blended, then mix in slaw mix. Cover and refrigerate. Heat a saute pan or electric griddle sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat. Meanwhile, sprinkle both sides of fish fillets with Cajun seasoning. Cook fillets in hot pan about 10 minutes, until fish flakes with fork, turning halfway through. Flake fish into bite-sized pieces. To serve, top each tortilla with slaw mixture, fish, radishes (if using), and avocado slices. Serves 4.

Hawaiian Pizza

Hawaiian Pizza

15" pizza crust (I use my whole-wheat dough, recipe here makes enough for 3 crusts)

3/4 c. pizza sauce

2 c. (8 oz.) mozzarella cheese, grated

1 c. pineapple chunks

canadian bacon slices

1/2 c. colby cheese, grated

Roll crust out and place on pizza stone or tray. Cover with layer of sauce, mozzarella cheese, canadian bacon, and pineapple. Sprinkle colby cheese over top. Bake in a pre-heated 425 oven for about 15 minutes, or until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly. Mmmm!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Next to the beloved Christmas Crackles, these are my favorite cookie to bake during the holidays. They are soft and chewy and spiced just perfectly. I got the recipe from an old neighbor, Jennifer Lund. It makes plenty to share with friends or neighbors!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 c. butter

2 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. molasses

4 1/2 c. flour

4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

granulated sugar, for rolling

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and molasses and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Roll into balls and roll in sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

*You can also chill the dough, and then roll it and cut it into shapes using cookie cutters. Bake a little less time since they are flat, or they will be pretty crispy!