Citrus Breakfast

Having a grapefruit for breakfast every morning is a great way to shed some pounds, but it's pretty boring. Broiling the grapefruit make a boring breakfast staple into something fun, warm, and sweet.

Adding lemon berry pancakes to this breakfast was a natural choice. They complemented each other very nicely and I was able to zest part of the grapefruit for the pancakes.

Peach Glazed Salmon

I asked for suggestions for dinner and the response I got was, "salmon with...peaches!" After mulling it over for a while I decided to make an Asian inspired Peach Glazed Salon dish. For making it up as I went along, I say it turned out pretty damn good. I paired the salmon with some brown rice and stir fried vegetables. 

I would suggest starting the rice first.

Quinoa Tacos

What to do with the left over filling of those stuffed peppers...How about making tacos? I just heated the filling from this recipe in a skillet and scooped it into some corn tortillas.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

The three words I would use to describe this dish would be healthy, colorful, and delicious. These stuffed peppers are both filling and very light at the same time by the time you finish them you're full, but not stuffed (see what I did there?). 

Pasta Salad

I've noticed a theme to my lunches the past couple of days; they were last night's dinner at one point and after sitting in their own sauces overnight they become even more delicious. I wasn't planning on posting this recipe, but it turned out way better than what I was expecting. Also, the lovely Katy Weaver took flawless pictures of  this dish.

The recipe for the initial dinner dish is a bit loose in structure. I'm not one for exact measurements especially in a dish like this, but I'll write out what I put into it and how to make it.

Lemon Lime Poppy Seed Muffins

I'll admit it, I basically took this recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins and changed a bunch of things about it. The first and obvious change was that I added lime to these muffins. There was only half of a lemon sitting in the fridge, so it was a good thing that there was a whole lime just waiting to be zested, cut open, and juiced.

The second change to the recipe was that I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream, which really brought out the tanginess of the lemon and lime. 

The last tweak I made to the recipe was that I used 1.5 tablespoons of poppy seeds instead of the 2 that the orignal recipe called for. You can add the full 2 tablespoons for poppy seeds if you want I can't stop you they're your muffins. I just didn't want to spend all day picking poppy seeds out of my teeth. 

Here is the copied recipe with a few my changes.

Simple Sorbet

I wish I could take credit for this, but I can't. The amazing and wonderful Katy Weaver came up with the recipe and she also took the pictures.

To make this simple fruity desert get out your blender or go out and rent one (I don't know what your blender situation is so I can only guess). Throw the following into the blender:

• 1 part plain yogurt or your favorite yogurt
• 2 parts mixed frozen fruit of your choosing
• 0.5 parts frozen orange juice concentrate

Flip on the blender and prepare for some scary noises as it blends. You might need to stir it around a couple times and flip it on and off before it becomes fully blended. Then scoop into serving bowls and stick in the freezer until it becomes frozen.

After it's frozen top with some honey or your favorited whipped cream topping. The finished sorbet is a bit tart, so if you like tart deserts you could just leave off the honey. Enjoy!

Port and Fig Chicken Salad Sandwich

This delicious leftover sandwich was made from last night's chicken from this recipe. The chicken in this salad was extra flavorful, because it was soaked overnight in the fig sauce. I pulled appart the chicken and added:

• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion
• 1 carrot peeled
• 1/4 toasted walnuts (finely chopped)
• the leftover figs from the port and fig chicken recipe (about 6 figs cut into 4ths)
• the leftover sauce from last night's chicken
• 2 heaping table spoons of light mayo

Then just mix until everything is covered in the mayo and scoop onto some toast, bread or a plate.

Then toasted some sourdough bread and topped one slice with some medium sharp Tillamook cheddar cheese and some arugula. The end result is a high class sandwich made from leftovers. 

Welcome!

I figured since I'm always cooking up delicious things in the kitchen I might as well start a cooking blog showing off my favorite dishes.