This is an easy but delicious summery salad that I KNOW I ate long ago at Emily's beach house, but she has no rememberance of it...who knows where it came from but it was great and here's what i came up with from what I tasted (or perhaps imagined I tasted).   

Ingredients:
1 lb uncooked cheese tortellini
6-8 oz fresh baby spinach
8-10 oz polish keilbasa
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
Drizzle of olive oil

Cook the tortellini according to package directions being careful not to overcook (test pasta atleast 2 minutes prior to recommended cooking time).  Drain and place in a large serving bowl.  

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and drizzle in a titch of olive oil.  Slice your keilbasa into little disks about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.  Working in batches so you dont crowd the pan, brown the keilbasa on both sides in your saute pan.  Don't stir them too much, just add them to the pan and then flip them when they are browned.  As they are done, add them to the bowl with the tortellini.  Don't wipe out your keilbasa pan.  

Wash spinach well and add that to your saute pan.  Cover with a lid and let it wilt slightly.  This will only take a minute or maybe less.  Add the spinach to your bowl.  

Add the tomatoes to your saute pan and cook just until warmed through, maybe a minute.  Add the tomatoes to your bowl, as well, then top with parm.  

Toss and serve!  

Note: If your keilbasa is leaner (like turkey keilbasa) you may need a drizzle of olive oil over the salad.  Salad can be eaten warm, room temp, or cold.  Serves 6-8.  

My girl friends and I had an absolutely awesome dinner at this place in Saugatuck, Michigan called Phil's...nothing fancy about the name or the look of the place, but the food was really amazing.  My favorite part of our dinner was a black bean quesadilla (which was our first course, followed by some incredible fish tacos!).  Here is my not-too-shabby attempt at making something just as tasty at home.

For the quesadilla:
Flour or corn tortillas (I used flour)
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced/pressed
1 lime, juiced
2 cups sweet potatoes, cubed 
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped jalapenos (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
S & Pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Shredded cheese (jack, colby, chedder, whichever you prefer - I used a combo of jack and sharp cheddar)
Butter or oil for grilling

Optional garnish:
Sour cream
Cilantro
Salsa

To make:
Pre-heat your oven to 350F.  Mix together the black beans, garlic, lime juice, sweet potatoes, onions,  and jalapenos (if using) along with the cumin, chili powder and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Toss in a bowl with the olive oil and then spread along a baking pan in an even layer.  

Cook, mixing and tossing every once in a while for about 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender (stick with a fork and taste).   

Heat up a pan or skillet for making your dillas.  Melt butter or spread a thin layer of oil on the pan.  Arrange your quesadilla by layering a tortilla, black bean/potato mix, a sprinkle of cilantro, and finally layer of shredded cheese.

Top with another tortilla and cooked on both sides until lightly browned and perfectly crispy.  You might need two spatulas to turn these puppies over if you use big tortillas like I did!  

Use a knife or pizza cutter to slice into wedges and serve with sour cream, salsa, and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.  Step aside Phil...these are darn good!  

In the hot summer weather, sometimes you just need to eat salad for dinner.  It's too hot to eat a big plate of hot food.  But, it's also dinnertime, and we want something more substantial than just salad.  So... here's a different way (other than adding chicken) to make that salad feel like a meal.   

Makes 4 servings.

You'll Need:

4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vinegar
8 strips of thick cut smoked applewood bacon (I got this from the deli at Freshdirect; but you can use regular bacon if that's all you can find)
5 oz pkg of Spring Mix mesclun lettuce (or whatever lettuce you like)
1 large tomato chopped or 1 1/2 cups cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in halves
1/2 English cucumber chopped in small pcs (the kind without seeds)
1/4 of a red onion, sliced very thin (or as much as you like on salad)
1/2 cup canned Garbanzo beans (chick peas; rinsed with water and drained)
1 1/2 cups of croutons (you can use store-bought or make your own with this link)

Dressing:
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice. 

To Make:

Begin cooking bacon til crispy.  Dry/cool on paper towels and set aside.  

Meanwhile fill a large bowl with all salad ingredients:  lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, beans.  In small separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside.   

To poach your eggs: Boil water in a small pot with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 cup vinegar added to the water.  While waiting for water to boil, get a small bowl of ice-water ready in the sink.  Carefully crack the eggs into a ladle or small dish, then place the ladle or dish just over the boiling water and turn the bowl so they slide into the water very carefully instead of plopping in and making a splash.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Immediately remove eggs from the boiling water with a plastic slotted spoon, and carefully place the eggs in the ice-water for 30 seconds to stop them from cooking.  The middles will be runny but the outside will be cooked delicately.  Set aside in a bowl.  

When you are just about ready to eat, add croutons and dressing to the bowl of salad ingredients, and toss to coat all the veggies and croutons.  You don't have to use all the dressing, you can set some aside on the table for those who want to add more to their salad.  Then transfer salad to large plates for individual servings, top each plate with 2 strips of crumbled bacon, and 1 of the poached eggs.  Sprinkle salad with some fresh ground pepper and serve!  

WOW.  I cannot believe it's been a year since we first started posted our recipes!  I mean can you believe it?  I can hardly believe it (say that like an old man from Long Island and then tell me what movie that line is from!).

For our 1st anniversary we thought it would be fun to have a virtual progressive dinner at each of our houses, since we wish we could actually do that in real life!   So we are  going to start with drinks and apps at my house in Michigan (Rachel), then move to dinner at Emily's in New Jersey, and finally finish the night with dessert with Mandy in New Hampshire.  We hope you enjoy having dinner with us!

For these fresh and sweet treats you will need:
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
3 Tbs granulated sugar (plus more for sugaring the rims of your glasses)
3 cups of cubed watermelon (I like to freeze the watermelon first so your drink is automatically cold when you blend it!)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup tequila
Club Soda (enough to fill each glass 1/3 of the way)
Strawberries and limes for garnish

Run a lime wedge around the edge or your glass and then dip into a plate or bowl of sugar to sugar the rim.  Cut a strawberry and a lime and garnish on the edge of your glass.

Put all ingredients EXCEPT CLUB SODA into the blender.  If your watermelon is not frozen, add a couple ice cubes and leave out the water.  Blend until creamy.

Fill your glass 1/3 of the way full with club soda, then top off with your blended mix.  Give a little stir and enjoy!

This bruschetta is so delicious...I served it with thinly sliced french bread (I know, I should have used Italian since it's Italian food - but French is smaller and more sturdy!).  I also served marinated fresh slices of mozzarella cheese (marinated in olive oil, basil, oregano and S&P).

For the bruschetta you will need:
6-8 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, chopped small (I did this in my food processor)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar 
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper (or to taste)
1/2-1 cup fresh parmesan, shredded
1/2 red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 lemon wedge
1 French baguette, cut in 1/2 inch slices

The prep is super easy - just chop it all up nice and tidy and then squeeze the juice from the lemon wedge over the top (just a spritz otherwise it will taste lemony!) and then serve with the baguette slices.  Thanks for coming over to my house!!

For the scallops you will need:
20 jumbo scallops or about 40 regular sized
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp minced fresh oregano
1 tsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Using a paper towel, brush a little olive oil on the grill grates so the fish doesn't stick when grilling.  Preheat grill to high.  

Rinse and pat dry scallops with a paper towel.  In a small bowl, combine garlic with lemon zest and juice.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil and whisk for 1 minute.  Stir in oregano.  Set this aside to spoon atop grilled scallops.

Brush scallops on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill about 2 minutes on each side.  Arrange on serving platter and spoon sauce on top, then top with fresh parsley garnish.

For the tuna you will need:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs fresh sushi-grade tuna
1 Tbs fresh ground pepper (this is important for a really peppery taste)
1 Tbs sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon cut into small pcs to serve with tuna

Same as for scallops; using a paper towel, brush a little olive oil on the grill grates so the fish doesn't stick when grilling.  Preheat grill to high.  

Grind your fresh pepper  (you can grind whole peppercorns in a coffee grinder or mini cuisenart, or just use a table pepper grinder and try to measure out a Tablespoon before your arm falls off).  

In a bowl, combine ground pepper, salt and paprika.  Rinse and pat dry tuna with paper towels.  Cut tuna into long thick strips, 1 or 1 1/2" thick.  Roll each pc in the pepper mixture and set on a plate.  Drizzle tuna with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and grill tuna about 1 minute on each of the 4 sides - just until seared.  (see below ***) Set on a plate for a few minutes before checking.  Then cut tuna into equal sized cubes.  Drizzle with remaining olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.

***4 minutes of total grill time should give you medium rare tuna, but cook to your liking. Mine is cooked through in the pics but ideally you want pink centers. 

Now don't eat too much, otherwise you will fall asleep on the ride to Mandy's house like they little cuties...

Our dad is a huge fan of strawberry rhubarb anything.  A few years ago I wanted to make him a delicious dessert but couldnt find a recipe anywhere for what i was picturing, so I came up with this.  I make it multiple times every summer now and have even made it with different fruit combinations.  

For the shortbread crust you will need:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) room temp.
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup flour

For the fruit middle you will need:
1 1/2 cup rhubarb stalks chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch

For the crumb topping you will need:
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp baking soda 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 8x8 inch baking pan (or a pie plate works).  Combine crust butter and conf. sugar in mixer until smooth.  Add crust flour until JUST BARELY combined- overmixing it makes it difficult to spread in pan.  Mixture should still look pretty floury.  Press dough evenly into bottom of pan and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat rhubarb and strawberries in saucepan over medium heat, mashing and stirring it so it gets juicy and doesnt burn on bottom, until tender and juicy.  Stir in the 1/2 cup sugar.  Whisk cornstarch and lemon juice together until smooth and then add to the fruit and boil 1 minute until it thickens slightly.  Set aside. 

Mix all topping ingredients except butter in a bowl.  Then pour melted butter over that and toss with a fork until combined and crumbly.  When shortbread bottom is done, pour fruit over bottom crust.  Pour crumbly topping evenly over fruit.  Bake in oven for approx 25-30 minutes more or until topping is slightly browned and fruit is bubbling.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.  You may make a drizzle for the top with 1/2 cup conf. sugar mixed with 1-2 Tbsp milk if you want (makes a glaze icing).

We really hope you have enjoyed our progressive dinner as much as Remy (above) is enjoying her berry crumble!  It's been a really fun and busy year of creating and cooking and sharing...thanks for visiting and trying our concoction out!  

And a special thanks to my sisters Emily and Mandy for doing this with me - I love you both so much and have had so much fun!  I cannot WAIT to see you both next week!

That reminds me, next week is our family reunion at our parents cabin, so even though we probably won't be posting anything new while we are there, we will be sure to come back with some pictures and new recipes to share after! 

Enjoy your day, week or however long it is until we post again! 

This is my attempt at recreating my brother in laws amazing pork tacos.  The pork takes a long time to cook but it is super easy considering you basically just dump it all into a crock pot and walk away!  The result is a really tender, slightly sweetened pork with a kick.  It is going to be hard to go back to chicken after this!

You will need (for the pork):
2 bottles of beer (I used lager, Dos Equis)
2 cups orange juice
2 large jalapenos, chopped big
1 large onion, chopped big
4 cloves garlic, left whole
1 habanero, left whole
1 mango, chopped big
1 peach, chopped big
Juice of one lime
4 country style ribs (about 3-4lbs)
*When I say chopped big, I mean cut up but into large enough pieces that you can pick them out later - these ingredients are for flavoring the meat, not for eating.

Combine all the above ingredients in your crock pot and set to high for 6-8 hours.  The meat should be falling off the bone when it is done.  

After the meat is done, strain the juices from the crock AND SAVE THEM!  This is what you will store the meat in (there will be leftovers unless you are making for more than 4 people).

Separate the meat from the rest of the ingredients and discard the rest of the ingredients. Pull the meat off the bone and shred with a fork or loosely chop with a knife.  Go ahead and take a bite...but be warned, if you taste it now there may not be any left for the tacos!

Taco Toppings:
Corn
Black beans
Cilantro
Cheddar
Salsa/Tomatoes
Sour Cream
Limes

You can definitely use whatever toppings you want.  I made a cilantro lime slaw the second time I made these and it was AWESOME.  I will post that recipe soon.  

For the picture above, I roasted the corn and black beans with some S&P and cumin before using as a topping.  Whatever floats your boat I say give it a try.  The real show stopper here is the meat - it's so good! 

Enjoy!

This recipe is rich and delicious comfort food, not for the dieters.... But for once in a while it's totally worth it.  It's so good.  This is from the Pioneer Woman website, which I love.  Her recipes are great, and she's so entertaining!  I love her humor.  Anyway, I only altered it slightly because I wanted to make this slightly "lighter", haha, which is funny to say when we're talking about a pasta recipe with bacon and cream and cheese.... so there's nothing light about it really, except that I wanted to remove some of the pancetta grease from the pan before cooking the leeks.  Otherwise it's pretty much the same idea. 

You'll Need:
10 oz bowtie pasta
1/2-3/4 lb pancetta, chopped small (or you can slice it large as in my picture, and break it up after cooking when it's crispy - I hate cutting pancetta!)
3-5 leeks, cleaned well and sliced into small pcs (5 thin leeks or 3 fat leeks)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1/2 cup white or red wine (I used red because that's all I had, Pioneer Woman uses white)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Fresh Parmesan to sprinkle on top
S & P to taste

To Make:

Start pasta water.  Cook pasta til al dente, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, and drain the pasta.  

While waiting for pasta water to boil, cook pancetta on medium heat in a large frying pan or deep pot to avoid grease splatter (if you have a metal splatter shield that helps avoid mess/burn).  

Toss so all sides cook til crispy brown looking.  Dry on paper towels and set aside.  

Wipe pan almost clean with paper towels, leaving at most a tablespoon of grease in the pan.  Add leaks, olive oil and butter, and cook 5 minutes or so.   Add wine and stir, scrape down the pot to get all the flavors incorporated.  Cook for another minute, then turn heat off and add cream.     

Keep pan on burner, just turn the heat off while you stir in the cream.   Add cooked pasta and pancetta to the pan with leeks and toss to coat everything.  If it seems dry, you can add a little of the reserved pasta water. 

Serve with fresh grated parmesan on top - Mmmm.  This dish tastes good room temp too.   

I recently came up with this recipe after making a Honey Baked ham. After a few days of eating the ham leftovers, finally I got around to making soup from the ham bone (to freeze because we were sick of ham!).  I read a few recipes and got the idea to puree the soup which added a fancy twist.  It was so good, it never made it to the freezer! 

You'll Need:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, whole
3 sizable celery stalks chopped (with leaves if they have them)
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1-2 lb ham bone (not sure what mine weighed but it was what was left over from a Honey Baked ham, and it still had some meat on it)
1 bay leaf
About 10 cups of water
3 15 1/2 oz cans of light colored beans (I used "pinto", "white" & "navy" beans)

To Make:
In a large soup pot, cook veggies (onion, garlic, celery & carrots) in olive oil on medium for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 10 cups of water, ham bone with all the meat on it, beans and bay leaf.  The meat will fall off the ham bone after cooking for a while so don't do any trimming yet.

Bring to a boil, then simmer with a lid on for 2 hrs.

Remove ham bone and set aside on a plate to cool.

Meanwhile, let the soup cool a little, then puree in batches using a blender or food processor.  This gets a little messy but it's worth it.  Return pureed soup to the pot.

Remove meat from the ham bone now that it's slightly cooled enough to handle, chop and return the meat to the pot of soup.  Discard the bone and any fatty pieces.

Season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Serve with warm rolls, crusty french bread, or you can garnish with homemade croutons*.

*To make homemade croutons, chop french bread up into small cubes (about 1/2-1" diameter) and toss with olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.  Spread all out on a cookie sheet and broil on high for about 5 minutes until they start to brown and toast.  Toss the croutons halfway thru broiling so the other sides get a little brown too.  Remove and let them cool on a paper towel. 

I don't know how to make this recipe sound as delicious as it is...so you are just going to have to take my word for it!  The super tender meat has a slightly smokey flavor and pretty much melts in your mouth and the polenta is creamy and full of flavor from the cheese and peppers.  I hope that description is enough to make you go try it yourself!  

For the meat, you will need:
2 Tbs canola oil
2 Tbs butter
Approx 2 cups of stew beef, cut into chunks (you can definitely used more, there will be enough liquid for about 4 cups of beef if needed)
2-3 tsp chiles in Adobo sauce (you can add more if you like but 3 tsp make sit pretty spicy!)
4 cups beef broth
3 small/med garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs chili powder

For the polenta, you will need:
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1/2 of a large red pepper, diced
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs oil
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups milk (I used 1%)
2 tsp minced/pressed garlic
1 bay leaf
2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup polenta (I used cornmeal)
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2-1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
2 Tbs fresh Parmesan, grated

Start your meat about 4 hours before you want to eat...

Heat oil and  butter in a dutch oven/cast iron pot over high heat.  Throw in stew meat and brown for 1 minute, then add chiles in adobo, beef broth, garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Stir, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, then cover and simmer for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is fall-apart tender.  I did not have to add any extra water/broth, but you might need to.  Just keep an eye on the meat and if the liquid is getting low, add a little more to the pot. 

In the last hour of cooking time, make your polenta...

Heat the oil and butter in a large sauce pan.  Add onion and red pepper and cook  for a few minutes, or until onions start to get translucent.   Add the garlic and stir for another minute.  Then add the water, milk, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and then slowly add the cornmeal/polenta, stirring constantly.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often until the polenta thickens, about 25 minutes.

Add the butter to the polenta and stir until melted. Add the cheddar and Parmesan, stirring well.

To serve, scoop a generous helping of polenta and make a crater in the middle.  Add a few chunks of beef and a splash of the cooking liquid.  

Since this is a kind of "heavy" meal, I served it with mixed greens to make me feel better!  It was DELICIOUS and gave us lots of leftovers for lunch through the rest of the week!  

I've been into making my own salad dressings lately.  We had a random few summery days here in NH in March so we made grilled chicken Caesar salads! 

You will need:
Scant 1/3 cup mayo
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 garlic clove
1 cup shredded parmesean cheese *
pepper+ salt to taste

*I shred my own parm, so 1 cup might be different than if you use pre-grated instead.

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Makes about 1/2 cup.