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Corned Beef Potato Pancakes

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Corned Beef Potato Pancakes
I’ve been on a little bit of potato pancake kick, straight up potato pancake or a zucchini potato pancake… all delicious! So when it came to coming up with a way to use up the little bit of left over corned beef I went straight for the potato pancake idea! Turned out to be a great breakfast, nice and crispy and lots of flavor. Serve with some eggs cooked up to your preference for the perfect day after St Pattys Day breakfast! Oh, and keeping with the St Pattys Day thing, I of course had to add some spicy mustard on there as well!

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A Not So Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage

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A Not So Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage
Warning… like the title says, this is A Not So Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage.   Well really, the corned beef is traditional, its the cabbage and potatoes that I did a switch up on. Its not that I don’t like the traditional but just wanted to switch things up a bit and see what happens. I’d say it was a success, really good flavors!  Corned beef is actually super simple to make and the method I used here comes out beautifully tender! A bit of a note on corned beef brisket, it will shrink big time, about 40-50%. So be sure to keep that in mind when purchasing your meat. Rather then boiling wedges of cabbage and potatoes in water I wanted to try something different. I made roasted sweet potatoes and a warm cabbage slaw. Keeping with tradition, I still slathered on the spicy mustard.

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At Home Valentines Day Dinner

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At Home Valentines Day Dinner. Cook a delicious meal from appetizer to dinner to a luscious dessert at home for the one you love!
Valentines Day… a day to show the one you love just how much they mean to you. The hubby and I have almost always gone out to dinner for Valentines Day but last year we decided to stay home. Ryan wasn’t even 1 yet and lets be honest with two boys under 3, we were plenty tired and hanging out in sweats sounded like a perfect evening.So, maybe this year surprise the person you love with a romantic night in! Get some candles out, a vase full of flowers like carnations with some greenery (they last like 3x as long as expensive roses and make a beautiful arrangement),  a bottle of wine, prepare a delicious meal and enjoy each others company without the hustle  and noise of a busy restaurant.

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Lentil & Beef Soup

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Happy New Year my friends!!! Hope you all had a fun, happy & healthy holiday! We had a great time hanging out at our house with friends and family in our PJs to ring in the New Year. We decided to play it by ear and the boys actually made it to midnight! Funny enough at 11:50 Ryan started to melt down but we made it! This Lentil & Beef Soup was part of my NYE menu. Supposedly lentils on NY represent prosperity so I figured, hey we could always use a little extra luck in that department! See the funny part about this soup, well I had intentions of using two types of lentils and also adding barley… well apparently the cashier at the store forgot to give me one of my bags and I didn’t notice until 2 days later. So, change of plans a little and it really came out delicious!!

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Mouth Watering Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

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Meatloaf is one of those dishes that comes together really easily, is super versatile and just down right comforting! I love playing with different flavors when it comes to meatloaf, one my my favorite versions is BBQ Meatloaf… coming soon 😉 Can I just say that myself, the hubs and my mother all agreed that this bacon wrapped meatloaf was out of this world AMAZING!!! The flavor bursts in your mouth, its moist and the bacon adds the perfect salty crust! Oh, and its gorgeous too!!! It is seriously mouth watering and I can say with certainty that it was by far the best meatloaf I’ve ever made or eaten!

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Beef Stew

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Beef Stew | LeMoine Family Kitchen
Ok, well lets just say its been an interesting few days! Hurricane Sandy came in with a bang on Monday night and left me without power, hence the few days absence. So needless to say cooking has been very basic around here! Tonight I get to get on the computer at my mother in-laws, yay, warmth and power! I won’t complain though, we are so fortunate that all we lost was power and spoiled food! The Jersey Shore was hit hard and its going to take a long time to recover from this one! Check out Red Cross to see what you can do to help those in desperate need of it.

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Warm The Soul :: Chili

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Warm The Soul :: Chili
High of 71 degrees today, oh thank the lords! I am a giant grump in the heat and I am thrilled to have perfectly warm days and cool nights! One of my very favorite, if not absolute favorite, warm the belly comfort foods is easily chili!  My favorite way to eat it… get ready for this… oh and don’t dismiss me as a crazy loon for it…. but I serve my chili over SPAGHETTI with a heaping pile of shredded cheddar on top!!! I saw one of those traveling shows on Food Network and this place did just chili and served it over pasta, my thought immediately was YUM! Maybe you’re thinking, Yup this chick is off her rocker, but seriously don’t knock it till ya try it! Just think of it as a whole new version of bolognese!

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Slow Cooker Braciole & A Trip Down Memory Lane

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Braciole is a staple in an Italian kitchen. An Italian Sunday dinner just wouldn’t be the same without a tender, fall apart in your mouth piece of braciole! The problem you can run into, if it isn’t cooked long enough the meat will be incredibly tough. So what better way to get that meat fall apart fabulous, why not a slow cooker!?!? Lets be honest, besides the fact that you will get great braciole, the fact that you can start it then leave it without worrying about the sauce on the bottom of the pot burning is an added bonus!

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3 AMAZING Appetizers

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If you read my 4th of July entry we continue onto the the picky food I made for the celebration. Like most of you, i’m sure its all about the BBQ but I wanted to do something a little different. Heres what I decided on…  Dry Rubbed Shrimp finished with Cilantro and Lime; Wonton cups filled with BBQ Beef, Pineapple and Cheddar and lastly a Stromboli of Fresh Mozzarella, Sun Dried Tomato spread, Olive Tapenade and Basil.
If you’ve been reading my blog you may have noticed that I really like shrimp. They are great because they take on whatever flavor you season with and they cook in minutes! Doesn’t get any better then that! Lets start there, shall we…
Dry Rubbed Shrimp finished with Cilantro and Lime
 
2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp, rinsed and patted dry
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
handful of cilantro, rough chop
juice of 1/2 a lime
In a small bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Ta da, dry rub!
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Toss 4-5 Tbsp of the dry rub over the shrimp and mix until all the shrimp are well coated. In a pan, I use cast iron, sauté the shrimp in batches in a little bit of olive oil. Cook shrimp over medium high heat for about 2 minutes per side. When all the shrimp are cooked top with the cilantro and lime juice. Serve warm or cold.
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 BBQ Beef Cups with Pineapple and Cheddar
 
1 pkg egg roll wrappers (you will not need all of it)
1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
canned crushed pineapple
shredded cheddar
In a slow cooker add the beef and BBQ sauce and cook on low for 2-3 hours (the temperature varies with brands a bit). You want the meat cooked through. Check half way through, yes sure to break up the meat and if it looks dry add a little bit more BBQ sauce.
Oven set to 350 degrees. Take out about 8 sheets of the egg roll wrappers and cut into 4 even squares. Then gently push the squares into a mini muffin pan.
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Fill the cups 3/4 of the way up with the BBQ. Top with a little bit of crushed pineapple and cheddar.
Bake the cups for about 8 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
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Stromboli of Fresh Mozzarella, Sun Dried Tomato spread, Olive Tapenade and Basil
 
2  pkgs of pizza dough (i used pillsbury)
1 cup mixed olives, pitted (i used kalamata and sicilian)
2 cloves garlic
handful of fresh basil leaves
pinch crushed red pepper
olive oil
7 1/2 oz jar marinated sun dried tomatoes
1 1/2 lbs fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
flour for dusting
Oven at 425 degrees. Lets start with the olive tapenade. In a food processor add the olives, garlic cloves, basil, crushed red pepper flakes and 3 T olive oil. Pulse until finely chopped. Set aside. Next, into the cleaned food processor add the jar of sun dried tomatoes including the oil and pulse until it is finely chopped.
Using a baking sheet, dust with flour and roll out the pizza dough. Spread a layer of the sun dried tomato spread and next to it a layer of olive tapenade. Next add mozzarella in two rows and a row of basil leaves. Fold in the sides just slightly. This seals in everything.
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Starting from the side closest to you (bottom portion of above photo) roll the dough to the end and place the seam side down. Brush with olive oil and slice a few small slits in the dough to allow the steam to escape. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.  Now being that this is for the BBQ I can’t slice it open to show you because I will warm it tomorrow… I’ll post a picture of the beautiful inside of the bread soon!

Happy Eats!!


*these are my original recipes*


          

Filet Mignon with Twice Baked Potatoes & Glazed Carrots

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I have to say that a quiet peaceful dinner for two is a rarity in our house… but hey we do have to 2 toddlers so its expected and that is part of family life. Most dinners are spent telling our 3 year old to sit still and telling our 1 year old to not throw his food or to stop rubbing his hair with his very messy hands. Yes, that adorable messy baby is our Ryan! Love him to pieces but the kid is a complete disaster after every meal! What better meal to make at home and not break the bank as you would at a restaurant…. FILET MIGNON!!! Oh, and lets not forget the twice baked potato, sautéed asparagus and glazed carrots!

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