Baked Tortellini Soup

I made this for a dinner party for 13 people.  I doubled the recipe and it was plenty with a few bowls of leftovers too!  I also used Gluten Free Tortellini!  It was wonderful and a "One Pot Meal" unless you double it and then you need two big pots.

This entire soup can also be made in the oven.  See notes on baking temperatures below.
Serves 8-10 (not doubled).

Strawberry Shortcake

This is my Mom's recipe and they are the best things in the world.  Forget about those gross store bought biscuits and try these flaky warm delights!


This is not a Paleo friendly recipe, but I thought I would share it anyways since it is so good!
I will post a Paleo version of this soon!


Preheat oven 450.  Serves 6.

Bangers and Mash

Oh my gosh!!  This is WONDERFUL!  It really hit the comfort food spot.

Serves 2.

Lamb Chops

OK... so in this recipe, as seen in picture, I thought I was buying bone-less Lamb Chops.  Oh well!

These are Bone-In Shoulder Lamb Chops, a little more gamey and harder to cook evenly, but still good.

I would suggest getting ones that are Bone-less and searing them in a pan.

Serves 2.  One Chop per person.

Pork Chops

These are not your mom's dry Pork Chops!  Serve with Broccolini and Applesauce.

Serves 2.

Broccolini

I love Broccolini!  Even those of you who don't like Broccoli, for some odd reason... you will love the tender taste of this veggie!!

Shepherd's Pie

This was so good!  It made me think of all my mom's yummy comfort dishes!
The parsnips do not over power this, like I thought it would.  I still like the mashed potato topping, but the parsnips are good, just a different texture.  Next time I will try mashing the parsnips for the "mashed potato" texture.

Preheat oven to 450.  Serves 4-6.

Rock Cod with Almond Mustard Crust

You can make this dish with any time of white fish.  Halibut would also be nice.
Rock Cod is a mild flavored fish, so the Mustard Almond topping is a nice addition.

Preheat oven to 350. Serves 2.

Popeye Breakfast

This is Popeye Breakfast, Paleo variation.  When you see the ingredients you will understand!
This breakfast will fill you up and keep you going until lunch!

Thank you Sonja for this one!  It keeps Them happy!

I served this breakfast with Oranges and Coconut on top.

Carrot and Cauliflower Soup

This had a great flavor and texture!  Very nice served with Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries.

Sorry no picture as of now, I made this a while ago and forgot to take one.

Basil Walnut Scrambled Eggs

Interesting new combo for eggs...  Although I had my suspicions this came out really good!  

Lots of protein from the eggs and walnuts.  If you like basil this is a good one to try! 

Asparagus Basil Salad with Salmon

This was a wonderful light salad that can be made any time of the year!
I decided to add some of the leftover Salmon, from the other night (Salmon with Pistachio Salsa), to this to give it more flavor and some protein for lunch.
You could also add chicken or serve with some other meat of your choice.

Sausage Breakfast

Simple and fast breakfast.

I pick sausage that is a little more savory for breakfast as the fruit salad will be the sweet point.

This is the perfect 50/50 breakfast!

Whole foods has great sausage in their meat department, they will even make special sausage on request if you are looking for venison or something out of the norm.

Otherwise, Aidells has great fully cooked Gluten Free products!

Scales

Here's why I like my scale...
If a recipe is calling for a very specific amount, especially in baking, or you are converting a metric recipe!

I have this one and love it.  Easy to use and nice looking!

Find at:
Williams Sonoma

Lemon Basil Sorbet

This is a very interesting and refreshing dessert.
Although this does not follow the Paleo diet it is still Gluten Free and delicious!

"Master Drawer" Items

In my kitchen I have a "Master Drawer" that I keep all my mixing tools, measuring cups, and important tools I grab daily.  You can use counter top receptacles for this too if that is easier for you.

Here are some of the tools I keep in this "Master Drawer":

Angled Wooden Spoon

Wooden Spoon

Serving Spoon

Ladle

Slotted Spoon

Tongs

Egg Poaching Cups

Whisk

Regular Spatula

Small Spatula

Add caption

Simple Granola Breakfast

Believe it or not... you don't have to go the rest of your life without a bowl of cereal in the morning or for a snack!  Here is my favorite Gluten Free and Paleo friendly Granola with fruit and Almond Milk.

Kale with Tomatoes

This is one of the easiest side dishes to make, not to mention wonderful!

It literally is 2 main ingredients, and Kale is one of the most healthy vegetables you can eat!

Serves 4-6

Ratatouille

This is one of my favorite veggie dishes!

First I love all the veggies that are in it, secondly I LOVE rosemary!!

Try this out with any meat, I put my with Flank Steak recently.

Serves 4.

Spinach Cake

I am really proud of this one!  What a yummy treat and change from eggs...

Naturally sweet with the cooked Spinach, Pine Nuts, and Currants.

I served this with Ham and Strawberry, Banana, Sliced Almond fruit salad for breakfast.

Preheat oven to 350.

Makes about 12 pieces, serves 4.

Almond Chicken Salad

This is a great Salsa for lunch or a picnic.
Serve with Orange slices with Coconut.
Serves 2.

Cauli-Rice with Chicken and "Casey Salsa"

"Wow!  It's just like rice!"  This is a wonderful alternative to rice and beats the craving!

This also makes a great side, just leave out the Chicken.

Serves 4-6

Casey Salsa

This is just a quick note on how to make your own Salsa for any dish.

I put this, or a variation, on Eggs, Cauli-Rice, Chicken, etc...

Poached Eggs

Poached Eggs are my favorite type of egg!  They are daunting though to make so here are few tips.
Best of all would be to get some of those poaching pods.  They will make adding and retrieving your eggs more enjoyable.

Here they are being served with Prosciutto and a Fruit Salad of Melon, Blueberries, Figs and Walnuts.
I have also served them with Smoked Trout and in just about every dish where you would be asked "how would you like your eggs?"

Meat Fist Doneness Test (MFDT)

This is a fast way to check your Steaks to see how done they are!
Remember, cutting into a steak will also tell you how done it is, but this also lets out the juices and can cause the meat to be dry.
Lastly, when you take the meat off the heat, you want to let it rest, under some tinfoil, to let the juices reabsorb into the meat so that they will not run off when you cut it.  Letting it rest a few minutes will also let the meat cook a little longer, so do not over cook steak!!!

Flank Steak

Flank steak is one of the leanest cut you can get!  This means optimum protein and less fat, still with lots of flavor.

I am not saying that fat in a steak is bad though, very yummy!

You can serve this with any vegetable you want!  This time I served it with Ratatouille.

This is my favorite meal to date in my job.

Serves 2.  Broil.

Green Goodness Soup

I love this soup!  This is the "Chicken Noodle Soup" we thought we would never live without!
And here it is, sans noodles, plus so much more!
I don't know why all Mom's don't add Kale to their Chicken Soup, it adds such a great dimension of flavor, color and texture!  Not to mention all the nutritional value!!!

Serves 6 - 8

Salmon with Pistachio Salsa

I love this Salmon!  It is so easy to make and a little different than your normal Salmon because of the Pistachio Salsa.

I pair it with Applesauce and Asparagus.

Preheat oven to 350, bake 20 minutes.  Makes 4 servings.

Flaxseed Focaccia Toppings

These are some topping ideas for the Flaxseed Focaccia also in this blog.

Flaxseed Focaccia

This Focaccia is really good!  Super satisfying for the craving to have a sandwich with bread.
You can put any type of sandwich filling in it and add any topping to the focaccia when baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Makes 3 sandwiches worth of bread.

Measuring Cups and Spoons

These are some of my favorite measuring cups and spoons:

The first set of cups and spoons is amazing with its variety and is pretty cheap too.
The second item, Adjustable Measuring Cup is very handy for measuring Nut Butter or anything sticky.
Next is the Pyrex liquid measuring cups, these are very important for measuring hot items, as well as being very sturdy.
Finally is the OXO liquid measuring cup.  As you can see, you can easily tell the amount you have without bending over to look at the side scale, cool.

Find at:
Amazon - Cups and Spoons
Sur La Table - Adjustable Cup
Sur La Table - Pyrex Liquid Cup
Sur La Table - OXO Liquid Cup

Mixing Bowls

Ok... Mixing Bowls.
You definitely need more than 2 bowls.  Here at the kinds I have:

A set of Glass Bowls that are perfect for prep-ing and tasks like whipping cream and making mayonnaise.
Prep bowls are very under rated!!

Next a set of bowls that have rubber rings on the bottom and pouring spouts.  I use these for everything, the spouts are really helpful and the rubber keeps them from slipping around on the counter while mixing.

Find at:
Williams Sonoma - Glass Nesting Bowls
Williams Sonoma - Melamine Mixing Bowls

Food Processor

A food processor is extremely helpful for so much!  Chopping, slicing, mincing, etc...

You can use a smaller size processor but then you will have to do everything in small batches.  I make salsa, cauli-rice, bread, and pie crusts.

Find at:
Sur La Table

Stick Blender

I CAN NOT LIVE WITHOUT MY STICK BLENDER!!!!

Truly, I use this every week at least from making soups, chopping veggies, and whisking Cashew Cream.  There are Stick Blenders that are sold separately, but this is a great set and very reasonably priced.

Find at:
Sur La Table

Pie & Tart Pans

These are things that you will probably not need right away.

However there are many yummy things that you only make with these pans, Apple Tart Puffed Oven Pancakes, etc...

Good Christmas or Birthday gifts!

Find at:

Sur La Table - Tart Pan

Sur La Table - Pie Dish

Baking Trays & Silicon Mats

These baking trays are very good quality and sturdy!
If you skimp on baking trays they will torque and if you get ones without sides they will be useless for roasting.

Also as seen in this picture is a Silpat Mat, Silicon Mat.
I use mine all the time for baking, roasting, and oven grilling.  No more sticking or tons of spray that turns your tray black!!  It is incredible, try it once and you'll be hooked!

Find at:
Sur La Table - Baking Trays
Sur La Table - Silpat Mat