My Site » I love food, travel, and being creative in the kitchen. I keep my recipes simple and fresh so you can make them around your table too.

Blood Orange and Basil Mocktail

Prepping for my big Christmas Soirée this weekend, and can’t wait to serve this mouth watering mocktail! Muddle – Thai basil in glass or pitcher with ice Add -fresh blood orange juice and simple syrup (amounts will vary depending on your preference of sweetness. I don’t like it very sweet so I do 1/2 – 1/4 the amount of simple syrup to orange juice). Top- with sparkling water or club soda Rim with gold colored sprinkles and a slice of blood orange. *simple syrup is equal parts water and sugar boiled and reduced until combined. *make sure to use THAI basil

Apple Galettes

My girls love to help in the kitchen so instead of having them “help” with party prep this week, I raided the freezer and we ended up with these yummy apple galettes. My 2,4, and 6 year olds made these and they were easy and fast. Use leftover pie dough. In this case I had one Trader Joes pie crust left in my fridge and split it into 3 pieces. We chopped up apples but you can use any fruit you have in the house. Add cinnamon and sugar to the fruit, mix and pour it into the middle of the pie dough. Fold edges over and spray with coconut oil. Bake at 400-425 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. These were gone in 3 minutes and my girls were so proud of their work!

Maple Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Maple Bacon wrapped Scallops for 200 was not a problem at my annual Christmas Soiree last night. Our Traeger Chef nailed it with these beauties! Ingredients: 12 Jumbo Sea Scallops 1/2 Cup Salted Butter 1/2 tsp Crushed Garlic 12 Thick Cut Maple Bacon Slices Fresh Ground Pepper Cayenne Pepper Smoked Paprika Preparation: Take scallops out, pat dry with paper towel and place in a large mixing bowel. In medium sauce pan melt the salted butter and bring to a boil then add crushed garlic. Bring sauce to a simmer and stir continuously for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. While sauce is cooling, lay bacon strips out on a cookie sheet and generously grind black pepper over the bacon. Once the sauce has cooled pour over the scallops in the mixing bowl and lightly stir. (be careful not to break the scallops) Remove scallops one at a time wrapping the bacon around the edge of the scallop, securing it with a tooth pick. You want make sure you’re wrapping it so that there is a flat top and…

Holiday Guacamole

A favorite holiday guacamole! Diced Avocado Sliced Green onions Chopped cilantro Minced Jalapeño Lime juice Pomegranate seeds optional:add clementines Mix and be Merry! I like serving this with Pita chips but Tortilla chips are good too.

Belgian Endive Leaves Smoked Salmon

A light and fresh appetizer for your next holiday get together! Belgian Endive leaves Smoked salmon (Costco has a great peppery one) Creme Fraiche Capers Top with a little lemon zest After a lot of indulging, your friends and family will love these easy light appetizers.

Tuna Salad with slivered almonds

Last nights dinner turned into lunch all week. I don’t make tuna very often, but when I do I love it! You can make this your own with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here is one of my favorite combinations: Albacore in water Light mayo Spicy mustard Relish Diced purple onion Diced Clauson pickles Diced cucumbers Diced celery Lemon juice Lemon zest Kosher salt &pepper (I add Sriracha sometimes which adds a nice kick) Serve with bib lettuce instead of bread for lower carb. And I love avocado and toasted almonds on top.

Banana Egg Nog Bread Pudding

I had a meeting at my house last night and dreamed up this banana egg nog bread pudding to serve that was super easy and amazingly delicious! You can put this in a casserole dish, but I liked serving individual cups baked in muffin tins. 4 large eggs 1 C whole milk 1C egg nog ¼ cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 tsp kosher salt 6 cups cubed challah bread (½ loaf) 5 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into coins 3 Tb white sugar Mix first 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Add bread, mix together, and put in refrigerator until bread has soaked in all of the liquid (a couple of hours). Spray muffin tins very well. Add 3 sliced bananas and 1 scoop of bread mixture then repeat ending with bread mixture. (My muffin tins were very full and close to overflowing). Bake for 20 minutes at 350 then sprinkle with sugar and put back in for another 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and liquid has been cooked through. I used Mrs. Richardsons…

3 Step Salad

My idea of the perfect salad comes in 3’s. You don’t have to have specific ingredients and you can be creative with it! 1. Toss in your favorite kind of cheese. What do you have on hand? Goat cheese, feta, or parmesan..are all great ideas. 2. Add fruit or veggies. Pear, apple, leftover asparagus? They all work! Cut them into different shapes and sizes for look and variety. 3. Add any nuts or seeds that you have in your freezer or cabinet. Cashews, pecans, or pistachios are all great ideas (make sure to toast them). Nuts keep great in the freezer so I always have at least four varieties on hand (same with cheeses). Finally, I always use at least 2 kinds of lettuce. I love the different texture and flavors it gives to the salad. In this case I used 3; spinach, arugula, and baby bibb lettuce. Your perfect salad can be done in 1,2,3!

Citrus Chimichurri

My favorite citrus chimichurri that goes with all types of meat. My favorite is pork tenderloin. I can eat this stuff by the spoonful! Combine all ingredients: 1 cup olive oil 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 3/4 cup orange juice 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 8 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon grated orange peel 1 tablespoon dried oregano 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper I Use about 1/3 of the sauce to marinate my meat (chicken, pork, steak) and the leftover I spoon over the meat once it’s grilled. This may be the perfect thing for Christmas Eve!

Dried Apricot, Goat Cheese, and almond appetizer

I stole this idea from one of my favorite caterers. It is one of my favorite light, EASY appetizers that has great flavors but won’t fill you up. Layer- Dried apricots Cinnamon cranberry goat cheese (or your favorite flavor) Almond (I used honey roasted vanilla but salty/smokehouse would be good too) Honey (I’m lucky and my fabulous neighbors are beekeepers so we have real “local” honey!) Bon appetite!