Apple Pie

This is a great and easy apple pie recipe.  I used store bought pie crusts (you need 2, one for the bottom, one for the lattice top), 1 stick of butter, 3 Tablespoons of flour, 1 Cup of sugar (half white sugar, half brown sugar), and 6 granny smith apples.  Lay one of the pie crusts in a glass pie plate and cut the other pie crust into lattice strips.  Peel, core, and cut the apples and layer them in the pie crust.  Cook the butter and flour on the stove top until it forms a paste, then add all the other ingredients until just boiling, then simmer for 20 min.  Once the filling is ready, pour the filling onto the apples and cover with the lattice strips.  Bake in the oven at 350 for 45 min, cover the top with aluminum foil to keep it from burning.

Stuffed Flouder

Amazing stuffed flounder from fresh fish caught that day.  First cut the head off and gut the flounder, then descale the fish, and lastly, cut the flounder open down the middle (head to tail) of one side to make two flaps.  Cook some stove top stuff halfway until done and add the stuffing to the open flounder, we also added some shrimp.  Cut some lemon slices and place on top and close the flaps on the flounder.  Then bake the flounder until the fish inside is cooked.

Baked Tilapia and Butternut Squash Pasta

I had Tilapia fillets that I dredged in Bread Crumbs and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.  For the butternut squash pasta, I diced butternut squash and boiled in chicken stock that just covered the squash, once the squash was tender, I pureed the squash and then put the puree back in the pot and added seasoning.  The I cooked the pasta and added the pureed butternut squash on top of the cooked pasta.

Pizza Roll

I made a large pizza roll using store bought dough that comes in sheets.  I rolled out the dough onto a cookie sheet and stuffed it full of mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, and mushrooms, but you could stuff it with anything you wanted, fresh spinach also works really well.  Once all the ingredients were added, I rolled the dough into a log shape and closed up the ends.  I brushed the log with olive oil and sprinkled some salt on top.  I baked it in the oven until the outside was golden brown, about 30 minutes.  The outside was crunchy and the inside was gooey.  I used a store bought marinara sauce for dipping, if you put marinara sauce inside the roll, the roll gets really messy.  Once out of the oven, I slice the roll.

Paella

I didn't make this paella the traditional way since I left out peas, bell peppers, and chorizo, but I made it with all the things I love.  I started with the rice, I used Jasmine, which I love, and added saffron to the boiling water.  Then I sauteed an onion in olive oil, once it was done, I added tomatoes and cooked them for a couple minutes.  Then I added the rice and a little bit of chicken stock.  I then added the raw shrimp on top of the rice and put the lid on the pot and let them steam.  It was great.  Traditionally, you add the bell peppers with the onion, and add the chorizo before the shrimp, and add the peas last right before it's done.  You can also add mussels or squid with the shrimp.

Bruschetta

This is such an easy recipe and so so good.  I toasted sliced sourdough bread at 350 degrees while I mixed together the topping.  The topping was diced Roma tomatoes that were seeded, a tablespoon of balsamic, a teaspoon of olive oil, some grated Parmesan, and fresh basil.  I topped the toasted bread with the topping and then put it back in the oven to get warm or you could eat it without warming it.

Breakfast Taco

Breakfast Tacos are great for large or small groups because you cook all the ingredients and everyone can pick out what they want, and they can also be easily vegetarian too.  Some of my favorite ingredients are sausage, bacon, eggs or egg whites, potatoes (amazing in breakfast tacos, my favorite), tomatoes, salsa (for dipping or topping), and cheese (shredded or sliced).  This one was made with egg whites left over from my amazing tiramisu and I added cheese and salsa, it's so easy.  The other one was made with avocado, bacon, cheese, and eggs.  I love making them with flour tortillas, the corn tortillas seem to fall apart on me, even when I use two.

Stuffed Zucchini

Amazing vegetarian main dish or side dish.  In a saute pan, I added some olive oil and butter until hot, then added a finely chopped onion and let it saute until clear, then I added small chopped button mushrooms and let them saute until the juice came out, then I added some seeded, small chopped Roma tomatoes.  I let this mixture saute until tender.  While the mixture was sauteing, I halved and seeded 4 zucchinis.  I baked them while the mixture was sauteing until they were almost tender.  I added the mixture to the top of the zucchinis and topped with some Parmesan cheese and put them back in the oven for about 20 min at 350 deg.  These were amazing.  This could be stuffed with anything.

Three Layer Tiramisu

Using my same Tiramisu recipe, I made three layers, instead of the usual two, but since it didn't fit in the pan very well, I may not do it this way again or get a bigger pan.  I started with the layer of soaked lady fingers (soaked in equal parts coffee and rum), then a layer of the custard (eggs, sugar, and milk) and marscapone that I whipped together, and then a layer of whip cream (cream whipped with vanilla and powdered sugar) and cocoa powder.  My favorite dessert!

Apple Sherry Pork, Marinara Spaghetti Squash, and Balsamic Brushetta

I was trying out some new ways to make pork and spaghetti squash.  Normally I sear my pork, transfer it to the oven, and make a pan sauce with a peach beer in the searing pan and normally I bake the spaghetti squash, scrape it out of the skin, and saute it in olive oil to finish.  This time I seared the pork, transferred it to the oven, and made a pan sauce with sherry cooking wine and chopped up apples.  I seared two sides of the pork, removed the pork, and added about a cup of sherry, two cups of chicken stock, and 2 fine chopped apples.  I let this sauce thicken and reduce while the pork baked in the oven.  For the spaghetti squash, I baked it in the oven like normal, cut open, face down on parchment on a baking sheet until soft.  Once it was baked, about 30 min, I scraped out the inside and topped with a marinara sauce that I heated on the stove.  I also made a balsamic brushetta appetizer.  In a bowl, I mixed 4 seeded Roma tomatoes, a tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette, a teaspoon of olive oil, about a half cup of Parmesan cheese, and a fresh package of basil chopped fine.  I topped some toasted, sliced pieces of french bread in the oven with the mixture to make the balsamic brushetta.