Quick and Easy Broiled Oyster Appetizer

I bought a can of Oysters at the grocery store one day, I didn't really have a plan for them then, but they seemed like an interesting thing to try. I finally used them tonight as an appetizer. I didn't know what to expect from oysters in a can but they were actually plump, juicy, not too filling before a meal, and surprisingly great!

1 can of Oysters in their own juice

1 hand full of fresh chopped cilantro

1/2 cup canned no salt added diced tomatoes (leave a little bit of the tomato juice in)

1/4 cup diced onions

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup diced pear (diced very, very small) this is the surprise flavor in the dish, it adds a nice sweet note

That's it! line a baking dish with your drained oysters.
Scatter the other ingredients on and around your oysters.
Broil for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with crackers or bruchetta.

Spinach and Salmon Cowder

This is a comfort dish, not as healthy as it could be, but still not really all that bad for you either; it does have salmon and spinach after all, two super foods!

This should make enough for 4 people:

2 wild caught boneless skinless salmon filets ( I usually keep some in the freezer, frozen filets are perfect for this recipe)

1 1/4 cup organic vegetable stock (low sodium)

1 cup half and half

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup frozen spinach

1/2 cup diced onions

1/4 to 1/2 cup diced roasted red peppers

cayenne pepper

Throw everything except for the half and half in a pot.
Bring it to a boil and then let it roll for about 5 minutes.
Give it a stir every now and then.
Cut heat down to low, add the half and half and let it simmer for about 5 more minutes.

Salt and Pepper to taste! Serve with crackers. Delicious!

Strawberry-Limeade Vodka Drink!!!!!!!!

I love mixing drinks! I used to bar tend a bit in my restaurant days and my favorite part of the job, besides the cash, was creating new drink recipes! I'm always concocting something fruity and icy in the summer.
I made this Strawberry-Limeade Vodka drink for a birthday party last night. It was such a hit that it was all gone by 10 pm!
I cant wait to  make some more. I hope you'll try this one for your next celebration.

1 liter of vodka (if you want to keep the cost down, buy an inexpensive brand and run it through your water purifier pitcher a couple of times first)

1 large package sliced strawberries already frozen in sugar (if you can find them, just make sure sugar is the ONLY other ingredient) if you can't find those, just sugar the strawberries yourself and leave them to soak up the sweetness over night.

1 quart simply Limeade

3  6oz  cans of 100% pineapple juice (not from concentrate)

Mix all together!  This drink is so pretty with all the strawberries swirling around, you'll want to showcase it in clear glass pitchers or bottles. I used an empty and clean scotch  bottle with a cork top for one of my batches.

Pour over crushed ice and garnish with a lime wheel. Be careful, they go down easy!

Stop Light Stuffed Peppers!!!

This dish smells so good you could get full just standing around sniffing it waiting for it to finish baking! It takes about a half an hour to cook. I don't usually make dishes that require that much patience but this one was worth it! Very tasty, very filling.

What you'll need

Peppers: 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green ("stop light")
1 can of organic crushed tomatoes
1 can of no salt added tomato sauce
1 small can of mushroom pieces
1/4 cup roasted red peppers diced small. Cento makes a small jar that's good and not too expensive; good to have on hand anyway.
1/2 Vadalia onion diced small
1 cup morning star grille recipe crumbles
1 bag 10 minute (boil in the bag) brown rice
3 table spoons Italian seasoning
1 table spoon brown sugar
1 tea spoon garlic powder, be careful not to use garlic salt!!
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated cheese. I used Cracker Barrel Natural Vermont Sharp-White!


Go ahead and boil your rice and just set it aside.

Dump your crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and mushrooms in a pot.
Stir in your Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and brown sugar.
Let this simmer for a few minutes then remove it from the burner. Pour all but a third of the sauce into the bottom of a glass baking dish.

Cover the bottom of a frying pan with the olive oil, throw in your diced onions, diced roasted peppers, and the morning star veggie crumbles.
Saute for about 2 minutes until nice and brown. Remove from heat and mix into the rest of your waiting pot of tomato sauce. Go ahead and mix your rice in now too.

Wash and cut your peppers. If you cut them in half from top to bottom, instead of cutting off the tops and using the whole pepper, they'll cook a little faster and you'll get more servings, my mama taught me that trick. Thanks Jacque!

Now your ready. Set your peppers down in the sauce in your baking dish, then heap the tomato-rice mixture into the peppers. Cover with grated cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Excellent!

Honey Baked Salmon

I needed a protein fix today so I took some wild salmon out to thaw this morning. Here's what I ended up with. Honey Baked Salmon! Healthy, easy, and goooood!

What you'll need:
boneless,skinless salmon filets. fresh or frozen (caught wild is best)
goat cheese
mixed baby greens
lemon (or two)
red pepper
yellow onion
tomato
honey
sea salt
olive oil
white balsamic vinegar (or whatever else you have)
sugar
and a big loaf of good crusty bread

preheat oven to 450
coat a glass baking dish with butter, leave a few little chunks all willy nilly in the bottom of the pan
toss in very thin slices of red peppers and onions, the thinner the better!
nestle your salmon down in the mix
top with a few pats of butter and thinly sliced lemon wheels
drizzle whole dish with honey and sprinkle with sea salt
place in oven until done. check at about 6 minutes that should be close.

don't forget to throw your crusty bread in the oven too!

in a mixing bowl:
pour about a 1/4 cup (and then a tad more) olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
table spoon of sugar
2 table spoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup goat cheese
whip it all up with a fork
toss in your mixed greens and tomato slices

plate your salad
pull your salmon and bread out of the oven
slap your salmon filet right down in the middle of your salad
place all the hot and tender onions and peppers around it, they'll wilt your salad nicely.
butter your bread and you're done!

delicious with a fizzy cold coke! or some wine if you want to get fancy!

September Soup

It's the middle of September and fall is sending in an R.S.V.P. to a party I did not invite it to! The last couple of days have been chilly/hot ones, the kind that send me out wearing wacky outfits; shorts and flip flops with long sleeved hoodie sweatshirts. If I had a personal fashionista I'm sure she would have at least told me to switch the floppers out for a pair of cute and trendy flats. Whatever!
When I left work today I noticed that the sun was sitting much lower in the sky than it had been just a week before. I'm already dreading those dark by 5:30 days that are soon to come. All of this weather worry started me craving a nice, hot bowl of soup. I went home, pulled out a big red pot, opened up the cupboards, and started opening cans! I ended up with this. It was really good, hit the spot! It only took about 10 minutes and I'll definitely make it again. Hope you might try it too!

September Soup:
1 can of beans ( I only had red Kidney, I bet white would have been better)
1 can of mushroom pieces (no salt added if you have em)
1 pkg of frozen spinach
1 Vadalia onion diced
3 scallion stalks diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 vegetarian bullion cube
cayenne pepper, black pepper, dried basil, and whatever else you think goes; I added some coriander
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Dump your oil, water,  JUICE ONLY~from the can of mushrooms (save the mushrooms for later), spices, bullion, all of your diced onions and scallions into a large pot. Bring it to a boil and let it roll for a couple of minutes. Then pour it all into a blender and pulverize it! Pour it back into the pot and add everything else EXCEPT for the grated cheese. Bring it all back to a nice boil. Ladle into bowls and cover completely with grated cheese. It will melt but if you want it to be really awesome run it under the broiler for a hot minute! Enjoy!