Tag Archives: entree

Easy Air Fryer: And We have a Baked Potato

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I finally have a great use for my air fryer — baking a potato. I happen to love baked potatoes — they make an easy meal for just one person when everyone else is out of town. However, baking a potato proprely is not as easy as it seems. A great baked potato should have a salty, flavorful yet chewable outer skin and a moist, steamy inside. But, why heat up the oven and entire kitchen to bake just one or two potatoes? After many tries, I finally have a recipe for one “perfect” baked potato in my air fryer. And, I’m loading my baked potato up with vegetables and cheese — for a healthy meal!

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Pecan-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Fig Glaze

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Here we go again — Mardi Gras season in Louisiana just finished this week. This brings up many memories of visits to New Orleans during the weeks of Mardi Gras season to take in all the parades and other festivities. It also brings recollections of traditional French and Creole restaurants in this city as we often ate a fancy dinner at an up-scale restaurant during these trips. “Pecan-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Fig Glaze” is an elegant entree fitting for a Mardi Gras buffet or party. The recipe originates with the venerable New Orleans restauranteer, Ralph Brennan. His creation of stuffed roast pork tenderloin with fig glaze is an absolutely delicious way to prepare a pork roast and also feature southern figs. It is a quintessential New Orleans recipe. The pork roast medallions fit perfectly into a Mardi Gras themed event. Really, it can be served any time of the year. Here’s my rendition of the recipe.

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It’s a Wrap — Kale and Chicken Burritos with Instant Pot Sous Vide

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Do you want to add some kale to your diet? We all know that kale is full of nutritonal value, but how do you incorporate it into meals. These “Kale and Chicken Burrito Wraps” are absoutely delicious and make a very tasty and nutritious way to accomplish this goal. My chicken breast is tender because I used an Instant Pot set on Sous Vide mode to cook the lean breasts. I added a tangy dressing to the kale which, actually, makes a pretty good salad by itself. This burrito wrap makes a healthy and tasty lunch. I could eat this every day.

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Easy Cook: Best Ever Homemade Pizza

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It is “Super Bowl Sunday.” And this one-in-a year football game calls for pizza. I have always enjoyed making homemade pizza and this recipe may be my favorite pizza creations. It is incredibly easy to make and our taste testers decided that it tastes better than any “pizza in a box.” The flavors and ingredients are balanced — you can taste the toppings and not just the pizza crust. Best of all, you can customize the ingredients to each person’s preferences. The recipe is quick–taking about 5 minutes to make the pizza and 10 minutes to bake. Compare that to the time to get a pizza delivered from a pizza restaurant on “Super Bowl Sunday.” To make this “efficient” pizza, I used several convenience products. “Simple” was my objective. Here’s my “way too much” pepperoni pizza.

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P.F. Chang’s Oriental Sweet Chili and Garlic Eggplant

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Today I am making an absolutely delicious eggplant recipe, “Oriental Sweet Chili and Garlic Eggplant.” It is inspired by a similar dish which we ate our local P.F. Chang’s restaurant over the Christmas holidays. We have a family tradition of eating at a P.F. Chang’s Restaurant some time during the winter break and have been going there, off and on, for about 10 years. It has become a challenge for me to order one of their menu items and then reproduce the dish at home. This year we tried P.F. Chang’s “Stir-Fried Eggplant” which was an entree. Of course, it was outstanding. It used an Indonesian-type chili paste in the recipe which gave a unique flavor to the dish. The eggplant was flash fried in a wok and then tossed with the sauce — I guess this is a “Asian-fused” menu item. Since it includes elements of Chinese cuisine, I am featuring this recipe during the Chinese New Year holiday.

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Cajun-Inspired Shrimp-Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

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“Cajun-Inspired Shrimp-Stuffed Patty Pan Squash” may be my best recipe ever for fixing all the numerous summer squashes which grow my garden. I used these cute little “space ship” shaped patty pan squash and stuffed them with a savory shrimp filling. The patty pan squash are very bland compared to other summer squash varieties. They pair perfectly with a classic Cajun-type shrimp stuffing. If you are looking for an unique dish to share with family and friends, here it is.

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Easy Cook: Vicki’s Baked Salmon with Marmalade Glaze

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We all know that the American Dietary Guidelines recommend eating more salmon and deep sea fish for a heart-healthy diet. That’s great, but how do you cook the salmon? Sister-in-law, Vicki, shared this three-ingredient recipe for “Baked Salmon with Marmalade Glaze.” The salmon is tasty; and you can’t find an easier recipe than this one. And it is a great choice for the Passover meal coming up this week.

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Instant Pot Magic: Spaghetti with Diced Tomato & Meat Sauce

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For me, the joy of an “Instant Pot” is all about the challenge. I am starting out the New Year with another of my “Instant Pot” experiments. Can you cook spaghetti with diced tomato & meat sauce in an Instant Pot? Although cooking pasta on the stove in one pot and meat sauce in another pot really isn’t difficult, an Instant Pot does save several steps and it reduces the number of pots that you have to wash. (And that is so important.) Plus, homemade spaghetti sauce tastes better than any commercial one, in my opinion, and it is easy to make. As an added benefit, the homemade sauce can be made so that it is not high in sodium (salt). Spaghetti with meat sauce has always been one of our favorite “go to” suppers. With a “never give up” approach; I made this simple recipe over and over in an Instant Pot trying to get the process perfected.

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Brined and Roasted Boneless Turkey Breast with a “Touch” of Cajun Spice

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Is my family the only one who doesn’t like traditional turkey and fixings for Christmas? After getting up at the crack of dawn to begin roasting the turkey and spending what seems like “hours” in the kitchen to fix the perfect Christmas dinner, I finally got the message. My family really doesn’t care for turkey and dressing or all the ceremony that goes along with carving the turkey. For several years I quit serving a turkey dinner at all. But, I like turkey. This year I plan to cook a small boneless turkey breast instead of a large bone-in turkey for Christmas. For a Louisiana twist, this turkey recipe is full of spices and great flavors. It is very tender and well-seasoned. This surprisingly simple recipe is a “keeper.” I have made it several times to fine-tune the recipe for our Christmas gathering. Each time, the turkey quickly disappeared.

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Easy Cook: Italian-Seasoned Baked Catfish Filets

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Every now and then, it’s nice to have such a quick and simple supper entrée to prepare, that you can almost make it in your sleep. This “melt-in-your-mouth” baked catfish recipe is very easy to cook and it is also very tasty. There is no chopping, dicing, stirring or mixing involved. It is a great recipe to fix when I arrive home from work, exhausted, but still want a home-cooked supper. I have several of these “simple” catfish recipes. This first recipe involves a “secret” ingredient.

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