Salmon and Goat Cheese Quiche

Ryan makes the most FANTASTIC salmon than any chef, no doubt! Most of the time, only the skin is left, but on the rare occasion we have leftovers we use it in a quiche. It turns out the quiche is pretty darn fantastic too, so now we make sure we have leftovers. This quiche recipe started from one we found on Simply Recipes, which calls for smoked salmon. So, if you don't have leftover salmon, try that version or cook some up. As for us, we stick with this one- very fresh. I'm bringing this to Easter brunch to show off. Enjoy!

Penne with Peas and Homemade Ricotta

A month or so ago I found out I would be spending almost a week at home with just the dogs for company. I love to be home alone, but nearly a week would be quite lonely. I did what any girl would do: call their best girlfriend. That's my little sister Cindy, and she readily agreed to entertain me for the weekend in the way of shopping. I wanted her company for dinner too, so I offered to make dinner, dessert, and teach her how to make it at all at home. She agreed to that too! Yea! Last night we had this delicious pasta dish with peas and ricotta and to make it really special we made out own ricotta cheese too. So good!!! Here is the recipe for homemade ricotta.

Chicken Satay- Yea!

My sister, Cindy, says she can't eat spicy foods so when she said she and her boyfriend, Adam, were coming to town I had to whip up chicken satay. This was the perfect plan to broaden her horizons to the wonders of spicy foods. I chickened out last minute and decided to make a mild version. I didn't want this to be her last visit! Cindy and Adam loved the lunch and the homemade ice cream for dessert. They thought the meal was "gourmet," "delicious," "way better than fast food," and best of all "free." I am no fortune teller, but I think they will be back. The recipe is easy and the spicy version is included below; to make it mild just omit the hot sauce. The chicken will still be very flavorful and you won't walk away saying "hot, hot, hot" as Cindy would have.

Mexican Bean and Corn Salad

I still get mail at my parents house: every piece of junk mail you can imagine and my mom collects these mailings in a bin she calls "Lisa's Mailbox." I normally would shred everything, but my mom must think it's funny to sneak in a recipe or two she thinks are good. So, I have to go through each piece of mail and pick out the recipes. My mom must find some entertainment in this because she keeps doing it regardless of how many times I ask her to please stop collecting the junk mailings. I don't need any more credit cards or a share in a retirement community, but I do want those recipes! Here's one from Lisa's Mailbox that I just love! I will make two, sometimes three, batches of it in one week and eat it for lunch all week long. Enjoy!

Spinach Pesto

When Ryan and I started dating, I found a recipe that looked great for dinner. The recipe called for arugula pesto and I had never eaten, seen, or heard of pesto before. Imagine my surprise when I got home with all the ingredients and the recipe said to blend it all together. I couldn't possibly blend the beautiful green bunch of arugula! What a waste! I also didn't think I really needed Pine nuts so I didn't buy them. I had to call Ryan and ask him about Pine nuts. Being the cultured man that he is, he had a jar at home he could bring over.
I have since learned a bit about pesto- mostly when Ryan had a huge basil crop and we made enough pesto to share with friends, family, and still freeze some to use over the next year. You can make pesto with basil, arugula, spinach, tarragon, even sun-dried tomatoes (I believe that's the French version and it's called Pistou), and use any nut you like or have available. There are many ways to make pesto and just as many ways to enjoy it!

Spring Zucchini Pasta

Spring is here and with it comes zucchini- lots and lots of zucchini. Yea! I started a handful of zucchini seeds indoors this year and with any luck we will have a vegetable and herb garden outside by next weekend. I can't wait until I'm flooded with zucchini as it is one of my favorite vegetables: it is inexpensive, easy to find, and so versatile! This recipe is one way we used the zucchini from our recent delivery from Timber Creek Farms. We had leftover chicken which bumped up the heartiness of this dish. Ryan said, "this is a 'love it' dinner" and proceeded to have TWO enourmous plates of it. Also, it's a one pot dish! The only downside of this recipe is that we didn't have leftovers... bummer!

Tuna Sandwich with EVERYTHING but Mayo

Since we have been teased with warm days over the last couple of weeks, I thought I would pull out an old favorite Summer recipe. This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Rachel Ray 365: No Repeats. It requires no cooking, it is fast, and served cold: that's why it is a Summer favorite. Of all the recipes in this cookbook we make this one over and over again. In fact, I just have to hold the book by the spine and it opens to this recipe every time! Enjoy!

Sloppy from the Garden Joe's

There are a few childhood favorites my husband requests once in a while and Sloppy Joe's are one of them. To stretch my dollar and add "grown-up" flavor I thought to throw in some celery and carrots. We loved the results! Crunchy carrots and celery with the benefits of added nutrients makes these Garden Variety Sloppy Joe's a real winner. Ryan wanted to rename this recipe and one of his ideas was "Lazy Lisa's." I don't know what he was trying to accomplish with that suggestion, but he is on his own for dinner tonight! Anyway, grab some napkins and enjoy!

Fresh Mexican Tacos

When Ryan and I started dating, he lived in Lincoln Square by this great Mexican restaurant called Garcia's that is open late. We had many late dinners there after a night out on the town! I would always order the chicken burrito that is as big as your head and Ryan almost always orders "Mexican" tacos. The tacos we are all familiar with are topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream and more! Mexican tacos, however, are perfect in their simplicity: topped only with cilantro and chopped yellow onion, and served with lime wedges. The same way you find them for sale by street vendors in Mexico or Logan Square. In response recently to "what do you want for dinner?" Ryan said, "real tacos please!" Ryan and I easily ate through a pound of ground beef and were looking for more. We spiced it up with chopped mango pieces- yum! We repeated the dinner a week later using stir fry beef cut up in small pieces and were equally pleased- so you are not limited to ground beef! If you are looking to add more "oopmh" to this dinner, serve with a side of rice and pinto beans.