Popcorn and Junior Mints

Speaking of popcorn, here's another one of our FAVORITES!!


The marriage of hot buttered popcorn and junior mints fits in the same category of peanut butter and chocolate, cookies and cream, and Wendy's fries and Frosty's. My mouth waters just thinking about them.


My friend Jennifer introduced me to this when we were kids. On movie dates, her parents would share a bowl of popcorn and junior mints for a romantic snack. For you men out there, this is THE way to woooo a girl. Go for it!


All you have to do is pop a bag of popcorn, put it in a bowl, and while it's still hot sprinkle some Junior Mints on top. Give the bowl a little jiggle to unleash the mints into the salty butteriness. When you reach in, you'll find ooey-gooey morsels of mint and popcorn.


If you want to get a little more adventurous, try melting the mints in a microwave-safe container until melted. Then pour over the popped popcorn. Now you'll have ribbons of chocolate-minty bliss spread across buttery goodness. YUM!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

So what better snack to have during a Spring blizzard than Peanut Butter Popcorn?

Pop enough popcorn to make 2 quarts (about 2 3-oz. bags)

Cook to a rolling boil:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup or honey (I've never tried the honey)

Remove from heat and add:
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 t. vanilla

Pour over popcorn, stirring to coat.


My sister-in-law, Julie, shared this recipe with me from More-With-Less cookbook. This is a favorite for movies, snacking, camping, or anytime - like a blizzard!

Don't be deceived. They look gooey and sticky, but they're not!

Zucchini Soup

We love this soup! And it's even better when you use the zucchini from your backyard. I put a little bit of crumbled bacon for a little salty crunch!

Ingredients:

3 T. butter

3 medium onions, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, crushed

26 oz. chicken broth

4 medium zucchini, sliced thin

2 stalks celery and leaves, sliced thin

1 T. minced parsley

1 t. salt

1/2 t. each of dried dill, crushed basil, and ground pepper

1 c. milk, add before serving

Heat butter in a skillet and saute the onion and garlic, but do not brown. In a large soup kettle, combine chicken broth, zucchini, celery, parsley, and seasonings. Stir in the onion mixture. Bring to a boil then lower heat and for simmer 30 minutes.

Blend the veggies in batches in a blender until all of the soup is blended. Return to the soup kettle and stir in milk. Heat through. Serve hot or cold.

Broccoli, spinach, or cauliflower may be substituted for the zucchini.

Pan Fried Tilapia with White Wine and Capers

This dish reminds me of my favorite dish from Johnny Carino's. I actually think it was taken off the menu, but Alex assures me that this is a repeat dish in our house.

It's a very forgiving recipe. Annie always wants to be held whenever I need to make dinner so I hardly ever measure anything. You'll notice hardly any of my posts require baking which requires a certain degree of accuracy.

I made a few additions to the recipe to make it more like Johnny Carino's. I added a few sliced black olives (canned) and some green olives and pimentos (from a jar) to the wine mixture. I also served it over angel hair pasta. And lastly, I didn't use parsley.

20 min

1/4 c. dry white wine

1/4 c. tomato (chopped and seeded)

2 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. capers (drained)

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 t. dried basil

4 tilapia fillets (6-ouces each)

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper

1/4 c all-purpose flour

cooking spray

1 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

2 T. parsley

1 lemon (cut into wedges, optional)

Combine the first 6 ingredients, stirring well. Set aside.

Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge fillets lightly in flour, and coat both sides of fillets with cooking spray.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add fillets; cook 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; turn fillets, and cook 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove from pan.

Add wine mixture to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted. Spoon wine mixture over fillets; sprinkle with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Light Chicken Parmesan

We like this breaded chicken. This can be served with some marinara sauce over it with cheese melted on it. Or you can eat it by itself like we usually do. I like to cut the chicken into smaller pieces, almost nugget size.

1 1/2 c. bread crembs

1 T. olive oil

1 oz. (~1/2 c.) grated parmesan

1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 t. garlic powder

Salt & Pepper

1 egg

Cooking spray

Chicken Breasts

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Toast bread crumbs in oil until golden (~10 min.). Cool crumbs slightly, then stir in parmesan.

In a second dish, combine flour, garlic powder, 1 T. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper.

In a third dish, whisk the egg.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top and spray rack with cooking spray. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour lightly, dip in the egg and coat with the bread crumbs. Place the chicken on the rack. Spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray. Bake approximately 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Spicy Romano Chicken

Back when Alex and I used to eat out often, we loved going to Johnny Carino's. And one of my favorite dishes there was the Spicy Romano Chicken: Bowtie pasta, cayenne pepper romano cream sauce, artichokes, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and green onions. It has two of some of my favorite things, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes! Turns out this dish is really easy to make. I made it using rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, without mushrooms and with Parmesan cheese instead. Here is the recipe courtesy of recipezaar.com.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked, thinly sliced)
1/2 cuo sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup diced green onion
1/8 cup sliced sun-dried tomato

alfredo sauce (made from your favorite recipe or from a jar)
1/4 cup grated romano cheese 1 (12 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
cayenne pepper
bow tie pasta, cooked

In pan melt butter, saute chicken, mushrooms, green onions, artichokes and sudried tomatoes until hot.

Add Alfredo sauce and Romano cheese. Simmer.

Add cayenne pepper to taste. Serve over bowtie pasta. ENJOY!

Bakerella is my Hero

Oh my goodness! This looks soooooooooo goooooooood!

http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2009/03/dining-out-dessert.html

But in the spirit of Lent I will refrain. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I will need all the help I can get.

Real Simple

Alex had dinner ready for when I got home and I wasn't at all disappointed. Yum!! Seasoned chicken, sauteed veggies, mashed sweet potatoes - Oh My! What a chef!!