ginger-sesame tilapia

I love all the colors from the sauce and the garnishes, it tasted great too.  The tilapia was steamed, then topped with everything.

using puff pastry for dinner

This is such a versatile (and rich) product.  I often use it to make things like fruit tarts for dessert.  This time I wrapped it around a chicken/broccoli/cheese filling to make a savory dish for dinner.  I also made some mashed potatoes that had hollandaise sauce and ham mixed in to make them extra special.

meatballs

These are done with a sweet and sour sauce, I like the combination!

meatloaf dinner

I have a standard meatloaf recipe that is comfort food around our house.  Ingredients include a mix of ground beef, veal and pork with add ins of dry onion soup mix, dry oatmeal, egg, milk, sage, Worcestershire and ketchup.  We always do a sweet tomato glaze on top.  The plate includes garlic mashed potatoes and some sauteed greens.

pasta and peas

This is a basic spaghetti alla matriciana, served with garlic bread and braised peas. What more could you want for dinner?

soup and shrimp

This loaded baked potato soup was a  substantial start to the meal.  The ale-poached shrimp and asparagus in a saffron sauce were as tasty as they look.

chicken and arugula

This chicken breast is done with a mustard sauce - I plated it over (home grown) arugula to provide a bitter counterpoint to the rich sauce.

lamb, risotto, and fruit tarts

Note the fresh oregano from the garden garnishing the lemon-herb marinated and grilled lamb chops.  I made our favorite asparagus risotto as our side dish.  Dessert is pretty easy - just cut some puff pastry squares, top with sugar and bake.  Then serve with whatever fruit and toppings you'd like - here we did cream and raspberries, garnished with mint (abundant in the yard).

a comfort meal of pasta, salad and bread

Here I made a spinach & sausage lasagna, paired up with some cheesy garlic bread, and then I made a salad using arugula from the garden.

shrimp bisque, braised chicken & kale

I know many of you would also like to see the recipes to our delicious dinners - maybe in 2014 I can figure out the time in my schedule to male that happen.  Here I did a lovely shrimp bisque before our dinner of braised chicken (featuring more kale from the garden) over rice.

more lamb chops

I marinated these in a garlic-lemon mixture before grilling.  I also roasted some sweet potato wedges that have a lime dipping sauce.  Dessert was a fabulous banana-pecan sundae.

beef, brussels sprouts, & butterscotch

I did a stir fry with beef, Brussels sprouts and an Asian sauce served over jasmine rice, then dessert was homemade butterscotch pudding (with some Scotch whisky thrown in for extra measure).