Shrimp & Mango Salad in Crispy Parmesan Bowls

The school year is winding down and summer break is upon us.  My daughter has one full week left of 1st grade and I have been busy working on our summer schedule and planning activities.  With the unseasonably warm weather we have been having, I have also been cooking up a lot of summer recipes.  Today's recipe will be the first of several summer recipes that I will be sharing with you.

This shrimp and mango salad is refreshing and delicious and is served in your very own bowl of crispy cheese.  It is creamy and crunchy, salty and sweet all at the same time.  This recipe is one of my favorites and is perfect for lunch on a hot summer day.

Ingredients:
Serves 6

• 4 1/2 c good quality Parmesan cheese, shredded 
• 1 lb medium shrimp, cooked
• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 c tomato, chopped 
• 2 slices pancetta, diced 
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped  
• 2/3 c sour cream 
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise 
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste 
• 6  4-oz ramekins, placed upside down

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once preheated, sprinkle 3/4 c of the Parmesan cheese in an even layer, forming a circle that is about 6 inches in diameter.  Cook the Parmesan on one side until the bottom begins to turn light golden brown and you can easily slide a spatula underneath without compromising the shape of the circle.  Carefully remove the Parmesan from the pan with the spatula.  Immediately drape it cooked-side down over one of the ramekins, gently pressing down and around the sides of the ramekin to form a bowl.  Allow the cheese to cool and harden for one minute.  Repeat with the remaining cheese and form 5 more bowls.  

In a large bowl, Add the shrimp, mango, avocado, tomato, pancetta, parsley, sour cream and mayonnaise.  Stir well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  

Spoon the shrimp salad into each Parmesan bowl.  Garnish with parsley.  

Enjoy!

Italian Panko-Crusted Tilapia with Creamy Dill Sauce

At least once a week, I serve my family fish for dinner.  While browsing the circulars, I saw that tilapia was on sale for $3.99 per pound, so I decided to add that to my dinner menu for the week.  Tilapia is a mild-flavored fish.  Because of its firm texture, you can grill it, pan-fry it, braise it, bake it, etc, and it holds together very well but is still very tender.

My family loves this dish.  It takes less than 30 minutes to make, it is healthy and it is delicious.  The crispy Panko coating is a perfect compliment to the delicate fish and the dill sauce is creamy and refreshing.

Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata was one of the first recipes that I ever blogged about (see below for the original photo and description).  I have made several changes to the recipe over the years, so I wanted to highlight this yummy dish today and also update the photo.  

This recipe yields an incredibly moist and tender chicken with a rich butter, lemon and garlic flavor.

Fruit Loop Crispy Treats

With her little nose pressed to the window, my daughter waved goodbye and blew kisses to me before the bus left for school today.  I always miss her while she is at school but I found myself missing her much more than usual, so I decided that I would surprise her with a fun treat.  I came across a "Trix Krispies" recipe on Cravings of a Lunatic that I have been wanting to try, so I pulled out my Rice Krispie treat recipe and used Fruit Loops instead.  Once my daughter returned from school, we got started immediately.  She giggled with delight when she saw the final product.  These are a bright and colorful treat that the kids will love!

Italian Rigatoni Pie

I am so excited about this recipe today!  As I was browsing pinterest, I came across a photo that intrigued me and I instantly knew that I had to give it a try.  The recipe originated from Martha Stewart and while I stuck to the basic instructions, I made a lot of changes to the ingredients.  The results?  It was absolutely fantastic!  My family loved it and I will definitely be making it again.  It may be somewhat time consuming but you will find yourself giggling with excitement once you take down the sides of that springform pan and behold your creation.  It is very pleasing to the eye and the taste is out of this world.  When you slice into it, it holds up like a dream.  The cheese on top forms a pleasant crust.  My first concern with the original recipe was that it would be dry but this is definitely not the case, especially due to the addition of the ricotta.  

Please see below for the step-by-step photos that go along with the directions.

A few tips:  Use the rigatoni that is approximately 1 inch long.  Make sure you freshly grate your Parmesan cheese because the pasta will not stick together if you use the grated cheese from a green can.  Also, as mentioned below, allow your obsessive compulsiveness to shine while pushing the meat sauce down through the rigatoni.  The more time you spend on this, the better results you will obtain.  

Strawberry Cinnamon Pastries & Cream Cheese Glaze

These pastries are absolutely delicious and very easy to make.  They are slightly crisp on the outside, fluffy and warm on the inside, and, when paired with the sweet strawberries and gooey cream cheese glaze, they are out of this world!  Just a forewarning, the glaze (adapted from Epicurious) is extremely addicting -- I found myself eating it by the spoonful!  

Cinco De Mayo Recipes

Here are some of my favorite Mexican recipes to help celebrate Cinco De Mayo.

Click on the caption below each photo for the recipe. 

Southwestern Bruschetta

Southwestern Blackened Chicken Spinach Wraps

Southwestern Burgers with Chipotle Sauce

Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Slow Cooked Chicken Tortilla Stew

Coffee-Infused Medium Salsa

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

If you love buffalo wings, then this spicy and hearty sandwich topped with creamy blue cheese and cool, crunchy celery is for you!  It is perfect for the upcoming picnicking season.  Serve it with a side of carrot and celery sticks with blue cheese dressing for dipping.  

Pork Pot Stickers

My husband has been asking me to make pot stickers for the last month and it wasn't until this past weekend that I was able to finally make them.  These pot stickers are so tasty and well-worth the time and effort.

Please be sure to read the directions carefully before making these as there is risk of burning yourself with spattering hot oil if you are not prepared.

Homemade Strawberry Sherbet

This strawberry sherbet is sweet, refreshing and perfect for the upcoming summer months.  There is no cooking involved, so it is as simple as processing the ingredients together and pouring them in an ice cream maker.  If you are like my husband and prefer the absence of fruit pieces, simply strain the mixture through a sieve before pouring it into the ice cream maker. 

Ten 15-Minute Recipes / Taking a Break for a Week

My life has been super crazy lately and it is about to become even crazier next week, so I have decided to take a little break from blogging.  Instead of coming up with new recipes, I will be utilizing my go-to quick-and-easy meals.  So, during my break, I wanted to share with you 10 recipes that take 15 minutes to make.

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Biscuit Bowls

It was just another Tuesday evening.  We had finished eating a yummy steak dinner and I was in mid-cleanup, when the doorbell rang.  It was my in-laws stopping in for a "quick visit".  My father-in-law handed me a gift bag and said, "This is your early birthday gift."  Now, my birthday isn't until August 6, so he wasn't kidding when he said early.  I opened the bag and was completely shocked with what I saw inside.  It was a new Nikon camera!  Did I mention I was shocked?  I felt so undeserving and loved.  It was such a sweet gesture and I was really anxious to start using it.  I'm still becoming acclimated to all of the camera's options and intricacies but I have fallen in love with it already.  Thank you so much to my in-laws for this amazing gift!  

For my first blog post using my new camera (EEK!), I decided to make a tasty breakfast/brunch.  These are really amazing.  You have your own personal breakfast bowl consisting of a flaky biscuit enveloping crispy bacon, egg and cheese.  These can be made ahead of time for those crazy weekday mornings.  Simply store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and heat them up a toaster oven or in a microwave on high for 30 seconds, allowing it to cool for 1 minute before serving.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta

I wanted to highlight a family-favorite that I originally posted about in early 2011.  Since creating this recipe, I have made quite a few changes to it, so I wanted to bring it back into the spotlight and also give it a fresh new photo.  

This is a hearty, creamy and slightly spicy dish that your family will love.  I place this in my meal rotation about once a month and every time I eat it, I think to myself, why don't I make this more often?!  

Happy Easter!

I wanted to highlight two Easter treat recipes that were a hit with all of the kids.  Cake pops are fun, very easy to make, super cute and so tasty.  If you're in a time crunch, the Easter egg cake pops (below) can be made in under 30 minutes.

Happy Easter!

Campanelle with Chicken & Broccoli in Cream Sauce

As mentioned in my last post, my schedule has significantly changed and I have become increasingly busy with work.  Because of this, I have been planning quick-and-easy meals for my family.  This pasta dish is perfect for busy weeks nights because it can be made in under 30 minutes, it uses only one pan and it is delicious!

BBQ Shrimp, Bacon & Green Beans over Rice

My, how the week has flown by!  I have had a major change (a good change) in my work schedule and food blogging had to be placed on the back burner, which is why it has been a full week since I've made a blog post.  I'm hoping that I will be able to post as consistently as I have been but only time will tell.  In any case, now that it's the weekend, I am very thankful to have some extra time to devote to blogging again.

This is a delicious and easy dish that can be made in under 30 minutes that my family loves.  My husband especially enjoys the addition of bacon because it brings a salty component to the sweet BBQ sauce.  While arranging your plate, be sure to drizzle that yummy pan sauce over everything liberally!

Creamy Chicken Caesar Sandwich

If you're a fan of chicken Caesar salad, you will definitely be a fan of this sandwich.  It is incredibly simple to make and is just delightful.  My daughter loved it and asked if we could eat this every night for dinner from now on.  This can be made in under 30 minutes and is perfect for company.  Feel free to pile on sliced tomato, onion, bacon or whatever you prefer on your chicken Caesar salad.  If you're feeding a large crowd, you can use a slow cooker.  The slow cooker directions are at the very bottom of this post.

Bird's Nest Treats for Easter/Spring

I don't know about you, but I have had Easter food on my mind for quite some time now.  While browsing Pinterest, I came across an adorable treat idea for kids from The Pastry Affair.  These are incredibly quick and easy to make and the neighborhood kids raved over them!  You can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter!  I would personally prefer using pretzels in place of the chow mein noodles because they aren't as crunchy and would add a saltiness to the sweetness but the chow mein noodles look more like twigs than pretzels do.  

Italian Red Wine-Tomato Sausage & Vegetable Pasta

I have been absolutely delighted by the beautiful, unseasonably warm March weather we have been having.  It is unbelievable to see spring flowers in March.  My peonies are already shooting up through the soil and my hyacinths have been fully bloomed for nearly two weeks!  We have even been able to have a warm jump start in the vegetable garden.  

While the weather has been lovely, I have been battling a cold (or allergies?) and was laid out for the past several days.  My meals are planned a week in advance and I grocery shop on Monday mornings.  The sickness struck Monday night and I was unable to cook for several days.  Thankfully, by late afternoon yesterday, the sickness had subsided and I was feeling rejuvenated.  However, I had mild anxiety about how to use up all of the food in my fridge without wasting it.  After some cleaning and disinfecting of my house, it was time to plan dinner.  I had a ton of vegetables that I needed to use up, so I decided to use them in this warm pasta dish.  This is a hearty, delicious and comforting meal that my family loves.  It is very versatile and can be made using any of your favorite vegetables.  You can also substitute the sausage for chicken, shrimp or steak.  When tomatoes aren't in season, I substitute the large chopped tomato and chicken broth for a 14 oz can of undrained diced tomatoes.  

Reuben Wraps

Do you have corned beef and cabbage leftover from Saint Patrick's Day?  Last year, I utilized the leftovers to make rosemary corned beef and carrot pasta but this year, I decided to make Reuben wraps.  It's hard to resist the combination of creamy thousand island dressing and tangy, crunchy sauerkraut with savory corned beef and Swiss cheese.  

St. Patty's Pistachio Pudding Shots

My sister-in-law, Beth, recently introduced me to pudding shots.  I loved the concept and immediately knew that I would be making them for Saint Patrick's Day.  I decided to use pistachio pudding because it is obviously green but also because it has a nice almost minty flavor to it.  These are so tasty -- it's hard to have just one!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Honey Wheat Oat Bread with Honey-Cinnamon Butter

I wanted to share one more bread recipe.  While browsing through pinterest, I found a recipe on Tasty Kitchen and I instantly knew I had to try it.  The bread is soft and fluffy.  I personally would prefer it to be a little sweeter, so next time I will add some extra honey.  Either way, when paired with the honey-cinnamon butter, this is absolutely amazing.  Where has this butter been all my life?!  Addicting!

Easy Homemade White Bread

Have you seen "L-Cysteine" in the news recently?  It is a non-essential amino acid that is commonly used as a dough conditioner (think elasticity) in commercial breads such as pizza dough, rolls/buns, pastries, etc.  It is derived from... human hair.  Human hair, you say?  Wait -- it gets better!  Human hair that is swept up and gathered from the floors of barbershops in Asia.  Grossed out yet?  Me, too.  While it is most likely not in your store-bought sandwich bread (check the labels for "L-Cysteine" to be certain), I am personally very leery about buying bread in general now (who knows what's in our food anymore... pink slime anyone?), so I have decided to start making my own bread.  While my family enjoys whole wheat bread the most (recipe to follow in a few days), I wanted to share with you my favorite white bread recipe.  This recipe yields light, fluffy and moist bread that is simple and easy to work with.  You will not be disappointed.  

Roasted Sunny-Side Up Eggs in Rings of Onion over Zucchini

While catching up on Facebook this past Friday, I came across a picture that my husband posted to my wall that he found on reddit.com.  It was a lovely picture of a sunny-side up egg inside an onion ring and I was excited about the idea.   There was also some zucchini in my fridge that I needed to use up, so I decided to roast everything together in the oven.  The verdict?  Amazing!  

Chocolate Chip Brookies (Brownies + Cookies)

What do you get when you cross a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie?  A brookie!  My friend, Rachael, recently introduced me to the concept of a brookie.  When she shared her recipe with me, she warned that they are addicting.  Her recipe calls for three ingredients, 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 cup of mini chocolate chips.  Since today was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I had no where to go, I decided to tackle these.  As I was gathering the ingredients, I realized that I was out of sweetened condensed milk, so I went online in search for a substitute and found one here.  What would I do without google?!  Since I strayed from her original recipe, I found the batter was too dry and crumby, so I added 1 c of maple syrup, which did the trick.

These are so delicious!  They taste just like a chocolate chip cookie but have the texture and thickness of a brownie.  Get your glass of milk ready because you are in for a real treat with these!

Blooming Pizza Bread

Remember the Blooming Bacon Cheddar Ranch Bread that hit the front page of AOL.com back in February?  Well, I decided to go along with a pizza theme this time.  The results?  Amazing!  I really need to reserve making these for when I have company -- when left to our own devices, my husband and I embarrassingly polish off an entire loaf in one day!

Quick & Easy Homemade Onion Rings

If you go back to some of my first posts, you will see that the quality of some of those photos is very poor (example here).  I have been tempted, on occasion, to delete some of the older posts that contained these poor-quality images but have always held off from doing so.  Why?  Mainly because I think it's important to be reminded of where I got started and how far I have come.  I have also made changes to a lot of the older recipes as I have become more familiar with cooking over the years.  Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, what I would like to do every once in a while is take a blog post from years ago and bring it back in the spotlight with hopefully a nicer photo and/or any changes I have made over the years to the recipe.  Take for instance, onion rings.  I originally posted "Homemade Old-Fashioned Onion Rings" on my blog in 2010 but I have made changes to the recipe over the years and the original photo could use a lot of help. 

Now, to the recipe.  These onion rings are delicious and crispy and you can have them in under 20 minutes, start to finish.  

Help Struggling Food Banks / Open Door Ministry

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”- Mother Teresa

 My little sous chef and I helping Open Door Ministry food pantry with other members from our church

The Mercury and Town Square blogging community together are challenging their readers to help fill local food pantries.  "The effort is in response to a recent news story that discovered area food pantries were struggling through one of the worst winter seasons in memory. Increased food prices and increased gas and fuel oil prices are creating more demand and less supply. Many area places where people turned for help are getting less food and less money donated, while need is at record high levels."  

The goal is to involve all area communities in various towns to donate food at collection points announced by bloggers.  I am one of the many bloggers asking for help for struggling local food pantries.  

I would like to highlight one of the nonprofit  human service and support organizations that will benefit from your donations.  

Corned Beef & Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots

Every year around Saint Patrick's Day, I serve corned beef and cabbage to my family.  My husband and daughter enjoy the beef, carrots and potatoes the most but I find myself enjoying the cabbage more than anything because it has almost a buttery taste and soaks up all of the other flavors in the dish.  If you find that the cabbage is a little too bitter for your liking, you can add some brown sugar to the broth one tablespoon at a time, to taste.  If you are not fond of cabbage in general, you can certainly boil it separately or even omit it entirely.

Serve this with horseradish or Dijon and crusty bread.  Don't forget to use the leftovers for corned beef hash or Reuben sandwiches.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella-Kahlua Ganache & Ferrero Rocher Garnish

Both my husband and I have been very sick for nearly the entire week.  You don't realize how much you take your health for granted until you are knocked flat on your back with sickness.  I didn't cook (or really eat much of anything) for an entire week!  Thankfully, my little sous chef didn't catch our sickness and ended up being quite the compassionate nurse (she wears many hats).  Yesterday marked the first day that we finally felt back to normal.  Since I was feeling well, I thought that I would treat myself with something that made me happy -- cupcakes!  These cupcakes are so chocolaty and decadent.  The Nutella-Kahlua ganache is so tasty that you will find yourself trying to not eat it all before you top the cupcakes.  

If you would rather a thicker icing, as opposed to a glaze, simply reduce the amount of Nutella to 4 oz, allow the ganache to cool and beat it for several minutes until it becomes thick.  

Deep-Fried Seasoned French Fries

Potatoes were on sale for $0.99/5 pound bag last week, so what did I do?  I bought enough to feed an army.  So far, I have used them to make potato salad, home fries for breakfast, and baked bacon, shrimp and cheddar potato skins.  My husband happened to be craving french fries over the weekend, so I was excited for yet another use of the potatoes.  These are the best and easiest french fries ever.  They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with wonderful flavor.  If you would prefer to bake them, check out my homemade baked french fries recipe.

Baked Bacon, Shrimp & Cheddar Potato Skins

We had twice-baked potatoes and haddock one night for dinner this week.  Whenever I make twice-baked potatoes, I save the skins (no wasting food here!) so I can make baked potato skins as a snack.  Baked potato skins are a great snack because you really are only limited by your imagination.  They are also a perfect way to use up some of your leftovers.  Point in case, for these particular potato skins, I used leftovers from my BBQ bacon-wrapped shrimp and pineapple wrap.  Have leftover BBQ chicken?  Put in on a potato skin as a snack!  Want to make it healthy?  Top it with some steamed broccoli and feta.  Mozzarella, tomato and basil covered in balsamic vinegar is also a tasty and healthy option.  

BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp & Pineapple Wrap

While my husband and I were celebrating our 8-year anniversary on a beautiful tropical island a couple weeks ago (sigh, is it spring yet?!), we enjoyed dinner with a view of the sun setting over the ocean.  It was a magical experience that I will never forget.  One of the seafood dishes we were served included bacon-wrapped shrimp slathered with BBQ sauce and it was so incredibly delicious that I have been daydreaming about it since that time.  I finally got around to making it tonight and decided to use it in a wrap.  There are so many wonderful elements to this wrap.  It is warm, salty, smoky, sweet, tangy and cheesy -- absolutely wonderful!   My family loves it and it definitely will be put into my meal rotation list.  My grill is currently hibernating until spring, so I have included directions for pan frying the shrimp but you may certainly grill it.

Cotton Candy Cocktails & My Two-Year Blogiversary!

I cannot believe it has been two entire years since I first stepped foot on this blog journey.  It really has been an amazing ride filled with ups, downs and everything in between.  I asked my husband last night, "Can you believe it has already been two years?"  He replied, "I honestly feel like you've always been doing this."  Though Cooking Creation has only been in existence for two years, it has become an integral  part of who I am.  I want to sincerely thank all of my faithful followers and subscribers for all of your kind comments, constructive criticisms and helpful suggestions.  

Quite a few things have changed since last year.  Cooking Creation now has a Facebook page, is on Pinterest, uses Twitter (sparingly), was featured on the front page of AOL.com and has been featured weekly in the Pottstown Mercury newspaper both in print and online.  One of my greatest joys has been cooking side-by-side with my daughter and seeing her love for cooking and baking grow.  My husband's palate has expanded and I proudly no longer consider him a picky eater.  He has even been watching cooking shows on his own.  I have gained confidence in cooking and baking, enough so that I have joined my church's bake team for Sunday mornings and meals group for those who need help with dinner after surgery, childbirth, etc.  

About a week ago, I asked my readers, family and friends for suggestions about what to post for my anniversary and I had a lot of great responses.  A friend of mine suggested that I post something that has to do with the traditional two-year anniversary gift of cotton, such as cotton candy.  It was a brilliant idea and I jumped all over it!  Thanks, Mona!  My first thought was to simply make cotton candy and do a tutorial but I wasn't really looking forward to the sticky mess.  For my one-year blogiversary, I made a three tier cake (which became known as humble pie) but I wanted to do something other than bake this time.  I decided that this year, I was going to do a simple cocktail to celebrate -- a cotton candy cocktail.

This is a sweet, pretty cocktail that is a lot of fun.  You simply place a heaping bunch of cotton candy into your cocktail glass, pour the liquid over it and watch it dissolve into a pretty pink (or blue) cocktail.  This would also be super cute for a kid's birthday party... but make sure you leave out the vodka!    

Please celebrate this special day with me by raising your cotton candy cocktails.  Here's to cooking with and for family and friends for many more years to come!  Salute!

Busy Weeknight Pan-Fried Cube Steak & Brown Gravy

In case you were unaware, I am a proud (and somewhat obsessed) couponer.  I'm talking coupon binder in tow at the grocery store, stock piled pantry at home, etc.  After clipping Sunday newspaper coupons, organizing them in my binder, scoping out sales at each grocery store, and making my meal plan for the week, I normally go grocery shopping on Monday mornings.  Thankfully, I happened to check my work email before grocery shopping and found out that I was about to be bombarded with work.  What did I do?  I planned to make one of my go-to meals for a crazy weeknight, pan-fried cube steak and brown gravy.  I almost did not post this recipe because of how simple it is but, after convincing on my husband's part, I decided to post it after all.  You see, he absolutely loves this dish, it can be made in under 15 minutes, it is delicious, it is easy to make, and it is affordable.

When picking out cube steak at the store, try find one with little-to-no visible fat.  As far as cost goes, depending on the store and sales, you can get it anywhere from $3.00 to $5.00 per pound.  Cube steak is round roast that has been extra-tenderized with a mallet.  If you want to save even more money per pound, buy a round roast and tenderize it yourself to 1/8 inch thick pieces.  You can certainly make your own brown gravy but, on really crazy weeknights, I use two $1.00 McCormick brown gravy mix packets to save time.  

Meatball Sub Pierogi

My husband has been craving pierogi for the past several days and we found ourselves with some extra time Sunday night to make them.  It turned out to be a very special day because my little sous chef was able to stuff, seal and boil the pierogi all by herself for the first time.  We stuffed half of the pierogi with my husband's favorite, plain potato.  With the other half, my daughter and I decided to get creative and we came up with meatball sub pierogi.  They turned out fantastic and really do taste like crunchy miniature meatball subs.  

Double Egg, Prosciutto & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

Yesterday was my nephew's 1st birthday party.  My sister served a delicious baked ziti meal for our family and we had a lovely time.  Saturday mornings, I normally make a huge breakfast but the morning of the party proved to be hectic, so I made my husband's favorite fast and easy breakfast sandwich.  Whenever I make these sandwiches, bacon is usually used in place of the prosciutto but we had a lot of it that needed to be used up.  These sandwiches are also perfect for on the go.

Homemade Cream Cheese Stuffed Bagels

I could really get used to waking up to these with a hot cup of coffee every morning!  The outside is crispy, the inside is warm and soft and the cream cheese inside just puts them over the top.  

Did you know that making your own bagels from scratch is incredibly easy?  Neither did I!  I have always wanted to try it but never really got around to doing it.  Yesterday morning, I had some extra time on my hands, so I did some research.  I came across a recipe on Allrecipes that seemed like a good place to start.  I made a few changes to the recipe based on three other recipes, reviewers' opinions and my own experience with dough.  While kneading the dough, I wanted to put my own little spin on the bagels, so I decided that I was going to stuff them with cream cheese.  Let me tell you, they turned out fantastic!  They also reheat in the toaster and toaster oven beautifully -- still crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.  These were a huge hit with my family and I will probably never purchase bagels at the store again.  

If you would rather not stuff your bagels with cream cheese, I have included directions for that also.  I made the bagels with and without the stuffing and both ways turned out amazing.  

These will be the best bagels you have ever had!

Pork Tenderloin with Onion Crispers & Savory Blueberry Sauce

How can I describe this meal?  Sweet and salty, tender and crispy, all in one dish.  The pork is fork-tender and juicy and the sauce is a perfect compliment to both the pork and salty onion crispers.  If you prefer a sweeter blueberry sauce, discard the pan drippings before preparing the sauce.  Personally, I prefer to reserve those beautiful drippings for the sauce because it adds amazing depth of flavor.  The onion crispers are super simple to make and add a lovely crunch to the overall dish.  The name "onion crispers" was originally derived from the inner workings of my daughter's mind -- my little sous chef is so creative!  I served this over mashed potatoes with steamed broccoli on the side.  Delicious!  

Orange Creme Brulee - Broiled or Torched

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you an amazing French dessert that I absolutely love.  Creme brulee consists of a creamy, cool custard topped with a crispy caramelized sugar crust and it is so addicting!  If you do not own a blow torch, I have included directions on how to use the broiler, which is the method I use.  Also, if you want to get creative, you can use hallowed-out orange peels in place of the ramekins, which is pictured below.  It works wonderfully.