Baked Scallops

I hope everyone had an incredible Christmas and wonderful time with your family, friends, or friends who are family. We definitely did.

I made this dish tonight, on a whim, mainly because our local Harris Teeter had bay scallops on sale. I decided to give this one a try, and it was a hit! My husband took one bite, and with eyes all lit up, he said, "This is really good!" And my husband is one of those blunt honest types, so he doesn't tell me something tastes great just to save my feelings.

Anyway, the recipe here is just for the scallops, but I decided to serve these on top of spaghetti. Very yummy!
(ps. it's also super easy, and I happened to have everything in my pantry already!)

Baked Scallops

(Original recipe and photo by John Bragg)

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 pounds bay scallops, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Pour melted butter into a 2 quart oval casserole dish. Distribute butter and scallops evenly inside the dish.
3. Combine the bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, parsley, minced garlic and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle this mixture over the scallops.
4. Bake in pre-heated oven until scallops are firm, about 20 minutes.

Yields 4 servings.

Perfect Char-Grilled Filet Mignon

Anyone out there not having to stuff little stockings or attend Christmas programs or worry about leaving Santa some cookies? How about taking advantage with a fancy, homemade meal?
How about you moms and dads... any of you needing a nice, romantic dinner for two?
I know, I know. Roll your eyes all you want. But try this: stick Rudolph in the dvd player, order them some $5 pizza, and then you have a nice (sorta) quiet dinner all to yourselves.

I know filets aren't quite budget friendly all of the time, but check your local circulars. Sometimes you can find an awesome deal (our local HT is having a special on them this week). But even if they're not on sale, treat yourself. With all of the Christmas craziness, it's nice to unwind to a good dinner... especially a melt-in-your-mouth, steak dinner!

Perfect Char-Grilled Filet Mignon

(Original recipe by Paula Deen)

(Photo courtesy of Food Network)

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) bottle zesty Italian salad dressing
• 2 beef tenderloin fillets, 1 1/2 -2 inches thick
• 2 slices bacon
• 2 tablespoons steak sauce (Paula recommends Lea and Perrins Steak Sauce, but I just used A1 since my hubby loves the taste so much)
• 2 teaspoons water

Directions

Pour the salad dressing into a shallow pan, place the steaks in the pan and let them marinate for 3 to 4 hours. Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill (I used a gas grill; you could also use a grill pan if it's too cold outside). Wrap a strip of bacon around each steak, securing it with a toothpick or kitchen twine. Grill the steaks over hot coals for about 8 minutes per side (5 minutes per side for rare). Baste with a mixture of steak sauce and water. For perfect steaks, turn them only once.

Goes well with Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Let me guess... this last week left before Christmas left you feeling a little stressed? :) With all of the last minute shopping, baking, and card sending (yeah, my cards are patiently waiting to be mailed still), dinner probably isn't something you want to think about.
If you fall in this category (and you like pasta), then you'll like this recipe. It's incredibly easy. In fact, it's SO easy that if you wanted to shake things up a bit (and sub with ravioli or add meat or something), then you have total freedom. But we'll stick with the basic version for now.

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Original recipe by Giada de Laurentis

(photo courtesy of Food Network)

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves  (you can use dried, it won't hurt anything)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (same here)
• 1 pound purchased cheese tortellini
• 2 ounces thinly sliced smoked mozzarella (I just used regular, but I bet the smoked makes it taste richer)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8x8x2-inch baking dish.

Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

Baked French Toast Casserole

First, I wanted to give a big shout-out to the new followers. I'm glad you like this place enough to want to keep reading. Thanks for that! :)
Secondly, a big apology for not posting more recipes lately. With the craziness of last minute Christmas stuff, plus I got sick (the kind that shouldn't be mentioned on a food blog), the blogs are just getting a tad neglected.

Anyways, I thought I'd share this recipe with you. It's one of my favorites, and is such a good one to have if you plan on entertaining family over the holidays. And oh.my.gosh, it's SO ridiculously good. I made it this past summer for some friends that stayed over, and one of my husband's friends asked me to send the recipe to his wife. He didn't stop talking about it.
It's really not that difficult to make. My only advice? Get the bread the no earlier than the day before you make it. Otherwise, it may go stale (or worse) by the time you get around to it. Bakery bread doesn't have as long of a shelf life (found that out the hard way).

Baked French Toast Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Dash salt
• Praline Topping, recipe follows
• Maple syrup

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Simple Split Chicken Breast

Need a super easy dinner idea during this busy season?? Great, then keep reading.

I don't even remember where I found this recipe, but it's now one of my last-minute go-to recipes. It's actually really budget friendly as well. Watch your circulars. Most stores will do a major sale on bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. I think the lowest I ever found was $.77/lb. Still good, right?

Anyways, it takes about 5 minutes to prepare, and it smells divine while cooking.

Simple Split Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs split chicken breasts (bone-in)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt (this is important, don't sub for regular table salt)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

(To minimize the risk of transferring bacteria, I go ahead and pour olive oil in a small bowl, then mix the seasonings in a small bowl. Also, go ahead and get your roasting pan...with rack inserted...out next to the sink.)

Wash the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Use your hands to coat the skin lightly with olive oil. Season (on both sides) with the kosher salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Roast on a rack or tin broiler for 1 hour. Let sit 10 minutes and serve.

Clarifications

Ok, a couple of corrections. I've tried several times to make the Sweet Potato Casserole just like my aunt and grandmother, but it wasn't turning out quite right. Mine was coming out slightly soupy. So I asked my aunt what she does differently, and she explained that she doesn't use the blender to puree the mixture. She just uses a potato masher and mixes it all together. This makes it come out thicker.

Also, for the Holiday Essence, my mom was mistaken. It doesn't last all month (at least not as strong as the initial week). So I would toss it after 2 weeks and make it again. Nobody wants to smell overcooked orange peels. :)
I've gone back and edited the recipes, but I thought I'd let you know just in case you were all, "What?? A whole month? She's crazy!" and refused to ever look the recipe up again.

And lastly, a clarification...

My recipe blog was not named and has no relation to the ever-so-dear-to-my-southern-heart grocery chain Piggly Wiggly. No, in fact, the name is all based around this little guy:

My Piggy Wiggy

(fyi, he eats none of this stuff. this was me and my sister being funny. however, I'm now a little embarrased we were able to find this much junk food in our house. I'll blame it on the husband...)

Salmon with Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary

Need something to take the edge off of all the rich holiday food? This is it (thank Giada from FN). It's tasty enough to keep you interested, but doesn't leave you with that "I just ate a brick" feeling.
I made this awhile back for my husband, and he loved it. It's perfect with some sauteed veggies and maybe some rice.

Salmon with Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary

Ingredients

• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
• 4 teaspoons capers
• 4 pieces of aluminum foil

Directions

Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. Serve in the foil packets.

(ps. if you don't have a grill or grill pan, skip the foil. It works just as well baked.)

 

Cookie Swap: Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

If you like oatmeal raisin cookies, then you'll loooove these.
It's almost like Ms Paula took your basic oatmeal cookie and took it up a couple notches. Very yummy (and all of the spices in them makes them seem more Christmas-y instead of just boring) and definitely won't disappoint. I made them for the first time yesterday, and they're super easy.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

(photo courtesy of Food Network)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Brown Butter Icing, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 1 or more cookie sheets. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until mixture is light in color. Add buttermilk. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in oatmeal, raisins, walnuts, and vanilla, blending well. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Brown Butter Icing.

Brown Butter Icing:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 to 4 tablespoons water

In a small saucepan heat the butter over medium heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in 3 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm cookies.

Yield: enough to ice 5 dozen cookies (I actually had some left over, so don't hesistate to go crazy with it!)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Cookie Swap: Chocolate-Mint Cookies

There are several variations of this recipe strewn across the internet and recipe books, but this, I promise, is THE best.
My friend has made these several times when we get together, and it never fails... I always eat more than I should. So beware. They're addictive.
I got invited to a cookie swap this year, and I'm SO excited. Just another reason for me to bake and test out new recipes. I decided to ask my friend for this one, since it's such a crowd pleaser. I actually made them for my inlaws recently, and by the end of the night, they were gone. So fear not. This one will get eaten.

So here's my friend's version of the recipe...

Chocolate-Mint Cookies

(And yes, I actually took this picture... aren't you impressed??)

Ingredients:
1 Devil food cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 c shortening
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 pkg Ande's mints (1 batch=1 box, so if you are making double, get two boxes, otherwise, you don't need to get two)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix first four ingredients in an electric mixer (batter will be thick, so unless you've got some serious guns and a really big spoon, use the mixer). Roll batter into balls about the size of a whole walnut.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes. Don't overbake! Bake until they start to crack. Remove cookies from oven and let them set for a minute. Cut the mints approx 3/4. Place either a 3/4 mint or 2, 1/4 mints (get it? you'll have 1/4 pieces left over from cutting, so just put two small pieces on the cookie when you've run out of 3/4 mint pieces). Leave the mints on the cookie until melted slighty. Then swirl with the back of a spoon until completely melted. Cool.
*Tip: Pop the cookie sheet right into the freezer so the mint hardens and forms to the cookie.

1 cake mix yields approx. 40 cookies