Baked Potato Soup

Posted on May 2, 2011 by bakerlady

Potatoes are quite possibly the thing I would eat forever if I could. Well, that and cheese. This soup has both. There is just about nothing more comforting to me than a steaming bowl of potato soup. I love it. This version has enough substance to satisfy even the heartiest eaters. And, it includes bacon. In the soup, and on top. If that weren’t enough for you – the veggies of the soup take a dunk in bacon fat before being added to the soup. Yeah. It’s good. Continue reading →

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Simple Egg Salad Sandwich

Posted on April 25, 2011 by bakerlady

It is practically a requirement to eat egg salad sandwiches the day after Easter. Or for an entire week after Easter if you have lots of kids who collected gads of eggs. Funny story actually, at my parents yesterday there were LOADS of kids scurrying about collecting eggs (we have a big family). Candy filled, some with money in them, bubble eggs, confetti eggs – we had the whole spectrum of oval-shaped delights. As I was watching kids eagerly scooping them up and into their baskets, I saw one little girl pick up a “real” egg. When she realized it wasn’t chocolate coated, sugary or filled with a treat/toy – she turned up her nose in disgust and put it right back where she found it. It was cause for great amusement among the adults who witnessed it, but made me a little sad that our kids don’t realize the simple joy of an egg anymore. Eggs are like the perfect food. In addition to being a great source of protein, the hard-boiled ones are easily transportable and delicious. I’m glad my munchkins brought home a bunch of them for me yesterday so I could make this salad for our sandwiches today. Continue reading →

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

Posted on April 22, 2011 by bakerlady

It’s Easter time and everyone is getting their eggs ready to be dyed, hidden, found and gobbled up. I’ve discovered a couple of things that help create absolutely perfectly hard-boiled eggs. You may be thinking “How hard can it be? Throw some eggs in some bubbling water, right?” Wrong! It’s really a science. There are atrocities passed off as hard-boiled eggs on every buffet table in America. No more I say! No chalky yolks. No ugly gray rim where the yellow meets the white. No dry rubbery texture. And most importantly of all, no pockmarks where you’ve spent 30 minutes picking off miniscule pieces of shell that stubbornly cling to the egg despite your best efforts. I believe in a better egg! Ok, climbing off my soapbox now to tell you exactly how to do it! Continue reading →

Zucchini “Crab” Cakes

Posted on April 13, 2011 by bakerlady

I made these delightful “crab” cakes for my kids tonight so that my hubby and I could have Baked Salmon Cakes without worrying about my daughter’s seafood allergy. Worked like a charm. Our dinner looked enough like theirs that there was no arguing or whining, and my 4 & 2-year-old chowed down on these cakes made of (gasp!) a vegetable. I think they actually thought it was cake. Or at least the name fooled them into eating enough that they realized it was good. My husband actually couldn’t decide which of the cakes he liked better. I agree, these fake crab cakes were almost as good as the real deal. These would be great as appetizers as well, just shape into smaller patties. Continue reading →

Baked Salmon Cakes with Dijon Dill Dipping Sauce

Posted on April 13, 2011 by bakerlady

I’ve been in the mood for salmon recently. It is incredibly troubling to me that my daughter is allergic to my most favorite seafood. As much as I love salmon, I’m not over the moon about the idea of having to cook two separate meals so Madison has something to eat while I enjoy moist, flaky fish. So, I rarely eat it anymore. I have a bag of salmon burger patties in my freezer so that when we grill burgers I can just throw a special one on for myself – but somehow, I change my mind and want beef once I smell it barbecuing. Go figure. This recipe allowed me to use up some of those salmon patties (or you could use canned salmon) in a delightful salmon cake that I baked in the oven until it was crispy and golden. I served it up with a speedy Dijon Dill Dipping Sauce and, for the kids also made a batch of Zucchini “Crab” Cakes. Ok, yes…I ate one of those too. You could make smaller appetizer sized patties that would be a great starter. Or make 4 main course sized cakes like I did tonight. With some mashed potatoes and fresh veggies – they make a wonderful light meal. Continue reading →

Herbed Pork Tenderloin with Oven Roasted Potatoes

Posted on April 12, 2011 by bakerlady

I’ve made pork tenderloin several different ways in the past. I’ve marinated it, put it in the slow cooker, charred it good in a pan with some hot oil – the usual suspects. Yesterday I was feeling a little lazy. If you’ve never cooked one, you might think a roast is a super fancy meal that requires lots of effort. Nope! There’s no better dinner (in my opinion) than a roast when you’re not really feeling like cooking. You throw everything in a pan and stick it in the oven. That’s it. I was drawn to this recipe mostly because it didn’t include searing the meat before placing it in the oven. Honestly, I just wasn’t in the mood to have even one more dish to clean. Yup. Lazy dinner time. Continue reading →

Baked Chicken Nuggets

Posted on March 28, 2011 by bakerlady

My kids love “Old MacDonalds” chicken nuggets. Truth be told, so do I. It was generally cheeseburger Happy Meals for me as a kid because 5 kids times the extra money to splurge for the nugget meal for each of us made McDonald’s not such a great deal for my parents. I never lost that childhood desire for the nuggets. Somehow they just seemed so much more grown up. So much cooler. Guess that marketing money McDonald’s forks out really pays off huh? For many reasons, a trip to the golden arches is not in the family plans right now – but I hate to deprive my sweet children their most favorite lunch. These nuggets totally made me a superstar to my kids for the day…or at least for a few minutes. They were practically dancing at the table in their excitement as I took the tray of lightly browned nuggets out of the oven. Served up with some apple slices and a few of the last homemade Cheese Its, we had a perfectly wonderful departure from our typical peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. No begging or pleading to finish lunch required! Continue reading →

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

Posted on March 24, 2011 by bakerlady

Chicken noodle soup has to be one of the great comfort foods on the planet. When I’m sick, it makes me feel way better. Even if it’s all in my head, somehow the steamy broth and flavors of chicken, noodles and veggies help me turn the corner towards wellness. The problem is, when I’m not sick, soup is never enough for me at a meal. I know there are people who are totally satisfied with the soup n’ salad thing. I am not one of those folks. I need something with a bit more substance. Which is why I love this recipe. It combines all my favorite comforting soup flavors in a casserole that fills you right up. Continue reading →

Pizza! Pizza!

Posted on March 23, 2011 by bakerlady

As part of my (and my hubby’s) new budget, we’ve cut eating out from our life for a couple of months in order to try to pay down a big chunk of our car loan. As a result, I don’t get to go have my favorite pizza at The Rock, and I’ve been craving it for about a week. Today I decided to do something about it and made my own version from scratch. I started with homemade crust, then I made a quick alfredo sauce and loaded up the toppings. I finished the whole pie off with a drizzle of the alfredo and some fresh mozzarella cheese. The great part is that from this one batch of dough, I got two good-sized pizzas. I let my kids top theirs however they wanted…which ended up being sauce, pineapple and mushrooms (no cheese…they are bizarre children). And then made a fantastically grown up pizza for me and my honey. Way better than wrangling my kids while waiting for a table and paying over $60 for a meal out as a family. Continue reading →

Chicken Florentine Casserole

Posted on March 22, 2011 by bakerlady

I had just put this casserole in the oven when my husband walked in the door from work today. The first words out of his mouth were “Man, something sure smells good!”. I responded with “It could be the bacon, or the sautéed mushrooms, spinach and onions. Or possibly the Parmesan cheese cream sauce.” It was at that moment that I knew without a doubt tonight’s dinner was going to be ah-mazing. Oh momma and was it ever!

Chicken Florentine is a classic dish that’s made by pounding chicken flat, rolling spinach, cheese and mushrooms inside, breading the rolls and then frying them. Much like Chicken Kiev or Chicken Cordon Bleu. I found the idea for a casserole version and could tell that with some adjustments it was going to be fantastic with much less work than the traditional rolled type. Chicken Florentine is normally served with rice, but I thought some nice mashed potatoes would be a much better vehicle for soaking up all the delicious creamy sauce in this dish. Mmmmmmm yummy!

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