What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

Going on our little trip to Amish Country a couple weeks ago gave me the opportunity to browse in some neat shops.  The one thing I brought home as a souvenir is one of my favorite things…a cookbook!  You’d think it would be an Amish food cookbook, but it wasn’t, because I already have a couple.  Instead I found a Taste of Home Cookbook with reduced fat and calorie recipes.  I really enjoy Taste of Home Magazine recipes, and when I scanned through this book, I found that the ingredients weren’t strange things like tofu and alfalfa!  This is real food – as a matter of fact, these are called Comfort foods.  We’re all about that kind of food, aren’t we?  I am too, but I like to see where I can cut out extra fat without cutting out taste.  I tried two new recipes from this book this past week and they were really good!

The one pictured below is Lemon Thyme Chicken.  I used a fillet of chicken breast and a thigh.  This cooked up very quickly, but tasted like it took lots of time and effort.

To go along with the chicken I made Barefoot Contessa’s potatoes.  I used red-skinned potatoes instead of the Yukon.  So very good!!!!

The other new recipe from my cookbook is Dijon Crusted Fish.  This was so delicious – also quick to prepare. I enjoy fish, but it seems like white fish cooked at home doesn’t usually have lots of flavor.  The Dijon, mayo and horseradish give a great taste while the crumbs on the outside give it a nice crunchy texture.  To accompany the fish I fixed baked potatoes and roasted asparagus (fresh from a friend’s garden and out of this world tender!). 

To roast the asparagus, simply trim the asparagus and place it on a baking sheet.  Drizzle it with Olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 degrees for 6-7 minutes.

We’re headed to the beach this week (yahoo!), so I baked up a batch of brownies to take with us.  I’ve mentioned these before, but they bear repeating here.  Dark Chocolate and Cherry Brownies are so moist.  I found the best jar of cherry preserves at Big Lots.  They really make the brownie gooey.  I also add one extra ingredient – instant coffee.  Barefoot Contessa encourages the addition of coffee in chocolate recipes to enhance the chocolate flavor.  It sure does the trick.  You don’t taste the coffee, it just makes the chocolate even better. (Yeah, I didn’t think that was possible either!)