Baked Dijon Salmon

Found this on All recipes website--this is my new favorite way to fix salmon!

Ingredients:

1/4C butter, melted

3 TBS dijon mustard

1 1/2 TBS honey

1/4 C bread crumbs

1/4 C finely chopped pecans

4 tsp chopped fresh parsely

4 (4oz) salmon fillets

s&p to taste

lemon for garnish

(*next time I will add in a little brown sugar to the coating mix just to make it a little sweeter)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a small bowl stir together butter, mustard & honey. Set aside. In another bowl mix together bread crumbs, pecans & parsley *(add in a little brown sugar-optional)

3. Brush each salmon fillet lightly with honey mixture, and sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture.

4. Bake salmon approximately 15 minutes (more or less depending on thickness) until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with s&p, garnish with lemon wedge.

I served this with fresh green beans & white rice that I had seasoned with butter, garlic salt & lemon juice. Yummy!

Costa Vida Dinner

We love the food at Costa Vida in Colleyville! website here

After having their sweet pork the last time, I can home determined to try to recreate it at home. This recipe was SOO very easy and tasted almost just like it. Very yummy for tacos!

I served it inside tortillas with guacamole, cheese, cilantro lime rice (see recipe after the pork recipe), diced tomatoes, and pinto beans (black beans would be good too).

Enjoy!
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Costa Vida Sweet Pork

4 lb. pork roast (I used a pork butt roast)
2 cups brown sugar
1 (12-14 oz.) jar salsa
2 cans Dr. Pepper (I am sure regular coke would work too) (24 oz. or 2 1/2 cups)

Place roast in crock pot, fill half way with water and cook for 6-8 hours
Discard water.
Shred meat and return to the crock pot

Combine sugar, salsa, and coke in a separate bowl.
Add mixture to the meat in the crock pot.
Cook an additional 3 hours. Stir occasionally.

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Cilantro Lime Rice

2 cups white rice
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup lime juice
chopped fresh cilantro (I used some of my jarred freeze dried cilantro that I keep in the fridge)

Bring water, cilantro, and lime juice to a boil. Add rice. Cover and turn on low for about 20 minutes. (Basically just the same as cooking regular white rice)

Fluff with fork before serving.

Homemade Applesauce

I made homemade applesauce tonight for preschool lessons this week and it was yummy (and SO easy!)  Wanted to keep the recipe someplace quick where I could find it again.

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped


3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1.In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Sunrise Punch

A Pioneer Woman recipe -- yummy!  Very similar in taste to an orange julius.

• Sunrise Punch recipe:


2 cups orange juice

2 cups pineapple juice

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 2 T meringue powder

• 2 t. vanilla

Fill rest of the blender with ice and blend!

Sopapilla Cheescake

I made this last night for a preschool dinner and apparently from the responses, this recipe is a little different that others for this same dessert.  It goes great as a dessert with Mexican food!

Here is my version:

SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE


• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

• 1/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.

3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

Red Velvet Birthday Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Made this cake for Trent's birthday & wanted to put the recipe somewhere I could find it again, it's a keeper! :)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 C sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 C shortening

1 1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 (1 oz) bottle red food coloring

1 oz water

2 TBS unsweetened cocoa

1 C buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 TBS apple cider vinegar

For the Icing:

8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 stick real butter, softened

2 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3-4 tsp of milk (adjust as needed to get right consistency)

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 9-inch cake pans.

2. In a small bowl, sift cake flour with baking soda

3. Mash shortening with sugar in mixing bowl until combined. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Pour red food coloring into a small bowl, and fill the empty food coloring container with water; add the water to the food coloring. Stir in cocoa powder to make a paste, and mix the paste into the shortening mixture.

4. Stir buttermilk, salt, vanilla extract & apple cider vinegar into a bowl & mix into the colored shortening mixture, until well combined. Scrape batter into cake pans.

5. Bake 20-30 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for one hour before icing.

Icing directions:

1. Beat cream cheese, butter & vanilla until smooth

2. Gradually add powder sugar in--keep smooth--mix well

3. Add in tsp's of milk as needed to reach desired consistency

4. Spread over cake (be sure to ice bottom cake completely before setting top one on)