Mango Bellinis

Depending on your day, Mango Bellinis can make an excellent dinner. Just kidding, I would not recommend it but do recommend making them when you are entertaining. I made them on Saturday night and they were a huge hit.

Very Easy....

Champagne and Mango Juice. So yummy! You can even get fancy and drop a frozen mango chunk in the glass.

Cheers!

Apple Pear Crisp - Ina Garten

I was asked to bring dessert to a friend's house the other night. It was a cold rainy day in Los Angeles (yes cold is relative), so decided to try for the first time Ina's apple pear crisp. So glad I did. Not only was it yummy, it was also beautiful. Everyone enjoyed, especially my friend's pregnant sister who insisted she has been craving apples and pears. Go figure. If I were to do it again, I think I will just stick to apples. The pears and apples cooked differently with the apples coming out softer. A lot of different consistencies. Overall, a yummy dish especially when it is served with ice cream.

Ingredients
2 pounds ripe Bosc pears (4 pears) (I used 3)
2 pounds firm Macoun (I used Fiji) apples (6 apples) (I used 5)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

For the topping:
Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.

Easy Dinners This Week - The Plan

We were out of town this weekend, so didn't get a chance to plan the week. I did a quick trip to TJ's yesterday afternoon and decided on some easy meals for this week.

1) BBQ Chicken

Brian will BBQ up some chicken and corn and I'll throw some potatoes in the oven. We are lucky here in Los Angeles to be having amazing weather, so cooking outside is a treat that we should take advantage of.

2) Smoked Gouda Roasted Veggie Pasta

Please refer to previous post about how to make this. I picked up some smoked Gouda cheese, bell peppers and an onion. I am going to use pasta and pasta sauce we already have in the house.

3) TJ's Turkey Chili w/ Cornbread

I found this recipe on the TJ's Fearless Flyer. So easy and delicious you'll plotz. Pour two cans of turkey or beef chili into a 9x13 glass container. Make the TJ's cornbread according to package and pour it on top of the chili. Bake according to package. Serve with a salad or steamed broccoli.

Easy Halibut - "South of France Halibut"

This recipe is from my new favorite cookbook - The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook: 150 Delicious Recipes Using Only Foods from the World's Greatest Grocery Store by Cherie Mercer Twohy

1 (13.4 oz) jar of Trader Joe's Ratatouille Sauce
1/2 cup white wine
2 cloves of garlic or 2 frozen cubes of garlic
2 Halibut Steaks (approx 1 pound)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Red Pepper flakes to taste

I let the fish defrost in the fridge for the day - less cooking time.

Combine the sauce, wine and garlic in a skillet and add halibut. Cook for approximately 15 minutes. Make sure you flip the fish so it cooks on both sides.

Meanwhile, make french fries in the oven. Frozen fries take about 15-20 minutes to cook and should be done around the same time the fish is. We also had steamed asparagus. Easy, yummy meal.

Easy Chicken Divan

This is derived from a recipe I found in a Cooking Light cookbook.
Serving 2ish

1 (9 oz) boneless skinless chicken breast
1 pkg fresh broccoli
1 (10 oz) can low fat cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup non fat milk
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper

3/4 cup rice


Start rice (cook according to package).

Salt and pepper chicken breast and cook on skillet with olive oil until done. I pounded out the chicken so it would cook faster.

Steam broccoli in microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

While rice and chicken cook, place the soup, milk, cheese, curry powder, pepper to taste and steamed broccoli in a pot and heat on stove. Stir to make sure cheese melts. Add cooked chicken to mixture and let sit for 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Manicotti

Serving 2 (We are terrible with left overs)

1/4 lb ground turkey (save the rest and freeze for tacos or meatloaf)
1/4 yellow onion diced
1 garlic clove (or 1 frozen garlic cube from Trader Joe's)
A little bit of olive oil
1/4 of a 15 oz tub of ricotta cheese
2 big pinches of shredded Parmesan cheese
2 big pinches of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 jar tomato sauce (your favorite)
6 Manicotti noodles
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Start boiling water
Heat olive oil in skillet and add turkey, onion, salt and pepper. Add garlic when there is a minute or two left on turkey. Cook until turkey is done and take off of heat to cool.

In a separate bowl, combine cheeses, salt, pepper, spinach and parsley. Add cooled turkey mixture to cheese mixture.

Water should be boiling by this point. Cook pasta for 7 minutes.

Line a 9 x 13 glass dish with foil for easy clean up. Put a little bit of tomato sauce at the bottom then with a slotted spoon take out ready pasta and place in dish. Let cool for a minute. Gently stuff noodles with turkey cheese mixture and pour the remaining pasta sauce over the noodles. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Cook for 30-35 minutes.


Serve with salad.