Sugar & Spice by Celeste

Today, I bring you a beautiful dish that tastes just as pretty as it looks.  It makes a beautiful presentation and takes minimal time to put together.  Sounds pretty awesome, right? It's been a rainy, cloudy and generally dreary day here in Birmingham.  There's some ugly, severe weather headed our way late tonight...Let's hope it doesn't get too bad!  So, just how do you brighten up a rainy day?  This cheerful dish is the perfect place to start. Watch out...The colors of this recipe pop right off the plate and almost slap you in the face!  The lime juice really adds a great citrusy note, and the honey balances that by adding the perfect amount of sweetness to the glaze. Mmm! Salmon is such a wonderfully healthy ingredient that I love to use as often as possible.  I'm always on the lookout for new salmon dishes, and this recipe from Rachael Ray is definitely one that I'll refer back to in the future.  It's a keeper! Bon ...

Our little ritual of Sunday morning pancakes has to be one of my favorite parts of the week.  It's hard to beat sleeping in a little bit and enjoying a homemade breakfast consisting of a tall stack of mouth-watering pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs.  You know that any day that starts like that is bound to be a pretty fantastic day! Last Friday was my birthday, and what a great day it was!  I got to see my family, and my sisters got to come stay with us all weekend.  When they are in town, I don't think we slow down the entire time....we just go, go, go!  Needless to say, this weekend was filled with a beautiful hike at Ruffner Mountain , meandering the booths at Homestead Hollow , pumpkin AND mum picking, and lots of shopping!  What fun! On Sunday morning, I got up and made these pancakes for everyone.  I was thrilled with the way they tasted.  They were super easy and all the fresh strawberries were amazing.  One of my sisters isn't rea...

Who knew homemade pickles were SO easy??  I can't believe I haven't made these before now!  The other day, I was watching Kelsey Nixon's show on the Cooking Channel.  She started making homemade pickles and was describing how incredibly easy it is.  She also said that once you've tasted a homemade pickle, you'll never want to buy the store-bought variety again...They just don't compare! Boy, was she right!  Brad and I made turkey burgers over the Labor Day weekend, so homemade pickles were the perfect way to use the kirby cucumbers that I had on-hand.  I looked up Kelsey's RECIPE , but I didn't have all of the ingredients that she called for.  After a little more searching, I found a recipe from Rachael Ray that had great reviews.  It was easy, quick (only takes 15 minutes!), and I had everything I needed. This recipe only takes a few minutes to put together, and it sure is delicious!  These pickles are flavored with fresh garlic, must...

Filled with yummy stuffing... ***There aren't many recipes that I make more than once in one week, but this recipe made its way onto our dinner table twice somehow.  This can be explained by 2 perfectly good reasons: 1.  It was delicious, of course! 2.  I ended up with lots of extra stuffing, and it was so fabulous that throwing it away would simply be a travesty!  After all, the stuffing consists of such wonderfulness as plump golden raisins, toasted pine nuts, fresh parsley, lemon zest, flavorful garlic, bread, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheesy goodness.   The chicken is butterflied and pounded out into thin pieces and then then stuffed with the stuffing.  The chicken is simmered to perfection in a white wine and tomato sauce, which all comes out finger-licking good.   Try this soon, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Bon Appetit!*** Chicken Cutlets Brasciole Source:  Look + Cook by Rachael Ray Ingredients: 1/2 cup hot water ...

*** Prosciutto...Just the word brings back delicious memories from our time in Italy.  That's where you can find the finest Prosciutto di Parma in all the world.  I remember waking up at our hotel in Florence, Italy and walking downstairs to a gorgeous array of breakfast food - prosciutto included!  Sadly, the packaged prosciutto that you can find in the grocery stores here in the USA just doesn't compare.  However, I will say that The Fresh Market has some of the best that I've been able to find.  There, they cut it fresh for you. This recipe for Florentine Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken is simply delish.  The toasted pine nuts and nutmeg both add such wonderful flavors to this dish.  In fact, if you don't have nutmeg, don't make this chicken without it - It makes such a difference! When a trip to Italy isn't possible, this yummy dinner sure does do the trick! Bon Appetit!*** Florentine Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Source:  Look + Cook co...

***Just in time for the Chinese New Year, here is a stir-fry recipe that's packed with delicious, citrusy flavors.  I was so pleased with the way this dinner came out, and I'm thankful there are leftovers in the fridge!  The sauce is incredible...It's made up of orange marmalade, fresh ginger, soy sauce, and chicken stock, which couldn't be any easier.  The sauce has a fresh, delicate taste that isn't overpowering.  The orange flavors and fresh ginger are definitely the star of the show. This dish comes together so fast.  Take Rachael's advice and have all the veggies prepared and next to the stove.  As you can see, I used thinly sliced chicken when I prepared it.  Like Rachael mentions, you can also use pork or shrimp.  If you're feeling extra ambitious, you could even use all three and make it a stir-fry combination! WATCH THE VIDEO: You can watch Rachael Ray make this dish HERE ! If you want to learn more about the Chinese New Year, here ...

***Do you love Chinese food?  I know I do! This recipe from Rachael Ray is like having Chinese takeout at home.  It's packed with amazing flavors - orange, bell peppers, red onion, fresh ginger, Chinese Five Spice...I mean, wow!  This was the first time that I've cooked with 5-spice powder, but I liked it. And the rice...YUM!  The rice is flavored with orange zest, orange juice and scallions, which results in one amazing side dish.  The citrus adds such a fresh taste to this entire dish and will leave you wanting seconds. It's easy to halve this recipe too.  I made dinner for just Brad and myself, so I simply cut all the ingredients in half.  It worked like a charm. Next time, skip the expensive Chinese restaurant and make your own delicious meal at home! Bon Appetit!*** Zin-Zen Chicken Source:  Look + Cook cookbook by Rachael Ray Ingredients: 1 cup rice 2 cups chicken stock Zest and juice of 1 orange, divided 2 tablespoons EVOO...

***With all the snow and flurries that have been floating around outside lately, a delicious and hearty chicken soup is the perfect remedy to warm you up from your head to your feet!  Rachael Ray's recipe for Leeky Chicken Soup does the trick and takes regular ole' chicken soup up a notch!  I recently had some beautiful leeks in the fridge, so this dinner sounded perfect on a cold winter evening.  It's easy to throw together and will feed about 4 people. I paired the soup with an easy grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread...Yummy!  You'll notice in my photos that I used whole wheat rotini pasta instead of egg fettuccine or tagliatelle.  It just came down to what I had in the pantry.  The rotini tasted fantastic!  That's really the only major change or substitution that I used.  WATCH THE VIDEO: If you'd like to see Rachael Ray in action, you can click HERE to see her making this Leeky Chicken Soup in real time!!  She gives lots of g...

***I don't know what I did to deserve such awesome readers, but I tell you what - You guys ROCK!  I keep getting such sweet e-mail messages from you all...I can't explain to you how much I appreciate these messages.  They always make me smile!  You guys are the reason that I keep writing this blog.  You continuously inspire me to keep cooking and sharing it with the world!  On that note, I couldn't wait to share this recipe.  We had this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious!  You know what they say - "You eat with your eyes first."  This meal is the perfect example of this.  The vibrant colors of this dish just make you WANT to eat it!  The gorgeous yellow of the rice...the ruby red pepper sauce on the chicken...the green speckles of fresh parsley spattered about throughout the dish...WOW!  This chicken dish is both beautiful on the plate and in your mouth! The rice just might even be better than the chicken...The rice has th...

***Wow...what a fun and adventurous day we've had around here!  Last night, a winter storm blew through our area, so we woke up this morning to everything covered in several inches of snow and a thick layer of ice.  Needless to say, businesses, schools, and virtually everything shut down.   A few days ago, the bread aisle at my local grocery store was nearly wiped out.  See, the thing is, we don't get that much snow here in Birmingham, AL.  So when we do, everyone sort of freaks out and goes and buys up a bunch of break, milk, etc...all the essentials.  In fact, some folks are lovingly referring to this storm as "Snowpocalypse 2011!"  Here's a pic that I took with my camera phone, so you can see what I'm talking about...I think it's sort of funny: Brad and I had a lot of fun playing in the snow and ice today.  We hiked about 1/2 mile to his parents' house to surprise them.  The roads were incredibly icy, so we didn't want to risk driving...

***Once again - Thank you ALL for sharing the past year with me.  I've gotten some of the most awesome e-mails from some of you lately, and your comments always make me smile.  I hope you all are blessed with a very prosperous New Year!  I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store! While thumbing through Rachael Ray's new Look + Cook cookbook, I came across this recipe and realized something - I've never made a pasta dish with pork!  Can you believe that?  It's always the same ole' chicken or beef.  I've never really thought about it, but this dish struck me as something that would be delicious.  I gave it a whirl, and it was indeed scrumptious!   We had leftovers the next night, and it tasted even better after all the flavors had time to sit there in the fridge and get all cozy together.  ;-) Rachael's method of pounding out pork medallions from the pork loins is genius.  Because I was making dinner for just the two of us, I w...