jojochao:

lemon bars

I would really like to try this recipe for lemon bars that just landed in my inbox, but I’m going to (try to) head to the gym instead. ‘Cause I haven’t worked out in over a month, and I feel about as sluggish as a sloth trying to run underwater.

The recipe for peanut butter cookies made a lot more than the two dozen I (incorrectly) assumed it’d make. So now I have 78 peanut butter cookies.

Next time, read the serving size, doofus.

Baked garlic scallops (serves 2)
2 lb bay scallops, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
4 tbsp butter
Note: More than one baking dish may be needed

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Place butter in baking dish and leave in oven during preheat to melt the butter. When butter is melted, add minced fresh garlic to dish.
2. Mix bread crumbs, garlic powder and Parmesan. Remove dish from oven - careful! hot! - and spread out scallops evenly over melted butter. Sprinkle cheesy, garlicky bread crumbs over scallops.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in uncovered dish.
4. OM NOM.

GPOYW. Because you are what you bake.

Recipe for jalapeno poppers courtesy of AllRecipes (of course), substituting bread crumbs and whole pickled jalapenos for corn flakes and fresh peppers. Plus, there was enough filling left over to make an awesome jalapeno popper dip.

My recent bout with Vegas seafood buffet-induced food poisoning had me off solid food for a while, but now I’m rebounding, hard, and cooking up a storm this week. Above: crustless spinach and artichoke quiche, adapted from this AllRecipes recipe to suit the fact that I hadn’t been grocery shopping since I left for Sin City. 

CRUSTLESS SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE QUICHE
2/3 package (8 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 eggs
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese of your liking (I used a Colby Jack mix)
2 tsp garlic powder
a dash of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.
2. Cook frozen spinach over stovetop on medium-high for 3 minutes. Add diced onion and cook on medium for another 2 minutes.
3. Beat eggs. Pour eggs, spinach, onions, artichokes and cheese to a 9-inch pie dish. Mix well and add garlic powder and salt.
4. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tonight I’m whipping up some broccoli-cheese cornbread and veggie-cous cous wraps, and maybe a little somethin’ sweet, because I can’t resist a new recipe for coconut layer cake.

So the other night I was seriously craving cake and couldn’t decide which was less work - baking a cake, or making a late night run to Ralph’s. Turns out, baking a lemon pound cake with lemon icing ain’t so hard. Recipe here (but it needs a helluva lot more lemon extract/lemon juice).

Salmon that’s been marinated and pan-seared in my special ramen sauce (read: I got lazy and mixed up the usual sauce I dump on instant noodles) made of ponzu sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, and Sriracha (naturally). It’s yummy, trust me. Note how the Sriracha can also be used for decorative plating.

Watching “Entourage” reruns and baking chocolate chip banana bran muffins in my new silicone cupcake cups. Nice way to spend a Tuesday night.

(Once I tweak the recipe to my liking, I’ll post it up. This batch wasn’t quite sweet enough.)