Category: Comfort Food

Garlic & Wine Butter Mussels

I love a nice comfy bowl of delicious goodness! This recipe is exactly that. It’s a little splurge meal because of the sauce but it’s totally worth it. Growing up my Dad use to order mussels in a red tomato sauce at pizza places in his home town of Bayonne, NJ! I can still picture him eating those mussels. Every time he’d go into town on business it was pizza and mussels for one of his meals! I definitely thought of my Dad while I was making this dinner!

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. So Delicious!

Garlic Wine Butter Mussels

Ingredients:
3-4 lbs mussels, cleaned (Fresh or frozen, partially thawed)
16 oz bay scallops (I used Magdalena), optional
1 1/2 sticks salted butter
1 cup white wine
2 shallots, diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped (I like to keep pieces a little big)
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 T Italian seasoning
1 t salt
1 t pepper
2 T olive oil

Directions: Heat a large deep sauté pan on high heat. Add it 1 tablespoon of olive oil and let heat 2 minutes. Next add in the bay scallops and let cook 4-6 minutes mixing often. (No need to cook till they get a sear as they will be going in the sauce.) Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside.

Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pan. Next add in the shallots and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Next you add in the butter and let melt fully. Add in the juice of 1 lemon and then add the lemon halves to the sauce, pour in the white wine and parsley and let cook about 6-7 minutes on medium high heat, stirring often. Discard the lemon halves from the sauce. Season the sauce with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the bay scallops back into the pan and add in the mussels and cover with the lid. Cook the mussels about 5-7 minutes until they open. Discard any mussels that don’t open.

Spoon mussels with sauce into a deep bowl serve with crusty bread for dunking! Enjoy!

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Delicious French Onion Soup

French onion soup is one of MY favorites. I feel like since the soup itself is not super fattening I can load up with crusty crostini & cheesy goodness! When I make this soup at home, I don’t get that delicious topped cheese like they do in restaurants, but this comes out tasting exactly the same. If you haven’t made French onion soup at home, you should try it. It is a little more time consuming because the onions could take a good 45 minutes to get that nice deep caramelization. Just make in an extra large pot and make 10lbs of onions and you’ll have plenty of left overs, LOL!

You need to have a little time to make this soup, but I promise you it will be worth the wait Give this recipe a try!

Delicious French Onion Soup

Ingredients:
8 large yellow onion, sliced
3 T garlic, minced
4 T butter
2 T olive oil
3 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup white wine
6 cups beef broth, low sodium
1 T dried thyme
1 T xanthan gum (Or 4 T flour)
salt/pepper, to taste

Extras:
Crusty bread
Italian cheese, gruyere, swiss or any other white cheese you’d like

Directions: In large soup pot add in olive oil. Let heat 2 minutes. Next add in the onions and mix well. You will want to cook these onions on medium heat for 35 minutes mixing often! Cook until the are close to being fully caramelized, then add in the balsamic vinegar and let cook another 10 minutes.

Next add in the butter and xanthan gum and the white wine and mix well. Cook for 3 minutes mixing often. Next add in the beef broth, thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cover and let cook on medium high heat 20 minutes, stirring a few times. Check the soup and make sure it’s thickened. If not to your preferred thickness, add in more xanthan gum and cook another 7-8 minutes.

Slice baguette into 1/2 inch slices, crisp up bread in the oven or air fryer.

To serve, add to a soup bowl and top with a few pieces of the baguette and top with cheese of your choice. Add to the oven or air fryer for the cheese to completely melt, serve!

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London Broil Quesadilla

I love a recipe I can get 2 meals out of! I’m not a huge left over fan, unless it taste delicious. Well that’s where this recipe came in. I’m going to give you my Air Fryer London Broil recipe as well as how I made the quesadilla in the air fryer as well. Perfectly Quick meal for a busy week night! Better than take out!

London Broil Quesadilla

London Broil Ingredients:
1 London broil, 2 lbs
1 T olive oil
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t steak seasoning
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

London Broil Directions: Preheat air fryer at 400°. Rub the London broil with the oil and season with above seasonings on both sides. Add the London broil to the Air Fryer rack or basket. (Note: I have an air fryer oven with a rack.) Cook the mean at 400° for 13-15 minutes flipping half way. Check the temp with an instant read thermometer. 135° for medium rare and 145° for medium to well. Let the mean rest at least 5-7 minutes before slicing.

Quesadilla Ingredients:
2 medium- large flour tortillas
8-12oz shredded cheese (I used a reduced fat Colby Jack)
olive oil spray

Optional Additions:
onion, diced or sliced
fresh jalapeños
beans, black or refried
bell peppers
chopped cilantro
olives

Serving ingredients:
sour cream
hot sauce
salsa
guacamole

Quesadilla Directions: Thinly slice freshly cooked London broil or left over London broil. Assemble the quesadilla by placing cheese on half the tortilla. Top with the sliced meat and whatever else you are using. Top with more cheese. Fold over the tortilla. Complete with 2nd tortilla. Spray with cooking spray. Place in the air fryer at 400° for 8 minutes, flipping half way. You will need to place something on top of the quesadillas when you first start cooking the quesadilla. The tortilla may fly open before the cheese is melted. Once you flip it over it won’t be needed. I use an oven safe aluminum pan. Cook till your desired crispiness. Remove and serve with your favorite toppings!



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Baked Lump Crab Dip

This lump crab meat dip is a huge hit at gatherings or just making for the family at home for game day. It’s made with real lump crab meat and is full of delicious flavors. It’s one of my favorite go to recipes!

Give this recipe a try!

Baked Lump Crab Meat Dip

Ingredients:
8 oz lump crab meat
2 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Romano cheese, finely grated
2 t dried parsley
salt, sprinkle
pepper, sprinkle
1 cup plain panko breadcrumbs
1/2 T olive oil

Directions: In a medium bowl add in the cream cheese and mash completely with a fork. Next add in the mayo, lump crab meat, green onions, Romano cheese, garlic, lemon and seasoning and mix well until everything is blended.

Add dip into an oven safe bowl. Top the dip with the panko breadcrumbs and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake at 375° for 25-35 minutes until dip is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. This dip is great to make ahead of time, just bake about another 10 minutes if the dip is refrigerator cold. Serve the dip with crackers, pita chips, pita bread or veggies!

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Lobster Linguine with Crostini

I know I’ve been MIA lately on posting new recipes. I’ve still been working on new recipes just need to get them written out. 2021 has started out great for a few reason but I got a promotion at work early February and I’ve been so busy. I love the new job, I’m really enjoying it a lot. I’m hoping this is just the start of great things to come in 2021, especially after the last year!

Enough about that. Cooking is still my passion. I have so many great recipes to share. Stay tuned for me.

Let’s start out with this one that I’m really excited about. Lobster Linguine! Buttery, rich, and perfect for your next date night!

Lobster Linguine

Ingredients:
4 lobster tails, meat removed (cut into bite size pieces) (reserve shells, no small pieces)
6 T salted butter
1 cup white wine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
2 T extra virgin olive oil (good quality)
1 T parsley, finely chopped
1/2 t xantham gum
6 oz linguine, cooked a dente
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions: Heat a medium sauté pan on high heat with olive oil. Add in reserved lobster shells. No small pieces. Cook until the shells turn red.

Remove shells and discard. Add in onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes. Next add in the butter and let it melt then add in the wine.


Reduce the heat to low and add in the lobster meat. Let the lobster cook through till white and red in color. Around 4-6 minutes stirring often.

Add in the parsley and xantham gum and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the cooked linguine and gently toss together. Add in the parmesan cheese. Serve immediately with crostini.

Air Fryer Crostini

Ingridents:
1 small baguette
1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T melted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
2 t fresh parsley, chopped
sprinkle salt & pepper

Directions: Cut the baguette on the bias and set aside. Mix the rest of the ingridents together and brush the baguette with the butter mixture. Add to air fryer rack and cook at 400, for 3-5 minutes. Remove and set asside till ready to use. Note: The crostini will crisp up more once recmoved from the oven.

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Corn Casserole Muffins (Air Fryer)

I love to experiment with side dish recipes. These air fryer corn casserole muffins are a healthier and individual alternative to my original corn casserole. These have no butter at all and are made with less of each ingredient. They are delicious and tender. I actually served with chili and it was a perfect side dish.

Give these a try!

Corn Casserole Muffins

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Jiff corn muffin mix
6 T light sour cream
1 egg
15 oz canned corn
3/4 cup + 2 T canned creamed corn

Directions: In a medium bowl mix all the above ingredients till fully incorporated. Evenly add the mixture to 10 silicone cupcake liners. Preheat the air fryer, (mine preheats 400° for 4 minutes.) Add the cupcake liners to the basket or rack and cook at 330° for 15-17 minutes. Using a toothpick or knife, check a muffin to see if it comes out clean. If so, remove from the oven and let rest a few minutes, if the knife isn’t clean place back in the air fryer a few minutes. Enjoy.

Note: I use an air fryer oven. All air fryers are different. This cook temp/time may need to be adjusted to your specific air fryer. Cook time and temp is always trial and error with air fryers. You should check the muffins prior to the 15 minute mark. Maybe at the 10 minute mark.

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