My Texas White House

Dijon & Maple Baked Salmon


2 tbl  dijon mustard
1 tbl  maple syrup
2 tbl  olive oil
kosher salt and pepper

Mix everything together and spoon onto salmon.  Broil salmon until they are cooked to your liking.  Yum Yum!!

Now that summer has officially begun in Texas I am craving light dinners.  I need more salad recipes!  I really only have a few go-to ones, and I am so tired of those!   These hot summers leave me craving salads, fish, fruit and white wine.

I ran up to Whole Foods hoping to find a salad inspiration.  Salmon sounded good, but I wasn't sure what to put in with it.  Definitely some avocados and cucumbers, but aside from that I had no I idea.  Here's what I came up with . . .



Mixed Green Salad with Salmon
(no measurements here, equal parts of each)

mixed greens
red onions, sliced
green beans, steamed then cooled
avocado
tomato
cucumber
dijon & maple baked salmon filet
goat cheese

I tossed all the ingredients (except the goat cheese) together with the best vinaigrette (it's just a bit sweet).  And because the goat cheese is so soft, I sprinkled it on top just before serving.

Standby Vinaigrette  
from Gwyneth Paltrow's, My Father's Daughter

2 tsp   dijon mustard
1 tsp   maple syrup
1/4 c   red wine vinegar
2 tbl   vegetable oil
1/2 c  extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt
fresh ground pepper

I eat meat.  I like meat.  I eat meat at most every meal.

I commend all my veggie and vegan friends but have absolutely no desire to choose that lifestyle.  No apologies and no judgement, just being truthful.  Basically I have no self control : )  Sunday night Chase proposed we start "meatless Mondays."  I was completely shocked!  This coming from my man who insists on having meat at every meal!  I had actually brought this up years ago and I'm pretty sure I was laughed at.

He started by asking me the rules to our Meatless Mondays.  I laughed and I told him that the rules are whatever we make them to be!    Maybe let's start with dinner? Let's also be realistic.  My favorite word! REALISTIC.  I don't want to start something and not accomplish it because it doesn't fit our lifestyle.  So basically, we didn't make up any rules yet.

May 20 marks my first Meatless Monday!

Breakfast      (I didn't have to change my normal breakfast)
Coffee.  Yogurt.  Granola.  Blueberries.  Rasberries.  Strawberries

Lunch     (Definitely a change from my usual turkey sandwich)
Open faced sunny side up sandwich.

Dinner    (A typical dinner for us, but no ground beef)
Spaghetti.  Salad

Not too bad for my first day!  Lunch will probably be the most challenging meal.  I am completely addicted to turkey sandwiches!!!!!  Wish us luck : )

Open Faced Sunny Sandwich

1/2 piece of naan (or any bread)
1  piece of swiss cheese
1/4  avocado
1/2  tomato
1 1/2 egg (1 whole egg and just the white of the second)
pinch of sea salt

There are so many variations to this!  I happen to have all these delish things at home today.


Veggie Spaghetti

1 eggplant, cubed
1 zucchini, cubed
8 oz  mushrooms
1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
salt and pepper
olive oil

I roasted all the veggies together with olive oil, salt and pepper (you could also do this step in a skillet). In a large pot I added the roasted veggies to my spaghetti sauce and kept them on low while I cooked my pasta.

So many possibilities to this one too!  The mushrooms added some hearty "meat-like" texture.  Can't wait to eat this again!

Sunday nights Chase really loves a big pasta dish for dinner.  I found my inspiration for this on Pinterest, then combined with a baked ziti recipe I have.  And this is what I came up with...

Loaded Baked Pasta

8 oz  sliced mushrooms
baby spinach, I did 2 big handfuls (or one pkg of frozen)
1  medium yellow onion
2   zucchini
1 lb  italian sausage
1 lb  pasta  (I used spinach penne)
2  garlic cloves, minced
marinara sauce (1jar)
1 c   mozzarella
1/2 c parmesan, or more : )

Cook pasta according to package.  In a small skillet saute the baby spinach with a little olive oil and salt.  Heat a glug of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, onions, and zucchini, cook until softened.  Add the italian sausage into the skillet and cook.  When the sausage is cooked all the way, add in the cooked spinach, marinara sauce, and cooked pasta.  In a 9x13 dish pour half your pasta, then a layer of mozzarella cheese.  Add the rest of your pasta and top with mozzarella and parmesan.  Cook for about 20 minutes at 425, or until the cheese is bubbly and yummy!

There are so many different variations of this you could try!   Add different seasonal veggies, different meats, or no meat at all, add some herbs (I forgot to buy some at the store that day)... Oh the possibilities!

A few months back some friends had us over for dinner.  We never turn down dinner with these friends, Brooke is an amazing cook!  Check out her blog Plum Pie Cooks.  She made pork tenderloin, mac and cheese, asparagus and amazing pear and pomegranate salad.  I'm usually not a huge fan of pork but the marinade she used was so delicious!  It was so yummy that I copied her and made this meal for Christmas Eve dinner, and wow was it a hit!!

Since then I use this marinade any time I make pork chops.  This is not my recipe at all, but I had to share it with you.  A couple of the times I've used it, I didn't one or two of the ingredients on hand.  The chops were just as good without them though!  Check out the full recipe here.

Pork Marinade

1/3 c   dried cherries
1/3 c   dry red wine
1/4 c   balsamic vinegar
3/4 c   cranberry juice
4  garlic cloves, minced
6  shallots, sliced
3 tbl   rosemary, chopped

The original recipe says to marinade anywhere from 2 hrs to overnight.  When I use this on pork chops I grill them in a skillet.  The tenderloin I sear on the stove top, then finish it off in the over.

When we were living in Dallas 4 years ago, the hubby's favorite lunch spot was TABC in Uptown.  Once we moved up here he always asked me to make his favorite pasta salad from TABC.  Me, never having tried it or never really wanting to (it never sounded that great to me),  attempted to make it.  And according to Chase he says it's just as good -- maybe he's just being nice, but it still tastes pretty darn good whether or not it's the exact same.  Now I think I crave it more than he does!


It's such an easy weeknight dinner.  Most of it you can make ahead and pull out the night you need it.  Or if your hubbs works a ton like mine, this is the best meal for one.  I can eat off this one recipe a few times in a week.  Many times I'll make the pesto and grill the chicken breasts ahead of time then all I have to do is boil some pasta for that night.




Pesto Pasta Salad


Pesto
3 c  basil leaves, washed
3 tbl  grated parmesan cheese
1 tbl  fresh lemon juice
1 tbl  toasted pine nuts
1 tsp  kosher salt
1/2 tsp  ground black pepper
1 clove of minced garlic


Use a food processor to blend together.
I make my pesto according to taste.  Taste along the way and add more to perfect your own.


Pasta Salad
1 lb  shredded or chopped grilled chicken breast
3/4 c  pesto
spring salad mix
olive & oil dressing (Paul Newman's is my fav)
parmesan cheese
fusilli or rotini pasta


Combine pasta with pesto sauce.  Set aside.  Toss spring mix with dressing and chicken.  To prepare plates, place dressed salad and chicken on plate, then set pesto pasta a top salad.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve with garlic bread.

Yummmm!  Most of my early/late afternoons begin with the same question to Chase, What do you want for dinner?  I gave him a Cooking Light and Bon Appetite flip through hoping that maybe just this one time he would give me idea.  And of course he chose chicken kebabs...the one thing I hate most and refuse to cook!  Kebabs are so stupid!  It's that simple.  Nothing on the stick requires the same cooking time, and I usually get so frustrated half way through that I take everything off the stick and cook it separately.


I told Chase I would make this minus the kebab part, but chicken breasts seemed pretty boring for a Saturday night.  A fish would certainly do the job.  We chose red snapper, but in my opinion the marinate and salsa would be wonderful with anything!!


For some reason I wasn't too sure about the salsa, but oh my goodness was I wrong!  I wanted to eat it with a spoon for breakfast this morning!  As I say that, I should have put it on an english muffin, or with eggs and a tortilla -- oh the possibilities!! Can you tell I'm pregnant : )




Serve with a side of couscous or wild rice and there you have it!