Author: lara

Mustard-Roasted Fish, Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli, Dill Fingerling Potatoes

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Recipes here.

I made all of the recipes out of this episode of Ina Garten’s show, except for the dessert, and they were all wonderful. I’ve always had good luck with her recipes and I really did have this on the table, start-to-finish, as Ina promised, in one hour.

Roasted Pears with Cardamom Granola and Vanilla Ice Cream

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This dessert (recipe here) is SO easy and simple, but so delicious. I’ve made these before, and they’ve always been a hit. There is a typo in the recipe and the butter isn’t included, but you can figure it out, if you read carefully. Use about 1/4 cup of the granola/butter mixture, loosely packed, per pear.

Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

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These bars (recipe here) are satisfying and delicious. Perfect when it’s your turn to bring snacks for the team/cast/office/troop or whatever group your family participates in…

Chewy, buttery and packed with protein for a “keep you going until dinner” kind of snack. And these are ridiculously quick and easy, too.

Cream Cheese Herb Spread

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Recipe here. This stuff is flat-out delicious. It tastes exactly like Boursin or Alouette. Fantastic with crackers or spread onto your favorite veggies. Also great as a sandwich spread. I add a tiny bit of dried parsley and a bit of celery salt to the specified recipe.

It has come to my attention that the link posted in this recipe is no longer working, so I decided to post the whole recipe.

Cream Cheese Herb Spread

1 garlic clove, pressed or minced

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (softened)

1 cup butter (softened)

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried dill weed

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp ground black peper

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp dried parsley

Stir all ingredients together until smooth (the softer your cream cheese and butter are, the easier this will be.)  Adjust seasonings accordingly.  Sometimes I up the herb amounts just a little and/or add a little sprinkle of paprika.  Cheese mixture may be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen up to three months.

Makes 3 cups.

Peanut-Pecan Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

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http://m.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peanut-Pecan-Butter-and-Oatmeal-Cookies-368298

These cookies are so delicious. They’re crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are flavorful and are arguably even “healthy,” at least as compared to other cookies, due to the protein in the nut butters and fiber in the oatmeals. They are our new favorite and are even easy to make, since the dough can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator until needed. A dough scoop makes these even easier to whip out quickly.

Chocolate-Chip Walnut Biscotti

Recipe here.  Obviously, I’m a little obsessed with biscotti lately.  I’ve really enjoyed learning how to make these and am experimenting with as many new recipes as possible.  These are absolutely divine.  Super rich and very flavorful.  I use a small offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate on, rather than dipping, as I find it a little easier and neater.  I also use pecans instead of walnuts, because I live in Texas and walnuts are evil.