Category: Date Night

Steak, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Pan Steamed Broccoli

Beef, Date Night, potatoes, Side dishes...veggies

Hey guys! Hope you all had a lovely Valentines Day! We spend it together as a family. Last year, I made fondue. This year I made steak and potatoes. Not just any kind of potatoes; twice baked potatoes. I have made these before on the blog. Of course, I have made steak on the blog lots of times. Here is a recap with some pretty food pictures.

Ribeye https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/08/19/perfect-ribeye/

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Twice Baked Potato:

I wrapped 4 potatoes in aluminum foil and baked them for about 45 minutes. I cooked 5 pieces of bacon in a pan. I let potatoes cool a bit, then I spooned the potato filling in a medium bowl leaving the skins. I mixed  in 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of sour cream. I spooned the mixture into skins and added shredded mild cheddar and the chopped bacon on top. Put back in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted all over the top.

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Broccoli- I cut all the florets off 2 stalks of broccoli. I put them in a pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a couple tablespoons of water. Then I put a top on them and cooked them on med. heat. I shook the pan every so often. It cooked about 12 minutes- still bright green and tender but not mushy. You can save your stalks to put in soup or use to make veggie stock!

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Shrimp Fettuccine Sorrentini

Date Night, Pasta, Seafood

Good evening, foodie friends! Hope you had a great weekend and did something grand! The other day, my husband requested a pasta he had at a local Italian place. He had this dish that had chicken, cherry tomatoes, garlic, basil, and cubed mozzarella cooked in olive oil. So tonight I made this except with shrimp, since we just ate chicken last night.

Sorrentini is the name for pasta made with tomatoes, garlic, basil, and mozzarella cooked in olive oil. It was a big hit for my husband and me. This would be a perfect date night meal! The only thing that would have made it better would be a couple pinches of red pepper flakes for a bit of spice to heat things up =)

The girls don’t like tomatoes. Well, except mashed up in my sauces or in ketchup. So they ate fettuccine alfredo with shrimp. Except Becca. She just ate the noodles and sauce, because she hates shrimp. I know this because I have seen her try it over and over and still spit it out each time. I don’t even bother anymore. You could totally make this with chicken or leave out the meat and make it vegetarian.

So here is how I made my Sorrentini…

Shrimp Fettuccine Sorrentini

Ingredients

10-15 shrimp, peeled and deveined (just pay the extra money to have someone else do it, especially the deveining part)
1 package of fettuccini (use any pasta you have)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 container of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bunch basil, finely chopped or julienned
1/2 cup-1 cup of really good olive oil
1 cup fresh mozzarella

Directions

Salt heavily and bring your water to a boil. Drop your pasta. Stir occasionally.
Meanwhile, heat a large pan to med and add a good glug of olive oil. Enough to coat the bottom plus a little extra.
Add in your garlic and tomatoes. If you wanted to add some heat, a pinch or 2 of red pepper flakes would be amazing! Cook for about 4 minutes. Add your shrimp. Cook until pink, about 4 minutes. Add in your basil.
Add in your al dente pasta. Mix well. Add in a bit of starchy cooking water. Mix well. Add in your cheese. Add more olive oil in if needed.
Plate. Top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. PERFECTION!!!!!

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Baked Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce

Date Night, Pasta, Pizzas, Flatbreads, Toasts

Hey guys! Gymnastics tonight, so I made an easy semi-homemade baked lasagna with a pork and beef Bolognese Sauce. So easy and delicious. Here is the simple recipe. Happy eating!

Baked Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
Your favorite jar of plain marinara
red wine- a couple of glugs
a handful of fresh herbs- I used basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, and marjoram
lasagna noodles
cheese… see below

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Using a large saucepan, heat oil, saute’ onion and garlic until onion becomes translucent, about 4 minutes. Add your meat and lightly brown while occasionally stirring. Mix in your jar of marinara, wine, and fresh herbs. Simmer over medium heat. Let cook for 15-20 minutes.

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While your sauce cooks, boil a large pot of salted water and cook your lasagna noodles. Spray a oven safe casserole dish. Once pasta is drained and cooled, place alternating layers of your Bolognese Sauce, noodles, and mozzarella cheese. My husband hates ricotta, so I just used all mozzarella. BUT if this was just for me or cooking for a party, which it is sometimes, I would make a combo cheese mixture of mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan. About 3/4 cup of each, more if you deem necessary. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until your cheese brown and bubbly on the top.

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Lobster, Salmon, and Shrimp in Sage Garlic Butter

Date Night, Girls' Night Out/In, One pot meal, Seafood

Mommy is on her own tonight for dinner. Daddy is sick. My girls took an impromptu sleepover with the grandparents.

Seafood in garlic sage butter. Ya’ll, this was an epic meal. 1 lobster tail. 10 shrimp. 1 salmon filet. Cooked in sage garlic butter. 1 stick of butter. 3 cloves of garlic. EPIC!

Start with a cold pan. Put your salmon skin side down with a stick of butter, a handful of whole sage, and 3 cloves of garlic. The salmon skin will crisp up better this way. A little trick I learned from Curtis Stone. Unfortunately, it was via TV and not in person. Swoon…

Anywho, Cook until butter is all melted. Mix the sage and garlic around well. Lift up the salmon to get all that buttery goodness under the skin. Add in the lobster, shell side up. Cook for a good 5 minutes. Turn the salmon. The skin should be perfectly crispy. If not, cook a minute or so longer. Turn the lobster and add in the shrimp. Cook for another 4 minutes, turning the shrimp every 30 seconds or so. You can serve with a veggie and/or starch, but I went straight seafood. Oh, and a nice glass of white wine pairs well with this. I went for a light crisp pinot grigio. So good. So full. 014

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Friday Fives 5/23/14

Breakfast and Brunch, Date Night, Friday Faves, Mexican, Vegetarian

I had this post all ready yesterday, but never got a chance to post it. So here are a few of my favorite things from this past week…

Chilaquiles- I love to try different versions of this yummy mexican brunch dish. This was made with green chilies, jalapenos, grilled chunks of chicken, tortilla chips, jack cheese, topped with sunny side up eggs, and avocado. Would have been even better with a spicy bloody mary!
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Talenti- My new favorite frozen treats! I have had a few kinds in the past and LOVED them!This past week I got the roman raspberry sorbetto. This week, I am trying the mango sorbetto and the black cherry gelato.
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I like the red ones the best.
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Hot dog night!
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Date Night- Sushi!
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Malbec- This one caught my eye, because my girls are obsessed with Elsa from Frozen. It was yummy!005

Farmer’s Markets… I went this morning and got a bunch of treats! I have thinking about radishes for a while, so when I saw some this morning, I knew I had to snatch them up! One of my favorite combos is salted butter and radishes. I love making butter and radish sandwiches
during the summer! 008