Some good, some bad, but always delicious!

Have a guest recipe from a friend of mine tonight, along with a few paleo-ish recipes as well. Enjoy. As always, appreciate the feedback!

• Greek yogurt & avocado dip
• Buffalo chicken dip
• Homemade enchilada sauce
• Brussels Sprouts & bacon
• Sun-Dried Tomato Marinade (or dressing)
• Shrimp Salad

Greek Yogurt & Avocado Dip

This was something that I came up with on the fly to bring over to a friend's house. DH & I were at Target and I saw this little container of what said "Avocado & Greek Yogurt Dip." I take a look on the back and amongst all of the processed crap, the ingredients listed were actually fairly simple so decided to recreate it with my own little twist.

Ingredients

1 C greek yogurt, plain

2 avocado's

1 C sun-dried tomatoes

1 T lemon juice

1 t garlic powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse sun-dried tomatoes to cut them up into chunks. Remove from food processor and place into bowl.

2. In the same food processor, place greek yogurt, avocados, lemon juice, and garlic powder and process until smooth.

3. Stir in greek yogurt mixture with sun-dried tomatoes.

4. Enjoy with some pita bites.

Nutrition (8 servings)

Cal: 195; Fat: 14.1g; Sodium: 29.5mg; Carbs: 14.2g; Fiber: 4.5g; Protein: 5.3g

Buffalo Chicken Dip

A friend made this dip for all of us on Saturday night. HUGE hit. Credit goes to Frank Redhot!

Ingredients

8oz softened cream cheese

1/2 C blue cheese or ranch dressing

1/2 C hot sauce (Franks RedHot or Buffalo)

1/2 C crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella

2-12.5oz cans of shredded chicken

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°C

2. Please cream cheese into deep baking dish and stir until smooth

3. Mix in salad dressing, Frank's hot sauce, and cheese. Then, stir in chicken.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Nutrition (1/16 of recipe)

Cal: 144; Fat: 11.2g; Protein: 7.8g

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

This was adapted from the Everyday Paleo cookbook. I highly recommend this cookbook. Easy recipes & tons of pictures!!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

2 T oil (coconut oil)

4 large tomatoes, pureed in food processor

2 T minced garlic

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t dried oregano

1/2 t salt

Directions

1. Saute the onion in the oil until limp.

2. Add the tomato puree, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Mix well and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

3. Pour the sauce intot he food processor and process until smooth.

[I poured this over tilapia filets and baked it int he oven at 375° for 12 minutes]

Nutrition (3 tilapia filet's worth)

Cal: 137; Fat: 9.8g; Sodium: 405mg; Carb: 12.9g; Fiber: 2.7g; Protein: 2.3g

Brussels Sprouts & Bacon

(that's also chicken marinated in the sun-dried tomato marinade)

Another one adapted from the Everyday Paleo cookbook. This one is YUMMMMO!

Ingredients

4 bacon strips

1 lb brussels sprouts

1 t garlic powder

1 T dried basil

1 t ghee

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Dice bacon and cook in a skillet until crispy

3. Steam* the brussels sprouts for 4 minutes, cut off stem, and quarter

4. Toss the brussels sprouts with bacon, bacon grease, garlic powder, basil, ghee, and salt & pepper

5. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking time

*To steam in microwave: place brussels sprouts into a bowl and cover sprouts with approx. 1/4C water. Cover with plastic wrap with one corner open. Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Nutrition (2 servings)

Cals: 184; Fat: 9.7g; Sodium: 263mg; Carbs: 17.2g; Fiber: 6.1g; Protein: 10.1g

Sun-Dried Tomato Marinade

And yet another one from Everyday Paleo

Ingredients

1 C sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

1 T capers

1 t lemon juice

1 T garlic

1 T dried rosemary

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a food process until smooth.

**Can be used as a salad dressing or marinade**

Nutrition (4 servings-- if you were to eat this and not use it as a marinade)

Cals: 336; Fat: 29.1g; Sodium: 94.6mg; Carbs: 19.3; Fiber: 3.5g; Protein: 3.2g

Shrimp Salad

Sorry that I don't have any pictures of this one, but trust me when I say it's delicious & worth it! And yet, another one from Everyday Paleo!

Ingredients

8oz cooked shrimp

1 small cucumber, diced

1/2 medium red onion

1 T dried dill

1 t garlic powder

1 T spicy brown mustard

3 T EVOO

2 T lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers and onion.

2. Cut the shrimp into halves or thirds and add to bowl.

3. Add the dill, garlic, mustard, EVOO, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and mix well

4. Serve with diced tomatoe & diced avocado.

Nutrition (4 servings... does not include tomato & avocado)

Cals: 169; Fat: 11.3g; Sodium: 176mg; Carb: 4.3g; Fiber: 0.9g; Protein: 12.7g

Until next week!!!

Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon with a Marsala Wine Sauce

This has gotten to be easily one of my favorite sauces. It is extremely versatile and we have found if you add some heavy cream to it to lighten it up a bit it compliments pork and chicken well too.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Servings: 4 servings | Difficulty: -- Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup Shallots, diced 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup Marsala wine 1 1/2 cups beef stock Salt and pepper, to taste Preparation: Add olive oil to heavy hot saucepan.  Add shallots, garlic, mushrooms, saute until mushrooms are tender. Add flour and cook about 1 minute Add Beef Stock Add Marsala Wine Cook till it thickens a bit and flavors have blended Prepare your steak as you normally would and serve poured over the top or on the side to dip. For a tasty side we took a few asparagus spear and wrapped them with prosciutto and threw them on the grill with the steaks.

Sweet Treats

I didn't only cook sweets this weekend, but these were the only things I took pictures of. :S

Oh well, tomorrow is Valentine's Day & here are 2 SUPER easy, SUPER fast treats for your sweet!

No Bake Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 C Butter
2 C Sugar
1/2 C Milk
4 Tbsp Cocoa
1/2 C Peanut Butter
3- 3 1/2 C Quick cooking Oats
2 tsp. Vanilla

Directions
1. Add butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa into a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute.
2. Stir in the next peanut butter, oats, and vanilla.
3. Drop mixture onto wax/foil paper. Let cool until set.

S'More Krisie Treats
Ingredients
1 box Golden Grahams
1 10oz package of mini marshmallows
1 stick of butter
1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Melt butter and marshmallows in a saucepan
2. Spray a 9x13 (or if you like thicker, 9x9) glass dish with cooking spray
3. Add melted marshmallows into bowl of cereal and stir.
4. Add in chocolate chips and stir LIGHTLY (you don't want the chips to melt!!)
5. Pat mixture into glass dish and pat down with spatula sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Allow to set for 5-10 minutes before devouring!

Roast Kansas City Strip Loin with Garlic-Herb Crust

Hey everyone, I'm Ryan! I am a pro photographer by trade but I also LOVE spending time in the kitchen and trying out new recipes. I just figured that given my love for both the camera and the cutting board that I would have some fun with it and this seemed to be the perfect avenue!

Un-like my counterpart on here I will likely just post a recipe at a time versus a whole meal. I wish I had the patience to make a full meal from scratch like she does but I generally chimp out with few sides and if any they are pretty quick ones.


To start off with I figured I would post up one of my all time favorite steak dishes. This dish is a bit pricey to buy everything for and yields about 10 servings so I mainly make it on holidays or dinner parties.

Ingredients 

• 4 garlic cloves
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

• 1 4 to 5 pound boneless beef loin KC Strip roast(Or New York strip depending on where you are), fat trimmed to 1/4 inch

Preparation

With machine running, drop garlic into processor; blend until finely chopped. Add sage, thyme, oil, salt and pepper; process until paste forms.

Pat meat dry with paper towels. Rub meat all over with herb paste. Cover; chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place meat, fat side up, on rack in roasting pan. Roast meat 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Roast meat until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 35 minutes (or 140°F for medium, about 40 minutes).

 Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on platter.

Just look at that succulent herb crust! The flavor permeates the meat all the way through and makes it just mouth watering delicious! 

Well, thats all for this go around but stay tuned for some good ones!! 

-Ryan

Please welcome my new co-blogger!

Just want to introduce Ryan, a new co-blogger on Sundae Cooking. He's an exceptional photographer (he's REALLY going to show me up in that arena, hehe) who also enjoys cooking! Watch for his posts to come soon!

P.S. Nothing new in my arena this week. It was Super Bowl weekend so I didn't do too much cooking or picture taking. It's salads & leftovers for me this week.

It's a new SUNDAE!

Well, it's not that I had a lot to do, but it's just some of the stuff I had to do took some time to make.

On the menu:

• Homemade applesauce
• Salmon patties
• Quinoa patties
• Butter garlic mushrooms
• Lemon shrimp
• Chocolate covered banana coins
• Healthified sesame chicken
• Homemade cheese bites (I'm sure once you see the picture you'll know what they're supposed to imitate)

Homemade Applesauce

Ingredients

8 apples (I prefer granny smith because I like my applesauce tart, but I'm sure you can use whatever kind tickles your fancy)

Juice from 1 lemon

Directions

1. Core and dice apples

2. Dump apple pieces into slow cooker

3. Juice 1 lemon. Mix juice with apple pieces.

4. Cook on low for 6 hours.

5. Use a hand blender (if you have one) or a potato masher and mash down into liquid form.

6. Let it cool completely.

7. ENJOY!

Salmon Patties

Ingredients

8-9 oz salmon fillet, skinned & chopped into tiny pieces

2 T fresh basil

1/4 C panko bread crumbs

1 t ground ginger (or 1 T freshly grated ginger)

1 t garlic

1 t lemon juice

1 T soy sauce (or soy/coconut aminos)

2 T chia seeds

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 T extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients, except EVOO, and form into 4 patties

2. Heat oil over medium-high heat.

3. Once hot, add patties and cook for 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Enjoy them as soon as you can. They are DELICIOUS!

Quinoa Patties

Ingredients

2 C cooked quinoa

2/3 C grated fontina cheese

3 T whole wheat flour

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 t black pepper

2 1/2 T EVOO

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients EXCEPT EVOO in a bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

2. Form 4 patties with the mixture.

3. Pour oil into a pan over medium heat. Place patties into the heated pan.

4. Cook each patty for about 5 minute on each side.

Butter Garlic Mushrooms
Ingredients

1 container of WHOLE mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced in half
2 1/2 T butter (I used coconut butter)
1 T garlic
1/3 t salt
1/8 t pepper

Directions
1. Melt butter on low

2. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and cook for 1 minute.

3. Add mushrooms and toss with garlic butter to coat.

4. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes (do not burn the garlic), stirring occasionally

5. Enjoy it as a side.

Lemon Shrimp
Ingredients
1 lb raw shrimp
2 lemons, sliced
2 1/2 T EVOO
1 t italian seasoning

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line a baking pan with foil.
3. Toss raw shrimp with italian seasoning
4. Put lemon slices on bottom of pan. Drizzle with EVOO. Put shrimp on top of lemon and EVOO.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Chocolate Covered Banana Coins
Ingredients
2 bananas
Melting chocolate of your choice (I went with dark chocolate)
Nut butter of your choice (I went with my homemade almond butter)

Directions
1. Sliced bananas into 1 inch coins
2. Drizzle a little bit of nut butter over bananas
3. Melt chocolate
4. Line a baking pan with parchment paper

5. Dip bananas into chocolate and place on parchment paper
6. Freeze for about 30 minutes. Enjoy them or place in fridge for later indulgence.

Healthified Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
6 chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 C honey
1/2 C soy sauce (or soy/coconut aminos)
1 C water
2 T cornstarch
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 t garlic
1 T toasted sesame seeds

Directions
1. Heat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray to medium-high
2. Cook chicken for about 6 minutes
3. Mix together honey, soy sauce, water, corn starch, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes until no cork starch lumps appear
4. Pour sauce into skillet over chicken
5. Cook until sauce thickens
6. Sprinkle with sesame seeds
7. Cover and simmer for 10minutes

Homemade Cheese Bites (WARNING: time consuming, but SOOO worth it!!)
Ingredients
8 oz sharp cheddar, grated (seriously, get a block of cheese & grate it)
4 T unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 t salt
1 C flour
2 T ice water

Directions
1. Combine cheese, butter, and salt in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment (mixture will be crumbly)

2. Slowly add flour and then ice water (no wet dough).

3. Pat the dough into 2 discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Roll out each disc into 1/8 inch thickness.

6. Cut into 1 inch squares with a pizza wheel (or whatever you may have around).

7. Use a toothpick to prick a hole into the center of each square.

8. Transfer crackers onto the baking sheet.

9. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until puffed and browning around edges.

10. Allow to cool.

[SIDE NOTE: I'll definitely be making this again, but next time I'll do 1/2 C whole wheat flour and 1/2 C white flour to up the nutrition value]