Lemon Salmon Pasta

Ingredients
1/2 pound penne pasta
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon
3 T cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Directions-
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Add fish to the pan and cook at least 10 minutes until the salmon has a thin crust and it cooked thru. Remove the salmon from the pan.

Add the basil, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the pasta mixture and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow bowls. Place 1/2 cup spinach in each bowl. Top with 1/4 of the pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Enjoy!

Ham & Egg Croissants

1 tube of croissants

4 large scrambled eggs (I take out 1/2 of the yolk)
2 large slices of deli ham (cut into small pieces)
1/2 cup of grated cheese (I use cheddar cheese/Monterrey jack combo)


Preheat oven to 375*. Scramble eggs in pan, add deli ham and mix into eggs. Remove from heat. Open croissants and divide into four rectangle pieces, roll them out (not too thin). Divide egg mixture between the four croissants and top with cheese. Fold the the sides of the croissants up into a small square shape. Bake for 13-14 minutes & enjoy!

My kids love having this for breakfast and eat it all up. I serve with fresh fruit and juice.

Hamburger Soup

2-3 lbs of cooked ground beef

6 peeled and diced potatoes

1 T garlic powder

1 onion, diced

1 green bell pepper diced

1 large can diced green chilis

2-3 large cans of diced tomatoes

Combine all in large pot on med-low until soup begins to simmer....then turn to low heat with the lid on for 1-2 hours or until potatoes are tender. Top with grated cheese, a dollop of sour cream and serve with tortilla chips--yum!

Strawberry Bread

* I made some little loaves of this bread to give away to friends for Christmas, it is so yummy...Kai loves it! And, it is a Martha Stewart recipe so you know it is dang good!


The recipe for this fruit-swirled quick bread comes from a reader, Debbie Cascio-van Hees, from the Netherlands. It calls for fresh strawberries, but you can substitute thawed frozen berries. Softened cream cheese is a delicious spread.
Prep: 10 minutesTotal: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 8
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled, quartered, and mashed with a fork
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. In a small saucepan, bring strawberries to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, and eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture alternately with 1/3 cup water, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in reserved strawberries.
Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour (tent with foil after 45 minutes if top is getting too dark). Cool in pan 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges; invert onto a rack. Reinvert; cool completely.