Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. 

He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

Mark 16:6

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter, Passover, Spring, whatever you were celebrating. I had a wonderful day and I hope you all did too whether it was with family, friends or both!

When I'm not home with family, I still like to have a nice Easter dinner even if it's just for myself and one or two others. 

I started the night with some delicious homemade deviled eggs. I love them and they really couldn't be easier to make!

Hard Boiled Eggs

Decorated for Easter DUH!!!

Plus a lil mayo, mustard and some relish.

Cut eggs in half.

Take out yolk, mix with mayo, mustard and relish.

 Portion back into egg whites and sprinkle with Paprika. 

I didn't do the usual Easter Ham this year - instead I roasted a Pork Tenderloin, but I decided to brine it first since my Brined Turkey Breast was so amazing last Fall.  

For sides I went with Scalloped Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus. I'd seen numerous recipes for scalloped potatoes, so I finally decided I HAD to make them. And asparagus is so tasty - especially this time of year, so I couldn't think of a better vegetable to serve.

Dinner was AMAZING and I'm really looking forward to having leftovers of it for lunch tomorrow. Mmm Mmm Mmmm!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 15!

Right before the holidays I went in for a well check with my Primary Care Doctor. I hadn't had one in a few years and just wanted to make sure everything was okay! They did a few blood tests and determined I have a Vitamin D deficiency. I'm really not surprised and was instructed to take Vitamin D3 supplements daily. I'm doing as told, but I've also made it a point to incorporate more fish into my diet. I've actually only had salmon (multiple times), but I intend to venture out and start making other fish too! Next up to try is Parmesan Crusted Tilapia!

So since I'm trying to eat more fish, tonight's dinner - and many other Sunday Night Dinners recently - has Salmon as the main course. I almost always broil it, but I'd grill it if I had my own barbeque. And I season the fish with lemon and a butter mixture that has a little garlic, parsley, and dill.

Oh and tonight I added Fresh Shaved Parmesan too...

The fish is usually accompanied by rice, but tonight I decided I'd whip up some homemade garlic mashed potatoes and finish the meal off with some fresh steamed broccoli!

Oh man...just thinking about it makes me want more!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 10!

It's been awhile since I did a Sunday Night Dinner post, so I thought it was time to bring it back! 

Since I obviously don't work on Sundays, and I was home for most of the day, I figured that baked potatoes would be perfect. I didn't have to rush to bake them after work - I like to cook them long and slow and they have to be done juuuuust right! While they were baking, I had time to do other chores and  was also able to start working on the delicious toppings.

But before we get to the toppings, it's important to start thinking about the moistness and fluffyness of your potato after baking. For this - you can't forget the most important part: poking the potato with a fork multiple times. From there you can do pretty much whatever you want, but here's what I do...

Wash potatoes, pat dry potatoes, slather potatoes with butter, sprinkle potatoes with salt, wrap potatoes in foil and FINALLY poke with a fork 5 or so times.

If you do all the above, you'll hopefully end up with this:

A perfectly baked potato!

After being sliced opened and "smooshed" from each end.

While regular butter and sour cream is good...it's always fun to get more creative. And tonight, I was making a MEAL out of this potato so there was going to be more then the norm.

I made...

Blackened Chicken Baked Potatoes!!!

Using my blackened seasoning mix, I cooked up two chicken breasts in a pan and then cut them into bite sized pieces.

In addition to the SPICY chicken, I had a whooooooole bunch of other yummy toppings to put on the amazingly tasty potato.

Butter, Sour Cream, Alfredo Sauce, Shredded Cheese, 

Bacon Pieces and Chopped HOMEGROWN Green Onions.

And lastly, the meal was all tied together with a green vegetable - one of my favorites: Steamed Broccoil!

 Nom nom nom!

And no...I didn't it it ALL!