Coconut Marzipan Cookies

These cookies are so good. If you love a chewy, almond-flavored cookie, you will like these too. I used a package of inexpensive marzipan that I brought back from Germany. My package was 200 grams, which is a little over 7 ounces.

We're going to Portland, OR for the weekend, I can't wait to get out of town and go somewhere different! Yes, it will be raining there, but it's supposed to rain here all weekend anyway. ;)


Coconut Marzipan Cookies

7oz marzipan
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg and one egg white, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
colored sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment.
2. Mix marzipan, butter and 1 cup of sugar in stand mixer. Beat until well combined. Add egg and egg white, and almond extract. Beat on high for 3 minutes.
3 Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture, oats and coconut to almond mixture. Mix until combined. Form into 1" balls and place on prepared sheets. I used a medium cookie scoop with a wire release.
4. To slightly flatten balls, dip a flat bottomed glass into granulated sugar and press down lightly. Leave plain or, depending on the occasion, sprinkle with colored sugar.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Store in an air-tight container between layers of wax paper.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Salmon Dinner

We had salmon for dinner again yesterday.... I just love salmon so much. We were really hungry and needed something fast; this dinner fit the bill. It was so easy to put together, yummy, and satisfying. I used Mann's Stringless Sugar Snap peas, which are already cleaned and put in a bag for you.

Salmon with Garlic and Olive Oil

One 1.5 lb salmon fillet

2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced.

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; lay salmon down in it, skin side down. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle lemon juice over. Season with garlic, salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil from Allrecipes.com

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth (use low-sodium)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.
Stir in chicken stock and bring to boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 - 20 minutes.
Mix in Parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to shallow bowl. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Sugar Snap Peas with Basil Butter

8 ounces stringless sugar snap peas

2 TBS butter

2 TBS fresh basil, coarsely chopped

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Steam peas in a steamer basket over a pan of simmering water for 3-5 minutes, or until just barely tender. Meanwhile, in a medium, microwave-safe serving bowl, melt butter. Add basil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. When peas are done, toss them in butter mixture and serve.

Salmon Cakes

 As sad as it may seem, I've never had Crab Cakes before, or anything similar (such as Salmon Cakes, or Salmon Patties, whatever you may call them). Well, that all changed last night. I was reading my friend's blog, Eating, Etc. and she had a recipe for Salmon Cakes that looked so very delicious. Yesterday, I thought I had everything on hand, so I decided to make them. As I was making them, I realized I didn't exactly have everything on hand, but I went ahead with them anyway. I did leave out the horseradish on purspose, just because I don't like it. I would have used the big can of salmon, but I can never find big cans of boneless, skinless salmon, so I ended up using 2 6 oz. cans.

These were so good. We served them with her coconut rice and a salad. Once again, my daughter helped me make dinner (we'll miss our dinner-making day tomorrow). I had to stop eating because I wanted leftovers. My 20-month old ate a whole one by himself! I found these so flavorful that I didn't even dip them in anything.

Salmon Cakes
adapted from Eating, Etc.

15oz canned boneless, skinless salmon, drained
1/2c onion, finely chopped (use a combo of yellow onion & green onions)
1/2c celery, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6T mayonnaise
1T Dijon mustard

1T grainy sweet-hot mustard
1tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2tsp garlic powder
1/4tsp Old Bay seasoning
2T fresh cilantro, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2c crushed saltine cracker crumbs
1c panko bread crumbs
1T butter
1T olive oil

1) Drain salmon & place in medium bowl.

2) Gently fold in onion, celery, black pepper.

3) Add mayonnaise, mustards, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, & cilantro.

4) Fold in egg & cracker crumbs.

5) Place panko bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl.

6) Form salmon mixture into eight patties. Carefully coat with the panko bread crumbs. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

7) Melt the butter & oil in a medium skillet.

8) Over medium heat, cook salmon cakes, four at a time, for 4 minutes per side. Plate on paper towels to drain.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Mini Burgers

I've been wanting to make mini burgers for a long time. They are all over the place in restaurants, and I figured I could make them better, and of course cheaper, at home. I started by making homemade rolls to use as buns. I really liked this looks of this recipe, over at Baking Bites. I like how the recipe uses yogurt. (I had full-fat on hand, so I used that). I used my Kitchenaid to mix up and knead the dough and it was so easy. The dough was super soft and silky, and a pleasure to work with. I loved it. I made most of the dough into dinner-size rolls, and I made the rest of the dough into tiny rolls, since I was unsure about how big my burgers would end up. The rolls baked up beautifully, and were soft, and a little bit chewy, and they held up perfectly as hamburger buns. There is a slight honey flavor too, which I love. I used one cup of white whole wheat flour for some added nutrition.

I had a package of ground beef that was between 1 pound and 1.5 pounds. I mixed it up with my hands and added about a teaspoon of salt, and then formed it into mini patties. I cooked them up on my big family-sized griddle (so they would all be done at the same time) and melted a little piece of Colby-jack cheese on each one. We served them up simple, with just mayo and ketchup. They were so good, and I enjoyed every bite!! My husband was totally raving, and my daughter loved them as well. (I won't admit just how many I ate- lol).

We had fresh pineapple and strawberry kabobs with dinner. I think the kids loved these even more than the tiny burgers!

I thought baked potato wedges would be great with the burgers, so I made some herb-lime ones. I used these cool new-to-me potatoes I found at the grocery store, Klondike Rose. They have red skins and a deep yellow flesh. I used 4 in my recipe, and mine were a little smaller than your average Russet, but oval-shaped just like a Russet. Feel free to use any potato you have on hand!

Herb-Lime Potato Wedges

3 tablespoons butter, melted

juice of 1 lime

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

4 Klondike Rose potatoes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large micro-wave safe bowl, melt butter. Add lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and herbs. Slice potatoes lengthwise into wedges (I made 8 wedges out of each potato), and add to the bowl with the butter mixture; toss to coat. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish; shake dish to distribute potatoes evenly. Roast for 20 minutes, flip over with spatula. Roast another 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and browned.

Wednesdays- My Daughter's Day to Cook Dinner

Recently, my 6-year old daughter has started cooking dinner on Wednesdays. Okay, it's only been 2 Wednesdays so far, and she "cooks" with a ton of help from me. She absolutely loves it though. I almost forgot about it this week, but she reminded me on Tuesday. She said "What day is it?" I replied "Tuesday." And she said "That means tomorrow is my day to make dinner!" She said she wanted spaghetti and meatballs, but we made that not too long ago, so I suggested homemade spaghettios. I bought some cool ring-shaped pasta from Trader Joe's a little while back and have been really wanting to make homemade spaghettios.

I wanted to make spaghettios with mini meatballs, so I used this recipe from Allrecipes. I didn't have any breadcrumbs, so I had my daughter crush some goldfish crackers and we used that instead. I used a melon baller to make little tiny meatballs. My daughter scooped up the mixture, I took it out, and kind of squished it together with my fingers to make a ball. (I wouldn't let her touch the raw meat.... maybe next time. I'm passing on my squeamish-ness to her). We made a whole jelly-roll pan full of mini meatballs, and then made the rest of the mixture into larger meatballs, using my cookie scoop. I didn't manage to get a good pic of the mini ones. It was kinda hectic in the kitchen, with my 3-year old crying because he wanted to have a "special cooking day", and my one year old baby crying and hanging on my pant leg just because I wasn't paying attention to him. Therefore, I didn't get as many pics of everything as I wanted. I did get some "aftermath pics" though, and I'll have to share those in a minute.

I looked around the web for a homemade spaghettio recipe, and one really stood out. I found a great recipe on the blog Feed Your Vegetarian. Of course, mine were non-veggie with the meatballs, but this recipe would be delicious without them, too. (And take way less time!) The only changes I made to that recipe were to omit the onion, use a little less cheddar, and add a handful of Italian 3-cheese blend.

The sauce is easy, starting with a roux. It was almost like making mac and cheese with tomato sauce thrown in! When the tomato and dairy mixed, it got a little curdled-looking, but it all worked out in the end. The taste was great. It was like spaghettios, but way better. My daughter had a second helping. She said "I didn't know if I was going to like this, because I think spaghettios from the can taste kind of funny. I like this a whole lot better!" I think she's only had "real" spaghettios one time, and it was over 2 years ago, BTW. My one-year old couldn't get enough of this; I finally had to cut him off! We had broccolini with it; keeping with the mini theme. (Well, just mini meatballs, I guess nothing else was mini!)


This is how my two little guys finally managed to entertain themselves. In my house, it's a good idea to wash cookie cutters before usage. And the garlic press, egg slicer, funnel, etc. After we ate dinner, my baby reached up to the open bag of pasta on the counter and pulled it down, spilling the rest of it on the floor. Little O's, everywhere.... I'm kinda sad because Trader Joe's is an almost 2-hour drive from here. I did get a pic of that but it's not very good, so you'll just have to imagine it.


Homemade Spaghettios
adapted from Feed Your Vegetarian

1/2 lb ring shaped pasta
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cup milk
6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
1 6-oz can of tomato paste
1/2 medium onion, finely diced, optional
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
cooked mini meatballs, optional

1.  Cook pasta in boiling water, according to package directions, until al dente.

2.  While the pasta is cooking, melt butter under medium flame in a saucepan. Add flour and stir about 2 minutes. Add onion to the saucepan, and stir to combine. Cook for 2 more minutes.

3.  Whisk in milk, oregano, basil, and parsley. Bring to a gentle boil.

4.  Whisk in the tomato sauce and tomato paste. If the sauce is too thick, add a ladelful of pasta water. Bring to a simmer.  Stir in the shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste

5.  Finally, add the cooked, drained noodles and stir to combine well.  If using meatballs, add them with the pasta and heat through.

Serves 4.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Mascarpone Cake Truffles

What do you do with 20 ruined cupcakes? And what do you do when you're up at 11pm making said cupcakes for your kid's birthday at school the next day, and they have to be delivered in the morning? When one is tired, and it's late, and they've just thrown a birthday party for a zillion loud kids at their house, and they still have to make cupcakes, it's not a good idea to try to increase the recipe by 50% (no, not double the recipe, not cut it in half, but increase it by 50%). Obviously I messed up in some of my calculations. My cupcakes expanded above the pan at least one inch, and then sank terribly, and were all crumbly and just looked awful. However, they still tasted great. It wasn't any consolation to me at the time. I think I cried just a little and then went to bed. I got up extra early the next morning to make and frost some drop sugar cookies. Then, as I was leaving the school (after delivering them) I locked my keys AND my two youngest kids in the van. (We just bought a van a few weeks ago, by the way). My middle child was able to save the day by unlocking the doors in the passenger side. But anyway, back to the cupcakes.

I have seen many recipes on the internet for Cake Balls, which call for one 9x13 cake plus a can of frosting, mixed together, shaped into balls, and dipped into almond bark. I liked the general idea of these, but didn't like the idea of mixing the cake with the frosting, and then dipping it in almond bark. I have a sweet tooth, but that seemed like it would be way too sweet, even to me. So I made up my own version.

I had half a container of mascarpone cheese that needed using, so I decided to incorporate that into my cake truffles. I don't like using almond bark (or confectioner's coating- but I will use it once in a while) so I decided to try melting chocolate chips instead. I used real white chocolate chips (not vanilla chips- look for cocoa butter in the ingredients. Should not contain hydrogenated oils, if you're snooty like me, at least. This provides a better flavor. They can be hard to find but I've actually found them at Wal-Mart, believe it or not. Another good place to get them is Trader Joe's, but I believe they only have them around the holidays.) For the dark chocolate, I used half semi-sweet chips, half milk chocolate chips. I didn't really measure the chocolate chips, so I'll just estimate. You do want to work quickly during the dipping process, and keep the chocolate in your pan over very lowest heat so it doesn't start to solidify. You'll probably have some chocolate leftover, but it's better to have too much than too little, in this case. Just use the rest for dipping pretzels!

My cupcakes were made from a yellow cake recipe, but I'm sure any flavor of cake would be great.

Mascarpone Cake Truffles

20 unfrosted cupcakes

4 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons spreadable cream cheese

2 tablespoons leftover frosting

10 ounces white chocolate chips

5 ounces semi-sweet chips

5 ounces milk chocolate chips

Crumble cupcakes (or use an equal part cake) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add mascarpone, cream cheese, and frosting. Using a paddle attachment, mix everything together until it is well-incorporated. It should look like cookie dough. Using a medium or small cookie scoop, scoop dough into balls and roll in your hands until the ball is uniform. Place on a tray or baking sheet covered with wax paper and refrigerate a few hours, until very firm. Melt white chocolate chips in a small pan over very, very low heat (I used the absolute lowest heat setting on my stove). In another small pan, melt the semi and milk chips together until smooth, using very, very low heat. Using a toothpick, spear a ball, and dip it into one of the pans of chocolate. Spoon chocolate over the top and then pick up the toothpick. Tap the toothpick against the side of the pan so the excess chocolate drips off. Place back on wax paper to dry. Repeat with all of the cake balls, making half white chocolate ones and half dark chocolate ones. Put in fridge for a few minutes to set the chocolate. Spoon the leftover chocolates into separate Ziploc bags, and pipe a drizzle design over the truffles, using contrasting colors. Store in the refrigerator.