Chocolate Raspberry Pound Cake

1 C. seedless black raspberry preserves, divided
2. C. flour
1 1/2 C. granulated sugar
3/4 C. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 C. butter or margarine softened
1 16 oz. container sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
powdered sugar

Raspberry cream (recipe follows):
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen red raspberries in light syrup.
8 oz. pkg. whipped topping, thawed.
2 Tbsp. raspberry liqueur, if desired

Blend raspberries in food processor or blender. Strain into medium bowl; discard seeds. Blend with whipped topping. Stir in raspberry flavored liqueur.



Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 12 C. fluted tube pan.

Place 3/4 C. raspberry preserves in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30-45 seconds or until melted; cool. Stir together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add butter, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and melted preserves. beat on medium speed of electric mixer 3-4 minutes until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Place remaining 1/4 C. preserves in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted. brush over warm cake. Cool completely.

At serving time, sprinkle powdered sugar over top. Serve with raspberry cream.

Blackened Salmon

Yummy yum yum

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com. I found it to be a bit spicy, so I've reduced the cayenne pepper here by about half.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ground paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 
  
• 4 salmon fillets, skin and bones removed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, salt, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, basil and oregano.
2. Brush salmon fillets on both sides with butter, and sprinkle evenly with the cayenne pepper mixture. Drizzle one side of each fillet with remaining butter. 
3. 
   
4. In a large, heavy skillet over high heat, cook salmon, butter side down, until blackened, 2 to 5 minutes. Turn fillets, drizzle with remaining butter, and continue cooking until blackened and fish is easily flaked with a fork.

Zuppa Toscana

Oh my gosh, this was so good. Way better, in my opinion, than the one Olive Garden serves. Yum yum yum. One batch made plenty for my family of 6 with a little left over.
Credit for this delicious recipe goes to That's Some Good Cookin'

1 pound spicy Italian sausage

1/2 pound bacon, chopped

7 cups chicken stock

2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups chopped kale

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces. Drain, set aside.
2. In the same Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown bacon; remove and set aside to drain on paper towels. Leave two tablespoons of rendered bacon fat in the skillet.
3. Sauté the potatoes, onion and garlic in the rendered bacon fat over medium or medium low heat. Sauté until the onion begins to be translucent and the potatoes are still a little firm, but are beginning to soften.
4. Add the sausage, bacon, 7 cups water, and 3 chicken bouillon cubes to the pot. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.
5. Stir in kale and cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat until warm throughout.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This is an adapted recipe from Bob Harper and Rachael Ray. It is super healthy, stuffed with vegetables, but surprisingly delicious too. It made enough for two nights for 6 people.

• 2 clove crushed Garlic
• 1 cooked Spaghetti Squash
• 1/2 cup low fat Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese
• 1 lb. Italian sausage
• 2 cups roasted Vegetables (such as red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)
• 1+ cup Marinara

1. Roast halved and seeded squash face down in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
2. At same time, roast vegetables on cookie sheet.
3. Saute onion about 10 minutes, to translucent.
4. Add sausage and garlic and brown the meat
5. Combine squash, roasted vegetables, cheese and meat in a large bowl.
6. Add marinara sauce
7. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese on top
8. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes

Zucchini Fritters (or pancakes)

Another recipe from my favorite recipe blog, and this one is a big winner. I hate zucchini, but these were delicious. I even ate way more than my share. It wasn't a chore at all to swallow this zucchini down and it was significantly healthier than making bread with the squash.

My mom made something like this when we were kids, that we called zucchini pancakes. I don't think it had the Parmesan cheese in it though. We would douse those in malt vinegar and gobble them up. It's been decades since I've had her version, and had actually forgotten about them until this tasty treat popped up online.

For the record, I'm doubling their recipe here because that's how I made them and we ate every last one.

8 C. grated zucchini (one medium-large and one regular sized zucchini got me there)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
1/2 C. sliced green onions
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
4 Tbsp. flour
1 egg + 1 egg white
Olive oil

Place shredded zucchini in a strainer over a bowl or in sink.  Toss with salt and let sit for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press zucchini down with hands to expel liquid through strainer.  Transfer zucchini to several layers of paper towels and place another layer of paper towels on top of it.  Press and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible.

Place zucchini in a bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Toss together.  

Heat a large, non-stick skillet to medium-high heat.  Add enough olive oil to coat the pan.  Drop zucchini batter by 2-tablespoons full (I used an ice cream scoop) into pan and lightly spread/flatten.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crisp on one side and then flip.  Continue cooking until golden and then transfer to a wire rack with a paper towel on it.  *note cooking time greatly varies due to pan type, stove, etc.  Go by color and cook until they’re nice and golden-crisp.  

 Nutritional Info (per 1 fritter): Cal: 27, Fat: 1, Carb: 2, Pro: 2, Fib: 0

Quinoa in the pressure cooker

Not a recipe, just instructions so I don't forget...

1 1/2 cups quinoa 
2 1/4 cups water

Cook 2 minutes on high pressure, followed by 10 minutes letting it sit.

Quinoa Couscous Salad

This is a good basic quinoa salad recipe. It's easy to add or take away from this and have it still taste good. I really like the addition of the couscous, which gives the salad a much lighter texture.

1 C. cooked quinoa
1 C. cooked couscous
2 stalks chopped green onions
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 C. pinenuts
1/2 C. corn
1/4 C. raisins
1/8 C. parsley
lemon juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste