Cheesy Breakfast Quesadillas

by Irene Lindvall

I'll be honest. I didn't really need a recipe for to make this, but the only reason why I'm using it is because it told me to put bacon in the quesadilla. And crispy, crumbly bacon at that. We love quesadillas and I usually make them for dinner, sometimes lunch, but never for breakfast. This was definitely a hearty breakfast that would make a good brunch. I didn't really like most of what the recipe said so I sort of went against my rule of trying to be true to the directions. I used cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, threw in an extra slice of bacon and decided to put on tortilla on top of the other instead of folding it over. Regardless, I have no idea why we haven't been eating breakfast quesadillas more often.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Bacon in a quesadilla is amazing.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe

 

Sunshine Salad with Citrus Parmesan Dressing

by Irene Lindvall

I have been making a variation of this recipe for awhile now. I usually put grapefruit in it, but stuck to the recipe this time and just used oranges. I also can't remember if I've ever made the dressing and I'm pretty sure I haven't because I think I would've remembered the deliciousness. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

Shallots + parmesan cheese + orange juice = a great salad dressing.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Hazelnut-crusted Halibut w/Apple Salsa

by Irene Lindvall

We seem to have broken our wet spell here in the Pacific NW so it felt great to be cooking a springy meal. It's halibut season so cheap, wild halibut is available all over. As a side note of honesty, I've never cooked halibut so I was initially intimated by the recipe but it turns out you cook it like any other fish (duh).

I have several notes about this recipe that seem to be better told in bullet points:

Burnt hazelnuts are delicious and the crust on the fish was great.

I wanted to note that I actually found shallots at the grocery store and they are great. They really are a toned done version of a red or white onion and I quite liked them.

I forgot to take a photo of the apple "salsa" prior to adding it. The salsa was cooked in hazelnut oil which left a coating on the apples I quite liked.

Eric did not detect the dry mustard or dijon mustard used in the recipe. Fascinating since he has a really strong aversion to it. He noted that everything blended so well together that he couldn't pick out one flavor of anything. Job well done I'd say. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

Hazelnut oil exists. I hope to find other ways to cook with it because it's a little pricey. 

I learned how to peel hazelnuts. I boiled a pot of water, put a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in the water, dumped the hazelnuts in, boiled for a few minutes and then transferred them to a cold bowl of water which made them easy to peel. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Probably. 

The recipe

Spring Shrimp Salad

by Irene Lindvall

I need to start off by saying this is the most poorly written recipe I've come across thus far. The punctuation is weird, the directions are slightly off and I had to read and re-read steps while cooking. It was really annoying. There were quite a lot of steps and bowls used, but all of the steps were relatively easy to prepare. The flavor was really light and the breadcrumbs with green onions were definitely the highlight of the dish.

Things I learned from this recipe:

We are addicted to chili flakes - Eric wondered where they were in this dish.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Two Recipe day

by Irene Lindvall

We're going to be traveling next week so I'm going to make an attempt to double up on recipes this week. Today features a lunch and dessert recipe.

Lunch

Mediterranean Garden Wraps

I needed something quick so I went for these wraps. I was lucky to find the exact wraps the recipe called for at Trader Joe's and had most of the rest of the ingredients already in the refrigerator. I also added red cabbage from last night and some leftover avocado.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Greek yogurt seems to be the base of a lot of recipes. It's not a bad thing to have around.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure. I'm pretty sure we'll be having it for lunch tomorrow.

The recipe

 

Dessert

Cranberry Crunch Cookies

We had an end of the season potluck at bowling this evening and I decided these would be perfect. Turns out they were a hit, and will also make a great breakfast snack for tomorrow.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I had to adjust the baking time to 11:30 - 12 minutes. They turned out a little on the crispy side but I think this is better.

Cereal + cookies = yum.

Would I make this again?:

Yes

The recipe