Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

I can’t make enough of this simple yet wonderful and amazing dessert.  Don’t let the ingredients scare you….the combination of sweet, tart, and spicy all together wakes up your taste buds and makes you want more!  It is the perfect summer dessert and one of the most delicious desserts you’ll make all year.  You want a high quality rich and flavorful Balsamic Vinegar to drizzle over your berries. I use Star Balsamic Vinegar of Modena- Gold Edition.  Serve with Ice cream or whipped cream or save some calories and eat it like it is.  You can thank me later!

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

8 cups fresh ripe strawberries, sliced 

5 tablespoons Star Balsamic Vinegar of Modena- Gold Edition
2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated lemon zest, for serving (optional)

Fresh mint leaves for garnish

About an hour prior to serving, rinse and slice your strawberries and pat dry and plate on paper towel lined plate or bowl. 

Next, combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a bowl.  Toss well and set aside at room temperature.

Sprinkle mint leaves on top and drizzle with more balsamic if desired.  Let the mixture rest for 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature.

For an added treat, place a serving of the strawberries in a bowl with a scoop of ice cream on top and dust lightly with lemon zest.

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

You can get Star Balsamic Vinegar of Modena- Gold Edition in select Walmart stores and online at:


http://shop.starfinefoods.com/STAR-Balsamic-Vinegar-of-Modena--Gold-Edition/p/STAR-00216&c=Star@Vinegars.

Star Fine Foods now has a promo code for all Welcome Home fans that will give you a 10% discount on anything you order online. Just enter WELCOMEHOME10 at checkout! 

Disclaimer: I have an ongoing relationship with STAR Fine Foods for my recipes and photography using their wonderful products. This post is sponsored by STAR. I am compensated for my time and work and I am sent products as I request them. However, all opinions of the product stated in this post are 100% my own. I truly love their products!

Chicken Ravioli in Mushroom Marsala Cream

I love to experiment in the kitchen. Sometimes I imagine a dish and the way I would like it to taste and then set out to make it. My Mom always said the best cooks are fearless in the kitchen. I made this for dinner tonight and it turned out... just the way I imagined. So elegant and yet so easy to make. Especially when you start off with a good quality frozen Ravioli. 

Chicken Ravioli in Mushroom Marsala Cream 

1 bag or box of frozen chicken ravioli ( I use Buitoni)

2 cups sliced Portabella mushrooms

1 1/3 cups Marsala wine

1 small onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

Fill a large pot with about 4 quarts of water. Set the burner to high. When water begins boiling, add the frozen ravioli to and boil for 6-8 minutes. The ravioli are done when they float to the top of the water. 

While cooking your pasta, make your sauce. In a large skillet, over medium heat, saute onion, garlic and mushroom in olive oil until tender, about 3 minutes. Next, add the Marsala wine and bring to a full boil for about 2-4 minutes. Slowly stir in heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes until heated. If sauce is thicker than you'd like, add a little milk until you thin it out the way you want it.

Drain ravioli very carefully with a slotted spoon onto plate or bowl. Spoon mushroom Marsala sauce over ravioli and serve. Enjoy!

NOTE: I used Buitoni frozen Chicken Marsala Ravioli for this recipe. You could also try Buitoni Cheese Ravioli or their Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, which would be just perfect fro this dish. If you're feeling real ambitious and have the time, make your own ravioli from scratch! 

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

The New May Issue is Here!

It's here! The new May issue of the Welcome Home online blog magazine was released early this morning and is now ready for your viewing pleasure! I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I did making all these recipes and sharing them with you. May is the month for delicious recipes for Mother's Day and sharing my Mother's recipes with you is my favorite thing to do!  I know you'll love this issue!

Wait! What's that? You're not a subscriber to the magazine yet?
Oh you have no idea what you're missing. Click on the link below to join the hundreds of other fans that love getting exclusive recipes not published anywhere else!

Subscribe today to the Welcome Home Online Blog Magazine to get over 500 of my private, all exclusive, mouthwatering recipes that are not published anywhere else. Each month you will have private access to my brand new recipes at a members only website that only subscribers can access. All for only $2 a month!

Click here to read more about subscribing to the magazine:

http://www.welcome-home-blog.net/p/my-store.html

Pecan Pancakes

I love the Pecan Pancakes at Crackle Barrel. I love that fluffy texture with those crispy edges and that wonderful flavor of toasted pecans. I used to crave these things a lot until I decided to try and make them myself. After doing a few practice runs, one day I got it right and I can now announce that this my friends is right on the mark for the identical recipe for Cracker Barrel Pecan Pancakes. Now when I crave them, I just go to the kitchen and whip up a batch!  You'll love them!

Pecan Pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg

1 cup chopped pecans

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, Add in the buttermilk and combine, Add in the egg and mix until just combined. 

Pour baking mix onto a hot griddle, add chopped pecans to the batter prior to flipping the pancakes. Flip the pancakes when the bottoms are golden brown. Enjoy with warm syrup.

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

Egg In A Hole

My Mom not only made the most delicious meals, she was all about making them fun too. This breakfast brings back so many childhood memories for me. She could have just fried an egg and popped up a piece of toast....but she loved saying I love you first thing in the morning! Some of you call this breakfast Toad in a Hole. Some call it Egg in a Basket. I've even heard it called Egg In A Hat and in the south they call it One-Eyed Jack. All I know is after all these years I still make it and every time I do, it brings back wonderful memories of home.

Egg In A Hole

1 egg

1 slice bread

butter

Separate egg and white into two small bowls. 

Butter one slice of bread and place buttered side down in skillet over medium heat. Fry the one side until golden brown and then remove from heat

Cut out a heart shape using a cookie cutter. Butter the heart shaped bread on both sides.  Lay heart in skillet and lightly brown on both sides. Remove and set aside. Butter the other side of the bread that has not been browned yet. Return slice of bread to the skillet buttered side down.

Fill the cut out part of the bread with egg white just until you can no longer see the pan. Gently place the egg yolk in the center. Cover the egg and cook for 2-4 minutes checking frequently. 

Once egg is cooked, remove from heat. Serve with heart shaped cut out.

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home. 

Lo Mein Salad

I truly enjoy this recipe.  It’s so easy to make and such a nice salad for lunch and dinner. I use Star Fine Foods Seasoned Rice Vinegar to give it that zesty balance of sweet and salty flavors that are so perfect for Asian recipes. Don’t go light on the lime, it gives it the touch and brings all the flavors together. The vinaigrette tastes just like the dressing PF Chang's used to have on their oriental chicken salad.

Ginger Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon Star Fine Foods Seasoned Rice Vinegar

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup Star Fine Foods Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

¹⁄₂  teaspoon oil, sesame

salt and freshly ground pepper

 In a small bowl, mix the rice vinegar with the sugar and grated ginger until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the olive oil and sesame oil and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside. 

 Lo Mein Salad

1 package Lo Mein Noodles, Cooked And Drained 

1 bunch of asparagus trimmed and chopped

½ red onion, sliced thin

1 carrot, cut julienne or buy a package of matchstick carrots

Zest of one lime

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon hot chili sauce or Sriracha Sauce

Blanch asparagus for 2 min in large pot of boiling, salted water. Transfer to bowl of ice water and let sit for a minute and then drain. Diagonally slice into 1-inch pieces. Add noodles to the same blanching water; blanch 1-2 min, drain and rinse with cold water.  

In a large bowl, toss noodles, onion, carrots, lime zest and asparagus. Combine chili sauce and lime juice in a separate small bowl and mix well.  Pour over noodle mixture and toss.  Finally, add the vinaigrette and toss to combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

STAR Seasoned Rice Vinegar online at:  

http://shop.starfinefoods.com/Seasoned-Rice-Vinegar/p/STAR-00420&c=Star@Vinegars


Disclaimer: I have an ongoing relationship with STAR Fine Foods for my recipes and photography using their wonderful products. This post is sponsored by STAR. I am compensated for my time and work and I am sent products as I request them. However, all opinions of the product stated in this post are 100% my own. I truly love their products!

Shrimp Salad on a Buttery Croissant

I love shrimp salad!  I love the smooth and creamy texture with just enough celery to make it slightly crunchy.  The shrimp are plump and spicy and just perfect on a bed of lettuce or your favorite sandwich.

Shrimp Salad on a Buttery Croissant

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup celery chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 pound medium shrimp cooked peeled and de-veined

your favorite lettuce

croissant or sandwich roll 

Cook shrimp: In a medium saucepan bring 1 cup water to boil. Add unpeeled shrimp. Cover. Cook about 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Drain. Cool shrimp. Remove shells and de-vein. 

In a large bowl mix mayonnaise, celery, Old Bay and lemon juice. Add shrimp and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Stir before serving on a bed of lettuce or in a buttery croissant or favorite roll.  Enjoy! 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

Chicken Parmesan Bake over Farfalle

I took a few shortcuts on this one because I needed something fast for dinner when some friends were riding through town and wanted to stop by and visit. This is one of those Semi-homemade recipes using store bought ingredients but it's so delicious no one will ever know you didn't slave over a hot stove all day! This is a keeper my friends.


Chicken Parmesan Bake over Farfalle 

4 Tyson Chicken Breaded, chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella cheese
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 26 ounce jar of Ragu Chunky Tomato, Garlic and Onion Sauce
1 pound farfalle or bow tie pasta

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Open sauce and heat in a saucepan over low heat until heated through.

Lay chicken breasts on a baking sheet and bake at 350 according to package instructions. Once chicken is golden brown, remove from oven.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on each breast and then cover with a slice of mozzarella cheese.

Prepare pasta as directed on package and drain well.  Pour hot pasta onto plate or serving bowl and ladle warm sauce over it.  Place chicken breast on top of pasta and serve.

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.