Baked Zucchini Fries

We had some spaghetti for dinner and I decided to try this recipe as an appetizer.  It is fairly healthy since it is baked and not deep fried.

First preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
Trim the zucchini and cut crosswise in half, then cut each piece into 1/4 inch stick.

Add cheese to coating mix in shaker bag; shake gently to combine.

Whisk 1 egg in a medium bowl.  Add zucchini; toss to coat. 

Use tongs to place 1/4 of the zucchini into shaker bag; Close bag and shake to evenly coat. 

Spread onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Repeat with remaining Zucchini.  Bake for 12-13 minutes or until golden brown, turning the baking sheet 180 degrees after 7 minutes to bake evenly.  Meanwhile mix remaining zucchini. 

Remove the baked fries and enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce.

Ingredients:
3 Zucchini (1 pound)
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 packet Shake and Bake Coating Mix
1 small egg



My wife prepped everything and she said it was fairly easy to prepare.  After baking it for the allowed time, the fries seemed a little soft and not crispy.  I'm not sure if it was too long or not long enough but the outside was golden brown.  The shaker mixture was a bit salty and had a slight kick to it.  I was not to happy with this recipe.  I may have to try it another time and do some adjustments. 


Overall I give Baked Zucchini recipe 3 STARS.  If you try this recipe and it comes out ok, please tell me what I did wrong.

Ginger Pepper Steak

I'm still trying out recipes from Pinterest.  This one is Ginger Pepper Steak.  It is easy to prepare and cook.  It sounded good and looked good so I decided to try it.  This was whipped together in less than 30 minutes.  I made this recipe last night for dinner.  Here is the recipe as follows.

Mix together the gravy mix packet, 3/4 cup water, 1 TBSP shoyu, and1/2 tsp ginger in a small bowl until well blended.

Heat 1 TBSP oil in a large skillet on Medium-High heat.  Add steak and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until no longer pink.

Stir in gravy mixture, onion, and bell pepper.

Beef and gravy with bell peppers added.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Serve over hot rice.

Ingredients:
1 package McCormick Brown Gravy Mix or 1 package McCormick 30% Less Sodium Brown Gravy mix
3/4 cup cold water
1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1 medium green or red bell pepper (or 1/2 of each), cut into thin strips
Cooked rice




Like I said it is a fairly easy recipe.  A few tips to the recipe.  Instead of using the ground ginger, use 1/4 tsp of ground red pepper.  Also use 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen pepper stir-fry blend in place of the onion and bell pepper.



Overall I was a little disappointed at this recipe.  My wife suggested using fresh ginger or maybe replace the ginger for red pepper.  I will have to try this again and add a little of my own touch.

I will have to give this first try 3 STARS.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Hey all.  I'm still here and I'm back to blog about dinner I made tonight.  I've been into the website "Pinterest".  It's a site that people "pin" ideas, recipes, things they are interested in, on the "pinboard".  I really like some of the recipes there and I decided to try one out.  This is a very simple crock pot meal that anyone with a crock pot can make.  This recipe is especially good when its cold and rainy outside.  I hope you enjoy this recipe. 

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumpling

You can add your own touch to this recipe.  I added carrots, potatoes, and onions.  Dice the vegetables into bite sizes.

Place 4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts into crock pot.

Add 2 Tbsp butter.

Add 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

Add 1 can Chicken Broth

Add onions and any other vegetables

Add 1 Tbsp dried Parsley.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours

After 4-6 hours of cooking time, use a fork and break up chicken into pieces or shred it.  Turn off power.

Take your Pillsbury Grands Flaky refrigerated biscuit can and seperate biscuits.

Cut 4 biscuits into 9 pieces.  

Then stir into hot chicken, turn crock pot back on high, and continue to cook for 30 minutes.

Finished product

Dinner is Served



The biscuit can comes with more than 4 biscuits so we baked the rest and had some biscuits and jam as a side dish.  This recipe is really easy to make. Crock pot meals are the best because you dont have to fuss with too much while it is cooking.  Try this recipe out and tell me how it is.  See below for recipe.

4-6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 Tablespoons butter

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can Chicken Broth

1 onion diced (or any other vegetables you want to add)

1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley

4 Pillsbury Grands Flaky refrigerator biscuits

My wife loved this dish and she says it's a "Winner".  My son loved the baked biscuits.  I must say, this meal was easy and delicious.  I give this Crock Pot Chicken and Dumpling 4 Stars. 





Emeril's Restaurant- Universal City Walk

Here's another dining experience while on my vacation to Florida.  On this night we went to Emeril's Restaurant at the Universal City Walk in Orlando.  Orlando's Universal City Walk is the place to go if you want to eat at all different restaurants and do your shopping at the same time.  Lots of lights and people.  We made reservations for an early dinner.  This restaurant must be very popular because we overheard the hostess say that they are all booked that night until 10pm. and we had reservations for 5pm.  It was a very nice dining experience.  Everyone there were very courteous and willing to get you anything you needed. 

The prices range from Side Dishes @ $6.00 to Main Entrees @ $48.00.  Save up a lot if you want to dine here. 

Kurobuta Porkchops-View 1

I decided to order some pork chops for dinner.  The waiter recommended this because he said it was a cut of pork that was hard to get and it is very tasty.  So I went with his recommendation and when he brought it out, I was SURPRISED to say the least.  I was imagining it to be a cut of pork maybe about an inch thick.  As you can see it was a monster of a pork chop.  I couldn't finish it all, only about half..  It came with Sherry Mashed Potatoes along with a Roasted Pepper Reduction.  I asked to have it done Medium.  It was just bloody enough and was so soft and tender. 

Kurobuta Porkchops-View2

The picture doesn't serve it justice.  It was about almost 3 inches thick and about 5 inches big. 

Gulf Shrimp Pasta

This is what my wife ordered.  She just loves her pasta and shrimp.  It comes with Fresh Fettuccine, Shiitake Mushrooms, Braised Leeks, with a Black Truffle Butter Sauce.  It was so tasty.  The shrimp was not overcooked and the leeks had some crunch to them.  The butter sauce was not too creamy either.  A blend of tastes put together.  Creamy but not too rich. 


Overall for Service and quality of food, I give Emeril's Restaurant 5 stars.