Maple Syrup Challenge

Ok, so obviously it's been awhile since I've updated my blog. My son no longer looks like that little baby pictured below. I just got his 1st grade (*tear) pictures back and was amazed at how much he looks like a little man. Well.....moving on...........I haven't entered a recipe contest in quite some time so when I received an email asking if I would be interested in The Maple Syrup Challenge I eagerly accepted! This did turn out to be a challenge for me. I'm sure most of us have a bottle of maple syrup in cabinet but my maple syrup only gets used on Sunday mornings with my son's blueberry waffles. I definitely had to "Think outside the griddle" considering most of my creations turn into a pasta or potato dish. BUT!!! After torturing my poor Liam and boyfriend for the last several weeks, I have created a tasty, delicious (my son's review) salmon recipe using.....Maple Syrup of course!!! I served this along side roasted garlic, asparagus and potatoes.

Tasty, Delicious Salmon

2 skin on salmon fillets (about 6-8 oz each)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp pure Maple Syrup
1/4 fresh thyme
1/8 tsp paprika
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Season the salmon fillets with salt, pepper and paprika.
In medium sauce pan, heat 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil until simmering.
Place salmon fillets skin side up in sauce pan and cook until browned. About 3-4 minutes.
Gently flip fillets over and cook on skin until salmon is opaque. About 3-4 minutes.
Remove fillets and place on serving plate.
In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, pure Maple Syrup and fresh thyme.
Wipe sauce pan clean and place back on stove top over medium high heat.
Whisk in maple syrup mixture.
Add butter and stir until slightly reduces.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour sauce over salmon fillets and serve.

So there you have it, my simple salmon recipe. And one thing my family loves are salmon patties. There are a ton of recipes for salmon patties out there but the way I like to make mine is to mix up fresh, cooked (leftover) salmon, minced garlic, some chopped scallions or onions, some mayonaise, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Form into patties and saute on the stove. I make a yummy little sandwich out of mine adding tomato, onion, lettuce and red pepper aoli. So good!
And....come to find out there are a lot of ways you can use maple syrup that I never knew. I found a ton of awesome recipes at  www.purecanadamaple.com.

If you try my recipe and you enjoy or made changes, be sure to let me know! Always enjoy feedback!!! Happy cooking!

And the winners are...............

Announcement of Winners of the Impatient Cooking Contest

First Place $100 OatmealGranola Puff by Sarah Campbell and son

Second Place $50 Guava Coconut Rice by Shilpa Kulambi

Tie for Third Place $25 Baby Spinaci Tortellini by Michele R. Bivens

Tie for Third Place $25 One One by Yamu

I would like to thank my sweet baby boy, Liam for being such an inspiration for this recipe!!

Strawberry Cream Oatmeal for my son!!!

I found a fun little recipe contest the other day. Instead of submitting your actual recipe, the contest consists of using one of the contest sites recipes as inspiration for your own. I had a great time with my son browsing through the pictures and stories and finally deciding on one that appealed to us both. Below is my official entry to the contest.

The image that caught my eye (and my almost 2 year old son) was the Oatmeal/Granola Lake. I have had pretty good luck with getting my son to eat anything I put in front of him, my husband, well not so much. So again, my two year old was the lucky taste tester. One of my son's favorite snack items are freeze dried strawberry bits. I started by making a pretty thick consistency of plain oatmeal and granola. I find when my son has a belly full of thick oatmeal, he goes to bed a little earlier! I added in a few shakes of the strawberry bits, all the while my son is near climbing my leg saying "Bite! Bite!". Then I slowly add some heavy cream to give it a rich creamy flavor, creamy obviously. I whip up a a little bit of fresh ricotta cheese with some powdered sugar and about a teaspoon of fresh strawberry juice and make a little "puff" (my son named it) in the middle. I give a little sprinke of warm honey across the top and a sliced strawberry to make it look pretty and that's it! My son eats of full bowl of him own strawberry cream oatmeal puff and I get to have a little extra quiet time tonight!

Sweet Potato Recipes

In my latest search for recipe contests, I came across one for sweet potatoes. Now, usually I stick to what I know and regularly eat when entering recipe contests, but I decided to give this one a try. I mean, my family always has sweet potatoes on the dinner table every Sunday.

I also had to start a blog for this contest, which I have never done the whole blog thing either. So, in hopes of not rambling, I'll get straight to my new sweet potato recipes!

To start out, I first searched some recipes to see some creative things to do with sweet potatoes. Myself, loving anything pasta came up with a great ravioli. I tried this one out on my husband and parents who do not normally like to try new things.

THE RAVIOLI FILLING
· 1 cup baked, mashed sweet potato
· 1 cup Parmigiano cheese, freshly grated
· 3 Tablespoons prosciutto, crisped, drained and chopped
· 1 egg, yolk and whites separated
· 3 Tablespoons Italian parsley, freshly chopped
· 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
· Salt and pepper to taste
· 1 package of small wonton wrappers
· 1 cups olive oil
The Sauce
· 2 Tablespoons olive oil
· 2 Tablespoons butter
· 1 small sweet onion, quartered and sliced
· ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
· Pinch allspice
· Salt and pepper to taste
· 1 cup heavy whipping cream
· 2 Tablespoons Italian parsley, freshly chopped
Combine mashed sweet potato, grated cheese, prosciutto, egg yolk, parsley, nutmeg and salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix. Make the ravioli by dotting a 2 teaspoon full mound of filling in the middle of wonton wrapper. Place a light layer of egg whites on two edges of the wonton wrapper and fold over making a triangle. Heat 1 cup of olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat, place ravioli in hot oil and cook on both sides until edges are brown and a little crispy. Remove from oil and place on paper towel lined plate. Properly discard oil from pan.
Heat sauté pan and add the olive oil, butter and sweet onion. Sauté until the onion is clear, about 3 or 4 minutes, then add the spices and salt and pepper. Add ravioli to pan and gently toss to coat. Serve in a large platter or serving bowl. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Serves 6 to 8

I did also try the filling with pumpkin but I have to admit the sweet potato tastes the best! I also love the ease of using the wonton wrappers instead of actually making dough, plus the raviolis crisp up nice and add a great contrast to the cream sauce.

My final recipe was in hopes of getting my 20 month old son to try some new foods, so I did the sneaky mom thing and hid them in one of favorite foods: bread! They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. And my son gobbled them up with some homemade apple butter on top.

· 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
· ½ cup oatmeal, finely ground
· 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
· ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
· ¼ cup butter
· 3 Tablespoons shortening
· 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
· 6 Tablespoons buttermilk
· 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Fold in ¼ cup butter and the shortening with a pastry blender or forks until mixture is crumbly. Add mashed sweet potato and milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead just a few times.
Roll dough out to ½ inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and brush with the melted butter. Bake at 400® for 12 minutes, or until nicely browned. Serve with apple butter.

Makes about 15 to 18 biscuits