Strawberry Grilled Cheese

Should this be breakfast? No. Could it be breakfast? Yes. Shoot, we had it for dinner. It should probably fall into the dessert category, but everyone needs a treat for dinner now and then. It feels so sinful. It is decadent and a real treat. Who needs pancakes and waffles when you can have a strawberry grilled cheese!

1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz marshmallow cream
8 slices prepared French Toast
butter

1. In a small mixing bowl mix together strawberries and sugar. Set aside.

2. In another small fixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and marshmallow cream until well combined. Set aside.

3. Spread butter on one side of each prepared French Toast slice. Flip over half of the bread slices. Layer cream cheese mixture, strawberries, and top with more cream cheese mixture. Top with the remaining French Toast slices, buttered-side up.

4. Working in batches, cook the sandwiches until the cheese and strawberries warm and the bread is golden, about 5 minutes.

Filet Mignon with Balsamic Glaze

Special occasion? You can't go wrong with melt in your mouth filet mignon. This simple recipe will let you enjoy the tender cut meat in all its delicious glory.


2 (4-6 ounce) filet mignon steaks
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons apple juice

Directions

1. Sprinkle freshly ground pepper over both sides of each steak, and sprinkle with salt to taste.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place steaks in hot pan, and cook for 1 minute on each side, or until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, and apple juice. Cover, and cook for 4 minutes on each side, basting with sauce when you turn the meat over.

3. Remove steaks to two warmed plates, spoon one tablespoon of glaze over each, and serve immediately.

Goat Cheese Arugula Pizza

1 unbaked pizza crust
6 tablespoons prepared pesto sauce (see below)
3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 (5-6 ounce) package seasoned goat cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh arugula
1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Dab pesto onto the center of the pizza base, and spread toward the outer edges. Cut the goat cheese into thin coins, and spread or crumble across the pizza. Arrange tomato slices over goat cheese. Sprinkle with garlic. Brush the crust edges lightly with olive oil.
3. Place pizza directly on preheated pizza stone. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust edges are golden.
4. After taking pizza out of the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes so that the cheese has time to set. After a couple of minutes, cover the pizza with a few handfuls of arugula.



PESTO
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend together.

Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction

We love lamb, but we also like to keep our wallets fat so we don't get to eat it very often. Last week Lamb Chops went on sale so I whipped some up using this recipe that I got from allrecipes.com It is so delicti-ably delicious!


Ingredients

* 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* salt and pepper to taste
* 4 lamb chops (3/4 inch thick)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/4 cup minced shallots
* 1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar
* 3/4 cup chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. In a small bowl or cup, mix together the rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub this mixture onto the lamb chops on both sides. Place them on a plate, cover and set aside for 15 minutes to absorb the flavors.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place lamb chops in the skillet, and cook for about 3 1/2 minutes per side for medium rare, or continue to cook to your desired doneness. Remove from the skillet, and keep warm on a serving platter.
3. Add shallots to the skillet, and cook for a few minutes, just until browned. Stir in vinegar, scraping any bits of lamb from the bottom of the skillet, then stir in the chicken broth. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half. If you don't, the sauce will be runny and not good. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Pour over the lamb chops, and serve.