Pan Grilled Salmon with Tuscan Butter

2 center cut salmon fillets
2 tsp lemon pepper & herbs seasoning
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Olive Oil Spray - I LOVE Terra Creta brand, find at HEB, Whole Foods.
Tuscan Butter - store bought or make your own.**
1/2 stick butter, softened
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (depending on how much you love garlic)
1 tsp Italian Herbs

Tuscan Butter

In a small bowl, combine the butter, minced garlic and Italian herbs. Stir to combine, cover and place in fridge.


Preheat medium skillet over medium heat. Spray (or brush, if you don't have spray) fillets with olive oil. Sprinkle lemon pepper, garlic powder & kosher salt evenly over fillets. When pan is heated, add salmon, skin side up and cook until deep golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Turn fillets over (now skin side down) and cook 5 more minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and place a generous tbsp of tuscan butter on top of each fillet. Cover skillet with lid and continue cooking until salmon flakes easily with a fork, about 10-12 minutes. Remove fillets using wide spatula and serve with addtional Tuscan butter, if desired.

**Challenge Brand Tuscan butter is great! I use it all the time. Perfect on pasta, steaks, veges...it's all good!

Yakitori Marinated Flank Steak

Another tasty marinade for the ever popular flank steak. You can also use skirt steak, sirloin, pork tenderloin, even chicken breasts...whatever makes you happy!


For The Marinade

1/2 cup Mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 lb flank steak
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds, optional

Combine marinade ingredients in medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

When marinade has cooled, pour into a gallon size ziploc bag. Add steak, seal bag and turn gently to coat steak. Place in fridge 8 hours and upto 24 hours.

When ready to grill, heat grill to medium high heat. Remove steak from bag and shake off excess marinade. Discard marinade. Grill steak 7 minutes and turn over. Continue grilling another 7-10 minutes, or until steak is cooked to desired doneness. Remove from grill and let rest 5-7 minutes. Cut steak against the grain into thin slices. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds* and serve.

*To toast sesame seeds, heat a small skillet over medium high heat. Add seeds and shake pan gently as seeds begin to toast. This will take 2 minutes max. Pour hot seeds onto a plate to cool.

Carmelita Bars

These cookie bars are gooey, buttery, chocolately happiness! One bite is sure to make you smile even on the worst of days!

2 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups butter, melted
12 oz bag chocolate chips ( I use semi-sweet,but you can use milk choc,or a combination of both)
1 17 oz jar caramel topping (use your fave brand)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 325. In large bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and melted butter. Spray a 9x13 baking pan (I prefer glass) with Pam non stick spray and press half the oat mixture over bottom of pan. Bake for 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover equally with chocolate chips,caramel topping and pecans(if using). Crumble the rest of the oat mixture over the top and bake for another 17 minutes. Cool on a bakers rack for at least 3 hours before cutting into 24 bars.

Butterfly Dressing - A Salad Dressing even Your 10 Year Old Will Love!!!

A dear friend of mine introduced this yumm-o Italian dressing to me a few weeks ago when she came for dinner....it was FABU!!! Tori and her friend Ashley couldn't quit eating the darn salad...SERIOUSLY...imagine two 10 year old girls fighting over salad!!!

I asked for the recipe and my friend (who wants to remain anonynmous) sent it to me..she told me "please don't mention my name...knowing you love it is mission accomplished". I am flattered...really flattered!!! This friend means the world to me and since I know just how much butterflies mean to her...I have named this yummy dressing, you guessed it..."Butterfly Dressing". I love it over a simple salad of baby spinach, mandarin oranges and honey roasted almond slices...oh so good!

Butterfly Dressing

1 package Good Seasonings dry Italian Dressing seasoning
1 Tablespoon Sugar
Original Rice Vinegar
Vegetable Oil (I use Canola)


Combine equal parts of Rice and Oil (I use 1/2 cup of each), use 1/2 package of Italian dressing, add sugar and shake well. Pour lightly over salad right before serving and enjoy.