In-laws 56th Wedding Anniversary

ANNIVERSARY MEAL

Bʀᴜsᴄʜᴇᴛᴛᴀ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴄʜᴇᴇsᴇ ᴛᴏᴀsᴛ

Super easy to prepare for any occasion and you should have a bottle of this Delicious Classico® Basil and Tomato Bruschetta sauce on hand. Other flavors by this brand just as good. 

Bʀᴜsᴄʜᴇᴛᴛᴀ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴄʜᴇᴇsᴇ ᴛᴏᴀsᴛ recipe

I recommend using a French or Italian baguette for this Bruschetta recipe. I always slice mine on a slight bias, but it’s up to you.  Top each baguette slice with a spoonful of tomato bruschetta and sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese. Bake in preheated at the 400F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, until cheese melted and edges are lightly browned. 

Mᴇᴅɪᴛᴇʀʀᴀɴᴇᴀɴ Aʀᴜɢᴜʟᴀ Sᴀʟᴀᴅ

Ingredients: arugula, salad cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, radishes, salad peppers, kalamata olives, feta cheese.

Served with dressing on the side: 

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Mᴀʀɪɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ Pᴇᴘᴘᴇʀs

Baked bell peppers, olive oil, white vinegar, red onion, garlic, dill, salt/pepper

Mᴀʀɪɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ Mᴜsʜʀᴏᴏᴍs ᴀɴᴅ Oʟɪᴠᴇs

Marinated Mushrooms from Costco, store-bought kalamata olives, red onion, olive oil 

Eɢɢᴘʟᴀɴᴛ Gʀᴀᴛɪɴ

This is the dish I have dreamed up the kinda last-minute deal. therefore I didn’t measure any of the ingredients, but I can give you an approximate recipe since it was very delicious. Next time, I will give an exact recipe for this. 

The reason for the “Eggplant Gratin” name is in Wikipedia.

Gratin is a French term for the dish that is usually prepared in a shallow dish and topped with breadcrumbs or cheese. I’ve used cheese! 

I know that most recipes for eggplant insist you salt it before cooking to remove bitterness. I did this time, but to be honest, it’s a totally unnecessary step in my opinion.

Maybe twice in my life, I bought eggplants that were a bit bitter, and even then, it didn’t bother us at all. It is up to you if you prefer to salt, wait and remove the salt before cooking. 

Eggplant Gratin 

• In a large bowl, combine olive oil, wine vinegar, garlic, sliced salad peppers, fresh basil, Italian spices, and salt/pepper to taste.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of your baking pan. Sprinkle salt/pepper. Layer sliced eggplant. 
• Spoon olive oil mix on top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. The bottom layers are invisible, so it doesn’t have to be beautiful, will share this secret! LOL
• Next layer tomato slices, spoon olive oil mix, and mozzarella cheese.

• The top layer you want to look Beautiful by arranging eggplant slices in an attractive pattern, fanning them across the surface of the dish.
• Spoon the rest of the olive oil mix and add mozzarella cheese on top.

• Bake in the preheated at 350F oven for about 45 minutes, until the desired doneness. Time depends on your own and your baking dish.

Bʀᴇᴀᴅᴇᴅ Sʜʀɪᴍᴘ ᴀɴᴅ Eᴅᴀᴍᴀᴍᴇ

To save on SANITY and TIME, I always have what I call my “Emergency” meals in the freezer. I will make a more detailed post on what to have in your freezer next time. 

The Panko Shrimp is from Costco and they are AMAZING! Honestly better tasting than what you would order at the restaurant. You can actually taste the shrimp! Buy it!!!

Edamame is my Love! I love it boiled, fried, baked, just a great snack!

This package is from Publix. I just Microwaved one pack and had it in my refrigerator, so I just added it to the Panko Shrimp during baking. They taste and look great together! 

Pᴏᴛᴀᴛᴏ ᴘɪᴇʀᴏɢɪᴇs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴜsʜʀᴏᴏᴍs ᴀɴᴅ ᴏɴɪᴏɴs

I have used Mrs.Ts Potato and Cheese Pierogi and added sauteed portabella mushroom and onions. This is one of those dishes that taste and look good on any table. Again, a must-have item in the freezer – Party Saver! 

Bᴀʙʏ Bᴀᴄᴋ Rɪʙs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴄᴏʀɴ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʀᴏᴄᴄᴏʟɪ

This is one of those dishes that I make ALL THE TIME! We never order ribs out because they can’t compare to the moist and delicious ones you can make at home. These are SUPER EASY to prepare and your guests will rave how Great these taste!

— CLICK HERE FOR THE Fall-of-the-bone BBQ Baby Back ribs RECIPE —

Sʜʀɪᴍᴘ sᴄᴀᴍᴘɪ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟɪɴɢᴜɪɴᴇ

This is my Mother-in-law’s FAVORITE dish and that’s what she orders when we eat out! I always prepare it when she comes over!

I have two recipes that I use, one is baked and one is stove top. Both Delicious! I’ve baked this one. 

— CLICK HERE FOR THE Easy Baked Shrimp Scampi Recipe —

— CLICK HERE FOR THE Shrimp Scampi with fresh Angel Hair pasta VIDEO Recipe —

Iɴsᴛᴀɴᴛ Pᴏᴛ Lᴀᴍʙ

Once we have discovered this  Australian Lamb Leg Roast while shopping at Costco it’s been a game changer for my family! Costco’s price on Lamb is hard to beat. We buy it every time we shop there. 

The Lamb gets more tender and flavorful in the next few days. I keep sliced lamb in the leftover gravy and it absorbs all the moisture and seasoning. So Good! 

— CLICK HERE FOR THE Instant Pot Leg of Lamb recipe —

Fʀɪᴇᴅ ʀɪᴄᴇ from Costco

One of the items in my freezer all the time, fried rice or we get Yakisoba; Japanese-style stir-fried noodles with crispy vegetables from Costco.

Both better than you would get at the Chinese places! So Fresh and Tasty!

A great side dish to have and serve when you have company over. 

Dᴇssᴇʀᴛ

Bᴇʀʀʏ Rɪᴄᴏᴛᴛᴀ Cʀᴇᴘᴇ Cᴀᴋᴇ

Bᴇʀʀʏ Rɪᴄᴏᴛᴛᴀ Cʀᴇᴘᴇ Cᴀᴋᴇ Recipe

So the story behind this cake is that I have recently bought EGG WHITE THINS by CREPINI at Costco. I don’t remember seeing this item before. Must be new. I loved their crepes – “Naked Crepini”, but unfortunately, our Costco doesn’t carry them anymore. 

Since I have tried this company before, I knew these crepes will be good!

These looked great and I love the fact that they are LOW CALORIE – ONLY 35 Calories each and LOW CARB – ONLY 3 Net Carbs!!! They taste great as well!

My original idea was to make Cheese Blintzes, but these crepes are a smaller size than usual and it was not easy to roll if you want to put a good amount of filling inside. So I gave up on that idea and thought: “Why not make a Crepe Cake instead?” 

I had all of the ingredients on hand, so I’ve used 2 packages of Egg White Thins which are 12 crepes to create this very light, summery cake that my family enjoyed!

The filling:
1 1⁄2 cup ricotta cheese
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. of homemade berry fruit jam

Spread one thin layer of ricotta filling. Top with a second crepe and repeat until all of the crepes have been used. Drizzle with melted chocolate on top and sprinkle sliced almonds. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cᴀʀᴠᴇʟ Iᴄᴇᴄʀᴇᴀᴍ ᴄᴀᴋᴇ

My Mother-in-law wanted to bring something and we All – LOVE – Carvel Ice Cream Cakes! The BEST!

Fʀᴜɪᴛ ᴘʟᴀᴛᴇ

Nᴜᴛs ᴀɴᴅ Dʀɪᴇᴅ ғʀᴜɪᴛ

My in-laws are extremely happy to be near us and my Mother-in-law is my Biggest Fan! Anything I do or post she instantly likes and comments. They have always treated me like their daughter. I’m glad that we can make their life better! 

I try to create a holiday spirit almost on a daily basis for my family; beautifully served with love meals that we always eat together!