FOFF | Apple Crumbles

FOFF Fontina and Spinach Florentine Baked Potatoes

I’d rather call this dish “Twice Baked Potatoes” but Carla Vavala gets a bit fancy and adds the Fontina cheese and a healthy dose of “Florentine”. It won’t matter what you call it, it will be a crowd pleaser. 4 large baking potatoes (I used 1 sweet potato and 2 baking potatoes) 1 cup fresh spinach, steamed, drained and chopped (I simply chopped fresh baby spinach and added raw to the potatoes) 3 TBS butter (use olive oil instead and keep it healthy) 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (skimmed or 1% would be your best choice) salt and pepper to [...]

By Joanne|2012-05-09T23:33:53-04:00May 9, 2012|FOFF|1 Comment

FOFF Lemon Garlic Roasted Broccoli

A simple, sophisticated side dish. If you’re getting tired of routine steamed broccoli, you’ll want to give this healthy side a try. Lots of flavor, easy to prepare. 1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets with stems 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper 1 clove garlic, minced juice from 1/2 a small lemon Preheat oven to 400 F. Steam broccoli in a microwave safe dish for 4 minutes. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with the oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Spread evenly in a baking dish. Bake for [...]

By Joanne|2012-05-01T17:41:42-04:00May 3, 2012|FOFF|7 Comments

FOFF Kickin’ Kabob Marinade

This week’s Fusion of Food and Friends is simply a marinade to be used as you like. I decided to use the marinade on boneless beef ribs for Ted. The meat was marinated for 3 hours then put on the grill. Or rather, SUPPOSED to be put on the grill. We ran out of propane and had to make the best of it on the stove top. According to Ted, the results were 100% perfect. I made the marinade, Ted did the cooking. Just the way I like it. 3 cloves garlic (or 3 tsp minced garlic) 3 tsp paprika [...]

By Joanne|2012-04-12T16:12:15-04:00April 12, 2012|FOFF|12 Comments

FOFF Antipasto Pasta Salad

This week is the 2nd week of tapering for the Boston Marathon. Mileage has been cut back to about half of the highest total miles during one week of training which would make my total miles this week somewhere around 30 – 32 miles. My longest run was no longer than 12 miles. My easy days are no more than 4 miles. I will get 2 speed workouts this week. The first was done on Monday with the help of Jen. Running with her allowed me to get in 7 miles at my marathon pace (or close enough). The 2nd [...]

By Joanne|2012-04-04T16:30:06-04:00April 4, 2012|FOFF|1 Comment

FOFF Cheesy Dip Spread

Using Carla Vavala’s “Fusion of Food and Friends” Cookbook, the most delicious cheese dip was baked and served for Sunday Football snack-eroos! It was the perfect food to enjoy on a Sunday at home, in front of the TV with the hubby. Easy to make. Not much to it but a lot of cheese. 1 package cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese) 1 cup mayonnaise (since mayonnaise is not on my favorites list, I used ricotta cheese instead) 1/2 cup grated Swiss Cheese 1/2 cup grated Gruyere Cheese 1/4 cup grated aged Gouda cheese (I used [...]

By Joanne|2011-10-05T17:26:40-04:00October 6, 2011|FOFF|3 Comments