I've been slacking so today is a three-fer. I don't have any excuse for why I missed the last three days. Wait, I lied. I missed Friday because I'd posted a blog but not a recipe. It just didn't seem right to add a recipe to the blog and I completely meant to come back but, as you can tell by my current rambling, I get sidetracked really easily.

So before I go off on anymore rabbit trails...

Dried Fruit. Specifically pineapple. I got the idea and the basics on how to oven-dry fruit here http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/03/dried-fruit.html and then ran with it. I've never before read anything from that blog but I am so glad I found the one about dried fruit! Dried pineapple is seriously addictive and it's sweet enough to replace candy.
I did a few things differently. First, I used fresh fruit and a mandolin slicer set to slice paper-thin. Second, I skipped the parchment paper, used a non-stick cookie sheet and dried on the top shelf only. Mostly because I recently ran out of parchment paper and have not been back to the store to buy more of it. Paper-thin slices of fruit take about an hour to dry, flipping the slices 3/4 of the way through the dry-time to keep them from baking to the pan (this is where the parchment paper would have come super handy. Oh, and being able to use both oven racks).
My husband isn't a huge fan of dried fruit. He usually sticks with prunes and complaining because he can never find bags of dried pears (only) at the store. His least favorite has always been pineapple... Until now. I feel quite accomplished. Since dried pineapple has always been my favorite, I'm pleased with this news.

Honey-mustard. I know, I know. Mix honey and mustard, BAM! Honey-mustard. Buuuuuuuut if you really think it's that simple, you haven't met my husband. This bottle is too sweet, that one is too spicy, there's too much honey, too much mustard, it doesn't taste like Dijon... The list goes on and on and on. So I started making honey-mustard sauce at home. I managed to come up with the perfect balance of sweet, dijony heat for his picky palate.
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard (for the hubs, it must be Grey Poupon)
3 TBS honey
1/2 tsp garlic powder
A few cracks of fresh pepper
Whisk it all together and voila! Sweet heat honey dijon. It doesn't look like much but I don't like honey mustard and I'll eat this. Or dip some chicken in it, coat in bread crumbs and bake it up nice and crispy.                             


If you receive Rachael Ray's magazine (and read it religiously like I do), you probably would have seen the Antipasto Pasta recipe that I saw (found here: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/antipasto-pasta/) If you saw that and then saw me post a recipe, you'd probably assume I took inspiration from the recipe in the magazine. I'd be a liar if I told you I didn't. I have a problem. My problem is in following recipes as they are written. I love to use them for inspiration but I'm a bit of a rebel so something almost always changes. Are you curious yet?

Antipasto Pasta Salad
1/2 lb Orzo pasta (or your choice of pasta)
3/4 cup of cubed mozzarella cheese (I cubed mine up teeny-tiny to give more bites)
10 pepperoncini sliced thin
1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved
3 sundried tomato halves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained
5 slices sandwich pepperoni, cut into pieces
5 slices Genoa salami, cut into pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2-3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2-3 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
A few cracks fresh ground pepper
Cook the orzo according to package instructions. Cool by running under cold water. Toss first 8 ingredients with pasta in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and sprinkle with herb blend and pepper. Toss to coat well.