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| {I found a reliable watermarking website, so I plan to use a few photos from time-to-time -- it's hard to have a blog without photos} |
Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts
1.03.2013
Diverting My Nervous Energy
11.06.2012
Birthday Dinner Recreated: Creamy Orzo with Roasted Shrimp
1.5 cups orzo pasta2 Tbsp olive oil, divided2 cloves garlic, mincedsalt & pepper1 pint of half and half (or a little more)3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese1.5 cups frozen peas
1.5 cups frozen corn
1 container cherry tomatoes2 scallions, thinly slicedchicken broth to thin sauce
For the shrimp:
1 pound raw shrimp, with the shells on
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
cajun seasoning
In a large pot of boiling , salted water, cook the orzo until al dente, 8-10 mins drain.
Meanwhile, place tomatoes in a shallow pan, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
While the tomatoes are roasting, prepare the shrimp by peeling the each shrimp and leaving the tails on. Pat the shrimp dry and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with cajun seasoning. I just used a bottle that I had in our cabinet. Place the shrimp in the oven when the tomatoes have five minutes left on their cooking time and roast for five minutes -- be careful not to overcook the shrimp.
Meanwhile in a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat add the garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until just softened, about 30 seconds.
Stir in half and half and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese and simmer, whisking often, until just thickened, 2-3 mins.
Stir in the cooked orzo, peas, and corn, season with salt and pepper. Continue stirring until peas and corn are warmed through. Add roasted tomatoes and stir gently.
Top with roasted shrimp and enjoy.
I served this dish with a tossed salad and we were both happy and stuffed!
7.18.2012
Another Pinterest Winner
We needed a quick dinner tonight and Pinterest came through, once again!
The only adaptions I made to the recipe were the following:
The only adaptions I made to the recipe were the following:
- We grilled our corn and cut it straight off the cob
- I used the Hidden Valley spicy ranch mix
- I substituted greek yogurt for the sour cream
- We did not use avocado
Brandon gave this meal rave reviews and it was so easy to throw together so I believe it will be finding its way into my recipe binder!
2.27.2012
A Normal Weekend
It is so nice to be able to say we had a "normal" weekend. We've been so busy lately and have been spending so much time on the house that we haven't really had one of those sleep-in-on-Saturday-clean-the-house-run-errands-piddle-around-the-yard-play-with-the-dog-have-no-major-plans weekends.
Friday night we had our neighbors over for dinner. We made fajitas and all the fixings. Since we have lived in the new house, we've gotten to know the neighbors a little bit, but have not done many social things with them, so we thought it was time get to know them better. We had a fun evening with them and hope to become better friends as time goes on.
Saturday I got up and cleaned the house while Brandon went and picked up our beef. Then, I had the privilege of babysitting my good friend's little girl. We read books, played with her kitchen, chased each other with her pretend vacuum, and ate lunch together. We had a great time! After I got home, Brandon and I ran a few more errands and then came home to hang curtain rods, curtains and blinds. It is so nice to finally have some privacy (all of our blinds have been down for about a month -- can you say neighborhood entertainment?!?). My mom came to town Saturday evening and stayed the night with us because she was leaving for a road trip with her high school friends Sunday morning.
As for Sunday, I got up and took Mom to her friend's house and Brandon went to batting practice for the Blue Sox (yep, it is about that time again). I also did our bi-weekly grocery shopping and we ran a few more errands. Brandon spent some time outside working on the sprinkler system and then we settled in and watched the Oscars. I love the red carpet shows more than the awards because I love looking at all of the dresses. I really thought Emma Stone looked beautiful, but she's my favorite actress at the moment so it might be a biased opinion. I just thought she looked very classy and very appropriate for the Oscars.
I also envied Cameron Diaz's body and hair cut and her dress wasn't too bad either.
While I was watching the Oscars, I made a new recipe courtesy of Pinterest. I cheated a bit and used the Rhoades dinner rolls rather than making my own dough and I omitted the eggs. We each ate one for dinner and they were pretty good. We saved one for each of us for breakfast today and I froze the rest. I thought they would be good to grab and heat up before heading to work.
We are definitely thankful for the down time this weekend and now we are ready for another work week!
Friday night we had our neighbors over for dinner. We made fajitas and all the fixings. Since we have lived in the new house, we've gotten to know the neighbors a little bit, but have not done many social things with them, so we thought it was time get to know them better. We had a fun evening with them and hope to become better friends as time goes on.
Saturday I got up and cleaned the house while Brandon went and picked up our beef. Then, I had the privilege of babysitting my good friend's little girl. We read books, played with her kitchen, chased each other with her pretend vacuum, and ate lunch together. We had a great time! After I got home, Brandon and I ran a few more errands and then came home to hang curtain rods, curtains and blinds. It is so nice to finally have some privacy (all of our blinds have been down for about a month -- can you say neighborhood entertainment?!?). My mom came to town Saturday evening and stayed the night with us because she was leaving for a road trip with her high school friends Sunday morning.
As for Sunday, I got up and took Mom to her friend's house and Brandon went to batting practice for the Blue Sox (yep, it is about that time again). I also did our bi-weekly grocery shopping and we ran a few more errands. Brandon spent some time outside working on the sprinkler system and then we settled in and watched the Oscars. I love the red carpet shows more than the awards because I love looking at all of the dresses. I really thought Emma Stone looked beautiful, but she's my favorite actress at the moment so it might be a biased opinion. I just thought she looked very classy and very appropriate for the Oscars.
I also envied Cameron Diaz's body and hair cut and her dress wasn't too bad either.
While I was watching the Oscars, I made a new recipe courtesy of Pinterest. I cheated a bit and used the Rhoades dinner rolls rather than making my own dough and I omitted the eggs. We each ate one for dinner and they were pretty good. We saved one for each of us for breakfast today and I froze the rest. I thought they would be good to grab and heat up before heading to work.
We are definitely thankful for the down time this weekend and now we are ready for another work week!
10.26.2011
Mid-Week Randoms
I know I still need to post the rest of our Autumn in Asheville trip, and I will. But for now, here are a few mid-week randoms:
- You may be wondering about the status of the Big Move and when I plan to post about the new house. While we are extremely excited to move and have been discussing lots of ideas for the new house, there is still one big problem...we have not sold our current house. We have had several lookers and even had an offer, but that offer was retracted. Most of the feedback we've been given is that the house would be everyone's number one choice if it had an additional bedroom upstairs and a master bathroom, both of which are things we can't change. So, we're still waiting for the perfect buyer to come along and fall in love with our cute little house.
Not having a buyer for our house creates a little bit of a dilemma when it comes time to close on our new house (in a few short weeks) and move because we think our current house will show better with our furniture still in it. If we completely move out, the old house will look a little empty and we don't want potential buyers to think it isn't a cozy home. So, that is where we are on the house front. And just for kicks, here is an exterior picture of the new house!!!
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| {Don't worry, we plan to give it a little makeover this spring with a new paint scheme and updated landscaping. } |
- Koby attended his first day of Doggie Daycare last week. We had a scheduling conflict with two house showings so we just decided to try out daycare and see how he liked it. If his snoring on the car ride home was any indication, I think it was a success!
- The Wildcats are 7-0 heading into this week's game against OU. Last night Brandon was watching clips from our victory over the Sooners in the Big 12 Championship in preparation for the game.
- I made a really yummy crockpot bbq chicken recipe this past weekend when Brandon's family was in town so I thought I would share it here:
1 bag frozen breasts
1 16 oz. bottle of bbq sauce (I used Stubb's original)
1/4 - 1/2 c. Italian dressing
2 T. Worchestershire sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
Place chicken in the crockpot. Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove chicken from sauce, shred and return to the pot. Serve on rolls. - I've been telling myself it is time to rearrange our closets and put our summer clothes away and I keep finding other things to do instead. Tonight, it is on! I'm tired of weeding through totes and making trips downstairs to find something to wear to work each morning. Plus, it will help me do a little packing at the same time :)
- Have I mentioned that I'm in love with the Salted Caramel Mocha from Starbucks? Oh. My. Word. So so good!
- I need suggestions for a good devotional or Bible study. We've been in a rut lately and need some new material at our house. Any suggestions are welcome!
8.29.2011
Weekend Wrap-Up
We had a pretty low key weekend, which was just fine with us because once September comes, our weekends become pretty busy with trips to Manhattan for football games. So, this weekend was kind of our last "free weekend" for quite some time and we took advantage of the down time.
On Friday night, we redeemed a gift card to a local brewery for dinner. We laughed because we went directly there after work since we were already downtown and we ended up eating with the "blue haired crowd" as we like to call it. However, I did have an excellent drink called Hard Strawberry Lemonade. Basically, it was lemonade with some kind of berry flavored vodka and fresh strawberries. It was delicious! I also had yummy macaroni and cheese for dinner but I'm still trying to pretend that never happened. After dinner, we headed back home to clean house. Yep, you read that right. We spent our Friday night cleaning house. We are a wild couple, I tell ya! I chose to do this on Friday because Brandon was golfing all day on Saturday and I wanted to use that time to work on a couple of projects around the house. After we finished cleaning, we crashed on the couch to catch up on our DVR. And this guy had such a rough day, he thought he needed some peace and quiet as well...
Saturday morning we got up and headed to the Farmer's Market before Brandon's tee time, but we were extremely disappointed with the selection and there was only one stand that was selling tomatoes. ONE STAND! Needless to say, we left empty handed. Shortly after we got home, Brandon was off to the golf course and I got ready for the day. As I sat down to make my list of errands, I caught The Pioneer Woman's new show on Food Network, so my errands were delayed for 30 minutes. Can I just say, I love The Pioneer Woman. She is so great and so is her show! I also made sure to set the DVR to record her show since we won't be home at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings very much this fall.
After I got my fill of PW, I headed out to run errands and to pick up a few things for a project I had planned. I hit up Target, Michaels, Pier 1 and Hobby Lobby and by the time I got home, I had all I needed to create these lovely pieces for our mantle.
I already had the painting, which my sister and I painted over a year ago, and I originally had some purple vases on the mantle, but it seemed so "hard" so I thought I should create something to soften that area a little bit. After perusing Pinterest, I found some inspiration for these vases. I already had the green leafy twigs, so I had to purchase the curly willow, the vases and the rocks. Thankfully, I found the vases 50% off at Hobby Lobby, so the project didn't cost all that much. While I still need some candles and other accessories on the mantle, I think this was a great addition and a good start to making that area look better.
I spent the rest of the afternoon just lounging around waiting for Brandon to come home. We had intended to go test drive a car, but found out that particular car sold the day before so we had to scrap those plans. Luckily, my parents were in town running errands so we met them for dinner instead. After we filled our tummies, Brandon and I came home and watched "Something Borrowed" on OnDemand. It was a good movie, but anything with John Krasinski and Kate Hudson should be good, right?!
Sunday, we got up for church, had lunch with some friends and then spent the rest of the day at our friends' parents house, which sits on a lake. We had a great time relaxing in the water and just taking it easy. I even got a little bit of sun, which was nice! We came home, showered, and scrounged around for dinner. Then, I decided to do some baking (I know...Weight Watchers played no part in my weekend). Of course, the recipe came from Pinterest and while the cookies were good, they weren't to-die-for. I couldn't get them baked properly - if I baked them according to the alotted time, they were still too gooey, but if I baked them longer they got too brown. I brought them in to work today so I'll see what my co-workers have to say.
After the cookie baking expedition, I started to get the Sunday night blues as I realized the weekend was coming to an end and I would have to start the work week again. However, I have an extra long weekend coming up, so at least I have that to look forward to :)
On Friday night, we redeemed a gift card to a local brewery for dinner. We laughed because we went directly there after work since we were already downtown and we ended up eating with the "blue haired crowd" as we like to call it. However, I did have an excellent drink called Hard Strawberry Lemonade. Basically, it was lemonade with some kind of berry flavored vodka and fresh strawberries. It was delicious! I also had yummy macaroni and cheese for dinner but I'm still trying to pretend that never happened. After dinner, we headed back home to clean house. Yep, you read that right. We spent our Friday night cleaning house. We are a wild couple, I tell ya! I chose to do this on Friday because Brandon was golfing all day on Saturday and I wanted to use that time to work on a couple of projects around the house. After we finished cleaning, we crashed on the couch to catch up on our DVR. And this guy had such a rough day, he thought he needed some peace and quiet as well...
Saturday morning we got up and headed to the Farmer's Market before Brandon's tee time, but we were extremely disappointed with the selection and there was only one stand that was selling tomatoes. ONE STAND! Needless to say, we left empty handed. Shortly after we got home, Brandon was off to the golf course and I got ready for the day. As I sat down to make my list of errands, I caught The Pioneer Woman's new show on Food Network, so my errands were delayed for 30 minutes. Can I just say, I love The Pioneer Woman. She is so great and so is her show! I also made sure to set the DVR to record her show since we won't be home at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings very much this fall.
After I got my fill of PW, I headed out to run errands and to pick up a few things for a project I had planned. I hit up Target, Michaels, Pier 1 and Hobby Lobby and by the time I got home, I had all I needed to create these lovely pieces for our mantle.
I already had the painting, which my sister and I painted over a year ago, and I originally had some purple vases on the mantle, but it seemed so "hard" so I thought I should create something to soften that area a little bit. After perusing Pinterest, I found some inspiration for these vases. I already had the green leafy twigs, so I had to purchase the curly willow, the vases and the rocks. Thankfully, I found the vases 50% off at Hobby Lobby, so the project didn't cost all that much. While I still need some candles and other accessories on the mantle, I think this was a great addition and a good start to making that area look better.
I spent the rest of the afternoon just lounging around waiting for Brandon to come home. We had intended to go test drive a car, but found out that particular car sold the day before so we had to scrap those plans. Luckily, my parents were in town running errands so we met them for dinner instead. After we filled our tummies, Brandon and I came home and watched "Something Borrowed" on OnDemand. It was a good movie, but anything with John Krasinski and Kate Hudson should be good, right?!
Sunday, we got up for church, had lunch with some friends and then spent the rest of the day at our friends' parents house, which sits on a lake. We had a great time relaxing in the water and just taking it easy. I even got a little bit of sun, which was nice! We came home, showered, and scrounged around for dinner. Then, I decided to do some baking (I know...Weight Watchers played no part in my weekend). Of course, the recipe came from Pinterest and while the cookies were good, they weren't to-die-for. I couldn't get them baked properly - if I baked them according to the alotted time, they were still too gooey, but if I baked them longer they got too brown. I brought them in to work today so I'll see what my co-workers have to say.
After the cookie baking expedition, I started to get the Sunday night blues as I realized the weekend was coming to an end and I would have to start the work week again. However, I have an extra long weekend coming up, so at least I have that to look forward to :)
8.26.2011
Pinnable Me Friday!
This week I decided to feature a couple of successful Pinterest projects/ideas.
In my first Pinnable Me Friday post, I featured this set of DIY candle holders that used old jars, twine and spray paint, and last night the girls from our small group got together and attempted this project. We decided to use the frosted glass spray paint instead of the white and I think they turned out pretty neat! Even the boys (who went to a shooting range while we had our craft night) were impressed!
Here is Ali doing a test run with the spray paint.
Christy is pregnant, so we made sure she took safety precautions while we were using the spray paint!
I had a heck of a time getting the twine to stay in place as I wrapped it around my jars, so I was a little bit skeptical about mine were going to turn out.
And finally, the finished products! This is Christy's set. She's an interior designer, so she got all creative with her bows...
And Ali's set...
And my set...
We grouped them all together and decided they make the biggest statement when there are more than three. I will probably display mine at Christmas so I will definitely need to make maybe eight to ten more to really create a dramatic look.
When the boys got home, we were teasing them that we had set the mood for a romantic, candlelit evening! Ha!!
We also enjoyed a few appetizers for dinner prior to our "activities" and I used another Pinterest idea, Nutella Fruit Dip, which I posted here.
All I did was mix 1 cup of non-fat Greek yogurt with about a half a jar of Nutella and let it chill overnight. Then, I served it with fresh fruit and Angel Food cake. It was delicious and a definite keeper!
Happy Friday and Happy Pinning!
In my first Pinnable Me Friday post, I featured this set of DIY candle holders that used old jars, twine and spray paint, and last night the girls from our small group got together and attempted this project. We decided to use the frosted glass spray paint instead of the white and I think they turned out pretty neat! Even the boys (who went to a shooting range while we had our craft night) were impressed!
Here is Ali doing a test run with the spray paint.
Christy is pregnant, so we made sure she took safety precautions while we were using the spray paint!
I had a heck of a time getting the twine to stay in place as I wrapped it around my jars, so I was a little bit skeptical about mine were going to turn out.
And finally, the finished products! This is Christy's set. She's an interior designer, so she got all creative with her bows...
And Ali's set...
And my set...
We grouped them all together and decided they make the biggest statement when there are more than three. I will probably display mine at Christmas so I will definitely need to make maybe eight to ten more to really create a dramatic look.
When the boys got home, we were teasing them that we had set the mood for a romantic, candlelit evening! Ha!!
We also enjoyed a few appetizers for dinner prior to our "activities" and I used another Pinterest idea, Nutella Fruit Dip, which I posted here.
All I did was mix 1 cup of non-fat Greek yogurt with about a half a jar of Nutella and let it chill overnight. Then, I served it with fresh fruit and Angel Food cake. It was delicious and a definite keeper!
Happy Friday and Happy Pinning!
8.15.2011
Impromptu BBQ?
We had plans to go out to dinner with a couple of friends on Saturday night, but after some consideration decided to host these friends, plus a couple of others, for an impromptu bbq. It was a nice evening and we felt like we could hang out a little easier at our house than if we went to a restaurant. Plus, I love hosting people in our home!
Since I had not planned to make anything, I had to turn to my kitchen cabinets for a little inspiration. I knew two things: we had the meat covered (our freezer is always stocked with meat) and I didn't want to actually "cook" anything because the oven heats up the house. After a little bit of digging, I realized I had most of the ingredients for a cold spaghetti salad and corn dip, a famous bbq staple. I also knew I wanted to make this sangria that I found on Pinterest, so I did have to go to the store for a couple of items. And in full disclosure, I ended up leaving one of my grocery bags at the store...oops! Thankfully, Brandon was sweet enough to go fetch it for me after I realized it didn't make it in the car.
One thing I try to keep in mind when hosting is to not fret about what to make. In this situation I just fell back on tried and true recipes that didn't take a lot of time to prepare. I think sometimes it is easy to stay away from hosting because of all the work that it can require, but it is important to keep in mind that you don't have to make a big fuss to host a fun and enjoyable party! Oh yeah, I used paper plates and plastic utensils, as well.
Here are the two recipes that I whipped up:
Cold Spaghetti Salad
1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
1 carton cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cucumber, diced
1 small can sliced black olives
1/2 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
Italian dressing (I used the dry dressing mix and made my own)
Grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Break spaghetti into thirds and cook according to package directions. While spaghetti is cooking, chop your vegetables and mix up your dressing. Drain the cooked spaghetti and rinse with cold water. Combine all ingredients, except cheese, in a large bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Just before serving, top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Spicy Corn Dip
1/2 c. sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1/2 c. mayo (I used fat free)
1 11oz. can Mexicorn, drained
1 11 oz. can yellow corn, drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with Fritos or corn tortilla chips.
Since I had not planned to make anything, I had to turn to my kitchen cabinets for a little inspiration. I knew two things: we had the meat covered (our freezer is always stocked with meat) and I didn't want to actually "cook" anything because the oven heats up the house. After a little bit of digging, I realized I had most of the ingredients for a cold spaghetti salad and corn dip, a famous bbq staple. I also knew I wanted to make this sangria that I found on Pinterest, so I did have to go to the store for a couple of items. And in full disclosure, I ended up leaving one of my grocery bags at the store...oops! Thankfully, Brandon was sweet enough to go fetch it for me after I realized it didn't make it in the car.
One thing I try to keep in mind when hosting is to not fret about what to make. In this situation I just fell back on tried and true recipes that didn't take a lot of time to prepare. I think sometimes it is easy to stay away from hosting because of all the work that it can require, but it is important to keep in mind that you don't have to make a big fuss to host a fun and enjoyable party! Oh yeah, I used paper plates and plastic utensils, as well.
Here are the two recipes that I whipped up:
Cold Spaghetti Salad
1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
1 carton cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cucumber, diced
1 small can sliced black olives
1/2 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
Italian dressing (I used the dry dressing mix and made my own)
Grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Break spaghetti into thirds and cook according to package directions. While spaghetti is cooking, chop your vegetables and mix up your dressing. Drain the cooked spaghetti and rinse with cold water. Combine all ingredients, except cheese, in a large bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Just before serving, top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Spicy Corn Dip
1/2 c. sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1/2 c. mayo (I used fat free)
1 11oz. can Mexicorn, drained
1 11 oz. can yellow corn, drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with Fritos or corn tortilla chips.
8.01.2011
Banana Bread Brownies
I've mentioned before how much I love the Fat Witch Bakery in NYC. We first discovered the bakery on our trip a few years ago and re-visited the bakery when we were in NYC this summer. On this trip, I decided to bring home a treat that would keep on giving - the Fat Witch cookbook!
This cookbook is full of tasty recipes, including my favorite of all Fat Witches, the Blondie. There is something about the Fat Witch Blondies that I just can't get out of my head. They are delicious!
Since I've been on a diet (and am still maintaining), I have not had a chance to dive into the cookbook. There are so many recipes that it was hard to know what to waste points on, so I just left it in the cabinet. However, today was the day to bust it out and start baking.
While I was tempted to make the blondies, I decided to try something new. After all, I know how good the blondies are and I know they will always be a great go-to recipe. This time, I decided to try Banana Bread Brownies. I had some old bananas that needed to be used and I really couldn't think of anything better to make than this recipe.
These little bites are the perfect balance between banana bread, which is dense and moist, and a brownie which is rich and fudgy. Brandon says they go perfect with a glass of cold milk, and I would probably agree if I was the milk-drinking type.
Below is the recipe for these lovely treats. I cut ours into 16 pieces, you know, since I'm dieting and all. But, feel free to cut them however big, or small, you'd like!
Fat Witch Banana Bread Brownies
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. very ripe bananas, mashed (about 3-4 bananas)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan with butter. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove heat and set aside to cool.
In another bowl, mix the vanilla and sugar into the mashed bananas. Add the beaten eggs and continue to mix until everything is well combined.
Measure the flour and salt and sift together directly into the banana batter and mix well to combined. If desired, stir in the walnuts (I definitely omitted this step!!).
Using a spatula, fold in two-thirds of the cooled chocolate mixture until it is just incorporated. Spread the batter evening in the prepared baking pan and drizzle with remainder of the chocolate mixture on the top. Move the spatula in and through the batter to create streaks of chocolate.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 1 hour. Cut just before serving.
YUM!
7.27.2011
The Other White Meat
Yes, I grew up in a beef family where the slogan was "Beef. It's What's For Dinner," but we did eat "The Other White Meat" occasionally. So, I can appreciate a good pork recipe when I find one. And, I have definitely found one!
This past weekend we invited Brandon's sister and brother-in-law over to celebrate our joint birthdays a little early. A month before at Bunco, our hostess made a delicious pulled pork dish that left me wanting more, so I took this opportunity to make the recipe myself. And I think everyone liked it! I also made the Asian cabbage salad mentioned here, cheesy potatoes, and we had ice cream cake to celebrate...YUM!
2-1/2- to 3-pound pork sirloin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup bottled chili sauce
Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut roast to fit into a 3-1/2- to 5-quart crockery cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off fat. Transfer meat to cooker. Add onions, the 1 cup root beer, and garlic.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Add root beer concentrate and bottled hot pepper sauce, if desired.
Transfer roast to a cutting board or serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from cooking juices and place on serving platter. Discard juices. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds. Top with sauce just before serving.
**My sauce did not thicken like the sauce I had before. I'm not sure what I did wrong. It still tasted good, it was just a little runny.
Enjoy!
This past weekend we invited Brandon's sister and brother-in-law over to celebrate our joint birthdays a little early. A month before at Bunco, our hostess made a delicious pulled pork dish that left me wanting more, so I took this opportunity to make the recipe myself. And I think everyone liked it! I also made the Asian cabbage salad mentioned here, cheesy potatoes, and we had ice cream cake to celebrate...YUM!
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| {Photo courtesy of BHG.com} |
Pulled Pork with Root Beer SauceCourtesy of BHG.com
2-1/2- to 3-pound pork sirloin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
1 cup root beer*
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups root beer (two 12-ounce cans or bottles)*
Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut roast to fit into a 3-1/2- to 5-quart crockery cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off fat. Transfer meat to cooker. Add onions, the 1 cup root beer, and garlic.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Add root beer concentrate and bottled hot pepper sauce, if desired.
Transfer roast to a cutting board or serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from cooking juices and place on serving platter. Discard juices. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds. Top with sauce just before serving.
**My sauce did not thicken like the sauce I had before. I'm not sure what I did wrong. It still tasted good, it was just a little runny.
Enjoy!
7.09.2011
When Life Gives You an Abundance of Basil...
A few weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner and I was trying to figure out how I could incorporate the crazy amount of basil that was growing in our herb garden into our meal. I knew I wanted to make a tomato, basil,and mozzarella salad, but I also remembered a recipe I found for Strawberry Basil Lemonade (found here) and just had to make it as well! As I read the recipe, I remembered another recipe I had found for Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade (found here) and decided to sort of combine the recipes into one, and I'm sure glad I did! The lemonade was pretty much gone before we even ate dinner.
Last night, Brandon and I decided to have a relaxing dinner on the patio and we had a container of strawberries that needed to be consumed so I made the lemonade once again, but this time I added a little excitement to the mix -- vodka! I didn't add the alcohol the last time but thought it would be fun to try and really, you couldn't even taste it, which is the way I like to drink :)
If you have a party coming up or just want a perfect summer drink, I highly recommend this one!
Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade
10 lemons, juiced, approx 1 cup of lemon juice
3/4 cup super fine sugar
8-10 strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup fresh basil
4½ cups cold sparkling water or seltzer
1/2 cup vodka (optional)
Place lemon juice, sugar, strawberries, and basil in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour juice mixture into a glass pitcher and refrigerate until serving time. To serve, pour sparkling water and vodka over the juice mixture and gently stir to combine. Fill glasses with ice and lemonade and garnish with a fresh strawberry or a wedge of lemon.
4.10.2011
Weekend Wrap-Up
50 cups of cooked chicken breasts
10 cups dried cranberries
5 bunches celery
3 lbs of chopped pecans
1 gallon mayonnaise
3 cups honey
120 oz mandarin oranges
6 lbs strawberries
7 heads of lettuce
24 oz feta cheese
2 lbs candied pecans
4 bottles of raspberry vinaigrette
6 cake mixes
32 oz cream cheese
1 lb butter
1 package powdered sugar
2 coolers
2 totes
1 late night
1 long day
1 satisfying feeling
What? You don't cook for 60 people every day? Well if you ever want to, this would be your grocery list!
On Saturday, I successfully (with the help of my mom and a good friend) catered a luncheon for 60 women at my mom and dad's church. My mom is in charge of the women's ministry and they were having a one day conference that included lunch. There are not many caterers in their town, so my mom approached me a couple of months ago about possibly preparing and serving the meal and after some discussion I agreed to do it. I thought it would be a fun experience and would help me decide if this was something I would possibly want to do in the future (and since it was so successful, the answer is mostly yes -- I might have a few restrictions, though).
So, after a lot of deliberation between my mom and me and my mom and her committee, we finally agreed on a menu:
Honey Chicken Salad
Strawberry Mandarin Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Croissant
Miniature Bundt Cakes (two flavors - dark chocolate and lemon, both with cream cheese frosting)
I have made the chicken salad many times and it always gets great reviews and I knew it would be easy to assemble. I cooked a batch of chicken in the crockpot every day for the past week, shredded it, cooled it, vacuum sealed it and froze it. I had planned to serve the chicken salad in a tart shell, similar to the picture on the recipe, however not all things go as planned. I had a hard time finding the tart shells in stock at the grocery store or at Sam's so I called a caterer that we use at work and she told me she could order them, which sounded great to me so I gave her the go ahead. Well, next time I will make sure I know exactly what is being ordered before placing the order. When I went to get the tart shells on Friday morning I realized they were not what I had pictured in my mind. Instead, they were like itty bitty, one-bite pie shells that should be filled with pudding or custard and served for dessert. Needless to say, I panicked! Everything had been going so smoothly up to this point and this was something pretty huge to have go wrong. So I called my mom, freaked her out a little bit and then we began wracking our brains for a plan B (note to self: always have a plan B!). After tossing around the idea of making our own shells with phylo dough, we finally decided to place a wedge of cantaloupe on the plate and serve the chicken salad on the cantaloupe. It ended up working out great and saved us quite a bit of time so I'm happy we ended up with that option.
After my last minute shopping trip, I loaded up my car and headed out of town. Once I arrived in my home town, I began baking 70 miniature bundt cakes. We decided on the bundt cakes because they were automatically individual servings and would look pretty on the plate. I just used box mixes to save time and money, but I jazzed them up with cream cheese frosting - plain cream cheese with toffee topping for the chocolate and lemon cream cheese for the lemon. While I am still on Weight Watchers, I did sample the lemon cake and I must say it was to die for! I fell in love with lemon cake at my cousin's wedding last year where they served several different flavors of cupcakes and the lemon cupcake they had was AMAZING! I can't say my cakes were better, but they were pretty darn close!
The night before the event, I had a lot of last minute prep work to do - make the frosting, chop and measure out the lettuce, peel and slice the cantaloupe, and slice strawberries. Thankfully, my mom was a good sport and helped me out. My dad, however, was not so happy when we sent him to the store at 11:00 p.m. to buy another cantaloupe :) We finally went to bed a little after midnight, but there was just no way to avoid that last minute stuff. I did as much as I possibly could have ahead of time to save time, but some stuff just wasn't avoidable.
The morning of the luncheon, I still had to frost the cakes, mix up the chicken salad, assemble the lettuce salads, and plate the meal. My good friend Ali had planned to help me but had another conflict, so my other good friend Christy was gracious enough to drive to my home town and meet me at the church to help out. Had it not been for her, I would have killed myself trying to get everything done! Lunch was to begin at noon and I think we filled the last beverage glass and set down the last plate at about 11:50, which was impressive! Again, doing as much prep ahead of time saved us a lot of time.
I heard great things about the meal and had several people ask for recipes (and even had a couple ask for business cards!! LOL!), so I would say they were all satisfied. I've decided that as much work as it was, it was still fun and I would still do it again in a heartbeat! I might have a few restrictions, like the max number of people (100 might be my limit) I would be willing to serve, but overall, I had a blast. Plus, it was fun to hang out with my mom and do something together!
And just in case you are wondering, I won't be eating chicken for a while! After cooking it all week and smelling it in the house all week, I am a little bit turned off. I even woke up smelling it in the middle of the night one night and just about gagged!
10 cups dried cranberries
5 bunches celery
3 lbs of chopped pecans
1 gallon mayonnaise
3 cups honey
120 oz mandarin oranges
6 lbs strawberries
7 heads of lettuce
24 oz feta cheese
2 lbs candied pecans
4 bottles of raspberry vinaigrette
6 cake mixes
32 oz cream cheese
1 lb butter
1 package powdered sugar
2 coolers
2 totes
1 late night
1 long day
1 satisfying feeling
What? You don't cook for 60 people every day? Well if you ever want to, this would be your grocery list!
On Saturday, I successfully (with the help of my mom and a good friend) catered a luncheon for 60 women at my mom and dad's church. My mom is in charge of the women's ministry and they were having a one day conference that included lunch. There are not many caterers in their town, so my mom approached me a couple of months ago about possibly preparing and serving the meal and after some discussion I agreed to do it. I thought it would be a fun experience and would help me decide if this was something I would possibly want to do in the future (and since it was so successful, the answer is mostly yes -- I might have a few restrictions, though).
So, after a lot of deliberation between my mom and me and my mom and her committee, we finally agreed on a menu:
Honey Chicken Salad
Strawberry Mandarin Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Croissant
Miniature Bundt Cakes (two flavors - dark chocolate and lemon, both with cream cheese frosting)
I have made the chicken salad many times and it always gets great reviews and I knew it would be easy to assemble. I cooked a batch of chicken in the crockpot every day for the past week, shredded it, cooled it, vacuum sealed it and froze it. I had planned to serve the chicken salad in a tart shell, similar to the picture on the recipe, however not all things go as planned. I had a hard time finding the tart shells in stock at the grocery store or at Sam's so I called a caterer that we use at work and she told me she could order them, which sounded great to me so I gave her the go ahead. Well, next time I will make sure I know exactly what is being ordered before placing the order. When I went to get the tart shells on Friday morning I realized they were not what I had pictured in my mind. Instead, they were like itty bitty, one-bite pie shells that should be filled with pudding or custard and served for dessert. Needless to say, I panicked! Everything had been going so smoothly up to this point and this was something pretty huge to have go wrong. So I called my mom, freaked her out a little bit and then we began wracking our brains for a plan B (note to self: always have a plan B!). After tossing around the idea of making our own shells with phylo dough, we finally decided to place a wedge of cantaloupe on the plate and serve the chicken salad on the cantaloupe. It ended up working out great and saved us quite a bit of time so I'm happy we ended up with that option.
After my last minute shopping trip, I loaded up my car and headed out of town. Once I arrived in my home town, I began baking 70 miniature bundt cakes. We decided on the bundt cakes because they were automatically individual servings and would look pretty on the plate. I just used box mixes to save time and money, but I jazzed them up with cream cheese frosting - plain cream cheese with toffee topping for the chocolate and lemon cream cheese for the lemon. While I am still on Weight Watchers, I did sample the lemon cake and I must say it was to die for! I fell in love with lemon cake at my cousin's wedding last year where they served several different flavors of cupcakes and the lemon cupcake they had was AMAZING! I can't say my cakes were better, but they were pretty darn close!
The night before the event, I had a lot of last minute prep work to do - make the frosting, chop and measure out the lettuce, peel and slice the cantaloupe, and slice strawberries. Thankfully, my mom was a good sport and helped me out. My dad, however, was not so happy when we sent him to the store at 11:00 p.m. to buy another cantaloupe :) We finally went to bed a little after midnight, but there was just no way to avoid that last minute stuff. I did as much as I possibly could have ahead of time to save time, but some stuff just wasn't avoidable.
 |
| {Christy and I frosting the mini bundt cakes} |
 |
| {Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the food plated, but if you look really closely you can see them. But take my word, they looked YUMMY!} |
And just in case you are wondering, I won't be eating chicken for a while! After cooking it all week and smelling it in the house all week, I am a little bit turned off. I even woke up smelling it in the middle of the night one night and just about gagged!
3.08.2011
Laissez les bons temps rouler
That's right! Today is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday and in honor of the day, I am posting a recipe for Shrimp Creole that I made last night (we have small group tonight and we're having pizza which is definitely not a Mardi Gras food) courtesy of Ella Says Opa.
Brandon was a little bit skeptical at first because he saw green peppers and shallots, but after he tasted it, I think he liked it a lot!
At first I thought it was going to taste a lot like Jambalaya, but I've got to say that the secret ingredient must be the Worcestershire sauce. It added a different layer of flavor that was just right!
Also, last week when I was home sick I was watching good ol' Paula Deen and she was making none other than Shrimp Creole (which was the first recipe I was going to make, but then I saw the recipe below and changed my mind). One tip she gave was to make sure not to overcook the shrimp, so I took that tip and I do believe I have been overcooking shrimp all this time! Tonight's shrimp was so tender and so good. So, everyone else should take Paula's advice and make sure not to overcook shrimp!
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 small shallott, diced
1 celery rib, sliced (I didn't have celery so I had to omit it)
1/2 or 1 small green pepper, diced
4 tsp. creole seasoning, divided 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup diced tomatoes with their juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
2 tsp. hot sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
cayenne, salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter along with the canola oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, celery, and green pepper and cook a couple minutes until they begin to turn tender. Add 2 tsp. of the creole seasoning and salt. Sweat the vegetables until soft.
Add the garlic and the tomato paste, cooking off the paste until it starts to brown. Add the wine to deglaze and reduce it down until it’s nearly evaporated. Add the tomatoes, broth, remaining Creole seasoning, bay leaf, thyme, and cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the hot sauce (I left this out, but Brandon added it to his own dish), Worcestershire and re-season to taste if necessary.
Sprinkle your shimp with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Add the shrimp to the simmering liquid until just cooked through. Serve over rice (I used brown rice, but white rice is the traditional way). I also made a batch of cornbread to eat with the meal.
I hope everyone has a fantastic Mardi Gras! Let the good times roll, indeed!
At first I thought it was going to taste a lot like Jambalaya, but I've got to say that the secret ingredient must be the Worcestershire sauce. It added a different layer of flavor that was just right!
Also, last week when I was home sick I was watching good ol' Paula Deen and she was making none other than Shrimp Creole (which was the first recipe I was going to make, but then I saw the recipe below and changed my mind). One tip she gave was to make sure not to overcook the shrimp, so I took that tip and I do believe I have been overcooking shrimp all this time! Tonight's shrimp was so tender and so good. So, everyone else should take Paula's advice and make sure not to overcook shrimp!
Shrimp Creole
Adapted from Ella Says Opa1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 small shallott, diced
1 celery rib, sliced (I didn't have celery so I had to omit it)
1/2 or 1 small green pepper, diced
4 tsp. creole seasoning, divided 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup diced tomatoes with their juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
2 tsp. hot sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
cayenne, salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter along with the canola oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, celery, and green pepper and cook a couple minutes until they begin to turn tender. Add 2 tsp. of the creole seasoning and salt. Sweat the vegetables until soft.
Add the garlic and the tomato paste, cooking off the paste until it starts to brown. Add the wine to deglaze and reduce it down until it’s nearly evaporated. Add the tomatoes, broth, remaining Creole seasoning, bay leaf, thyme, and cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the hot sauce (I left this out, but Brandon added it to his own dish), Worcestershire and re-season to taste if necessary.
Sprinkle your shimp with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Add the shrimp to the simmering liquid until just cooked through. Serve over rice (I used brown rice, but white rice is the traditional way). I also made a batch of cornbread to eat with the meal.
I hope everyone has a fantastic Mardi Gras! Let the good times roll, indeed!
2.14.2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
Item #2 - Make fun Valentines for friends and make a really yummy Valentine's dinner for two! CHECK!
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope you are celebrating LOVE in some form today! I got up this morning and had a nice gift waiting for me (more on this later because Brandon really outdid himself this year!) and we had a sweet breakfast together.
Yes, that is right! We had strawberry shortcakes for breakfast! I actually intended for us to eat them last night for dessert, but we made a few special Valentine deliveries and our evening just got away from us. Plus, I kinda like the idea of eating something indulgent for breakfast on Valentine's Day!!
Speaking of our Valentine deliveries, I made special Valentine treats for a handful of our friends. It was an experiment, but I think they turned out pretty good! Behold, my first attempt at making Whoopie Pies!
I used a recipe from Annie Eats, but as you may notice, I didn't attempt to pipe heart shapes...I know my limits!
They were really fun to make and fairly easy, too! I did have to make a run to the store because the recipe calls for a significant amount of food coloring, and since I doubled the batch I didn't have enough.
Here they are all assembled and looking quite festive! Next time, I will add more filling because I don't think I got quite enough, but I was afraid they would seep out the edges and ruin the cute packaging...
And here they are, all packaged up and ready to spread some Valentine's Day love!
I mentioned we had planned to eat our shortcakes for our dessert last night because I did make a nice dinner, but due to the Whoopie Pie making, me not having my act together and doing enough ahead of time, a nice visit from my parents, and the treat delivery it wasn't exactly the special dinner I had envisioned. However, it was tasty! We had KC Strips with a Balsamic BBQ sauce, PW's Au Gratin Potatoes and Regal Romain Salad. We even had enough leftovers for each of us to have lunch today, too!
Since we are both working today, I planned a low-key dinner of Brandon's favorite -- homemade pizza! I asked him what he wanted me to make (and told him I'd make anything!) and his request was pizza, so pizza it is!
I'll be back tomorrow with a post about my Valentine's Day gift(s)!
12.07.2010
Just Like Peanut Butter and Jelly...
Tonight, I made a recipe containing these two ingredients:
You may be asking why I combined Nutella and pumpkin and honestly, the recipe probably only caught my eye because a couple of my friends have been telling me how obsessed they are with Nutella. I have never used it before, but that ALL changed tonight thanks to this recipe for Pumpkin Nutella Cake.
Here it is right after I put it in the oven:
And here it is right after I took it out of the oven:
And I couldn't resist a close up of the gooey Nutella goodness:
I definitely recommend you try this recipe this Christmas season, or anytime of year for that matter! This was delicious and it was small group approved!
Pumpkin Nutella Snack Cake
{Recipe courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod}
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup Nutella
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Add the pumpkin puree. Reduce speed to low, and mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
4. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Drop tablespoons of Nutella all over the pumpkin cake batter. Swirl in the Nutella with a knife. I wanted the Nutella to stay towards the top, to act as the frosting, so I swirled gently.
5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the sides pull away from the pan and a toothpick comes out clean. Place cake on a wire rack and cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.
This combination of flavors is just as good as peanut butter and jelly, I promise!
 |
| {I used the generic version of Nutella} |
You may be asking why I combined Nutella and pumpkin and honestly, the recipe probably only caught my eye because a couple of my friends have been telling me how obsessed they are with Nutella. I have never used it before, but that ALL changed tonight thanks to this recipe for Pumpkin Nutella Cake.
Here it is right after I put it in the oven:
And here it is right after I took it out of the oven:
And I couldn't resist a close up of the gooey Nutella goodness:
I definitely recommend you try this recipe this Christmas season, or anytime of year for that matter! This was delicious and it was small group approved!
Pumpkin Nutella Snack Cake
{Recipe courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod}
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup Nutella
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Add the pumpkin puree. Reduce speed to low, and mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
4. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Drop tablespoons of Nutella all over the pumpkin cake batter. Swirl in the Nutella with a knife. I wanted the Nutella to stay towards the top, to act as the frosting, so I swirled gently.
5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the sides pull away from the pan and a toothpick comes out clean. Place cake on a wire rack and cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.
This combination of flavors is just as good as peanut butter and jelly, I promise!
