Yummy Dinner!!

OK now THIS blog I have REALLY been neglecting! Reason being, that when I am rushing around, trying to get dinner ready with 3 hungry kids waiting...I rarely (read: never) think to reach for the camera. Just like no one wants to buy a cookbook without pictures...no one wants to look at a food blog without them either. But truth be told, if I waited to post (which I have been doing) until I remembered to take pictures, this blog would be RIP even more than it is now.

We had the McCools over last night, so I'll share what I cooked.So here we go...a DELICIOUS dinner with no pictures to prove it! (Well, except for the ones I swiped off the websites I got the recipes from! But hey, mine looked the exact same so it kinda counts, right?? :))

For Hors devours I tried a recipe that I have been wanting to try for a while. It was right up my alley....goat cheese, marinara sauce, garlic toasts....YUMMY! I personally thought it was delicious. I linked the recipe above but in these instructions I will put how I did it.

Warm Goat Cheese in Tomato Sauce


2 packages Goat Cheese (4 Ounces Each)
4 cups Homemade Tomato Sauce
1 whole Crusty Baguette Loaf Of Bread
5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 whole Cloves Garlic, Peeled

Heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan. Keep warm.
Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler and brown each side of the bread slices (crostini). Place a garlic clove on a fork and rub vigorously on one side of each of the crostini. Brush each crostini lightly with olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place each of the goat cheese logs into an oven safe small baking dish and then pour the hot tomato sauce over the top until it just covers the cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and hot. Place each dish on a larger plate and surround it with the crostini. Serve hot.

For dinner Mike wanted steaks. I went to the store and they had Ribeyes on sale...so ribeyes it was. I remembered that I had read a onion/blue cheese sauce recipe on Pioneer Woman's website, so I made that with it. Also served yeast rolls and Sauteed Spinach. Mike cooked the steaks PERFECTLY and the sauce was delicious. Very rich, but major yum.

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce


2 ribeye steaks
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1 very large yellow onion
3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream (I used fat free half and half and it came out perfectly)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Salt and pepper both sides of the steaks. Grill until medium rare.
Saute onions in 4 tablespoons butter over high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until dark and caramelized. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in blue cheese until melted. Serve steaks on generous portion of sauce.

DELISH!!!!!

And finally for the sauteed spinach. I'm sure you all know how to saute spinach but I'll tell you anyway. Put a little olive oil in a large saute pan. (I usually put a tablespoon of butter also). Put lots of garlic in and saute for a minute or so. Add large amounts of spinach and cook until it just wilts. Add lots of salt and pepper.

Gazpacho

What is the perfect lunch, dinner or snack for a hot summer day? Gazpacho. Not only is it loaded with nutrients, anti oxidants and is low in fat and calories, but it is the perfect summer meal since there is no hot oven involved. Who wants to eat a steaming bowl of soup when it is over 100 degrees outside? Certainly not me.

I made this Gazpacho on Friday and I have been eating it ever since. I have a bowl with my lunch and then when I am ready for a snack I have some more. I dice some avocado to put on top and WOW is it delish! I got this recipe from my good friend Terri, but I changed it up just a little bit. I did link the original recipe, although the one I have on here is different.

BON APPETIT!!


Gazpacho

6 ripe tomatoes, peeled
1 red onion
1 cucumber, peeled
1 green bell pepper, seeded
2 stalks celery
A handful of fresh parsley
A handful of fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 T. olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegetarian option)
4 cups tomato juice
Avocado


Toss all ingredients except tomato juice and avocado in food processor and blend until finely chopped. Put in container with tomato juice and mix well. Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend. Serve with diced avocado for garnish.

Serves 8. (or in my case, 1, since I am the only person in the house that eats this)

**I swiped this picture off of Google images since my camera battery is dead and I can't find the charger. Oops!)

Monster Chomps

The BEST cookies ever!

1 stick cups Butter
1 1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 dash Salt
1 teaspoon Karo White Corn Syrup
1 teaspoon Vanilla
4 1/2 cups Oats
12 ounces Mini Chocolate Chips


Mix butter and peanut butter well. Add sugars and mix. Add eggs one at a time. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Drop by large spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 3-4 dozen.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Yesterday was Jacob's birthday and he requested Chocolate Cake with Chocolate icing. Since I don't really have a "go to" recipe for Chocolate Cake, I naturally went to my favorite cookbook(s), Barefoot Contessa. I found a recipe that looked delicious!!

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.



He wanted it decorated like "dirt", so I put some Oreo's in the food processor and topped the cake with it. Then added worms of course! The cake was delicious...not too sweet, which was fabulous. The coffee flavor really came through. DELISH!!

My apologies

I am so sorry I haven't been posting much. It's just that in the summer I don't cook very much! We are always outside.....out and about, which means making fast meals at home. Certainly nothing exciting to blog about! Not to mention, who wants to stand in front of a hot stove when it is 103 degrees? *fans myself* It is H-O-T!!

Sooo, I will leave you this morning with a quick but delicious hors devours recipe....since summertime is full of parties!! I will take it out of my cookbook!

Shrimp and Corn Salsa (an old favorite!!)

1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
1/4 C. sour cream
1/4 C. mayo
1/4 C. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
3/4 lb. medium cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
1, 15 1/4 oz. can corn, drained
1/3 C. red onion, finely chopped

Whisk first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in shrimp, corn and onion. Refrigerate. Serve with Fritos Scoops or Belgian Endive leaves.

Like I said....it's an oldie but a goodie!! Bon Appetit!

The best darn cupcakes EVER!

OK I have to share with you my newest love....and right in time for July 4th! They are red, the icing is white and if you put a single blueberry right in top, you've got your red, white and blue dessert. They are just delicious and VERY easy to make! I don't have a recipe to link since this is just a culmination of many recipes that I have read....kind of my own creation!

The Very Best Cupcakes in the World (Even if you think you don't like red velvet. Trust me on this...I have good taste buds.)

Cake:
24 paper liners for cupcake pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) Red Velvet cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream (I use light)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese (I use light)
1 stick butter
1 t. vanilla
2 C. or more Powdered Sugar (depending on if you like the tart taste of cream cheese, or the sweetness of the sugar....in case you were wondering, I like the tart!)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners (I actually only get 22 out of this). Set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes). Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool 15 minutes more, or until cool before frosting.

For frosting, cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and mix well.

Dinner Club pictures

Here is a slideshow of pictures that Ashley took of Dinner Club. Fun, fun!

Click here to view these pictures larger