A Perfect Summer Salad

I am trying to expand my variety of salads.  I LOVE salad - and came up with this crunchy, cool summer salad.

Perfect for these sweltering hot days!

1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, some red onion, chopped celery,

 grape tomatoes, cucumber, the juice of one lemon,

olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. 

Toss it all together - and enjoy!

Yummy!!

Happy Mardi Gras! (And Molten Cake Recipe)

My favorite part of Mardi Gras (other than a week off school for the kiddos) has to be:::::

KING CAKE! 

It is the reason I can't lose weight right now....

It is so good.

And I must have the pieces with the balls.  I will cut the cake to pieces just to get to that section.  There is just something about the crunch - with every bite.  I have 1/2 of one on my counter right now, which I am so wanting to eat with more coffee - as in this picture.  It only comes around once a year, right?

At a recent parade.

Joshie in his Daddy's arms - so he can catch more (and see better).  Hubby wearing our favorite quarterback's jersey!!

Jalyn always looks this thrilled at parades.....  Kind of how I was as a kid.  But I think I had a little more excitement about going....

Joshua with all his treasures around his neck - as we sit in the post-parade traffic!

Alright ladies - here is the recipe (very easy) for the Chocolate Molten Cake!!!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter your ramekins, and sprinkle with sugar to lightly coat.  Set aside.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used a stick of country crock - not unsalted)

6 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces (I used 1/2 a bag of semi-sweet choc. chips)

3 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1 tbsp granulated white sugar 

In a stainless steel bowl (I don't have one, it worked using a heat proof glass bowl), suspended over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and set aside while you whip the egg yolks.

Beat egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar until thick and pale and fluffy.  (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons).  Beat in the vanilla and then fold in the melted chocolate mixture (a bit at a time).

In another clean bowl whip the egg whites (wash off those beaters in between!) until frothy.  Add the cream of tartar and continue to whip until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the 1 tbsp of granulated white sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. 

With a rubber spatula (or a scraper or wire whisk), gently fold the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture, just until incorporated.  Do not over mix or batter will deflate.  Divide the batter between the prepared molds, filling about 3/4 full.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or untill the ouside edges of the cakes are set but the middle still looks a little wet.  You may have cracks on the top surface  of the cakes.  (It will deflate a bit from what it looks like when you first take it out of the oven)

Remove from oven and let rest a min or two.  Sprinkle the top of each cake with powdered sugar.  Place a dollop of whip cream, clotted creme (?), creme fraiche, or vanilla ice cream on top of each warm cake (I ate it plain). 

Note:  You can prepare the chocolate mixture several hours ahead of time.  Simply make the recipe, pour into the prepared molds, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Bake just before serving.  When the batter is cold the cakes may take a minute or two longer to bake.

ENJOY!!!!

Homemade All Day

The other day - I must have had time on my hands....

How did that happen anyway?

Oh well, it did - apparently, and I got to cook 2 delicious meals from scratch.

(Not that I don't normally - but I usually cook things that don't involve kneading or lots of chopping these days)

But I was so in the mood to eat homemade biscuits! 

And who doesn't like cutting out plump little biscuits with a jelly glass?

For clean up - I do wish the flour came off the counter easier though!

Aren't they pretty?

Then for lunch, I decided on a stir-fry.

Chopped up all my veggies.

Got out the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and bean sprouts

Browned my chicken with lots of garlic

Added the veggies and sauces

Added the bean sprouts and green onions at the last minute

(Serve over rice)

And there you have it!

YuMmy!!

For Pet Lovers Only

I am a researcher at heart.

Whatever it is I am interested in -

I must know it.

Honestly, I can become slightly obsessed!

Just a little.

Whether it was when I was trying to get pregnant,

being pregnant, breastfeeding, raising children,

becoming a Christian, getting to know God, the bible,

whatever it may be,

I read about it, get lots of books, search the web,

I pour over and over it - until I know it.

As well as I can :)

When I got Kaiser, I wanted to feed him food that was good for him.

I researched dog food.

I went to pet stores, grocery stores,

read just about every website online, comparing dog foods.

I read vet websites, forums

 (some fights and fueds - what people will fight about!),

celebrity websites, many articles, etc.

Yes, I  know - obsessed.

This is what it is like without school on my brain!

Anyway - my final results are in:::::

There is NO perfect dog food.

BUT, there are lots of bad dog foods.

And I have decided not to buy those.

I did learn a lot about feeding dogs fresh food -

and have decided to do so, along with some better dog food.

So, obsessive as it may sound, I actually made a big pot of people/doggie food.

See, it looks good, doesn't it.

It's got chicken, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes,

apples, and brown rice.

I filled 6 containers, put one in the fridge, and put the others in the freezer.

I mixed it with some of his food -

as I will do once a day.

I have never seen him eat so happily!

Really.

See how yummy it was?

Just look at that wet beard and sweet face!

It is worth it.

I figure a container a week, I will only have to make a pot

every 5-6 weeks.

Hey, it's much better that whatever mystery meat

is in canned dog food.

Besides, I think I want him to stick around for a while.

(Ha. Ha.)

Chocolatey Espresso

I don't really know what to call this, but I saw it on a cooking show the other day - and Yum!



First, you take a bag of these (or any other small pieces of chocolate)



Then you heat milk or half and half (I used half and half) but do not allow it to boil. Add however much chocolate you want - I just used a handful of chocolate chips. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and sugar to your taste.
Stir until chocolate is melted.



Meanwhile if you have one of these, make your espresso.





When that is done, pour it into the milk and chocolate mixture.



Then pour it into your mug.

I actually had to add more cool half and half to the final cup (and an ice cube - too hot for me!)



Yummy!
A new favorite!

Happy Thursday!

I am so tired this morning! I think I still haven't caught up on my sleep, because every morning when my alarm clock goes off, it feels like I could sleep for several more hours - which is not normally my reaction.

I wanted to make something to bring to our bible study this morning - and wake myself up! - so I decided to make some Pumpkin Spice Muffins that I got from Jody's blog. I have to say, they are perfect for this very cold morning. I had a batch in the oven, and one already done. I had to go outside with Jalyn to watch her at the bus stop. I didn't feel like putting shoes on - and oh, man were my feet freezing on that cold cement! Anyway, when I came back inside, my house smelled so yummy. The smell of fall!



For the recipe, I just made a spice cake and mixed in a can of pumpkin. They didn't rise (not sure if they were supposed to), but they taste soooo good. Just tasting them made me happy thinking about November being in just a couple of days - thinking of Thanksgiving and the very happy time of year it brings to our household.




Since I will be gone most of the day - bible study, then most of us ladies usually go to Sicilly's Pizza afterward (again, very yummy), I decided to cook a pot of chili this morning. Chili felt like another cozy, comfort food for this cold/cool weather. Also, it would be able to cook for a good while, and be ready to eat this evening.



I cut up and browned a round steak first, added crumbled ground meat, then browned all of that. Then added 3 cans of tomato paste and let that cook until browned (my grandma's secret to good sauce), then added onions, bell pepper and garlic. Salt and pepper. Then water, chili powder, and one can of rinsed kidney beans.

Okay, now that I have cooked a day's worth of food - and it's only 8:14 am - I am running late and still need to do make up and hair (a must, you know).

Have a happy Thursday everyone!

Yummy Chocolate Cake

I made my very first cake from scratch yesterday.

I know, it seems like something I should have done before now. Actually, I think I have made a sponge cake or angel food cake or pound cake - one or a couple of those - from scratch. But this was my very first chocolate cake.




I can only show half of it, because the other half is already gone.

My husband loves chocolate cake. He also thinks that Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker are just fine - and easy - so why bother with anything else? Well, I just thought it would be fun and interesting to see if I could make anything that could compare with their already tasty cakes.

I got the recipe from the "Good Things Catered" blog.
http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/2008/09/hersheys-perfectly-chocolate-cake.html

There is the link if anyone wants to try their hand at it.

It was very good. I just had my second piece (first of the day!) with a nice cup of coffee.

I'm not positive if I would prefer to go through the "work" of doing it from scratch next time, or if it is just as good as a $2.00 Betty Crocker mix. I should probably ask my hubby - who has more the "expert pallet" for cakes.

Every now and then, it is really nice to do something "the old fashioned way" - I must admit.