Blog Archives

Parmesan-Coated Sweet Potato Fries

8/30/2012

Parmesan-Coated
Sweet Potato Fries

These are baked sweet potato wedges.
They look like russet potatoes.
They're pretty darn tasty and part of that is because of the shredded Parmesan they were dredged in.

And looky!

Not many ingredients for this tasty side dish!

Here's the recipe...beyond easy!!!

Parmesan-Coated Sweet Potato Fries
Recipe From Thibeault's Table…check out their recipe website…fantastic!
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 large egg whites
1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
4 small sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), scrubbed and quartered lengthwise

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and then set aside.

2. In a shallow bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. In a separate shallow bowl, lightly beat the egg whites with 2 tablespoons of water until combined. Place the Parmesan on a sheet of waxed paper or put it in another shallow bowl.

3. Dip the sweet potato first in the flour mixture, shaking off excess. Then dip each wedge into the egg white mixture until coated. Finally, dip the sweet potato in the Parmesan, pressing the exposed surface of the potato into the cheese. (Don't worry if some gets on the skin.) Transfer potato wedges onto the prepared baking sheet as you go.

4. Bake potatoes until tender and crisp, about 25 minutes. Serve sprinkled with more salt if desired.

But before we get into the actual making of these fries,
I must show you something of huge significance....

Now look closer on that middle shelf...

My new platter I picked up for six dolla at Dillards!!!
Isn't it gorgeous?
See those colors?
No?
Here, let's get a close-up.
Now can you see the colors?

Someone's gonna change out one of her rooms to these colors, nananananana.
Yeah. So there.
Maybe Ima change out all my rooms to this color scheme.
Yeah. So maybe I'll win a million dollars and the new decor will happen sooner rather than later.
Or then again, maybe monkeys will fly out of my butt.

Okay that was gross but I used to say it all the time as a kid.
YOU DID TOO!!
Admit it.

Oh wait! On the side of this gray cupboard is this, I can't remember what it's called, it's vintage, is it a book holder, crap, I can't remember!! A lot of these were made turn of the century and some are rather quite large and elaborate.

Why do I have no brain where I can't recall what this is called?

Why?

No seriously,
why?

Moving on...anyway, set up the work station for the Parmesan-coated Sweet Potato Fries with:

*the flour (I used whole wheat) mixed with the salt and pepper,

*the egg whites whipped with water,

*and the shredded Parmesan,

*a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Now get yer sweet potatoes ready by wedging them up.....

and put them on a pretty plate...
and forget to take a picture of them.

Dredge a wedge in flour...

Then the egg white...

Now the Parmesan....

Flip over and do the other side...not the skin side though.

Lay them all out on the baking sheet.

What is starting to look yummy?

These wedges, that's what!

Throw these in the oven for 25 minutes.

Bring these baked, toasty Parmesan goodness things out of the oven....

Looking mighty fine eh??!!

Now, I would normally have a little side of ranch dressing here,

but today I don't.

It goes back to that "no brain" thing.....

Even keeping a grocery list apparently doesn't work in the World of Angie's Brain.
Because the very first item on that grocery list on the fridge says "Ranch."

I think my brain looks at that and thinks "cattle" ranch or "horse" ranch or something...and they don't sell those at Hy-Vee.

Tim says the Parmesan puts a nice crust on these fries.
I have to agree with him.

These are pretty flavorful...we ate them with grilled chicken wings.

Okay guys, that's all I got for today. Hope you try these fries/wedges out sometime. OH! next time, I may try using fresh grated Parmesan and see what the taste difference is.
These were so quick and easy too, keep that in mind.

Literally, throw these in the oven and by the time your steak or chicken breast is done on the grill or stove top, these are done too. The wedges were literally done in 25 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

Hey, have a great Thursday and we'll talk at ya soon!!
Doesn't this color green remind you of pea soup? Think anyone eats pea soup anymore? Creamed pea soup maybe? Or maybe pea soup is always creamed. For some reason, pea soup is not sounding very appetizing to me right now. Are peas nutritious even? I never see them on the top 20 healthiest foods list. And do you think it was stupid that people cracked a whole pod of peas open just for three tiny peas? For hours on end! Just to get two cups of peas? What's that about? Clearly I'm procrastinating. Going back to work now :)....Have a good day :) supposed to be nice and sunny, a little warm but that's better than 100 degreed, WHAT???!! Fine. I'm going.

Scrooge Soup aka Somewhat Hearty Vegetable Soup and Warm Garlic Pitas

8/29/2012

Oh Hi There!!!

Have you been looking for a good, healthy soup recipe
that won't put your stomach in a
five alarm fire alert??

Well,
we have the recipe for you!!

And it doesn't include one stitch of pureed bananas or herbed chicken and vegetables in a jar.

That's right!
This soup is called
Hearty Vegetable Soup
by Guy Fieri of the Food Network show "Guy's Big bite."

And these are Warm Garlic Pitas to eat with the soup. YUM!

After Tim and I had finished this meal,
I asked Tim what he thought of the soup.

Tim said it was "Scrooge Soup."

After spewing my beverage out my nose and mouth I laughed out loud for like five minutes.

And then I asked,

"What do you mean "Scrooge" soup?"

Tim responded that this is a real light soup,

like one they would make in the day of Scrooge,

and that mopping up the soup with the pita bread is like how they did it back in Scrooge times.

I asked,
"Well, did ya like the soup?"
And Tim said yes, that this soup was one of his favorites so far because it has good flavor and you know you're eating healthy.

He also said it didn't hurt his stomach being too spicy or full of heat like a lot of my soups are.

So here's the fixins for this here Scrooge Soup aka Hearty Vegetable Soup.

By the way, this recipe calls for you to make your own chicken broth, but Angie calls for you to use canned or boxed broth. I do often times make my own broth, but opening up that box of organic broth is just so much easier most nights, right??!!

Okay, so chop up all the vegetables, including that yummy kale.

Begin sauteing the carrots, onion and garlic..

Add in your salt and pepper.

Now add the kale and edamame....
make sure you get the shelled edamame.

Add the chopped red pepper and the corn...

Ahhhhhh, all together now!!

Lookin' good, eh?

Now add the stock....this recipe is so darn easy, I can't believe it!

And basically, that's it!

Just let it simmer for a while.

So let's start on the warm garlic pita bread, shall we....

Here's the fixins for these yummy and very garlicky bready things.

So cut up and grate up the goodies....

Throw the butter and garlic in a heated pan...

Bring it to a slow simmer.

Add the parsley.

It's coming together mighty fine now,

isn't it??!!

Okay, so your sliced pitas are in a bowl,

ready for some buttery, garlic action.

So pour some sugar on me.

These are gonna coat up pretty good when you flip them with a spoon.

See.

Told ya.

Spread the pita pieces out on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle the fresh Parmesan on top.... and throw them in the oven.

Yummy, toasty whole wheat goodness a few minutes later.

These are pretty garlicky,
so if you don't like too much garlic, cut the amount in half.
Also, DO NOT get distracted and overbake these or they will become rather rock-like.

Ima not share how I know that to be a fact.

So plate up, or rather, bowl up the soup and warm garlic pitas.

Look at the healthy goodness in this soup!
The kale! The carrots! The peppers!

Okay, here's the recipes for this Hearty Vegetable Soup and Warm Garlic Pitas...

Hearty Vegetable Soup
www.foodnetwork.com Guy Fieri’s show Guy’s Big Bite
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
Olive oil, for coating pan
1/4 cup diced sweet onion, such as Maui or Vidalia
    2 organic carrots, peeled and cut into coins
    2 ribs celery, sliced
    1 clove garlic, peeled
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 cups torn kale leaves
    1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
    1/2 cup edamame, shells removed
    1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
    3 quarts Fortified Broth, recipe follows

Directions
Set a large saucepan over medium heat. Coat the pan with olive oil and add the diced onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with some salt and pepper, and then sweat the vegetables (cook without adding any color) for about 5 minutes. Add the kale, corn, edamame and red bell pepper and cook for a few more minutes so they have a chance to saute. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook until the vegetables are soft, 7 to 8 minutes. Serve.

Fortified Broth:
    3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
    2 roasted chicken carcasses
    2 to 3 black peppercorns
    2 ribs celery
    1 carrot, peeled
    1 onion, peeled and cut in half
    1 clove garlic, peeled
    4 sprigs fresh thyme
    1 bay leaf
    Kosher salt

Begin by fortifying store-bought broth (this will add more depth of flavor to the finished soup). In a large stock pot, add the broth, 1 quart cold water, chicken carcasses, peppercorns, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Set over medium heat and slowly bring to a rolling boil. Heating the broth up slowly will draw out the flavors of the chicken bones, vegetables and aromatics. Season lightly with salt and let the stock simmer (slightly covered) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When done, it will have reduced by about a quarter, leaving you with approximately 3 quarts of rich stock. Strain the stock through a large sieve, discarding the bones and vegetables. Chill the stock immediately until ready to use.

Warm Garlic Pitas
www.foodnetwork./com Guy Fieri’s show Guy’s Big Bite
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
    4 medium-size whole wheat pitas
    4 medium-size white pitas
    4 tablespoons unsalted butter
    6 cloves garlic, minced
    3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
    1/4 cup grated Parmesan
    Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the pitas into 6 wedges.

In a medium saucepan, add the butter and garlic. Set over medium heat and warm through until the butter melts and the garlic becomes fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the parsley and mix well.

Place the pita wedges in a large bowl and pour the garlic butter over the top. Toss well to combine and coat everything evenly. Spread the pita wedges out evenly on a sheet tray and dust with the grated Parmesan. Bake in the oven until golden and crispy, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and taste. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve warm.

Now don't ya just want to invite a bunch of people over for a warm, comfy Scrooge-like meal with this soup and pita bread recipe?

But if there's not a bunch of people who can come over short notice, then slurping down this warming soup and cuddling up with a special someone is a nice alternative too.

Our Special Someone, Little Boy Blue, snugglemaster 3000.

Okay, that's all I got for now.

But you know something...I CAN NOT get Christmas out of my mind now, writing about Scrooge and all.

So let me be the first to wish you a very Happy, Merry Christmas Season :):):)
HeHeHe and HOHOHO!!

Catch ya'll soon;
have a great Wednesday!!!

Magic Turkey Bacon Cheeseburger Turkey Loaf and A Cheap Trick

8/24/2012

Hey Rocky, Watch me pull a meatloaf out of my hat!

Yikes! that's not a meatloaf!!!

This is a meatloaf!

Yes? Am I right? Am I right? Huh!!

Yup, that is Meatloaf from his band.

ultimate-wallpaper.com

Probably singing one of my sister JoJo's favorite songs,

"You took the words right out of my mouth..."

Which leads me to remember that my sister is going to a concert this weekend to see another Old school band...

Cheap Trick!!!!

AND she'll be hearing them play one of my all time favorite songs....SURRENDER!!!!!!

Tim and I actually saw them in concert back in the late 70's or early 80's.
*cue lots of screaming, yelling, whistling, Angie up on Tim's shoulders, Tim without a shirt on, Angie being 20 lbs less (SHUT UP!!!!!!!!) sweaty people everywhere, Angie feeling like she'll get crushed but a least she can see the stage..................

Earth to Angie........

WAKE UP!
SNAP OUT OF IT!

Oh anyway, in honor of my sister who completed six weeks of boot camp today with crazeeee results (go JoJo, it's your birthday, gonna party, like it's your birthday), here's the Cheap Trick video from their gig in Budokan.

All righty then,
I actually have a topic for today's post and I will tell you
I LOVE THIS DISH!!!

Actually this picture is supposed to be a heart but as I was scrolling through my downloads, this caught my eye better
cuz

I! LOVE! ME! THE! BEE GEES!!
LOVE, LOVE!!!!
Maurice (pronounced Morris) over on the right is my favorite. Shut up.

Sometime Ima do a whole month's worth of blog posts on the Bee Gees.
Oh,
ya'll will probably never read me again so maybe I better not do that.

LOOK!!!!!!
Meatlof!!!!!!!!!

This is a super healthy
Turkey Bacon Cheeseburger Turkey Loaf.
It has ground turkey breast, turkey bacon, zucchini, carrots and mushrooms in it.

And it is moist and fantastic!

So, let's get started on making this meatloaf!!!!
By the way, I knew it was gonna be good, so I tripled the recipe.

Look at all these healthy ingredients...
these are the ingredients for one meatloaf.

The following pictures you will see, are the ingredients tripled.

So chop and shred up all the veggies, turkey bacon and bread...

Mix yer spicy mustard and ketchup together....

Saute your onions and garlic and add the mushrooms.

Lookin' good!

Add the shredded carrots and zucchini....

Sumpins lookin' a little healthy!!!

Now take the ground turkey breast....

and add all the following...

Whole wheat bread!

Bread crumbs!

Milk!

Lots of Swiss Cheese!

Now add the turkey bacon!!!

Oh guess what just happened at this point!!

It got dark and stormy and rainin' and a little hailin'!!

Which made us nervous cuz we're nowhere near finalized with the insurance companies on the tornado damage from three weeks ago!!!!

But it blew by quickly and a rainbow popped out even!!!!!

So back to the Turkey Meatloaf....

add the mushroom and veggie mixture to the turkey mixture...

Dis look good, yes????

Oil up yer pan or pans...remember, I tripled the recipe.

Spread the turkey mixture in the pan/s...

Mmmmm, spread the ketchup and mustard mixture on top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, just until the loaf register 160 degrees.

Oh my goodness, doesn't this look fantastic??

It sure smells fantastic!!

So plate up the loaf and cut off a slice...

See those moist, tasty mushrooms?
And bits of the turkey bacon??
And the colorful carrots?

Oh, this meatloaf is good!!
It's not a huge flavor explosion, like if it was made with beef or sausage.
No, this is a mellow, flavorful super healthy yet moist meatloaf.

Okay, so here is the recipe.....

Turkey Bacon Cheeseburger Turkey Loaf
cookingchanneltv.com Bobby Deen’s show “Not My Mama’s Meals” Check out this show, Bobby takes his mom’s dishes and makes them healthy. It’s a great show!
courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients

Olive oil, for greasing pan
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 pound 99-percent fat-free ground turkey
1/4 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 cup 1-percent milk
2 ounces Swiss cheese
3 slices turkey bacon, roughly chopped

3 slices whole-wheat bread, torn
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
One 8-ounce package mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped1 teaspoon salt
1 small zucchini, shredded

Directions Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with olive oil.

Combine the ketchup and mustard in a small bowl and set aside. Mix together the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, milk, cheese, turkey bacon, bread and egg white in a large bowl.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the zucchini until softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Toss the vegetables and ground meat together gently to combine, and then stir in most of the ketchup and mustard. Shape the meatloaf into the pan and spread the remaining ketchup and mustard on top. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 160 degrees F, 30 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces.

Okay guys and gals, that's all I got for now!!!
You really should try this Turkey Meatloaf just once.
One of the loaves I made WITHOUT mushrooms cuz of Tim and that was okay too but I much preferred the loaf with the mushrooms!

Have a good Friday guys and we'll talk at ya soon!
:):):)

Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes

8/22/2012

Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes
Pull up a chair and join me for coffee and cupcakes.

And if you could MAKE the cupcakes YOURSELF next time and THEN bring them over, that would be even more awesomer.
Cause I am no baker!!
This was an easy recipe to follow even and I STILL struggled because I
C-O-O-K, NOT bake!!
Hey, this one looks pretty good though, doesn't it??

This is a light cupcake...almost kind of like a soft biscuity-roll.
It's not super sweet at all either.
It's nice for a light dessert or a quick afternoon snack with lemon tea...hot or cold.

Okay,
so these are the fixins for the Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes.
See those things? Those are called "baking" items. Of which I am not familiar.

So put yer paper liners in the muffin pan holes and then get this...SPRAY THE LINERS WITH COOKING SPRAY!

WHAT??!!

When did the baking rules change? I've never heard of that!

But I did it anyway.

So you can either measure out 6.75 ounces of flour or use about 1 1/2 cups. I have a scale so I measured.

Again, when did THOSE rules change where you weigh ingredients??!!

Oh by the way,
get out the ruler to help follow the instructions, cuz there's always a lot of detailed instructions with baking.

WHY??!!
See, that's why I like cooking.
Chop. Sautee. Stir. Throw in oven.
See. EASY.

And now the following photo will be the most exciting photo you will ever see in your life. Hang on. Be still. Be very, very still.

Flour!!!
And baking powder.
AND SALT! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
NOT THAT RANDY SALT!!!!
Fortunately this dry mixture was quieted down with that shy-acting baking soda.

Wait, you're still with me, right?

No one passed out from the excitement did they?

Good! Let's keep moving on then.

Dis picture not near as exciting as the flour one.

Put the sugar, cream cheese and butter together in a bowl.

Mix them all together.

*yawn*

Add the amaretto.

NOW we're talking!

Add the vanilla and the egg and mix together.

Seriously, I 'm getting bored just typing this but I will continue on with the excitement.

Add the sour cream with the milk and mix together.

Why is everything so WHITE looking when you're baking?

BOR-ING!

Finally!
Some colorful apples.
Finely chop up the apples and mix with a dollop of flour.

So now mix the wet and dry ingredients together...

Fold in those colorful floured Gala apple chunks.

HEY!!!

Look what I bought last week just for muffins and cupcakes, seriously. An ice cream scoop! And it worked great here too.

See how great it works for scooping the batter?

Don't they all look nice?

Well, except for the wonky one in the lower left corner but that one was the leftovers off the spatula.

Okay right,
so I'm ready to do a happy dance-Irish jig-polka-slow dance-disco-waltz cuz I'm done and want to put these suckers in the oven so I can go back to my normal life that does NOT involve the baking of pastries.
And I go back to re-read the instructions just to make sure I'm good to go.

AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

CRAP, CRAP AND DOUBLE CRAP!
I have to make a streusel for the tops now???!!
Really???
Seriously, how many steps does this have to it???
I'm totally getting really bored by now, no crap, and I start playing with my hair and looking around.

Okay so I get the streusel crap together...brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, cayenne, frogs legs and vintage buttons.

So then it says to cut the butter in with a pastry blender or two knives.

????

Yeah,
pastry blender or two knives.

????

Sounds like hands to me so that's what I use.

Throw the sliced almonds in and mix.

Wait.

Those aren't sliced almonds.

THEY'RE SLIVERED ALMONDS!
*bang head on countertop, over and over and over.*

Get the CO-RRECT package of almonds out of the pantry....

the SLICED almonds....

And throw them in the streusel.

And throw the streusel on top of the batter.
The end.

Yeah I'm here.

Anyway, this is what they resemble before they go in the oven.

Make up some glaze with powdered sugar and milk while they're baking in the oven.

When finished baking,

let cool and drizzle glaze over cupcakes.

They do look so nice and pretty when they're done.

And if I can make them look like this, anybody can.

These cupcakes DO NOT have a huge, major flavor explosion,

instead they are a light version from Cooking Light magazine.

The apples blend nicely with the slight amaretto flavoring and cinnamon.
And the almonds provide a nice flavor and crunch too!
These light cupcakes would also make for a pretty gift for a friend or relative, or a nice addition to potluck day at the office.

Okay kids,
that's about all the baking torture I can take for the day. I'm not sure what was worse, the actually preparation and baking or the writing about the torture.

Made an excellent Turkey Meatloaf with mushrooms the other night and some Killer Kale Pasta so be looking for those in the coming days.
Oh stop, I know you just want me to give you the recipes right now for them OHHHHHH.......I need to give you the recipe for these Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes. Here it is. Attention deficit anyone???

Talk at ya soon!!!

Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes
From Cooking Light magazine October 2009 www.myrecipes.com
Courtesy ww.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients

    Cooking spray

    6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)

    1/2 teaspoon baking powder

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    1/4 teaspoon baking soda

    3/4 cup granulated sugar

    1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

    1/4 cup butter, softened

    2 tablespoons amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1 large egg

    1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

    1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

    3/4 cup finely chopped Gala apple

    1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

    Streusel:

    2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

    2 tablespoons brown sugar

    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    2 tablespoons butter, chilled

    2 tablespoons sliced almonds

    Glaze:

    1 cup powdered sugar

    4 teaspoons 2% reduced-fat milk

Preparation

    1. Preheat oven to 350°.

    2. Place muffin cup liners in 12 muffin cups; coat with cooking spray.

    3. Weigh or lightly spoon 6.75 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 6.75 ounces flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, cream cheese, and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add amaretto, vanilla, and egg to sugar mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Combine sour cream and 1/4 cup milk in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until well blended. Combine apple and 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl; toss well.

    4. Add flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until blended. Fold in apple mixture. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

    5. To prepare the streusel, combine 2 tablespoons flour, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal; stir in almonds. Sprinkle streusel evenly over cupcakes. Bake at 350° for 27 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack, and remove the cupcakes from pan.

    6. To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar and 4 teaspoons milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over cupcakes.

Note:If you don't want to use the amaretto, replace it with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.

Saddle Up For Some Perfect Peppered Rib Eye Steaks

8/19/2012

I'm sorry.
Just give me a minute to collect myself.

OH MY THIS WAS GOOD!!!

You likey??!!
Well, so did I!!!

Perfect Peppered Ribeye Steaks
From the Taste of Home “Grill It” Magazine 2012, Cover Picture
Sharon Bickett - Chester, South Carolina
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
4 beef ribeye steaks (1-1/2 inches thick)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried ground thyme
2 teaspoons dried ground oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Orange slices, optional
Parsley sprigs, optional

Directions
Brush steaks lightly with oil. In a small bowl, combine all seasonings.

Sprinkle seasonings over steaks and press into both sides. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 7-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°;well-done, 170°).

Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Place on a warm serving platter, cut across the grain into thick slices. Garnish with orange slices.

Fine Cooking’s Balsamic Onion & Tomato Salsa
www.finecooking.com
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into medium dice (to yield about 1-1/2 cups)
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add the onion and sugar. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften but not brown, 4 to 5 min. Add the vinegar and cook until the onions are soft, 2 to 3 min. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until they just begin to soften, 1 to 2 min. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the basil, and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and keep warm. Serve on top of cooked rib eye steaks.

This is a different rib eye...I like to cook my rib eyes in a cast iron skillet on the stove.
This calls for grilling.
All righty then!

So these are the fixins for this Perfect Peppered Rib Eye Steak recipe from the Taste of Home Grill It! magazine.
You can see the rub has a lot of spices...most of them you have in the cupboard though!

Sprinkle this mixture of spices on the rib eyes....

....massage the rub into the meat...

And then take no other pictures of the steak grilling, NONE, cuz you were too distracted prepping the yummy
balsamic tomato onion salsa....

...and here's the fixins for that balsamic onion and tomato salsa...

The fixins for the tomato and onion salsa don't include the pepper spill in back there, which did not get cleaned up for a couple days.

Dudes, I was BUSY!!! A super busy person can't be trifled with a small pepper spill!
You just throw the cutting board on top of it. Duh.

Okay,
chop up the onions, tomatoes and basil...

Throw the onion in the pan and begin sauteeing with olive oil.

Mmmmmmm,

the onions caramelizing with the aged balsamic vinegar...

smells heavenly.

Throw those halved cherry tomatoes in....

Gettin' ready to go on top of a grilled rib eye :).

Okay, this is a little embarrassing...I can't remember where this red potato recipe came from...but they were so yummy!!! Several spices there!

Drizzle olive oil on the chopped tomatoes and spread the spices on all.

Ready to go into the oven....if I had the recipe, I would tell you what temperature but I'M AN IDIOT and can't remember!!!

But man, LOOK HOW NICE AND CRISPY THESES SUCKERS
ARE,

LOOK,

YES??!!

And since I didn't take any pictures of the rib eyes grilling on my top notch, high dollar 10 year old grill, let's see what everything looks like plated up...

Not
bad
eh?

Can you smell that rib eye?

This rib eye rub recipe is soooo good but don't use too much of it!

And seriously,

that tomato and onion balsamic salsa worked fabulous with this steak rub and rosemary tomatoes.

Tangy with savory...oh so delicious!!

Okay guys, that's all I got for now!
I did make a fabulous clean eating turkey meatloaf with mushrooms tonight though, and it was fabulous!!
Will be sharing that soon.

Okay, have a good Monday and we'll talk to you soon!!!

Oh Hi There Stranger!

8/18/2012

Hi There Strangers!!
Been a while, eh?

Well, I've been doing some cooking...

I didn't say successfully!!
Don't even ask.

Here's another example of another whole chicken failed endeavor within the
last two weeks....

Now with this chicken,

I stuffed the cavity with lemons and thyme...

so far, so good.

And wrapped bacon all the way around it...
I think I used the cheap bacon this time and not the thick applewood smoked.

It kind of looks okay baked.
Even on that dinner plate that I thought was appropriate to serve on.

But it had absolutely no flavor.

None.

Blech.
Double blech.

So instead of talking about food, let me show you what's going on Friday night at that exciting place west of Frytown...
the Madsen Hacienda.
Disclaimer: Do not get jealous and hate me and never visit my blog again please.

First of all, It's 8:30pm and Tim's day JUST ended.
He is rather enjoying himself in the nice cool evening air with a cigar and glass of wine.

Place a tv with Hawkeye football in front of him with a bag of chips and dip, and he'd never leave that chair.

Mindy Peaches is enjoying the late summer evening too.

As are Vinny and Pepper.

Vinny back there looks like he has green alien eyes.

Look at the ending of the sunset in back; those colors! We always have stunning sunsets out here.

Let's see what else is going on tonight....

Well,

Menards just dropped off 10 panels of picket fencing to replace the picket fencing that was crushed during the twister or straight line winds August 4.

My flowers in the horse trough fared the winds pretty well though.

So let's move inside the house and see what exciting Friday night funtivities are going on...(it's a word, look it up.)

Look! My laundry is actually not piled to the ceiling tonight!!
Go Angie. It's my Birthday. Gonna party. Like it's my birthday.
Where's my award??!!
I totally deserve an award here!!!!

Yes. Now that one will do.

Oh look at my cute wedges though,

I just picked them up fo' cheap.
Oh look how that shelf needs painting. Shocking.

Kitchen is a disaster tonight though.

What's new.
*sigh*

On the kitchen counter is a portable building brochure from the Amish folks on
Hwy 22.

Why do I need to browse a portable building brochure you ask?

Cause my garden shed looks like it's
ready for spaceship takeoff since the twister.

See the gaps in fencing too? Yup, some of that's probably still in Marvin Miller's bean field.

Along with my pole barn roof.

So let's see if there's any super amazing, exciting Friday night happenings in the dining room shall we...

Uh,

de answer
be no.

Hey, I did bring out some colored glass though for late summer.

And I LOVE this wine bottle with the nicked up label.

One dolla at an antique shop. Yup.

I know you want it.

Main floor guest bedroom...I can't keep
anything clean around here.
Whose crap is that anyway??!!

What????
Mine?
Whatev.

At least there's soothing music on the dish, so that's nice.

And the living room has mostly been staying picked up,

what with engineers and adjusters coming through.

And Sweetness is actually home tonight on a Friday night.

Course it's only 8:30pm and she later went out with a friend.

I don't know WHY a 22 year old would NOT want to hang with her parents and cats on a Friday night.

Kids are so selfish these days.

Oh! One last thing...that whole barbequed chicken at the top of the page that LOOKED a little dubious...it actually tasted good.

It just didn't photograph well.

I cut up the remainder of the chicken...

.

...threw it on pita bread that had been crisped up in the oven for seven minutes....added some fresh basil and caramelized onions.

Added fresh mozzarella.

Drizzled it all with olive oil and stuck it in the oven until the cheese melted.

And then I ate it !
For breakfast!

While I was typing up this here post.

And it was good!

Hey, I do have several tasty recipes including one with homemade curry....oh so yummy!

Will be sharing again hopefully this weekend!

Hope everyone has a good Saturday and we'll talk at ya soon! Have fun!

Alpenhorn Gasthaus - And This Is Why We Think This Is The Best B&B Out There - Missouri Wine Valley

8/6/2012

Just 90 minutes west of St. Louis,
the historic town of Hermann sits nestled into the hills of Missouri Wine Valley on the banks of the Missouri river.

travel.nytimes.com

Alpenhorn Gasthaus is the #1 rated Bed and Breakfast in Hermann, Missouri.
There are 60 B&B's in Hermann.
This is our favorite!!!

Alpenhorn Gasthaus
is an 1860's era house and property built by a mason craftsman. It's true European hospitality.

See how the front porch beckons you.

And on the other side of the house is the original wine cellar...This property used to be a winery also.

The cellar beckons you as well, but you must wait until the evening to visit there.

Photo credit: blog.steveadamsstudio.com

This is the inside of the 1860's wine cellar where guests go to have an evening port tasting and desert.

Dear Gorgeous Old Wine Cellar, I never want to leave youuuuu!!!
Love,
Your Friend Angie
and her Stud Muffin Tim

We know Alpenhorn Gasthaus very well.
We've stayed there five times in the last three years.

So after checking in and chatting with
Kate and Adrian,
the owners who are absoutely the most fantastic people, for a few minutes, we check into our digs.
Sometimes we stay in the big house in the King's Room or Queen's Room.
This time we stayed in Das Landhaus, one of two cottages. This is the path around the house you take to get there.

This walk is always so peaceful and fun.
Sometimes we see a kitty here.
Sometimes we just see gnomes and plants.

After a 45 second walk, we happen upon our most favoritist place to stay here, the big cottage.

This was the original house from the 1860's.

It's small and intimate. And cozy and casual and all good things like that.

This cottage is just big enough...it's so peaceful and casual with tranquil views.

Everything is scaled back here...no tv's in the room. At all.

But they do have
wi-fi. And that is how I can keep current with the website and work emails.

I had ordered the yummy cheese and cracker plate ahead of time, and lo and behold, Adrian delivers it within a half hour of our arrival.

It is welcome sustenance.
I'm certain we hadn't eaten in two hours or so. :)

Just checkin' out the views from the cottage porch while Tim is napping....

The hot tub is always a big draw here...one must sign up for it ahead of time.

It's nice and peaceful.

Reading a book in this bucolic setting is awesomely awesome!!!

But at some point we must get some more sustenance.

And we do. We go to downtown Hermann. Apparently the Concert Hall/Barrel Bar used to be the oldest, continually operated bar west of the Mississippi.

Eventually we go back to the cottage and in the morning, I walk outside the cottage door with my hot cup of coffee and what do I hear beckoning me...

Oh hello Hansel!

Or Gretel.

I forget which one you are.

Oh, you are a beauty though! And friendly!!

What's been going on Hansel/Gretel?

Anything new?

Look at your pretty eyes.

Yes, you like to be petted, I know.

Well hello both of you...top 'o the mornin' to ya!!!

Yes, hello beautiful sheepies!!!!

You are awful friendly this morning!

And beautiful I might add.

But it's 9am and time for breakfast in the big house!
So we scurry in.

Breakfast looks yummy this Saturday morning!

As does the table decor.

Kate is a gourmet cook and her three course breakfasts are out of this world!!!

And we begin with a peach smoothie...

YUM!

Got room for some Banana Nut
Multi-Grain Pancakes with Maple Butter??

I do believe these pancakes are the most delicious cakes I've ever had!!!

Aaand the fresh egg, ham, cheese and herb cup...really...I can't even describe how good this is to you *licking lips*

Yeah, so after all that breakfast food, Stud Muffin and I do a little shopping to work off some of that yumminess...

Fortunately we were able to stop at one of my favorite antique and junk places!

Located in a barn no less.

Who likes to eat?

Who was getting hungry? Again.

Who stopped at the Black Walnut Bistro for lunch?

Simple, elegant decor.

They make their own pasta fresh every day.

We weren't hungry enough for pasta but we did eat the following...

I KNOW! It's not very much!!!We should have had a side of pasta too!

So instead of visiting the super charming wineries this time, we did a lot of restful lounging,

including chatting with the chickens back at the B&B.

Okay, Tim slept and Angie chatted with the chickens.
And then I checked out the rest of the property.

Late afternoon came and the mini dark chocolate cupcakes that I ordered for Tim's birthday arrived.

Kate makes these...Oh they were dark chocolatey scrumptious!
It does appear that we were well fed this day, doesn't it?
Well fed or overfed?

So around 7pm we hightailed it into the big house where we had signed up for Kate's yummy wine country gourmet dinner.

This is the Gathering Room across from the Dining room. One gathers here to listen to music, play board games and socialize with other guests.

OH my! The dining room always looks so pretty for the candlelight dinners!

And this is where I forget to take pictures of all the food because I'm too busy chatting (imagine that!) with Tim and the other guests/diners....crap!
The following top pictures were a savory cheesecake...it was an appetizer and it was to die for!!!! It wasn't a sweet cheesecake, it was a light fluffy savory one! I forgot what kind of cheese was in it but man!
The bottom two pictures were the meal which was stuffed pork loin and a delicious sweet potato and russet mash and the bread of course but I forgot to take a picture of the yummy salad!!

So anyway, after dinner one must walk down a lighted path to get to the 1860's era wine cellar where there is a candlelight port tasting with chocolate.

And the cellar is looking mighty pretty and romantic tonight.

And the dessert is looking mighty pretty and
deee-licious!

Hey, I forgot to ask if this was fat free!!!!

Oh well, next time I guess.

Get your hands away from my dessert Tim!!!
It's mine, all mine!!!
You have your own!!

Hey Tim, can I have some of yours if you don't eat it all?

I must admit, I am always mesmerized by the candles on the wall.

By the way, this wine cellar is all brick and the temp was pretty darn nice, a tad warm for the earlier 105 degree day but that didn't stop us guests from not leaving and driving Adrian crazy who leads the port tastings.

So the next morning we wake up to...

get this....

more food!!!

Oh close your mouth, it's not THAT shocking!!!

Uh. Apparently I started eating my french toast before I took a picture.

You would do the same too...Kate's food is that good!

Creamed herbed eggs and some fantastic
brats from their award winning, local sausage and brat house.

And so after breakfast, we bid farewell to the sheep and the kitties and the cottage and the other guests and Kate and Adrian...

....and head back down the driveway. Back to reality.
I gotta be honest with ya though, thank goodness reality doesn't include all that fantastic food we consumed over the weekend. I already look like a linebacker, eating that goodness every day would push me up into a starting line position for sure!!
:):):):):)
No.
Seriously.
:)

Okay guys....hope you enjoyed these pictures.
Hope you're not too hungry now:)
Have a good Monday!!!
Talk to ya soon!!

Slow Cooker No-Peel Steel Cut Oats and a Tornado...Fun Times at the Homestead

8/4/2012

Seriously.
Really.
No lie.
This is where I should be right now.

At a candlelight port tasting at a bed and breakfast in Hermann, Mo...
our favorite place in the Midwest!

But instead I am here.

On my couch.

With my doggie.

And a laptop.

And a beverage.

Cuz a tornado or straight line winds came through two hours into our little weekend getaway.

But we gotaway right back to the property :) and started cleaning up with help from some wonderful neighbors and friends.

So that's why I'm doing up a post here instead of eating chocolate and sipping port, BUT I've been wanting to share this recipe so that's good!!!! Yum!!!

Slow Cooker No-Peel Apples and Steel-Cut Oats...it's the easiest thing ever to make in the universe for a make-ahead, healthy breakfast. It takes like 10 minutes max to put together.
And that includes five minutes of trying to locate and pull out the slow cooker.

By the way, the photos are blurry in the right hand corner because I dropped my camera INTO the oatmeal and didn't clean the lens off good enough. Yeah. Genius is what I am.

This healthy, tasty breakfast dish plates up nice, the texture is like a dense bread pudding,

and the taste is nice and warming no matter the temps that day.

This recipe is from one of my favorite food websites www.reluctantentertainer.com.

Slow Cooker No-Peel Apples and Steel-Cut Oats
From the www.ReluctantEntertainer.com website…her site is fantastic, check it out!
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Summary: Cook overnight and wake up to hot breakfast ready to serve!

Ingredients
2 apples, un-peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2-3 cups chopped)
3 cups milk
3 cups water
2 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cut into 5-6 pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Walnuts (serve on top after cooked)

Instructions
Spray inside of a large slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients (except walnuts) to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours.

Serve oatmeal in bowls; add walnuts. You can also add raisins, any other fresh fruit or dried fruit, other nuts or maple syrup.

Store leftovers in refrigerator. Freeze in individual servings if desired.

To reheat single servings: Put 1-cup cooked oatmeal in microwave-proof bowl. Add 1/3 cup fat-free milk. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Continue cooking for another minute, or until hot.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 7 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6

Don't blink or you'll miss how fast this comes together!

These are the fixins...
Do not use regular oatmeal...buy the steel cut oats!

Cut up the apples and throw them in the slow cooker.

OH!!!
Be sure to spray the inside of the slow cooker first with cooking spray.

Spray, spray spray away!!

Add the milk and water into the apples....

Add in the steel cut oats and brown sugar....

...and the vanilla.

And this is what it looks like all together.

Now put on the lid and go to bed.

Seven hours later, lift the lid off and believe it or not,

this is what the breakfast looks like.

Take a scoop out....

This smells so delicious in the crock pot...

look how dense all this liquid got overnight with the oats!

I was taking this close-up crock pot picture when I accidentally dropped my camera into the oatmeal.
Crap!

Anyway, top with walnuts and dig in!

The apples, vanilla and brown sugar give this dish depth and flavor.

It's fantastic with a glass of milk or hot steaming cup of coffee.

And so easy to make too!

So that's about it for the steel cut oats...yummy!!

Next recipe I share is gonna be a yummy rib-eye recipe from the Taste of Home Grilling Magazine. Yum too!

Okay, have a great rest of the weekend kiddos.
Talk at ya soon!

Things I Have Been Doing...

8/1/2012

Things I Have Been Doing...
Cuz sure as crap I haven't been writing up any new posts...

#1 Thing I Have Been Doing...

I've been doing things like washing and detailing out hot cars like this 2004 Grand Prix GTP that sold yesterday.

In fact, I've processed four car sales in the last 24 hours.

Seriously, we've been major league busy and people want their cars and that means Angie needs to do more manual labor than normal :)

Yeah,

so I've been cleaning things like the front seats....

and dashes of vehicles that have pre-sold.

And their nooks.

I've been detailing back seat areas...

Engines of course...

And crannys.
What's a cranny anyway??

And door panels...

And that ever exciting trunkal area...
It's a word.
Look it up.
In the Pretend Dictionary Of Made-up Words. Duh.

All in an effort to get quality, affordable cars out to families/moms and dads/kids as quick as possible.

2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with a 3800 V6 supercharged engine.

#2 Thing I've Been Doing...

Well, clearly I've continued my tradition of not folding the laundry like always.

Hey!
I finally bought a new basket though, so now all the clothes are in one nice neat pile.
Baby steps.

#3 Thing I've been doing...

OH!

I bought new pillows for the third bedroom upstairs. It is a tineeee, tiny room. That loveseat pulls out into a twin bed.

Cute pillows, huh? Cheap too!!

#4 Thing I've Been Doing...

Well, I bought all these 2/$1
red peppers cuz Ima make roasted peppers and freeze them before they get gross and moldy.

Girl Scout honor.

I wasn't a Girl Scout but does that still count?

#5 Thing I've Been Doing...

I've been busy fertilizing the flowers which then killed a lot of them.

Apparently one should not Miracle-Gro flowers when they're already under stress .
From a drought.

Does this look dead to you?

What about these?

And my pretty red, white and purple petunias...think they're burnt to a crisp on top there?

The only good thing about inappropriately fertilizing the flowers is...this climbing, red flowered plant is turning out rather gorgeous after that strong shot of fertilizer.

#6 Thing I've Been Doing...

Keeping the ornery
Two Cats For Sale aka Vinny and Pepper,
happy by plying them with treats.

Aaaaand trying to keep them off the laptop in the mornings.

And trying hard to prevent Vinny from going into rehab treatment for his highlight marker sniffing addiction.

#7 Thing I've Been Doing...

Prettying up the guest bedroom!!!

With new lamps!

And some de-hairifying of everything.

I guess I could have made the bed better where the blankets don't show.
Just not my style. You know, to be neat and tidy.

Just had to show this...

this is the small window on the small stair landing coming downstairs from the bedrooms.

Love that orange Italy glass!

#8 Thing I've Been Doing...

Clearly, I don't want to break my streak of not doing dishes until a customer comes in and then I throw them inside the oven.

Works for me.

You should try it.

#9 Thing I've Been Doing...

Like my new cross trainer shoes?

Like my white trash tattoo on my ankle?

Picture courtesy of Performance For Heath Facebook page.

Like to be tortured Monday-Friday for one hour early in the morning at a military style boot camp?!?!?!

Do ya? You like torture?

Then join my sister and me every morning at 5:30am.

P.S. The fit lady up front is not me, however the trainer in back...yup, that's Erin at Performance For Health...leader of the torturous boot camp. She's really nice outside of boot camp but TOUGH! TOUGH! TOUGH! during. I'm not kidding you.

#10 Thing I've Been Doing...

Entertaining myself taking pictures of the crop duster plane who REFUSES to swoop down super low so I can get a good picture!

Maybe this one is better.

This one?

OKAY FINE!

I'LL STOP WITH THE BORING PICTURES!!

#11 Thing I've Been Doing...

Okay, remember when this cupboard was burnt orange like this?

I liked it.

But then one day I painted it turquoise...

and it remained that way.

For about a year.

And then I painted it yellow, to brighten things up a bit.

Aaaand the cupboard is now gray as of last week.

#12 Thing I've Been doing...

I can't talk about how busy I am without mentioning our time with Little Boy Blue,

the apple of our eye!!!!!

Even when he's trying to steal his Grandpa's phone when his Grandpa is on a call with a customer,

he's still our #1 little guy...

How can you not love those cheeks!

Little Boy Blue's too! :):):):):)

Okay, that's all I got for now kiddos!

I have been cooking quite a bit! Can't wait to share a couple recipes!
Hope everybody has a great Thursday and we'll talk at ya soon!!!