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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Flowers for Leontien

Sending some love to Leontien!






Monday, April 23, 2012

Made From Scratch Tuesday 4/24

The other day, I had a serious craving for some fajitas. There's just something about the spicy strips of steak and the crunchy peppers that really gets my mouth watering! And I'll admit that even though I have a spice rack that would make about any home cook jealous, I always buy fajita seasoning. Why? I have no idea. I have everything I need right in the kitchen. So I figured it was about time I made my own! After looking around on the interwebs for a bit, I realized all the recipes I found were about the same. So I used this one I found on food.com.




  • tablespoon cornstarch
  • teaspoons chili powder
  • teaspoon salt
  • teaspoon paprika
  • teaspoon sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon crushed chicken bouillon cube
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin

  • Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. I cut a flank steak into strips and tossed with about 3/4 of the seasoning mixture. I cooked them on my electric grill to medium. At the same time, I sauteed 2 large peppers cut into strips, 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) and an onion cut into small wedges in a little bit of oil and the rest of the seasoning mixture. 





    As I was enjoying dinner, I suddenly realize how crazy I've been for buying seasoning packs all this time! I'm definitely going to keep using this recipe! 




    Now it's time to link up all of your creations!
    Here are the rules:
    1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
    2. The post has to be made from scratch.
    3. The post you link up MUST CONTAIN A RECIPE! 
    4. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar. 
       


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    Wednesday, April 18, 2012

    Chocolate Blackout Cake

    Is there anything better than chocolate topped with chocolate? Only if it's topped with even more chocolate! And that's exactly what the Chocolate Blackout cake is.

    "The Blackout Cake was the creation of Ebinger's, a famous New York-based neighborhood bakery chain. An indecently rich, dark tower of chocolate, this cake has become something of a Holy Grail for many bakers. Cult-like fans went through Blackout withdrawal when the bakeries closed down and The Cake disappeared. Many have tried to re-create this cake; I feel this version comes close. It is a multi-stepped process (remember, this was a bakery specialty) but it can easily be broken down into components." -Food Network show "Sara's Secrets" 


    I assume my mom followed the recipe on the food network site. All I know is I got this picture the other night on my phone: 


    So much chocolate! Maybe it's just me, but I think it's kind of cruel to send someone pictures like that and not bring me a piece of cake.


    So I figured the only logical thing I can do with these pictures is to share them! I hope you all are craving chocolate cake like I did after seeing these!!


    Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

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    Monday, April 16, 2012

    Made From Scratch Tuesday 4/17

    Sometimes I miss living near an ocean. Ok, so I miss it a lot! The biggest thing I miss? Fresh seafood. Which is odd because I was never really one for seafood when I was a kid. But now, I crave it. And I mean I really crave it! Short of paying for fresh seafood that was flown in that morning (which I have been known to do from time to time), I have to eat frozen. Now frozen shrimp isn't really all that bad. It's not as good as fresh, but it will work. When the husband and I had a shrimp craving, I knew we were going to try out a recipe I saw on the Food Network website from the Neely's!

    Start out by cleaning the shrimp. I left this to the husband. But save the shells to make stock for later use!

    Start cooking pasta while you work on the rest of the dish. With all your ingredients ready to go, this entire dish will cook in about 10 minutes, which is awesome for those nights when you don't feel like standing in the kitchen forever! Anyway, while your pasta is cooking, saute shrimp for a couple of minutes in olive oil. The shrimp will not be all the way cooked; you don't want to overcook them later on!


    Remove shrimp and set aside. In the same pan, saute garlic and red pepper flakes for about a minute. Then add the lemon juice and white wine and reduce for a few minutes. (And I have to point out my new measuring cups that my friend just got me. Aren't they cute?!) Mix in butter and a spoonful of the pasta water.


    Toss shrimp back in pan, remove from stove and add in drained pasta. Toss well with parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper!



    Now it's time to link up all of your creations!
    Here are the rules:
    1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
    2. The post has to be made from scratch.
    3. The post you link up MUST CONTAIN A RECIPE! 
    4. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar. 
       



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    Monday, April 9, 2012

    Made From Scratch Tuesday 4/10

    Crock Pot Pheasant

    What you'll need:
    4 pheasants
    1 c orange juice
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 red onion, chopped
    3 T Worcestershire Sauce
    1/2 bottle soy sauce
    1 T Apple Cider Vinegar
    2 T White Wine

    Mix all ingredients (except pheasant) in a large glass bowl. Remove about half a cup of the sauce and set aside. Let pheasants marinate for 30 minutes. Place pheasants and marinade in the crock pot and cook on low until done, about 5 hours. Serve with remaining sauce.



    Now it's time to link up all of your creations!
    Here are the rules:
    1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
    2. The post has to be made from scratch.
    3. The post you link up MUST CONTAIN A RECIPE! 
    4. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar. 
      


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    Saturday, April 7, 2012

    Easter 2012


    We tried something new this year. We used KoolAde to dye our eggs. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but they were actually really bright!



    The girls had a blast finding eggs!



    And I made there baskets by gluing together boxes of candy. I filled their "baskets" with hair ties, candy, make up, and "carrots" of goldfish crackers stuffed in a piping bag.



    Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!


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    Monday, April 2, 2012

    Made From Scratch Tuesday 4/3

    I love potatoes....and cheese. So it seems only logical that I would love the combination of the two. And quite honestly, I don't think I've ever snubbed a plate of cheese fries....especially with bacon. I figured I could cook up a combination of potatoes and cheese with maybe a bit more refined taste. The result? Parmesan potato crisps!


    They were delicious and so simple to make!

    What you'll need:
    A potato or two
    Some Parmesan cheese
    a dab of olive oil
    salt

    Slice potatoes thin (I used a mandolin) and spread out on a sheet of parchment paper that's bee lightly coated with olive oil. Sprinkle on some salt and top with a thin slice of cheese. Bake at 425 until crispy on the outside. Mine took about 25 minutes. And they were delicious paired with asparagus and Parmesan cheese burgers.


    Now it's time to link up all of your creations!
    Here are the rules:
    1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
    2. The post has to be made from scratch.
    3. The post you link up MUST CONTAIN A RECIPE! 
    4. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar. 
     




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