An Unlikely Move for a Food Blogger...

So here’s an unlikely move that a food blogger takes- 

subscribing to an online menu planning service. 

eMeals.com

BUT, WHY??

Like most of you, I’m busy most days, guilty of the 5 o’clock stare down inside the fridge and just wanting to spend a little extra time with my family. This subscription was a gift to myself for my birthday. First, let me tell you how I stumbled upon it. I recently was looking around on the Dave Ramsey website for some information on how to proceed on the next step in Financial Peace University (FPU). I had my workbook from the class, somewhere downstairs and knew I could find the information online just as easy. My husband and I took the class last fall and it was life changing. Here we are a year later and are almost finished with step 2. It’s been interesting to say the least, but we’ve learned so much. 

I promise this is food related so bare with me. 

If you’ve ever heard or knew someone who’s followed Dave Ramsey, enrolled in his FPU class or even picked up one of his books, you might grow tired of the phrase,

“Well, Dave says”.

Well, Dave recommends eMeals.com. I found a link to eMeals on his website and was slightly interested in what eMeals was all about. Basically, meal planning made simple. You pick what menu plan suits you and your family best and then they email you a weekly menu and shopping list. Ingredients used in one meal are used in others, so no wasted money on random ingredients you may never cook with again. If you pair your menu plan with a grocery store listed, they customize it based on your local store’s sales ad with that week’s dinners. It actually saves you money and time. 

When my husband is home, I spend Sunday afternoons, pursuing cookbooks, food websites and magazines. I compile a list of meals for the week and make a grocery list. It takes HOURS of planning. But with my husband due home from deployment after the first of the year, I realized that cereal, corndogs and pb&j’s are no longer an option for nightly dinners. I know how precious our time is together as a family and rather than spend hours planning, why not let someone do it for me?

I searched the web for honest reviews of the program, followed them on Pinterest and liked their Facebook page. I wanted to know if this was right for our family. Other than endorsements from bloggers reviewing their service for compensation or a subscription giveaway, the reviews I had been searching for were few and far between. It was a hard decision to make, with little info from real people like me. So, hence my review. eMeals boasts 10 different meal plans to choose from, a lunch plan and there’s a new breakfast plan available. They have sample menus to look at and help you decide which plan suits your family. 

Gluten free, Paleo, Vegetarian, Low Fat, Low Carb, 

Classic Meals, Simple Gourmet, Portion Control, 

Natural & Organic and Clean Eating.

They’ve got everyone covered and you can change your meal plan monthly if you aren’t satisfied with the one you’re currently on. I went with my gut and took the plunge. I took part on their cyber Monday sale for 30% off all orders. I subscribed to a 6 month classic family meal plan and lunch plan for about $40.   All the shopping lists and menus are in pdf format and emailed to you weekly. Just print and go shopping, easy as that. 

So, I’ve officially been on the program for a week. I’ve made a few of the dinners and of course shared them on Instagram. 

Classic Family Dinner plan: So- Good Turkey Enchiladas and 

Family Favorite Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Peas

Lunch plan: Cheesy Bacon and Ranch Twists and Turkey & Cheese Roll-Ups

So far I’ve enjoyed this meal planning service. I’ve gone to the store with a list and left with everything I needed to prepare a weeks worth of lunches & dinners for my family. Now, my boys are picky and since for now it’s just the three of us, I decided the Classic family meal plan would work for us when I signed up for eMeals. I like how we can look at the week’s menu and cross off which one’s don’t fit our taste or if we have been invited over for dinner with friends. Here’s an important tip: be flexible. If your meat or food item expires on day 3, but it’s for meal 7, freeze it or cook it on day 3. I will say that  only problem I have encountered is that we have had a ton of leftovers on the family plan and they’re a little on the heavy side. My kids eat the equivalent of one serving together and my one serving and it leaves another 3-4 servings of leftovers. I hate to waste food and I feel like I’m freezing a ton of leftovers or end up throwing it away. I’ve decided to switch to a 2 person meal plan for clean eating next week and see how that goes. I hope for those of you that are busy, but love to cook, give this a try. 

I’m still having adventures in my kitchen, just a bit planned out now. 

*I have not received any compensation from eMeals.com for my honest review of their meal planning service. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Raspberry Tea Battle

Honestly, I REALLY don't know how much thanks and love I could pour my awesome sister's - Nikki -way.   

One of my MOST favorite drinks on the planet -just behind Cheerwine, is Raspberry Tea. Only I am super picky on the taste of the raspberry tea.  Longhorn Steakhouse had the best (until I made the recipe below). My Mom & other sister, Julie even laugh at me when I order it because they call me a "Raspberry Tea Snob". Which could be true since I order 1/2 sweet, 1/2 unsweet tea, 3 pumps of raspberry syrup and a lemon wedge. I have even told wait staff that the amount of their tip weighs heavily if they make it right or not.

So to feed my addition, she emails me a recipe for Raspberry Tea she found in a cookbook by Taste of Home which you can also find here on their website.  She titled the email "You'll Love Me Forever". Well, I will. I really will.  This raspberry tea is the BEST I have ever tasted. It is nice and tart. It does have to be made in advance as the flavor gets better the longer it sits.  We even tried the idea somone else had about making it into ice cubes because we experienced the 'watered down taste' normal ice cubes were giving it. Which the picture shows in the Bugs Bunny glass.  Even my kids agree that this is better than what we get from Longhorn. The only downside to the recipe is that the gallon plus amount it makes runs through our house in no time flat.  The only ingredient I have to go out & purchase is frozen raspberries when I want to make it.

Last week, I get another email with a Raspberry Tea Recipe from one of her friends, likes to drink.  The recipe is pretty simple and makes a gallon.  
Steep 4 regular tea bags (=2 family sized) & 4 Celestial Raspberry Zinger tea bags. In a gallon pitcher add 1 cup sugar & juice of 1 lemon. Mix in cooled down tea, then fill up pitcher with water and chill.  This recipe makes a very refreshing tea. It's not too tart nor too sweet and is nice to sit and sip.

So, who won the Raspberry Tea Battle in our home?????

It was a tie. Depends on what you want.  I can whip up the refreshing version in an afternoon to serve at dinner, or I can prepare the super stuff the evening before I want to serve it, because it needs time to hang out.  I highly suggest for you to try both if you are raspberry lover like I am!

Pre-Thanksgiving Planning...

So, my parents have confirmed that they will be traveling to Kansas to visit over Thanksgiving. Since my husband is still deployed overseas, this visit is  a welcomed one. I'm super excited about Nana & Papa coming here and I'm also kind of glad I won't be spending this holiday or my birthday  alone or just with my boys. 
The announcement of their arrival has spawned a pre-Thanksgiving planning on my part. I've been tossing around the idea of deviating from our traditional menu and doing things a bit different in Kansas. I love turkey as much as the next person, but I found a slow roasted duck recipe that I've been wanting to try. Or how about fixing a Turducken? If that idea doesn't fly with my parents, I'm at least planning on these side dishes and dessert recipes.

For sides, I'm thinking:
Stuffing Balls (this takes you back to last year's post) This recipe incorporates cranberry sauce and it helps avoid the random plate of can shaped sauce on the table.
Classic Green Bean Casserole The Campbell's classic.
Sweet Potato Casserole This recipe my friend made last Thanksgiving, I believe it had pineapple tidbits, pecans and coconut in it. I'm waiting on a reply from her, but if not, I have a back up recipe from McCormick. ~ Roasted Sweet Potato Casserole with a Cinnamon Pecan Crunch

And for dessert -
Pumpkin Pie a la Paula Deen. A friend of ours made this last year, but instead of using the regular  pie crust he used a graham cracker crust. It was simply delicious. 


I hope this inspires you all to do some pre-planning of your own. Enjoy!

All things Fall...

Fall is in full swing, even though it's feels like Winter here in Kansas. We just had our first frost, it's only 39* degrees right now with a high of 55* and northwest Kansas just had 3 inches of the white stuff dumped on them yesterday. Fall is a time for.... 

PUMPKINS and HALLOWEEN 

and FOOTBALL!

 We've done a few get togethers with our friends and had some amazing eats! My friend Jill made a Baked Asparagus dip, Sausage-Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers, grilled Maui Chicken and a ton of other good food one night we got together. The dip and the poppers are both from a Taste of Home cookbook her mom had given her. But, luck us, both recipes are on their website and are super simple appetizers to make for a group of people. While browsing their site I came across a neat pumpkin recipe - Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Carmel Frosting. Let me just say, they were amazing! I'm flash freezing the remaining rolls so we can enjoy them all month long. They were simple enough to make, just remember to use dental floss to cut the roll. Just place the floss underneath the roll, pull both sides up, cross over and pull tight. Your roll comes out perfect each time. 

 While the rolls were rising and baking, I started cooking a ham so we could have ham sandwiches this week. Here's my Mom's recipe that never fails. I used a 9lb hickory smoked shank, boil for 1-2 hours on the stove top, turning occasionally,  then score it and cover it with cherries and pineapple rings in foil lined roasting pan. Mix up pineapple juice, mustard and brown sugar to taste and pour over the ham. Cover with foil, bake at 350* for 2 1/2 - 3 hours until done. 

Here's the ham before it went in the oven.

It smells amazing in my house and I can't wait for you all to try one of these awesome recipes! Enjoy!

Just for Joey

On one of my recent trip into Pinterest, I pinned this 'idea' - Coffee Ice Cubes!
Joey LOVES  Starbucks Bottled  Mocha Frappuccino Coffee Drinks - I mean LOVES them. However, being a lover of certain things Starbucks, it's not an everyday thing that I can afford. Plus, there isn't one in my sad, lost town. Even then those bottled drinks are a luxury at the local Food Lion - unless they are on sale, but still, they aren't cheap. So, he knows he has to wait. That makes it all the better. (Kinda like I have to wait to get my Pumpkin Spice Latte. That's when I know fall is here and I get my annual post card from them telling me it's time to get my free birthday drink!)  Anyways, back to Joey.
So, yesterday morning when I made my coffee, I made an entire pot, even though I only wanted a cup, to attempt the 'idea' that I pinned. First, I poured plain coffee into some extra ice cube trays and froze them til solid then moved them to a bowl in the freezer (the one with the lid in the picture). Then I added some milk and sugar to the rest and mixed it up really good and poured it in the trays again for those to freeze. (Yes, I know that is a glue stick in the back of the picture. I have no idea why one of my children put a glue stick in my freezer, I left it so I would remember to ask them.)

Once they are nice and frozen (or in my case the day after I started because Joey was running a fever last night) they are ready to be added to a glass of milk of your choice.

Joey chose 2% milk, because that is what we drink - but I am sure that you can use what you like.  In this glass there are 6 of the cubes that have milk and sugar mixed in and 2 straight coffee.  I think there was about 1/3 of glass of milk or so there before he started adding the coffee cubes. 

Once the coffee cubes begin to melt some and most of the milk was drunk, he grabbed a fork and began "stabbing" it to break it up into a cold coffee slushy. His review: "This is great. I like it better than the store bought stuff."  All I can do was smile as I walked away. Yay me!

Baked Sketty

This afternoon I attempted to make Baked Spaghetti.  I figured "How hard is it to do what I normally do to make spaghetti but then put it in a dish and cover it in cheese and then bake it?" 
Well, it wasn't that hard.  I am thinking it would make it easier for my kids when they make Spaghetti Sandwiches. Wondering what those are?  That is when my kids take the garlic bread I normally serve with spaghetti and mound the noodles and sauce on a slice then top it with another slice. It makes them happy, why would I complain. Spaghetti sauce is so very easy to hide veggies in. My kids like most veggies, but it's still fun to serve them extra ones when they aren't looking.
Here is what I did on this creation that is awaiting the rating once my kids are home from practices and games today.
Ingredients:
1 lb 85/15 ground beef
1 lb ground Italian sausage (I make my own.)
2 Jars of spaghetti sauce (Today I used Ragu, Mama's Garden Special Garden Sauce)
Handful of fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
8 oz  bag of finely shredded Mozzarella Cheese
16 oz box of Angel Hair Pasta

Cook pasta until al dente, drain, season with a little garlic, butter and Parmesan cheese to your liking
Brown ground beef and sausage. 
Add sauce to meat mixture.
Add handful of Parmesan cheese.
Spray 9 x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Put noodles in casserole dish.
Add meat sauce on top of noodles.
Top with cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or long enough to melt cheese, then broil to brown cheese.

Peaches & Pumpkins

Last week I took a recipe a friend shared with me and turned it in what I love now: Peachy Baked Oatmeal! Unfortunately, when I sent the recipe home I madeit in a PDF. So, I just made a pic of the recipe and posted it here.  The pic below is from my breakfast yesterday. I put what I want in a bowl, add a little milk & 'nute it until it is nice and warm then stir til it is creamy. Yummy!

Fall is my 2nd  favorite season, as Summer is the first. So, today being the Second day of Fall, I decided that I would officially welcome it with my super yummy Pumpkin Bread!  

The recipe from Allrecipes.com is the one that I use.  My only change to it is that I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the three different spices.  I would suggest that you make the big batch instead of using the converter to break it down. That way you can buy that big can of pumpkin and use all of it instead of only using part of the regular size can.

I make two regular loaves and a batch of mini loaves. The mini-loves once cooled and froze can make a wonderful quick breakfast when they are defrosted for about 10 minutes and then microwaved for about 45 seconds and then they are like they have just come out of the oven.  The regular loves are good to slice and freeze also, but it takes about 2 of those to make a decent breakfast portion!

Instagram Obsession, Memes and Greek Pasta Salad

Okay, so I've been slacking and not blogging like I should. I promise I've been cooking. I've just been a little obsessed with Instagram lately. Yep, the camera has been out and the boys and I have been having fun. I found a little site and discovered all the fun things I can do at PicMonkey.com. I collaged my Instagram food pics (an idea I saw on Pinterest) and eventually I'll get a poster size print of it and hang it in the kitchen. 

So, we officially kicked off the first day of fall yesterday with Apple Days here at Fort Riley. We had tons of fun at the festival. The boys and I rode in a Humvee, shot M4's, ate  carnival foods and spent the day with a few of our friends having lots of fun. Of course, I had lots of pictures, so I ended up doing a mini collage of our family and completed it with a screen shot pic I took of my husband from one of Skype dates.  

One of the fun things at Apple Days are the period reenactments and never know who you'll run into. We found Abe Lincoln and I couldn't keep a straight face after I informed Chris that this is the President who is on the penny. This ultimately made me reminisce about President's Day weekend when Chris swallowed honest Abe and we patiently awaited his return. So I made a Meme. Abe's expression is priceless, almost like he knew where he'd been. 

On to the food part of the blog....

A couple of weeks ago, I held a get together and one of my dear friends brought this AMAZING pasta salad. I asked for the recipe of course and it was a little of this and a little of that. I googled the ingredients she rambled off and found maybe the very recipe she used or one very close on allrecipes. This Greek pasta salad is full of fresh veggies, olives, feta cheese and a great Greek dressing. I used a bag of Wacky Mac veggie spirals, a whole English cucumber, a few grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, some green onions, and tomato basil feta cheese, but nixed the rest of the veggies called for in the original. I doubled the lemon juice, added a tablespoon each of parsley and dried minced onion to the dressing. It turned out great and maybe next time I'll add artichoke hearts and sliced grilled chicken to it as well. 

Greek Pasta Salad from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups penne pasta 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 teaspoons dried oregano salt and pepper to taste 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

10 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 small red onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cucumber, sliced 1/2 cup sliced black olives 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain well in a colander set in the sink.
2.	Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Set aside. Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, green and red peppers, cucumber, olives, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over the pasta and mix together. Cover and chill for 3 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Found in a Magazine

     On August 25th when Em played some volleyball and we had an adventure to a covered bridge, my mom-in-law, gave me the September 2012 issue of Family Circle to have as she had already read it.  I thumbed through it and fell in love with a recipe called 'Gnocchi all'Amatriciana'.
     A week later, and I decided that is what we were going to have for dinner along with a stromboli.  The stromboli was just in case we didn't like the new recipe. The bread I made for the stromboli was actually a Pizza Crust for Bread Machine that I did with out the machine and baked it at 425 for about 20 minutes. It turned out wonderful. But that is not why we are here...so back to the Gnocchi all'Amatriciana.  
     Jamey called me at The Fresh Market and informed me he invited our parents & my nephew for dinner. No worries, just had to grab some more gnocchi since I was just going to half the recipe.  So, I make the dinner and everyone raves. Even my picky nephew.
    Tonight, I decided to make it again since the pancetta was still on sale at Food Lion, as well as the crushed tomatoes and pasta. Since gnocchi isn't sold at my local in the middle of nowhere store, I chose to make it with rotini noodles. The reviews from tonight's dinner, said it was good with the gnocchi as well as the rotini.  I too, liked it with either and am looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow at work if I can keep the kids out of the leftovers tonight!

    The recipe makes about 8 servings and with the ingredients either on sale or already at my house (including the garlic bread in the picture), the total came out to $1.22 a serving!

Too Hot to Bake

It was just too hot to cook or bake anything on Labor Day 2012 and I wanted something sweet. So I went in search for a cooler dessert. I found what I was looking for on one of my Pintrest boards (sorry, I can't remember which one I had it on). The original posting is by Michelle Duggar and her recipe for Layered Ice Cream Cake.

This was fun to make and while drizzling the syrup, I thought this would be great to make in into like a 'banana split layered ice cream cake'. The only additions would be the fruit since it has everything else. Oh, I might just add more Butterfinger next time because that is MY favorite candy bar.

As for a picture, some unknown teen stole my batteries from my ancient camera to use in a remote of some sort, so a picture right now, isn't going to happen.  Just Google. the name of the recipe and you will see many different pics on what people have made. Maybe one day, I will add my own, cause after all, it's all butter(fingers!) people!

Fun with Food Update

Back in December, I posted an idea that was named: 'Fun with Food'. Funny thing about life (and my medications) things get forgotten or pushed to the back burner. Unfortunately, this is what happened to my 'Fun with Food'.  One of those things I wanted to do was called - All from Same Publications.
So for dinner tonight, that is what I have chosen to do. The publication was chosen by Michael. I told him to choose any of my cookbooks.  This is the one he chose.

Yep.  You see that right: Can You Take the Heat? The WWF is Cooking! That is what I get when a 13 year old boy picks out a cookbook!  This was a Christmas present many moons ago when I watched my husbands 'soap opera' as he calls it with him.  

I began the task to pick out enough recipes that if something wasn't liked, at least you could have something else to eat.  
The menu looked like this:

• J.R.'s Slobberknocker Pork Chops
• J.R.'s Smashed-Down Potatoes with Attitude
• Headbanger's Stuffed 'Shrooms
• The Rock's "Smack-aroni" Salad
• J.R.'s Country Corn Bread
• Perry Saturn's Super Cookies
• Bob Backlund's Low-Card Vanilla Ice Cream

 This was our tablescape.  I had Michael to get his wrestlers and put them around the table - until everyone sat down. Din't want The Rock to use 'The People's Elbow' on The Undertaker on top of the corn bread!

As part of our 'Fun with Food' undertaking, everyone tried everything. I did not like the stuffed mushrooms, but my Mom loved them.  The pork chops were fabulous. Most everyone went back for seconds on those. They use crushed 'shredded wheat' cereal to be browned in before they hit the oven with some tomatoes. The corn bread was sweeter than I normally make, but still good. The mashed potatoes were loaded with garlic and were nice along side the pork chop. The macaroni salad was good but, I don't recommend having it with everything else we had with it.

As for our "Finishing Moves" aka Dessert, I didn't have the Splenda the ice cream called for, so I used regular sugar and milk.  The cookies were created from a butter recipe cake mix. The only thing I didn't make and wished I had was "J.R.'s Granny's Chocolate Gravy". I was just too tired to make it after dinner was done and we had rested.

The Slobberknocker Pork Chops will definitely be enjoyed in our home again and next time we might make The Rock's Famous Rock-Bottom Pancakes, or Stone Cold's Texas Toast or maybe Rikishi's Rump Roast.  All I know is that no matter what adventure we take with our food, it's all butter!

Embrace your inner fat kid and learn how to stop coughing....

All  hail to my newest Pinterest recipe addiction...Funfetti Dip! It's 4 WW points plus per 1/4 cup serving and is so addicting someone will have to take the bowl from you. Add one box of Funfetti cake mix, 16 oz of vanilla Greek yogurt and a 10 oz container of lite Cool Whip, mix together and refrigerate for several hours and then enjoy with animal crackers and fresh fruit. Enjoy and embrace your inner fat kid with a little less guilt. 

So I've had a really bad cough for the last week & a half, along with some congestion and all that other good stuff that goes along with it. After hearing me hack up a lung while on vacation, my mother finally introduced me to the tried and true family "cough medicine". After two doses, I was cough free and passed out on the couch. Mix 1 part local honey with 1 part lemon juice with 3 or more parts whiskey. Uncle Roger never had a cough in his life from this special concoction. 

P.S.- Greetings from Emerald Isle, NC. 

Birthday Cupcakes

This year Em chose to have Cheerwine Cupcakes with Cherry Buttercream Frosting. This was after she wanted Black Forest Cake Cupcakes.  We came to the decision to make what we did because some people don't care for biting into cherries, but like the flavor of them.
 The cupcakes were made with just like we do the Cheerwine Cake, I didn't change anything there.  Instead of the normal icing that goes on the cake with the nuts or the chocolate frosting my sister has used in the past, Em decided that she wanted a Cherry Buttercream.  
Basically, a buttercream is butter, milk, powdered sugar and vanilla. This here from Taste of Home is a good website that shows how to make buttercream and variations to those. However, I make mine with 2 sticks unsalted butter and it is all done by taste and sight. I creaming the butter, adding some powered sugar and a little milk and vanilla (or almond or other flavor) extract, tasting, then adjusting.
For the Cherry Buttercream, I made my basic recipe using vanilla extract then added a little No-Sugar Black Cherry Jell-O and some cherry juice - again tasting as I went to make sure the cherry flavor was there but not overpowering.  I did also add a couple of drops of red food coloring to make the color a darker pink than what the Jell-O and juice gave it. 
Em then topped the cupcakes with a cherry which made them ready to enjoy.

We're not in Kansas anymore....

It's been a crazy few months for me and my two boys as we prepared to spend as much time with my husband before he left for Afghanistan. Being married to the Army, it has it's disadvantages, but it makes us stronger. Before my husband left, we had decided that since he'd be gone for an extended period of time, that the boys and I should spend the summer in NC with family and then return to Kansas before school starts back. It's bittersweet and odd being back "home", seeing friends and family, but you do what you got to do. And I thank my husband and all of his fellow soldiers for their sacrifice for our country and our freedom.

Yesterday morning, I got up, picked up Mande and ventured off to the farmer's market in Lexington to see what we could find to make for dinner. The produce was amazing and we decided a salad would go along great with dinner. We spent a total of less than $15 between the two of us and in addition to our salad fixings we grabbed some veggies for us to enjoy later in the week.

 Here's Ayden posing with a pig at the Farmer's market.

 Ayden enjoying a homegrown tomato as a snack.

 Some of our veggies from the Farmer's Market.

Next we hit up Harris Teeter and I finally succumbed to the sticker shock of groceries. I'm used to shopping primarily at the Commissary on post, where we pay for items at cost and usually 30% cheaper than anywhere else and not pay tax, just a surcharge fee of 5%. 

So, we grab some fruit and some mushrooms that we couldn't find at the farmer's market and spent about $40 there. I also got some staple food items there since I'm restocking the kitchen in our vacation home for the summer. Next we traveled to a brand new Aldi's across the street. It was crazy in there, but we picked up a few items that we knew we're cheaper than a regular grocery store and ended up paying less than $5 there. Food Lion was our last stop and we hit up the meat department and picked up $30 worth of steaks to grill for dinner. 

So, last night for dinner my family got together (12 out of 18) to celebrate my return to North Carolina. Mande made Boursin cheese for me to try, Julie brought blackberry Merlot to wash it down and we enjoyed it as we prepared dinner. We had grilled steaks served with a red wine cream sauce, had a huge farmer's market salad and homemade French bread. Later we enjoyed fresh fruit dipped in chocolate for dessert. 

 The Boursin Cheese appetizer Mande made and a glass of Blackberry Merlot.

 Joey showing off the steaks. 

The ingredients for the red wine cream sauce.

Homemade French bread fresh from the oven.

Let's do some math, we spent roughly a total of $90 on food for 12 people (and we had leftovers) which breaks down to $7.50 per person. Wow, if that's not impressive, then I don't know what is! :D

 Dinnertime!

Chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.
Check back for the recipes! 

Recipe Testing

I love to be inspired to create foods that I find from magazines, cookbooks, websites, and even the emails that I receive.  This weekend,  I was able to attempt several things that I found on Pinterest and one from The Modern Gamily Cookbook by Meta Given. 

To start my journey this weekend, I wanted to make myself feel better (due to health problems), I made Cheesecake Strawberries.  These were a huge hit and have been requested to make while we are at the beach this coming summer.  It was quite easy to make, as the toughest thing was coring the strawberries.  I used the knife method shown on the website.  I didn't do the swirl as I didn't have the chocolate available but we thought they were divine without the chocolate.

I saw this next recipe when I was perusing thru my I<3 Food. board on Pinterest.  I changed it up by making my own Italian Sausage (yes, I said make my own Italian Sausage-we'll get to that in a sec) and the pepperoni, I picked up 2 thick slices of sandwich pepperoni from the deli, then diced it.  Okay, now to the Italian Sausage.

The Italian Sausage was not on sale, so it was $4.99/lb and I just couldn't bring myself to pay that. So, I grabbed some ground pork and then headed to the spice isle to get a jar of fennel. Bringing it home, I measured out the spices until I thought it smelled like Italian Sausage. Basically, it was fennel, basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper. This recipe is still in the making, so right now, I am not going to post the amounts that I used.  However, I can't wait to make some of Nikki's Italian Mac n' Cheese with some of my homemade Italian Sausage.

So with this homemade Italian Sausage and diced pepperoni, I made Pizza Puffs. We now call these Pizza Bites because it's only a bite or two of a lovely taste of a pizza.  I think these would be great made in bulk then frozen so when a hungry teen comes in they can grab 5 or so then nuke them until warm for a quick snack.  If I am able to accomplish that I will let you know! 

In addition to the Pizza Bites, I made up some Mozzarella Bites.  This recipe is based off of the tv being on when I was in the kitchen and Giada at Home was on and she was making these.  The big differences is that I cut up string cheese and she used fresh mozzarella. Other than that, the recipe was pretty much the same, oh and I didn't make the chutney.

Also, I made some pizzas to round out the meal.  The dough was the mix from the store that you just add water and milk to and the pizza sauce that was also used for dipping I just kinda took a can of Hunt's SweetOnion Diced Tomatoes and mixed in lots of spices and let it simmer for 2 hours.

This brings us to this morning. When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to make it.  On page 97 of The Modern Gamily Cookbook by Meta Given is a recipe for Bacon Muffins. Yes, Bacon Muffins.  They were okay. It tasted like a bacon biscuit, honestly it was nothing super special.  It's almost like it was missing something. Maybe some gravy? Now that is an idea I need to try!

Finding the dessert for this evening was something that was not to bad - Jell-o Cookies.  I personally think that some of them need more flavor to them but the kids liked them just fine. Emma and I may need work on the flavor depths in some of these cookies.  They are extremely colorful and fun to makes.  Once again, they made their appearance on Pinterest. Our flavor choices were Lemon, Strawberry, Lime  and Orange.

I need to work on my food photography as I am not the greatest in showing off what I make, but please believe me that these recipes will leave your taste buds dancing.

I do know that if money wasn't an object in my home, that I would have tested out more recipes this weekend. I do hope that some of these give you inspiration!