MIA

I realize that haven't posted on this blog in a while. I am so sorry to neglect. I have just been so busy and haven't made anything new or exciting. I know excuses, excuses. But the holidays are coming and that means there is baking and cooking to be done! I love the holiday season, it is busy and crazy but I love to bake treats for family and friends. Holiday baking and cooking starting soon!!! Wohoo!!

Beef, its whats for dinner

Last week, I decided to make some beef stew after buying some beef on sale. Yay for sales! I had never made beef stew and was really pleased with this recipe. I made this in the crock pot and came home to some yummy dinner. Gotta love having a reason to use the crock pot!



Beef Stew
adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped

DIRECTIONS
Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.

Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Notes:

• I put the meat, flour, and seasonings in a ziplock bag and mixed it all up before putting it in the crock pot.
• At the very end, I added some gravy mix to thicken up the sauce.
  

1934 Hershey Chocolate cupcakes

My father in law got a Hershey's cookbook with recipes from 1934 and I promised him that I would make something from the book.



We had a family BBQ last weekend and I decided this was a great time to try a recipe from the cookbook. Cupcakes sounded yummy and I found a pink mint frosting recipe to go along with it. The chocolate cupcake itself was quite yummy, however, I think the frosting was a little too minty and took away from the cupcake rather than compliment it. So that was a little disappointing. I will have to give it another try with a different frosting recipe.

Chocolate Town Syrup Cupcakes
From: Hershey's 1934 Cookbook



1/2 cupful butter
1 cupful granulated sugar
1 teaspoonful vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/4 cupful flour (all-purpose)
3/4 teaspoonful baking soda
1 1/2 cupfuls (1-pound can) Hershey's Chocolate Flavored Syrup

Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour and baking soda, and add alternately with the chocolate syrup to the creamed mixture. Pour the batter into paper-line muffin cups, filling each 1/2 full. Bake in a moderated oven (375 degrees) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Yield: About 30 cupcakes.

Mint Buttercream Frosting
From:Big Oven

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 cups powdered sugar sifted
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon all natural peppermint extract

1. beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.
2. add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract, beat until combined.
3. add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.

Notes:

• I halved the recipe and used 3 cups of powdered sugar for a thicker consistency.
• I think I might have put a little too much mint extract by accident.
• I added red food coloring to make it pink.

Spanish Gourmet Club

Sunday we had another one of my gourmet club get togethers. The theme for this time was Spanish cuisine. I studied in Spain for 2 months when I was in undergraduate school so I was very excited to have some yummy Spanish food.

I decided to make Tortilla Espanola, also known as Tortilla de patatas or in English, Spanish Omelette.

Tortilla Espanola
recipe adapted from here.



1/2 pint of olive oil
5 medium (40 oz each) baking potatoes, peeled, sliced and lightly sprinkled with salt
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 eggs
Salt

Heat the olive oil in a 9-inch skillet and add the potato slices carefully, because the salt will make the oil splatter. Try to keep the potato slices separated so they will not stick together. Cook, turning occasionally, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the potatoes are tender. Drain into a colander, leaving about 3 tablespoons of oil in the skillet.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt. Add the potatoes, and stir to coat with the egg. Add the egg-coated potatoes to the very hot oil in the skillet, spreading them evenly to completely cover the base of the skillet. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook, shaking the pan frequently, until mixture is half set.

Use a plate to cover the skillet and invert the omelette away from the hand holding the plate (so as not to burn your hand with any escaping oil). Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and slide the omelette back into the skillet on its uncooked side. Cook until completely set. Allow the omelette to cool, and then cut it into wedges. Season it with salt and sprinkle with lemon juice to taste (optional).

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Other dishes served at the Gourmet Club:

Tapas (appetizers):



Beef empanadas



Vegetable empanadas



Seafood paella



Beef Tenderloin Asturias (It was so yummy that I almost forgot to take a picture)



And for dessert, we had bread pudding (it is not Spanish, but it was absolutely delicious! Another yummmy dish that I almost forgot to take a picture of.)

Cucumber and Chops

My neighbor just started growing a vegetable garden and since my father-in-law has been watering and watching his house, we were fortunate enough to partake in the fruits (veggies) of the garden. We had some fresh cucumbers and I decided to make a cucumber salad. To go with the cucumber salad, I decided I wanted to make pork chops. I came across this wonderful recipe from Adventures in Home Cooking blog for onion baked pork chops. Father-in-law and Mr. Bear happily devoured the yummy dinner.





Rumbly Tumbly Cucumber Salad



Ingredients
1 large cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon dried dill, or to taste
Salt and pepper

Toss together the cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar, water, and sugar until sugar dissolves. Stir in dill, salt, and pepper, cover, and refrigerate until cold. Be sure to allow the cucumbers to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Note: Recipe measurements are all approximations.


Onion Baked Pork Chops
From: Adventures in Home Cooking



Ingredients
4 pork chops
1 pkg. Lipton onion soup mix
1 egg, well beaten
2/3 cup bread crumbs
2 T. olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season pork chops with salt and pepper.

Combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg and then in bread crumb/onion mixture, coating well. Place in a shallow pan.

Drizzle olive oil onto pork chops. Bake 30 minutes, turning once.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for 2 eggs but I didn't need 2, instead I beat a little bit of milk in with the egg.
• The original recipe also called for butter but I omitted the butter (we don't need the extra calories and it turned out just fine without it).
• Also, i didn't have to bake for as long since they were thin pieces of pork.
  

A different spin on cornbread

My gourmet club met this past weekend. The theme was summer/BBQ. We had great food and wonderful company. Tons of fun!!

I made a salad recipe that I had never ever heard of let alone made, a cornbread salad. You never know how things will turn out when you try a new recipe, especially when you are not quite sure how it should taste. This recipe was definitely a keeper. It is always a good sign when others ask for the recipe. I made a few adjustments to the original recipe: I halved the recipe, used black beans instead of pinto beans, excluded the bacon, and used pre-made ranch dressing.



Cornbread salad
from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package cornbread mix
1/2 bottle of ranch dressing
1 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (11 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained

Prepare corn bread according to package directions. Cool, crumble, and set aside. (I crumbled about 1/2 of the prepared cornbread)

Place half the crumbled cornbread in the bottom of a large serving dish. Top with half the beans. Layer the beans with half of the tomatoes, green bell pepper, and green onions. Sprinkle with half the cheese, corn, and the salad dressing mixture. Repeat the layers. Cover, and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Other dishes from the Gourmet Club:

Some appetizers




Bean dip


Beet salad


Gazpacho Soup


BBQ Chicken (with a very good dog watching closely).



We also had some delicious ribs (not pictured). I also forgot to take pictures of the yummy desserts. Next month's theme is Spanish.

Summer Pasta Salad

Last week, we had a BBQ pot luck at work to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. Pasta salad is an yummy and easy dish to make. Perfect for a pot luck since you can make it the night before, which makes it taste even better. My measurements are not exact, mostly for taste and looks.

Rumbly Tumbly Summer Pasta Salad



1 lb package of tri-color rotini pasta
1/2 orange bell pepper chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper chopped
1 tomato diced
1/2 cup green onions chopped
1 can of sliced olives (drained)
1/2 bottle of Italian salad dressing
1/2 bottle of Ceaser salad dressing
1/2 cup parmasean cheese

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until al dente. Rinse under cold water, and drain.

Mix chopped peppers, tomatoes, onion, and olives together in large bowl.

Combine cooled pasta and vegetables together in large bowl. Pour dressings over mixture, add Parmesan cheese and mix well.

Chill for at least one hour before serving.