Hook 'em Horns Martini

After a LONG week, the Hubby and I had a wonderful date night on Friday night.

The Hubby cooked!

It was a wonderful surprise - salad, steaks and grilled corn on the cob.

While the Hubby was preparing our fabulous meal - I decided that I would play cocktail chef!

Yummy!

Into the cabinet I went - a little of this, a little of that and VOILA!

Hook 'em Horns Martini

NUMBER 17

Equipment

Shot glass (unless you have a trained eye)
Shaker
Really cool martini glass

Ingredients
Citrus Smirnoff Vodka
 Pineapple Juice
Grenadine
Blood Orange Soda

Directions
Sugar the rim of your martini glass
Use colored sugar crystal to be more festive.

Fill your martini shaker half full with crushed ice.
Add one shot of citrus vodka.
Add three to four ounces of pineapple juice.
Add a dash (only a dash as not to be too sweet) of grenadine.

SHAKE IT! BUT DON'T BREAK IT!

Pour strained contents into martini glass.

Pour one shot of blood orange soda into martini.

RELAX and ENJOY!

Cook's note: Do not add soda to shaker and shake - you will not be able to relax and enjoy because you will be cleaning up a big mess!

Gotta love orange!!!!
Happy Martini!
Laura

Steak Involitni - YUMMY!

Back to my trusty favorite... Giada de Laurentiis

I tried Steak Involtini for the first time. It was delicious and suprising easy to do with Giada's great directions.

Steak Involtini

Giada

Ingredients

Breading:

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Filling:

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup olive oil, plus 1/4 cup

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 (8-ounce) London broil steaks, trimmed and pounded 1/8-inch thick

1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce

Special equipment: 4 (4-inch) skewers

Directions

For the breading: In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

For the filling: In a large bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of Parmesan, mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup olive oil, basil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cut the steaks in half crosswise and place on a work surface. Spread the mixture evenly over the steaks. Roll up the steaks and secure with skewers.

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of oil over medium heat. Roll the steaks in the bread crumb mixture until coated and add to the skillet. Cook the steaks until brown on all sides, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the marinara sauce to the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer, turning occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes for medium-well.

Remove the skewers, place the steaks on a cutting board and slice thinly. Arrange the steak slices on plates and serve with the marinara sauce.

Here is the link to the recipe.

The Hubby was super impressed (I do have to say, so was I!)

Even the twins liked it. Here are some pictures...

Happy Cooking!

Laura

The Lighter Side of Things...

I heard somewhere that in order to have a "good" blog, you should have two-three postings a week at a minimum, I am failing miserably if that is the case.
But, I am still cooking and still trying to share some great recipes. Even if it is not as often as I would like!

This past weekend the Hubby and I took the twins to our favorite place in the Heart of Texas.
It has been over a year and a half since we have been and it will NEVER be that long again!

Deep in the Heart of Texas is a wonderful place, Lake Belton.
My dad was born and grew in Central Texas and most of my childhood memories steam from the Heart of Texas with my family.

We so badly wanted to share this wonderful place with our precious twins, it was just a matter of waiting for the right time.
And we waited.... it was finally the right time.
We had a FABULOUS vacation!

I cooked some yummy treats and I wanted to share a breakfast recipe that was easy for weekend traveling and served as a nice breakfast for three mornings.

At one point or another, we have all had the DELICIOUS breakfast sausage and cheese casserole! It is one that I hold near and dear to my heart. But, speaking of hearts and... waistlines, I put a twist on the dear old casserole and tried a lighter version. It was light, fluffy, filling, and well.... try it yourself.

The "Lighter" Breakfast Casserole

Number 16
Laura Fowell

Ingredients
One Dozen Eggs

Two Cups Cheddar Cheese
One Package of Low Fat or Reduced Fat Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Deli Turkey, 9 oz finely chopped
9 x 13 Dish
Pam

Preheat oven to 350.
Lightly spray dish with Pam
Open the Crescent Rolls and unroll
Lightly pack the crescent rolls along the bottom of the dish
Set aside

Lightly beat the dozen eggs with a fork just until all of the yokes are broken
Pour the eggs into the dish over the crescent rolls
Sprinkle the turkey over the eggs
Add the cheese on top

Bake for 30 minutes

Allow to sit for 10 minutes as it will be very hot.

Cook's Note: You can lighten further by just using whites on six of the eggs. Additionally, these ingredients can be prepared the night before and just pop in the oven in the morning.

Happy Cooking!
Laura

Taco Soup

It's Sunday afternoon and I begin my ritual....

What are going to eat for dinner this week?

It is my favorite ritual as I prepare the grocery list!

I love planning out the "dinner calendar" (for lack of a better name). And, it literally is the "dinner calendar". After years of searching for the perfect calendar, I threw my hands up and made my own.

That's right, a few hours on the computer and a trip to Fed Ex Kinkos and now I have the perfect calendar.

 While it might not be every one's perfect calendar, it is my perfect calendar.

I even have a space for meal planning!

SO, back to the meal planning.

I was thumbing through my usuals, Giada, Stop and Smell the Rosemary, Healthy Homestyle Cooking, and my recipe box. When I realized, I could not find my Taco Soup recipe. And it hit me.... after serving it in my home for several friends and having been asked to post it, I never did. 

A little history - I first had this taco soup recipe at a dear friend's home during a Christmas party. It was a dessert exchange - so much fun! The Taco Soup is a hearty healthy meal.

I even asked my dear friend if I could share it....

Taco Soup

Elizabeth Dronet

NUMBER 15

1 large onion

3 cans chili beans undrained. The can says chili beans or chili hot beans.

1 can whole corn undrained

1 15oz tomato sauce

1 can mild rotel (You can do a diced tomatoe and small green chilies as an alternative.)

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

1 1/4 cup water

Saute onion until slightly browned. Add everything and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, and corn chips.

Cook's Note: This freezes well. I choose to serve the meatless soup (My friend is a vegetarian and I really like the meatless option on this soup). But, if your husband requires meat like some do, you can add a pound of ground chuck with the onion. Drain and then add the other ingredients.

Happy Cooking!

Laura

A Fun Twist on Pancakes

This past weekend, the Hubby and I made some pancakes for the twins on Saturday morning.

Before I get in too far, let me say that I have tried every pancake mix. If I see one, I buy it and I try it. I have to say that I have a favorite, Pioneer Brand from good 'ole San Antonio does the trick for me.

But, I digress...

Back to this past weekend, the Hubby pulled out the griddle and I was mixing the batter when he turned to me a suggested that we put a bit of vanilla extract in the mix. I thought to myself, "Why not?" So we did.

They were delicous.

On Sunday morning, I thought to myself, "What if we tried almond extract?"

So, we pulled out the griddle, the mix, the vanilla extract and the almond extract.

We used about 1/4 of a teaspoon each. EVEN BETTER! (NUMBER 14)

And, you get the nice side bonus of making yoru house smell wonderful!

What have you added vanilla and almond to?

Happy Cooking!

Laura

Berry Crepes

Happy Cooking!

Laura

A little of this...

A package of that...

A little orange juice...

A flip...

A whip...

VIOLA (NUMBER 13) !!!

Casulties

 have recently had a few casulties (aka some really good parties),

 which has affected the surplus one of my crystal patterns.

I am in the process of trying to identify the pattern so that I may find some replacements.

Do you recognize me?

Happy Hunting and Happy Cooking!

Laura