"Food Orgy Finale 2010!!!"

This is what my bestest friend in the whole wide world dubbed our New Year's Eve Celebration.  He picked me up early on the 31st to hit the store after we got our menu together.  Our spread was to include:

Cheese Sticks & Marinara Sauce
Honey BBQ Chicken Bites
Sliced Sausage with Cheese and Crackers
White Trash Puff Balls
Cocktail Weenies in BBQ sauce
Sausage Balls
Tiny Piggies in Blankies (made with some of the cocktail weenies)
Lemon Meringue Pie

Basically we ate our way into the new year.... which was tasty and fantastic!  When the ball dropped at midnight we attempted to wake up my husband so we could toast the new year.  Unfortunately it was a futile attempt, so instead we went out side with our glasses to see if we could spy any fireworks that the neighbors were setting off. 

Ironically enough we both resolved to lose more weight in 2011.  So our days of gorging ourselves on fantastically delicious and horribly unhealthy food will be limited.  Oh well - we did decide that we can splurge every now and then and are looking forward to making some wonderfully tasty dishes in the near future.

Haitus is over!

Apparently I had no inspiration to cook much over the summer. I shall blame the humidity and the disgustingly hot weather.

Ever since October rolled around I've been itching to try out new yummy recipes. Unfortunately life got in the way and I resorted back to my usual menus and didn't spend much time experimenting.

With November here, I've decided that I can't abandon my hobby any longer! I am going to attempt to juggle my schedule and plan things more efficiently so I can knock out at least one new recipe a week. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I am hoping to host a small dinner party to show off my culinary skills. I'm working hard on the menu and the guest list! If anyone has any suggestions for a side dish or dessert, please feel free to share :)

Easter Dinner - The Menu

The Mission:
I decided that I was going to host dinner at my house for Easter this year. I've never hosted a big holiday dinner in my own home before. I'm usually in charge of most of the cooking, but mainly at my parent's house or another relative. So this was a first for me! I think the hardest part was actually coming up with the menu.



The Appetizers:

Deviled Eggs

Ranch Dip with fresh veggies

Muenster Bread

Raspberry Baked Brie with crackers



The Main Course:

Glazed Ham

Cheesey Green Bean Casserole

Healthy Green Bean Casserole

Asparagas

Corn Niblets

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes



The Desserts:

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Mom's Chocolate Sauce

Vanilla Ice Cream

The Result:
Due to some cancellations, an un-expected trip to Columbia, and a birthday party not everything on the menu was made. I had planned on making as much as I could on Saturday so I wouldn't have much to do on Sunday.... well that didn't work out!

My husband and I were adopting another greyhound, and the one we picked up Friday night decided that it really, really, really wanted to eat our cat, so we took him back and picked up another. So all of Saturday was spent with Mark driving to and from Columbia. So much for cooking and cleaning! ha. Saturday night was my husband's birthday party, so doing anything then was a lost cause. Oh well. Dinner still turned out fantastic on Sunday even though it felt rushed.

The Reviews:
Everyone had very nice things to say about how dinner turned out. I had some wonderful help in the kitchen as well - Mom and Step-mom-in-law, Blake, helped cut veggies for the veggie tray and my fabulous sister made deviled eggs! It was wonderful to have my In-laws and my parents together again. We all had a really good time catching up. And my amazing step-mom-in-law helped wash dishes!!!! I don't have a dishwasher, so everything - absolutely everything - must be done by hand. And by the time dinner was over I just wanted to cry when I thought about washing more dishes. But Blake pitched right in and washed, while my Mom dried. Aren't they fabulous?!?

Falling Behind

I was trying so hard to be super organized this past holiday season. Obviously that didn't work out so well - at least as far as my kitchen blog was concerned. So I'll try better for 2009! I hope to get my act together and post at least one yummy recipe a week. I have so many new foods that I want to try out and a ton of "tried and true" recipes that I'd love to share.

Happy New Year!

Almost Romantic - London Broil

Last night's dinner was a tried and true staple. And since I served it at the table instead of plunking it down in front of the TV, it almost felt like a romantic dinner.

The menu:
*London Broil
*Rice from a box (Chicken & Broccoli flavor by Knorr's)
*Green Beans (canned for the husband, frozen for me)

What I found interesting was the conversation the husband and I had over dinner. Apparently he'd never had London Broil before he married me. I was baffled and astonished. I grew up eating London Broil. It was a popular menu item for my family and I learned how to make it when I was 10. It's quick to make, and doesn't involve many ingredients.

London Broil: Marinate top round steak in Italian dressing for 2-3 days. Broil in the oven 6" away from heat source for 7-8 minutes. Flip meat. Broil for another 6-7 minutes. Meat is done when it has reached an internal temperature of 130. Slice thinly and serve.

Simple. Easy. Tasty.