Homemade Marinara

 

I decided to try to make my own  Marinara a couple of weeks ago sans recipe. And in my true scatterbrained fashion I didn't write down what I did or snap any pics of it, except this one from my phone today... I've made spaghetti twice for us with it and Lee keeps talking about how good it is, saying its the best he's had. That is MAJOR for me. You see, when he managed a store in the local mall there was a little Italian restaurant that was AMAZING. And of course him being the charmer he is the couple that owned practically adopted him feeding him all the time. He told me he liked my sauce better than theirs. (shhhh don't tell!!!!!) But they moved and he's been craving some good Italian since and couldn't find anything as good. I made more again today for my Aunt, Uncle and their kids because she just had a a sweet baby boy. She texted me after they ate and said my Uncle was on his third bowl and she loved it too and she is a picky eater. I am patting myself on the back for this, but what if I can't duplicate it!?!?!?!? Oh the pressure!!! But I'm officially out and will have to make more next week. Cross your fingers for me and if I manage to work it all out I'll have a new recipe.

Chicken Burgers + Fondue + Family = The Good Life

Lee's brother is in town and after rescheduling this dinner 3 times, I think, we finally had everyone over. My brother-in-law, Mike, his friend Robyn and all four of my in-laws came for dinner. Thankfully everyone has a good time together and gets along well. 

We had not had dinner guest over yet, in this house. So it was totally disorganized and absolutely fun. Let us see here... My Facebook got hacked by Mike, he changed my status and picture. I was attacked by his and my FIL's FEET! Gross! I have a total foot phobia. A pirate's ghost inhabited my BIL for a moment or two.  We all laughed at Caleb running around like a wild man and talked about our upcoming cruise! Good times, good times. 

Oh and p.s. everything but the hamburger buns were gluten free. Why? Cause I'm awesome, that's why! Actually I think something is off in my brains wiring... I enjoy planning things around other people's dietary confinements. Maybe, because growing up I've always had issues with what I can and cannot eat because, I have psoriasis and it always throws a wrench into things... Or maybe I'm just weird!

Chicken Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries, Cherry Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with a Balsamic Reduction for the main course. We also has Terriyaki Honey Mustard and Curry Ketchup to accompany the burgers and fries.

 

And for dessert...

I made a quick Chocolate Fondue and made some chocolate cupcake minis with a gluten free cake mix and my MIL brought the fruit and marshmallows. I've had that fondue pot for going on four years now. It is about time I used it!

To make the burgers I just process boneless, skinless chicken breast with some mayo and herbs in my food processor. I usually figure a normal smallish breast makes 1.5 burgers so plan accordingly. I patted them out with wet hands so the meat doesn't stick and cooked them on my electric griddle until firm to the touch. That is it, easy peasy. My favorite thing on these is the terriyaki honey mustard. I just make my normal honey mustard and stir in terriyaki sauce. Just for the record La Choy is glunten free but Kikkoman is not.

The tomato salad is cherry tomato cut in half with torn mozzarella tossed on some olive oil, salt pepper and basil. I let that sit for a couple of hours and put a small sauce pan on the stove on low/medium and let it reduce to a syrup. Pour it over just before serving.

And in case you've ever wondered this is what hippo poo looks like.

Back Yard Cookout... Part 2

My parents recently moved to a smaller house. With my older brother and I officially out and never coming back  they decided to down size. While it was hard to tell my childhood home goodbye,  I love their new house. The only downside is that it may be too small to hold out humongous family at Christmas, which my Mom always hosts. SO she decided to throw a little party in her backyard as a test run. The only problem... Nobody went inside the house! We had a very good time and as you can tell by my previous post we had amazing food. Mom always has Caleb's kiddie pool and slip and slide out so we put them into use for the little ones. All the kids were dripping wet and sticky from ice cream by the end so needless to say they were happy.


 The Decorations!!!! 

My brother, Jeremy came early to help out, because he knows Mom and I are always running around crazy at the last minute! Poor guy had to climb the latter and light all of the candles in the trees. I think he burned most of his finger prints off.

Mom made tissue paper flowers in white a green. She hung jelly jars and mason jars with candles to keep the mosquitoes away. Plus they were quite cute too.

I made the banners and all of the menu cards. You can see the menu cards in the previous post.

 Inspired by one of the latest Better Homes and Gardens magazines we decided to go fun and easy for dessert and have an Ice Cream Sundae Bar. We used a wooden cutting board, that we normally use for cheese trays to put out the ,gasp, store bought cookies and ice cream cones. I have a set of old fashioned sundae glasses, but not enough for everyone, so we used them for the toppings. Mom's creamers and gravy boats made excellent containers for the hot fudge and caramel. We used plastic punch cups for the ice cream. It turned out super cute and went over very well.

For the food we kept it simple. Mom grilled everything even the okra. We used her white platters and a few green plates from a small place setting that I gave her earlier this year. I knew it would come in handy some day. We used green fabrics and used random items to give the table different elevations. We had the banner that read "delicious" and the humming bird menu cards that I made. We wanted it to feel special and to keep it simple at the same time.

The Activities!!!!

Granny and sweet little Hannah!

Mom, Grandpa and Granny

Granny giving  me the stink eye for interrupting her eating with a picture.

Uncle Patrick giving me that same stink eye... See the family resemblance!?

Hannah, Journey, Jericho and Caleb at the pool.

Poor Jericho wanted in so badly but her was too little.

Caleb and Hannah having a very important conversation.

We all ate til we couldn't hold anymore!

mmmm.... ice cream!!

Brandon actually, willingly getting his picture taken. That's a first!

Sissie and Tammy having important conversations about ice cream...

Aunt Bennie and Keith

Jeremy and Richard

This is how the kids cleaned off the ice cream.

How cute are they?!!?!?

Jericho. Isn't he the cutest!?!?!?

Uncle Tommy, Brandon, Erica, Rusty, Aunt Bennie and Uncle Patrick

Caleb, Tanner and Journey playing in the dirt!

So it is truly obvious the kids had a blast and kept all of us entertained. I love spending times with our families.

Back Yard Cookout!

Happy Monday!

Just a little peak at what Caleb did on Saturday! More pics to come when I'm finally back to 100%. :)

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

I love trifles! I really really really love trifles! I make them any chance I get. I mean, what is there not to love?!?!?! Cake, a fruit sauce of some sort, maybe some custard and whipped cream, that is a recipe for some oooey gooey creamy, dreamy awesomeness! Plus I have some kind of strange love for trifle bowls. I mean really, a bowl on a pedestal!? That evokes something delectable doesn't it? I happened upon this little beauty at one of those off the beaten path flea markets. The type that will have a table with bone china next to someone selling mass produced toys of Disney characters but aren't the licensed version so they are Mikey Mouse instead of Mickey.  Anyway, I found it for less than $10.00 and could not leave without it.

This one was one of my best! The crazy thing is that there is no strict recipe.

Lousy Picture huh? It was gone before I could get a good shot! I was lucky to get this one!

First I made my favorite white cake. Once it cooled I crumbled it into the bottom of my favorite trifle bowl. While that was baking I cooked a large bag of frozen whole strawberries, in a large saucepan covered 3/4 of the way up with water and about 3/4 of a cup (I'm guessing here) of raw sugar. Simmer over medium heat until the strawberries can be mashed with the back of a spoon. You could easily leave it this way but I wanted my smooth so I pureed my in the food processor. Mine was extra tart so I added a bit of honey and vanilla extract but a vanilla bean would have been AMAZING!!! Or some balsamic vinegar would have be great too. I put them back on the stove to thicken a bit more. When it was to the right consistency I set it in the refrigerator to cool but, you could let it come to room temperature slowly, but I was in a hurry. When I started the strawberries I put my metal mixing bowl and whisk attachment for my mixer in the freezer. When we were about to walk out the door I beat a medium size container of heavy cream and slowly added just a bit of confectioner sugar, for a touch of sweetness. I also had a frozen, small to go container because we had an hour car ride in the heat and I wanted it to stay fluffy. When we got there I topped the trifle and we were ready to eat.

Now I only got a tiny bit of the trifle and was quite proud of myself. But I knew it was amazing when Lee's grandmother, Mom-Mom, could not stop telling me how good it was. She is one person I love to get approval from. Since the first time I cooked for Lee he has compared my food to hers and she loves that I keep her baby boy well fed and satisfied.

The wonderful end to a wonderful day!

While I was relaxing by the lake today, I had a stroke of genius. You see I've had some left over mocha batter in my fridge from this post and my mom sent home some icing from this post and I had some left over caramel sauce from an upcoming post. I really didn't want to waste them so I combined them! Just scoop the batter onto a cookie sheet using and ice cream scoop and bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes depending on the size. Once they've cooled ice one side with the frosting and drizzle on some caramel and sandwich with another cake cookie and Voila! You now are the proud owner of a delicious whoopie pie!  A nice glass of milk (you know you're jealous of my Iron Man glasses) and one of these puppies and I am all set to relax and do some on line window shopping!

Love this kid!!!!!

I have the cutest, most helpful and sweetest sous chef. This makes my ♥heart♥ happy! I started my morning with some baking and had my favorite boy standing on his stool begging "my help, my help!?!?!?" I hope he continues to have my love of cooking.