holy mole pork fajitas

a wonderful christmas present was given to me…….a six pack of mother’s brewery holy mole beer!

holy mole full of grace

holy mole full of grace

i got excited, when i get excited i like to create wonderful things.  thus was born the concept to cook fajita meat using the holy mole brew.   in my slow cooker i cooked a pork tenderloin in the mother’s brew along with some onions and a package of taco seasoning.

i probably could have just eaten the meat off the cutting board but i stuck with my plan.

meat

meat

i used the meat to make up some tacos.  in the tacos was a mix of mexican millet, black beans my holy moly fajita meat all topped with some guacamole.  lets just say it was yummy!

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National Pie Day 2013

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National Pie day rolled around this year and I decided to have pie all day once again. I stretched lunch a little, but I think it still counts!

Breakfast: Apple tart with cheddar cheese.

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I spread a little pie love with a free pie stand at work.

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Lunch: Leftover cold pizza pie

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Dinner: Spaghetti Pie

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Dessert: Chocolate Pecan Pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

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Happy Pie to All!

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meatless monday — everything but the kitchen sink soup

goodness in a bowl

goodness in a bowl

when its 20 degrees out all ya kind of want is warm goodness, fast and preferable in a bowl.  that was monday’s dinner.  i got myself a bear creek soup mix and then turned into a clean out the vegetable draw collection spot.  a handful of carrots, the last of some broccoli, half a jar of beans, and one lonely potato all found their way into my soup.  topped with a little pepperjack cheese mix and some white wine, this the way to end a monday.

Pizza Night with Emily

Our Friday night routine is to make homemade pizza. As a Farris, I love my themed cooking nights! I use to make the crust from scratch, but then I discovered Whole Foods bulk pizza dough and you really can’t beat it.

A couple of Fridays ago our dear friend Emily came over to join us.

Emily had peppers, mushrooms, spinach and olives on her pizza.

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John and his pizza- cheese as always.

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And I had all of the above plus roasted spicy brussel sprouts- you’ve got to try it if you like brussel sprouts.

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She brought us our nifty Union Jack napkins that I will only use for special British occasions to make the last as long as possible!

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Thanks Emily!

god save the king and some pb&b too

decorations are a must

decorations are a must

all hail the king of rock and roll that is!  for years i have wanted to have an elvis birthday bash, i mean what is a better way to have fun on a january night?!  now i have not always been an elvis fan.  my conversion to elvis-ism happened on a family vacation to graceland.  dad declared we were doing the platinum tour because we were never coming back again, little did he realize he was turning mom and i into down right die-hard elvis fans.  we went to mecca and came back crazied!

the king joined us at the table

the king joined us at the table

for the birthday party the king’s favorite sandwich was on the menu a pb&b (peanut butter and banana) but knowing everyone has their own way of making a classic sandwich i took orders of how everyone wanted their sandwiches.

order #1 ingrid —- open-faced on toast with peanut butter, banana and grape jelly

ingrid's version of "the king"

ingrid’s version of “the king”

order #2 mom — a traditionalist her sandwich consisted of peanut butter and banana on oatmeal wheat bread

mom's yummy sandwich

mom’s yummy sandwich

order #3 me — peanut butter and banana with blackberry jam grilled to perfection

mmmmmmm

mmmmmmm

along with sandwiches i made some elvis mac & cheese, although it would probably not be up to elvis’ standard’s because it was vegan mac & cheese but it was still yummy.  but the best part of the meal was a creation of mine……blue suede cupcakes, not only yummy but also entertaining as they turned your mouth blue. its my take on a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting but instead of chocolate and red my cupcakes were white chocolate cupcakes and blue for elvis’ favorite shoes of course!

beware it turns you mouth blue!!

beware it turns you mouth blue!!

i do believe even the king himself would find this meal worthy of graceland!

 

RECIPE:  BLUE SUEDE CUPCAKES

makes a baker’s dozen (15)

CAKE

1 box white cake mix

1 pkg white chocolate instant pudding mix

1 oz blue food coloring

FROSTING

1 TBSP butter – softened

80z cream cheese – softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup cool whip – thawed out

* make cake mix according to package directions.  add in box of instant pudding mix, beat well.  gradually add in blue food coloring.  bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. cool completely before frosting

* for frosting mix together the softened butter and cream cheese and in powdered sugar one cup at a time.  when all three ingredients are well blended fold in cool whip.

*  to frost cupcakes make a hole in the center of each cupcake (about the size of your finger), use a pastry bag filled with the frosting, fill hole with frosting and finish off the top with as much frosting as you like!

 

 

 

 

 

Comfy Saturady

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This winter day just called for being curled up on the couch all day. What do you eat when you chose to do nothing but snuggle in?

A toad in the hole for breakfast of course.

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A bowl of cozy Italian bean vegetable soup for lunch.

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And finally another round dish of baked spaghetti with kale and fresh tomatoes.

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Now if I could only fit inside a bowl, the day would come full circle!

new years eve aka the best party for one ever!!!!

a few days before new years eve i was discussing my plans with my mother.  her conclusion “wow you really know how to through a party for one!”  so why was i hosting a party for one?  because for the last 6 or so years i have gone out for new years eve and frankly its never as much fun as when i used to stay home and kept my tradition of watching the beatles movie “help.”

here’s my rant…..often you are in skimpy dresses freezing your butt off, dealing with drunken riff-raff, bad weather, drinking too much, pushing making-out couples off your dj table, so on and so on.  then to validate my rant i read an article in martha stewart where a girl was preaching the same thing.  after years of crying over lost pairs of high heels and failed attempts at midnight kisses,  she decided to return to her family tradition of staying in with her parents, eating caviar, and watching some sort of epic on tv. as i read this article, i felt validation for my feelings towards new years, my plans for the best night ever started to formulate……………..

on the menu…cashew chicken (or as my sis and i now refer to it as springfield caviar), champagne (pink of course), and chocolate cake and the epic event i chose to watch for the night….season 2 of downtown abbey, oh there is something so satisfying when selecting “play all”!  home is now my happening new years spot for years to come!

canton inn

canton inn

mom even provided me with a mystery dinner guest for the night (this also was one of my stocking stuffers)

who will it be ????

who will it be ????

daammmnn straight

daammmnn straight

double chocolate chip bundt cake

double chocolate chip bundt cake

http://video.pbs.org/video/2135520290/

 

 

Savory Apple and Cheese Pie

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I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for Apple and Lancashire Cheese Pie for about a year, but it always gets lost among all the other things I decide to make– Well, no more!

The first problem I ran into was I couldn’t find in Lancashire cheese in my local international cheese department. Since it’s a type of cheddar I decided to mix to cheddars together:

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It worked out fine, but I’m still curious as to what Lancashire cheese tastes like…

Ok here’s the recipe!

Preheat oven to 375.
Peel and thinly slice 3 potatoes (1/5 pound-ish)

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Add them to a saucepan of boiling water. Add a dried veggie broth cube to the water. Boil for 3-4 minutes then drain and set aside.

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Thinly slice 4 apples into disks. I used honey crisp, because why the heck not?

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And then slice 2 shallots.

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Grate or buy pregrated 8.8 oz’s of Lancashire or sharp cheddar cheese.

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Earlier in the day I thawed out a box of puff pastry (16/17oz) 2 sheets. Roll one sheet out until it’s 1/2 to a 1/4 inch thin. Set aside on a greased cookie sheet (or a cookie sheet covered in parchment, which is what I used) and roll out the other piece of pastry. You’ll want the stretchier, biggest piece for the top.

You’ll then layer your slices. Add a layer of potatoes to the pastry dough on the cookie sheet. Leave enough room at the edge for sealing later. Season with sprinkles of thyme, garlic salt and pepper.

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On top of the the first layer of potatoes and seasoning, add a layer of apples and shallots.

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Then add a layer of cheese and more seasonings. The seasoning measurement is really up to you and how flavorful you like it. I like flavor, so I kept sprinkling.

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Repeat all layers again until you use up almost all your potato, apple, shallot, and cheese. Don’t add the second piece of puff pastry- that’s for the big finish!

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I had two layers, almost three.

Slightly beat one egg. Brush the edges of both pastry pieces with a little egg. Save the leftover egg for later.

The Big Finish – Lay you other puff pastry crust on top of your layers.

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Seal the edges and brush the top of the pastry with the leftover egg.

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Voila!
I laughed because it kind of looks like a mammoth ravioli!

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Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and puffy.

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Then it’s ready!

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We had ours with a warm lentil salad and a spicy mustard based dressing and glass of stout ale.

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Melty cheese and apple wrapped in pastry warmed up our winter cold night. I’m glad I finally tried the recipe!

New Years Eats

We had plans on New Years Eve, but the party ended up being canceled. So we followed Lyn’s advice and decided to treat ourselves to a little Downton Abbey marathon and some of our favorite cozy/party eats.

Nothing says cozy and party at the same time like homemade pizza!

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It was half cheese/half veggie Lentil loaf crumbles, sausage, roasted brussel sprouts, and tiny tomatoes.

Breadsticks, too.

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And of course the big wine glass.

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John asked for a homemade chocolate pie. He never fusses about eating the leftovers from all the pies I make for others people, so when asks for a pie he gets whatever he wants!

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Yes, indeedy- it was nice and cozy!

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On New Years Day we always start the morning with something sweet to celebrate the sweetness of a new year. We had homemade bread with honey and butter as our breakfast in bed.

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For lunch I had to have my black-eyed peas. John isn’t a believe and after being together well-over a decade, I don’t force the good luck rituals on him (he’s pretty lucky already!)

I made a hash with veggie sausage, kale, garlic, cauliflower, carrots, walnuts, and onions.

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(I had enough leftover that I ate it for breakfast the next day).

We also have the “Young Family Planning Summit” on New Years Day where we schedule possible places we want to travel. Afterwards we celebrate the hard work of planning fun by going out for fondue at the Melting Pot.

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The cozy trend continued with a quaint corner booth across from a slightly puzzling piece of artwork.

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We celebrated with the classic cheese and chocolate.

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Here’s to more good eats in 2013!

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