meatless monday — with guest chef elise

March 18, 2013lynley 1 Comment

meatless monday had a guest chef in the kitchen this week. elise volunteered her cooking skills and recipe for gluten free and dairy free lasagna. the gal showed up to cook, in true meatless monday fashion tying on an apron and pouring a big glass of wine to kick off the cooking!

the guest chef

the lasagna had lots of veggies in it, peppers, onions, mushrooms, squash and tomatos and lots of dairy free cheese. it was so cheesy you would have no idea that the creamy stuff didn’t actually come from a cow. and the secret to the sauce….sraricha.

cheesy goodness

i contributed a salad and bread to complete the meal and friends packed in around the table ready to eat!

a big plate is a happy plate

lori’s a first timer at meatless monday and please just ignore ray

i ventured into more vegan baking for desert researching recipes i discovered a vegan cheesecake. the crust was made of pecans, coconut and dates, and the cream filling had pureed cashews, tofu, and maple syrup it. topped with some raspberry puree, it was the perfect way to end an italian fest.

meatless monday — ramen with sun-dried tomato thai pepper sauce

February 26, 2013lynley Leave a comment

sriracha

suffering from a head cold is no fun. especially when you can’t taste anything because of it. the solution i figured was flavors that were powerful enough to taste but with that comforting soup sort of feel. the solution some fancy ramen. ramen can be a wonderful basis for a quick easy asian dish. while the noodles cooked. i stir-fried onions, sun-dried tomatoes and peppers in a thai pepper paste. paired with a couple of crab rangoon, this meal was just what i needed, good to the last chopstick full.

meatless monday — rice noodles with a peanut sauce

February 23, 2013lynley Leave a comment

spicy goodness

last week my cold made me want some comforting soupy, tasteful food. now feeling better but still stuffed up like crazy i wanted spice and i wanted to be able to smell it and taste it. after a cleaning out of cabinets and fridge to see what i needed to use up, i came up with rice noodles, bbrocoli, and peanut butter. there is no telling how potent this sauce became. all i know is i added ginger till i could smell it and sriracha till i could taste it. it was pretty good probably the best last minute stir-fry i’ve made in awhile. topped with some boca chicken nuggets it couldn’t be beat!

vanilla-blueberry whiskey roasted chicken

February 23, 2013lynley Leave a comment

after my whiskey infusing frenzy in the fall i still have several jars of it left over. so what to do with a whole lot of fancy whiskey? why not cook with it. eyeing the jars i decided the thing to do with my vanilla blueberry whiskey was to roast a chicken in it. i got myself a pretty fryer. stuffed it with homemade dressing made of brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon bread, layered the chicken with onions, carrots, and potatoes, then poured all that whiskey on it, including blueberries. it smelled wonderful and then i learned my lesson with cooking with whiskey its called flambe! the blueberries self-combusted triggering a flames shutting out from underneath the roaster lid. needless to say that was a tad panicking to see in your oven. out went some of the whiskey and in went a lot more vegetable broth. however the flambe created this really crispy skin on the chicken and the stuffing was to die for. only if i could create this beautiful accident again and i’d say this chicken would be one for the record books!!!

before

after

meatless monday — an indian feast

February 11, 2013lynley Leave a comment

normally when i go to the grocery store i’m a firm believer of sticking to my list, that way i stay on my budget. well the last time i went to the store that theory might have been put aside as i finally decided to purchase some indian food products i’d been eyeing for the last month. purchased… patak’s curry sauce of sweet peppers and coconut milk. the jar suggested adding it to chicken i voted for a giant jar of chickpeas instead, since it is meatless monday.

curry sauce in a jar, yes please

also purchased some mango chutney and frozen naan. dinner would be served shortly. (it may sound cheesy but i felt inspired to cook this meal to the darjeeling limited soundtrack)

why purchase anything but garlic naan

yum yum yummy

the verdict. pretty yummy and oh so easy. the only thing i was a tad disappointed with was the mango chutney but i used it throughout the week on sandwiches and with the leftovers mixing it into the curried chickpeas and it kind of grew on me. now i feel like i need to go on an indian food crawl, sampling more grocery store products and buffets in town. it’ll be a lot of curry but i think i can handle it!

curried chickpeas easy indian food Naan

lets do dinner!!! VII

February 5, 2013lynley Leave a comment

“this was a perfect way to spend a january night!” so said one of my dinner guests at the last meatless monday “lets do dinner!!!” gathering. on the menu was a Jamaican sheppard’s pie. what constitutes a sheppard’s pie to be Jamaican, well. plantains, curry, coconut milk, and topped with sweet potatoes.

lima beans, curry, coconuts, plantains, and sweet pots

the guest were plenty to the point i almost didn’t have enough chairs, but that’s the way i like it. for a more cozy atmosphere the crew voted to relocate for dessert by the fireplace in the living room.

the crew

for dessert i must admit i’ve gotten rather badass at making bundt cakes, this one was a vegan lemon-coconut cake. lets just say the leftovers made for an excellent breakfast!

finger lickin good

holy mole pork fajitas

January 29, 2013lynley 2 Comments

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

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

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!

holy mole beer mother's brewery

meatless monday — everything but the kitchen sink soup

January 21, 2013lynley 1 Comment

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.

god save the king and some pb&b too

January 15, 2013lynley 1 Comment

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

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”

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

mom’s yummy sandwich

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

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!!

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!

blue cupcakes elvis peanut butter sandwich elvis presley birthday peanut butter banana

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

January 12, 2013lynley Leave a comment

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

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

who will it be ????

daammmnn straight

double chocolate chip bundt cake

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

canton inn springfield mo chocolate bundt cake downton abbey season 2 downtown abbey

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