Recently, I decided that we needed to branch out and try cooking beef. The only beef we know how to cook is hamburger. This week I went to the grocery store and, lo and behold, rib-eye steaks were on sale. I felt better about experimenting on $20 worth of steak rather than $40 (it was a big package of steaks).

Dave found some steak rub in our pantry and fired up the grill.

I want to tag this post to the recipe section so here’s the recipe: rib-eye, steak rub, grill.

OH. MY. WORD. Delicious. What in the world took us so long????

After I took this picture, I thought to myself that it looked kind of GROSS but I promise that it was wonderful!

What’s for dinner at your house?

Back when Dave and I could eat anything and not gain an ounce, I made this cake for special occasions. Those days are long gone thanks to babies, lethargy, and the passing years.

Lauren and I made two 8×8 cakes and popped one straight into the freezer. I felt better about us only eating half a cake!

Lauren helped me stir up the mix.

She took a break to lick the bowl clean.

This cake calls for crushed up cookies or candy so Lauren broke up Dave’s favorite cookies, Pepperidge Farm Milano Double Chocolate cookies. Pre-Lauren’s peanut allergy, I made this cake with chopped up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on top.

Here’s the finished product. Rich beyond words. I ate salad for lunch and dinner.

A close-up of the cookies.

My friend, Becca, gave this recipe to me years ago. I’ve since seen it various places with different cake mixes and toppings. It is most often called “Better Than Sex Cake.” I really don’t want to have the Birds and the Bees talk right now, so we are going to call it Crazy Cake at our house! Because this amount of sugar and fat IS crazy! And, it’s crazy good!

Crazy Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 jar hot fudge topping

1 tub Cool Whip

Candy or cookies for topping

Make the cake mix as directed. While still warm, punch holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour sweetened condensed milk all over. Spread fudge on top. Cool and then spread Cool Whip on top. Crumble cookies or candies on top of cake. Refrigerate.

I think this cake tastes best once it has been in the fridge for a little while. The fudge kind of solidifies and the whole thing is just yummy!

Dave, we hope you enjoyed your Father’s Day Cake!!!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo…

(It’s not really a Mexican dish but we call it Deep Dish Taco Squares so it will have to do!)

Deep Dish Taco Squares

• 1 pound ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• diced tomatoes
• diced avocado
• biscuit dough (see below)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9×13 pan. Brown ground beef and drain. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix sour cream, mayo, cheese and onion. Set aside. Make biscuit dough. Press dough into pan, making a ½ inch rim around the edges. Spread beef over the dough. Top with sour cream mixture. Bake 25 minutes or until edges are light brown. Top with diced tomatoes and avocado.

Biscuit dough

Mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.

I am Cookie Monster.

Dark Chocolate No Bake Cookies

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (We used soynut butter because Lauren is allergic to peanuts.)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal
• Waxed paper

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, salt, butter and milk. Let boil until soft ball stage then add peanut butter. Stir until melted. Add the vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by tablespoons, until cooled and hardened.

My mom said that these are a little tricky. It is hard to cook them for the right amount of time. Too short and they won’t harden; too long and they get grainy. So, it might take a bit of practice. However, you can certainly eat them with a spoon if they don’t harden up right!

ETA: My mom said to take a cup of very cold water and drop a small amount of the boiling chocolate mixture into the water. If you can pull it together with your fingers on the bottom of the cup into a very soft ball, then it is ready.

Well, I decided to try my hand at creating a food post. I’m sure Dave will roll his eyes as he does not get my obsession with taking pictures of food!

Oh and I dedicate this post to Julia K. who made this yummy chili for us and gave me the recipe.

Spicy Corn Chicken Chili

Here are the ingredients. Looks like a bunch but there is lots of opening and dumping so not so bad.

Uh oh. Gotta go change a diaper. I’ll be right back.

Might as well make a cup of tea.

Hope is not happy so now she is on the counter next to me.

OK, back to the recipe. Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Oops, I didn’t defrost chicken so I’m going to use hamburger. So, brown hamburger meat. Drain.

Hope is cranky so I am taking a break to get her down for a nap.

She is awake.

She is asleep.

Admire the onion and garlic.

Coarsely chop onion and finely chop garlic cloves. I’m not about to wake Hope up so I’m not going to use my Pampered Chef chopper. I hope this is coarsely chopped. Now, cook the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes.

But, I didn’t take a picture of the onions and garlic cooking because I got distracted by this.

What in the world is going on with the neighbor’s car???

Mix together spices: chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cayenne powder. What?! I don’t have any cayenne powder? How is this going to be spicy?

Put the hamburger meat back in the skillet with the onion and garlic. Add spices, tomato sauce, water and salsa.

Add the corn and beans. And salt to taste.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. Perfect timing as Hope is waking up and hungry.

Uh oh. I didn’t stir once as I was feeding the baby. Good! It didn’t stick.

Look who just SMILED!!!

Chop 1/3 cup of cilantro to sprinkle on top of chili.

Ding Dong. The doorbell just rang. Hold on…

It was our neighbor (not the neighbor with the messy car). I’m still in my nightgown. And I haven’t brushed my hair. Oh well. Hopefully it wasn’t too shocking.

Lunch is ready and I am so exhausted I could fall over!!!

Spicy Corn and Chicken Chili

Extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cayenne powder to taste
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
(Or substitute one pound hamburger meat for chicken)
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup mild or medium salsa
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen corn kernels
1/2 can cannellini beans, drained
1/2 can chick peas, drained
Salt to taste
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

In a large skillet, brown chicken in a little bit of olive oil. Remove chicken from skillet and cook onions and garlic for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until onions are translucent. Stir in chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cayenne. Add tomato sauce, 1 cup water, salsa, corn, cannellini beans and chick peas. Stir chicken back into mixture.

Season with salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often, until flavors have melded and chili is thick. Serve over steamed white rice and sprinkle with cilantro.

]]> http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2010/03/my-attempt-at-a-food-post/feed/ 23 http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2009/12/eating-up-the-cucumber-and-tomato-salad/ http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/2009/12/eating-up-the-cucumber-and-tomato-salad/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:08:50 +0000 Lana http://www.beautifulcanvas.org/?p=5361 This past weekend Dave and I watched Julie & Julia, the story of Julia Child and modern-day Julie who decides to cook and blog her way through Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I am fairly certain Dave fell asleep. My mother-in-law is here while Dave is in Chicago so we watched it again last night.

The movie made me want to get up off this couch and cook! Back in September I got the following recipe and picture ready to post on the blog but never got around to it. Enjoy!

***

I’m a terrible baker. And I cannot cook a roast or steak. But, I can make salads! This cucumber and tomato salad is easy as can be and I could eat gallon-sized quantities of it!

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Cucumbers, cut up (Persian cucumbers if you can find them. Our local Trader Joe’s carries them)

Tomatoes, cut up (baby romas or cherry tomatoes are my favorite)

Red wine vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

I mix 2 T. vinegar and 2 T. olive oil and then add a splash more of the vinegar. I also add a bit of salt. I use about 1/3 of the dressing and then save the rest for later.

Our former neighbor made something similar with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, lime, salt, cilantro and olive oil. I LOVE her salad.

I need to give credit to my Aunt Sandy for this recipe. She is my aunt on my mom’s side. She was married to my mom’s brother who passed away from Lou Gehrig’s disease a number of years ago. Aunt Sandy can cook!

Aunt Sandy’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Mix and put in 2 quart baking dish:
3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
1/2 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup pecans
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Make crumb crust and spread on top:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 stick butter, melted

Put 1 package of mini marshmallows on top of casserole.

Bake at 350 degree for 35 minutes.

I love this very simple vegetable soup. You can substitute all fresh veggies but I was going for easy!

Vegetable Soup

• 1 package frozen mixed vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, peas, etc.)
• 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 extra can of whatever veggie you would like (I put an extra can of green beans)
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 6 beef buillion cubes
• 6 cups water

Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.

I love this soup but I adore it with cornbread. I like salty, dry, not sweet cornbread.

Southern Buttermilk Cornbread

• 2 cups corn meal (white or yellow – doesn’t affect taste)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1-1/2 cups buttermilk (I always buy low fat)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon butter, for skillet

Preheat oven to 450°F. Stir together all of the ingredients except for the butter. Put the butter in a cast iron skillet and melt on top of the stove. Pour the cornbread mixture on top of the butter while the burner is still on and leave on top of the stove for a couple of minutes. (I have this theory that this will make the bottom of the cornbread crunchy but I don’t actually know if that is the case!) Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes. Cornbread will be done when golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides of the skillet.

Monica the Magnificent brought us some carrot soup recently. It was so, so good! Last week I asked Monica for the recipe and the soup turned out wonderfully. It is so easy and healthy and tastes like a garden! If we look a little orange next time you see us, you will know why!

Carrot Soup
3-4 lbs. carrots (I used baby carrots)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
water to just cover veggies
1/2 cup orange juice
one large fresh rosemary sprig, leaves stripped from main stem and then chopped

Cook carrots and sweet potatoes until soft. (ETA: Make sure lid is on!) Add orange juice and chopped rosemary. Puree. I used a stick immersion blender. I agree with Monica that it is nice to leave some chunks! This is wonderful plain but also really good with sour cream or sharp cheese and crusty French bread.

According to Monica, if you have extra, this freezes very well.

We didn’t use any measurements but I googled Russian Potato Salad and came up with some measurments. However, you can adjust the amount of every ingredient to taste.

Russian Potato Salad
6 potatoes, peeled, boiled and chopped
6 eggs, hardboiled, peeled and chopped
6 dill pickles, chopped (we used a bunch of petite dill pickles)
Chicken thighs, boiled and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 (14 oz.) can peas, drained
3 large carrots, peeled, boiled and chopped (we used a bunch of baby carrots so we didn’t have to peel)
Fresh dill, chopped (Maybe 1/2 of a bunch?)
Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper to taste

We added corn and next time I will add onion. You can go light on the mayo or heavy. I think you can go fairly light on the mayo because of the moist dark chicken meat, peas and corn. Much less mayo than a regular potato salad or chicken salad. You want everything chopped up really small. This is delicious!