So, we're getting married...

As you can probably guess from the enormous gap between this post and my last, we haven't been doing much cooking lately. :(  What have we been doing, you ask?  Only about a million wedding things!  Here's a peak into what's been going on in our lives lately:

We designed our own "save the date" post cards (and ordered them on www.vistaprint.com for free - just paid shipping!).  Those went out several months ago:

I made our ring bearer pillow (including the flower):

Designed a guest book out of our engagement photos (ordered from My Publisher - love the quality!):

You can check out the entire photo book here:  http://www.mypublisher.com/?e=OHm3Q8zJl3RvUuxo1vSS6Ru3fpWS8cLa&_mp=hNMla%2B/g0epFh9ubwV%2Bckl1yPF9K1HKg%0A

And finally, the project that has occupied my life for the past several weeks...I made invitations from SCRATCH!

Before....

After....

I designed the invitations myself, printed and cut them myself.  And each of those flowers was hand stamped!

I even made my own envelope liners by tracing and cutting them from a large sheet of paper:

As a final touch, I designed monogram postage stamps, and ordered them from Zazzle.com:

And, with just 45 days to go (eeek!), I still have an enormous to-do list!

I need to...

• Make my veil
• Make my bracelet
• Finish the bridesmaid's gifts (they're getting pretty clutches with hand-made flowers, a bracelet and earrings)
• Make ceremony programs
• Make table numbers and menus 
• Figure out the seating chart
• Make escort cards
• Make kissing balls/pomanders for flower girls
• Make favors and associated packaging (we're doing chocolate dipped pretzel rods)
• Make emergency kit
• Pay off final vendor balances
• Apply for our marriage license after June 28
• Wrap all attendant gifts
• Send out shower thank you's 
• Get final headcount to the reception venue 
• Have final dress fitting 

Wow...it's enough to make you dizzy!  So this is why there probably won't be another cooking post until after the big day - July 24.  Until then, happy eating!

Personal Pizzas

Remember how much fun it was to get those little personal pizzas at Pizza Hut when you were a kid?  Well, now you can relive those childhood memories, but in a healthier way!  These little pizzas are just 350 calories (without toppings)!  And they take just 15 minutes to make!!!  Could it get any better?

INGREDIENTS:

1 pita pocket
1/4 cup of pizza sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese made with part skim milk
Toppings of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  If you have a toaster oven, and you're making just one or two pizzas, I highly recommend using that instead.  It heats up MUCH faster and I feel like it uses far less energy than the big one.

2. Place a pita pocket on a cookie sheet.  Spread pizza sauce onto the pita pocket.  Top with the cheese.  Add toppings of your choice if desired.

4. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, just long enough to melt the cheese and toast the pita a little.

Brunch Burrito

This is a terrific weekend treat!  Great for those Saturday and Sunday mornings when you wake up late and can't decide whether to eat breakfast or lunch. :)

Now, for my calorie counting friends, you're probably thinking you could never eat this.  I'll admit, it's definitely more calories than my typical weekday breakfast (I calculate it's almost 700 calories).  But, if you eat it for brunch (i.e., 2 meals in one), you're actually probably eating fewer calories than you normally would with a separate breakfast and lunch.  At least that's how I look at it.  Plus it's so filling, you won't get hungry again for hours!  And all that lean protein...yum yum, eat up ladies! :)

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large flour tortillas
1.25 lbs ground turkey (that's the size of one Jennie-O package)
2 large russet potatoes
4 eggs
1 medium sized yellow onion
1 cup shredded cheese (any kind will do, but I used a "Mexican" blend; cheddar would also be good)
Milk
Steak seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Canola oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Scrub and chop the potatoes into small, bite size pieces.  Coat a frying pan with a generous amount of oil and put the potatoes in it.  Cover and heat to medium-low.  Let it cook while you prepare everything else, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently until potatoes are a nice golden brown.  When they're done cooking, season with some salt and pepper to taste.

2. Dice onion and add to another frying pan, lightly coated with oil.  Add ground turkey and sprinkle with steak seasoning (optional, but it really makes it taste like sausage with just a fraction of the fat!).  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until turkey is thoroughly cooked. 

3. Scramble eggs in a bowl with just a touch of milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring as they begin to cook (you know, scrambled eggs style!).  When they're done cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. When everything is done cooking, assemble your burritos.  Onto each tortilla, place 1/4 of everything you just cooked (mean & onion mixture, scrambled eggs and potatoes).  Sprinkle on top 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.  Microwave for 1 minute to melt the cheese and warm the tortilla.

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

In honor of St. Patricks day, here is a delicious Irish stew recipe!  We had it for dinner last night, and it was a great way to celebrate the holiday.  The Guinness beer really adds a great flavor - it turned out even better than I expected!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs beef roast meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 12oz bottle of Guinness beer
4 cups of fat free beef broth
1-1.5 cups of peeled and chopped turnip
4 large peeled and chopped carrots
2 onions, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbs parsley flakes (I used dried, but fresh is probably better if you have it)
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs butter, divided
3 Tbs canola oil, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by combining beef broth and beer in a large soup pot.  Begin to heat it over medium-low heat.

2. Next melt 1 Tbs butter and heat 1 Tbs canola oil in a large skillet.  Dredge half the meat in flour and cook in skillet until well browned.  Repeat with the rest of the meat.  Once all the meat is cooked, add it to the broth and beer.

3. Heat the last 1 Tbs canola oil in the skillet and cook the onions over medium heat until they begin to look transparent.  Then add them to the soup pot.

4. Add the vegetables, salt, pepper and parsley to the soup pot.

5. Bring soup to a boil, stirring frequently.  Then cover and simmer for about an hour. Enjoy!!

NOTE: I was lazy and did not make the bread bowl in the picture from scratch.  But if you are interested in how to make the lazy man's bread bowl, here's what you do:

• Buy a little loaf of bread at the store
• Cut off the top
• Scoop out most of the bread inside, leaving about an inch to 1.5 inches of bread on the edges
• Brush olive oil onto the inside of the bowl
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes
• That is all! :)

Couscous Salad

It's finally spring, so I decided to celebrate by trying a new light, (healthy!), vegetarian dinner.  I kind of made this up as I went, but it turned out great!  It's only about 400 calories per serving (if you divide the recipe below into 4 servings).  And it's super fast too -- takes about 15 minutes to throw together.  This could also be a nice side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of plain couscous (or 4.5 cups)
1 cucumber, diced
1 can/jar (12-14oz) of artichoke hearts, chopped
2.5 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
40 kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup of feta cheese 
4 tablespoons of basalmic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the box of couscous according to package directions.  Set it aside to cool while you chop the vegetables.

2.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the couscous and stir.  That's it!

Steak Fajitas

Mmmmm, steak fajitas!  One of my ALL TIME favorite recipes!  These don't need much of an introduction, I'm sure everyone has had them before.  This recipe is simple, but soooo delicious.  I've tried many more complicated recipes, but I've settled on this one as being the best. 

INGREDIENTS:

A couple of steaks, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 bell peppers, any color, coarsely chopped
Packet of fajita seasoning (I use Meijer brand)
1/3 cup lime juice
About half a bottle of beer (I prefer Corrona, but any kind works)
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Flour tortillas, any size
Sour cream to taste
Shredded Mexican blend cheese to tast

DIRECTIONS:

1. Marinade the steak in the beer and lime juice.  Overnight is best, but an hour will do if you're crunched for time.

2. Drain most of the liquid and then put the steak into a slightly oiled frying pan.  Add the onion, bell peppers, packet of fajita seasoning and fresh cilantro.  Cook over medium-high heat until the meat is well browned.

3.  Serve in flour tortillas with as much cheese and sour cream as you desire.  Que delicia!

A Gourmet Valentine's Day

One Valentine's Day, about three years ago, Mike made this special dinner for me.  I have been requesting it for Valentine's Day ever since. :)  It's a bit of a splurge (price wise), but it tastes AMAZING, and you can have a very nice dinner for two at home for much less than a similar meal at a restaurant.

Surf and Turf - Lobster Tail and Porter House Steak with Wine Sauce


FOR THE SURF:

2 Lobster tails

4 tbs butter 

6 cloves of garlic, minced

This part is really easy.  Using a large knife, crack the lobster shell in half, length wise, so you can lay the meat flat.  Put it on your George Foreman grill (you know you all have one...) and cook until the tail turns nice and red.  That's it!
To make a nice little butter dipping sauce, just saute your minced garlic in butter in a small skillet.  The garlic flavor is pretty strong, so when it's done cooking, I'd suggest straining out the garlic so you're left with just garlic-flavored butter.  

FOR THE TURF:

I'm going to let Mike write this recipe, since I've never actually made it (hehe - I'm spoiled, I know). :)

My wine sauce is based on this one from myrecipes.com, with a little modification.  It is a thick, savory sauce created with heavily reduced red wine and nice beef stock or demi-glace.  Sauteed mushrooms and shallots also absorb those tasty juices during the reduction and taste wonderful on the steak.  Now, your ingredients!

• Steak, cut of your choice (porterhouse is very nice)
• 3 cups (about 1 750 mL bottle) dry red wine, divided
• ? tbsp Williams-Sonoma beef demi-glace
• 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
• 2/3 cup shallots, finely chopped
• 1 lb chopped mushrooms
• optional: corn starch, soy sauce, thyme

A few notes on the ingredients:

• Williams-Sonoma demi-glace is pricey – about $30 for a 10.5 oz jar.  The original recipe calls for consomme, which I can’t imagine anyone ever going to the trouble to make.  On the cheap, I have also made this sauce using Kroger or Swanson beef broth, and found that a full bottle of wine to about 16 oz. broth works well, but factor in at least an hour to let all that liquid simmer and reduce!
• Save money and use cheap wine.  A $5 bottle or wine from a box will taste wonderful in this sauce; save the nice stuff for drinking with dinner.  
• Most grocery stores have shallots if you look for them, even if you haven’t heard of them before.  This recipe is where I first discovered shallots!  They’re a bit milder than regular onions; I think if you had to use onion I’d use red onions.  But try shallots if you can!
• I used regular white mushrooms because shiitake are expensive.  But if you try them, let us know!

Directions:


Beforehand, have ready: one large pan for reducing the sauce, one medium pan for browning and searing the steaks, and either a Foreman-type grill and an oven pan and aluminum foil.

1. Saute the chopped shallot and mushroom on medium heat in the butter.  Also, preheat oven to 350 degrees and get out an oven pan and a large sheet of foil for each steak. 
2. Once the shallots turn a nice semi-translucent golden color, add bottle of wine and 4 tbsp. demi-glace.  (if your pan isn't big enough, just add more liquid in as the sauce reduces).  Bring everything back to a simmer and stir frequently, as a film will form on the edge of the pan and you want to keep that flavor in the sauce.
3. Remove the mushrooms and shallots with a slotted spoon, then raise heat to speed reduction.
4. Once reduced by half, dump wine mixture into bowl with mushrooms and shallots.
5. In now empty pan, add the steaks with a little olive oil or butter on medium heat for no more than 3 min / side.  Go to med/low heat and continue to cook for 1-2 min/side until done as desired.
6. Add remaining 1/3 bottle of wine and 1 tbsp demi-glace to pan, scrape loose browned bits from steak and bring to simmer.  Simmer 1 min.  Add soy, corn starch and first half of sauce from other bowl.  Add thyme if desired.
7. Reduce to desired thickness and enjoy.

This sauce will keep pretty well in the refrigerator for several days (we actually think it tastes even better on day two!), and we've even frozen it and reheated it with no problems.  While we used porterhouse steaks for our Valentines day, this sauce will make even poor cut of meat taste fantastic.