FOOD!

Wow, I can't believe it's been 3 months since I last posted! That's terrible... I have to do better. In my defense, it's been pretty busy with work, family stuff, holidays, visitors, etc. But to make up for absence, I will make this post all about what we've been cooking and eating with minimal chatter from me :-) If there's anything you want the recipe for, let me know. Bon appetit!

You may remember from a few months ago, I talked about a ham and broccoli quiche we made that was divine! And so easy! Here it is again for your viewing pleasure.

 

For Tom's brother, David's, birthday, we made stuffed peppers - hamburger meat, rice, and onions in green peppers with beef broth (made from water and beef granules) in the bottom of the pan. They turned out really well! Cooking the ketchup on them for the last few minutes like my dad does really makes them delish!

Pork tenderloin has become one of my favorites in the last few years, and I especially like to get the already flavored ones. I usually go for terriyaki, but lately, I've branched out to new flavors like honey mustard and apple bourbon (seen below). It's an easy way to have a nice meal if you just pair it with a few quick sides. This time, I made an arugula salad and sauteed some carrots, onions, and mushrooms together with some sherry (I love to cook with sherry!).

My boss shares my love of creative cooking and likes to branch out into different kinds of meat. Thankfully, Tom and I get to benefit from that because he usually gets me some of whatever he buys. It's a really nice perk :-) Below, I paired early peas and stuffing with veal cutlets. I'd never had veal, and I was pretty against the idea of eating baby anything, but who was I to turn down his generous gift? So we cooked it in a frying pan with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a little (you guessed it!) sherry. It was very good and every bit as tender as people say.

Recently, he went on a trip to Guatemala and brought us back some macadamia nuts. We chopped them up and made a white chocolate and macadamia nut pie! Wow!

But I think the best thing he's given us is fresh swordfish steaks. I had never heard of such, but they were amazing! I just seasoned them (salt, pepper, and some cajun spices I had) and cooked them in a frying pan on the stove. Wow. You have to try them. He ordered them from Kroger. We had creamed corn (admittedly, from a can) and green bean almondine (french style green beans, salt, pepper, garlic powder, lemon juice, and sliced almonds).

Tom and I have been trying to branch out into grilling. This is something neither of us know anything about but would very much like to learn (especially if someone would come clean the grill for us when we're done!). Kabobs were on sale at Publix so we decided to give it a whirl. I marinated the whole kabob (on the stick) in a mixture of salt, pepper, Dale's, and this Greek vinaigrette (that was very disappointing as a salad dressing but turned out to be spectacular as a marinade!). They were to die for! We also attempted some veggies in the foil pouch you see. Not the intended affect, but we're working on it.

Our next grilling adventure was even better. Publix had steaks on sale (are you seeing a trend here about how I buy groceries?), and this time we put the red peppers directly on the grill. Yum!

The last stop on our grilling run was steaks for the in-laws. Tom's family came to visit for the weekend so we had to show off our new grilling prowess, and my boss had given us a frozen boneless ribeye we had been waiting since Christmas for the right time to cook. Let me just tell you that I was terrified of that thing. It was a giant hunk of frozen meat, and I was totally overwhelmed as to what I should do with the thing. The process went shockingly well, however. I was able to butcher the slab into 8 fairly evenly sized steaks with ease using a bread knife of all things. We marinated it the same way I mentioned before, and Tom's mom said it was the best steak she'd ever eaten in her life :-) This time, we paired it with grilled asparagus (Tom's fave!) and homemade mashed potatoes.

One thing I've really wanted to get into cooking is soups. I found this amazing recipe for pork and zucchini soup so I had to try it. It really turned out to be a winner. We loved it! You chop up pork chops into cubes, toss them in flour, and cook them in a skillet. Then you add that to all the chopped veggies (onions, red peppers, zucchini, sundried tomatoes, etc.) and cook together for about 15 minutes. We served it with my homemade cheddar and jalapeno cornbread and sprinkled it with Parmesan cheese! This is a dish I will definitely be making again soon!



Lastly, this past week, we made an old favorite - Rosemary Chicken. You cut up chicken breasts into cubes (take my advice, use scissors instead of cutting it with a knife like I did the first time!), season with salt, pepper, rosemary, lemon juice, and chicken broth. Bake and serve over rice (I got the BEST baked rice recipe EVER from Amy! You'll love it!). I also added sauteed zucchini and onions, just cause we love it, and I had a zucchini left over from the soup :-)

 Okay, I lied. This will be the last one - Tom's work hosted a cupcake war this past week. So much fun, and people really went all out! If you never try another recipe from me, try this one! Peach Bellini Cupcakes. To. Die. For. Seriously.

I have to close with something about Daisy :-) Lately, Daisy's had a new friend to play with, Lucky Zero. They have been having the best time playing together! Look how cute they are...

Until next time! Hopefully, it won't be 3 months away :-)