Way Too Much Fun

How did I spend ALL of Gabbi's nap-time today?

Did I have other things I probably should have accomplished?

Decorating cupcakes = My new favorite past-time.

I got a decorating kit with a coupon at Michaels, this recipe from my visiting teacher, and went crazy.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Betty Crocker Cookbook, thanks to Cady Jardine's suggestion

Prep:10 min, 12 servings, about 1 3/4 cups of frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 to 2 Tbl milk

1. In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with a spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla nd 1 Tbl of the milk.

2. Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Frost 13 x 9 cake generously or fills and frosts and 8 or 9 inch 2 layer cake.

Completos (Chilean hot dogs)

So this is my first post ever on this blog, are you proud of me Mom? Mom has been begging me to post here, and begging for this recipe. Lets just say I don't just love hot dogs, but the way Blake taught me to make them from Chile is to die for.

Ingredients:
Hot dogs-cooked
deli buns (best when NOT pre-cut)
avocado (for just 2 of us, I use 1)
lemon juice
olive oil
tomatoes, diced (for just 2 of us, I dice 2 tomatoes)
mustard
salsa

Directions:
In a small bowl, mash an avocado w/ a fork, add a 1/2 tsp of lemon juice, a sprinkle of salt, and a sprinkle of pepper.
In another small bowl add 1/2 tsp olive oil to the diced tomatoes and a small sprinkle of salt.
Next, slice the deli buns along the top, but be careful not to cut to the edges, just about a 5 inch cut along the top, big enough to just squeeze the hot dog down into the bread.
Assembly:
Put the cooked hot dog down into the bun, then w/ a fork push some tomatoes down around the hot dog. Next, mash lots of avocado mix down around the tomatoes. The ingredients should be up around the top of the bun by now. Squeeze a bit of mustard on top and sprinkle some salsa on top of that. Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to have a napkin handy.

Roasted Veggies

This isn't really a recipe, but an idea. I'm sure you've discovered by now the joy of roasted veggies. They are easy, delicious, and healthy. You can use any vegetables that you like. You just put some olive oil on a baking sheet, add prepared vegetables of your choice, add salt and pepper and drizzle with more Olive oil. You can other seasonings of your choice. We like to add garlic or garlic salt sometimes. Toss with your hands and roast at 375 or 400 until veggies are tender. It usually only takes about 20-25 minutes. Easy. Some of our favorites: Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Potatoes (of course- just cut like fries), and our favorite is sweet potatoes. They are a little hard to peel, but worth the effort. Just peel and cut like fries. Then make a dip with mayonaise, lemon juice and garlic. Oh my, it's good. Happy roasting!

Salmon with Creamy Dill

I found this delicious recipe on Allrecipes.com. It is supposed to be the way Alaskans make their salmon. It really is delicious. I half the amount of topping from the original recipe, as it's high calorie and you just don't need that much. If you're on the fence about salmon ( or even if your not) give this a try.

3/4 cup mayonaise (you can use the olive oil kind)

1/4 cup prepared mustard

1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (I used a pinch of dry)

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. chopped fresh basil leaves ( used a bit more)

1 1/2 lbs. salmon fillets

Dill (I've used fresh and dried- both are good) for on top

Preheat oven to 375

In a bowl, stir together mayo and mustard. Stir thyme, oregano, and basil. Place salmon filets on a baking sheet. Spread with mayonaise mixture. Sprinkle with dill weed.

Bake for 30-40 minutes (shorter if your fillets are thin) until salmon flakes with a fork.

Pasta Ponza

I love grape tomatoes and often buy the big box of them at Costco. But with only two of us, we have a hard time going through the whole box. So, one day I went to foodnetwork.com to find a recipe that uses them. I found this gem. I didn't have the capers, so substituted garlic. It's from Giada De Laurentiis.

If you want the original go here. I'm giving you my slightly altered (improved?) version.

4 cups grape tomatoes, halved

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 T. e. v. olive oil, plus extra

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs

1 pound ziti or other tube-shaped pasta

1 1/4 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Preheat oven to375. Butter an 8x8 baking pan.

Place the tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper in the dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30- 35 minutes until top is golden.

Cool for about 5 minutes.

Cook pasta in salted water. Pasta should be tender but firm to the bite. Drain, but RESERVE 1 cup pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Add the cheese and toss well. Thin the sauce with pasta water, adding a little at a time until desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve. Yummmmmm.

Carne a Pizzaiola

I got this recipe from our neighbor, Pete's very Italian daughter-in-law, Mary. I was struggling pronouncing it, and she showed me how. You put your fingers together with your thumb and open and close them as you say it. It really helps you get the accent. Anyway, so it's authentic Italian . . . and delicious.

Top round steak, cut into 2-3" pieces and sprinkled with steak seasoning. Let "marinate" while you prepare the other ingredients. (I also tenderize the meat by beating with a knife before I cut it up)

3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped ( I use the lazy stuff in a jar)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. oregano

2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

dash red hot pepper flakes

Sandwich rolls

Brown seasoned meat in olive oil. While browning, mix together other ingredients. Put meat in crock pot. Put some of the tomato mixture in the skillet to deglaze the pan. Pour tomato mixture over the meat in crock pot and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Cook on low for three hours or until meat is fork tender. Fill sandwich rolls with meat mixture and top with grated mozzarella cheese on a cookie sheet. Broil until cheese melts. Mary serves it with green salad.

Okay, now here's the truth:

I do the meat as written, but sometimes I just open a jar or can of spaghetti sauce to replace the tomato mixture. So easy and still good. I still drizzle it with olive oil after it's all the crock pot.

An aside: Every time I make this, I think of an episode I saw years ago of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Marie agrees to teach Debra to cook, giving her the recipe and ingredients for this dish to try at home. Debra keeps trying it, but it just doesn't taste as good as Marie's. She then discovers that Marie has covered the label of one of the spices with the word "oregano", it's really some other spice, making the dish taste wrong (sabotage!)- thus preserving her title as "best cook!"

Steak Tips in Mushroom Gravy

Serves 4

2 cups uncooked egg noodles

1 lb. top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

1 T. butter

1 onion, chopped

1 pkg. mushrooms, sliced (baby bellas are good)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. soy sauce

3 T. flour

1 1/2 cups beef broth

pepper and salt to taste

1/4 tsp. thyme

Cook noodles in salted water. While they cook, cook beef in a skillet in a little olive oil. Brown. Remove meat from pan and cover to let rest. Melt butter and over med high heat in the same skillet, cook onions, then add mushrooms, garlic, and soy sauce and cook until mushrooms are done. Sprinkle with flour and cook another minute. Then add beef broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil and cook another two minutes or so until thickened, stirring constantly. Add beef and heat all through well. Serve over hot noodles.