Sunday, May 27, 2012

Dinner last night was a recipe from here: http://bettyrosbottom.blogspot.com/2012/05/grilled-pork-tenderloin-steaks-with.html?m=1  It was grilled pork tenderloin steaks with rhubarb balsamic sauce. I didn't grill mine, as for me, that is one of the problems with charcoal bbqs...you set it up, light it, wait 15-20 min, then cook something for 5-10 min. So I broiled mine. They were good, and probably would've been even better grilled. 

The pork tenderloin was rubbed with crushed dried rosemary, then cut into little steaks. The cook fast!

The sauce used raw rhubarb. I had never tasted it raw...it was quite puckery! The face M made was hilarious!! As it happens, our garden has a community herb area that had some rhubarb ready to pick, so that is where I got mine. Diced it, mixed it with the balsamic, a tad soy sauce, and olive oil, and let it sit for about an hour. The rhubarb lost it's pun puckeryness, so all that was left was the vinegary pucker. It was good...or at least I thought so. M made the same face as with the raw rhubarb. Oh well. She chose not to eat the sauce. 

As the recipe suggested, I served it with turmeric spiced couscous. This M ate up! So apparently she likes bitter, but not acidic :)

It was all very good. The sauce helped cut the richness of the meat a little, and the turmeric added another flavor dimension. Yum!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

I made this card for a friend and her husband who have been parent-like friends, and have pulled my fat out of the fire a couple of times!

I got the idea here (http://thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com/2012/05/mothers-day-robin-card-with-rosa-clifford.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MarthaStewartsCraftBlog+%28Martha+Stewart%27s+Craft+Blog%29  it's the third card in the extra ideas toward the bottom). I believe the original artist hand cuts all her parts, but I used my cricut and the walk thru my garden set. Turtles, ladybugs and daisies. I did hand cut the flower stems :) I also used the cricut for the words (which I ran thru my xyron sticker maker to stick to the card...so much easier for words than trying to apply adhesive!). I jazzed up the turtles with a little glossy accents, and a dab of stickles star dust on the center of the flowers. Voila! I know my friend will appreciate the card, as she is a scrappy girl too ;)

Monday, May 14, 2012

Tonight's dinner is no-cook because we have reached the scorching temp of 72*.

We are having easy gazpacho. Here is a rundown of the recipe...I really don't measure, just add things to the bowl until it looks good. Chill all ingredients before making, as the soup is supposed to be cold.

Canned petite diced tomatoes
Chunky salsa of your spicy choice
cucumber, peeled and diced
V8
Olive oil and sherry vinegar
Croutons

Put a few spoonfuls of tomatoes, salsa and cucumbers in a bowl. Add V8 to cover. Stir well. Drizzle with a little olive oil and vinegar, and serve with croutons.

We are also having a Spanish cheese sampler and some gypsy salami (it has paprika in it) on roasted garlic bread.

Fast, easy, healthy, and yummy!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! I am on a tight food budget at the moment, so had to go on the cheap for dinner. So we had enchilada casserole. Here is the recpe:

1 7.75 oz can hot Mexican style tomato sauce
1 can refried beans
2 c shredded cheese (I used 4 cheese Mexican blend)
7 corn tortillas

1. Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce in bottom of casserole dish. 
2. Divide beans onto 6 tortillas. Place one in the center of casserole dish. Sprinkle with a thin layer of cheese. Dribble a little sauce on top. Repeat with remaining bean tortillas and cheese. 
3. Place past tortilla on top and gently press down to flatten and even out stack. Pour remaining sauce on top and spread evenly. sprinkle with remaining cheese. 
4. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes. Slice and serve with sour cream. 

Friday, May 4, 2012

I got an email today from Lion Brand yarn, and it had a link to this pattern. They call it a European rose, but I immediately saw a Tudor rose (cuz I have history on the brain?). So rather than the pink the pattern used, I did mine in the traditional white and red. It is bigger than I thought it would be, but still pretty :)

Here is the link to the original: http://cache.lionbrand.com/faq/587.html?utm_source=20120504_May04-remainder&utm_medium=Emails&utm_campaign=Weeklynewsletter&utm_content=DirectionsfortheEuropeanRose