So many recipes...so little time.

So as many of you know, I try out at least 1-2 new recipes a week. It keeps things new and interesting for dinners. Plus it keeps me on my toes as far as cooking and techniques. So what I'm posting tonight, I actually made a while back. But I get busy with my projects and it takes David awhile to upload the photos for me. But here's something called Swiss Steak. It's made with a Top Blade Roast (which was impossible to find, I had to track down an actual butcher shop so that was handy in the end) and tomato gravy. The roast is cut up into steaks and slow cooked in a dutch oven over low heat. The meat just falls apart people! I hardly ever eat red meat but I found this delicious. I made some low fat mashed potatoes and a skillet green bean casserole that doesn't involve a can of soup. All thanks to America's Test Kitchen of course!

Mouth watering good!

That time year again

Yay! Fall means pumpkin ale. We have tried a variety of them. Shipyard Pumpkinhead seems to be my favorite. But it can be hard to get, apparently it sells about quickly. It's well worth getting early and stocking up. To me...it takes more like a pumpkin spice ale rather than we just took our regular ale and added some spices. Cottonwood isn't too bad. Neither is Dogfish Head. So live a little and step out of the box. Try a pumpkin ale this fall.

So here's to Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale! It goes great with a lot fall dishes. And well...it's just darn tasty.

Perfect Sweater

I am in love with this sweater. Obsessed really....

It comes in great colors. Not to mention the design is totally cute. Now I just have to find some $$ because I like 4 colors.

It's the Women's EverSoft Jersey Shawl Pullover

American Twist on an Italian Classic

I l-o-v-e Pasta Carbonara. It's one of my most favorite Italian dishes. While leafing through my collection of Cook's Country magazines, I found an interesting recipe for a Carbonara Casserole. Hm...could be interesting. It was awesome! The whole dish is cooked in the same skillet, so there's less dishes for David. Delicious dinner + less washing up = happy husband. :-D

Here it is when pan comes out of the broiler.

And this is my bowl, I kind of mixed it all up so the crumb topping was all through out.

A couple new recipes

Here's a couple of new recipes that I tried this week.

First is Crunchy Buttermilk Baked Chicken by Cook's Country.

This one was very easy. Take chicken, we chose tenders, brine in buttermilk, sour cream, ranch seasoning and salt. Then take toasted homemade breadcrumbs (in my case Ritz Cracker crumbs) and combine with remaining Ranch seasoning. Toss the chicken and bake. The result: tangy, tender chicken.

Next I tried a recipe from their 30-Minute Supper Magazine: Potato Crusted Halibut.

I didn't use Halibut because I realized on our recent trip to the UK I really like Haddock. True the title of the magazine, it only takes 30 minutes. You whip up a sort of tartar sauce using mayo (olive oil mayo in my case), dijon mustard, capers, chives and S&P. Spread a tablespoon of that over the top of each piece of fish, then press in grated potato pieces. You brown the fish in a pan and then finish off in the oven. (for me the hard part was getting the pressed potato coated fish in the pan and have it come out looking pretty...not so much) The leftover mayo sauce is great to serve on the side. The crispy potato topping is like hash browns, then combined with the tangy sauce underneath...tasty! And hey...it got me to eat a fish dinner.

Meet Asta

Well...I finally got my wish and we adopted a dog!

Meet Asta.

We got Asta from a local rescue here in Greensboro a couple of weeks ago. The rescue is actually for Jack Russell Terriers but the lady could not resist when she first saw "Tiger" (yes that was his name). He was in a shelter down in Greenville, SC in what they call their "last chance room". Sad huh? She couldn't just leave him there, so she took him back to her rescue despite the fact that he's some sort of Schnauzer mix. The shelter said he's about 3 years old and his previous owner had passed away. (heart breaking I know).

He's very good inside and house trained. Not usually an early riser, so I can even sneak out for my morning runs without him wanting to go out too. Although normally very quiet, he does let out the occasional bark but nothing constant. Outside on the leash is another story, he's not quite leash trained but we're working on that. We bought the Gentle Leader collar/harness and it really helps train him outside. And I learned today that he growls at the UPS truck. What did "Brown" do to him?

He's the sweetest little thing, who's had a rough life and deserves the loving home that we can offer him.

Finished Pillow

You may remember that I was working on a strawberry needlepoint project. Well, I sent the stitched piece off to be finished into a pillow. I think it turned out great! I'm quite proud of it actually. I can't wait to start one of my other projects.

Tah dah! Nice huh?

And here you can see the sort of velour/velvety fabric on the back.

Gourmet Monday

What's so special about Monday?? Nothin'. But why not jazz it up with a tasty dinner? Tonight I made two new recipes out of my magazine, America's Test Kitchen Light & Healthy. I made Chicken Piccata with Scalloped Potatoes. It was amazing! Then to complete the evening, a piece of Lemon Chess Pie (made it last night, no that's not low fat :-D)

Potatoes when they came out of the oven.

The complete dinner..tasty huh!

Lemon Chess Pie.

Sweet and lemony but not tart.

Another fall favorite

Okay folks....I know it isn't fall yet. But I am obsessed...obsessed with this candle scent. It may sound weird but the combination of the apple with the balsam, plus other notes. Incredibly good!

So it's no where close to fall yet....

But I just had to buy this and try it. It's very tasty! Not super strong, just like a mild flavor of pumpkin spice bread. I hope I can save enough to actually have once it does get chilly out.

The Lighter Side of America's Test Kitchen

I rave about ATK all the time. But there are times when I just can't do the "fully loaded" dinners. For that I have my America's Test The Best Light Recipe to turn to. I've only tried a few things before, like my creamy pesto. So tonight I tried their Macaroni and Cheese with Ham & Peas. Very tasty! It said to use the 50% Cabot Cheddar but I chose to use the 2% Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp. I don't know what the difference is between the two. Maybe my use of skim milk instead of 2% made up some of the difference. And rarely do we eat regular pasta anymore, so I used the Barilla Plus elbow noodles.

Craziness!

So what began as an experiment has turned into craziness. David was trying out FaceTime on our new iPhones and did a portrait for a customer of his in Miami. Then he tweeted about it. He got a pretty good response. Next another client tells some of his friends. Next thing we know, he's on the internet geek blog gizmodo.com and the website wired.com. He's slightly overwhelmed! (to put that gently) Gonna have to take on the role of administrative assistant.

Check out the articles!

David on Gizmodo

David on Wired.com

And by the way...wired.com...who said you could call him "Dave".

Finished Products

So I have finished two of my projects.

First off, my needlepoint.

I went a little too far out on two of the edges but that won't matter once I have it made into a cushion.

Now my afghan. I love this throw. It ended up bigger than I thought it would be. There were variations in the instructions, so I went with the longer of the two.

Almost big enough for the bed.

I just love all the colors. So much variety.

MVP

My poor little soccer star...at least that's what he wants you to think. ;-)

Broke two bones in his foot. Guess our mountain trip is off....and I just learned it's the highland games this weekend. :-(

Watch out world! He's a menace on those crutches.

Another Project

Here's the blanket I'm currently working on. It's made by doubling up colors and crocheting them together. The whole thing is made up of about 17 different color combinations. Stay tuned for the finished product.

The design is a ripple pattern, one of my favorites.

Most of the colors don't really match but it all seems to work.

And here's a picture of baby blanket that I made for a friend.

Their colors were pink and green...I can't really handle baby pink.

4th of July "Cookout"

Since we live in an apartment, we cannot have a grill. So we had to do hamburgers inside but they turned out great! The idea came from Cook's Country, they're pimento & cheese stuffed burgers. Yum! I lightened it up in several ingredients. Then I made cobbler/pie without the crust. Essentially...blackberry sauce to put over ice cream (well...frozen yogurt).

Oh man these were soooo good!

Tasty replacement for cobbler and ice cream. I added splash or two chocolate syrup.

Gotta love summertime!

Check out the blackberries. We bought some from our local farmer's market.

They were huge!

And delicious!

Homemade Italian

For some reason, some of the best food I know how to make is Italian Food. I'm not Italian and neither is my husband. But he loves it! It's dinners like this that make him glad he married me. (there better be other reasons too ;-) )

Since it was a weekend night and no one had to work. I made homemade potato gnocchi with a low fat pesto (promise you can't taste the difference), sauteed shrimp, roasted zucchini and garlic bread. What a spread! Oh and David helped with the making of the gnocchi. I get bored rolling and shaping.

Current Project

Here's one of my current projects that I am working on. It's a tapestry needlepoint cushion kit. The pattern is based on a design in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The kit I purchased comes with a patterned canvas and the wool necessary to complete the piece. I can't wait to see the finished product. But needlepoint takes a lot of time, then I have to have it made into a cushion. (b/c believe it or not, despite all my crafting, I cannot sew)

Here's the whole pattern.

And a close up.

Farmer's Market Breakfast

So we've been back for a week now. Things are slowly returning to normal. (but I do miss Scotland). I've started my volunteer work at various institutions to get some work experience this summer. And I've also started a needlepoint class which has proven to be very informative. Since it was May when we left for the UK, there wasn't much out at the Farmer's Market. Oh how that has changed. I stocked up on all kinds of fruits and veg. Once of my favorite vendors this past year is a group of ladies who bake artisan breads. I always ask for Challah (ever since they made it for Easter) and this weekend they delivered! Thanks to America's Test Kitchen, I made Challah Bread French Toast. Amazing! Top it off with some locally grown raspberries. Oh my!

One more thing....

I almost forgot. On our way out of town we say Castle Stalker. Or to Monty Python fans, Castle Aaaarrrrrggghhh. Just plain cool.

Isle of Mull & Iona

Our "last day" before taking our time heading back to Edinburgh for our flight on Friday was spent staying in Oban and visiting Mull & Iona. The two islands are accessible by ferry and Iona is passengers only, no cars. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Okay this one is for cute factor and actually was taken at Ben Nevis, I just forgot to put it in that post. How cute is the little guy!

This is the fishing village of Oban. We stayed in an old Victorian house turned B&B up on that hill.

Here is the huge ferry that runs out the Isle of Mull.

Taken from our ferry crossing.

Once on Mull we drove to the tip to take the ferry to Iona. Very secluded and small village on the island with an abbey.

Although this abbey has been "touched" up recently (19th cen), Iona is one of the oldest centers for Christianity in Great Britain.

Beautiful drive along Loch na Keal.

Me standing on the pebbled shore.

And that's it folks! The next day we had a leisurely day in Oban before driving back to Edinburgh for our flight. Hope you enjoyed the photos. We had a fantastic time and we loved sharing our favorite moments.

Ft. William and Ben Nevis

On this day we left the Isle of Skye for our stay in the town of Ft. William. The town is near the highest peak in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. And finally in the "state park" sort of thing for Ben Nevis I saw up close the Highland Coos. Soooo cute! Unlike the sheep, they were very curious as to what we were doing.

This is the ferry ride from Armadale on the Isle of Skye to Mallaig on the mainland.

Beautiful scenery along the "Road to the Isles", although we were leaving the Isles.

The great Ben Nevis, still small amounts of snow up top.

Coo in a stream.

This one stared at me for a while, just wondering why this girl was standing in his/her field. (yes the females have horns too).

Hehe...love the hair.

Baby coos!!!! Like our Truman when he needs hair cut but as big as a lab.

Isle of Skye: Day 2

Yesterday we took the whole day to drive around and see as much of Skye as possible. We started from our village and went over to Broadford. From there we drove past the Cullin Hills and into Portree. After Portree, we made our way around the Trotternish Peninsula. Cutting back through Portree we headed out to Dunvegan. What a day! But honestly, some of the most beautiful scenery. The pictures don't do it half justice.

Let's start with this picture. This is what most of the road I was driving looked like. Single track, curvy and hilly.

Not to mention the sheep. At least this was 2 lane but it wasn't always the case. You know have we have warning signs for deer "zones" they have them for sheep and cows. And they mean it!

View from our drive on Skye. Gorgeous huh!

Village of Uig. This place is neat b/c you can still find examples of crofting.

The Isle of Skye Museum has preserved some old thatched cottages from the 19th century.

This ram would bounce around to keep the little ones in check. We apparently disturbed them while walking in their grass to get to some castle ruins.

Great view of what's called Kilt Rock.

And this looks back towards a formation called Old Man Storr.

Lovely rainbow waiting for us when we arrived back in Kyleakin that evening.