Beet Salad Recipe

For some reason, I accidently posted a recipe for a wonderful beet salad on my other blog instead of here. I must really have been exhausted last night when I did that. Please go read about it. And sorry for the inconvenience.

Meyer Lemon Mint Sorbet with Blueberries

Since Summer is near, I'm getting in the mood for cold desserts like sorbets. I made Meyer lemon mint sorbet with blueberries by using the Meyer lemon sorbet recipe from This Homemade Life, and taking it one step further. I added lemon mint and blueberries for a colorful and tasty treat. 

I grow Meyer lemons and lemon mint in my backyard and have waited for a recipe just like this one to let those Meyer lemons and that lemon mint shine. 

I used 6 Meyer lemons to equal 1 cup of juice. I juice my lemons through a strainer to prevent seeds getting into the juice. 

I used the rind of one lemon to equal one Tablespoon of rind. 

I cut enough lemon mint leaves to equal 1 teaspoon when chopped up. You can also use regular mint leaves as well. 

I added the lemon mint when the recipe asked to add the lemon rind to the lemon sugar mixture. 

I used 1/2 pint of blueberries. This went into the ice cream maker about 1/2 way through at 10 min. And in 10 more minutes it looks just like this! 

Halfway Cookie Bars Are Completely Delicious

When I saw these Halfway Cookie Bars on Pinterest, I had to get the recipe. I scanned the recipe and realized I had all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. This gave me an opportunity to substitute dark chocolate chips. The bottom is cookie goodness, with a middle layer of dark chocolate and a top layer of brown sugar meringue. Slurp! They took a bit of time, but were really easy. Anything with meringue is a winner in my book. I recommend this recipe for a delicious treat.

Dinner Without Me: Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I always get a little anxious when I'm not going to be home for dinner during the week and my son and husband need dinner. That calls for planning; which I lack in a bit, but it is what it is.

I love this slow cooker beef stew recipe from Betty Crocker because you just throw everything in and turn it on. It's really rich and delicious.

The only modification I make is that I put the beef in a bowl and toss the beef in the flour. Then put it over everything else. Stir at the end. I didn't get a picture of it after it cooked because I wasn't home.  Now I just hope my husband and son save some for me.

Recipe: Bibimbap

I love to order Bibimbap when I go to a Korean restaurant. It's a rice dish with vegetables and sometimes meat. But I usually order what's called Dolsot Bibimbap, which is in a super hot stone bowl so that the rice sizzles and gets crusty like paella rice. Unfortunately I still haven't found the right stone bowls to do that at home. Well honestly I found them but at $20 a pop for my entire family plus no room to store them, I chose to leave that dish to the restaurants. I wanted to make a version of regular Bibimbap at home and it's definitely not classically Korean, but it's what I came up with using ingredients I already had at home based on the flavors I like.

Bibimbap for 3 people

4-5 leaves Napa Cabbage, cut small
enoki mushrooms
1/2 cucumber sliced matchstick style
*pickled grated carrots (recipe at bottom of page)
1/2 lb seasoned ground beef (saute with a little Worstershire sauce)
4 cups seasoned rice (cook then add rice wine vinegar, juice from 1 lemon)
3 fried eggs, sunny side up

Arrange the rice on bottom and everything else on top next to each other. Fry and egg and place it in the middle. Serve with Sriracha or other hot sauces. You can find some in the Asian Grocery stores.

*Pickled Grated Carrots

1 cup of grated carrots (already grated from the store in a bag)
sesame oil
rice wine vinegar
Sriracha
white wine vinegar
sesame seeds

In a bowl combine a little of each sauce to taste with carrots and put in fridge for 1-2 hours.

Valentine's Dinner My Way

I'm a big fan of chocolate and wanted to mix things up a bit for our Valentine's Day dinner. I was watching The Nate Show on the 13th and saw Paul Young, my favorite chocolatier. He made a main course dish using chocolate, but not mole. It is called "Paul's Venezuelan Chocolate Chili Chicken". I thought "that's it". Problem was, it was with chicken and we had chicken 2 days prior so I thought why not make it with pork. It turned out chocolaty but with the chiles and the orange in it, it was definitely a winning dish in my husband's eyes. My son, not so much. He can't understand why people would cook with chocolate. 17 year olds *eye roll*.

Then came dessert. Because we had a chocolate main course, I wanted a tart and tangy, refreshing dessert. I found this recipe for Lemon Bars with Coconut Crust from Mountain Mama Cooks blog.

I have tons of Meyer lemons on my tree and this is a great dessert to use some of those up. This recipe only requires the use of a food processor for mixing. Less mess. I love when I can cook with my own home grown fruits, veggies, and herbs. Even my son liked them. He almost ate the whole plate before dinner. Again *eye roll*.

Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate and White Chocolate Chips

I got these cookies for Christmas from my friend, Kristin and they were so delicious. I found the recipe on the Sugar Cooking Blog. I decided to make them yesterday to take to a meeting. So of course I went to the store and the store I went to didn't have the peanut butter chips that were supposed to be in the cookie. I wasn't going to another store, so I substituted white chocolate chips instead. Like I always say, it's ok to substitute. You'll be amazed. The cookies are very easy to make and they literally got gobbled up in 2 minutes. The salty and sweet flavors are really appealing.