.strawberry shortcake.

I *love* strawberry shortcake! Growing up, we used to go into Kent Valley and pick so many strawberries we could practically swim in them. My mom would have us help her make freezer jam, and sliced strawberries to freeze. Whatever we had left we would slice and make shortcake. Mmm mm mmm.



My dad makes this awesome hot milk sponge cake that is perfect for the strawberries. Forget about those ones you buy at the grocery store. They turn to complete mush when the juice of the strawberries hits it. This cake stays nice and firm, yet moist. I promise if you take the time to make this, you won't be sorry.



Ron's Hot Milk Sponge Cake



In a bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.



In a glass dish, heat 1 cup milk and 4 Tbsp butter in the microwave until hot and buter is melted.



Add 4 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla to the milk/butter mixture. and mix well.




Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until everything comes together. Don't overmix.










I like baking this in muffin tins to make individual cakes. You can bake this entire thing in a 13x9 pan.



If you use muffin tins, fill only halfway up as this does double in size while baking.



Put in a preheated 350* oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.




The tops should be nice and golden, and the cake itself should be nice and spongy... hence the name sponge cake.
















Remove the cakes from the muffin pan so they don't get soggy on the bottom from moisture. If you use the 13x9 pan, no need to worry about taking from the pan.















Clean the strawberries. Remove the stems and slice.



Add a couple tablespoons of sugar. The sugar will dissolve and draw out the juices from the fruit. This is called macerating. Let the strawberries sit with that sugar for a bit. The longer they sit, the more juice they'll make. I'm not patient enough so I don't ever get a lot of juice. Ah well. I'm okay with it.




Now to the whipped cream. Trust me again when I say this. Make it! Don't buy something in a can at the store. If you've never whipped your own cream, it's not difficult and I promise you, you will never want anything but homemade ever again.



You want to start off with cold tools. I put my Kitchenaid bowl and whisk in the fridge for about half hour before whipping. If you have room in your freezer, great. The colder the better. Whipped cream will give you better results the colder it is.



Pour your cream (2 cups) into the mixing bowl and start mixing on medium speed. Don't go full speed from the get go otherwise it will splatter all over the place.




When ribbons begin to form in the cream, kick up the speed and add 1/4 cup sugar.



Keep whipping on high until firm peaks form and the cream becomes nice and fluffy like clouds. Don't overwhip or else you'll start making butter!




Turn off mixer and add 1 tsp vanilla. On slow speed, mix the vanilla in.










Mmmm... say it with me. Whipped... cream....



To assemble your strawberry shortcakes, cut one of the cakes in half. Put in the bottom of a bowl. Spoon strawberries and some juice on the cake. Put a nice dollop of whipped cream. Place cake top on the whipped cream. Add some more strawberries if you want and top with more whipped cream.



To make it fancy, put a sprig of mint on top and/or dust with powdered sugar.




http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_14ft69zbd2

.company's coming!.

My sister, Marcia, and her two kids were set to be here today for a couple week visit. Her husband's a pilot so they fly standby but in doing so, they also run the risk of not getting on the flight if it's too full. So here we sit and wait! She wasn't able to get on this morning's flight so we're praying she can get out tomorrow morning. *FINGERS CROSSED!*



I have a really great menu planned for her stay. The meal I had intended on making tonight (Mongolian Beef), obviously couldn't be made so I had to come up with something. Sooooo I decided to make Tortilla Soup.



We went to dinner at Cantina Laredo a couple weekends ago and on the recommendation of a friend, had tortilla soup there. I thought it was very tasty, but personally, I think mine's way better. I hope you like this recipe!



Rougly chop one small onion, 1 large jalapeno (or two small), 2 cloves garlic, and a can of green chiles (or buy the pre-diced).

Heat some olive oil in a soup pot and saute everything until the onions are tender and translucent.

Add 2 tsp chili powder and 2 tsp cumin. Stir and continue to cook the veggies. The heat helps release the flavors of the spices.

In a blender, put the onion/jalapeno mixture, a handful of chopped cilantro, 1 tsp worchestershire sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 1 can (undrained) diced tomatoes and 1 can (undrained) diced tomatoes with mexican seasoning. I like to use one of each so the flavor isn't horribly overpowered.
Puree everything until nice and smooth.

Pour the pureed tomatoes/spices back into the soup pot. Add 1 can tomato soup, 1 can (14oz) beef broth, and 1 can (14 oz) chicken broth. Cook over medium heat until everything is hot.
[NOTE: At this stage, this soup base can be put into containers and frozen for later use.]








Once the soup base is heated. Add 2 cups cooked chicken. I use canned chicken (drained) for convenience. Mix into your soup. Let this simmer so the flavors can marry.









In a skillet, heat some oil. Cut up tortillas into thin strips and fry until golden brown.












Remove from oil onto paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt.










Cut an avocado in half. Carefully pull out the seed, then carefully peel off the skin. Putting the flat side down on the cutting board, dice the avocado.



To serve: Ladle soup into a bowl. Stack some fried tortilla strips in the center. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese around the edge. Sprinkle avocado around the perimeter as well. Put a dollop of sour cream in the center on top of the tortilla strips.


http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_15d8fgn4gf

.irish stew.

This is a recipe I make around St. Patrick's Day every year. It is comfort food for me. I had planned on making corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes this year, but we were right in the middle of remodeling our master bathroom and I just didn't feel like making it, and I hadn't gone to the store early enough to buy the ingredients to make it.

So... I decided to make the stew.

Years ago when we lived in Virginia, we used to go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg all the time and in their little village of "Ireland", there's a cafe there that sells Irish Stew. They serve it in Irish soda bread bowls. Pretty amazing stuff for a theme park. This is my adaptation of theirs however I use lamb vs. their beef.

Ingredients you'll need:

lamb chops

baby carrots

baby dutch yellow potatoes

pearl onions

frozen peas

sage

bay leaf

broth (chicken or lamb)

burgundy wine

milk

flour


Trim the lamb chops of fat and cut the meat away from the bones. Cut into small pieces. Cut your carrots in half. Peel a strip away on the potatoes and then cut in half. Peel the pearl onions by first dunking them in boiling water for a minute, then pulling out and putting in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Cut off the root end and squeeze the onion out.

Throw the lamb bones and fat into a pot. Add some carrots, onion, garlic cloves, celery, and a bay leaf. Add enough water to cover everything and then put on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for an hour. This is the broth you want to use for this stew. After the hour is up, strain to take all the veggies and bones out. Set aside.

Lightly coat your pieces of lamb with some flour and salt and pepper.

In a soup pot, heat a little olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter. Add your floured lamb pieces and sear the meat on all sides.

Halfway through the searing process, add the carrots, potatoes, and a bay leaf. Cook until the outsides of the potato become a little glossy looking and translucent. Add 1 tsp sage.

At this stage, add 1 1/2 cups wine, the lamb broth and some chicken stock if you need it. Also add the pearl onions. Cover the pot and let cook until the potatoes become fork tender.

In a bowl, mix together 2 1/2 cups milk and 1/3 cup flour. Whisk until all lumps are gone.

While stirring, add the soup/flour mix to the soup. Stir until the soup starts thickening.

Oh and now would be a god time to take that bay leaf out. You don't want someone to accidently eat it!

Add a little bit of this stuff to your stew. It's called Kitchen Bouquet and it's a browning liquid that gives your soups and gravies great color. We want our Irish Stew to be nice and brown so don't leave this out.

Re-season with salt and pepper. Serve your soup with rolls, or Irish soda bread.

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_16d37zjzdp

.happy st. patrick's day.

Despite being sick, I'm really trying to be as festive as I can. Look what I was doing last night til 1am. I had promised I'd make sugar cookies for hubby to take into work today.

I love sugar cookies. These turned out really cute!

Tonight for dinner I'm making Irish Stew and for dessert a delicious, spring'y Lime Pie. I'll have recipes posted later!

.all hail caesar.

I have really been craving caesar salads lately. We were at Costco a couple weeks ago and saw they had Johnny's Great Caesar! salad dressing. The only place I've ever been able to find it is in Seattle so imagine my surprise finding it in Florida!

It is *the* best caesar dressing that comes in a bottle. Seriously.

This salad is very fast and easy. It's a salad that's easy to prep ahead of time and have ready to whip together at the last minute. It's also awesome to take on picnics because you can keep the ingredients in ziplocs and throw everything into a large ziploc and shake til it's all coated. All you have to do is dump it out on paper plates. Easy as pie!

Here's what I put in my salad.

• Romaine, chopped
• Bacon, cut up and fried
• Caesar croutons
• Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• Green onions, sliced
• Salad dressing
• Lemon wedge (put a wedge on each plate and squeeze on your own serving before eating)
• Fresh ground pepper
• Chicken breast, cooked with Seasoning salt and chopped up

Great low carb recipe! Enjoy!

YAY!

My sister, Marcia is coming to visit next week with her two children. They'll be here for almost TWO WEEKS! If you don't see me around, it's because I'm busy getting my master bathroom remodeled before her arrival.

The list is long, ladies.

Have a great week!

.chili lime chicken.

This is a Weight Watchers recipe I found a couple years ago. It is really delicious and not only that, but you can whip this dish up in seriously... 20 minutes.

You'll want to start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 per person). Slice the chicken into strips.

















In a large ziploc, put 3 heaping Tablespoons flour and 2 teaspoons chili powder. Shake bag to mix.
















Add your chicken strips and shake the bag to coat all the pieces with the flour and chili powder.
















Spray a skillet with PAM and put on medium heat. Lay out your chicken in the pan and cook for about 3 3 minutes on each side, searing the outside.








Add 3/4 cup chicken broth and the juice from one lime. Lower the heat to low and cover the skillet with a lid. Let this cook for about 3-4 minutes.










Remove lid and turn the heat up to medium high. Stir while the broth/lime juice thickens. Remove from heat and add some chopped cilantro.

Serve with salad, or rice and beans.


Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_17gvv6w4f6