Wine Country Flowers - Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday. My post is linked to Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound.

Just about a year ago my husband and I took a vacation to the wine country in Sonoma. I'd never been to this part of the country. Being a wine and food lover, I was so excited about our trip. The trip didn't dissapoint. It was a relaxing vacation to a beautiful part of the country where we toured some great wineries and sampled some wonderful wines. I can't wait to go again!

The flower in the header on my blog is one we photographed while in Sonoma. For your Pink Saturday viewing pleasure, here are a few others.

I'd like to introduce you to Sarah of The Open Cupboard. She's my "next door" neighbor in Iowa and just one of many new Pink Saturday friends.

Chocolate Banana Trifle - Foodie Friday

I've wanted a Trifle dish for years! I was thrilled when I found this one at Wal Mart for around $6.50. I couldn't resist. Making a trifle is on My Top 50. Cross one more off the list. 3 down, 47 to go!

The original recipe called from vanilla pudding. I subsituted chocolate pudding because that was what I had on hand. You know, Use It Up!!

Did you know those little bottles of liquor, like the ones you get on the airplane, are exactly 1/4 cup? Perfect!

This dessert was awesome!! The texture of the pudding mixture is just thick enough so the angel food cake doesn't get soggy. The bananas and chocolate are a wonderful combination. The only downside to this type of dessert is the size!! I think now I need individual trifles so I can make smaller portions.





Chocolate-Banana Trifle
Adapted from Cooking Light
16 Servings

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated fat-free milk
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)
1 (16-ounce) angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup toffee chips
3 cups fat-free milk
3 (3.4-ounce) packages chocolate instant pudding mix (not sugar-free)
2 cups sliced banana, divided
1 (12-ounce) container frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick (about 3 minutes), stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in Kahlúa. Cool.

Combine chocolate mixture and cake in a large bowl; stir in toffee chips, reserving 1tablespoon for topping. Set aside.

Beat 3 cups milk and pudding mix at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Stir in cake mixture. Cover; chill 15 minutes.

Spoon half of cake mixture into a trifle dish or bowl. Arrange 1 cup bananas evenly over cake mixture; top with half of whipped topping. Repeat layers; end with whipped topping. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon toffee chips. Chill one hour.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak.

After our long cold winter, we've begun getting some beautiful Spring weather. Temperatures were in the low 80's for the first time since the end of September. Spring brings so many great things; flowers, Spring vegetables, Robin's singing and grilling out.

Flank steak is a great inexpensive cut of meat to grill. There's a couple of keys to tender flank steak. Don't overcook it and marinate it overnight before cooking. I am always looking for new marinades for flank steak. I found this one on Simply Recipes. It's easy and uses ingredients you may have on hand.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients
2 pounds flank steak
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1 Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

2 Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.

3 Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.

4 Flank steak is best eaten medium rare; well done will make it too tough. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.

5 Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.

I am linking today's post to Tasty Tuesday's at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's at Blessed With Grace. Thanks to these ladies for hosting such fun events.

Pecan Shortbread Cookies-SMS

Happy Easter!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!!

Something I've always wanted to make but never have, is shortbread. When I saw this week's recipe was Pecan Shortbread Cookies, I was excited. I was hoping this would be my first time making shortbread. While I thought these cookies were deeeeeeeeeeelicious, they remind me of Russian Teacakes or Italian Wedding Cookies.

This was an easy recipe to put together. My only challenge was my butter wasn't cold enough. I didn't end up with balls as the recipe describes. I really am enjoying this cookbook but wish there were more pictures. I don't know about you but I really like seeing a picture of what the finished dish should look like.

Laura of The Lab chose this week's recipe. Check out the other talented Sweet Melissa bakers here.

One Year Ago Baby Carrots with Dill.

Pink Saturday - Happy Easter!

I participated in my first Pink Saturday last weekend. Pink is a bright, wonderful color and my favorite color. I should have known this would be an amazing group of bloggers. Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome I received!!

I love to color Easter eggs! Eventhough I don't have any kids at home, I bought the Paas Easter Egg kit and colored eggs. It was so much fun!

Peeps....either you love them or hate them. I don't like them but my husband does. He was thrilled when I said I need pink Peeps for Pink Saturday! Are you a Peep fan?

Happy Easter!!



I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

Foodie Friday - Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers are such a beautiful dish. I love the vibrant red and yellow of these peppers. Traditionally stuffed peppers use meat and rice. I am trying to make more meatless dishes. Did you know a cup of quinoa has 9 grams of protein?

A few weeks ago, I purchased a rice cooker. I don't know about you but I can never cook rice quite right. It's either raw or overdone. I love this rice cooker. The rice comes out perfectly every time. Although quinoa is easy to cook on the stovetop, I decided to give it a try in the rice cooker. The quinoa came out perfectly.

I liked these stuffed peppers but thought they needed a little something. Maybe some cheese? Cheese makes everything taste better.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Recipe from Taste of Home
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
1/4 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 each medium sweet red, yellow and orange peppers
4 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons sunflower kernels
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Dash cayenne pepper
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the broth, water and bay leaf to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Discard bay leaf.
Cut peppers in half lengthwise and discard seeds. In a large kettle, cook peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse in cold water; invert onto paper towels.
In a large nonstick skillet, saute the carrots and onions in oil until tender. Add the quinoa, sunflower kernels and seasonings; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through. Spoon into pepper halves. Place in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until peppers are tender. Yield: 6 servings.

I am linking this Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum.

Chocolate Canneles - Chocolate With Francois

I haven't been a very good Chocolate With Francois blogger. I've missed the past two months. My fellow bloggers have baked some beautiful dishes. I am sure this month will be no exception. Sarah at Teapots and Cakestands chose this month's recipe. When she first made her pick, she was quick to note if we didn't have cannele molds, this could be made in a muffin tin.

Canneles are a specialty of southwest France. I can't say that I've ever eaten one, so I was anxious to try these. I decided to make this in my mini bundt pan. We've had plenty of sweets at our house lately, so I chose to cut this recipe in half and in half again. My idea was to get two cannales. This batter looks devine, almost like creamy hot chocolate.

This recipe is quick and easy to put together. However, it does require a little planning because it has to chill overnight. The recipe calls for baking these 60 - 75 minutes. I checked them after about 50 minutes. They appeared to be done and as I looked closer, I was afraid they were overdone. As I removed them from the pan, my fear was confirmed, they're overdone!

Not sure if it was because these were overdone but they were terrible. They were very dry, which I know was because they were overdone. The flavor wasn't what I would have expected from the wonderful chocolate batter. I am anxious to see how my fellow CWF bloggers fared with this recipe.