Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa and Grass-Fed Beef

 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sweet onion
2 yellow or green zucchini
1 large garlic clove
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1lb 100% ground grass fed beef (10% fat)
2 tablespoons red wine or tomato paste
Sea salt
Ground pepper
3 whole bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
2 cups of marinara sauce
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Prepare quinoa ahead of time by rinsing 1/4 cup in cold water. Place in a medium saucepan with water just covering the quinoa. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered until liquid is absorbed. In about 20-30 minutes quinoa will be cooked, allow to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cast iron pan, sautéed the onion and zucchini in olive oil over medium-high heat. Season with 1/2 teaspoon oregano,1/4 teaspoon thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, then add in the garlic and cooked quinoa. Mix together and remove from heat. Place the quinoa mixture into a separate bowl. In the same pan add the ground beef and the remaining oregano and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Add in 2 tablespoons of red wine. Cook until the beef is no longer pink and then add in 3/4 of the quinoa mixture. Mix well and remove from heat.

In a medium baking dish, place the 6 bell pepper halves and stuff each with the beef mixture. You will have leftovers of the beef, you can either stuff additional peppers or save for a different meal.

Cover the peppers with your favorite marinara sauce and place in the preheated oven covered for an hour. Once the peppers are soft, they are done. Top with your favorite cheese and serve.

  

I’m use to having stuffed peppers prepared with the meat raw and then baked. That is the mistake I made but in the end it still tasted delicious.The extra sauce help keep the meat moist.

I also forgot to buy tomato paste and saw an open bottle of red wine, I figured it won’t make the beef tomato-y but it will have a delicious wine flavor. It worked out perfectly. This is the perfect comfort meal if you are looking for something a bit healthier and gluten free!

Enjoy,
Fallon

Barefoot Contessa Weeknight Bolognese

Here is a classic Italian dish that the Barefoot Contessa transformed into a simple, quick and delicious dinner. Bolognese is a rich beef sauce slowly cooked with a vibrant, dry red wine and towards the end a luscious serving of heavy creamy is added. This is a rich and hearty meal. While the Barefoot Contessa tweaked it to make it doable during a weeknight, I tweaked it to my own likings. Anyone can use ground sirloin but using completely grass fed beef kicked this meal up a whole other level. The beef was so rich and tender, it almost tasted like butter in my mouth. My sauce may not look very rich and creamy because I refused to buy heavy cream just for 1 meal. That is something we don’t consume unless I’m making a very decadent dessert. I opted to use some organic milk instead to round it out slightly. I did make sure not the skimp on the red wine. That is what made this meal a winner!

Weeknight Bolognese
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 pound 100% grass fed ground beef
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 cups dry red wine, divided (umm make sure you have a glass for yourself!)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound dried pasta, rigatoni or penne was my choice
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
Splash of milk
1/2 cup freshly ground parmesan cheese
4-5 tablespoons whole milk ricotta cheese

Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute. Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits.

Okay so 2 glasses.. one for me and one for Mike!

I’m not a huge cab fan, but this was delicious for a budget friendly wine.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil and the pasta. Cook according to the box directions, making sure the pasta is al dente.

The best pasta!

While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the basil, cream and remaining wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into the large serving bowl. Add the sauce and parmesan cheese and toss well. Serve hot with a tablespoon of whole milk ricotta cheese on top.

Along with our bolognese I roasted up some broccoli with salt, pepper and olive oil. I always like to bulk up on a vegetable and use less pasta. I like when I can get best of both worlds!

His..

 
Hers! Oh yes.. the ricotta was dreamy in this dish. We ate at Spago
almost 3 years ago and we both ordered the bolognese and it had
the creamiest ricotta cheese on top. Totally brought back those
memories with this dish.

Make this for your family or loved ones because it is absolutely delicious. I’m sure the heavy cream would of made the dish extra special but honestly we didn’t miss it. I also didn’t have nutmeg on hand and I wish I did because that always adds a nice flavor. I ended up topping our pasta with some whole milk ricotta cheese instead and let the warm sauce melt it into our pasta. Now that is delicious!

Buon Appetito,
Fallon

Baked Beef Ribs with Dry Rub

There is something you definitely don’t know about me... just yet. I really enjoy BBQ food. I love the smokiness, sweet and spicy and delicious BBQ sauce that smothers your entire dish. One of my favorite BBQ items is beef ribs. Yes, beef ribs. I like a HUGE rack smothered in sauce, lots of meat and I enjoy part of the fattiness because that is where all the flavor is. Now if I ate these all the time, I’d be in trouble. Since it is a once in a while event, I enjoy every little bit of it! My hands get dirty, sauce on my shirt until they bring me a bib, and I enjoy every bit of it. I love cleaning that bone dry. ;)

It has been almost 4 months since I’ve had some beef ribs and I was starting to get that itch. Yes, I get an itch when I’m craving something. Don’t you?

Living in an apartment we could use their local grills but how clean are they really? Plus who wants to lug all the cooking tools and meats to the grill? Not me! I did some online research and saw you could bake beef ribs. I could definitely do that and that I did. I found a rub in a free Sam’s Club cookbook but tweaked it with the spices I had on hand. It made SO MUCH I have leftovers of this rub. I’m sure it will be good on some chicken breast cooked on my cast iron skillet.

Surprisingly this meal was very easy to put together. I rubbed my ribs the night before and wrapped them in foil and placed them in a glass baking dish, so all that had to be done the next day was to place them in the oven. I was working till 5pm and was afraid we wouldn’t eat dinner till almost 8pm if I put them in the oven after 5pm. So I gave my boyfriend strict orders. Preheat the oven at 4pm at 350 degrees F. By 4:15pm place the ribs in the oven. Once I came home, I started to glaze my ribs with BBQ sauce. I did this about every 20 minutes, until they were done at around 7pm. Sweet potato fries and corn bread muffins baked, dinner was done!

The outcome? For baked beef ribs, they were actually really good. Moist and tender. I was worried they would be dry but that was not a problem at all. We both missed the charred/ smoky flavor from the grill but for our current situation it does the trick. I might of rubbed my ribs with a little bit too much rub, so I’d use less next time. We have a favorite sauce we buy from the store but homemade sauces are always better. As for the dry rub, it was really tasty. It had a little spice, little sweet and boldness all around.  I would definitely leave the cumin out next time because it was too overpowering for us.

BBQ Dry Rib

Adapted from Fresh, Fast and Fabulous

Ingredients

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup garlic salt

1/4 cup garlic powder

1/4 cup sweet paprika

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin (optional or go 1/2 tbsp)

1 tbsp black pepper

1/2 tbsp salt

Direction

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Rub ribs, steaks, chicken or pork. Store leftover dry rub in a glass or mason jar.

So now you know something new about me. I love beef ribs. :)
Fallon

PS: That is probably one of the best free cookbooks ever.

       

With my dad sporting a bib! This was probably taken summer 2009!

Steakwich kind of lunch

Our brand new dining table arrived and my babe is putting it together as we speak. It was just noon and that means it is time for lunch! We had a wonderful steak dinner Sunday night and I made sure to have some leftovers so I could make him a delicious steak sandwich. He said it was pretty amazing.

Here is what you’ll need: leftover steak, leftover sweet potatoes, chewy whole wheat bread, grainy mustard, avocado, red onion, romaine lettuce and pickles.

On the side I gave him some sesame seed crackers and slices of brie.

How about that for a Monday lunch? I was kind of jealous that I wasn’t getting a sandwich like this!

 

 

Picked up this brie from Trader Joe’s, buttery and creamy!

My boyfriend is getting a steakwich, while I’m going to roll with some broccoli slaw and roasted chicken! Oh and a pita pizza sounds good too. ;)

Happy Monday!

Fallon

Spinach, Mushroom and Steak Quesadillas

I was inspired by this wonderful quesadilla posted by Pioneer Woman. I made a few adjustments from the original recipe and it made one very happy boyfriend. I added some leftover steak by slicing it up and using pepper jack cheese to add a little spice! You can easily add in chicken or leave the meat out of it! I lightened up my version by using only 1 tablespoon of butter for flavor and using whole wheat tortillas to get an extra fiber boost. I cut the recipe in half since lunch was only my boyfriend and I, which is the version below. You can easily double it, if feeding for more people. This makes for a great weekend lunch when you don’t know what to make or have very little time!

 

Spinach, Mushroom and Steak Quesadillas

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced

2-3 tablespoons chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Several handfuls of baby spinach

4 whole wheat flour tortillas

2-3 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated

2 ounces, goat cheese (chevre)

Cooking spray

Salsa, for serving

Directions

Melt butter in a large skillet and add sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then saute over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, then pour in chicken broth. Add salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 6 to 8 minutes, or until all liquid is evaporated. Add the spinach to the mushrooms and mix around gently until it starts to wilt. Remove from heat and set aside.

To assemble the quesadillas, arrange grated pepper jack, spinach, and mushrooms on top of one flour tortilla. Dot with goat cheese. Top with a little more pepper jack, then top with second tortilla.  Spray the tortillas on the outside with cooking spray and place on a hot skillet. Cook till golden brown on both sides and until cheese is totally melted. Repeat for remaining quesadillas. Slice quesadillas into four wedges and serve immediately.

   

Enjoy,

Fallon

Superbowl Sunday: Crock Pot Beef Taco Salad

Today is the day. Superbowl that is! We were rooting for the Jets over here but that didn’t go so well ;). Not sure what the fan favorite is with the guys at home but I’m going with the Steelers! Win or lose, I don’t care. We are going to have some good food while enjoying the game. The following week has been a bit crazy in El Paso because it snowed here! So far it has been 3 days with below freezing temperatures, couldn’t get to work for 2 days and we had snow days instead. Hey I’m not complaining ;). I’m a girl born and raised from Las Vegas, NV. This is a VERY new experience for me and I was so cold I never went outside. I took pictures from our computer room instead ;). For the Superbowl today,  I’m all about having fun, hanging out with my boyfriend and enjoying the game. Hello commercials, beer and good food. I’m in!

This recipe for crock pot beef tacos comes from the fun blog Picky Palate. I had this recipe bookmarked for a long time. I will usually have tacos with shredded beef but something about adding salsa and chili peppers to this meat mixture sounded delicious. Plus it stays in the crock pot to finish cooking and dinner is ready shortly. I turned my tacos into a fun taco salad with baby spinach, refried beans, plain Greek yogurt, avocado, green onions, cilantro, fresh lime and tortilla chips! If there was goat cheese, that would of gone in my salad as well! Make tacos, taco salad or even nachos using this beef mixture. It is full of flavor and would make for a great superbowl entree! I altered the recipe slightly but click this link HERE to get the original version.

Crock Pot Beef Tacos From Picky Palate

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large sweet onion, finely chopped

2-3 fire roasted green chilies or 1 (4oz) can of fire roasted green chilies

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt and parsley seasoning

1 cup Herdez mild salsa, or your favorite brand

Directions

Place oil in a large rimmed skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add in the green chilies to  heat up. Next, add in the ground beef, salt, pepper and garlic seasoning. Cook until brown. Stir in the salsa and transfer to crockpot on low heat. Let cook on low for 2-3 hours or until ready to serve. Right before serving, stir in fresh chopped cilantro, if desired.

Limes, green onions, cilantro, spinach. Green and VERY fresh!

I love spinach.

I love tortilla chips…too. ;)

    

Who are you rooting for? Steelers or Packers?

Fallon

Green Enchiladas with Beef

Well Monday is here again. I definitely had a crazy weekend and all my plans fell through. Right now work and having a job is pretty important, so sometimes sacrifices have to be made and fun plans have to not happen. Life!

Like I promised, today I'd share with you my beef enchiladas. I pretty much followed the same recipe I used for my chicken enchiladas. This time though I used a London broil, green sauce, and no black beans. Then instead of being deconstructed I decided to make actual enchiladas using corn tortillas, a little Mexican cheese and baked until everything became hot and gooey!

Green sauce is my favorite! I had a hard time deciding what brand to choose. I find lots of store bought enchilada sauces have some funky ingredients. I managed to find one I could understand with 5-6 ingredients. I'll pick it up again because it was so good. I should see if Wholefoods carries enchilada sauce! What brand do you use? Do you make your own sauce?

The meat was tender, juicy and full of flavor. The slow cooker does wonders. The best kitchen appliance ever. As for putting the enchiladas together the task is very simple. Since I used corn tortillas I simply preheated a pan to warm them up and make them more pliable for rolling. I added cheese to the beef filling to act as glue when rolling them up. Then I topped with green sauce and more cheese. Baked in a preheated oven over 350 degrees until everything was warmed through and the cheese melted!

Tender beef

 

Served on top of steamed broccoli. I

always feel better when I have

some vegetable ;)

Check out my Deconstructed Chicken Enchiladas to find the recipe I used.

Enjoy!!

Fallon

PS: This is my first post using Windows Live Writer and so far I'm happy with the results. Way easier and no bugs so far. Yay!! I still have a "few" issues but they will get worked out.

First attempt at granola making!

Good evening! How is everyone? Once again it is a Friday night and I'm chilling at home. I made dinner tonight and just now able to sit down and relax. I've been wanting to make a post, but I've just been preoccupied with other things. Don't worry, tomorrow night I'll be heading out. My friend is getting married soon and it is her bachlorette party. Doing it Las Vegas style like usual. Having dinner at House of Blues and heading to LAX to go clubbing. I haven't been to a club in a while! I'm so use to having a 10pm bedtime and I'll be out really late tomorrow. Yuck! I sound old huh? LOL

Anyways, I made granola for the first time yesterday!! I have to keep trying and perfecting a recipe. It wasn't very sweet and I like when my granola kind of clumps together. Practice makes perfect right? I was inspired by the recipe I found on Mama's Weeds blog. It was something I always look for, simple. I had all the ingredients on hand and I decided to take a shot at it. You can click this link for her recipe, and below I slightly modified it.  

Maple Pecan Granola  
Ingredients
2 cups of old fashion oats
1/4 oat bran
1 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of extra virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp of pure vanilla bean maple syrup
1/2 cup of raw pecans, slightly chopped (I just used my hands to break them up)
1 tbsp of orange zest
Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Use a large glass bowl to mix everything together. First melt the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds, then added the coconut oil to the warm butter. Let them melt together and then add the maple syrup. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Then mix in the old fashion oats, oat bran, pecans, and the orange zest. Mix everything till it well incorporated. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and spread the granola on top. Put it in the oven for 20 minutes. Afterward take it out to mix everything together. At this point I was smelling the wonderful scents from the oven. Put it back in for another 5 minutes. Take it out and let it cool down. Once it is fully cooled down, put the granola in a mason jar to remain fresh!

Always like to be ready when baking! ;)
 

Before heading into the oven. 
 

Great for topping yogurt with berries. 
 

In the mason jar it goes! This would be a nice holiday gift for your healthy friends! ;)
 

My thoughts? Well there is definitely potential in making homemade granola. You can control the sweetness and how caloric-ally dense you want it to be. It is definitely healthier then store bought granola, and it is cheaper! One pound of organic old fashion oats from the bulk bin at Wholefoods is only $1.19. The zest was a nice addition to the maple syrup. A granola I tried at Wholefoods the other day had a citrus addition to it but they wanted $8.99 for a 16 oz bag of granola! So it inspired me to add it to my own granola.

The only thing with my granola is it wasn't sweet enough and wet enough! I didn't really use actual measuring spoons, just a regular eating teaspoon. So maybe that wasn't accurate? Next time I'm going to add more sweetness and coconut oil. I will most likely not use oat bran again because it really didn't stick to the oats. Flax seed or hemp seed would be a better addition. Which proves making this granola recipe and any other recipe is really flexible. I look forward to future granola making!

-------------------------------------
I've been having some of the best lunches lately. I'm hooked on veggie wraps! I recently tried goat cheese for the first time and I love it!! I like the herbed kinds and just yesterday I picked up a goat brie! OMG! Creamier than cows milk brie. Next I want to try a cheddar goat cheese, I hear it is the best. It always good to experiment and taste new foods. It adds variety and makes food even more interesting to enjoy. I love the sprouted whole wheat wraps made by Ezekiel. They are very hearty and I love the chew you get from it, and the nuttiness! I spread goat cheese on or sometimes hummus. Then I load it with romaine lettuce, alpha sprouts, cucumber, tomato, purple onion, radish etc. Basically whatever veggies I have in my fridge. Roasted veggies are awesome too. The one I'm showing you that I made the other day has herbed goat cheese, 1 slice of black forest ham, romaine lettuce, alpha sprouts, tomato, onion, cucumber, and yellow mustard.

See those little pickles? I love them!! Little French pickles I picked up at Trader Joe's.
 

So I forgot the yellow mustard and added it last. :) Try not to do that! LOL

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And lastly my dinner tonight was awesome! I had a nice New York steak with my favorite side dishes as of late, grilled sweet potato fries and roasted summer squash and grape tomatoes. The steak was huge! I told my dad I only wanted half and he added the entire thing to my plate! It was perfect, medium rare and so tender. I rubbed it with kosher salt, steak seasoning and herbed garlic. Let it marry for about 30 minutes and sizzled it on the grill. Awesome!!! Can't wait for my left over steak tomorrow!

Love to load up on the veggies! Garnish with basil, mmm! 
Organic ketchup and grilled sweet potato fries? You must try it!
 

The huge steak!
 

The weather is finally cooling off in Las Vegas. Meaning if you wake up super early in the mornings it about 70 degrees. Awesome working out weather!! I've been running up and down stairs, breaking records I've set for myself. Tomorrow I'm doing an obstacle course with running and running up and down stairs. Can't wait because I love working out outside!

Have a great night and a fantastic weekend!!
Always, Fallon

Birthday Recap!

It amazing how busy I've been these last few days and I really haven't been doing much! Just shopping, eating and relaxing. I believe time just moving faster. I mean it is already August! In two months Halloween will be here and then shortly after Holiday season begins. BUT today it about my birthday that was on July 30th. I had a wonderful birthday. It was very simple, how I wanted it. I know it hard times for many of friends right now, so I really never expect anything from them. It doesn't bother me. To me it is always the small things that matter. Like my mother. I always say my birthday and any holiday will never be the same now that my aunt is gone because I don't get a card from her anymore. This was her sister and she was like another mother to me. What a wonderful woman she was. So my mother did something special and I had a "special" present come from my aunt. This was probably one of the best things she did, yes it was sad but it was wonderful. I had a card and flowers from my aunt.

I love the orange flowers but have no clue what they call them!
 

See the bud? I woke up this morning and several had bloomed. :)
 

This year I also decided I wanted to make my own birthday cake. I mean if I knew a bakery out here that made a S'mores Cake and it was delicious as the one I made, then I would of just bought my cake. This wasn't the case though. I was on Baking Bites and saw her post for a S'mores Cake. I instantly knew this was my birthday cake. Lately I've been obsessed with s'mores or anything dealing with a gooey marshmallow center! It so delicious, I can't help myself! I made my cake the night before my birthday so it could set and I didn't feel like baking on the day of my birthday! Plus licking the chocolate bowl and finishing the marshmallow off the spatula, priceless!

The cake was out of this world. It was everything and more I had expected. It was exactly the way it was described on Baking Bites. The cake was very moist and very delicate. The cake had a ton of flavor from the graham cracker crumbs. Which was the "flour" of the whole cake. The marshmallow creme set well because it calls for a layer of chocolate frosting on top of the first cake which is still warm, so it easily melted the marshmallow creme to spread evenly. Topped the rest and it was beautiful. The chocolate just melted down the sides. The warm chocolate frosting was slowly shifting my cake and making it lopsided. The creme was oozing out of the sides. I quickly put it in the fridge from any further delicious damage! To get the recipe you can CLICK HERE or look below.

Look at the oozing marshmallow creme. Mmm The tender cake was very crumbly.

 
S’mores Cake (from Baking Bites)  
Makes 1 9-inch cake, Serves 8-10Graham Cracker Cake Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups graham cracker crumbs*
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray or oil and line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, whisk together graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt. Working in two or three additions, alternate stirring the graham cracker mixture and the milk into the butter mixture.

Beat egg whites to soft peaks in a clean, medium-sized bowl. Working in 2 or three additions, fold egg whites into graham cracker mixture, mixing until no streaks of white remain.

Divide evenly into prepared pans.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in pans for 3 minutes, then invert onto wire racks (remove parchment paper) to cool completely before filling and frosting.

To assemble: Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread about 1/2 cup of the chocolate frosting onto the cake, then spread the marshmallow creme into an even layer. Top marshmallow layer with second cake round, then pour remaining frosting over the top, spreading it into an even layer with an offset spatula and allowing it to drip slightly down the sides of the cake.

Cake will set up quickly, and should be stored in the refrigerator if not being served shortly after being assembled.

Marshmallow Filling and Milk Chocolate Frosting Ingredients 

1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme

8-oz milk chocolate, chopped 

1/4 cup half and half/cream 

2 tbsp butter 

2 tbsp corn syrup

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate, half and half, butter and corn syrup until melted. Stir with a fork or small whisk to ensure that everything comes together smoothly. Proceed to assemble cake (above) once the frosting is prepared.

*If you grind your own grahams in the food processor, you’ll need about 20 graham cracker squares ( I used 28 squares and it gave me exactly 2 cups). I used a regular store brand, nothing fancy. Grind a little extra, so you don’t have to go try and process one by itself if you’re short.

My ingredients are ready to go. You can see my little cookbook library!

 

The graham cracker cake mixture.

 

My fluffy egg whites!

 

Cake batter evenly divided.

 

Baked up beautifully.

 

Chocolate frosting time. 
  Wish I was in this bowl. Butter, chocolate... Can't get any better! My chocolate oozed everywhere along with the marshmallow creme. Mmm The cake was slowly shifting. I like cakes that don't look pretty but taste makes up for it! My big beautiful slice. I felt this had the most oozed marshmallow creme. It had my name on it! Told you I have a thing with gooey marshmallows. This was after 3 people have a 3 big slices. haha
 

Will I make this cake again? Absolutely. It was easy and the taste was amazing. My boyfriend loves s'mores, and I told him I will make this cake for him when he comes home for a few days. I know he will love it. Everyone who tasted my cake loved it too. This is the kind of cake you could see in a bakery. The chocolate frosting really gives it that bakery look because it thick but creamy from the milk chocolate. Some things I will do differently next time:

• I'm going to whip sugar into my egg whites instead of the butter. I want to see if this will make the cake a little stronger. When I put the cake to cool on the rack, it was a pain to lift, I had to use a spatula because it was sticking and crumbling up. I saved it though!
• Next time I will remember to whip the egg yolks into the butter mixture. I completely forgot. I had already added the cake mixture in and then saw the yolks. I added them in, but I'm thinking this might of affected how the cake should be.
• For the chocolate frosting, I used half n half. I think it might of been too "light" for the frosting because my frosting was very thin. It easily poured and dripped quickly down the cake. Regardless it didn't change the taste but a more thicker chocolate would make a prettier display for the cake. I will use regular whipping cream next time. I also think it would hold the cake in place, instead of tilting sideways.
• Marshmallow creme. Have you ever read the ingredients on that jar? Very scary. One day I will attempt to make my own creme. This is when I own a second kitchen aid because marshmallow is very messy and sticky! I think fresh marshmallow would be delicious. Does anyone have homemade recipes?? Please share if you do!

So after having my cake on my birthday I was extremely full that night to even have my birthday dinner. We went to Yard House for lunch and had nachos and beer. This is one of my favorite cheat foods and I haven't had it in a long time. Then to top if off the bartenders brought me a chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream. Which I could of done without it because I knew I had my S'mores Cake! Hours later we were still really full and couldn't even think of dinner. I knew I wanted my cake and then.. more trouble. An unexpected gift appeared at my door and I couldn't say no.

Cookies. Sugar cookies. Sugar cookies with delicious frosting.
 

This was my favorite, cinnamon brown sugar cookie. 
 

I discovered these cookies at my girlfriend's baby shower. They are from Cookies by Design. This is the most creative business I have ever seen. I love it. It better then flowers because cookies can't die, you just eat them and enjoy them! They have tons of baskets on their site and for any occasion. I think anyone would enjoy a gift like this. I know I did! They are located nationwide so check it out. See if they are in your area!

So after all the sugar and nachos, I couldn't even think of my birthday dinner I had requested. Grilled filet mignon, corn on the cob, and butter lettuce salad. So we saved it for the following night instead!

That's right. Dinner doesn't get started till I get my glass of wine!
 

Since it was my birthday dinner I really didn't want to do any cooking! So I just ordered my parents around instead. I like to call it the bossy sous chef! I did husk the corn and put it in the pot of boiling water. I seasoned the steaks. Set the table. So the menu was petite filet mignon. I seasoned them with salt and pepper. That is all they needed. My father tells me I shouldn't salt the meat until after it cooks. It will take out all the juices and will be dry. Well I think the steaks came out perfectly when done. I let them sit for a few minutes to rest. They were tender like butter. They were cooked perfectly, medium- rare. What is your take on salting raw meat before or cooked meat afterward? I find salting it while raw makes them more tender after they are done cooking. The side was a simple white corn on the cob, boiled. Some people like to add butter to their corn, we eat ours plain. It doesn't need the butter, they are so sweet and tender without it!

Of course I had the biggest steak. About 10 oz. I saved half of it for the next day!
 

BIG salad!

For my salad, I requested a butter lettuce salad because I believe it pairs well with a grilled steak. My father use to make this salad all the time when I was growing up. It was still good!

Butter Lettuce Salad (Adapted from my father)
Serves 3-4 people  

Ingredients
1 huge head of butter lettuce (we bought the one in the container with the roots still on for freshness)
1-2 roma tomatoes
1/4-1/2 sliced red onion (depending on how much you like)
Red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil Salt and Pepper

Wash and dry the lettuce well. Top with sliced tomatoes and onions. Drizzle on the vinegar and oil. Make sure it isn't over dressed. Then sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Then right before it time to eat, mix the salad together. If you mix it early then the salad with be soggy and you will lose the butter lettuce texture of the entire salad. That is the trick, wait till it time to eat and then mix the salad. I thought some toasted steak rolls would go well with the dinner, so I paired it with my salad. We bought the steak rolls from a bakery in Las Vegas, Great Buns Bakery.


The wine with my dinner is again one of my favorites. I'm more of a red wine person. My personal favorite is a Pinot Noir. It is a lighter body wine and it goes down smoothly. I'm not very knowledgeable on my wines yet but I'm slowly learning. I know with steak a heavier red wine like Cabernet or Merlot would of paired well. I just haven't found a Cabernet or Merlot I like yet. I would love to take some wine tours, and learn more about wine.

I've had this brand at several restaurants. I really like it.
 

Then to top off the ending of my dinner, I had a very small slice of cake left just for me! I enjoyed every single bite. It was worth the minor birthday weight gain, but as of today I'm back to my normal weight. Phew!! Lots of weight training and sweating really pays off. This is a rather long post, but hey it took 2 days to celebrate my birthday! I want to thank everyone for the wonderful wishes and the cards/ presents I received. I never expect anything, and that when I am usually surprised the most! I'm still waiting on my package from my boyfriend. I'm so anxious, I want it now!!! LOL.

Happy Sunday!!!
Fallon