Steak Fajita Quesadilla

I decided to combine two of my sister's favorite dishes: steak fajitas and quesadillas. Oh, this dish was so good. What a great combination. The cheese melted over the steak, onions, and green peppers. My youngest daughter ate her whole quesadilla. Normally, she doesn't eat her whole quesadilla. The steak was tender. The dish was cheesy. Supper was fast. I know my sister will be making this dish real soon.

Steak Fajita Quesadilla
2 tsp vegetable oil, plus additional for the quesadilla
1 green pepper, cut into long thin strips
1 large onion , cut into long thin strips
1 lb. top sirloin steak
4 tsp butter
1 cup Mexican cheese blend
8 large flour tortillas

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat.
2. Add the green pepper and onion. Stir occasionally. Cook for about 8 minutes.
3. Place the cooked onion and green peppers onto a plate. Set aside.
4. Add the steak to the pan. Saute for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the steak is cooked to the desired doneness. Set aside onto the plate with the green pepper and onion.
5. Reduce the heat to medium.
6. Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil and 1 tsp of butter to the pan.
7. Add one tortilla to the skillet.
8. Top the tortilla with 1/4 of the green pepper, onions, and steak.
9. Sprinkle some cheese blend over the steak. 
10. Top with another tortilla. Press down and allow to cook for a few seconds before flipping.
11. Allow the other side to cook until golden brown before removing from the pan.
12. Assemble the next tortilla as in step 6.  Add additional oil if needed.
13. Top the quesadillas as desired with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, etc.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago...........................I made Winter Savory Chicken.
Three years ago.......................I made Lemon Curd.

Did you already know............
-Very rare steak is called blue rare.
-Rare steak has an internal temperature of around 125 degrees F.
-The USDA recommends the internal temperature for steak to reach medium doneness at 145 degrees F.

Best of 2014

To recap this year, we moved from Maine to North Carolina. The kids had to start a new school. My sister came to visit me twice. My Dad came down to visit me once. I've been back to Maine to visit twice. We were fortunate and went to Disney early this year plus took a week vacation in Vermont. I was lucky to return to Disney with my sister. Overall, this year was crazy. I could live at Disney but I'm sure they would deny my request. I hope you had a wonderful year and not as crazy as mine.  To recap our favorite recipes, they are:

Favorite Breakfast:

Pineapple Syrup

Favorite Meat:

Bourbon Bacon Burger

 Favorite Bread:

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

 Favorite Cookie:

Lemon Cream Cookies

Favorite Dessert:

Profiteroles

Best of 2013
Best of 2012
Best of 2011

Did you already know.................
-Per Amazon, Happy by Pharrell Williams was the best selling song.
-Their best selling book was StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.
-Per Box Office Mojo, the highest grossing U.S. movie of 2014 was Guardians of the Galaxy.

See you next year! 

Happy New Year!

Zuppa Toscana

Alright, I will admit I have never had the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup. I always pick minestrone especially in the winter time. So, I can not personally say this recipe taste like the restaurant's version. All I can say is I liked it. It is creamy. It is filling. The kids liked it. It has a vegetable in it. It is an easy dish to make. It is a great soup. I served biscuits with the soup.

Olive Garden Copycat Zuppa Toscana
4 bacon stripes 
1 lb. Italian sausage
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 quart water
2 large russet potatoes, cut inot 1/4 inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups swiss chard, chopped
1 cup light cream

Directions:

1. In a large pot, brown the bacon until crisp.
2. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside onto a paper lined plate.
3. Add the sausage and brown.
4. Add the garlic and onion. Saute for a couple of minutes. 
5. Add the chicken broth and the water. 
6. Add the potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
8. Simmer for 10 minutes. 
9. Reduce heat to low. Add the swiss chard and cream.
10. Cook for a few minutes until the soup is heated.

Recipe adapted from Food.com.

One year ago.............................I made No Bake Peanut Butter Bars.
Three years ago.........................I made Penguin Cupcakes

Did you already know................
-In 1982, the first Olive Garden opened in Orlando, Florida.
-Olive Garden is the third largest restaurant chain.
-Olive Garden's parent company is Darden.

Honey and Nut Clusters

Alright, I admit I like nuts. I like cookies with nuts. I like my chocolate with nuts. My husband isn't nuts about nuts. So, these bars aren't for him. When I saw this recipe, I actually thought it would harden like peanut brittle. They are gooey and chewy. I guess I could have tried to freeze them but why? I could easily break off a little piece. I could taste the honey and the nuts. These clusters are very rich. I guess if you want a recipe which isn't so gooey then maybe dipping them into chocolate.

Honey and Nut Clusters
1 cup almonds, toasted
1 cup walnuts, toasted
2 egg whites
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup fine sugar

Directions: 

1. Roughly chop the almonds and walnuts. Set aside. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. 
3. Gently, stir in the chopped nuts. Set aside.
4. In a small pot, combine the honey and sugar.
5. Bring the honey and sugar to a boil. 
6. Stir in the nut mixture and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
7. Add the mixture into a baking dish and evenly level. 
8. Cover the mixture with a piece of parchment paper. 
9. Place several cans of food on top of the parchment paper to weigh it down. 
10. Allow the mixture to chill for at least 2 days to set before serving.

Recipe adapted from The Cookie and Biscuit Bible Cookbook.

Two years ago...........................I made Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies.
Three years ago........................I made Snowman Sugar Cookies.

Did you already know.........................
-Since 7000 B.C., the walnut is one of the oldest tree foods known to man.
-Walnuts begin to be harvested in August.
-It takes at least five years for a walnut tree to produce walnuts after the planting of a walnut tree sapling.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Walnut Biscotti

Biscotti is one of these recipes I've been meaning to make but just hadn't. When I told the kids I was going to make these cookies, they had no idea what I was making. Biscotti? Biscotti, what? I told them they would like these cookies especially to dip them into their hot chocolate. I'm surprised the kids could actually dip anything over the amount of marshmallows they had floating in their cup. Isn't that what having hot chocolate is about? How many marshmallows can you fit without any spilling over? These cookies are the typical biscotti recipe. They are crunchy and sweet. I really liked them even without a side of hot chocolate. 

Walnut Biscotti
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 
8 oz. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cornmeal. Set aside.
4. In a large mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. 
5. Add the eggs one at a time and blend until incorporated. 
6. Add the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
7. Slowly, add the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. 
8. Fold in the walnuts.
9. Transfer half the dough onto one side of the prepared baking sheet.
10. Shape the dough into a 12 inch log about 2 inches wide. 
11. Form a second log into a log parallel to the other log.
12. Bake the dough for 25 minutes or until the log is light golden but still soft. 
13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
14. With a long serrated knife, cut the dough into 1 inch slices. 
15. Space the slices about 1/2 inch apart. 
16. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until golden and firm. 
17. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Recipe adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. 

Three years ago......................Melted Snowman. 

Did you already know.........................
-Biscotti are twice baked cookies.
-Biscotti originates from Italy.
-The cookie was ideal for travels since it lasted a long time.