New Recipes to Try....

I’ve been so busy this summer with the B&B and guests, and then family and friends visiting that I haven’t had much time to try new recipes, which I love to do. Now that things have started to slow down I can now try my pinterest recipes that have been awaiting me. So last night I tried an overnight apple cinnamon breakfast dish. Woke up this morning and tried it and it was so good! I did add a little stevia afterwards. Here’s the recipe:

Apple Cinnamon Dish

Ingredients

- 1 cup of steel cut oats*

- 3 diced apples (I use Gala)

- 1 cup apple juice (I use Oasis)

- 3 cups water

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions - Slow Cooker

For Best Results:  Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 2-4 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low until it reaches the consistency that you like.  Be sure to stir every hour or so.

* You can also cook longer without stirring, but you have to add more water liquid and it does come out a bit mushier.  Add an extra cup of liquid for 7-8 hours in the slow cooker.

* It must be steel cut oats when cooked in the slow cooker, as regular oats get very soggy when cooked this way.   You can find steel cut oats in your local grocery store (sometimes they are called "irish oats" or "pinhead oats").  If you would really rather use rolled oats, be sure to use the stovetop method below and adjust your liquid/cooking time accordingly.

Yesterday we had all six rooms of guests checking in and I tried a new bread dish to serve with the fruit and it was AMAZING, BUT didn’t turn out as pretty as I thought! It’s the famous Ritz Carlton Hotel 1920s lemon pound cake. As you can tell half the bundt cake came and the other half stayed in the pan. Thankfully, I made a bread loaf as well which is what I served to our guests.

Recipe:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3 cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening, room temperature

5 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

6 Tbsp lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

Preheat oven to 350F

Spray or butter and flour 2 loaf pans or one large Bundt pan.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl.  Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended after each one.

Add dry ingredients in three additions to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Mix in lemon juice and zest.

Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.  Cool cakes in pans for 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

Recipes #3 A healthy and low calorie dessert, which is what I need.

Ingredients:

For filling:
6oz 0% Plain Chobani Greek Yogurt
1/2 Tbsp Jell-O sugar-free instant pudding mix - cheesecake

For crust:
1/2 cup fiber bran cereal
4 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp unsalted almond butter
1/4 tsp stevia
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preparation:

Add the cheesecake flavored pudding mix into the yogurt and stir until well combined. Set yogurt mixture aside. In a food processor or blender, grind the bran to a fine texture. In a small mixing bowl, add the ground bran with all dry ingredients, (stevia, cinnamon, and nutmeg) and mix evenly. Then add the almond butter and water and stir until it becomes moist and sticky. If the batter is still crumbly, add additional water in 1 tsp increments until desired consistency is achieved. Pour the crust mixture into a small 4 inch circular pan. Pack the crust along the bottom and sides of the dish to create a pie shape. Pour the filling on top of the crust and smooth evenly along the top. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes and enjoy cold.

FALL IS HERE!

I love fall. 

Especially when the temperature cools down and the leaves start to change colors, plus there is pumpkin flavored everything! 

It is still a little warm and the leaves haven't started changing too much yet, BUT it is time to get out the fall decor. We do not have a ton of fall decorations, just a couple things and its fun to see new stuff around the house.

Here are some pics of the areas where I added fall decorations in our house. 

Dining Table Centerpiece

New Pumpkin Decoration

Front Door Wreath

Fireplace with Some Gourds and Wildflowers 

All this talk about fall makes me want some Pumpkin Bread, luckily I have a great recipe that I will post later!

~Court~

Mexican Beef - AMAZING!

This recipe is so great that it deserves a post of it's own. Yes, its that good.

What you will need:
Crock Pot
Rump Roast or Chuck Roast - Desired Weight – I usually grab a 3lb. For more than 5 people, you will want a bigger one.
Cumin, Paprika, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Pepper (to rub down the meat)
Taco Seasoning 1 pkg or 1/4 cup
Small Can of Salsa or about 1 cup
Small Onion Chopped
Beef Broth 2 Cups
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (must have!)
2 Tbsp or so of Olive Oil

First, rub down the meat with the seasonings listed (not the taco seasoning). Heat olive oil in a pan and brown the roast on all sides.

A note about Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce - these things bring the heat!!! If you are not big on spicy food, only use 1.5 peppers and be sure to chop really small. I typically use 2 peppers, then I add some of the sauce that is in the can. Just make sure to be careful, the first time I made it with 3 peppers it turned out too spicy and I like spicy.

Spray the crock pot with some pam, then put in the beef broth, salsa, chopped onion, taco seasoning and chipotle peppers. Put the roast in the liquid and put a little liquid on top. Cook at 5 hours on low.
DELICIOUS!

Now that you have the meat, you can do all sorts of stuff with it. 
Tacos
Enchiladas
Tostadas
Quesadillas
Burritos
Salads
Nachos
You get the idea.

We decided to have tacos the first night and tostadas the second night with leftovers.

Tostadas were awesome. Evidence includes this photo here, just to show how awesome the tostadas really were.

Nick came up with the fantastic idea to make our own tostada shell things. We used store bought tortillas and this turned out amazing. All you have to do is preheat the oven to 400 degrees, brush both sides of the tortilla will peanut oil (or other oil, Nick likes peanut oil for things like this) then sprinkle with salt and chili powder. Bake 4 minutes on each side on a cookie sheet. Watch them, they may cook quicker.

Top the toasted tortilla with beans, mexican beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream and whatever else you want.

Enjoy!

~ Court

Family Comes to Visit and a BBQ Feast

Time flies! We have been busy. 

Two weekends ago we had Nick’s sister Tasha and her husband Jerry in town with us. It was an awesome trip! It was their first time to Oklahoma and to our own. At the end of the trip we told them “See we don’t live in Podunk and there really is stuff around us.” Haha. People always think of Tulsa as that place where there is NOTHING. Like on the Friends episode when Chandler’s work transfers him to Tulsa.

Anyway, we had an awesome time exploring local antique shops, enjoying the dueling pianos at Full Moon Café, pizza at Jo Momma’s, Bass Pro Shops, an afternoon on Skiatook Lake, BQQ at our place, and yummy BBQ at Oklahoma Joes in Broken Arrow. It was fun-filled and went by way too quick. 

Here are some pics from our weekend–

We made a BBQ feast on the Saturday when they were here and it was scrumptious! Here is the menu and recipes. But I forgot to take pictures! I am really upset about it. Sorry y'all!

BBQ Menu for 4 People

Tri-Tip

Chicken

BBQ Corn on the Cob

Red Potatoes

Dump Cake (Thanks to the Pioneer Woman)

Fruit Salad

Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts

Plowboys seasoning, we used Yarbird and got it at Bass Pro Shops or you can get it online here.

Smoke for 45 minutes @250, then finish grilling it on the BBQ.

Corn

1 Corn on the Cob Per Person

Foil

Butter

Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper

Husk and clean corn and put some butter and seasoning on the corn, then wrap in foil. BBQ for 20+ minutes until done.

Tri-Tip

2 -3 lbs beef tri-tip

Santa Maria Rub - mix together in separate bowl.
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

First rub down the meat with olive oil, then red wine vinegar. Then coat with the santa maria rub mixure. Smoked it at 250 for 2.5 hours and then sear it on the grill to finish.

Rose Potatoes

6-8 Rose Potatoes Depending on size and if you want leftovers

Olive oil

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika

Steam or boil rose potatoes on stovetop until tender.

Remove from water, place on a foil covered cookie sheet and have a few inches between each of them. Smash down the potato with a spoon or fork then drizzle with olive oil and seasoning. Put in the oven at 450 for 20-25 minutes until crisp.  

They will look like this - 

 

Dump Cake – from the Pioneer Woman!

1 can (21 Oz.) Cherry Pie Filling

1 can (15 Oz.) Crushed Pineapple

1 box (about 18 Oz.) Yellow Cake Mix

1 stick Margarine (or you can do all butter)

1/2 stick Butter

Preparation Instructions

Dump cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple into baking dish. Stir together.

Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the fruit. Slice margarine and butter and distribute over the surface of the cake mix.

Bake this at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Serve with whip cream or ice cream. 

Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you try any of these recipes!

~ Court

Busy Busy Busy

We have had a crazy and busy summer in Montana. The B&B has been so busy and it's finally slowed down. We had so many guests and also family visiting. Some family members left Friday and we had four rooms check out today, which means tomorrow will be our first day off in 23 days! And yes, I was counting. But during all the busyness we've found a lot of time to enjoy the beautiful state we live in and either go boating on Bitterroot lake and ski or tube, hike all around us, the valley or glacier national park, bike rides, enjoying he small towns and of course enjoying some good food and company with family and friends.
There's nothing better than being with family. It makes life so much better and I treasure all the memories I've made with my family and Chet's.
Here's some recent photos of our summer.

The BEST way to organize pots and pans

I don't know about you but whenever I have to get cookie sheets, pots, or pans out of the cupboard I get frustrated. So I decided to try and get a little organized that way I enjoy getting these things out of my cupboard, especially since I have to use them EVERY single day for my job (making breakfast for our guests at the B&B). So I went to Wal-Mart and bought 4 of these white organizers and put all my pans, muffin pans and cookie sheets in them and now I don't have things falling out of the cupboard every time I open them. PPHHEWWWW! Simple and easy. You should try it if you haven't already done so.

Happy Labor Day!!

Happy Labor Day from the lake!

Taco Roll - yummy goodness

First of all, I have to give credit to the people who gave me this recipe. Courtney and Dave! Court is my bestie and a few years ago her and Dave (her hubby) had us over for dinner and made us this yummy yummy easy but yummy meal. I think the taco roll falls into the comfort food category because of the crescent rolls that are used in the recipe.  Its not a super healthy meal, but its not terrible either.

Nick asked me to make this last week (he even wrote it in on my meal planner for the week) because I had not made it in forever. And it was worth it! We got 2 meals out of it and I think Nick had it for lunch one day too.

  

Taco Roll Ingredients

- 2 Pkgs of Crescent Rolls (I use Great Value Reduced Fat Brand)

- Ground Beef 1 lb or a little less (use lean)

- 1 small onion (optional)

- Mexican Cheese or Cheddar about 1 cup

- Taco Seasoning (if you don’t have taco seasoning, use cumin, paprika, chili powder, season salt, season pepper)

- Can Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

- Can or Frozen Corn (if you use frozen corn, you will need to cook it first, I can a bag of frozen steamable corn, so I popped it in the microwave for a few minutes)

- Can diced mild chilis (optional)

- Cilantro (optional)

For Serving – sour cream, salsa and/or hot sauce (my preference is Tapatio)

Directions –

Preheat oven to temperature directed on crescent rolls package.

Cook onions and ground beef together with taco seasoning on skillet until almost cooked thoroughly (it will cook more in the oven).

While ground beef is cooking, cover a cookie sheet in foil, spray with non-stick cooking spray and start to lay out the crescent rolls into a big sunburst. Use your fingers to push the pieces together.

Once the meat is almost done, remove from the skillet and put in a bowl, add beans, corn, diced mild chilis and cilantro. Mix all ingredients together and then place in the center of the dough. See, this is how it should look­–

 

Then add cheese and wrap the dough up and around the meat. Top with a little cheese, now it is ready to go in the oven and it will look like this –

Cook for 14 minutes or more depending on your oven. It will need to be golden and if you do not like doughy crescent rolls like my husband, then cook until really golden. It will look pretty like this –

 

Mmmmm…Now cut like a pie and serve with sour cream and tapatio.

This would be really great followed with a dessert such as the Weightwatcher’s Lemon Cream Pie that Corynne posted a few weeks ago.

Enjoy!  YUM!

~Court