Wine night rewind

I've tried out some new recipes but haven't found the time to blog until today. Last weekend I had a little wine party with some gals, on the menu were some appetizers including my hummus from a previous entry(it was a little more chunky than it should have been), salsa from a previous entry, some stuffed mushrooms my mom brought and 2 recipes that I'm about to share. The night was a lot a fun and it was great to try the different wine that everyone brought.

One of my favorite things about this caprese salad is how light it is and still has a great flavor. Don't be afraid about how much basil you put in it.

Here's what you need:
8oz Fresh Mozzarella Balls(grape tomato size), you can find this is the deli/cheese section
1 container Fresh Grape tomatos, rinsed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 or 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar(I love the stuff so use as much as you want)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
a sprinkle of salt
a sprinkle of cracked black pepper

What to do:
Toss tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, balsamic, basil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until well coated. Cover with plastic and marinated for a little while before serving.

AND for Dessert:

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com after I bought strawberries and blackberries but I didn't know what I wanted to do with them.

Here's what you need:
3/4 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (4 serving size)vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups thawed cool whip, divided
1 (10.75 ounce) package frozen pound cake
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups mixed raspberries and sliced strawberries
1/4 cup blackberries

What to do:
1.Add milk to dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping.

2.Cut cake horizontally into three layers; brush with juice. Place bottom layer on serving plate; top with 3/4 cup of the berries, half of the pudding mixture and middle cake layer. Repeat layers of berries and pudding mixture; cover with top cake layer. Top with 1/2 cup whipped topping and the remaining berries; cover loosely with foil.

3.Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

It does kind of topple, or at least mine did! There were no leftovers, the recipe doesn't make a ton so if you're looking to feed a crowd make two.

I'm going to get back into a regular routine of posting if I can....I've got some ideas coming too from magazines and cookbooks I've been getting from the library. Maybe even a doggie treat for all the dog lovers out there!

Can you dig it?

Today is not a fun filled recipe day as most Sundays are. Today is however the day I tell you I've planted my very first fruit and vegetable seeds. After much deliberation as to what I would plant, how to plant and if I even should plant, I did it! The task included scouring the libraries of two counties for a good book related to container gardening and if you will excuse the pun, a fruitless attempt at making a few key purchases at the local Wal-Mart.

Now the question arises- What did you plant?

Ah yes. I planted just a few things, taking a basic approach to my first attempt at gardening. Strawberries are in a pot on the deck right now. These were actually planted on Easter Sunday and were started from little bulbs. Odd actually. Today I utilized an old egg carton to begin my seedlings of bell peppers and sweet onions.

Why did you choose these?

Simple I suppose. I like strawberries, we were at the Home Depot and they were there. Both the bell peppers and onions are something I use often in my cooking and put them in almost everything. If things work out and my plants render the vegetables they are supposed to, I could save a couple bucks at the grocery store every week. That's quite nice considering the packet of seeds for each were only $1.00(thanks wal-mart).

I am looking forward to seeing how these plants grow, what I can learn about growing fruits and vegetables and planning my garden for next year. My hopes are that things work out and I may possibly grow a variety of crops in the ground behind our house versus the planters on the deck. As the summer progresses and when (and if) the bounty grows I will keep you updated.

It's a berry good dessert!

Promising great things and following through with them are two different things. So, I'm finally making good on a shortcake recipe I intended to make last week. I won't even try to tell you it wasn't good, because it was.

Easy Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh blackberries, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, rinsed
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons amaretto

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon orange extract

4 shortcake dessert cups

What to do:

1. In a small sauce pan add the first 4 ingredients. Keep burner on low for the first five minutes, for another 4 minutes cook on medium high. Stirring occassionally, raspberries will begin to break apart.

2. Remove berries from heat, setting aside for approximately 30 minutes to thicken slightly.

3. Whip cream times! Place bowl in fridge to cool or at the very least run cold water over bowl. Heavy whipping cream should not be removed from the refrigerator until just before making whipped cream. This provides the thickest peaks.

4. Pour whipping cream into bowl and using a hand mixer or stand mixer on high begin mixing. After a minute you will begin to notice peaks forming and the cream to stiffen. Add confectioners sugar while slightly blending and add orange extract. Whip to a stiff consistency.

5. Place shortcake on plate, scoop a small amount of berries and juice on to cake. Add a dollop of whipped cream (as much or as little as you'd like).

The sugar and touch of amaretto takes the tang out of the raspberries, the fresh whipped cream adds some indulgence. What a great spring treat or anytime you can catch a deal on fresh berries. Guess what? It's a *Sara Original.

Enjoy!

Pasta in a pan

Tonight was a pretty simple night for me. I had a whole bunch of veggies begging to hop in a pan and a husband who was out. Pasta was in order here too because I could make enough for a lunch left over. When thinking about the measurements, I didn't keep track of how much angel hair pasta I made but it was by no means a whole box. Can you hang with me on this?? It's a *Sara original.

Ingredients:

Half a green pepper, sliced long and thin
Half a red pepper, sliced long and thin
1/4cp chopped onion
1/2cp sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2cp-1cp grape tomatos
fresh lime juice, I cut the lime in half and squeezed as much juice as I could from it!
2 table spoons lemon juice, totally out of the bottle not my first choice though.
1 Tablespoon dried italian seasoning
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cp extra virgin olive oil
shake of black pepper
shake of salt
3.5 oz crumbled goat cheese

What to do:

1. Boil your pasta, angel hair is a good choice. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil and add onion until slightly tender.
3. Add Green and Red peppers, mushrooms, italian seasoning and cook on medium/low heat for about 3-4 minutes. Stir occassionaly.
4. Add lemon, lime juices and minced garlic to step 3. Also add grape tomatos and cover for about 4 minutes.
5. Remove cover, tomatos maybe slightly popped but it's okay.
6. Turn off stovetop heat, add cooked pasta to pan with vegetables and toss around until coated.

Transfer to bowls and add a shake of goat cheese to your liking. Goat is a soft cheese that is super creamy and will almost melt in your mouth. I bit into a grape tomato with a little goat cheese crumble, I think I said yum aloud! Typing all this out now makes me wish I would have a crusty bread and some smooth butter to compliment the flavor. Butter does not have it's own flavor it enhances other flavors.

-Just a quick note about the pictures I've been promising. I tried to upload a bunch on Monday and blogger wasn't co-operating with me. Sorry, I'll try again soon.