Jumping Back into the Saddle

Hello Sweets,

It feels like it's been a lifetime since I've written an actual post.  My health is still not where I'd like it to be and my sleep is pretty much non existent, but I hate not writing so I've decided to jump back in!  I'm going to start slow to make sure I'm not pushing myself too hard, so today's post will not have a recipe (although I am talking food), but I have a few tucked away that haven't been written yet so if all goes well tomorrow will be full on Canuckette's creations!!  I know I'm pretty lame lol, but hey I love myself and it's the small things in life that can really make you happy. For example; smiles from my best friend/soul mate (he's got eyes you can get lost in), and my blog with its lovely readers :)

So I've been back from Texas for a while now and wanted to share with y'all a special dinner that Nathan and I had the night before I left to come back home.  Since we weren't together for valentines day we decided to celebrated on our schedule, which actually works out well as it isn't hella busy lol.  I, just like any other person, have certain foods that I just absolutely love but don't necessarily eat often due to different circumstances.  Well I'm pretty sure I've shared this particular delight with you before, but just in case you missed the last post, "I love lobster!", and all other crustaceans. lol  I haven't come across any seafood that I didn't like :)  So when I was down for my visit and they say the Red Lobster "Lobsterfest" was on, all it took was one excited look in Nathans direction and that was where we were going for our dinner *insert happy dance, and repeat*.

To make a complete date day, Nathan took me to a matinee at the Fork and Screen theaters, for those who don't know what they are picture a smaller theater with recliners instead of uncomfortable chairs and full service at your seat (including adult bevies).  We went and saw The Great and Powerful Oz in 3D.  The nice thing about this version is that it's more true to the original story.  Don't get me wrong I love the old school Judy Garland version but it's nice when they get closer to the original story (which doesn't happen too often, for example "My Sisters Keeper" and don't even get me started on that fiasco lol).  Of course we both ordered our go to lunches, and kicked back and enjoyed a movie together.

 

pretty sweet setup right? 

After the movie we had a few hours before we left for dinner so we just went back to the house to get lost in each others conversations and eyes (yes we are that much in love lol).  Needless to say when it was time to leave for dinner my taste buds and I were so ready for some lobster.  The hard part would be choosing what I was going to have lol.  We arrived at a later time in hopes of the restaurant being less busy, but because it was March break time it was still slightly busy.  That didn't deter us, we just took a seat at the bar and waited for our little table pager to go off.  It didn't take too long (I think because everyone else was tables of 4+), we sat down and scoured the specialty menu which ended up taking me a little longer than I had expected because I couldn't make a decision lol.  Take a look at what we decided to indulge in :) ;

 They have a great Pinot Grigio that went fantastically with the seafood

 I had the Lobster lovers dream with both rock lobster tail, sweet split maritime lobster, and a lobster/shrimp fettuccine Alfredo.  Nathan had their Surf and Turf, it came with the rock lobster tail and a sirloin steak, and of course his double mashed potatoes :)  Needless to say it was a delicious dinner and we were both very satisfied.  Now I want to recreate their cheesy garlic biscuits at home because they are so darn good!  And if you are interested in these delicious meals yourself, the promo is still on so check it out here!

Well my sweets, I feel a lot better knowing you'll have something fresh and new to read and I promise to be more consistent moving forward because clearly it is something I am very passionate about, and I was missing it more than I realized.  Don't forget to check back in the next few days because I've got some delicious treats to share with y'all.  Until next time..............................


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo

A Dinner Built By Two

Hello Sweets,

Only one more day to the weekend, for me that means absolutely nothing as I have been off work for some time, but I do realize to the rest of the world it is something we all count down to.  I was so excited to have my hair cut (much needed too) today, but our dang alarm didn't go off and thankfully the salon was very understanding and was able to reschedule me for tomorrow.  We are setting multiple alarms tonight to ensure this does not happen again, not to mention Nathan is going to use the time to get his haircut too!

So as I mentioned yesterday, Nathan was grilling steaks for dinner tonight and it would be the topic of tonight's post, but then we decided to make it a joint meal.  Now I'm not crazy which means he was still in charge of the meat but I wanted to make some killer mash potatoes, and since they taught me how to make sweet corn, I decided that would also be part of the meal.  I was even daring enough to whip up a new dessert while cooking everything (now maybe that's a little crazy), but you'll have to come back tomorrow for that one since I'm giving you three tonight (spoiled) lol.  Now tonight's recipes are the kind that don't have precise measurements, they're the type of recipes that use all of your senses and force you to taste as you create, making the appropriate adjustments as needed.  Since there are so many recipes going on here tonight I'll keep the chatter short and get to the "meat and potatoes" of the post ;), do you see what I did there lol?

Nathan's Amazing Steaks

Ingredients

3 rib eye's

1 btl steak and chop marinade

coarse black pepper

garlic, minced

meat tenderizer

Worcestershire sauce

seasoning salt

Directions:

1)  Start by piercing the meat with a fork evenly and then seasoning the meat with the tenderizer, lightly coating each side of the steak.   Apply a coat of seasoning salt, then pepper, then place the steaks in a large freezer bag.  In between each steak and the side of the bag place a dollop of the minced garlic and add a little more coarse pepper, then pour an entire bottle of the steak and chop marinade into the bag (add a small amount of water to the empty bottle, shake and empty into the zip lock bag).  Finally add a few dashes of the Worcestershire sauce and place in the fridge overnight (flipping once when you get up).

2)  Grill them on medium low, while they are on the grill apply the remaining marinade over top of the steaks as needed and reapply the same seasonings as the night before as preferred.  Grill to your preference (medium rare takes about 12 minutes).

Canuckette's Crazy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

3 large potatoes

milk

fresh chives, chopped

roasted garlic, minced

 butter

sea salt

coarse black pepper

red pepper flakes

sorry potatoes were already in the pot :/

Directions:

1)  Boil your potatoes until a fork can pierce them with ease, the smaller you cut them up the faster it will happen.  Once they're soft drain all the water from the pot, add all remaining ingredients and mash away! (I always hold back on the milk, it's easier to add than remove right)

 

Sweet Corn

Ingredients

1 can corn

1 Tbs (approx) sugar

salt

pepper

butter

Directions:

1)  Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe dish, and microwave for 5 minutes.  Stir once done (careful as it will be very hot), and serve.

And here is what your dinner will look like if you choose to make it :)

Nathan and I are both super stuffed, but at the same time wanted to go back for more because it was just so dang good lol.  You can play with different spices and make the boring into something exciting, I bet if you serve these mashed potatoes people will be asking what your secrets are.

Well I think three recipes is enough for you to read and me to write in one night, but make sure you come back tomorrow to see what new dessert I made.  I'll give you a hint, it's a cleverly modified chocolate treat you can buy at any convenience store.  Until next time...........................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Coming Together

Hello Sweets,

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend :)  Is your Christmas social calendar in full swing now?  Mine is, which is why this will be a small post today.  The stove wasn't turned on at all today because we had some other things to do and finish up.  Am I the only one who thinks that the Christmas season lasted a lot longer when we were children?  Nathan and I were talking about this and our theory is that it's because we have things to do as adults, when we were kids we just had to enjoy the season.  No shopping, baking, or planning of dinners.

Now I don't want you to think I don't enjoy the Christmas season.  Actually I didn't up until last year, but Nathan and his family changed all of that for me.  When I was growing up I always felt like the adults in my family treated the holiday get together as a chore, never really enjoying the time we all get to spend together laughing and just enjoying each others company.  But Nathan's family treats Christmas just as that, an opportunity for everyone to get together to eat, laugh, and swap stories.  Even when the men go off to play their annual video game on Christmas, the women talk, gossip, or even watch a movie and have a little girl time :)  Nathan loves the fact that he has renewed my love of Christmas, and that I actually look forward to all the celebrations.

Tonight we had dinner with one of Nathans very good friends, Dave (Check out his blog here!).  We met him at a wonderful steak house called Texas Land and Cattle, and the food was absolutely delicious!  Our dinner started of with Dave's steak soup, Nathans garden salad, and I had a Caesar salad, mmmmhmm good.  Of course all of us had the best cut of beef, the rib eye (theirs's bone in, mine not).  Dave and I both had the loaded baked potato and Nathan had the garlic mashed potato's (and they were super garlic, which we LOVED!!).  Dave made a great choice and paired the whole meal with a bottle of a 2006 Australian Shiraz, that complimented the entire meal (especially the steak), and of course, even though I was stuffed I had to try the bourbon pecan pie.  The pie was so delicious I think I may have experienced a food euphoria for just a moment lol.  I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves a good steak.  Oh and I don't want to forget to mention our server Stella, she was very nice and always checking on us, it was almost like have a mom serve us, she may have been sweeter than the pecan pie lol.

 Doesn't that look yummy, especially paired with the Shiraz ;)

Well Nathan and I are not only exhausted from our long day, but now we are also pretty much in a food coma lol which isn't a bad thing.  I will have a full post tomorrow with a recipe included.  I have already asked Nathan to make a stop at the grocery store to pick up a few miscellaneous ingredients :)  Until next time..........



Stay sweet,





Jennifer xoxoxo

Happy (belated) Birthday to My Love

Hello Sweets,


I hope everyone is having a great week and hopefully it is flying by for you, because it is definitely flying for me lol I think it's because it is the Christmas season and there is just that much more to do!

In an attempt to finalize everything I need for the homemade Christmas gifts I am creating, we went to Michael's (craft store), and I was like a kid in a candy store.  Let me tell you I found everything I needed and more to make these gifts super adorable that I didn't even think of.  I cannot wait to show you guys the finished products once they are given out :)  Did you know that Michael's carries baking supplies?  I'm not talking about a few things, we're talking about 3 full aisles of a baking wonderland!  I got some more decorative accents for the Christmas cookies we will be making over the next couple weeks, and even a reindeer kit for our cookies.  Lets just say I'll probably do a few different Christmas cookie recipes so I can write multiple posts about my decorating adventures, and I'm not a pro yet but I am giving it more effort than ever!

So as you all know I missed Nathans birthday last week :( but I have been making it up to him since I got here, slowly but surely giving him little birthday surprises.  For example, the day I landed, Nathan and I swapped our birthday cards, and when I pick a card it has to represent our relationship, and then I always write a little something extra special in it.  Early next week he will get a small present (although I know it will get a great reaction from him), and today, well today I made him an old fashion chocolate cake with chocolate icing and blue sugar (his favorite).  He loves it when I bake for him to begin with, but chocolate cake is his favorite, and since we've been dating, I promised him I would always bake him a birthday cake.  I know I had tested out a new chocolate cake recipe last week, but I decided that I would try another one today so I had a fresh new recipe for tonight's post.  Get your aprons on, because we're headed to chocolate town!!

Old Fashion Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

3/4C butter, softened

1 2/3C brown sugar

3 eggs

1 Tsp vanilla

2C all-purpose flour

2/3C cocoa

1 1/4Tsp baking soda

1 Tsp salt

1/4Tsp baking powder

1 1/3C water

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour 13"x9"x2" cake pan (or 2 9" round pan).

2)  Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on high for 3 minutes.

3)  Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt , and baking powder; add alternately with water to butter mixture until smooth.

 

4)  Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.  Cool completely.

 

I used wax paper to ensure it would come out perfectly :)

Let's get to the yummy frosting while the cake is cooling.

Perfect Chocolate Icing

Ingredients

1/2C butter

2/3C cocoa

3C confectioners sugar

1/3C milk

1 Tsp vanilla

 

Directions:

1)  Melt butter, then alternately add confectioners (powdered) sugar and milk, beating on medium speed spreading consistency.  Add more milk, if needed.  Add vanilla, makes about 2 cups worth.

 

I'm sorry for not taking progress pictures :(

The cake turned out completely delicious, and Nathan is a very happy and satisfied man (goal achieved)!  Probably one of the best ways to end a delicious steak dinner, grilled by none other then the master himself, Nathan!

 Final product :)

What is your go to birthday cake flavor?  Do you prefer to bake for your loved ones, or do you have a special bakery that makes all of your treats?  Not many more things can top the feeling of baking something I know Nathan will love, and I know he'll tell you that he loves everything I make him.  I really do have the greatest boyfriend in the world!!  

Well now I have to find a few Christmas cookie recipes to start making over the next few days, maybe I will try and do one new recipe a day, or maybe every couple of days with a few random recipes in between.  If you have any suggestions or favorites I would love to hear from you, feel free to drop me a line anytime :)  Until next time.......

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Parisian Paradise

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend, do you have anything exciting planned?  Or maybe you've already done something fun, I would love to hear all about it :)  I thought I was through the worst of this cold last night, then at 3am it decided to regroup and hit me all over again, c'est la vie!

So since I slept most of the afternoon away, and when I awoke my throat wasn't scratchy I thought I would make myself a special steak sandwich that I haven't had in a long time.  This is something I learnt how to make years ago as an alternative lunch sandwich, for when you want to have a fulfilling lunch and just a small dinner later on, or whenever it is just that great of a sandwich.  Plus it is versatile, you can add what ever your heart desires, and a side that suits your fancy at the time :)  Now let us get to our Parisian paradise.

Parisian Steak Sandwich

Ingredients

any cut of steak you prefer

3Tbs soy spread (or butter)

1/2 Parisian loaf

salt

pepper

chili flakes

garlic

2Tsp olive oil

4Tbs white cheddar cheese

1/2" sliced off an onion

Directions:

1)  Preheat your oven to broil.  Marinade your steak with the spices of your choosing in a container with a lid, at the end add the olive oil, close the lid and shake to coat the steak.  Set aside.

2)  Slice your half loaf, then cut in half.  Place open face up on a baking sheet, apply soy spread, then coat with garlic to your liking.  Set aside.

you can buy garlic loaves if you'd like, I just like to control the amount of garlic :)

3)  Chop up your onions, add them and the steak to a frying pan on low-medium heat (normally I would add mushrooms as well but I forgot to pick some up, boo).  Cook until there is pink inside (the steak will finish cooking in the oven with the bread).  Remove from heat and slice into strips.  Leave the onions in the pan to caramelize before adding to the bread.

4)  Place the garlic bread into the oven to toast prior to adding the meat (if you don't you'll have soggy bread).  Remove once toasted.

5)  Add the strips of steak and caramelized onions, then top with the cheese.  Place back into the oven (turn to low heat), just long enough for the cheese to melt.  Remove from the oven and enjoy!

I was originally was going to enjoy a nice side salad with my sandwich but ran out of lettuce, so I chose to have some yummy brussel sprouts (my fav).  Needless to say it was a very enjoyable dinner, and I now have a great lunch already made for tomorrow!

So where are you guys with your Frosty Fitness Challenge?  I have been giving it my best but this dang cold has really put the breaks on it :( , but none the less here is my little itty bitty proof for today :)

1/2 mile today, 7.38m for the week = 11.87kms, not 20km but I tried

I am very excited to share a little bit of news with you, a friend of Nathan and I's, Dave over at Impact Views, who is an AMAZING artist, is going to draw me a logo for my blog!!!!  I'm super excited because I really want to keep doing this, and I am becoming more serious about the whole idea of making a brand for myself :)  I know right now it's just something to help keep my spirits up and to share with others, but as I've stated in other post, I hope one day to make myself a little business out of my passion.  And if you're going to create a brand, you've got to have a way for people to recognize you, and when you guys see what we have designed you'll be blown away, I promise!

In the meantime, go check out Dave's blog, he writes about music, life, and what ever else comes to mind :)  Nathan and him used to have radio show together (which was awesome), so I can say with confidence that he writes well and it is always entertaining.  So what are you waiting for??  Check out his blog already lol.

I would love to hear what your guys favorite sandwich is, and what you like to put on it.  I always enjoy hearing from you guys :)  Until next time..........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo 

  

A meal to cure my home sickness :)

Hello Sweets,

Well sadly it is Sunday night, and that means the weekend is over :(  Last night I went to see the movie "Flight" with Denzel Washington by myself, and I must say the movie was fantastic, and seeing the movie by myself was quite empowering.  I never thought I would be comfortable seeing a movie by myself, but Nathan encouraged me to give it a shot, and I'm glad I did (he is usually right lol).

In yesterdays post, I talked about how I was thinking of maybe doing a biscuit recipe, and then after I posted it, my roomie Tereza told me she had bought some steaks for me to cook for her son and I (she prefers chicken over red meat).  So I decided to include the steak in my biscuit post, and it sort of worked out for the best, because as I am sitting here typing, I'm in my Texas Longhorn sweatshirt and slippers being homesick, and yes I think of Texas as my real home, because that is where I am most comfortable.  So for dinner tonight I baked some fresh southern inspired biscuits to go with my yummy steak and baked potato.  I was more excited than normal to make steak for John (Tereza's son), because this time he was willing to try it with a little pink in the middle (normally had to be thoroughly cooked).  I am very proud to announce that not only did he like the "medium" cooked meat, but I didn't scrape off the seasoning, and I didn't hear a peep out of him, other then to say he liked it and thank you.  Nothing gives me more pride then when a child likes what I make, they are some of the hardest taste buds to please :)  Now on to my southern meal that helped with my homesickness.

Southern Biscuits(courtesy of my Aunt Jan)

Ingredients

2 1/4C All-purpose flour

3/4Tsp Salt

1Tsp Sugar

4Tsp Baking powder

1/3C Butter, very cold

1C Milk, very cold

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 450F.  Place flour, salt, and baking powder into a mixing bowl and combine.

2)  Cut butter into small pieces (pea size), add to mixture and blend with a fork, pushing into the butter pieces.

3)  Add the cold milk, toss together gently until it is barely mixed.

see the butter chunks

4)  As soon as the dough starts to hold together, place it onto a lightly floured counter.  Gently "knead" the dough a few time until it is a cohesive ball.

pre-kneading

5)  Roll the dough into a rectangle 1/2-3/4" thick, all depends on how tall you like your biscuits.  Cut into 2" circles, I used a drinking glass and twist when applying pressure to severe from the dough.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.

the kneading breaks the butter down to even smaller pieces

6)  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Butter and eat while warm, and enjoy!

a house that smells like fresh biscuits, so good

Canuckette's Steak Marinade

Ingredients

1 can of Cola

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder (use fresh if you have it)

Red Chili flakes

Your favorite cut of steak

Directions:

1)  Pierce the meat with a fork to allow the marinade to really soak into the meat.  Add the cola first as to not wash the spices off, then add your seasonings to your pallets preference.  Do this on both sides, then top up the cola so the meat is almost completely immersed in liquid.

2)  Place in the fridge overnight to get a really juicy piece of meat, or very least a couple of hours.

3)  Preheat your oven to 350F on broil, place the excess liquid in the bottom half of the broiler pan along with some water.  Place in the oven for about 15 minutes (depending on your cut/cooking preference).  

4)  Remove and serve with your favorite side dish, and most importantly enjoy!

So yummy with my fresh baked biscuit

So my roomie brought me home a fresh coconut today from the grocery store, and I am not sure what I want to make with the meat but I did enjoy a small glass of coconut water, mmmm!  

haven't had a fresh coconut in a while

So while I take tonight to research a new yummy recipe I decided to do the hard work of getting the meat out of the hard shell, and found an amazing and super easy way to get it out :D  First I hammered a nail into the "finger" grooves to remove the juice.  This is the softest part of the coconut so if you want the juice, this is the place to go.  Then I wrapped the coconut in a kitchen towel and took a hammer to it out back to break it open, I then placed it into a pot and boiled it for 5-10 minutes.

my coconut bath

This allowed the husk to slowly start to pull away, then you soak it in cold water for about 5-10 minutes.  Then all you need to do is pry the meat off by wedging a butter knife between the shell and the meat, and tada!! it just pops off super easy :)

So proud of myself

Now all that's left to do is figure out what to do with it, and I'm not going to lie, I am very excited to do something new and out of my comfort zone.  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo