Enjoyed this beauty of a wine with our Harvest Cornucopia….with cheese…simply fabulous. Uses Syrah grapes from the oldest vines in Washington State (I love “old vine” wines).
Read all about Betz Family Winery La Cote Patriarche Syrah
I was having a dinner party and wanted to make a salad. If you follow my posts, you know I am not great at salads. I’m trying, but can’t quite get it right. This one is close….a little work on the dressing and we may have a winner.
I love Bibb lettuce. I tried to grow in my garden this year, with marginal success (yes, I will try again next year). I also love apples (I am also growing an apple tree). Using Bibb lettuce as the base, I added a sliced apples, handful or two of pecans, 1/2 cup of goat cheese and some fresh made croutons.
For the dressing, I used apple juice, apple cider vinegar, blue agave nectar, olive oil and salt and pepper.
Dressing was a little “appley” (is that a word)….I almost have it….lacking good pictures as I was already enjoying several glasses of wine…
I Love Apple Salad
Author: Michelle
Recipe type: Salad
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Loved this salad. Dressing was easy to make. You can skip toasting the pecans and making your own croutons and it would be a great weekday meal!
Ingredients
- 1-2 heads of Bibb lettuce -
- 1 apple sliced (I left the peel on)
- 1 cup of toasted pecans
- ½ - 1 cup of of crumbled goat cheese
- Dressing
- ½- 1 cup of apple juice
- 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- couple tablespoons of blue agave nectar
- ¼-1/2 cup of olive oil.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine salad ingredients - set aside.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients, start at the low end of measurements and continue to add to taste.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Last week, when making Breakfast Pizza, I decided to also make some Egg Muffins. My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s and lives with us. She is no longer comfortable using the stove or even the microwave (which is a blessing in disguise), however, it has increasing become a challenge to find quick, easy, nutritious food she can eat while we are gone during the day.
Since, she loves eggs (breakfast is her favorite meal of the day) and doesn’t have a cholesterol problem, I try to have hard-boiled ones in the fridge at all times. Like the breakfast pizza, I thought I’d mix it up for her and pre-make single serve scrambled eggs. I could heat them up in the microwave quick before I left in the morning, or she could eat the cold throughout the day.
Scrambled Egg Muffins
Author: Michelle
Recipe type: Breakfast
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
This is a great healthy alternative to fast food breakfast!
Ingredients
- 12 eggs -scrambled
- ½ cup spinach - chopped
- ½ red pepper - diced
- ½ onion - diced
- ½ cup of cheese (I used Gruyere - yum)
- ½ package of Jimmy Dean's ground sausage
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a muffin tin (12 cups)
- Cook sausage on stove top - per directions
- Add all the veggies and sausage to the scrambled eggs and mix
- Add ⅓ cup to each muffin cup and top with cheese
- Bake 20 minutes - or until toothpick comes out clean
- Store in refrigerator.
I started with 12 eggs. I have never made before and had no idea how much would fill a tin. Do not overfill (about 1/3 cup only). I learned the hard way – they tasted the same, but looked funny!
This recipe was super fun, super easy. I mixed up the veggies and made some with spinach, some without, made a variety to choose from. She loved having something different! Now, I have to make them again.
I started making this beef stew in 2008. I loved (and still love) testing recipes I find in magazines. I love the random ones (like the ones they have celebrities put in People Magazine) and think ” I am so going to try this”.
I spent the first 17 years of my adult life not eating red meat (I just didn’t like it). I started to work meat back into my diet after a long two weeks in China during the bird flu epidemic and SARS. After the first week of eating nothing, I went to a Ruth Chris Steakhouse and ordered my first steak. My husband was so happy after that trip!
Now, up to that point, I had never really cooked red meat (unless you count hamburger), so I had a lot of catching up to do, and I am still learning!
This recipe calls for searing the beef, which if done right takes forever…my least favorite part… it is messy. I use extra long tongs and make the most of it. It also calls for 2 full bottles of wine (awesome right?). Make sure you have something inexpensive…I have made in the past with wine that is much better in a glass!
I used gorgonzola cheese vs blue cheese, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. This batch served 8 (4 the first night and leftovers on Monday). My only recommendation would be, if you are not good with a knife (which I am not), cut the carrots into rounds. Matchsticks are time consuming and I almost chopped my fingers off (3 times).
Falls under weekend warrior – takes a full 4 hours – messy, however makes the house smell amazing and every can’t wait to eat.!
Smoky Blue Cheese Beef Stew (Thank you Sunset Magazine)
As you can see from the pictures, I “plated” two ways..the white bowl and the yellow….I couldn’t decide which was better so I used both!
Enjoy!
