This produced a very tender and tasty steak. I am going to start trying some throw together marinades as the ones I have made lately have been amazing!!

Marinated Baked Steak (From: Myself)

• Steaks of choice (I used 2, but you could use as many as you need)
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 4 T. soy sauce
• 2 T. Chicago Seasoning

Marinated steaks in marinate for 30 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 425.

Place steaks in cast iron skillet

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until desired tenderness.

**We had one steak smaller then the other. I cooked for 13 minutes and Adams steak (the bigger one) was medium rare how he prefers it, and mine was medium which is my choice.

This is rather simple to throw together and since it is fried not an everynight meal but something different. We like many different dipping sauces, ketchup, ranch, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, experiment and find your favorite.

Lumpia (From: Rose)

• 1 pkg. Eggroll wrappers
• 1 lb. Hamburger cooked and drained
• 2 small or 1 large potato
• 2 small or 1 large carrot
• 1 small can chopped mushrooms (I used fresh mushrooms)

Fry hamburger add salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste.

Grate potatoes ,carrots and mushrooms, place hamburger and all veggies back into skillet, cook until veggies are soft.

Adding a little water here and there , watch carefully and stir they will stick, once they are soft , let completely cool.

Add about 2 tablespoons per wrap, place cooking oil in skillet , about 1/2 inch get hot , and deep fry , until golden brown

The winner of the Wanchai Ferry giveaway is…

Here are your random numbers:

12

Jessica B  

Big fan of Trader Joes orange chicken… Love your blog! Thanks

Timestamp: 2010-06-23 16:01:40 UTC

Jessica please e-mail me at adamswife06(at)gmail(dot)com with your address and I will get your package out to you.

I have so far made pears, apples, and sweet potatoes but forgot to put together a blog post and take pictures, I will do so when making all again.

I have been having SOOO much fun making her baby food, it’s so easy and so simple.

Start with your green beans, wash them and then break off ends.

Put in a pan along with a thin layer of water, from everything I have read you don’t want to cover all the veggies.

Once tender drain and puree with immersion blender (food processor and blender would work too.)

Once pureed to desired texture pour into ice cube trays and freeze. 1 ice cube will equal 1 oz.

Once frozen put in a ziplock and label.

Put in freezer with rest of baby food.

Every night before bed we take out what we want for the next day and put into a container in the fridge, by the time we are ready to eat the next day stir and were ready to eat.

It’s THAT simple.

Maddy wasn’t so sure about the Green Beans. Her favorite is sweet potatoes.

I have a feeling the reason mine didn’t turn out was I used greek yogurt in place of regular and I am wondering if that made them dry. They had great flavor just were a little on the dry side.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (From: Simply Recipes)

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder (make sure your baking powder is no older than 6 months)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp poppy seeds

• 10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest

YUM. This is comfort food at its finest. I wish we had more of this at home, but between lunches yesterday and a couple sneaks into the baking dish for more bites…it’s all gone. This was part of our ‘don’t count points’ day. It was delicious, and not to mention super easy!

We were starving so we dug in before we could take a proper picture, but if you make this, you’ll understand. It was divine! You could make this for company, an easy weeknight meal, a meal for someone recovering from surgery, or for new parents. Everyone will love it.

Sun Dried Tomato Mac & Cheese (inspired by: a fellow Tastefully Simple consultant)

• 1 box of Smart Taste Rotini Pasta (love this stuff! We recently picked some up at the store for $1/box)
• 10oz of Velveeta (I used Velveeta  2% which has less fat than regular Velveeta)
• 2 Tablespoons Tastefully Simple’s Sun-Dried Tomato Veggie Dip Mix
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 package Jennie-O Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage, cooked to whichever method you prefer (I put them in a pan with some olive oil and seasonings and cooked that way)
• Ritz cracker crumbs, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Shortly before the pasta is done cooking, begin to melt the cheese and the milk together in a pot on the stove (use a pot, because you’ll combine the pasta, sausage and seasoning mix in there too). Drain the pasta when done and set aside.
 
When the cheese is close to all melted, add the pasta and your cooked turkey sausage. Mix together. You can add a little more milk here, if you’d like it to be creamier. I didn’t measure the amount of milk I put in, I just kind of eyeballed it. Next time, I’ll definitely measure so that it’s creamier)
 
Bake in a 350* oven for about 20 minutes until the cracker crumbs are browned and the dish is thoroughly heated through.

I didn’t have Ritz crackers, but I had these that were almost gone so I crushed them up. They’re a tasty snack, but they were great as the topping too!

Go check out Amys blog for some wonderful other recipe she has baked/cooked up recently.

We really enjoyed this dish, our chicken was a little dry but I think we had it up a little high for how long we are gone on a normal weekday. We will be making this again and again!

Chicken Cordon Bleu (From: She Cooks and Bakes)

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (seasoned with a little of salt and fresh ground pepper)
• 1/2 lb deli-sliced cooked ham
• 1/2 lb Swiss cheese sliced
• 10oz can cream of chicken soup (I prefer to use fat-free)
• 1 box dry stuffing mix, prepared according to the box.

Layer all ingredients in the order they are listed above into crock-pot.

Chicken on the bottom, a couple of slices of ham, cheese, cream of chicken soupon top of that, and then top it all off with prepared stuffing.

Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours on high for 3.5-4 hours until chicken is tender but not dry.

If you are interested in writing your own blog post on Carries Sweet Life, either because you don’t have a blog and really want to share a recipe or are looking to gain a new reading audiance.

If you are interested please e-mail me at adamswife06(at)gmail(dot)com.

Here is a look back at my favorite recipes of 2009.

Appetizer: Hush Puppies

Breakfast: Banana Nut Pancakes

Dessert: German Chocolate Cake

Cookie: Almond Triangles

Main Dish: Turkey Pot Pie

Side Dish: Homemade Rice A Roni

Hope you and yours have a safe and happy new year.

Once we got home I went to put the leftovers in the fridge and saw I had a package of pie crusts sitting there, for some reason I thought turkey pot pie. Tonight I finally made it, this is my first time making a pot pie and I couldn’t be happier it was awesome!!! Definitely try this recipe!!!! I plan to make another with potatoes and chicken.

Turkey Pot Pie (From: Pioneer Woman)

• 1 pie crust
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrot
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 2 cups leftover turkey,diced or shredded
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
• splash of white wine (optional)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Frozen peas (optional)
• Fresh thyme, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a skillet or dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)

Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour in chicken or turkey broth, stirring constantly. Splash in wine (you can leave this out if you’d like.) Pour in cream. (May add frozen peas at this point if you’d like.)

Bring to a slow boil and allow mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not underseason), and fresh or dried thyme to taste. Do one final taste at the end and add what it needs.

Pour mixture into a casserole dish or deep pie pan.

Roll out crust so that it’s about 1 inch larger than the pan you’re using.

Place the crust on top of the pot pie mixture, and press crust into the sides of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.
Bake for 30 minutes or until very golden and bubbly.

Allow to cool for a little bit before serving.