Ok, so one of the guys I work with at FBMG introduced me to one of the best food blogs next to this one! It has some AMAZING recipes on it that I cannot wait to try!! Go check it out! It's www.favfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com There is something on there for everyone!
If you make anything from the site, bring the recipe over to this one and give your opinion on it!

Beef Prices

Ok so here's the scoop on the beef. We took a 3-yr old steer & a 2-yr old steer to the butcher for our neighbors. The 3-yr old made up about 280lbs of meat per side(close to 600lbs. total). The 2-yr old made up about 190lbs of meat per half. Two families who had big freezers each took half of the larger steer, and the two smaller halves were divided up between 2-3 families who had less storage space. The butcher is paid by the pound, so for the two steers, it was about $500. We charged them $675 per steer, so the total price for their meat was about $1.95/per pound.

We'd charge anyone in the family probably $500 per steer. Add approximately $250 per steer for the cost of butchering. That's $750 for about 400-600 lbs of meat. Divide the cost with a family member or neighbor, and you'd get about 200-300 lbs of meat for $375. You can choose if you'd like a 2-yr old or 3-yr old. We would take the steer to the butcher for you and you can specify how you'd like the butcher to cut & package your meat (how thick do you want your steaks, how many steaks per package, if you want hamburger in 1 or 2 pound packages, etc.)

If anyone is interested, please let me know!

Beef is what's for dinner

This isn't really a recipe but more of just my rambling thoughts.

So I decided to try my "teriyaki steak" again last night, because it was so good the first time that I was convinced it was just a fluke, just a one-time magical thing that I could never recreate. The good news is that the magic must still be lingering with me, because once again, it was amazing! The meat was tender, juicy and flavorful. Hooray! This time instead of serving it on rice, we cooked up the noodles from a couple packs of Ramen, but drained the water when the noodles were done and didn't add the spice packet. I luckily had some broccoli this time, and it was as good or better than any beef & broccoli I've had at a chinese restauraunt.

I love food!

Brownie Fudge

This is the dessert I made for my Bunko group on Friday. Aunt Karen, thanks for the frying tips, the sweet potato fries were FABULOUS and they were a huge hit with my friends!!! (I made a honey mustard sauce to serve with them.)

Note that the fudge in this brownie recipe makes way more fudge than even my sugar tolerance can handle. If I were to make them again I'd cut the fudge recipe in half, and even then I'd make sure no more than 1/2 in. worth gets poured over the brownies:

Brownie Fudge

4 (1 oz.) squares unsweetned chocolate, chopped
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 tsp. vanilla

Fudge Topping:
3/4 cup butter
1-2/3 cups light cream
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
12 oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
12 oz. pkg. special dark chocolate chips
2 tsp. vanilla
Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9" pan with nonstick baking spray containing flour and set aside. Melt 4 oz. chocolate and 1 cup butter in heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Beat in 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar, then add eggs and beat until smooth.

Add flour, 1 cup walnuts and 2 tsp. vanilla to chocolate mixture and stir just until combined. Spread brownie batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until just set. Don´t overbake! Start making Fudge Topping as soon as the brownies go into the oven.

For Fudge Topping, melt 3/4 cup butter and light cream in large saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 cups sugar and 2 cups brown sugar and stir well; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with the spoon. This mixture burns easily, so be sure to keep stirring!

Remove pan from heat and add marshmallow creme, semisweet and dark chocolate chips, and 2 tsp. vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Remove brownies from oven when done and immediately pour Fudge Topping over hot brownies. Cool in pan on wire rack and then place in the refrigerator until firm, about 3 hours. Cut into 1" squares to serve. Yields about 120 1 inch squares.

Book club menu

I'm hosting book club on Tuesday night, and have had a hard time deciding what to serve. I think I've finally decided to cook a couple different kinds of soup: Tomato Basil, Beer Cheese, Sweet Potato Chowder, and a cold Gazpacho. With this I'll have some good crusty bread, and an appetizer of some sort. I have no idea what yet. And for dessert I'm going to fix a recipe that I hope Mona will post on the blog :-) Brownies with fudge. Yum. I'd love any suggestions for additions to the menu, etc.

Honey Mustard Biscuits

This is another yummy looking recipe thanks to Rachael Ray. They look SUPER yummy and SUPER easy!! I will be making these while Mom's in Seattle probably.. Unless I can convince her to make them sooner!

Here is a link to view the little video that I'm not smart enough to know how to copy over here.
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/honey-mustard-biscuits/

Ingredients

• 3 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 3 to 4 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias
• 1 small zucchini, shredded
• 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1 cup shredded yellow cheddar cheese, divided
• Salt and ground black pepper

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Yields: 4 servings

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Preparation

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking mix and milk until almost completely mixed. Add the carrot, scallions, zucchini, chicken, honey, mustard, half of the cheese, some salt and pepper, and continue mixing until evenly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, deposit the mixture into 2-inch rounds (just eyeball it) onto two greased baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the biscuits and bake until golden brown and the cheese has melted, 15-18 minutes.

It's still winter

Well, it snowed in Portland again today, and I must say that I'm ready for Spring. Enough of this cold, gray, wet weather - come on! Maybe I should move to San Diego or the desert.

Quick Chicken Mole
Yields 6 to 8 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 (5-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), for garnish
White rice, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue to sauté to toast and develop flavor. Add diced tomatoes, peppers, chipotles, broth, peanut butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and puree until smooth.
Sear the chicken in a heavy bottomed hot sauté pan over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Add to casserole dish, cover with sauce and braise the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with pepitas and serve with white rice.

Cumin Rice
Yields 4 to 6 servings

1 1/2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups long-grain white rice, uncooked, well-rinsed and drained
3 cups water
Salt
1/3 cup packed chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Lime juice, to taste

To a medium saucepan add oil, cumin seeds and garlic, and cook over medium-high heat until seeds are sizzling, about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until dry-looking and the kernels stop sticking to the pan and begin to color, 3 to 5 minutes. Slide pan off heat and slowly pour the 3 cups water into the pan (there will be a good deal of steam); return pan to heat, add a large pinch salt and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. Using fork, fluff rice and stir in cilantro and salt to taste. Add lime to taste and serve immediately.

Creamy Basil Gnocchi

Carly and I found this recipe on the back of a package of Tillamook Italian style cheese. I made a couple of changes to add my own touch of flavor, and I have to admit it turned out FABULOUS! And for those of you who've never tried gnocchi before, this would be a great introduction. Carly proclaimed gnocchi to be her new favorite food. Gnocchi can be found in the pasta aisle - it's a tiny potato dumpling. Yum.

Creamy Basil Gnocchi
Serves 6 as an appetizer or 3 as a main dish

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 chicken bouillon cube (or a little dash of chicken stock)
1 (1 pound) package Gnocchi
1/2 cup Italian style cheese

Put a large pot of water on to boil for the gnocchi.

Place cream, basil, pepper, garlic and bouillon in 2 quart saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a low simmer and cook 10 minutes to thicken. Meanwhile, prepare the gnocchi according to package directions. (It only takes 3 minutes to cook!)

Remove cream mixture from heat and slowly stir in cheese. Add drained gnocchi and stir to coat. Serve in bowls and top with garnish of fresh diced tomatoes and basil.

Here's what I did different:
I doubled the cream mixture and it made enough for 3 packages of gnocchi. Plenty for the family to eat tonight, Carly to have seconds, and leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

To the cream mixture, I added 1 (14 oz) can of Italian style diced tomatoes, drained. Just another way to get more veggies in my diet :-)

To top it all off, I diced up some pancetta and sauteed it until it was crispy and golden. The added crunch on top is marvelous! FYI, you can substitute bacon for the pancetta - my tastebuds are just spoiled.

P.S.

I forgot to say that if anyone is interested or knows anyone who would be interested, we have two-year-old Black Angus steers ready to sell to go to the butcher. Free-range, no hormones, organic beef & all that jazz. It's great food storage to have a freezer full of meat!

Mmmm . . . Steak

So we have been blessed with a freezer full of beef. It used to be more of a luxury to eat steaks and all other sorts of beef besides hamburger, so I have had to open up my cookbooks and remind myself how to cook it. This was the result of my experimenting on Saturday, and it was amazingly good! I don't know if the tenderness of the meat was a result of the marinating, or that I only cooked it until medium rare, or if the beef was just tender to begin with, but dang, it was tender and tasty.

We'll call this "Teriyaki Beef with Rice"

I took three rib steaks and cut them into narrow strips (prob. about 1/2 inch wide). Placed meat in gallon-size ziplock bag. Added 1 cup or so of Aloha soy sauce, as well as a few teaspoons of whatever other soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and worcestershire sauce was in my cupboard. Also added a few tablespoons of brown sugar, and a teaspoon or two of garlic salt. Mixed up the ingredients in the bag until meat was fully coated, and then marinated in fridge for about an hour. Placed contents of bag in large skillet with a bit of sesame oil (any other kind of oil probably would have been an acceptable substitute). Stir-fried meat until medium rare.

I also sauteed some onions and some bell peppers that I had frozen from my veggie garden last summer. It also would have been good with some steamed brocolli or other veggies. If I would have had some green onions, I might have added that to the marinade. Served everything on top of some sticky rice and dug in!

Coconut

Ruth (and Eric, I think), this one's for you!

Coconut Cheesecake
Yields 12 servings

Crust
1 sleeve (5 ounces) shortbread cookies (we used Lorna Doone brand)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, toasted (see note), plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt

To make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, combine cookies, sugar and salt. Pulse together until the cookies are broken up completely and are roughly the texture and appearance of wet sand. It should still have some gravel-sized pieces in it. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the toasted coconut. Add the butter and mix until the crumbs are evenly coated with butter.

Transfer the crust mixture to a 9-inch springform pan. Spread the crust evenly over the base of the pan. Using a heavy, flat-bottomed object — such as a ramekin or the bottom of a measuring cup — tamp down the crust until it is an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown and fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

To make filling: Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor, add the flaked coconut and pulse until finely ground. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, add the cream cheese and sugar. Mix at medium low speed for about 3 minutes. The texture should lighten and begin to look like very thick whipped cream. (Note: You want to scrape the sides regularly as you go. It is important to do so throughout the process. This will ensure no lumps and the filling will come together completely.)

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the eggs one at a time, beating in each egg completely before adding the next one. Once all eggs are added, add the coconut milk, line juice, vanilla and salt and mix well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the ground coconut. Mix to combine.

Wrap the base of the springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. This will minimize any potential leakage. Pour the filling into the pan. Tap the cake pan on the counter to release any air bubbles and to make sure the filling is even.

Place the cake pan in a roasting pan. Place the roasting pan on the oven rack. Add the boiling water to the roasting pan. It should come about midway up the sides of the cake tin but not over the top of the foil. If you need more water, you can add hot tap water.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cheesecake reaches at least 160 degrees. When the cheesecake has reached 160 degrees, shut off the oven and leave the door cracked for 5 minutes. Close the door, and let the cake sit for 30 minutes. Remove the cake pan from the water and let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes before covering with foil and placing in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. If you do not chill the cake thoroughly, it will not cut smoothly.

To serve, remove cake from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cutting. Run a sharp knife between the outside of the cake and the side of the pan before removing the outside ring of the springform pan. Slice the cake, and garnish with more toasted coconut.

Note: To toast coconut, place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Rapid Mix Cool Rise White Bread

This recipe is from the cookbook that came with my KitchenAid mixer (still the second best present I've ever gotten!) I've made this bread twice now, and it's really easy, especially for someone like me who has always been intimidated to make bread.

Makes two loaves of bread
Ingredients:
6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 c. very warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)

Place 5 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and butter in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 20 seconds. Gradually add warm water and mix about 1 1/2 minutes more.
Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on Speed 2 for another 2 minutes.
Cover dough with plastic wrap, and then a towel. Let rest for 20 minutes.
Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle, approx. 9 x 14 inches. Starting at a short end, roll the dough tightly into a log shape. Pinch to seal the seam, pinch the ends and turn them under. Place the dough, seam side down, into greased loaf pans. Brush each loaf with oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refridgerate 2 to 12 hours.
When ready to bake, uncover dough carefully. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Puncture any gas bubbles which may have formed. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

French Onion Soup

I have to admit that I had never actually tried French Onion soup up until a few months ago. I don't know what it is, but as I get older, the more things I discover that I actually like! Like onion rings, and tomato soup, and BEANS, and yams - you get my point. My dear husband loves French Onion soup, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, and it certainly was tasty! If you don't want to buy expensive Gruyere cheese, use whatever white-ish cheese you have on hand.

French Onion Soup
Yields 4 to 6 bowls of soup

8 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 cups beef stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
1 loaf French bread
2 cups grated Gruyere

Sauté onions and garlic in oil over low heat until tender and golden yellow. Sprinkle flour over onions, cook a few minutes more, browning the flour well. Add stock and wine and bring to a boil, add thyme and bay leaf. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 20 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Meanwhile, slice French bread into 3/4-inch slices and butter both sides. Toast slices on griddle until golden brown. Ladle soup into an ovenproof bowl, add toasted bread and cover with cheese. Place ovenproof bowl on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake at 350 degrees F or 5 minutes under a hot broiler.