Sugar's!!!

When Rob and I ordered our wedding cake last year, we also were to receive a 1 year anniversary cake of our choice. Since our wedding, our baker sadly went out of business to take care of her sick son. We were unable to collect on our cake, which is fine because of the issues our baker is dealing with. Then I remembered that a lady I use to work with has a small home based cake company...Sugar's! Rob and I ordered our cake from her, we got the berry bomb in a heart shape! The cake was amazingly delicious that Rok now has a customer for life! Check out her website sometime, her cakes are AMAZINGLY good!

Homemade Butter...Yup...

I found this recipe on Confections of a Foodie Brides blog. It is a super easy recipe to make butter and butter milk! The butter is very good, an must have for your holiday dinner!

1 cup organic heavy whipping cream

Put the cream into your food processor and turn it on. For full details and instruction, please click the link above to Confections blog.

A New Taco Bake...

Rob's grandma gave me this recipe before she passed away (she was always giving me recipes whenever we went to her house). This is my favorite Grandma Grace recipe! I haven't made it in ages...I wanted taco bake but I wasn't feeling the richness of Lindsay's taco bake. This one is more hearty with only shredded cheese on top.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef
1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa or Pace® Picante Sauce
1/2 cup milk
6 (6 inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cook beef in medium skillet over medium-high heat until beef is browned, stirring to separate meat. Pour off fat. Add soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and half the cheese. Spoon into 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Skillet Ham, Cabbage and Potatoes

I am burned out on all the "usual" stuff, so when allrecipes emailed me this recipe I decided to give it a go. It sounded different, but in a good way. Rather than getting ham and cutting it in cubes I just purchased Dearborn Ham from the deli department and had them "shave" cut it. I would suggest Dearborn Ham for this recipe...its the best! I also made Mrs. T's special crescent rolls...mmmm...delicious goodness!

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons margarine
1 onion, chopped
1 small head cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
3 large potatoes, scrubbed and sliced
1 dash seasoning salt
1 dash paprika
2 cups cubed cooked ham

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in the margarine. When tender add cabbage and stir. Pour water over, cover and simmer gently on medium low for ten minutes.

Add potatoes and mix. Cover again and allow to simmer for ten more minutes. Additional water may be needed. Sprinkle seasoning salt and paprika over cabbage and potatoes. Allow to simmer covered for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until cabbage is soft and potatoes are nearly cooked. Mix ham in and finish cooking until ham is hot and potatoes are done.

Click here to go directly to the recipe. Photo is a stock photo from allrecipes...I was too lazy to take a picture. :)

Mild Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas!

Wow, I haven't posted in a long arse time! Sheesh!


Well, I made these enchiladas on Tuesday for "Debate Date Night" (don't ask). Anyway, the were absolutely delicious! If you are a cheese and sour cream lover like I am, you will LOVE these enchiladas. I also made baked flan for dessert...see my older posts for my flan recipe.

This recipe is from Allrecipes.

Ingredients
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat (I used 2 cans of cooked chicken)
1/4 cup chopped onion
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup black olives

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the chicken, onion, 1 cup Cheddar cheese, and 3/4 cup sour cream.
3. Disperse the mixture evenly among the 8 tortillas. Roll into enchiladas, and arrange in single layer in the prepared baking dish.

4. In a saucepan over low heat, melt together the remaining Cheddar cheese and sour cream. Pour over the enchiladas, and top with tomatoes and olives.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Shelly's Hot Mess Chicken and Famous Potatoes w/ Spinach Salad

I decided to put together this dinner together tonight because I have been so engrossed with my invitation business this past week that I have been sort of ignoring my poor husband. I felt so bad about so I put together a delicious dinner at the table complete with wine and water served in our pretty crystal we got for our wedding...I was also able to use our pretty silver serving platter and fancy serving utensils and placemats, napkins and napkin rings...ok, ok, so I wanted an excuse to actually use all this stuff...LOL.

I made Shelly's famous potatoes and her hot mess chicken (see nomnomnom in my favorites). Along with the hot mess and famous taters I made my famous spinach salad with homemade lemon olive oil dressing. I also made a loaf of homemade italian bread with italian spices in my bread maker (and I am happy to report actually doing a good job at it!). I have to say, I was very intimidated by the chicken recipe, but it was really super easy!

Excuse the jacked up walls in the background...we're in the middle of demoing our kitchen.

Hot Mess Chicken (recipe copy/pasted from Shelly's blog)

Hot Mess ChickenServes: However many you can fit on the pan
-Large skinless boneless chicken breast (I filleted it then pounded it)

-Thick sliced bacon (I used thick pepper crusted bacon..mmmm...)

-Red Onion

-Fresh Leaf Basil (we grow basil in our garden, so it was super fresh! fresher the better)

-Small can petite diced tomatoes

-Provolone Cheese

-Toothpicks

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Yup.

2. Get a baking sheet that has edges and line it with foil (easier clean up!). Then take a rack from your toaster oven and put that on top of the foil so there is a gap. Or if you wanna be all 'top chef'... just use a broiler pan =)

3. Take a chicken breast and put it between some plastic wrap and pound it with a meat mallet. Or a big can of beans will work! Not too thin... maybe like an even half inch. Or if you wanna get crazy and skip the next step... pound it out into a really big flat piece that is about a quarter inch thick.

4. If you stuck with the half inch option, take a knife and slit the chicken open (parallel with the countertop) and open it like a book. Don't cut it all the way open.

5. Lay in some provolone, a handful of diced red onion, a couple spoonfuls of tomato, and a few leaves of basil.

6. Fold up the chicken. Now lay out 3-4 slices of thick sliced bacon and put the chicken in the middle. Wrap the ends of bacon up over the chicken and overlap them. Secure with a toothpick. Try and cover most of the open seam to keep the goodies in.

7. Place on the rack or broiler pan. I like to pour some italian dressing all over it, but that's up to you. Put in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. The bacon should be pretty crisped and the chicken cooked thru. Yummm.

Shelly's Famous Potatoes

-5 cups chopped red potatoes (about 5 large) (I used idaho potatoes cuz I'm not a fan of reds)

-1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (I skipped the red cuz we don't really like it)

-1/3 cup diced green bell pepper

-1/2 cup diced sweet onion

-1 teaspoon garlic salt

-1/2 tablespoon montreal steak seasoning

-4+ tablespoons butter or margarine

-Foil

1. Lay out about 2 feet of non-stick foil or non-stick sprayed regular foil.

2. Wash & scrub red potatoes clean. Chop up potatoes into bite sized pieces and place in single layer onto center of foil.

3. Dice peppers and onion and sprinkle onto potatoes, toss with hands if necessary.

4. Place little chunks of butter or margarine over top, space out as necessary.

5. Sprinkle garlic salt and steak seasoning evenly over mixture (amount may be adjusted to taste). We are not shy with either of them in my house!!

6. Fold foil up over the mixture, covering everything. Take another piece of foil and wrap in opposite direction to make sure the packet is leak-proof.

7. Place on grill at medium heat (about 350-400 degrees) for 35-45 minutes (flip over packet halfway through cooking), depending on your grill and your potato firmness preference.

8. Cut open foil pouch and serve, careful of the steam!

Lemon/Olive Oil Dressing

- 1 large lemon

- 1 tbsp fresh garlic

- 1/2 c olive oil (the darker the better)

Zest part of the lemon, cut it in half and juice the heck out of it. Add the garlic and the olive oil and wisk together. Serve over a bed of baby spinach with bacon bits, tomatoes and shaved Parmesan cheese...delish!

Chicken Kabobs and "Special" Crescent Rolls

We made some super fantastic chicken kabobs last night with these most delicious crescent rolls using a recipe of my best friends MIL! I'll call them Mrs. T's Famous Crescent Rolls!!! The kabobs were pretty standards, chicken, green pepper, white onion, 1 can white potatoes, and mushrooms. Rob put some curry seasoning on them with some extra red pepper powder and a little brush of olive oil. I made the Indian Rice that I blogged below with the kabobs. Now, on to the delicious crescent rolls!

Ingredients
1 tube crescent rolls (Pillsbury or store brand)
4 oz of cream cheese softened in the microwave to make it spoonable
Honey

Directions
Roll out the rolls as you normally would then add a spoon full (tsp) of cream cheese to the large end of the crescent roll. Roll them up and kinda pinch the ends so the cream cheese doesn't ooze when you bake them. Bake according to the package instructions (no extra time needed). Pull them out and put some honey on top of them and spread it around. Let them sit for about 5 minutes.

I suggest eating them with a fork! They are so freaking good! Its like a dinner roll and dessert in one!

Italian Sausage and Peppers

I LOVE this recipe! I actually picked it up from the Italian restaurant I worked at years and years ago. It is super simple and so delicious! I generally do a combination of sweet and spicy Italian sausage, but this time I just used sweet sausage.

Ingredients
4 links of fresh Italian sausage (sweet, hot or both) Cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large green pepper cut into large pieces
1 small to medium red bell pepper cut into large pieces
1 small yellow bell pepper cut into large pieces
1 small orange bell pepper cut into small pieces
1 small to medium Spanish onion cut into large pieces
1 jar Traditional Ragu sauce (yeah, I'm lazy like that)
various Italian spices (garlic, basil, oregano...)
Olive oil (to coat pan)
Cooked spaghetti noodles

Directions
Cook the sausage pieces until they are completely done. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan (leaving the sausage in it). Add all of the peppers and onion. Mix everything together and cover with a lid for about 10 to 15 minutes on medium/medium low heat. Remove lid and add about 3/4 of a jar of Traditional Ragu (enough to coat the sausage and veggies). Add a little garlic (powder), oregano, basil, cracked red pepper to your preferred taste. Simmer for about 5 minutes (until the sauce heats up).

Put some spaghetti noodles into a bowl, dish up the sausage and peppers over the noodles and serve with some Romano cheese (shaker cheese) and some garlic bread. YUM!!!

Yummy Chicken Stir Fry

One of my favorite things to make is chicken stir fry. Its nothing special, but tastes super yummy! You can make it with a chicken bullion base or a soy sauce base...I prefer the chicken base then putting a little soy sauce on the finished product. I generally make white or brown rice with my stir fry, but I forgot the buy some at the store and I didn't want to waste any of my basmati rice...so I did what any other domestically challenged person would do, I used Rice-A-Roni Fried Rice flavor and added 1 egg to it.

Stir Fry Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces

1-2 chicken bullion cubes

1/2 lb pea pods

1/2 lb bean sprouts

2-3 baby bok choy

1 tbsp flour

water

dash of salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions

In a large skillet (or better yet, a wok), cook the chicken (with some salt and pepper) until it is thoroughly cooked (I'm paranoid so I cook it until it starts to brown). Add about a cup of water and the pea pods. Cover and let the steam cook the pods for a couple minutes. Next, add the bean sprouts and replace the cover. Cook for another minute. Add a touch more water and the bullion cubes then mix the flour with some water and use it as a thickening agent and thicken the chicken stock. The final step is adding the bok choy. Mix everything up and serve with rice.

I've Been Tagged!!!

The rules:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
Working a dead end job that I hated!

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Wash the towels
2. Clean the bathroom
3. Put laundry away
4. Dust the house
5. Make dinner (nothing special, chicken on the grill, rice and mixed veggies)

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Fruit Naturals Grapefruit Cups
2. Snikers
3. Cheese cubes
4. Cookies
5. Pineapple

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay off debt
2. Have a kick butt house built on 200 acres of land
3. Travel the world for a year
4. Take my family on a dream vacation for at least 2 weeks
5. Go on a shopping spree (clothes, furniture, car...)

Places I’ve lived:
1. Waterford, MI
2. Hazel Park, MI
3. Southfield, MI

Jobs I’ve had:
1. Fast food manager
2. Administrative Assistant
3. Business Coordinator
4. Controller

I will be tagging:
1. Shelly - http://lovestonom.blogspot.com/
2. Steph - http://lokiskitchen.blogspot.com/
3. Lindsay - http://lovedeliciousness.blogspot.com/
4. Amy - http://amyvan317.blogspot.com/
5. Tori - http://hyperpinkmini.com/ (sorry, I know you were tagged already...but... :-) )

Taco Bake (Yummm)

I love Lindsay (Iheartkeith on theknot...love deliciousness on blogspot) for this recipe! I have made it twice now and it tastes better each time. I swear it gave me my "O" face (lol). I used regular taco seasoning the first time, but this time I used Ortega Jalapeno and Onion and it was fabulous!!! The left overs are just as amazing! This dish makes me happy!

Ingredients

1 lb. ground round (or turkey or chicken)

1 package taco seasoning

15 oz. can tomato sauce

8 oz. seashell pasta

8 oz package cream cheese (softened in microwave)
1/2 c. sour cream

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I like mild cheddar)

Directions

Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions. Drain.

Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in separate bowl.

Spray bottom of 9 x 13 pan with Pam. Put pasta in bottom of pan. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta. (This is kind of hard to do. Just dollop spoonfuls of the mixture about an inch apart and spread the best you can.) Spoon ground beef mixture over this. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Bake @350 for 30 minutes. Cool about 15 - 20 minutes before serving.

Delicious Fruit Salad

I made this fantastic fruit "salad" and fruit dip for my best friend, Jennifer's, Mehendi party on July 2. I purchased the bowl that the salad and dip is in from Bed, Bath and Beyond and it was the best $29 I spent. The bowl I think really made the salad look so much nicer than if it were in just a regular glass, metal or Tupperware bowl.

Fruit Salad Ingredients
(any portion of)
Strawberries
Honeydew
Cantaloupe
Grapes (red and green)
Kiwi
Pineapple
Fresh Mango
Blueberries

Chop all the melons up, slice the kiwi and strawberries, mix it all together and PRESTO you have fruit salad!

Fruit Dip
8-16 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 large container of Marshmallow Fluff

Using your stand mixer (or hand mixer if you don't have a KitchenAid), beat the cream cheese on medium until it is smooth (lumps = bad). With your mixer on low, start adding in the marshmallow fluff to the point where your mixture starts to form somewhat solid peaks. You can add food coloring (I used red in the picture) to make your desired color or just leave it white...it tastes fantastic no matter what!

The fruit dip also makes an excellent cake frosting (white cake with fruit dip frosting makes me drool thinking about it)

Enjoy!

New Kitchen Coming Soon!

Last night Rob and I talked about the projects that are left to do with our house. We made a list of what needs to be done and took a bunch of measurements. We are getting new carpet throughout our house and after that we are going to start our kitchen remodel!!! The remodel will start "hopefully" at the end of the summer! We are going today to order all of our cabinetry and purchase the items needed to make our pretty tile counter top and back splash and all the other miscellaneous supplies. We are taking advantage of the Lowes or Home Depot 10% off for opening a credit card...we figure we may as well get everything and use the 10% at one time! Yay for saving a little bit of money!!!

We are doing white cabinets with a tanish floor and the tiles for the counter are all tanish colors and we will be accenting with some "special" tiles to make the kitchen look prettier!!!

Check back in the next couple months for remodel updates!!!

Basmati Rice

Basmati rice is an Indian rice that is quite different from regular long grain rice like Minute Rice or other rices along those lines. Its a longer rice that requires either being rinsed or soaked in clean water. The rice above is what I have found in the local grocery store and is very good. Its about $5 for this 1lb bag.

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori chicken is a-mazing and rather simple to make (don't let the ingredients list deterr you from this delicious, flavorful dish). Rob and I opted to chunk the chicken breast and place the chicken on skewers rather than do whole breasts which would need to be cut anyway (it was easier this way, I strongly recommend it). Tandoor Chicken is best served with Basmati rice (or veggie rice, see below) and Naan...steamed curried vegetables would be very tasty too...but I haven't tried making those yet!

Note: All the Indian food I have had, and what I have made, is served "warm" not "hot"

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (I prefer boneless)
1/2 C plain yogurt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 inch piece fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

DIRECTIONS

Run garlic through a press, or finely mince. Grate ginger. Mix together yogurt, oil, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and spices.

Make diagonal slashes in the chicken meat to allow marinade to penetrate better. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken parts.

Marinate for 4 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator, turning occasionally. If the chicken is placed in the refrigerator, bring it to room temperature before cooking (approximately 1 hour). I recommend overnight to get full flavor!

Preheat broiler.

Brush grill or shallow baking pan with a little oil to keep chicken from sticking. Arrange chicken on the pan.

Broil chicken 2-3 inches away from the heat until cooked through, approximately 25 minutes, turning halfway through.

Naan (Indian Flat Bread)

Naan is a simple and delicious flat bread that is the most common bread in India. It is wonderful to use with rices, curries and my favorite, Tandoori Chicken. The recipe looks like it is very difficult, but it is really quite simple. In all, it took about a half hour to make (minus the time for proofing). I have a feeling this bread is going to become a staple in my house!!! Delicious!!! The picture above shows the raw Naan ready to be cooked and the second picture is the cooked Naan...I used a fry pan and cooked stove top.

Note: You can add spices to this bread if you are feeling daring. I have had it with cumin seeds, onion seeds, blackened sesame seeds and so on. I think it is best without spice and brushed with Ghee.

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ghee
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 teaspoons kalonji (onion seed) - opotional

DIRECTIONS
Whisk the warm water with the yeast and sugar until the yeast is dissolved. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes.

Sift flour and salt three times into a large bowl add the yeast mixture, half of the ghee and all the yogurt. Mix into a soft dough then knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover and let stand in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough is doubled in size .

Punch down dough then knead for 5 minutes. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll each piece out into 8 inch round naans.

Cover an oven tray with foil and grease the foil. Brush the naan with a little of the remaining ghee and sprinkle with some of the kalonji. Cook naan one at a time under a very hot grill for about 2 minutes on each side or until puffed and just browned.

Biryani (Vegetable Rice)

This dish is amazingly aromatic! The spices that are used are simply delicious...my entire house smelled of Indian food last night and it was so yummy! I suppose you can change the vegetables used if you are not a big fan of tomatoes, peas and carrots...but the onion is a must have in this dish. If you don't like spicy food, then this dish is not for you (although, I do believe you can control the heat by skipping red or black pepper). I skipped the potato in my rice because I forgot to buy one at the market.

Note: The recipe calls for a spice mix (which is homemade) called Garam Masala. To make this spice mix you take whole uncooked spices, brown them stove top and grind them. I found a Curry spice at a local market that has everything Garam Masala has for a lot cheaper than buying whole spices and easier than cooking and grinding them myself (yeah, I'm lazy like that). Here is a picture of the Curry spice I used:

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice (red or yellow onion)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced potato
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red chile pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 cups water
2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained

DIRECTIONS
Melt ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir Garam Masala; cook until the spices are fragrant, and the cumin seeds begin to pop, about 3 minutes.

Stir in garlic, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in peas, carrot, and potato. Season with chicken bouillon, salt, red chile, black pepper, and turmeric. Stir well, then cover, and cook for 3 minutes.

Pour in 4 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, stir in basmati rice, reduce heat to medium, recover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook until the rice has softened, 10 to 15 minutes more.

Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding)

I got this recipe off AllRecipes and changed it up just a little. When I had this dessert (which was homemade by Indian ladies) it included Vermicelli and cashews rather than Basmati rice. It was absolutely fantastic. Because cardamom pods are very hard to find (and somewhat expensive) I purchased already ground cardamom (which mixed in milk tastes an awful lot like Chai). I used 1/4 tsp of ground cardamom. This dessert is very rich and is fantastic served with a sweet corn bread on the side.

Note: I like kheer to be a little on the liquid side rather than a true "rice pudding". You can adjust the thickness of kheer by adding or taking away milk. So, if you like a thicker kheer then add less milk or a runnier kheer, add more milk. Get it?

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup uncooked Basmati Rice
2 quarts milk
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 pods cardamom
2 teaspoons rose water
1/4 cup Raw Cashews

DIRECTIONS
Place the rice in a small bowl and cover with water. Soak for one hour.

Drain the rice and place it in a large, heavy saucepan with the milk over low heat. Cook, covered 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender. Stir in sugar and cardamom and cook 20 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in the rose water. Serve topped with cashews.

Ghee

So, ever since my best friends wedding I have been on an Indian food kick. I was spoiled the week of her wedding with endless homemade Indian cuisine that was so fantastically delicious I thought I'd try my hand in it. What I didn't know is that traditional Indian cuisine calls for Ghee about 90% of the time. Ghee is a refined butter and very easy to make. I decided to search on how to make it since the cheapest I could find it online was about $20 after shipping. The directions are very simple. (The pictures above show Ghee in its final clarified state and the second picture is of the milk products curdled at the bottom of the pan).

Ghee

1 lb Unsalted "real" butter (not margarine)

In a heavy saucepan, put the 1 lb of butter in the pan on medium heat. Allow the butter to melt down and come to a rolling boil. Let the butter boil for about 15 minutes. It will smell sort of like popcorn (no kidding). The milk fats will curdle at the bottom of the saucepan and the oil on top of the curdles is what's left, and that is called Ghee. The Ghee should be a clear gold color, once the Ghee reaches the clear gold color you will want to remove it from the heat and let it sit until it is room temperature. Once it is cooled you have to strain it into a clean glass jar. I used a couple of old pantyhose to strain it (cheese cloth or a super fine sieve will work if you have either, if not, use pantyhose). Avoid any water getting into the glass jar as it will cause harmful bacteria to form and ruin your Ghee.

Ghee has many beneficial elements to it. It is refined to the point where all the fats that are bad for you are boiled out leaving you with an oil. The Ghee aids in digestion and offers other benefits that you can't get from using olive oil or actual butter. It can also be used as massage oil (I don't think I'll be using it for that, but good to know).

London Broil w/ Butter-Lemon Broccoli

I made this for dinner on June 1, and I think it will go down in my recipe books as a keeper! I was sceptical of marinating the beef in wine (or marinating it period). It turned out amazing with a very subtle wine and herb flavor. The broccoli was very good, but I used a touch too much lemon. The potato is just a plain jane baked potato with real butter. For the London broil, I used a cheap $8.99 bottle of dry red wine from the local grocery store.

London Broil Ingredients
1-1.5 pound London Broil (cut is a Flank Steak)
1 cup dry red wine (any red wine is fine, but go cheap since you are using it to cook)
1/2 cup olive oil
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper (fresh ground is better)
dash of salt (I prefer sea salt)
1 tsp oregano
dash of seasoning salt
1 tsp italian seasoning (like McCormick or something similar)

Directions
Mix the marinate ingredients together in large bowl or ziplock bag. Poke meat with fork and place into marinate. Coat meat. Let stand about 30 minutes to 1 hour, massaging meat frequently. Place meat on grill (be careful, between the wine and olive oil, the grill will flare up). Grill to desired doneness (I prefer rare). Cut and serve.

Lemon Butter Broccoli Ingredients
1-2 large brocolli heads chopped
1-2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
2 tbsp butter

Directions
Steam brocolli until it is tender but crunchy. On high heat, put butter, garlic and lemon juice into saute skillet and saute until garlic turns a white color. Place broccoli into butter mixture and toss to evenly coat it. Dish it up.