Mac n Cheese

Homemade Mac and Cheese... not the healthiest thing in the world but yum who cares.

Boiling my elbow noodles:

Melting the butter

making the sauce pre-cheese

I forgot to take a pic after adding in the cheese but I used feta, mild, sharp and white cheddar :) Then I poured it in with the drained noodles.

in the dish to bake with panko bread crumbs on top

half way through baking I added more cheese including american cheese

 

Individual dish just for me! Jealous? You should be!

 

Oh and some fresh peppermint water with peppermint straight from the garden!

 

after bring under the broiler just a bit too long but still soooooo good

 

 

Grilled Lime Chicken and Spanish Tortillas

Grilled Lime Chicken with a Black Bean Sauce

Spanish Tortilla

Thanks again Simply Recipes!!! She always has the best stuff!

I started off by geting my chicken breasts marinating:

Cilantro, lime, oil, oregano and EVOO

I also had to get my back beans simmering because they took an hour and a half to cook. So in the pot they went with cilantro stems, bay leaves and garlic to simmer there little hearts away.

I also sliced the onions and set them aside for later:

Then it was time to start my spanish tortilla. I sliced up a couple of yukon gold potatoes and fried them up in the my cast iron with some EVOO

While those bad boys got a tan, I cut up some green onions

 

When the potatoes were done I let the oil drain off and salted them

Cook your green onions a bit and then layer your potatoes on top. Then you get to pour your eggs on top. Let it cook through a bit and then toss it in the oven to make sure you get the middle cooked too!

Under the broiler:

And while that was busy good I made myself a "bloody" good cocktail inspired by True Blood and this recipe.

Some parmesan cheese was added for good measure and it was sooooo good!

Now back to our chicken dish...

red onions layered with the marinated chicken and sauce baked in the oven

After baking for a few minutes I grilled the chicken while the onions cooked in the oven

Kung Pao Chicken and Cupcakes

Last Friday night was ladies night at the apartment, Vicki came over for some homemade kung pao chicken courtesy of Simply Recipes and then when we were done cooking, and some of us may have already started drinking, our DD took us to Dimples cupcakes...I know what your thinking, mmmm cupcakes...right???

The ingredients: sherry, rice vinegar, sesame oil, corn starch, dried chili peppers, garlic, chicken and an asian sauce I made from soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch etc

Pretty Peppers cut into smaller pieces and deseeded

Fresh cloves of garlic

Can you smell them yet? mmm fresh sliced garlic.....

Freshly grated ginger- I used my micro plane yeah!

Green onions anyone? Look how vibrant those little suckers are!

This dish is super easy! Sesame oil in a wok then start heating up those peppers til they are very fragrant!

After that toss in all the remaining ingredients except for the sauce. You cook it for like 5 mins and then add in the sauce and cook until the sauce meets your desired thickness



Cook up some rice and and throw your nice and spicy Kung Pao Chicken on top!

After that was done I sauteed my patty pan squash with sesame oil, salt and pepper since it was starting to shrivel.

And last but no least the Dimple wedding cake cupcake! OMG so good! MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Farmers Markets and Fireworks

One early and freaking hot Saturday morning I met Lacey Joe at the Cooper Street Farmer's Market in Arlington. Small, not very exciting but I did buy a peppermint plant, huge tomatoes, avocados, zucchini, squash and garlic pods. Then after that we headed to the Arlington Farmer's Market a few miles away...correction FARMER market. There was literally one farmer selling fruits and veggies and a few people in a small room selling random crap- honey, breads, arts and crafts, dog treats, etc...but you know all in all it was a very productive day.

See:

Gorgeous, darling, gorgeous...

Juicy baybay

Patty Pan Squash... mmmm mmmm good.... they are like cute little spaceships :D

Later that night I met up with a group of lovely people for one of many "Concerts in the Garden" at the Ft Worth Botanic Gardens with the M-80's. I enjoyed my wine, cheese and crackers, dessert and 80's new wave. After the concert we all enjoyed some delightful fireworks and headed to our respective homes for the night!