Happy New Year!

For New Year's Day, Brian grilled BBQ shrimp, and I made a black-eye pea salad for good luck. Cornbread muffins and avocado slices for good measure.
The salad recipe came from AllRecipes Black-Eyed Pea Salad. I used red wine vinegar instead of balsamic because I thought that would have a lighter flavor. The muffins were just a cheap mix, but they were pretty good.

For dessert I made a bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Both the recipes came from the classic Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Every left over pieces of good loaves of bread I had, I stuck in the freezer, I just now had enough to make the pudding.

Happy New Year!

Soba Noodles with Tamagoyaki

Sorry for the multiple posting!

Ingredients:

Tamagoyaki (see below).

Soba noodles

Broccoli slaw

peanuts

green onion

Adapted from Teriyaki Penne recipe on page 27 of Fresh and Simple Vegetable Dinners by Jennifer Darling.

More Tamagoyaki.

New Stuff!

In August, I moved into my first house. On closing day, my parents took me to the Sears Appliance showroom to pick out a refrigerator for my house-warming present.

In October, I went to the Sears outlet in search of a grill, and ended up buying a stove. The stove that came in my house was brand new, but was contractor grade with no bells or whistles. I was going to keep it for a while, but it was too good of deal to pass on.

And here's Duncan and Stevie in the original 1950s cabinets (you can also see the stove that cam in the house)!

Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp tacos with:

Sauted onions and green bell peppers and garlic

taco seasoning (chili powder, cumin, chili flakes, dried cilantro)

corn tortillas

feta cheese

broccoli slaw

I previously (and crudely) posted about Shrimp tacos before here.

Grape and Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

Spinach

Red or Black Seedless Grapes (halved)

Chopped Onion

Toasted Walnuts

Goat Cheese

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Sliced Pizza

Pizza with:

Pesto Sauce

Sliced tomatoes

Sliced onions

sliced green olives

sliced roasted red bell pepper

mozzarella

feta cheese

New Kitchen Blues

I'm not blue about my new kitchen... I love it! I'll love it more when I get my new stove on Friday!

I'm blue because I just haven't really had time to cook. Most of our cooking has consisted of Brian's Chili Dip and Veggie dogs. I did FINALLY make Donkey Tails for Brian - I've been telling him forever I wanted to make them, and he always makes a face, but guess what - He likes them!

Brian's Chili Dip
1 package cream cheese (we use Neufchatel)
1 can chili (we usually use Hormel Vegetarian, but last night we used Amy's Southwestern, and it was really good)
Chili powder to taste
Fritos Scoops

Mix all ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave until melted, stopping to stir several times. Serve with Fritos Scoops.

Brian always makes his chili dip for parties because everyone just loves it.

Now, you may ask, "What in the world is a donkey tail!" When I was a kid, we would go to Tolbert's Restaurant in downtown Dallas. I was a meat-eater then, and I would always get the Donkey tails. Tolbert's Donkey Tails were a hotdog stuffed with cheese, wrapped in a tortilla and then deep fried. Tolbert's now is in downtown Grapevine (Here's their menu).

Donkey Tails
(for 2)

2 Hotdogs (we use LightLife Smart Dogs)
2 Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese
oil

Cook hot dogs to package directions. Cover one side of a tortilla with cheese (it can be sliced or grated, grated will melt faster). Place dog in tortilla and roll tightly. Secure with toothpick.

Oil the bottom of a frying pan. Place dogs in frying pan and cook until golden brown. Turn and cook again until golden brown. Repeat 2 more times until all sides are golden brown. Serve with mustard, salsa, or chili. I personally like it with Rotel Dip.