Great Weekend!

What a great weekend! Started out with having my niece and a friend over for some drinks and apps Friday night, Saturday saw Bill Cosby with a friend, Sunday was so nice outside my husband and I sat out on our deck almost all afternoon and enjoyed the sun and for dinner grilled some steaks. With all the rain this year our yard is almost a swamp so yard games and playing with the dogs in the yard was out but that was ok because it was nice to just sit on the deck and enjoy the sunshine.

Apps Friday Night

1. Meatballs with creamy cilantro dip
2. Tortellini bites
3. Garlic Garlic dip with pretzels, sun dried tomato wheat thins, crackers, veggies (this was a Tastefully Simple dip so I won't include the recipe below)
4. Strawberry Bruschetta
5. And my niece brought brownies topped with pretzels and caramel (omg! so good!)

 

Meatballs with Creamy Cilantro Dip

You can put in the extra work to make your own meatballs but I just use the Simek's frozen meatballs. I microwaved them and then put them in a crock pot with a little water.

Dip - 2 cups plain yogurt (I used Greek), 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, onion (1/8 to 1/4 of a cup depending on how much you like onions), and salt. Mix all ingredients together and chill until you're ready to serve. --- about 1 cup chopped cilantro (forgot to include the most important ingredient when I first posted this)

Tortellini Bites

Cook digiorno cheese tortellini until done, rinse with cold water
Put on toothpick with provolone cheese and salami
Place in container and drizzle with Italian dressing and chill until ready to serve
For serving, I put them on a plate and shake off the extra dressing

Strawberry Bruschetta

Slice a baguette into about 1/4 inch slices, brush olive oil on each and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes (you them them to just begin getting golden brown and toasty)
Take out of oven and top with sliced strawberries and goat cheese
Bake again for about 10 minutes or until cheese begin to melt
Take out and drizzle with a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette
Put on plate you are going to serve them on and then top whole plate with fresh basil

For both the cilantro and the basil I used a pair of herb scissors - these are possibly my favorite kitchen tool - you MUST get one if you don't have one already. It saves so much time and makes the herbs just perfect for topping and mixing.

Sunday Dinner

Sunday I grilled steaks - and I make my steaks just like my dad because 1. he always made them the same way and I must have watched him 100 times and 2. they turn out perfect and are sooooo good so why change it up?

The cut of meat was ok, not great so I tenderized them before grilling. I use McCormick Meat Tenderizer - Unseasoned. Rinse the steaks off, prick them all over with a fork, then sprinkle the tenderizer over them. I leave them out for 30 min to an hour - until they are room temp. Then rinse off all the tenderizer and season. For seasonings some salt and McCormick Montreal Steak - ALWAYS! Never anything else. This is the perfect steak seasoning. My husband always says I make the best steaks - even better than when he orders a steak out at a restaurant.

We had strawberry goat cheese salads with our steaks. The dressing takes a few extra steps than just opening a bottle but its worth it!

Dressing - 2 oz shallot (or reg onion, but then use less), 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 2 oz champagne vinegar (I didn't have this so I used a tsp or 2 of red wine vinegar, probably not supposed to be a substitute for it but that's what I had), 5-6 oz neutral oil (which means like a vegetable or canola oil but I didn't read the recipe closely and use olive oil - still turned out just fine) and salt.

In a blender  or food processor puree all until smooth, then add the oil while running slowly if using a blender, or add and mix a little more. Taste and adjust.

Toss greens with dressing, then dish up and top with goat cheese and sliced strawberries.
You can add toasted pecans or almonds instead of croutons but I didn't have any to toast.

I work from home on Fridays now which is not only nice because I don't have to drive to work, get dressed or do my hair but also because then the dogs get to play all day rather than being kenneled. This past Friday Sister seemed to want to help me with my work.