I'M A 46TH PILLSBURY BAKE-OFF CONTEST SEMIFINALIST!

I WOULD LOVE YOUR VOTE!

Click here for recipe :  Strawberry Cream Cheese Cream Puffs

I’ve been BURSTING at the seams to share with you all that I once again have the opportunity to go to the next 46th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest!  Judges have selected my original recipe for Strawberry Cream Cheese Cream Puffs  along with 59 other recipes to compete in the Semi–Final voting round for the Simple Sweets and Starters category.  As many of you know I was a finalist in the last 2012 Pillsbury Bake-Off and I had the time of my life.  So, I’m excited once again to have this opportunity.  In order for me to become a Finalist I need your help.  The 60 recipes in the Simple Sweets and Starters category will be placed online at www.bakeoff.comduring the voting period of June 13-27.  So please log onto www.bakeoff.com or click here-http://www.pillsbury.com/BakeOff/Voting-Home/Voting-Gallery and vote for my recipe, Strawberry Cream Cheese Cream Puffs.  The 34 recipes receiving the most votes will move forward in the Bake-Off competition as a finalist.  There will be a total of 100 finalists (33 Amazing Doable Dinners, 34 Simple Sweets and Starters and 33 Quick Rise and Shine Breakfasts) and they will compete for a grand prize of $1 MILLION on November 10-12, 2013, which will be held in Vegas.  THANKS for you vote!

This will be my go to summer dessert, so simple but delicious!  Just put a slice of fresh pineapple on the grill and grill until soften, sprinkle with a little brown sugar and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with caramel topping.  YUM!

Ribeye Steak Dinner - No Recipe Needed!

As much as I love recipes, once in awhile, I love to make a NO recipe meal.  A ribeye steak dinner served with a baked sweet potato, grilled asparagus and sauteed mushrooms is as easy as it gets.  My husband, Kevin, does the grilling so all I had to do for this meal was put a sweet potato in the oven and saute some mushrooms.  Crumble blue cheese over the steak to take it over the top.  It's nice to go out for a steak now and again but it really doesn't get any better than this.  We poured ourselves a glass of wine and enjoyed every bite.

Chopped Kale Salad

Kale, I wasn't a fan but it's really good for us so I'm trying to find ways we will enjoy it.  I don't mind it in our morning smoothies as the taste is masked with the other fruits and veggies.  I almost gave up but then I came across a recipe that intrigued me to give yet another kale recipe a try.  One reason I don't care for kale is it's texture along with the bitterness.  This recipe chops the kale in the food processor and adds sweet raisins to offset the bitterness.  An added bonus is, you can eat it right away or store in the refrigerator, it's even better the next day.

Chopping the kale this way is brilliant!  Texture problem solved.    I had to do a few batches to get 6 cups.  Just use the pulse button a few times to get it to this texture.

I combined two recipes and came up with this one to suit our taste, here are the two sources that inspired this recipe. Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad from Food Babe and Chopped Kale Salad from Lesley Easts.

Chopped Kale Salad

Serves 2 Main Salads or 4-6 Side Salads

• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed, rinsed and dried  (I yielded 6 cups after it was chopped)
• 1/2 cup raisins or currants (both are good but I'll be using raisins as I always have them in my pantry)
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds (whatever nuts you like will work great)
• 1/3 freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (have extra for garnish, more cheese the better!)
• Juice of one lemon (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. In a food processor, process kale using the pulse button a few times. You want a finely chopped texture.
2. To make dressing, whisk lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together in a large bowl that you can mix in the whole salad.
3. Add chopped kale, raisins, sunflower seeds and Parmesan to bowl with dressing
4. Toss all ingredients together and serve or refrigerate.  (I think it's better the next day!)
5. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese before serving.  

I LOVE grocery shopping, kind of weird, but I do.  We just moved to Madison, Wisconsin a few months ago and I've enjoyed checking out all the grocery stores around here.  Yesterday HyVee had their Grand Opening and of course I had to go check it out.  I may have a new favorite place to shop.  This place is huge!  I did get a few strange looks when I was taking pictures but I just wanted to share this store with someone.  It's amazing!  Here are a few things they offer.....

 I can enjoy a latte while I'm shopping as this Starbucks is right inside the store.  What a great idea!

Just beautiful!  They have produce I've never seen before!

The displays were a work of art.

If your hungry, they  offer a food court, Italian (wood burning oven to cook the pizzas), Asian (along with a sushi bar), and Homemade meals to pick up and warm at home.  They also have a really nice dine in area.

The salad bar was fresh and well stocked. 

The bakery offers artisan bread that is baked daily.  UMMM...I can't wait to try them all.

I never buy store bought desserts just because I enjoy baking but for those that do, these looked sumptuous.

They have a large selection of bulk foods, from nuts to dried fruits and whole grains.  They also had almond and peanut butter that you can grind fresh.  I tried the almond butter and it was yummy!

The meat display looked fresh and had a great variety.

Oh my, after seeing all this seafood it will have to be on my menu soon. 

I have never seen so much cheese! 

I'm loving Madison with all it's wonderful Restaurants, the best farmers market EVER, and great grocery stores like Trader Joe's, Metcalfe's, Knoche's Food Center and Old Fashioned Butcher Shop, Whole Foods and now HyVee's.   Now what to make for dinner tonight!?

Herb Markers

Here's another great idea from Pinterest.  The best part of this project was I didn't even have to go shopping as I have LOTS of wine corks and bamboo skewers.  These herb markers are just too cute!

Loaded Baked Potato Rounds

I've saw the recipe for these potatoes on allrecipes.com and changed it up slightly.  We served these potatoes with BBQ ribs on the grill and everyone loved them.  Taste like potato skins but so much easier to make.  I will be making these again soon!

Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into slices ( use one medium size potato per person)
Melted Butter
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Powder
Bacon, cooked and crumbled (slice of bacon per person)
Shredded Sharp Cheddar  Cheese
Chopped Green Onions
sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Brush both side of potato slices with butter, (lightly) sprinkle on salt, pepper and garlic powder.   Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides, turning once.   When potatoes are ready, top with cheese, bacon and green onion; continue baking until the cheese has melted.  Serve with sour cream if desired.