great friends and good food

two of my favorite people came to our house saturday...travee and malissa. on the menu: beer basted sirloin, fresh picked winter and summer squash sauted with a garden onion and amish butter, barbequed short ribs, skewers made of cherry tomatoes, goat milk cheese, salami, and basil from the garden. and for dessert homemade banana cream pie. a mean game of foosball and a campfire with roasted marshmellows rounded out the evening. i love summer!

~bon appetite~

basil butter and baked chicken and potatoes

monday. home from camping and a TON of shit to put away. its exhausting. i need to go back to work to get some rest. since we have fresh beef butchered...its steak for dinner. justy grilled the steaks: 2 rib eyes and 3 filets. i am so hooked on the homemade basil pesto that i decide to make a pesto butter. i began by picking basil and putting it in my mortar and pestle and pounding away. this is a little labor intensive. but, very therapeutic and super tasty. once the leaves are pulverized add pine nuts and crush into the leaves. then drizzle olive oil and sprinkle parmesan into the mixture. from there i softened butter. i took the butter and the pesto and mixed it together using a fork. once combined i put the mixture onto saran wray. i rolled it up and placed it in the fridge to firm up. about an hour later i took the basil butter out of the saran wrap. i then put dallops of this succulent butter on the steaks when they were hot off the grill. this was soooo good!
tuesday. back to work. and a little tired of beef! just for one nite. i put 5 large chicken thigh/legs in my trusty cast iron with some potatoes. whole and scrubbed and unpeeled. i sprinkled course kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and sprigs of rosemary from my garden. i had the kids put this in the oven at 1pm at 350 for a few hours. it turned out great. baking chicken is one of the yummiest, easiest ways to cook chicken. its definitely the easy button. and it shows my girls how simple food can be and taste simply great. the less 'fast food' they learn to eat the healthier they will be.
i tried 4 times to post my pics tonite....something must be wrong the site...so i have no pictures. rats.
~bon appetite~

prime ribs sandwhiches in the snowies

we all went camping in the snowies! lots of family there. clanc from oregon, beth from tennessee, and lots in between. saturday nite justy and i cooked prime rib sandwhiches (my dad

had a bunch of his prime rib cut into 1/4 inch strips) for everyone. we sauted crimini mushrooms in butter, green bell peppers in butter, and onions in butter to go with the sandwhiches. i didnt get a picture of us cooking together...though i think my sister beth did....beth if you are reading this...could you send me the picture!

justy and i also made fresh pesto. we had sweet basil and cinnamon basil leaves from our garden. justy used a mortar and pestle and ground up the leaves. then we added pine nuts, olive oil, and then parmesan. it was DELICIOUS! i have a lot of basil left in my garden...this is definitely the next best thing for summer snacking.

~bon appetite~

warm potato salad and burgers with mushroom sauce

such a pretty nite. this montana summer has been just right. not too hot in the day...in fact many days are rather cool. and the nites cool off so that you need to cover up with blankets. my kind of summer.
this afternoon i went to the courthouse to renew my drivers license. good for another 8 years. and my picture didnt turn too bad either.
for dinner tonite i made burgers....again. but to switch it up i sauted button mushrooms in butter with some purple onion. (i prefer portabello mushrooms but the store was out of them.) once they were cooked down to my liking i added white wine until it reduced then....CREAM! yum... i also made a potato salad. i like warm potate salad. pickles, some green onion, lots of mayo, some dijon mustard, some dill from the garden, and couple of hard boiled eggs. sooo good.
tomorrow justy is picking up our butchered beef. i am soo hungry for a steak!
~bon appetite~

gorgonzola burgers and cilantro rice

i am super tired tonite. i managed to cook dinner but it wasnt easy. i pushed the easy button and made burgers. grilled them and topped 'em with gorgonzola. it helps to bring the cheese to room temp. cheese is usually better at room temp. the flavors are more intense and true then. it melts easier, too. i also made cilantro rice. i dont think i have posted this recipe...maybe i have. but tonite i switched it up a bit. here it is:

1 cup cooked left over rice
1/2 cup salsa verde
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can diced stewed tomates
bunch of fresh cilantro chopped
course kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

in skillet add left over rice with about 1/2 cup water. heat up. add the rest of the ingredients. heat until bubbly. serve.

justy is out ropin'. isabelle is out throwin' a rope...future team ropin' partner for her dad? the other two are over at grandma vivians. i've had my bath, i am sipping on some tomato juice. the cool air is coming in through the open (new) living room window. ahhhhh....it just gets better and better.

~bon appetite~

pork kabobs & spinache and strawberry salad

mmm...dinner was so good tonite! after a day of: replacing a window in the living room, building 2 new flower beds, and watering ALL my vegetation i was due for a good meal. justy made the kabobs. i always over cook them. they need to be a little pink...even pork. other wise it is a tasteless glob. he pulled them off the grill at the right moment. i made some greek sauce about an hour earlier an into the fridge it went. i have posted the greek sauce recipe in an earlier blog. i have dill in my garden...fresh dill is the only way to go. i have tried dried dill...no taste. anyway, thumb through previous blogs to find the recipe. tonite i am posting the recipe for the dressing i put on my salad. i made a fresh spinache salad from my garden. i added strawberries, honey roated almond slivers, and my dressing. here it is:
angie's sweet dressing
1/2 cup panda express orange sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
whisk together. drizzle over spinache, straberries, and almonds. serve.

well, we are off to do some trim work on the new window...yippee!

`bon appetite~

hot dogs and lots of yard work

good ol' grilled hot dogs for dinner tonite. when i arrived home i hit it mowing the lawn. lots of lawn. dont feel sorry for me though...the ranch invested in a new john deere riding lawn mower. we ALL want to mow now! when i got done mowing i decided to put another coat of thompsons water seal on the south facing deck. once i got that done i was ready for wine. i sat down on the deck with justy...who had also been doing yard work (weed eating...yuck) i had a glass of wine and he had a belgian blonde...beer that is. guinness and bass. in a frosty glass. damn. i should have had a beer.



our oldest daughter is out being a teenager. off to lodge grass with a friend for the weekend. i text her way too much...'where r u?' 'luv u hunny' 'call me' thank God we didnt have texting when i was a teenager....my mom would have drove me nuts! i am sure when she told me her cell phone was dying and she needed to charge it REALLY was needing to be charged...right? anyway, happy friday. cook something yummy this weekend. (This picture is from our annual branding)



~bon appetite~

beer basted pork and couscous

great day. hot. but not too hot. sunny. soph had her first otho appointment for her braces. justy took the day off to take her. she is now wearing bands and her mouth is sore....sorry sweet pea....it will be worth it! tonite justy is ropin' at a friends arena. i decided to stay home...cook a pork roast on the grill and make some couscous. very delightful. the couscous is yummy. here is the recipe:

3/4 cup couscous

3/4 cup boiling water

add the boiling water to the couscous. cover with plastic wrap. let sit. meanwhile, in butter saute 4 small mushrooms, 1/4 of one red onion, one carrot chopped really small, and one rib of celery cut really small. when cooked down and onions really soft dump the couscous into this pan with the mixture. add 1/4 cup feta cheese. toss and serve. you can substitute anything you like in place of the above veggies. remember, if it looks good it probably tastes great.

" A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver 5 minutes longer"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

~bon appetite~

Happy 4th of July!

i just spent 4 great days in red lodge hanging out with family, visiting, and eating great food. my cousin travee, his wife malissa, and their daughter megan stayed with us at our cabin. my aunt kathleen spent much of the time with us (travees mom). we even ran into miles(another cousin) downtown one afternoon while we were shopping. he came to the cabin and had dinner with us too. that nite justy grilled tri tip with original coors. we had a salad with greens from my garden. strawberries and walnuts. a raspberry hazelnut dressing topped it off. i also made some sweet potato fries. kathleen brought fruit and made a fresh fruit salad. the tri tip was spectacular. justy got rave reviews. the platter the meat is on was a gift from travee and malissa. very thoughtful family i have!

we lit off plenty of fireworks....travee is a black cat nut. he had a bunch of them, lit them INSIDE the cabin, then threw them out the door onto the patio to scare the shit out of me and malissa (yes, justin was his accomplice). he nearly lost a finger! and he DID scare the shit out of us. i still cant hear all that well.

sunday nite we headed for bear creek saloon where they have great steaks and pig racing! we a had another great dinner with people we love. bet on a few pigs. didnt win. it was really a great time.

i am exhausted and happy as i blog tonite. greatful that i live in America. greatful for my wonderful family. and wishing you all time to grill and time to spend with your family and friends. there's still have plenty of summer left so get cookin'!!

~bon appetite~