Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Mandarin Orange Salad


















Ingredients for Salad:
·         Bibb lettuce (may substitute spinach)
·         1 can Mandarin oranges
·         1 package sliced almonds
·         3 tablespoons sugar

Ingredients for Dressing:
·         ¼ cup vegetable oil
·         2 tablespoons sugar
·         2 tablespoons cider vinegar
·         Dash of pepper
·         Dash of tabasco

Directions:
Heat the almonds and sugar in a skillet over medium heat.  Stir the almonds until the sugar melts.  After the sugar melts, pour the almonds on wax paper.  Allow the almonds to cool, and then break them into pieces.  Mix all of the ingredients of the dressing together, and shake them up.  Mix the lettuce, almonds, oranges, and dressing together.

Beef Stroganoff



















Ingredients:
·         1 sirloin steak
·         1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
·         1 sweet onion, sliced
·         4 ounces sour cream
·         2 cans cream of mushroom soup
·         2 tablespoons butter
·         pepper
·         1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
·         dash of tabasco
·         rice

Directions:
Cut the steak into thin strips.  Season the meat with Worcestershire sauce.  In a pan, brown the meat on both sides in the butter.  Remove the meat from the pan.  Brown the mushrooms and onions in the pan.  Mix all of the ingredients together in the pan, and warm over low heat.  Serve over rice.

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf



















Ingredients for Loaf:
·         1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
·         2 teaspoons baking powder
·         ½ teaspoon kosher salt
·         1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
·         1 cup sugar
·         3 large eggs
·         2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
·         ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
·         ½ cup vegetable oil
·         1 ½ cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

Ingredients for Lemon Syrup:
·         1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
·         1/3 cup sugar

Ingredients for Lemon Glaze:
·         1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
·         2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.  Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil.  Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake the loaf for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring the loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.  While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup for 3 more minutes.  Remove the syrup from heat, and set it aside.  Use a toothpick to poke holes in the top and sides of the warm loaf.  Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup.  Let the syrup soak into the loaf, and brush the loaf with syrup again.  Let the loaf cool completely.  After the loaf has cooled, make the lemon glaze in a small bowl.  Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice.  The mixture should be thick but pourable.  Add another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff.  Pour the lemon glaze on top of the loaf, and let it drip down the sides.  Let the lemon glaze harden for about 15 minutes before serving.

Monday, April 30, 2012

We are homeowners!

After only ten weeks of building, our home is complete!  We closed on the house today, so we are officially home owners!  This is my dream house, and I can't believe we finally live here!

Our beautiful home!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Week 10. More Pictures.

Here are more pictures from week 10...

Our house!
SOLD!


Ryan's room

Fan in the master bedroom

We have sod!

We have sod!

Fan in the living room

Chandelier in the foyer

Me in our beautiful home!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Week 10. Carpet, Fence, and Sod.

This week the carpet was put in!  We should have sod in the next couple of days, and they are working on putting the fence up!  We are on the home stretch and can finally see the finish line of this house building process!

Side of our house...they are starting on the lot next door!

Front of our house

Beginnings of our fence!

Beginnings of our fence!

Beginnings of our fence!

Beginnings of our fence!

My handsome hubby in front of our house

Our backyard

Ceiling fan on the back patio

View of our house from the backyard

Carpet in Ryan's room

Ryan's bathroom

Ryan's bathroom

The office 
The kitchen

View of our neighborhood from our house

View of our neighborhood from our house

View of our neighborhood from our house

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Week 9. More Pictures.

Here are more pictures from week 9...

Stained hardwood floors in the dining room and foyer

Stained hardwood floors

Stained hardwood floors in the living room

Vanity in the master bathroom

Vanity in the master bathroom

Storage room in the garage A.K.A. Dustin's "man cave"

Storage room in the garage A.K.A. Dustin's "man cave"

Garage

We have air conditioning!

My handsome hubby in front of our house

We have street numbers!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Week 9. More Pictures.

Here are more pictures from week 9...

Stained tile in the master shower

Master shower

Toilet room in the master bathroom

Vanity in the master bathroom

Tiling in the master shower

Hardwood floors in the living room

Hardwood floors in the dining room

Living room

Brick foyer 
Dining room

Living room 
The fireplace is complete!

Up close picture of the fireplace logs

Ceiling fan in the office

Hardwood floors in the hallway to Ryan's room and the office 
Ryan's room

Ryan's room

Ceiling fan in Ryan's room

View of the neighborhood from our front door 
View of the neighborhood from our house

Our house

Our house