Savory Sundays: Greek Islands Steak Salad

Yesterday I told you guys how excited I was for tomorrow because it will be my first rehearsal with a local youth symphony, and I kinda jabbered on and on and on about that. So today I’ll try to talk about something else.

Last week I did a vlog showing all the awesome things that I ordered from Pampered Chef, but it was kinda long because I hadn’t done a vlog in a few days and wanted to catch you all up on everything! Well yesterday my dad and I kept going back and forth on what to make for dinner, and I told him it had to be something I hadn’t shared with you all yet because I am a procrastinator and hadn’t made anything for today’s post… >_> We finally decided on this super yummy steak salad, and I realized it was the perfect opportunity to use my new bamboo bowls I got in my Pampered Chef order!

**** Quick aside, if anyone is interested in ordering Pampered Chef, my sister sells it and I’m sure she would love to help you out! You can e-mail me (my e-mail is on my “About Me” page) and I’ll direct you to her ****

The bowls are seriously so great, and I’m really glad I got them because my dad and I have been eating anything that requires a bowl out of these really really tiny cereal bowls that we have, and I was sick and tired of it! And with summer coming up these are great for holding a salad, or eating ice cream! You know, typical summer-y things, right? hehe

I really loved this salad though, and my dad loved how easy it was for him! He could sit out by the grill, talk on the phone, and drink a glass of wine while I did all the “hard” work (as he put it) in the kitchen preparing the salad.

In the recipe book I got it from it says “Chopped kalamata olives and pepperoncini peppers add depth and authenticity to this hearty salad’s dressing.” and it’s true. The pepperoncini’s added a nice acidity to the salad, but was balanced out by the olive oil in the dressing. My perfect bite of this salad included some steak, some salad, and some feta cheese! It was a really nice balance, and tasted so good!

So here’s another super yummy salad for you all to add to your summer recipe collection. I hope you enjoy it as much as my dad and I did!

<3 and harp strings,
Kate

2011 Comes to a Close

I can hardly believe that today is the last day of 2011. This year has been a rollercoaster ride, full of lots of highs and lows. The lows have seemed to be worse this year than in the past, but because of those lows, this year has disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The major lows for me from this year have been the loss of my mother earlier this year, and my boyfriend moving to Northern Cali {7 hours away}.

My mom, Carol at our favorite desert getaway, La Casa del Zorro in Borrego Springs, CA.

The major highs for me from this year have been meeting some amazing new friends at school, finishing up my first ever semester of college with straight A’s, and of course, starting my blog!

My BFF, Jess, and I on my 22nd bday!

I am not usually one for “New Year’s Resolutions”, but this year I am actually making some. Unfortunately, I am going to be one of those people that has “join a gym/start working out” on my list, but I am in desperate need of it. This past year I’ve put on a lot of weight, which I think is partly due to me being depressed about my mom’s passing. Food has always been one of my loves, but my appetite has really grown this year and I find myself eating a lot more than I have in the past, a lot more than I know I should be. I’m by no means “fat” or “obese” but I’m getting a muffin top… and it needs to go away! I love me some muffins, but not when they stick above my pants!!!

Some of my other resolutions are to really keep up with my blog, especially with my Sweet Saturday/Savory Sunday/Musical Monday posts that I planned to do a few months ago.

I also wanted to spend today reflecting on this past year, and decided to share my Top 10 most visited posts from this year, so I hope you all enjoy them!

#10 on my list. This Creamy Peanut Butter Pie was baked back in August when Jennie, a fellow food blogger, lost her husband and father of her children. A bunch of people from the online food community came together and all baked pies in memory of her husband.

#9 on the list is my World of Warcraft backstory. I posted this back in August because I wanted to share with everyone how I got into WoW, where I meant the love of my life and boyfriend of 4 years, and what had taken up nearly 6 years of my life.

#8 on the list is my grandma's Angel Food Cake Frosting. I baked these cakes back in May for Easter. I absolutely LOVE Angel Food Cake, but only with this frosting. Every year on my birthday my mom would bake me two of these cakes, one for the family, and one for me because I'm a piggy *snortsnort*

#7 on the list are the delicious Individual Gorgonzola Beef Wellingtons. I made these in August for my Dad for Father's Day. These are so simple and are a real crowd pleaser. Plus, these are sure to make you look like you're the best cook in the world if you serve these!

#6 on the list is this sweet Mixed Berry Tart. I made this in late July for a family get together and everyone loved it to death. It is definitely a keeper recipe, and if you like berries, you should check it out!

#5 on the list is this quick and easy Southern Chicken and Dumplings. It has minimal ingredients, and feeds quite a few people. All you need is a crockpot and a few hours.

#4 on the list are my Mom's Sugar Cookies that I baked this month for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. My mom and I made these cookies for a lot of holidays, and are a family tradition. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

#3 on the list are the Ultimate Vanilla Cupcakes I helped crown by Cupcake Project. The other 49 Cupcake Explorers and I went through three rounds before we found this recipe, but it was well worth it. These really are the ULTIMATE Vanilla cupcakes.

#2 on the list are these moist Copycat Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes by Carrot Top Mom. I found her recipe back in January when I was looking for a Red Velvet Cupcake to bake for my mom's 65th birthday. She was in the hospital, so I wanted something small and portable, and these were just the thing! I love them, and I know you will too!

And finally, #1 on the list is this amazing Bacon-Swiss BBQ Chicken crockpot recipe. Like the Chicken and Dumplings {from the same cookbook}, it has minimal ingredients, and is a wonderfully simple summer meal.

Well, that’s it everyone! Those are the Top 10 posts most visited on my blog since I started it back in April! If you want to visit the post and check it out, you can click on the picture.

I hope that you all have a wonderful and safe New Years Eve tonight. And don’t forget, please please please don’t drink and drive tonight! Stay safe, and call AAA if you need a ride, they will tow your car and give you a lift FOR FREE if you need it!!

Stay safe, and I will see you all in the new year!!

 

♥ and harp strings,
Kate

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

Have you ever woken up in the morning and realized you were having one hell of a strange dream? I have, in fact, I did this morning. I think my weird dream was partly due to how much Star Wars: The Old Republic I’ve been playing the past few days, and the rest is due to my vivid and wild imagination… lol Bear with me if you don’t know much about Star Wars.

So basically I was following TJ around in a dream as he was trying to find information about targets he had to kill {remember, he’s a Bounty Hunter in SWTOR, so he was having to hunt down people and kill them in the game}. So I followed him to this giant aquarium thing that was above ground. The aquarium thing had pretty much everything the ocean would have, but it was on land… and it was freaking huge. Like, seriously huge. He ended up going inside the tank, but we had to be very careful because there was a shark inside. But, not just any shark. This shark was 5x larger than a Blue Whale. Maybe even bigger. We had to swim around and look for what he was after, but quickly get up to the top of the water and onto some rocks before the shark came near us so we wouldn’t get eaten.

Bizarre, right? Sad thing is, that’s not even in the top 10 of my “weirdest dreams” I’ve ever had list. {no, I don’t really have a list lol}

To top of the strange slumber, I got to wake up and go to the dentist to get my permanent crown put on. So exciting!!!

Not.

It was quick and painless though. The only sucky thing is that my mouth has to adjust to this new foreign object in it. And my tongue won’t leave the crown alone because it’s all like “What’s this??? It’s all smooth and different and new and I must touch it constantly!!”. I swear, my tongue has a mind of it’s own.

Bella drinking some water and her sister Penny munching on some food pellets.

So last night, as TJ was feeding my guinea pigs for me, he saw Bella {the brown one drinking from the water bottle in the picture} being a lazy butt. I’ve never seen her drinking water while laying down but with her butt in the air!! It was too cute for me not to take a picture of it.

Bella again, drinking from a different water bottle this time.

Isn’t she so cute?!

For dinner last night we, once again, had Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches. Talk about some serious yumminess! Since I’ve showed you all a picture of it, I realized I should share the recipe.

This is a great way to use up any leftover beef, mashed potatoes, and gravy you may have, and it really is delicious!

I hope you all enjoy this simple recipe that I learned from my momma!

♥ and harp strings,
Kate

Have you had any strange dreams lately? Do you have any family recipes involving leftovers?

Christmas Vacation in Full Swing

My Christmas vacation is finally in full swing! The past two days I’ve spent exactly how I’ve been waiting all semester to spend… staying up late, sleeping in late, and lots and lots of gaming!

TJ is here until January 2nd, when he has a late evening flight back up to Northern Cali so he can get back to work on January 3rd. But until then, it’s just he and I and the animals at the house because my Dad left early this morning to visit my sister and her fam in Texas.

It’s so nice to be able to spend a lot of time with him, and it’s made me realize how much I miss waking up next to him in the mornings. Unfortunately, we’re both crammed into my twin-size bed… and he’s 6’2″!! Poor guy haha

Yesterday TJ and I managed to get to 27 {my toon} and 26 {for his toon}. I play a Twi’lek Sith Sorcerer {Corruption spec… aka I’m a healer!} and TJ plays a Chiss Powertech {Advanced Prototype spec… aka he does uber deeps!}.

This is my Sith Sorcerer, Anira. Sorry the picture quality sucks, I had to take a picture of my computer screen with my camera =3

Today we have finally finished up quests on Nar Shadaa {with the exception of the bonus quests} and just got to Tatooine, the lovely desert planet.

Once again, sorry for the picture quality... =3

If you play video games/Star Wars, I really recommend playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. This game really pulls you in with the interactive cinematic stories, and helps you build a connection with your character with the light or dark side choices you can make with the quests.

So, other than playing video games, TJ and I have been eating leftovers from Christmas dinner. I decided to turn them into yummy Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches, just like my mom used to do with leftover roast beef, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

Sorry I’m not posting any recipes yet, but I do have some stuff waiting to be posted, but I’m saving them for the weekend So you all will just have to be patient with me!

I hope you all are spending your Christmas/Winter breaks well!

♥ and harp strings,
Kate

How are you spending your Christmas/Winter break? What are you doing with your leftovers from Christmas dinner?

Savory Sundays: Cottage Pie

Welcome to my first every Savory Sundays post! This will be a great way for me to really force myself to try new things and you all will *hopefully* be benefiting from it!!

Speaking of benefiting, you are about to learn 2 things.

I’m a college student, so I do lots of learning at school, so I’d like to share some knowledge with you.

However, neither of these things were learned at school.

First, Cottage Pie is simply Shepard’s Pie, but with beef instead of lamb.

Did you know that? Because I didn’t before I stumbled across this entry about a super delicious Cottage Pie recipe over at Tasty Kitchen.

Now you’ve learned one thing. Time for the second thing.