Beef Stew a la Keri...

After a beautiful sunny morning that I spent planting flowers for the Treehouse patio, the skies turned grey, the wind whipped up and rain (which turned to snow) washed away my sunny day...
So it was the PERFECT evening to use up some small scraps of beef I had in the freezer and make a batch of my shamelessly easy Beef Stew..

I cut the beef into fairly uniform cubes, and browned on all sides in a large soup pot before adding one can of veggie-beef soup, 1 soup can of water, a teaspoon of Worcestershire, and some leftover roasted potatoes and carrots from dinner on Friday evening... it all got heated through and then thickened using one tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of cold water and added to the simmering stew.
We ate it with a demi-loaf of crusty sourdough bread...

YAY for dinner guests!!

On Friday I get to make dinner for our best "couple friends" and I am SO excited.... they are expecting their first baby in July (really close to when my Sissy is due with my nephew, actually) and it is so exciting to share it with them...
But let's face it, Keri is excited that she gets to entertain!! The Treehouse hasn't seen a lot of action in the entertaining dept lately -not really because of the food budget (a great dinner with friends can be as simple as a pasta dish with crusty bread and a salad... add a carafe of inexpensive Chianti and wonderful guests, and that dinner will be bliss - I assure you..), but more because the Treehouse, with its giant patio, shines in the warmer months as the perfect place to gather for our friends in the neighborhood... and I am so happy that the season is rolling back around!!

I am going to make them the now famous sweet and spicy chicken with grilled potatoes and veggies, Mrs. Couple-friend is bringing a big salad and we will kick off the patio entertaining season with good food, great friends and (I am sure) big laughs..

My goal this summer will be to find great recipes for simple, inexpensive food that I can proudly share with the people I love - to be a warm and gracious host and put the emphasis on my guests enjoying themselves (and me getting to enjoy them), to see The Hub smiling in the glow of the gel-fuel fire pit, drink and cigar in hand and laughing with the guys, and know he is happy to be at home and surrounded by our friends - just like me..

/cheesy speech.... but I still can't wait..

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Grocery Circular finds for 4/22-4/28

I should add...

I should add that I have FINALLY managed to bring back the afternoon cocktail as an institution... at least in The Treehouse... come 5 oclock you can hear the tell-tale "Shakey shakey" of me mixing martinis... Always Dirty for The Hub, and usually fruity and kind of made-up on the fly for me... My favorite (right) currently is the "Limetini" - a lovely mixture of 2 1/2 oz Vodka, 1oz water, and a generous teaspoon of limeade frozen concentrate... shake all of that with a couple of ice cubes until it gets kind of frothy and enjoy...

(This new-found love of martini hour MAY have something to do with my lack of meal pictures lately.. I will try to balance my love for both..)

What's up in the Kitch, Ker?

Ok, ok... bad food blogger...
Dinners have been pretty low-key around The Treehouse of late.

-Saturday night we had spaghetti with meat sauce, jazzed up with a bit of fresh basil from my little plant, and Garlic bread made from a frozen demi-loaf of French bread from the free bread coupon at Target a few weeks back... Mmmm, garlic bread!
(BTW- this is what the bread looked like when I cut into it - see those big uneven holes? Those exact holes are the reason I got a D on my bread in culinary school.. WTF!)


It is getting really nice outside, which makes me want to use my grill a lot! So last night we had steak soft tacos - I maranaded some chuck steak cut into 1/2 inch thick slabs in lime juice, minced garlic, and chili powder for about an hour. Then I sprayed each side with cooking spray and let it cook to medium on a nice hot (but open) grill. I also grilled some onion for me.
I rested the meat wrapped in foil while I heated corn tortillas, lightly sprayed with cooking spray, on the grill until they got some color and were nice and flexible - they got wrapped in foil to keep the heat in and keep them soft.
I unwrapped the meat and chopped it into small pieces, just because I like my steak tacos almost like you would get from a street vendor, or on a plate of tacos al carbon at a local mexican place.
I served it all family style with sour cream, lime wedges, cheese and hot sauce for topping.
YAY for grill season!!

Ham and Asparagus Strata

Confession - this was supposed to be our Easter dinner, but I really wanted to do the chicken and dumplings that night, so I switched it up even tho this is a bit more "Easter-y."
To make this simple dish I thinly sliced some sourdough bread and made a single layer in the bottom of a cooking-spray coated 9x9 Pyrex dish.
Next I layered some chopped Asparagus spears onto the bread, followed by some deli-sliced ham (I used the very inexpensive packaged kind from the lunch meat isle).
Then I whipped 4 eggs plus 3 egg whites together with 1/4 cup of milk and a dash of salt and pepper, and poured it down over the top of the layers.
I baked the strata at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes, sprinkling some cheddar cheese over the top the last few minutes of baking so it could get all melty.
I served it with boxed potatoes Au Gratin, because The Hub loves them with ham.

He gave the strata the stink-eye when he sat down at the table and said "it looks like quiche" - but he had two helpings and said (with surprise in his voice) "That was actually really good!"
He was right....

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