Beef and Broccoli

We had some ymuuy heads of broccoli sitting in our fridge just waiting to be used.  I wanted to something different than just steaming and eating them though, my husband suggested beef and broccoli.  After looking through a lot of recipes online, I found this one and it was great!  We loved the flavors!  I used about a pound of meat and doubled the marinade and the sauce and I thought that was perfect.

Cafe Rio Pulled Pork

I was in charge of girls night this month and we had Cafe Rio (and Cupcake Wars as previously mentioned).  So I assigned out all of the different toppings but I was in charge of one pot of meat.

Here is the recipe I used and it is pretty danged good.  Great on sandwhiches too.  And easy.

Here's the recipe!  I did exacty what she said.  I did two smallish pork roasts so I did double the sauce.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

I posted this recipe on my family blog and you can find it here. These came out really good and they were fairly easy to make.

Potato Tomato Bake

My hubby is not a big meat eater.....he prefers to not eat meat. So, I have a hard time coming up with dinner ideas sometimes. Last night was an experiment that my husband loved!

Red potatoes (small cubes)
Can of Italian Diced Tomatoes
Can of Tomato Sauce (small can)
Can of mushrooms
Half an onion chopped
Italian Seasoning
Oregano
Cheese


Mix all the ingredients except cheese. Put in baking dish and sprinkle cheese on top.
Put foil on for first 40-50 minutes until the potatoes are tender and then remove for last 10-15 minutes to brown up the cheese.

Cilantro Lime Mango Chicken

I had a lot of limes on hand (love limes!) and mangoes were on sale so I searched for a recipe where I could use them with chicken. I found this on allrecipes.com and gave it a try with a few adjustments.

I used an anaheim pepper instead of jalapeno because it was cheaper and fresher at the store

I took regular chicken breast and just sliced them kind of thin

I baked the chicken slices in the oven

I did not add the grilled vegetables

We made it into a wrap with a little bit of rice and rolled into a warmed tortilla.

Yummy and very pretty. Would be a great summer supper.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazing-Southwest-Cilantro-Lime-Mango-Grilled-Chicken-Sandwiches/Detail.aspx

Dulce de Leche cake

We attended a Cinco de Mayo party and were asked to bring this cake. It was delicious!

DULCE de LECHE CAKE

CAKE INGREDIENTS

Yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter (1 cube)

1 1/3 cups water

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs at room temp (you can quickly warm them in a bowl of hot tap water)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom only of pan with PAM or grease w/shortening. I think a glass pan does a better job but any 9x13 pan is ok.

In a quart sauce pan heat butter over medium heat for about 8 minutes stirring

frequently, just until golden brown. This happens quickly once it gets "frothy",

Remove from heat and cool 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, browned butter, water and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes (brown flecks from butter will appear in batter). Pour into pan. Bake 30 -40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center of cake. Cool completely @ 1 hour.

FROSTING INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups butter (3 cubes)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup canned milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in sauce pan. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling stirring constantly. Boil and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Sir in canned milk and heat again just to boiling. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Add powdered sugar gradually beating after each addition. Continue beating as it cools until of spreading consistency. This frosting sets as it cools so get it on cake when spreadable but not set. If its sets before you get it on the cake you can reheat it slightly while stirring constantly.

Cover frosted cake and keep in a cool place. Can be made the day before if necessary.