Girls Night

Recipe exchange/game night thingy.  My house.  Good friends.  Good times. 

                

My family loves games.  One of our favorites is Loaded Questions.  It's a great one to play with people you know pretty well.  You'll get to know people EVEN better and you're sure to have lots of laughs with this one.

Kate, Heather, Lyndsey & Keri

Connie & Kate

Brittany and me

Kellie, Misty & Sabrina

We had SO much food.  And it was all REALLY good.  Want the recipes?  Here are the one's I have:

Lyndsey's Chocolate Dipped Macaroons

Mix:

5 oz. sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Add:

2 c. powdered sugar

14 oz. bag coconut 

4 oz. almonds (optional)

Roll into balls & dip in chocolate* or spoon it over the top

*It's best to use good quality chocolate.  Lyndsey uses dark.

Kellie's Chex Mix

(This is so addictive!)

Mix together in a large mixing bowl:
1/2 pkg. Rice Chex

1/2 pkg. Golden Grahams

1/2 c. coconut

1 c. cashew halves

In a small sauce pan melt:

1 c. sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

3/4 c. butter

Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.  Pour over the chex mixture and stir.  Add m&m's when cooled.

Keri's Lettuce Wraps

2 lbs. steak, cubed

1/2 c. or more grated carrot & veggies (whatever you like)

3 green onions

4-6 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. pepper

Saute all together.  Serve inside bibs of lettuce.

Misty's Artichoke Dip

8 oz. cream cheese

1 can artichoke hearts, diced

1 1/2 c. parmesan

1 1/2 c. mayo

1 can green chilis

Bake @ 325 for 1/2 hour.  Serve with chips.

Connie's Chocolate Lover's Bundt Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1 (3.9 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

3/4 c. vegetable oil

3/4 c. water

4 eggs

1 c. MINI semisweet chocolate chips

6 (1 oz.)squares white baking chocolate

In a mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix, pudding mix and sugar.  Add the sour cream, oil and water; mix well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into a well-greased and floured 12-cup fluted tube pan.  Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.  In a microwave or double boiler, melt the white chocolate and drizzle over cake.  Yield: 12-16 servings.

Here's what I served.  Sorry no picture (I mean, can meatloaf REALLY ever look good in a picture?:)

Grant House Meatloaf with Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue Sauce:

 

1 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste

¾ tsp. mild chili powder

¼ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ c. ketchup

¼ c. Dijon mustard

3 Tbsp. molasses

¼ c. honey

3 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp. Tabasco sauce

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and grated

Meatloaf:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small celery rib, diced

1 ½ c. shredded sweet potato (about ½ of a small sweet potato)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

½ tsp. minced garlic

¾ tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 ¼ lbs. lean ground beef

1 ¼ lbs. ground pork

1/3 c. uncooked oatmeal (plus more if needed – I add another 1/3 c. to equal 2/3 c. total)

¼ c. finely chopped parsley

1 ½ tsp. salt

¾ tsp. black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

4 slices lean bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the sauce: In a medium sauté pan, combine the cayenne, chili powder, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, allspice and garlic powder. Over medium-high heat, heat the spices until aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let burn. Stir in the ketchup, mustard, molasses, honey, brown sugar, Tabasco sauce and grated apple and cook over medium heat until blended and heated through. Set aside to cool.

To make the meatloaf: In a large sauté pan, sauté the onion, celery and potato in olive oil over medium-high heat until limp, stirring constantly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and continue to sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, ground pork, sautéed vegetables, ½ c. of the barbecue sauce, oatmeal, parsley, salt and black pepper. With two forks, rake and toss the mixture until combined. Add the beaten eggs and blend again (if too moist, add up to 1/3 cup more oatmeal). Gently form into a rectangular shape and transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Place the bacon on top, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the meat from the oven and coat the top and sides with barbecue sauce. Return to oven, and continue to bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until meat thermometer inserted in the middle reads 160 degrees F. Using 2 spatulas, lift the meatloaf out of the pan and onto the serving platter. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before serving. **Makes 8 to 10 servings.

It was a good time, but I'm still missing our good drink, the s'more bars, the yummy fruit salad and the brocolli salad recipes.  If you're reading this ladies, send me the recipes!

As far as quilting goes, I've been working on my dresden plate blocks and my wagon wheel quilt lately.  The wagon wheels top is almost done and I am so excited about my dresden plates!  Think funky with lots of black and white polka dots!  RJ is traveling a lot in the next couple of weeks so expect lots of sewing pictures coming soon! :) Bye!