Wordless Wednesday

Tagged, Oh Dear!

I got tagged by DiPaola Momma over at Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom.

The rules for this one are pretty simple. First mention the person who tagged you. Next post your list of 8's. Follow that up by tagging 8 bloggers, and tell them you tagged them.

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. My mom and brother coming to visit next week.

2. Having a baby someday..

3. My husband selling his first bunk bed

4. Finishing my stack of books

5. Going to Austin next week

6. Going on a historic homes tour next Sunday

7. Starting College

8. Showing off my new house and town to my mom

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Went on a date with the hubby

2. Went to the bookstore

3. Made Egg rolls

4. Made Brownies

5. Went to Lowe's

6. Read my book (I'm almost done with it..)

7. Watched T.V. with the hubs

8. Played with the cat

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Travel

2. Have a baby

3. Lose weight super fast

4. Write

5. Knit. I have a knitting machine that my MIL gave me, but I have no clue how to use it!

6. Play my flute like a professional

7. Play the clarinet

8. Play the trumpet

8 shows I watch:

1. Supernatural

2. Dollhouse

3. The F Word

4. Hell's Kitchen

5. Kitchen Nightmares

6. Bones

7. Yard Crashers

8. Desperate Landscapes

8 favorite fruits:

(Are we talking gay men or actual fruit?)

1. My best friend David (If we're going the gay man route..)

2. Strawberries

3. Peaches

4. Apples

5. Plums

6. Watermelon

7. Honeydew

8. Bananas

8 places I would like to travel :

1. Ireland

2. England

3. All 50 States

4. Austria

5. Spain

6. Australia

7. Scotland

8. Italy and many many more places!

8 people I am tagging:

Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies

Lori at Time of Your Life

Andrea at My Chihuahah Bites!

Lisa at Cranberry Flats

Shauna at Trying to Stay Calm!

Gayla at Oatmeal and Whimsy

Pat at Back Porch Musings

And anyone wlse who wants to do this!

Weekend Baking

I have been so far behind on posting my weekend baking.. You'll just have to pretend you read this post last Sunday!

My husband and I have been obsessed with everything British right now. My husband is considering going back to school to be a chef, so he is all about watching Food Network, and anything and everything with Gordon Ramsay in it (which is where the British obsession is coming from..)! I mean, we are totally obsessed! We have even looked into what it would take to move across the pond. My husbands family is from England originally. His mother and her parents moved to the States when she was 13. I don't think my husband is too serious about moving, but I wouldn't mind if he were..

Anyways, on to my weekend baking (British inspired..). This past week My husband did all the cooking for the main course. I made the desert.

We had a main course of Beef Wellington, Green Beans, and Mashed potatoes. With Mini Strawberry Napoleons for desert.

Below I have copied and pasted the recipe from Gordon Ramsay's website along with a video of him preparing the Beef Wellington. As for the desert, I got the recipe off of a puff pastry box.

Beef Wellington:


.88 lbs Beef fillet
.88 lbs Flat mushrooms (we don't like mushrooms and left them out. It is still just as good..)
4 slices Parma ham (can substitute with Prosciutto)
English mustard for brushing meat (we couldn't find English Mustard so we just used Dijon, even though Gordon Ramsay says not too..)
.44 lbs puff pastry
2 Egg yolks
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 Sprig thyme (fresh)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Mustard

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Heat oil in a large pan and sear the meat on all sides. Don’t cook the meat, just brown each side. Let it cool and then brush it with the mustard.
3. Chop the mushrooms in a food processor to make a puree. Throw the puree in a hot pan with no oil and sweat out all of the liquid. Let the water evaporate and then set it aside to cool.
4. Lay four slices of parma ham down on a large piece of cling film, slightly overlapping, then brush with mushroom mixture.
5. Put the beef in the middle of the ham and roll the ham around the beef using the cling film. Twist the ends of the cling film to tighten the roll, then refrigerate it for 15 minutes to let it set.
6. Roll your puff pastry and then brush the edges with Egg wash. Roll the pastry over the beef completely covering it. Cut off any excess pieces. Egg wash the top. Put your roll back in the fridge for 5 minutes. Egg wash again and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
7. Par boil the potatoes in salted water. Quarter them and leave the skin on. Sauté in olive oil and butter with the garlic and thyme, until browned and cooked through. Season. Remove the thyme and garlic before serving.
8. Serve the Wellington in hearty slice's.

Mini Strawberry Napoleons:

Ingredients

1/2 package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)

1 package (about 3 1/2 oz.) vanilla chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups sweetened whipped cream * OR non-dairy whipped topping

1 1/4 cups sliced strawberries

Confectioners' sugar

Directions

THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. Preheat oven to 400°F.

UNFOLD pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Cut each strip into 4 rectangles. Place on baking sheet. Bake 15 min. or until golden. Let cool.

PREPARE pudding mix according to pkg. directions except use 1 cup milk. Fold in whipped cream.

SPLIT each pastry into 2 layers, making 24 layers in all. Set aside 8 top layers. Spread 8 bottom layers with 2 tbsp. pudding mixture each. Top each with 1 tbsp. strawberries and another layer. Spread with remaining pudding. Top with remaining strawberries and top layers. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hr.TIP: *For 1 1/2 cups sweetened whipped cream, beat 3/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tbsp. sugar and 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract in chilled bowl until stiff peaks form.

This made for a very wonderful Sunday Lunch (dinner). I look forward to my husband making this dish again! It was very yummy and I encourage everyone to try it!

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!♥

The Great Flamingo Escape

Today this guy here decided he didn't want to be in lock down any more. He escaped from his surroundings and went for a stroll.. I didn't get to see him, but I heard he got pretty far away from his pond before they caught him.

Gotta love life at the zoo, eh?