Father's Day Flank Steak, Asparagus, Cauliflower, and Potato Pancakes

For Father's Day, I made Flank Steak, Asparagus, Cauliflower, and Potato Pancakes.  I marinaded the flank stead all day in the fridge in soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, and fajita seasoning.  It took an hour to cook in the oven, broiled on high.  The asparagus was baked in the oven with soy sauce balsamic vinegar and garlic.  The cauliflower was baked in the oven with butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese.  The potato pancakes were made with shredded potatoes, small diced onion, eggs, and flour.  Mix all ingredients and fry each side in a skillet with crisco.

Crab Rangoon

Great easy appetizer.  Made with won ton wrappers filled with cream cheese, salt, Worcestershire, and garlic salt, these are blended together, then top with piece of crab meat.  Fold in sides of won ton wrapper, place in cupcake tray and bake until brown.

Biscuits and Gravy

Super easy biscuits and from scratch gravy.  Cooked pork sausage in a skillet, once cooked, move pork to one side of pan, use fat drippings and flour on the other side of the pan to make a roux.  Once the roux is thoroughly mixed, add whole milk and stir everything together.  Let the gravy simmer to thicken while the biscuits cook in the oven, I used packaged biscuits, either frozen or refrigerated.

Pound Cake

Pound cake is a simple recipe made with a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and a pound of butter.  I really wanted to try this recipe to see if it really works.  FYI, a pound of sugar and a pound of flour is not the same number of cups of each, you must use a scale (or a conversion on Google).  I also added some vanilla and salt for flavor.  This turned out to be a really dense cake, great for an easy cake recipe of ingredients I always have on hand.  The outside comes out really crispy so I cut the bottom off the cake.

Fresh Garden Brushetta, Lasagna, and Salad

Using ingredients from the garden, fresh tomatoes from my parents garden and fresh basil from my own garden, I diced tomatoes, cut (chiffonade) basil, added garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, and Parmesan cheese.  Mixed all the ingredients and let them chill in the fridge for about 30 min while the slices of bread baked in the oven at 350 deg.  Served the baked bread slices with the bruschetta, use spoons for scooping.

My lasagna recipe is simple.  Use a standard homemade spaghetti sauce recipe (one pound of meat; turkey, beef, or pork, onion, cans of tomato sauce, crushed, and/or paste, simmer for 1 hour).  Layer in a lasagna pan the dry noodles (wheat or white), sauce (enough to cover), cheese (mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, cottage, and/or Parmesan).  I usually do 3-4 layers.  Cover with foil, bake for an hour in the oven.  Take off foil, and let bake until golden brown and bubbly.

Baked Chicken, Asaparagus, and Ravioli

Chicken, marinated in soy sauce and seasonings, then dredged in sour cream and coated with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.  This chicken was baked at 400 for about 20 min.  The bottom would have been crispy if I had elevated the chicken on a cookie rack.  The asparagus was steamed and flavored with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  The ravioli was store bought with store bought vodka sauce.

Strawberry Cake at Pasadena Strawberry Festival

Huge Strawberry Cake at Pasadena Strawberry Festival

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

I found this recipe on pinterest.  Combine all ingredients in a mixer; 1.5 Cups of flour, 3 Tbsp cocoa, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 Cup sugar, 8 Tbsp butter, 1 egg, 1/2 Cup whole milk, 3/4 Cup Dr. Pepper, 1/4 Cup maraschino cherry juice, and 2 tsp vanilla.  Bake at 350 deg until done.  These don't taste overwhelmingly like Dr. Pepper, but they do come out fluffy.

Sauteed Shrimp, Salad, and Spaghetti

Peeled large shrimp sauteed in olive oil and garlic for a few minutes until pink.  Served with a salad of arugula leaves, cranberries, almonds, and a balsamic vinaigrette.  Also served with Angel Hair Pasta and Tomato Vodka Sauce.

Beer Glazed Pork with Onion and Mushrooms, Parmesan Baked Zucchini, and Baked Potatoes

Beer Glazed Pork was made by sauteing an onion in olive oil with sliced mushrooms.  Once they were cooked, deglaze the pan with your favorite beer, I used a Heifezewiesen, and let the sauce reduce and pour over baked pork or finish cooking pork in the sauce.  The Parmesan Baked Zucchini was made with Zucchini halves topped with shredded Parmesan, baked and broiled in the oven.  The Baked Potatoes were diced golden potatoes coated in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and baked in the oven for about 40 min.