The Best Oven Filet!

I'm not much of a BBQ'er so I often look to my oven to create my favourite dishes!  This is one that I made about 2 years ago for a dinner party, I have since played around with and perfected it...You will be amazed at how good your Filet turns out!!

Prep Time: 2min
Sit time: 2.25 hours
Cook Time 14-18 minutes (depending on preferred temperature)

Make a homemade rub of your choice.  I like sea salt, fresh pepper, chilli flakes, and garlic.  Rub the filet with seasoning on both sides.  Rub in Sambel Oelek for spice and flavour.  Pour over one of your favourite wines!  (Make sure you use a nice wine that you love, the steak absorbs a lot of the flavour.  Put in fridge, uncovered, for 2 hours, turning half way through.

Pull out chilled flavoured steak and let sit on counter for 15min.  Turn oven onto Broil/Grill at 550'.  Lower your top rack to 7" below the element.

Place your steaks in a oven proof dish that can hold juices.  Grill steaks for 7 minutes per side (for Medium Rare) and 9 minutes (for Medium)  Sorry that is the only way we do our steaks so if you like them any other way you will have to experiment)

When done your steaks will have a seared flavourful exterior with a beautiful juicy meaty inside.

Tasty Snacks

One of my favourite things about baking with pumpkins...is the tasty roasted seed snacks that can come from it.

Preheat oven 275'

Rinse seeds, toss in EVOO, garlic powder, and seasoning salt.  Spread out on cookie sheet, then roast for 45min!

If you like a spicy snack add cayenne pepper or chilli powder.

ENJOY

Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup!!

I love soup!....It is one of my favourite food groups...? well besides tacos...but I don't believe tacos are really a food group?  I'm sure soup isn't either?!? LOL....However, my youngest, Paige, uses soup as her main staple... Perhaps learned ;-)))

The presentation on this soup is for an upcoming 'judged' dinner party...that I'm really looking forward to, so please add in your input!  I will be using a garnish of diakon, curls of romano cheese and a dollop of plain greek yogurt (as opposed to sour cream - for health reasons)

Please let me know what you think...of the recipe (which is an amazing dinner (served with sides ( or by itself)) or for a ladies lunch!!   It is tasty, filling, and extremely low in fat (having only 4 TBS of EVOO in 12 servings...you do the math ;-))    Also you can use this easy dish as your creative outlet...I will let you know how? down below on the steps!

Prep Time: As long as it takes to carve your pumpkins plus 45 minutes roasting time ;-)

Preheat oven on Roast at 325'

Peel and cube squash and pumpkin.  Toss in 2 TBSP EVOO with seasonings.  I used garlic powder, seasoning salt, smoked paprika, and chilli powder.  Spread out on cookie sheets.  Peel extra layers of skin off of two whole bulbs of garlic, slice of tops, drizzle with EVOO and place on cookie sheets with squash.

Roast all together for 45min.

While that is roasting, chop and saute 2 Wala Wala onions.

After roasting is complete, place roasted squash, roasted pumpkins, sauteed onions, and garlic bulbs in the slow cooker.  Add 1-2 cartons (depending on desired consistency and how much roasted squash you have) of Campbell's low sodium chicken broth.

Slow cook for 4 hours on low.

Let soup cool slightly, then with a hand blender, puree soup.

Serve with fresh ground pepper and sour cream.

ENJOY!!!

My Pie pumpkins and butternut squash!

Roast your cubed butternut squash (without peel) in the oven on 325 for 45min on the middle rack, after tossing in 1.5 TBSP of EVOO season with a light dusting of seasoning salt, pepper, and I used smoked paprika (other seasonings can be cumin and curry, or cinnamon and nutmeg)...be creative!

I used an ice cream scoop on my pumpkins, so I could use for presentation!  Peel extra skins off of your garlic cloves, then cut off tops, drizzle with oil and roast with the squash and pumpkin...if you forget add only 2 cloves of fresh ;-))

While my pie pumpkins, squash and garlic were roasting,  I cut 2 large Wala Wala onions...use less if that is your preference, also if you are trying to stay away from salt use an onion that isn't as sweet ;-))  Brown in 1TBSP of EVOO.

Add browned onions, de-skined roasted garlic...you can squeeze the 'bum' of the garlic and it should pop out into your your onions or squash!

Add 1-2 cartons of Cambells, low sodium chicken broth

Let soup cool slightly, so that it won't splash when you use a hand blender to puree. 

If you prefer soup with texture, refrain from blending

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream (I used plain yogurt!) and a whole wheat garlic brushed bread...  ENJOY!!!

West Coast Pitch

I think that is why I didn't end up posting these pictures...because I couldn't remember the full story of the tree...and that is the magic behind such beauty I wanted to capture with this amazing tree...when Ted returns with the age of this beautiful tree that oozed it's sticky sap I will update this ;-))

The Butterflies and Bees!

Theses were the pictures I took the same day as A bouquet of colours!  I can't believe I didn't post...I must have moved on with something else...and forgot!  The last one with the bee and the butterfly is on my gallery wall ;-))

Changes

I have changed my archive list.....as it often interrupted with photos.  If you are wondering please just click on BLOG ARCHIVE..and then your desired post.


Thanks

Please Excuse Me!

Please excuse me, as I'm sorry about my total lack of posting!!!  I have been very busy with my husband out of town...and my brother and SIL visiting...and totally distracting me from all responsibilities and to do's!!!   Anyways...I have been tackling my extremely, very extremely, long TO-DO list!!   (Do those things ever get shorter??!!)

So the project I did today - part of it has been on my TO-DO for 2 years!!!!  I bought these old cupboard doors before we moved in...and with the tangle on whether to re-build or not?,,I held off!!   Well now that we have decided to stay...for at least another 6 months ;-))  I decided to do it while Ted was away and surprise him with the end product!!!  I can't wait...as it is one thing he has been waiting for!   I also filled the middle frame in his office....so although I haven't been taking or posting photos, I have been very busy picking, organizing and printing photos...I have three clients awaiting disks as well...so I really must focus ;-)))

This is my feature wall...I have 20 photos (so far) that I will rotate according to the season...Summer is my fav collection of photos...and I will take a photo of each season to be displayed so far...hopefully tomorrow!  (I guess that is why TO-DO lists always grow ;-)))  But I love the tones and the moods in my fall collection!!!

Left to right :  Canuck Storm,  Allergy Season, My New Trike, Tutus and Pearls, The truck...I did not post!!  Oops - this was one of my fav random photo days....another thing on the TO-DO list!!, Pitch...another non-post..Ahh!!!,   Russian Sage,  And Finally another one I haven't posted...but was taken with A bouquet of colours!

This is my walls of the girls!!!   Yes it will rotate as well...but probably only once a year!...all of these are within the last 6 months... except for 1!!  So I may change more often ;-))