Been awhile

Sorry everyone that its been so long since we posted last. Been alot on my mind and I forgot all about this. Things here are going okay. Our gardens are doing wonderful, I am especially proud of my herb garden finally producing lots of quantity. I'll get some pictures of the flowers up soon.

As for food. I did make a wonderful beef soup recipe and a great steak marinade that i am going to list. Also a delicious sausage pasta dish.

Beef and Herb Soup(4 servings)
1lb beef cubes(something on the tender side like a chuck would go great, i used a london broil which is abit leaner)
1 large carrot
1 medium onion
2 large potatoes
2 TBLS oil
4 cups beef broth
2 TBLS cornstarch(dissolved in a small amount cold water)
fresh thyme, oregano, and parsley
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

1) cut carrot, onion and potatoes into similar sized pieces. in a large pot, saute carrot and onions for about 3 min(you don't want them to be tender as they will continue to cook. then add beef and cook for another few min until browned.
2) add beef broth, potatoes and bay leaves and bring to boil. lower heat and allow to simmer until potatoes are fork tender. add the cold water with the cornstarch and allow the soup to thicken alittle. remove bay leaves and add fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste. simmer another min. and serve.


Italian Steak Marinade
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TBLS white vinager
2 TBLS italian seasonings(dried)

1)combine all in ziplock bag and allow steak to marinade atleast 30min. Find marinades work best under broiler or over grill.


Sausage w/ Penne and Tomato sauce.
1lb sausage links cut into 1inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic minced
4 servings of penne pasta cooked per box instructions
14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups favorite pasta sauce
2 TBLS dried italian seasoning
fresh basil
grated parmasean cheese(if you have a food processor i find that buying a small block and chopping it up in it works out wonderfully)

1) sautee sausage in large saucepan in alittle bit of olive oil until done. remove from pan but leave drippings. in the same pan sautee onions and peppers until just about done, then add garlic and italian seasoning and diced tomatoes and sausage. allow food to cook a few min and add pasta sauce and fresh basil. service w/ parm cheese

June's Recipes

So i am finally posting some recipes here. I know thats why you all keep coming back. I am working on a good beef recipe but i don't have one, i have been trying to think of one but i just can't seem to get one. I promise to have one soon. Here are a few that Cami insisted I post though.





Lemon Pepper Tilapia w/ Garlic Herb Bechamel Sauce(serves 4)

4 Tilapia Fillets
Your favorite Lemon Pepper Seasoning(if you want a DIY just ask)
Fettuccine for 4
Bechamel Sauce
2 TBLS butter(unsalted)
2 TBLS flour
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk(whole milk)
pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced finel
either 1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning or fresh snipped basil, oregano, thyme, and/or rosemary(if your using fresh herbs at the the end the flavor will cook out if you add fresh herbs early.

Season Tilapia and cook as you want, ie baked or sauteed. Cook pasta per instructions.

Sauce
In small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat, then add garlic and let cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and if using dried herbs, until lump free. Constantly stiring with a whisk, pour in cream and continue whisking over medium heat until the sauce beings to bubble on surface. Continue to cook and stir for about a minute more. Serve ontop of Fish and Pasta.

Shrimp Parmiggana(serves 4)
2 cups precooked small shrimp deveined w/ tails removed(you might need to do this yourself, sorry)
4 servings of penne pasta cooked per package instructions
1 onion
2 gloves garlic
fresh snipped oregano, basil, and thyme(or 1 teaspoon dried of each, add that earlier to cooking w/ tomatoes)
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
olive oil
1/2cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus some grated to top the dish.

In large saute pan(preferably one with a lid). Over medium heat saute onions in olive oil until just about tender. Add garlic and about 30sec later add the tomatoes and shrimp. Cover and let cook until shrimp are hot then remove from heat. Fold in penne and fresh herbsthen shredded cheese. Top with Grated Parm.

Cami's 29th Birthday

As you all know it was Cami's 29th birthday on June 3rd, and since many couldn't be with us. We wanted you to atleast see her blow out her candles.

What is a ferret?

Nibbler after waking up


Ferrets are becoming quite the popular pet it would seem. Well, we can speak as to the why, because they are bundles of joy in a 2lb package. They are NOT rodents first and foremost. They are of the polecat family(so as not to inflate other species egos' they shall remain nameless). They are like preseason to parenting, they are not hard to care for but they are not easy either. They LOVE fun, and refuse to let you define what fun is. If they decide that what you are doing is fun then they will allow you to think so, but if not well then they are off on another adventure. They require alot of attention because they love to find trouble. But i will admit that we love them very much as they will always brighten our days, because they don't care if you have had a bad day at work and are tired, they want to have fun and play and love being held and give little kisses.


How did we come to have such wonderful critters.

Well I always wanted one. So one day we got him, his name is Nibbler(named after Nibbler from Futurama). He was about the size of a baseball and he has more then earned his name by doing so. But since we are gone for long times some day, we got him a companion, Smokey(cuz smokey is the bandit). Well they had such a blast together and i wanted a dark eyed white ferret, Cami got me Esper(named after the summoning creatures from Final Fantasy) for christmas and thats the short version on a long road to love.


Smokey and Esper

Who's in the Nest

Well, we've broken down and started a blog so everyone can keep tabs on us just like the government does.

First off the Introductions.
Executive Chef - Brian
Chef de Cuisine - Cami
Sous-Chefs - Nibbler, Smokey, Esper, and Shiva

You will find that most of the antics will be involving our super capable mischief making Sous-Chefs

We all live in a comfy little home in Lafayette, NJ and are all avid food lovers if you haven't figured that out yet.

Myself i enjoy the fun part of actually making it and the satisfaction of having others enjoy.
Cami just likes eating my work, while our critters obviously have specific dietary requirements.

Most often you will find here alot of recipes from when I cook but also alot of stuff on our lives that others must know about. So feel free to join us in the nest.