My Birthday Part 2

I like to pretend my birthday is something to celebrate for at least a week, which it is. This year, it took almost my whole birthday week to do everything I had hoped to accomplish in one day. My birthday supper, for example, was supposed to be spicy Italian beef, with an angel food cake for dessert. Neither of those happened on the 27th. After my spa day was over and Cole was fast asleep, this birthday girl had a small marathon of Supernatural (Josh got me the first 8 seasons on DVD!).

Honestly, I don't know what possessed me to try this spicy Italian beef recipe, I really don't care for spicy food. In any case, it wasn't too spicy (my husband will say it isn't spicy enough when I make it for him, once he gets back). If you are an adventurous eater, this recipe might be right up your alley:

^This photo is a bit of a lie, I added the pepperoncini for a more interesting photo, those suckers did NOT stay on my sandwich for long. Sorry for the deceit, friends.

This recipe comes from the Crock-Pot recipe collection

Spicy Italian Beef
Ingredients:
1 boneless beef chuck roast (3-4 pounds)
1 jar (12oz.) pepperoncini
1 can (14 1/2 oz) beef broth
1 1/2 cups water (or beer)
1 onion, minced
2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
1 loaf French bread, cut into thick slices
provolone cheese (optional)

Trim any fat from beef and discard. Place chuck roast in crock-pot. Drain and pull off stem ends of pepperoncini. Add pepperoncini, broth, water/beer, onion and herb blend to crock. Do NOT stir. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove beef, shred and return to cooking liquid; mix well. Serve on French bread.

I think this would also be tasty on rice, if French bread isn't appealing to you.

I wanted to have a birthday cake that Cole could enjoy too, and I found out angel food cake is naturally dairy-free. Unfortunately, Cole couldn't have cared less about the cake. He was more interested in the strawberry sauce and "whipped cream" I served with my cake.

This recipe comes from About.com

Angel Food Cake:
12 large egg whites (or about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1 cup sugar
Strawberry sauce (recipe below)
Dairy-free "whipped cream" (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, sift together the confectioners' sugar in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. Set aside.

Add the vanilla extract, cream of tartar and salt to the egg whites. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites mixture on slow speed for 2 minutes. Turn up the speed to a medium speed setting and begin gradually adding the sugar, beating continuously until the sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form. Turn off the mixer, and using a spatula, slowly fold in the flour-confectioners' sugar mixture into the egg whites.
Gently spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched or a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake (between the outer wall and the inner wall of the pan) emerges clean. Invert the cake pan onto a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool for at least 1 hour before removing the cake from the pan.

Strawberry Sauce:
3 cups strawberries, chopped (I used frozen strawberries that I thawed slightly)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. lime juice

In a medium saucepan, combine everything and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once it begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, still stirring frequently. Remove from heat and serve warm or cold.

Dairy-free "Whipped Cream"
1 can of coconut milk
vanilla
cinnamon

Chill coconut milk overnight. Spoon (not pour) coconut cream into bowl, add desired amount of vanilla and cinnamon and whip. Voila!

Tip: To know if it's a good coconut milk to use for whipped cream, rattle the can, if you hear nothing, add it to your cart. If you hear liquid sloshing around, it won't work for whipping. Also, now that I've told you to give the can a shake, before you place it in the fridge and after it's spent the night there, do not shake it. Basically, once it's in your home, leave it alone. Otherwise the cream combines with the coconut water and isn't worth whipping.

I could end this post another activity from my birthday week, instead I will leave you with this little nugget of information:

Baked Tilapia

I've never cooked real fish before. I've made fish patty sandwiches and fish sticks, but never prepared and cooked a fish on my own. When Cole and I went to the commissary last week, I decided on a whim to buy frozen tilapia. I am so surprised at how well it turned out (even though I forgot to thaw it, but more on that in a second). Pinterest gave me a few ideas, isn't Pinterest the best?!

Thanks to yummly.com for this tasty recipe. I slightly adapted this recipe to our preferences.

Baked Tilapia
Ingredients:
2 tilapia fillets, thawed
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place tilapia in 8"x8" glass baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Pour mixture over fillets. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until fish is white and flaky.

If you're like me and didn't thaw ahead of time, fear not. I placed the fillets in a bowl and ran cold water on them until they had thawed a bit (about 10 minutes), they weren't completely thawed when I completed the rest of the recipe, but I was too hungry to wait any longer. I kept an eye on my fish and baked it maybe 3 or 4 minutes longer and it turned out just fine.

Steamed/ Sauteed Seasoned Veggies
Ingredients:
2 cups frozen carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli (these were the perfect size for Cole without having to cut them down any further)
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Rosemary (or Italian seasoning)
Sea salt

In a medium saucepan, fill 1/4 full with water. Place veggies  in colander and place colander on saucepan. Bring water to a boil. If you can place some kind of lid over the vegetables, your wait time will be reduced greatly. You want the veggies to be thawed and slightly softened. Empty water out of saucepan (or grab a frying pan, I just don't like extra dishes), add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and pour veggies into pan. Add desired amount of spices (I didn't measure anything, I just started tossing spices in). Heat through to desired firmness.

I'm making a promise, and I want you to keep me accountable

I don't know if you've noticed, but the last few recipes I've posted have all been for sweets. I'm absolutely obsessed with baking or rather no-bake recipes. They're easy, quick, and SO delicious. As much fun as I'm having with trying these new desserts and sharing them with you lovelies, I really need to switch my focus.

This is where you come in. If I post a dessert recipe before posting a recipe for a meal, please, PLEASE give me a hard time about it. I mean a real meal, not salad kabobs, or snack food I'm talking turning on the stove or maybe even the oven (depending on the weather-I don't have air conditioning, remember?). I have a few ideas, but I promise the next recipe post I make will not be a dessert.

Thanks everyone! You all are top notch! I'm sending you all double snaps! Oh, and keep a look out for more photos in the near future; this time from Jerry and Gina's trip!