Menu Recap (week of 9/20)

Hello, friends! It's time for a quick menu recap from the week:

First up, the Chocolate Autumn Cupcakes were quite good, and I made a whole post about them here. We loved eating them each night this week after dinner. YUM! I'm going to brainstorm other ways to use the same concept for other seasons/holidays :)

Havarti Shrimp Quesadillas - These were a failure. It was sad! They sounded so good, and the reviews online were positive. I don't know exactly what happened. Let me show you:

The ingredients were a great combo, no doubt about it. Apricot preserves, Havarti cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and shrimp.

They looked good at first glance when I opened the 'dilla maker. But, I noticed there was A LOT of liquid coming off of it. The tortillas ended up being soggy (eww), and fell apart. We picked the stuffing out and ate it anyway (which was good), but the whole quesadilla was a disaster.

TOO much liquid. I followed the Taste of Home recipe diligently, but I'm thinking the mushrooms should be patted dry on paper towels after you saute them. The recipe didn't say to do this, but I'm thinking it would help. I will try this again! I'm determined to succeed :)

PS - See, everyone has messes and successes in the kitchen. I'm no exception!!


Chicken Caprese - This dish was good, as always! We had friends over for dinner Tuesday and had a fantastic evening laughing and sharing stories over food and wine.

It looked really pretty with 6 on a platter together. Mmm, appetizing!

Here we are hanging out after dinner. Ashley is my childhood friend and Brooke is my cuz! Love that we are all in the same city now and hanging out every week!

We were hanging out in our spare bedroom/office where Keith does his dental work and studies. He was working on a orthodontic project which involved bending wires a certain way, like in patterns. Since we have 3 to-be dentists in the group, this is, of course, what we congregated over and took turns practicing. What dorks!

We are loving that these friends have moved to Memphis! We're starting a weekly potluck/game night tradition, too. Both Ashley and Brooke like to cook and are really good at it, so I see some recipe ideas coming from them in the future! Can't wait to get together again this week for a Mexican theme :)



Steak with Burgundy Mushroom Sauce - Oh, this was delicious! Just as good as the first time I made it. Pioneer Woman knows her stuff, folks. Just hop on over to her site and print this recipe, if you haven't already!

This was a dinner that we enjoyed by the romantic glow of laptops and iPhones. We are both so busy right now with work and school (literally having stress dreams every night!). At least we shared our misery together over a good meal, right?



I'll have a new menu up tomorrow! Did you make anything that I made last week, too? It looks like my friend Caroline did :)