Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Guest Post Excitement!

2013-05-20T20:06:54Z

Hey, hey dolls!

So glad that you are here on this special day. I’ve another amazing guest to share with you today. It is the stunning Heather from ‘Setting For Four’. Super talented, a lovely writer and a terrific mom and military wife. It’s been such a treat to get to know her. Do you know we are even in the same city?! Yep, we’re going to actually meet for reals.

I’m over at the equally lovely, Nancy’s amazing blog ‘Artsy Chicks Rule’. Hope you can join me there too.

Oh! And don’t forget to sign up for my totally fun newsletter AND become part of the ‘Make it Mine’ Club. We are in for a fabulous summer.

Hello Jane and Jane’s Adventures in Dinner readers! I am so excited to be here today!

My name is Heather and I blog at Setting for Four:

So what’s behind the name of my blog, Setting for Four? Grab a cup of coffee and read this post “In the Bloglight” which explains it all! You’ll learn the real nitty gritty of how and why I started blogging…Wow! What a journey it’s been!

I’m an interior decor student and Military wife with a passion for family friendly design that won’t break the bank or sacrifice style! I am a mom of two teenagers and married to my best friend, an Infantryman, whom I am so proud of! I love to create things by hand, cook healthy meals and most of all create a comfy and cozy space for our family of four.

At Setting for Four I blog about home decor, DIY’s, crafts and recipes along with the busyness of military life and life with two teen boys!

As an interior decor student I’m having so much fun learning all about residential interior decorating! It’s been my passion for a very long time and I’ve finally taken the steps to learn more about the field of decor and design!

I love to blog about decor, design and creating Design Boards and just recently curated a bedroom decor collection for Crane & Canopy!

I also love to decorate my home and share decorating tips as you can see here: 4 tips to enhance your Front Entryway

I also love to interview designers and decorators and learn their design tips and tricks…check out my interview with Emily Clark from the Emily A. Clark blog

and my Interview with Darlene Hill of Fieldstone Hill Design Part I and Part II

I love to DIY and craft too!!

One of my most favorite projects to date has been my Turn Kids Art Into Tea Towels:

…and my DIY Beaded Sunburst Mirror: (can you believe I made this using Scrapbook Paper and a Ceiling Medallion?)

Swing by sometime and check out my DIY Project Gallery and my

Recipes Page as well, to see what else I’ve been up to!

I’d love it if you popped by Setting for Four and said hello! If you’d like to follow along with more of my decor and DIY posts, you can follow along with me here:

Want posts delivered to your inbox? Click here!

Or follow along with me here !:

Thanks Jane for letting me visit with your readers today! It’s been a so much fun and I can’t wait to see more of your delicious recipes!

Monday Muffins: Blueberry Lemon Donut Muffins

2013-05-20T23:50:39Z

Happy Monday! It’s Victoria Day in Canada and Memorial Day in the U.S. next week.

Whatever you call it, a Monday without an alarm is a call for celebration.

How about muffins that make you think you are having donuts?

Start with some yummy butter and the freshest eggs possible.

Fold in as many blueberries as the dough will hold and lemon zest to wake up your taste buds.

The best part though…dip the mini loaves in butter and then cinnamon sugar when just cooled.

Donuts supreme!

Crunchy, sweet but airy and light.

Have a beautiful holiday!

We’ll light some firecrackers just for you.

Lemon Blueberry Donut Muffins

2013-04-04 16:43:42

Guilt free muffins that fool you into thinking you are having donuts for breakfast.

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Ingredients

4 oz butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

Juice and zest of one lemon

1 cup plain yoghurt

1 cup blueberries

1 tsp each baking soda and baking powder

2 1/2 cups flour

Topping

3 oz melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add: the eggs, lemon zest and juice, blueberries, yoghurt. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda together and fold into the wet ingredients. Divide into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Let cool slightly.

For the topping

Melt butter, dip muffins and then dip into the sugar mixed with cinnamon.

By Adventuresindinner

Jane's Adventures in Dinner http://janesadventuresindinner.com/

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Happiness Post #17: Homemade Bread

2013-05-13T14:34:12Z

I love bread.

All bread.

Tortillas

Biscuits

and a good old loaf.

Homemade is my favourite and the simply act of kneading the dough has the ability to calm me like few other things.

I usually make a few loaves on Sunday that we munch away at them for a couple of days.

Leftovers are pulsed into crumbs or made into a quick bread pudding.

Bread makes me happy, how about you?

Actually bread makes me SO happy that those pretty tortillas are going to be the bonus recipe in my June Newsletter.

Hope you sign up C:

Friday Night Treat And Back To The BBQ: Stuffed Steak

2013-05-08T17:42:39Z

We finally have beautiful weather.

It is simply glorious out and it is so tempting to just have something quick and play in the garden until dark.

I won’t plant any veg until after the May 24th. weekend as we can still get frost here quite late BUT it hasn’t stopped me from getting in bushes, shrubs, hedges and 3 new trees. Forty bags of mulch and small one is growing just like a weed in all this sun.

The bbq is calling quite loudly too and it is saying steak.

How about stuffed steak?

Full of garlic, cheese, kale and fresh tomatoes.

Sort of like bruschetta but even better.

Look at those little pockets of happiness.

Some pretty grill marks and a quick turn.

Cooked until still slightly pink and some oven fries and that is a dinner worth lovely weather.

Don’t forget to let your steaks rest under an inverted bowl or foil so that the juices have a chance to reabsorb.

Pour a glass of something red or a chilly rose.

Sit back and enjoy everything that you’ve been able to get done.

I have a terrible confession…I even eat the fatty bits.

Oh! Have you signed up for my fun, new newsletter?

Stuffed Steak

2013-04-10 13:54:52

Serves 4

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Ingredients

1/2 med. tomato chopped

1 cup chopped kale

1/2 tsp dried basil (or 1/2 T fresh)

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1 garlic clove (chopped)

4 steaks (I used small sirloins)

Instructions

Slit the steaks along the middle but not all the way through. Combine all the other ingredients and divide by 4, stuffing and equal amount of the mixture into each steak. Heat grill to VERY hot (500 degrees) and grill to desired doneness. I like a bit less than 5 minutes a side.

By Jane's Adventures in dinner

Jane's Adventures in Dinner http://janesadventuresindinner.com/

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Happy Accident: Brie Pasta

2013-05-15T12:29:15Z

Sometimes you just don’t know where you’re going until you get there, do you?

We had one of those impromptu dinner with the neighbours the other day.

We were chatting outside and small one was tending to her plants.

The company was great so we decided to have one of our communal meals. These happen at least a few times a month.

I had taken out some chicken but it wasn’t going to feed the whole crowd, I had some fabulous pancetta that needed to be used up. The neighbour had a big chunk of brie and green beans.

We each had a package of whole wheat spaghetti…happy days.

I didn’t have any intention of blogging this recipe but as soon as I smelled the chicken and pancetta together I knew that I was going to have to.

Happy accident.

A quick bechamel sauce got an extra zip with chunks of brie, the tiniest bit of garlic and the chicken thighs got sauteed with pancetta to save dirtying two pans and to let the flavours meld together.

I cooked up the whole wheat spaghetti with a bit of sea salt and added the green beans for the last 30 seconds.

A topping of parmesan made this happy accident a wonderful meal.

Isn’t life all about riding the roller coaster and enjoying the moment?

Brie Pasta

2013-04-10 13:57:03

Serves 8

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Ingredients

200 grams brie

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 litre milk

salt and pepper to taste

1 garlic clove (finely mashed)

1/2 tsp basil

6 chicken thighs (halved)

8 slices pancetta

500 grams whole wheat spaghetti

1 cup green beans

parmesan for garnish

Instructions

Melt butter and flour together, add garlic and basil. Whisk in milk and let thicken slightly. Add in chunks of brie and let melt in. Saute chicken and pancetta together and add to sauce. Boil up spaghetti and JUST before it is al dente add in green beans. To serve; combine everything, garnishing plates with slivers of parmesan.

Notes

This made enough for two lunches the next day too.

By Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Jane's Adventures in Dinner http://janesadventuresindinner.com/

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Make it Mine 3: Chicken Souvlaki

2013-05-03T17:47:12Z

So excited to have you back here for our third ‘Make it Mine’ challenge.

VERY excited that we’re now making it even easier to share by offering this as a linky party.

If you subscribe to our newsletter we have even offered you the coding so that you can share even more in the fun.

Do so hope that you are able to play along.

I decided to really surprise my family by making a vegetarian version of souvlaki.

I wanted the dish to be light, bbq friendly and just full of flavour.

A few fresh herbs helped me out and lots of lemon juice.

I picked out my favourite vegetables (pick what’s prettiest in your market) and let my skewers sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

I had some plain yoghurt in the house, a cucumber and in a second had a nice cumin spiked tzatiki.

Lemon wedges added an extra spike of flavour after they came off of the bbq.

Vegetable Souvlaki

2013-05-01 11:41:03

Serves 6

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For the marinade

1/8 cup canola oil

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

2 T. fresh lemon juice

zest of one lemon

1 T. chopped, fresh thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1/2 T fresh oregano)

pinch chilli flakes

pinch salt

1 T honey

3 small zuchinni

6 small pepper (or one large cut into chunks)

6 mushrooms

6 skewers

Tzatsiki

1 cup plain yoghurt

1 small cucumber grated and squeezed

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Mix marinade ingredients together. Skewer vegetables and cover with marinade. Let sit for 30 minutes and grill on high heat until veg are slightly cooked through but still crisp (roughly 5 mintues/side).

Tzatsiki: mix ingredients together and enjoy.

By Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Jane's Adventures in Dinner http://janesadventuresindinner.com/

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And now for the best part…What have you been up to?

Here’s a few really easy guidelines:

· Link back to our blogs in some way. You can grab our button from the top of this page or add our blogs to your list of places you link up to/party at on your Link Parties page. The more people who link up to this recipe linky, the better it is for all of us.

· Please follow our blogs in some way, shape or form…you can see all of our social media links at the top of each blog.

· Please only post directly to your recipe link. No giveaways, etsy shops or anything not family friendly.

· Make sure your recipe contains photos of your own and give credit where credit is due…if you were inspired by another blogger, make sure you link back.

· By linking up you give us permission to use these photos (with proper link backs) in our feature post next challenge.

Amazing Guest Today!

2013-05-14T12:27:52Z

Dearie Readers, Do I have a treat for you today. I’ve an amazing guest poster who I have fallen desperately in love with and I’m so glad she’s here. Hope you enjoy her just as much as I do and you also pop by tomorrow for the ‘Make it Mine’ club. I’m guesting at today at ‘Cupcakes and Crinoline‘ today if you have a sec to stop by and say hey too. The lovely Gwen from Bold Abode introduced us and for the next several Tuesdays I’ll have visitors and being visiting around blog land.

Thank you, Jane, for giving me the opportunity to share a bit about myself and my blog. Hello Jane’s Adventures in Dinner readers! My name is Lani … short for Leilani … and I blog at Simply Fresh Vintage. My blog is pretty brand-spankin’ new … so new, in fact, that I haven’t quite grown out of my newborn onesies yet! But I’ve been having a blast getting to know so many new friends and faces and enjoying incredible talent in home decor, gardening, cooking, baking, cleaning, organizing, crafting, and so much more. I’ve been married 32 years to my best friend in the whole world. We are the proud parents of five … boy-girl-boy-girl-boy … all “A’s.” We are also blessed with a son-in-law and a grandson. In 2011 my husband and I and our three youngest made a bi-coastal move from central California to central Virginia. Our two oldest stayed in California. My husband is an automotive mechanic by trade and retired from his job right before we moved. I’ve been a homemaker for the last 26 years, doing part-time administrative jobs here and there, volunteering at our church and serving on the board of my daughters gymnastics parents club. What a privilege it has been to be able to stay home and raise my children. We were a homeschooling family for many, many years and loved every minute of it. Our move to Virginia ended our homeschool adventure. Our three youngest are now attending a wonderful Christian school, with our middle son graduating from high school this year and heading to Liberty University in the Fall. Simply Fresh Vintage was born on the one-year anniversary of the purchase of our home in Virginia. Finding the “perfect” home was quite an experience. You can read all about it in my post “A Very Good Place to Start.” God so richly blessed us with this beautiful house. It was truly a gift from Him, because without His working in all the details, we would have never been able to purchase it. The very first day I walked in to see this beauty, my first thought was that it would be a perfect house to blog about. We have fondly named it “Sunnyside Manor,” not because it sits on acres and acres of land (we only have one) but because it is bright, bright yellow and to us it is huge! And it has a nice ring to it I’ve put together a 3-part series of posts introducing our house. You can find them all here …

Sunnyside Manor … Part 1 … featuring the exterior and basement Sunnyside Manor … Part 2 … featuring the upper level Sunnyside Manor … Part 3 … featuring the main level

When we made our big move, we brought only the bare essentials with us. We really wanted to start all over. The title of the blog is really a reflection of where we want to be with the decor of our home.

Keep it simple. Make it fresh. Pepper it with some vintage not only for style, but as a way to remember our heritage and our upbringing.

It’s taken us a good year to really get to know the house and for the house to get to know us … know what I mean? Now that we are settled in, we are starting to make changes … a little bit of paint on the walls, some furniture re-do’s, some fun Pinterest remakes, a whole lot of landscaping and gardening … ah yes, we’re finally putting our fingerprint on it.

One of my favorite posts is about a re-do of a vintage dresser that belonged to my husband and his older brother. You can read about it HERE.

You’ll also very quickly figure out that one of my biggest passions is quilting. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to make quilts. I recently finished a postage stamp quilt for our guest room that I started last summer. Well, actually, I started it back in January of 2011, before the move. But you know how moves go … things get packed away sometimes for a very long time. Now it’s all done and rests at the foot of our guest bed. You can read all about it in my post Never Too Late For the Party. I would be absolutely honored if you would stop on by the blog and say Howdy! If you leave a note, I promise to write back. I love spending time chatting with my readers. And, of course, you can follow me on all the major social media locales …

Thank you so much, Jane, for letting me spend a few moments with your readers. I’m truly honored! — Blessings & Hugs … Lani Simply Fresh Vintage www.SimplyFreshVintage.com

Secret Recipe Club! A Great Meal For A Warm Evening

2013-05-13T14:16:45Z

Happy second of the month to you and yours and welcome to one of my favourite days.

It’s Reveal Day for the Secret Recipe Club!

I was given such a fabulous blog this month that I’ve become more than a bit addicted.

Fit Mama Real Food is just too, too fun. Heather is a mom, wife and fit instructor. She’s always on the go and wonderfully positive. I LOVE the series of exercises that she posts, laid-out in pictures and very motivational.

After a lot of poking around I decided to make:

Thai Peanut Chicken Wrap (This recipe is verbatum from Heather’s blog, my only change was to make my own tortillas. My picture version is just below)
serves 1

Ingredients

3/4 cup shredded roasted or slow cooked chicken (or tofu to make it vegetarian)
3/4 cup sautéd veggies (red bell peppers an sugar snap peas here!)
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 tsp lime zest
2-3 tbsp thai peanut sauce {recipe below}

Directions

Place the chicken and veggies in the middle of your wrap. Sprinkle on the lime zest, then drizzle peanut sauce on top.
Fold your favorite way and serve with extra sauce!

Thai Peanut Sauce
makes a little less than 1 cup

Ingredients

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter (mine had a little sea salt in it)
1 tbsp soy sauce, low sodium
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

In a microwave safe bowl combine the water, peanut butter and soy sauce. Heat on high for 1 minute, then whisk to combine.
Whisk in the remaining ingredients. The sauce will thicken up naturally after a couple minutes, so make sure to let it sit for a few before serving.

Ready for a warm evening and a glass of beer.

I loved this dish for dinner as everyone got as much or as little of what they liked AND I was able to use up leftover chicken for the night before.

Want to make your own tortillas? I’ve a step-by-step ready for you in my next newsletter.

Hope you sign-up C:

Brunch Week: Grilled Pineapple and Walnut Dip

2013-05-11T13:53:56Z

Day 7 of

and to be honest-I’m a bit bummed. This had been so much fun!

Remember all those great prizes?

Don’t forget about our pinchat today and you can see lots of great ideas AND whether you won!

I had this recipe in mind right from the start but then one of our sponsors, California Walnuts sent me a big bag of treats and made up my mind for certain.

Fresh, addictive and given my family and their love of goodies-now all gone.

Before the recipe though, we’re going to have a closing ceremony Tweet chat and make sure you check out our fab pinboard FULL of inspiration.

I almost feel guilty about this recipe since it is so easy but easy isn’t a bad thing. I actually use walnuts in tonnes of things and small one is addicted to eating them just as snacks. They even seem to settle her tummy to a certain extent in the car which we are always desperate for. I thought that I’d step out of the box a bit and make a protein filled dip. I had a gorgeous pineapple on hand and the bbq was already heated up so…

For the dip, pop everything into a bowl for a yummy dip and blitz it with a handblender or put it in your food processor OR blender.

Easy as can be and a nice dessert that isn’t too sweet.

Pineapple Skewers and Walnut Dip

2013-05-01 13:02:58

Serves 4

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Ingredients

1 pineapple cut into spears

2 cups walnuts

1 heaping T honey

1/2 cup yoghurt

1/2 cup chevre (or cream cheese)

juice and zest orange

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Grill pineapple spears on bbq for 1-2 minutes/side. Blitz dip ingredients together and enjoy!

By Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Jane's Adventures in Dinner http://janesadventuresindinner.com/

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And the last of my fabulous fellow brunchers awesomeness:

Brunch Drink Recipes

Frozen Grasshopper by Amanda’s Apron
Gin and Sparkling Red Wine Cocktail by Take A Bite Out Of Boca
Chocolate Trifle {kid friendly} by Real Housemoms
Vanilla Pomegranate Mojito by Noshing With The Nolands
Cherry Sangria by Cooking In Stilettos

Potato Brunch Recipes

Parmesan Roasted Red Potatoes with Vidalia Onions and Thyme by Cook the Story
A Salad Called German Potato by The Vintage Cook

Breads, Grains, Cereals and Pancake-type Yums

Chocolate Chip Craisin Granola Bars by Big Bear’s Wife
Dandelion Pesto Pizza by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Biscoff Walnut Granola Parfaits by White LIghts on Wednesday
Stuffed French Toast by poet in the pantry
Pina Colada French Toast by The Domestic Mama & The Village Cook
Sourdough Epi Baguettes with Rhubarb Blood Orange Ginger Jam by Spontaneous Tomato
Carrot Cake Pancakes by Love and Confections

Spreads and Dips for Brunch

Strawberry-Kiwi Jam by Sweet Remedy
Grilled Pineapple and Walnut Dip by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Brunch Dessert Recipes

Raspberry Sweet Rolls with Meyer Lemon Glaze by by Cravings of a Lunatic
Florida Strawberry, Lavender Farmers Cheese and California Walnut Braided Pastries by Vanilla Lemonade

Brunch Week: Bacon Flowers and Souffle Pancakes

2013-05-10T15:52:09Z

Day 6 of

and more treats are ready just for you.

Just a quick reminder that if you live in the U.S. you are eligible to wine a whole HECK of a lot of prizes-you just have to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway

We also have something totally exciting happening on Saturday!

I totally surprised myself this week by limiting bacon to ONE dish.

I mean, really, I might lose my bacon Queen crown if I’m not careful.

How about bacon flowers?

They sound like they would be so difficult but really, a few slices of bacon and a skewer and Bob’s your uncle.

I was simply looking for a new way to cook bacon but small one declared they were flowers. Hey, anytime that small one tells me that it is “the best thing she’s ever had”, I’ll let her name the dish.

Considering they are so simple I thought I would play a little bit with a souffle pancake.

I made it on one of those days when the sun was winning over the clouds and we had no set schedule to meet.

That’s the definitive Brunch day, isn’t it.

A little separating of eggs, whipping of the whites, buttering an ovenproof skillet and a few bananas on top..

Ok, maybe a tiny bit of dark chocolate is required.

Oozy and light and perfectly accompanied by bacon that reminds you of flowers.

We had a bit of leftover and ate it as a very late afternoon snack-delish!

I topped the whole thing off with just the tiniest amount of maple syrup.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

Souffle Pancakes and Bacon Flowers

2013-05-01 12:45:19

Serves 6

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Ingredients

1 lb bacon

6 skewers

5 eggs (separated)

1/8 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup butter (melted)

1 1/4 cup whole milk

1 banana

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside (they whip best at room temperature). Beat the egg yolks with; sugar, vanilla, butter and milk. Add flour and then fold in egg whites.

Heat 10 inch skillet with 1 T butter, pour in batter and place in oven. When starting to set add banana slices and bake until firm. Approximately 15 minutes at 375. Top with chocolate.

Roll bacon slices and thread onto skewers. Bake on a parchment sheet at 375 until crispy.

Notes

Not a fan of bananas and chocolate? How about berries? OR make this dish a savory one by omitting the sugar and topping with a bit of cheese instead of bananas.

By Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Jane's Adventures in Dinner http://janesadventuresindinner.com/

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And even more fabulousness!

Brunch Drink Recipes

Mango Lime Bellinis by Cook the Story
Strawberry Sangrias by Kokocooks

Breads, Grains, Cereals and Pancake-type Yums

Souffle Pancakes with Bacon Flowers by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Mini Breakfast Pizzas by Sweet Remedy
Turkey , Brie and Raspberry Waffle Bites by Vanilla Lemonade
Glazed Doughnut Pancakes by The Domestic Mama & The Village Cook
Whole Wheat Blueberry and Sour Cream Pancakes by Sarcastic Cooking

Meat, Poultry, Fish and Legume Brunch Recipes

Thai Orchid Salmon Salad by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Egg Recipes

Crouque Monsieur Strata by White Lights on Wednesday
American Girl Chip and Ham Scramble by The Vintage Cook
Sausage, Egg, & Veggie Casserole by Katie’s Cucina

Potato Recipes

Poutine Hash by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

Brunch Dessert Recipes

Vanilla Bean Cookie Bars by Rachel Cooks
Candied Bacon Brownies by {i love} my disorganized life
Turtles French Toast by Cravings of a Lunatic
Chocolate Chiffon Cakee by Love and Confections
Dark Chocolate-Orange & Walnut Banana Bread by The Kitchen Prep