Food....

I had a groupon coupon for IL Pointe Cafe and it had to be used before the end of the month. So off we went last night.  We checked out the menu online and found several options that sounded good.  This restaurant has had several names, but seems to be owned by the same group of people.  The menu is Mediterranean, including some Italian, which is in the Mediterranean.
The restaurant has had a major face lift, it was pretty and my favorite part quiet.  No blaring music, it was low opera that was restful.  It was early and there was only one other couple seated.  The manager waited on us and he was very pleasant.  He would have looked great in black slacks and a white shirt instead of jeans and a blue pullover.
We ordered a bowl of the tomato soup to share.  It was fantastic!!!!  Creamy, peppery and a great tomato flavor.  We polished that off in no time.
Kent ordered the beef kabobs and I ordered the lamb kabobs both meals came with a fattoush salad, homus (their spelling) and warm soft pita.  The homus had a garlic pesto that was unbelievably yummy. I took pictures with my phone so they a bit dark, but I think you get the idea.

I would recommend this restaurant to everyone.  It is quiet, great food, serene atmosphere.  We will be going back!!

I cooked...

This entire weekend was eaten up with cooking!  And I have dubbed it the Pioneer Woman Cooking Weekend.  I didn't realize how many of her recipes I was cooking till I was telling my mother-in-law.  Every recipe came from her cookbook or her show I watched on Sat.  So here is the weekend.

Friday
Emily made 18 million PW red velet round cakes.  It was only 9, but seemed like much more.
PW Cream Cheese Frosting
Saturday
More cakes and  more frosting
PW Chli for 20 (that is a lot of chili and yet there were some left overs-Sunday night dinner)
Cake Balls from the trimmings of the cake
Sunday
PW meat balls with a tangy sweet tomato sauce- This was so good!!!  How such a simple recipe can create a dish that makes you dance with joy is beyond me.
PW Flat Apple Pie- I was watching her show Sat. and she made this.  It looked too simple.  Could it really be that simple and still taste like apple pie?  Yes and Yes!!!  I hate making pie, I hate trying to get it into a pie dish, baking it without it having spills than smoke the house up, and then trying to get that first piece out?  This was beyond simple.  And it tasted great, but I would let it cook a bit longer to allow the apples to break down more.

I took the left overs of my cooking extravaganza to my in-laws.  They got chili, meatballs and a flat apple pie.  I also made bown beans and ham.  They loved that.

So that was my cook weekend!

PW's Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs of good ground beef
3/4 cup of oatmeal
1 cup of milk
3 T. minced onion
1 t kosher salt
1 t fresh cracked pepper
1/2 c flour
4 T. cooking oil

I thought I was out of flour so I used Panko Bread Crumbs.  They worked out perfect and I will always use Panko.  I used about 1 1/2 c
Mix this all up, but do not over work the mixture.  If you handle the meat a lot it will toughen up as it cooks and be very dry.

Make the meat balls, I use my 2 oz. scoop so that they are all the same.  Heat a large skillet with a little oil to cover the bottom. Roll the meat balls in the panko to coat. Let the skillet heat up for a good 5 minutes.  Turn your heat to a medium high.  You are only browning the meat balls, not trying to cook them through. Place them in the hot skillet, do not crowd, and cook till they are golden brown, turn over and brown the other side. Place the browned meatballs in a 9x13 dish.

The Sauce
1 cup of ketchup
3 T. minced onionm
3 T. sugar
2 T. vinegar
2 T. Worschshire Sauce
Mix and pour over the meatballs.  Bake these for 35-45 minutes at 350.  I served them with pasta, but they would also be excellent with garlic mashed potatoes.  The sauce is very tangy, you can cut back on the vinegar if you like a more mild zip.  You can also just use BBQ sacue if you like or the cranberry ketchup sauce.  I had some left over panko so I just sprinkled it over the top and it browned in the oven and gave the dish an extra cruch on top. 

I took pictures and will add them as soon as my daughter emails them to me.