Oatmeal Cookies

These are grandma's oatmeal cookies... the best.

Ingredients

• 1 c. butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. soda
• 3 c. quick oats
• 1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional) 
• coconut (optional) 

Instructions

Thoroughly cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients. Add oatmeal and nuts if using. Divide dough in half on parchment or waxed paper, and shape in rolls (long cylinders). Wrap and chill overnight and freeze. Slize 1/4 inch thick and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes. 

Beef Enchiladas

If there are any readers left out there, I finally had the energy to post a new recipe! It was pretty delicious, so here it is... beef enchiladas, tex-mex-ish style! 

First, make the enchilada sauce:

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

1. In large saucepan saute garlic in oil for about 30 seconds.

2. Stir in flour until smooth; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.

3. Stir in chili powder.

4. Gradually stir in broth, tomato sauce, oregano, salt and cumin.

5. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Then, make the meat and assemble the enchiladas: 

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 T flour
• 1 T chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 can rotel
• 1 recipe enchilada sauce
• 8 large habanero-lime tortillas (Trader Joe's brand)
• 12 oz. (approximately) Mexican blend shredded cheese
• Sliced green onion
• Sliced avacado

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1 clove of the minced garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes. Break up chunks of meat as they cook. 

Drain the fat from the beef and return the meat to the pan. (I skipped this, ha!) Add flour, chili powder, cumin, salt, and stir. Add stewed tomatoes and stir again. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour about 1 1/2 c of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 13x9” baking pan. Place tortillas on a microwave-safe plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Heat for 30 seconds. Tortillas will soften. 

Scoop about 1/4 c. of beef mixture on a tortilla. Sprinkle a little of the shredded cheese over the filling. Roll tightly and place in the baking pan, seam side down. Repeat for remaining enchiladas. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake about 30 minutes. Garnish with green onion and avacado slices.

 

Milan, Day 2

On the last day of our European adventure, we woke up to a beautiful day! 

We ate a wonderful breakfast, and then walked to the Parco Sempione, where we enjoyed touring the aquarium and the gardens. 

Our first stop was at the aquarium. 

Jamie enjoyed the turtles! 

After the acquarium, we walked through the park, and enjoyed beautiful architecture and flowers. 

I think this was the most hydrangeas I'd ever seen in one spot! 

They were beautiful! 

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, walking through the park, and strolling through the city. 

We grabbed a quick sandwich, and then headed to see Leonardo daVinci's The Last Supper. We didn't book our tickets very far in advance, so we got lucky to get them! We were able to get them through the host at our bed and breakfast. We were so happy we did, as it was worth it to see the painting. No pictures are allowed, so we just have some photos of buildings in the area that we walked around before and after the viewing. 

We enjoyed the rest of our afternoon and evening by sitting on our patio, drinking some Italian prosecco, eating the last bits of our Dumon chocolates, and enjoying some real Italian pizza at Pizza OK. It's kind of a funny name for a pizza place, huh? But it was delicious, and the perfect end to our vacation. 

Milan, Day 1

We were lucky enough that the Italian transportation strike only lasted one day! We encountered no problems taking the vaporetto to the train station to board our train to Milan! 

Jamie loves trains :) 

We arrived in Milan hungry, so we stopped at McDonald's near the train station. We very much enjoyed Italian McDonald's! 

Our salads were served with EVOO for dressing, 

and Italian crunchy breadsticks. 

After a quick lunch, we walked about 20 minutes and then arrived at our B&B, which was very nice! It had a large king size bed, 

a large bathroom, 

and a private balcony with beautiful flowers and a nice view! 

We then walked downtown, in search of the Duomo. 

We first walked through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, where we could not afford anything, but it was fun to look! 

Then, we admired the facade of the Duomo before going inside to see the grand cathedral. 

The inside of the cathedral was beautiful, and it featured unique stained glass windows. 

After viewing the inside, we climbed to the top for some unbelievable views! 

The top was under construction, so Jamie took this photo of a picture of it, so that we could know what it was really supposed to look like. 

After Duomo, we headed back toward our B&B, and ate a lovely dinner at Sabatini. We had bruschetta, salad, wine, gnocchi and risotto. Yum!