Cleveland Rocks ... and Detroit too!

My husband Greg and I went on a quick weekend Getaway to Ohio and Michigan. We drove to Ohio and stayed overnight. We explored Cleveland and visited Lake Erie and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. For dinner we went to one of my favorite Food Network stars restaurant. We ate a delicious meal at Lolita in downtown Cleveland. We tried Fried Chicken Livers! They were amazing!
Next we went to Detroit which was an experience. It was sad to see what distress the whole area of the city of Detroit is. So many places are closed and vandalized. There was many people homeless on the street. It was a real eye opener. We traveled outside of Detroit to Clarkston for the Sugarland concert. What a fantastic night! 2 great openers and a double encore by Sugarland.

We jammed so much into a 3 day weekend. I am so happy we did it with Marty and Kathy. Great travel companions.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Iron Chef Michael Symon's restaurant 

Kathy and I at the DTE Area in MI for the Sugarland Concert

The Heart is an "Incredible Machine"

It's All Greek To Me

Back in August I mentioned that I wanted to make Lamb Burgers. This week, my husband executed that idea and it was a sucess! We used a recipie from FoodNetwork.com called "It's all Greek to me". I apologize that I do not have a picture, but it was unbelievably good. Here is the recepie from their site.

Ingredients

For Feta Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
4 ounces good quality feta cheese
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 small clove garlic, grated
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For Burger Patties:
1 1/2 pounds good quality ground lamb
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
Directions
3/4 teaspoon smoked sea salt (large crystals - if using fine salt cut this amount in 1/2)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For Assembly:
4 slices mozzarella cheese
4 good quality kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, split
Romaine lettuce
Sliced tomato
Sliced red onion
Mild banana pepper rings
English cucumber slices
Add all ingredients for dressing to the bowl of a small food processor and pulse to combine. Remove to bowl and set aside to allow the flavors to blend.

Mix all the ingredients for burger patties (do not overwork). Divide the meat into 4 equal patties that are a little larger in diameter than the size of your bun, so that when they shrink after cooking they will fit the buns perfectly.

Heat a grill pan, cast iron skillet, or outdoor grill to medium heat. Once the grill is hot, cook burgers about 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until desired doneness is reached. Do not overcook or the burgers will be dry.

Top each burger with mozzarella cheese during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking.

Lightly toast the cut sides of your buns either on the grill or under the oven broiler.

Spread some of the feta dressing on the bottom half of each bun, top with a burger patty, romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, red onion, banana pepper rings, and sliced cucumber. Spread some feta dressing on the top halves of the buns and cover the burgers.


We did not use bananna peppers or sliced cucumbers but the rest we did and it was fantastic. If you want to try something savory and different, give this a shot. KUDOS to my husband Greg for making such a delicious dish and finding this recipie!

Crock Pot Love

I have mentioned in past blogs I love my Crock Pot, but I really LOVE it. I made a 3 bean Turkey Chili last week for dinner. Today it is rainy and there is a chill in the air, so I took out the Crock Pot and started a Spicy Beef Chili. I have the Rival Crock Pot in the picture above. I also have the cookbook listed below. I think I have made about 5 meals from this book so far.


Do you use a Crock Pot? What are some of your favorite recipes?

30 Things to Make... While I am 30

I saw this on another Blog (I will tag them in when I figure out who- Sorry!). It seems like a great idea, 30 things to make when I am 30. I am going to have to get right into it being my Birthday was in June!

1. Knit/Crochet Gloves
2. Hat
3. Black & White Cookies
4. Roast whole Chicken or Turkey
5. Baby Blanket
6. Scarf
7. French Onion Soup
8. Apple Pie
9. "Filled Cupcakes"
10. Homemade bread
11. Honeymoon Scrapbook
12. Apron
13. Jack O'lantern
14. Christmas gifts (in jar)
15. Inspiration Board
16. Sangria
17. Ina's Ginger Cookies
18. Pasta Fagioli
19. iPod Case
20. Cake balls/pops
21. Baked Apples
22. Pizza
23. Kabobs
24. Tie Dye Cake
25. Scrapbook paper Artwork
26. Headband / Clip
27. Chicken Soup
28. Banana Bread
29. White Chocolate Blueberries
30. Table runner

September Goals

Wahooo! Fall is on it's way! Here are my ambitious goals for September:
1. 3 new recipes
2. Read 2 books
3. Improvements on Diet / Gym routines
4. Clean out paperwork (left over from last month)
5. Finish first Crochet project
6. Bake & freeze Halloween cookies
7. Go to Craft / Street Fairs for ideas
8. Save more & plan money spending better
9. Decorate for Fall
10. Change all passwords for accounts

August Goals Reviewed

What a whirlwind of a month. I felt awful for most of the month. But I made the best of the days that I did feel OK. Below are the few goals that I made, and what was accomplished for the month.

1. Follow Doctors orders
I have done the best I can with this. So I give myself a Pass!

2. Clean out all old paperwork from home files
Most of it is cleaned out. Half and Half done

3. Plan meals and try 2 new recipes
Done! I made a couple of dishes, including a homemade stir fry that came out great.

4. Read 2 books
Done! Charlie St. Cloud, Eat, Pray, Love and Amagansett