Another chance to enter Vision Forum's giveaway

There are about 5 different blogs hosting the Vision Forum giveaway right now so please forgive me for posting multiple times about the same great giveaway! I gain more entries that way! We love the Vision Forum's toys, Christian books, CDs and DVDs. You can head over to The Modest Mom blog to enter or any of these other fine blogs:
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Raising Olives
Generation Cedar

HUGE giveaway From Vision Forum

Our children drool over Vision Forum's catalog when it comes in the mail. Enough said.

My husband and I drool over the Christian books, CDs, DVDs, etc.

Head over to Life In a Shoe to enter in the giveaway!

Boys, Knives and Free Produce

What is it about boys and knives? Whatever the answer is to that question, I believe it is probably the same answer to: what is it about boys and guns? They love them and they instinctively know how to use them. They may not instinctively know how to SAFELY use them, which is why they need supervision, guidance and instruction in handling them properly.

We recently took a vacation to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. We went with my parents and it was a great time. That area is beautiful once you get past all the hoopla and merchandise for sale. Naturally a child wants a souvenir to take home and naturally, the boys wanted knives. Knives they got, with a wooden case and their name engraved on the side. Our 5-year-old still can not figure out how his name got on the side of that knife. He exclaims to everyone, "Look! It has my name on it and I don't know how it got there, I just found it like that!" I decided to let the magical mystery remain intact, so please don't tell him that there is a machine in China somewhere, stamping out children's names by the millions on all kinds of trinkets. Those knives have been in their pockets ever since.

A couple of days after returning from vacation, we were alerted to free pumpkins that were about to be brush hogged for the winter. Well, if you know me, I'm a sucker for wholesome produce and an even bigger one if it is FREE! The children and I piled into the truck, loaded the Radio Flyer wagon in the back and headed toward the 'ole pumpkin patch.

See that box? That is one of those boxes you see at Sam's and Costco loaded up with watermelons. THAT is our haul of pumpkins! I could have brought home twice that many, but it was lunchtime and I knew that at any minute I could have really grumpy children on my hands.

Here are the boys taking advantage of an opportunity to cut their fingers off use their new knives.

If we are missing a few digits the next time you see us, you'll know why.

C28 Christian Store Giveaway

I just discovered this store and guess what? They have a giveaway going on.

Head over HERE to participate.

Caramelized Onion and Gouda Bites

Thanks to Kitchen Play, we have been eating pretty good around here! The thing I most enjoy about participating in Kitchen Play's Progressive Party Menu is that I try foods and techniques in the kitchen that I would normally not try or even know about. This month's sponsor, the National Onion Association, can be proud of the recipes that various food bloggers created centering around onions.

This is my entry for the Amuse Bouche course. Megan knocked it out of the park with her Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Vol-Au-Vents. When I saw the figs and fig vinegar in this recipe, I knew I had to try it. One of my new loves is a fig spread that I found at Whole Foods, I subbed the fig spread for the fresh fig slice that Megan called for, mainly because that is what I had on hand (well, and I love it). I also opted for Back to Nature's Multi-Seed Rice Thin Crackers instead of the Vol-Au-Vents so that I could make these gluten-free.

These were super-delicious! A tasty bite! I also did not use goat cheese, but a lovely goat milk gouda that I recently discovered at Whole Foods. It is hands down one of my favorite cheeses right now. It is a mild gouda that takes on the flavor of whatever you pair it with. It was fabulous with the fig spread and fig vinegar drizzled over it.

Speaking of the fig vinegar. Take a look at this:

I know that isn't the best photo, but I had to add it for a couple of reasons: 1) I have never reduced vinegar, so that was new technique for me and 2) I picked up this beautiful Lodge piece at a garage sale for $1. I just love that! It is the perfect size for melting butter or reducing vinegar (please ignore my dirty stovetop...I had been cooking all day!).

These were so yummy that I think I need to host a party just so I can serve them!

Gluten-Free Red Onion Cutney

This is my entry for the dessert portion of Kitchen Play's Progressive Party Menu. You read that right...dessert! Yes, onions can be dessert!

This month's sponsor is the National Onion Association and I couldn't be more pleased.

Jamie created this Red Onion Chutney and I'm so glad she did! It's yummy.

I simply made it gluten-free by serving it on brown rice crisps instead of crostini. I also used a raw aged cheddar instead of goat cheese, which has nothing to do with gluten and everything to do with what I had in the fridge! Either way, it was delicious!

Here are the ingredients all lined up and ready to go (minus the olive oil, because I uh...forgot to set it out there!

The beautiful onions ready in the skillet to soften.

I loved the addition of a jalapeno pepper and cinnamon.

And here are the little bites of heaven!

I will definitely be making these again.

Thank you Kitchen Play and Jamie for giving me this wonderful recipe!

Steak, Asiago and Horseradish Cream Pizza with Caramelized Onions

Back again with another entry in Kitchen Play's Progressive Party Menu. This time with a nifty little combo of flavors paired together for a gourmet pizza.

This month's sponsor is the National Onion Association. Anyone that promotes onions is a friend of mine! I can't live without onions.

Elle's New England Kitchen created this recipe and suggested that it might go together well as a pizza. I went the pizza route for a few reasons: 1) I love pizza. 2) I had a Socca bread recipe I was dying to try and this was the perfect excuse.

I found the Socca recipe in a free Kindle download called Gluten-free, Hassle-free. Socca is a traditional bread from France and Italy that is made out of chickpea flour.

The only thing I changed in Elle's recipe was that I used socca bread for a pizza and I used Asiago cheese instead of blue. I love blue cheese, but did not have any in the house at that time.

Here are those glorious onions as they are slowly caramelizing. The house smelled terrific!

Here is a very big, juicy sirloin tip steak cooked just as Elle has suggested.

And here is the pizza! A bit rustic looking, but I've heard that rustic is all the rage right now so I'm in!

Socca is a bit tricky to work with until you get the hang of it. It is a batter the consistency of crepe batter so you need to have the heat just right and that gently twisting and rolling action of the wrist! I liked the socca and I liked Elle's recipe, so I think I'll keep them both.

You MUST try this salad.

It's official. I'm addicted to Kitchen Play's Progressive Party Menus. When I saw that this month's sponsor is the National Onion Association, well, I almost cried (pun intended). I love onions.

I also love salads, but I have to admit that I am a little less than creative when it comes to making them. I usually end up with a green salad with chopped veggies. Well, I just tried the:

Avocado Grapefruit Onion Salad with Creamy Onion Dressing

From Fuji Mama.

I'm warning your tastebuds right now. They are about to be overloaded with a wonderful mingling of delectable tastes. This salad is superb. You need to make this salad as soon as possible.

The one thing I did differently was to use raw sunflower seeds instead of the almonds.

This is easy to put together. Just remember to pickle the onions at least an hour before you plan to assemble the salad. Oh, and don't forget to blend the dressing in the processor. I almost forgot and I'm glad I remembered. It is yummy and the processor really brings that onion flavor out. 

Go to Kitchen Play for your chance to participate in the Party! You could even win $100! Oh, and go make this salad!!!

Pumpkin Cookies

I've been wanting to make a gluten-free sugar cookie for some time now (well, ever since I started eating gluten-free!) and the Sidecar Series at Kitchen Play was the perfect excuse! The series is hosted by McCormick and features Kid-Friendly Treats! The children and I decided to make the Pumpkin Cookies that Peabody created.

This was a lot of fun! I followed Peabody's recipe with one exception: I made THIS allergy-friendly sugar cookie instead of using the sugar cookie mix. The children had fun making, decorating and eating these lovely harvest cookies!

Ready to decorate!

And the finished product!

These treats come with a possible $50 prize. McCormick is giving away 10 - $50 prizes and you could win! But hurry, the deadline is October 31st!

Do you have yours yet??

It's all the rage. Do you have yours yet? Confused as what I'm talking about?

It's the Happy Gun!

Our five-year-old son pointed this at me the other day and said it was a Happy Gun. I said, "Shoot me PLEASE!"

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy most of the time, but I bet if you asked people if they would like more happy in their life, 9 out of 10 would say YES!

So, keep alert and keep checking in. I may patent this design and do an infomercial, just in time for your Holiday shopping.

Yes, you can have your very own Happy Gun for just $9.95 plus shipping and handling.

Rendering Lard and all that Jazz

Well, it is that time of year again. The old lard jars are running empty, so it is time to render lard so we can enjoy fluffy biscuits and flaky pie crusts for at least another year or so.

If you have never rendered lard then let me share some tips to help get you started:

1. If at all possible, share the job with a friend, a good friend. You know the kind: the one that knows all your habits and weaknesses and loves you anyway.
2. Give yourself plenty of time for this project. It's not hard, but it can be time-consuming.
3. Remember the goal: yummy biscuits and melt-in-mouth pie crusts.

Okay, so back to the friend that I was speaking of. My friend Carolyn and I have been sharing this job for a couple of years now and it works out beautifully for both of us. This is how it works: when our children start asking for chicken 'n' dumplings or biscuits and we tell them "no", it's because we are running low on lard. We'll email each other for about a month or so saying we need to make lard and then finally one day we actually grab the big hunk of hog fat out of our freezer to thaw.

We decide which one us will render the fat. When making this decision, we take two factors into consideration: time and sanity. The person with the most time and the least sanity gets the job of rendering the fat. This year that person was me. Last time it was my friend. That's the beautiful thing about lard, it always works out perfectly. Once finished, we split the jars of lard between the two of us. Take a look at WHY my friend didn't have time this year.

Have you ever tried cutting up 30 pounds of hog fat? Well, let me tell you, you better have a strong arm because you just about have to wrestle it into the roaster pan. Don't despair, it can be done and once it is, you'll have yummy, beautiful, creamy white lard.

Now the easy part. Just turn the roaster oven on low heat and let it go for a day or 2 days until the cracklings are a nice golden brown. Some people leave the heat on until the cracklings crisp up and sink, which is fine, but not my preference.

Strain the lard through some cheesecloth. Pour the lard into clean wide-mouth jars and cap them. I like to process my jars in a pressure canner for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. That way I have a nice seal on the jars and I know for sure they are shelf-stable.

Look at these lovely jars of lard! Makes my heart sing!

Now what to do with the cracklings...we made suet balls for our chickens and wild birds.

The boys loved making them. You think children love handling Play-Doh??? Just hand them a hunk of cold cracklings mixed with lard and watch their eyes light up! Of course, I cringed every time I heard a piece of bird seed hitting the kitchen floor, but it all swept up nicely in the end.

And look how happy our beloved chickens are! The little bantums were hesitant at first, but once they discovered how yummo it was, there was no stopping them.

We rolled the others up in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer so the birds could enjoy a tasty snack this winter.

Mommy is happy, Mommy's friend is happy, the children are happy, the chickens are happy...everyone is happy and happy is good!

The Holocaust in America

This is a free video that I feel is a must see. Please use discretion as there are some graphic photos that you may not want your young children to see. Please do not let this deter you from watching it.

http://180movie.com/

My sixth and final Kitchen Play entry.

I can't believe that I actually pulled off entering in each of the six courses at Kitchen Play. I usually only manage to try one or two of the recipes, but this month I was able to try all six! And you know what? It was tremendous fun!

My final entry is the appetizer course and I only slightly revised the Apple and Blue Cheese Tart. I used all the same ingredients, but put the pastry dough in muffin tins instead of on a pan. FACT: this is my first and only experience with filo dough. I think that I used too many layers of dough in each tin and personally, I'm a little unsure of the texture. Just a personal preference.

This month's sponsor is the U.S. Apple Association. A big thank you to them! Okay, now look at that beautiful hunk of cheese! THAT is Rogue River Blue Cheese wrapped in grape leaves. It is a reserve cheese that Whole Foods gets in only once a year. The are no words to describe this cheese, except that I can assure you that it is worth the price tag it comes with! And it paired really well with the granny smith apples.

Here are our Apple and Blue Cheese Tartlettes (I'm not sure what else to call them!).

Aren't they lovely little numbers?

You really should visit Kitchen Play and try these apple recipes for yourself!

Apple Cider Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Apple Slaw

Oh my! I'm in love with this month's Progressive Menu at Kitchen Play. It is sponsored by the U.S. Apple Association and I have now completed 5 of the 6 courses in the menu. It has been a lovely experience and I do hope to get to the appetizer course before the deadline of September 30th.

Here is the main entree: Apple Cider Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Apple Slaw created by Savour Fare. This was our supper tonight, along with the Cinnamon Apple Potato Salad that I made earlier today. A very scrumptious and satisfying meal to say the least!

You too can have this much fun each month, while cooking for your family. Just visit Kitchen Play and check out the Progressive Menu for your chance at $100 and a delicious meal to boot!

Potato Salad with a Twist!

I am totally enjoying the Progressive Menu at Kitchen Play this month! The sponsor is the U.S. Apple Association. That means all the recipes have apples in them which can mean only one thing: YUM.

The salad course is an interesting little number created by Amanda. Thank you Amanda! This recipe is going straight into my recipe file!

I was a little hesitant when I first read the ingredient list, but followed the recipe exactly and the salad is amazing. Really. It is.

Here is our finished salad, right before one of my daughters and I gobbled it up!

Thankfully I still have a good sized bowl to serve tonight with supper. I hope this has inspired you to visit Kitchen Play and to try the recipes.

Ta da! The Apple Basil Mojito.

Here we go again! Another entry for Kitchen-Play has me oooing and aaaahing still again!

Surely you know by now that I love participating in the Progressive Menu at Kitchen Play. Here I present to you the Cocktail portion of this month's menu, sponsored by the U.S. Apple Association. Drum roll PLEASE!!!!

The Apple Basil Mojito created by Cheeky Kitchen.

The star players all lined up:

I confess that I was not prepared in the barware department for this drink so I had to use a pretty little vintage punch mug for the picture, but I assure you that it did not affect the taste one itsy-bit!

My children enjoyed drinking (inhaling) their non-alcholohic mojitos. They gobbled up the apples, chewed on the basil and greedily slurped up every last drop of the mojito! I on the other hand realized that this was the perfect occasion to dust off the rum bottle that I have had in the basement for a while and try mine with a touch of rum. Delicious!

You must try this drink and if you hurry and do so before September 30th, you can enter the Kitchen Play Progressive Menu for your very own chance at $100. Cheers y'all!

Thank you Nutmeg Nanny.

Is Nutmeg Nanny the cutest name you have ever heard? It is so comforting to say the least.

Well, Nutmeg Nanny is participating in Kitchen Play's Progressive Menu this month and so am I! The U.S. Apple Association is the sponsor this month.

I am SO glad to have this new recipe in my stash! Apple Maple Parfaits.

It is classified as a dessert in the Progressive Menu, but we had it for breakfast this morning! Very satisfying and double yum. And might I just add that anything you can eat out of a canning jar is so worth the effort!

Can I let you in on a little secret? If you make and preserve Apple Pie filling ahead of time, it makes this a really easy and quick breakfast or dessert. Not that the recipe is hard, it isn't, but if you have the one step of cooking the apples done ahead of time, it makes it SUPER easy and fast. Remind me to post how to make and preserve apple pie filling. 

The children and I loved this combination of spiced apples, yogurt and maple syrup. In fact, I can't believe I never thought of it before! Thank you Nutmeg Nanny!

Proof that the children loved it, just in case you were wondering!

You too can participate in Kitchen Play's Progressive Menu. It is the yummiest fun you will ever have. I promise.

Apple-Tizers for Lunch

I'm a fan of Kitchen Play. Just look through my blog posts as proof. The Progressive Menu has me swooning every month!

This month the sponsor is the U.S. Apple Association. Now, who doesn't love apples?? My only disappointment in this menu is the timing! I have 3 bushels of apples coming to me the first week of October and the deadline for the contest is September 30th! Oh well. We love apples enough to forge ahead and participate anyway!

We tried the Itty-Bitty Apple-tizers first, only we did it KID-STYLE. Fun and deliciousness wrapped into one!

First we brought out our toppings...(and just as a side note, once the bag of M&M's made it's appearance, all mayhem ensued).

Then we set to cutting out the apples, adding a dollop of peanut butter and putting on all the yummy toppings.

Okay, I know these are not as glamorous or charming as Deanna's, but the children certainly did enjoy making and eating them.

Here are the children enjoying their Apple-tizers!

Head over to Kitchen Play and get in on the action! You'll love it!

Ouch, that hurt!

We home-educate our children. Currently, we have two eight-year olds, a seven-year old, a five-year old and a two-year old. Things get a little crazy around here and as the mom, teacher, principal, cafeteria worker, janitor, president of the PTO, etc. I am expected to remain calm, subdued and under-control at all times. It became clear to me today that perhaps I'm not doing a very good job at exhibiting self-control. At one point, I put my hands on my cheeks and said, "Oh, I'm going to go crazy." My five-year old son puts his hands on his ears and yells,

"TAKE COVER!"

We all got a good chuckle out of it. Later in the day I said the same thing as I was trying to locate an item that I had just had in my hands 2 minutes earlier and my little man said the same thing. It has now become a family joke.

We love art!

The children and I love art. We love studying it and creating it! We are getting ready to study Giotto (pronounced jaw-toe, in case you are wondering!). I had to look that one up.

We often times find You Tube videos instructing us on different art techniques, which is always fun and interesting. I just entered this giveaway for these terrific art DVDs.

Head on over to Home Educating Family Magazine to enter for your chance to win!

The return of the long skirt.

Has anyone noticed that long skirts are now making a comeback? The ladies in my family have always enjoyed wearing skirts and especially long lovely ones! Sometimes finding long, lovely and practical skirts, can be a challenge, but New Creation Apparel is meeting the challenge.

Life In A Shoe is hosting a wonderful giveaway. The prize? A new skirt from New Creation Apparel. Go take a look at all those lovely skirts!

GAPS

If you want to learn more about the GAPS diet, head over to Holistic Kid and enter to win the book that explains it all!

It should be an interesting read!

A cure for tooth decay??

I would love to read this book. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? 

Head over to Holistic Kid to see how you might win a copy for yourself!

Kiwi Lemonade Shandy

The children and I made lemonade the other day. There was a sale on fresh lemons so we grabbed them. We used this recipe:

Lemonade

Simple, refreshing lemonade that even the youngest child can make!

Source: MOMYS Cookbook

Course: Beverages

Ingredients

• 3 lemons
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 gallon water

Directions

1. Wash the lemons and roll them on the counter gently to make them juicer. Slice each one, making the slices about 1/4 inch thick. Place the sugar in the bottom of a large pickle jar or jug. Drop slices into sugar and them make sure your hands are clean. Squeeze the sugar and the lemon slices until you get a nice blend of juices with the sugar. Add water to top of jug and let sit for 3 hours (if you can wait that long!). Strain juice from the lemon slices and seeds. Keep lemonade in the refrigerator. Add small amounts of other juices for variations.

It was the most refreshing lemonade that I have ever tasted! From here on out, I will always use this method for making homemade lemonade. That said, I am also participating in the Progressive Menu at Kitchen Play so when I saw the cocktail recipe, it really got me to thinking how I could incorporate my lemonade and the Zespri kiwi into a cocktail. A quick Swagbucks search educated me on lemonade cocktails, one of which is called a Shandy, half lemonade and half beer. Well, since the original Progressive Menu cocktail recipe involves mead, I decided to try making a Kiwi Lemonade Shandy! 

I set my girls to work making the lemonade. 

This is the two-year-old "helping".

We added kiwi slices to the mixture of lemon slices and sugar and then my 7-year-old Curly Top, went to work with her petite hands, squeezing and pulverizing the mixture. 

We then filled the jug with filtered water and let it set for 3 hours.

Next, we strained the kiwi infused lemonade through a metal sieve. At this point, we had a lovely kiwi lemonade, perfect for hot, sunny days. The girls all enjoyed sipping on it. 

Mommy and Daddy however, mixed it with Shiner Hefeweizen, equal parts and we tried our first ever Kiwi Lemonade Shandy! 

Delicious! You really must try it. And, please, please do make the plain lemonade recipe. It is amazing and your children will love you for it!

Good Summer eating.

Summer is here, which means fresh produce from our garden! I look forward to it every year.

We have been eating fresh lettuce and spinach from our garden for about a month now. It doesn't get any better than this. Well, if someone would come weed the garden for me...that would be better!

Kitchen Play has given me yet another excuse to gather lettuce and spinach from the garden. The Progressive Menu this month features kiwi and the salad recipe includes spinach, my all time favorite veggie. Zespri is sponsoring this month's menu and I have to admit that I don't buy kiwis too often, mainly because I don't really know what to do with them! Other than the obvious fruit salad, I have not experimented much with these delicious fuzzy fruits.

I decided to try the salad as my first entry. It was the obvious choice, especially since I have all that lovely spinach in my garden. I did make a few changes to the recipe. Instead of a spinach salad with orange poppy seed dressing (which sounds wonderful, does it not?), I made a cranberry vinaigrette. I did not have any fresh raspberries either so I opted for dried cranberries. I was hurrying to get supper on the table so I did not take the time to make the sugared almonds (although I plan to soon), but used a sprinkling of raw sunflower seeds to top the salad off. Here is the finished salad and yes, it was just the right salad for a hot summer day!

Salad:
Fresh spinach and/or any other lettuces that are plentiful
2 kiwi fruits
Small red onion
Handful of raw sunflower seeds

Dressing:
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Couple grinds of black pepper
Generous pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. water

Arrange salads on plates. You could toss all the salad ingredients together, but I found that I like to lay the kiwi slices on top, drizzle with dressing and then sprinkle with sunflower seeds. For the dressing, just whirl it all together in your blender.

I hope this inspires you to visit Kitchen Play. Pick out a recipe from the Progressive Menu, pick up some Zespri kiwis and get cooking! You may even win $100!

What "virgin" do you read?

Our five-year-old son was packing his backpack for church and daddy told him to put his Bible in the pack. Jobo (that's one of my nicknames for him) searches for all of 2 minutes and declares that he can't find his Bible. He quickly picks up another Bible and starts shoving it in his pack. Meanwhile, mommy (that's me!) finds his Bible and I hand it to him and tell him that I found his Bible. Jobo looks up at me, grabs his Bible and starts shoving it too in his pack. I've found that you have to be very specific with your instructions when talking to young children, so I tell him that he no longer needs the other Bible because I had found his and that he could now take the other Bible out of his pack.

He looks up and says, "Well, I'm going to take both of them because this one is a different virgin than this one."

Well, okay then. Take both Bibles son, for I wouldn't want you to have the wrong virgin at church, would I?

So what "virgin" do you read???? :o))))

Filet Mignon with Bearnaise Sauce

Kitchen Play has really challenged me lately with the monthly Progressive Menus. If you have never heard of this contest, then you really should click over tho Kitchen Play and check it out. I will warn you that the recipes seem somewhat intimidating at first glance, to this cook anyway! And this month was no different. The sponsor this month was one I had never heard of, but took great interest in. This month's sponsor is Safest Choice Eggs. As you may know from a previous post, I LOVE eggs, so this was especially exciting to me. One thing you may not know about me is that my family and I raise chickens for meat and eggs. I will admit that I occasionally give thought to salmonella, but the thought never sticks around too long and yes, we eat raw cookie dough and cake batter around here. We have thankfully never had a problem with it. I will tell you that I'm very careful with the handling of our eggs. We gather them daily, wash them before use and keep them refrigerated. Our hens are raised on pasture whenever possible and then given natural grain when needed. All this to say, that I'm pretty confident that our eggs are safe and healthy. Given all of this, I still have an interest in these "new" eggs on the market and I especially wanted to try Karen's Filet Mignon with Spicy Bearnaise Sauce. Given that the eggs in the sauce are not cooked and I wanted to participate in the contest, I decided to find the eggs and make the recipe. According to Safest Choice Egg's website, Publix is the only store that carries these eggs in my area. I'm sorry to say that I could not find the eggs at our two different Publix stores. Well, this did present a dilemma for me as my filets were already thawed out. After discussing it with my husband, we decided to use our fresh eggs for the sauce.

I literally pulled these three eggs out from under a hen that was sitting on them! Now these are REALLY fresh eggs!

The sauce was relatively easy to put together, I say this tongue in cheek because I had a grumpy two-year-old on my hip the whole time! I'm not kidding either. Seriously, even with the baby on my hip, it was almost a snap to put together. The results are so worth the effort too! My children loved it so much that they were putting it on their potatoes and broccoli as well as their steak.

I was rather klutzy in the kitchen tonight. First, I had no scallions, just green onions, which I think are basically the same thing, so I used those. I also did not have tarragon and could not find it at Whole Foods. A quick Swagbucks search gave me a few ideas of what to substitute for the tarragon. I subbed fresh rosemary and a pinch of basil. I also did not have the tarragon vinegar so I used rice vinegar in place of this. I plan to make an effort to add tarragon and the vinegar to my pantry as this is a classic spice for bearnaise sauce. Even with all these substitutions, the sauce was heavenly.

Another klutzy thing I did was that I popped open a bottle of petite sirah to add to the sauce. a couple of teaspoons ended up in the saucepan before I realized it was a red wine! Yikes! I quickly grabbed a bottle of white and forged ahead, undaunted!

I will definitely be making this again and playing around with some variations of it. The whole family loved it and my husband thought it was a very nice meal. I have always grilled our steaks after marinating them so pan browning them was a little scary to me, but these filets turned out to be just lovely. They had a nice amount of pink in the center and melted in our mouths.

Please join in the fun at Kitchen Play. Most likely, you will discover new recipes and techniques, I know I have.