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Lynsey Lou's

Enjoying Life One Bite at a Time!

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SRC: Pico De Gallo (And a giveaway)-Closed

by 35 Comments

By now I’m sure you’re aware of my fondness of any and all Mexican food.  As much as I enjoy my entree, I honestly enjoy the cheese dip, salsa, pico de gallo and chips just as much.  I could probably make a meal out of all those alone.  I do try to refrain myself, at least a little, so I can enjoy my meal and not leave the restaurant completely miserable!  Unfortunately, I fail at that goal more times than not.  Ha!
Pico de gallo is one of my all time favorite dips, and it’s perfect for summer.  I love making this dip in the summer because I’m able to use fresh vegetables and herbs from my garden.  There’s nothing much better than walking out to the garden and getting a few tomatoes, jalapenos, onions and chopping some fresh cilantro and coming in and making a fresh batch of pico.  I love it!  It’s so easy to put together too, and it’s one of those that develops more flavor the longer it sits.  Pico is also perfect for this hot weather that has come upon us; no cooking required and this dip can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature. 
As I stated before, I’ve enjoyed this several times but for some reason or another this simple yet delicious dip hasn’t made it to the ol’ blog.  Well, the wait is over!  Thanks to this round of the secret recipe club, I’m finally making this delicious dip to share with you.  For this month’s swap I was given Nicole’s blog, I Am Honey Bee.  Nicole’s blog features not only food, but crafts and round-ups of her week and different activities she’s enjoy.  She has a fun personality and her blog truly showcases that.  She has a great selection of recipes, making it difficult to choose just one.  I finally settled on the pico since I had a craving for it and some fresh veggies to use!

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

4 Large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 Large red onion, finely diced
1-2 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of half a lime, more as needed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and jalapeno in a bowl and stir to combine.  Add the cilantro and lime juice and toss.  Once ingredients are incorporated, season with salt and pepper and stir.  Taste, adjust seasonings as needed and serve or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe source: I Am Honey Bee

Now, on to the giveaway.  The next thing up for grabs for my blog’s birthday is a double mezzaluna with chopping block.

 Image from Amazon
   

I absolutely love my mezzaluna.  It’s perfect for finely chopping all those fresh herbs, that are typically difficult to cut using a plain cutting board and knife.  The custom bowled cutting board makes it incredibly easy to perfect cut and mince herbs and various other items.  What I love about this particular mezzaluna is it is stored directly in the cutting board; keeping the set together and the blade covered for safety.

To enter:
*Please leave a comment on this post stating:
“What your favorite summer dip is?”


*US residents only, please. Sorry for all of those overseas readers, I still love ya!


For additional entries:


*Subscribe to Lynsey Lou’s via RSS or email. Return to this post and leave a comment and tell me you subscribed by leaving another comment.


*Become a fan of Lynsey Lou’s on facebook. Return to this post and leave a comment and tell me you’re a fan by leaving an additional comment. If you are already a fan then leave a comment telling me you’re already a fan.


*Share this giveaway on facebook. Return to this post and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so by leaving an additional comment.


The fine print:
*You can earn a total of 4 entries.
*All entries must be received by midnight on Saturday, June 30.
*The winner will be announced on Monday, July 2. The winner will have 5 days to respond to claim their prize. If the winner has not claimed their prize within 5 days a new winner will be chosen.


Be sure to check out yesterday’s giveaway and enter to win a Silpat baking mat.


Full disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored and paid for soley by Lynsey Lou’s.

Four Years of Lynsey Lou’s (Closed)

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I can’t believe that 4 years ago today, I was sitting down to wright my very first post here on Lynsey Lou’s.  When I first started my blog I honestly had no idea what direction to go and how much this would impact my life.  Blogs were a new concept to me; I don’t think I had ever read a blog and the thought of writing my own blog dedicated to food was intimidating and a foreign concept.  June 25, 2008 I took the leap and joined the blogasphere!  Wow, where does the time go? 

I’m not really sure what prompted me to start this little blog.  I’ve always enjoyed being in the kitchen; and some of my fondest childhood memories take place with my parents and grandparents in the kitchen.  I guess my goal when firsting starting my blog was to utilize this as a place to document recipes for myself.  The very thought that people would get on the internet and visit my blog to read the things I had to say never even occured to me.  Everybody has their hobby, that special thing they do that lets them escape and be transported to their own little world.  My hobby happens to be cooking.  That hobby then grew to not only cooking, but photographing that food, and writing about the journey of that particular dish.  I never thought that hobby would become such a large part of my life, not to mention yours.  Not only do I enjoy making different recipes and pushing the boundaries, but I enjoy sharing them with you.       

Wow, 4 years!  I could have never imagined how much blogging would truly affect me, inspire me and help me grow.  I’ve always loved being in the kitchen, but my love has turned into a passion.  My meals were very basic when I first started and the thought of straying from the original recipe was inconceivable.  Now my skills for both cooking and baking have improved immensely.  I’m no where near perfect, but my knowledge is ever growing.  Practice definitely helps get me closer to perfect.  I try to make every experience, success or failure, a learning experience.  I can now adapt recipes, as well as develop my own.  I never in a million years thought I would be developing original recipes, and then have other people make those particular recipes and enjoy them.  What a humbling experience.  
I never thought I would be the person that anyone came to for a specific type of advice, let along cooking and baking advice, but I am.  My friends and co-workers come to me with questions or asking for recommendations, but they also come to me with excitement to share recipes that they have attempted and conquered.  Now it’s time limited to just my friends and co-workers but so many of you.  I can’t tell you how much I enjoy and looking forward to hearing from everyone and hearing about your experiences in the kitchen.  I never thought one of my goals would be to get others in the kitchen and help them to enjoy cooking and baking as much as I do.  What a blessing it is to be able to inspire others to get in the kitchen and overcome their fears.  
The kitchen doesn’t have to be an intimidating place.  It can be a place where people go to escape and create deliciousness.  It’s also a place where memories can be made.  Some of my fondest memories took place in the kitchen.  Get your kiddos and the rest of your family in there together, spill some flour, make a mess, play with your food and make some memories.  I have had a blast over the past 4 years.  I’ve come quite a ways and I can’t wait to see what the next 4 years hold!
Now, it’s not a party without favors, right?  So, to celebrate my blogs 4th birthday I’ll being doing a series of giveaways this week.  Be sure to check back everyday for a new giveaway.  
Today’s giveaway will be a Silpat baking mat.
                  
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I adore my Silpat baking mat.  It’s definitely a lifesaver when baking all of those delicious cookies for you and your family to enjoy.  It prevents your baked good from sticking, and you never leave a partial cookie on the baking sheet.  It’s also ideal to prevent the waste of using foil and parchment paper; plus it’s incredibly easy to use.     
To enter:
*Please leave a comment on this post stating:
“What your favorite cookie is?” 

*US residents only, please.  Sorry for all of those overseas readers, I still love ya!

For additional entries:
*Subscribe to Lynsey Lou’s via RSS or email.  Return to this post and leave a comment and tell me you subscribed by leaving another comment.

*Become a fan of Lynsey Lou’s on facebook.  Return to this post and leave a comment and tell me you’re a fan by leaving an additional comment.  If you are already a fan then leave a comment telling me you’re already a fan.

*Share this giveaway on facebook.  Return to this post and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so by leaving an additional comment.

The fine print:
You can earn a total of 4 entries.  
All entries must be received by midnight on Saturday, June 30.
The winner will be announced on Monday, July 2.  The winner will have 5 days to respond to claim their prize.  If the winner has not claimed their prize within 5 days a new winner will be chosen. 
  
Full disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored and paid for soley by Lynsey Lou’s.

Food Network Magazine Winner

by Leave a Comment

I hope everyone had a very fun and happy 4th of July!  Thanks to all of the men and women who have, are and will serve our country.  Your service and dedication to our country is appreciated more than you know!  Thanks to you and your families for all you do.

The giveaway winner is:

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1 


Max: 6


Result:


5

Congratulations

Displaced_kiwi said…

My favorite weeknight meal is slow-cooker teriyaki chicken (or anything out of the crockpot really). Happy Blog-iversy to you!.

Congratulations and please email me your contact information so I can get your subscription on it’s way! (lyns0702 @gmail dot com)

Thanks to all that entered and don’t forget about the Penzey’s Giveaway!  This giveaway will end Friday at 11:59.

Cranberry, White Chocolate and Pumpkin Muffins…and a Giveaway

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I love the taste of pumpkin, I know it’s a flavor that is mostly associated with the fall but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyed throughout the entire year.  I love muffins, they are so versatile and can be either as either a sweet or savory dish and with any meal of the day.  I love what might considered “traditional” flavored muffins, such as blueberry, strawberry, oat bran and so on but I also enjoy experimenting with different flavor combinations.  I have done exactly that with this recipe.  Most people that heard this flavor combination gave me a funny look at first, but once they tried it they really enjoyed it and even asked for the recipe!  I love this flavor combination; I love pumpkin anyway but paired with the sweetness of the white chocolate and the tartness of the cranberries; it’s unique but so delicious! 

Now onto the giveaway.  The giveaway will be for a $15.00 giftcard to Penzey’s.  To enter the giveaway please leave a comment telling me what your favorite spice is and even what your favorite recipe is using the specific spice, links welcome!  To gain an additional entry “like me” on Facebook and then come back and leave a comment telling me that you “like me”.


Giveaway ends next Friday, July 8th at 11:59P.M.

Cranberry, White Chocolate and Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

1 Can pumpkin
1 Stick (1/2 Cup) butter
1 1/4 Cup sugar
2/3 Cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp salt
2 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
1/4 Tsp allspice
3 Eggs
1/4 Cup sour cream
6 Oz White chocolate chips
1/2 Cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray and set aside. 

In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, flour, cinnamon and allspice.  Set aside.

Place butter and granulated sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer, cream ingredients together using the paddle attachment.  Add brown sugar and combine with other ingredients, then add eggs, one at a time, until all ingredients are incorporated.  Add half of the flour mixture and combine.  Add pumpkin and combine and then the rest of the flour mixture.  Once ingredients are mixed, add the sour cream and mix on low until incorporated. (If mixture is too wet add a little more flour)  Turn mixer up to medium-high and mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until aerated. 

Stir in the chocolate chips and cranberries by hand.  Make sure all ingredients are evenly incorporated throughout the mixture.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan, place in oven and cook for 18-22 minutes, until muffins spring back and are golden brown.  Remove from oven, dip tops in sugar in the raw, and place on cooling racks.  Allow to cool completely then place in an air tight container to store.

Recipe Source: A Lynsey Original

Grilled Steak with Tapenade…and a giveaway

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As I’ve said before, I’m always looking for quick and easy meals that are delicious and nutricious to prepare during the work week.  My weeknights are very hectic but that doesn’t mean I want to feed my family junk or make a habit of driving through a fast food restaurant 5 nights a week, I still like to feed my family delicious food but I just can’t spend 5 hours in the kitchen every night.  I have come across quite a few delicious meals that are perfect for week night cooking; they take no time to prepare and they are just as delicious as the meals that take quite a bit of time in the kitchen.

This steak with tapenade was as delicious as it was easy to prepare.  I think it took me all of 30 minutes to prepare and plate it, which is a bonus on a weeknight when I have a thousand other things going on.  This steak and tapenade was full of so much flavor; I loved the flavor combinations of the salty olives, spicey pepper, and the sweetness from the tomatoes, it was the perfect flavor combination.  I loved that the tapenade was used not only as a topping but as a rub for the meat before it was cooked.  It helped incorporate the flavors throughout the entire dish and it was absolutely delicious.

Now on to the fun stuff…the giveaway!

My blog is turning 3 this month.  I can’t believe that I’ve been cooking, taking pictures and blogging about the goings on in my kitchen for 3 years, the time has flown.  I have enjoyed every minute of taking pictures and talking about my adventures in my kitchen, believe it or not I love it more now than I did when I started blogging.  I have enjoyed cooking since I was little, but it’s now become more of a passion for me than just another hobby.  I enjoy pushing myself outside my comfort zone; trying new recipes and techniques and sharing my experiences.  I’m no pro but I can tell I have improved in the kitchen over the past few years and my picture taking skills have improved as well.  I’m still learning different techniques for my camera and I’m expanding my equipment collection; and although that’s not what it’s all about I do enjoy looking back at my earlier posts and seeing how I’ve improved.

Thanks to each and every one of you who have been with me from the beginning, I appreciate you so much.  To those of you who have found my blog one way or another I hope you enjoy it and have found many recipes that you wanted to try for yourselves.  I thoroughly enjoy every moment I spend posting on my blog; my passion is cooking and I love seeing the look of happiness on people’s faces when they enjoy my food, that is the most rewarding thing of all.  I say all that to say thank you for following me over the past few years and for the support of Lynsey Lou’s.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds and I look forward to preparing and creating more meals and desserts to share with you!

This week and next week I will be hosting some giveaways to celebrate the 3 year blogiversary of Lynsey Lou’s; I will host a total of 3 giveaways since my blog is 3 years old.  For this giveaway, I will be giving one reader a one year subscription to Food Network Magazine.  I have fallen in love with this magazine; I love the variety of recipes, the cookbook of 50 recipes that is provided in each issue, the way they separate recipes into weekend, weeknight, and sides and how they feature different Food Network celebs and their recipes in each issue.  There are a multitude of other things I LOVE about this magazine but I won’t bore you with the details…it’s just one of my new favorite magazines.

To enter:
One entry per person please.
-Leave a comment stating what your favorite weeknight meal is (links to recipes are welcome!)
-For an additional entry ” Like me” on Facebook, then come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

The giveaway will end at 11:59 P.M. on Friday, July 1.  The winning entry will be chosen at random using Random.org and the winner will be announced Saturday, July 2.  Please be sure to enter a valid email address so you may be contaced if you win!  Good luck to everyone and thanks for reading.

Giveaway disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored soley my me.  I was not contacted or persuaded by Food Network in any way.  Any compents or opinions are mine and only mine.   

Grilled Steak with Tapenade

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup kalamata olives, pitted
1 Medium shallot
1 Clove garlic
1 Sprig rosemary, leaves stripped
1/4 Tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Lemon, halved
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Pounds flank steak
1 Pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1/4 Cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Directions:

Preheat a grill or grill pan over high heat. 

Place olives, shallots, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons olive oil and the juice from half a lemon in a food processor and pulse, season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Pierce the steak with a fork and season with salt and pepper.  Rub 1 heaping tablespoon of the olive mixture on both sides of the steak and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the remaining mixture with tomatoes, parsley, remaining olive oil, and juice from the remaining half of lemon in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Grill the steak until browned on one side, about 7 minutes.  Flip and cook an additional 7 minutes, for medium rare.  Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.  Cut the steak in half, reserve one half for steak sandwiches or leftovers later in the week.  Thinly slice the remaining steak, against the grain, and top with the tomato olive tapenade.  Serve while warm.

Recipe Source: Food Network Magazine, June 2011

Now Eat This giveaway winner

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Thank you to everyone who entered my “Now Eat This” cookbook giveaway!  Now on to the fun stuff…the winner!  I used Random.org to generate a random number.
True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 19
Result: 5
Powered by RANDOM.ORG
The number that it generated was #5!  Congratulations Molly Jean of The Rookie Chef! 

Molly Jean September 29, 2010 2:05 pm 
Yum! Your tuna looks amazing. I didn’t know Outback had a seared tuna app! Might be just the excuse I 
need to go out to eat.
I love all appetizers but mostly the bar-type apps – chips and queso, nachos, and fried cheese!

 
I hope you enjoy this cookbook as much as I do!!! 
Please email me your mailing address so I can get your cookbook in the mail!

Seared Tuna with Green Beans, Lemon, and Wasabi

by 20 Comments

A refreshing and delicious recipe and…my first giveaway!!!

 In March, Rocco Dispirito released his new cookbook,Now Eat This.  In this cookbook he has a compilation of 150 popular dishes that have been revamped to make them healthier without sacrificing any of the taste.  I saw him demo a couple of the recipes on a few talk shows before the book was released and everything looked so good, I was so excited about the release of this cookbook and I couldn’t wait to get it and try some of these recipes myself.  For my birthday, one of my wonderful friends was nice enough to get this for me and I was absolutely extactic, I couldn’t wait to get home and make something!

I have a quite a few recipes bookmarked and I can’t wait to try them and share them with you.  If they are all as great as this dish then look out, because your taste buds are in for a wonderful ride!  I believe this tuna is a spin on Outback’s Seared Ahi Tuna appetizer, it’s packed with all of the taste but not the fat and calories.  Outback’s dish is sooo good and I couldn’t wait to try this to see how it compared.  I absolutely loved this tuna and the wasabi green beans were the perfect side.  Next time I cook this, I will cook the tuna a little less so it will be more like Outback version.  I accidentally left it over the heat a little too long but it was still oh so good, so I can only imagine how good it will be when I have it at the desired wellness.

Seared Tuna with Green Beans, Lemon, and Wasabi

Ingredients:

4 Sushi-grade tuna steaks (3 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
12 Ounces haricots verts or slim green beans, trimmed
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 Tablespoons wasabi paste
4 Scallions (white and green part), sliced thin on the biased/diagonal
3 Tablespoons black sesame seeds (I used white)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over high heat.

Season the tuna with salt and pepper, to taste, and spray them lightly with the vegetable oil.  When the grill is hot, add the tuna and cook for 1 1/2 minutes per side (for medium-rare).  Trasnfer the tuna to a platter and allow it to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the haricots verts (or green beans) in the boiling water until they are tender, about 3 minutes and then drain.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, garlic and wasabi paste.  Add the haricots verts (green beans) and scallions and sesame seeds.  Toss to coat, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Thinly slice the tuna.  To serve, fan tuna on a plate and pile a mound of the dressed haricots verts (green beans) on top or to the side of each portion of tuna.

Recipe Source: Now Eat This by Rocco Dispirito

Now on to the giveaway!

I was, and still am, so excited about this cookbook and all it has to offer that I wanted to provide an opportunity for one of my readers to have a copy as well!  To enter for a chance to win a copy of this fabulous cookbook please leave a comment stating what your favorite appetizer is (can be homemade or from a restaurant)…if it’s homemade feel free to leave the recipe or link!  Please leave your email address as well so I know how to contact the winner!

1 entry per person please!  If you would like an additional entry you can sign up to follow my blog, once you do leave another comment stating you are now following and if you already follow leave a comment telling me so.  Also, recieve another chance to win by following me on facebook!  Go to my Facebook page and “like” me and then leave a comment saying you did so!

Entries will be accepted now through midnight on October 8th!  The winner will be randomly chosen by Random.org.  US mailing addresses only, please.

Thank you and good luck!

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