Mandy and Jace

We have come to the conclusion that there is nowhere in Midland to find a decently cooked steak. We have searched high and low and nothing seems to top what we can make at home. We are constantly going to restaurants and hoping they will change my mind, but all to no avail.
So, when we saw someone make this dish on Diners, Drive In’s and Dives on the Food Network we had to recreate it the next day. This is absolutely delicious and the cream sauce tastes awesome on some mashed potatoes. It definitely filled my need for a good steak.

Steak in a Spicy Cream Sauce
2 steaks (the cut of your choice)
1 anaheim pepper, cut julienne
1 poblano pepper, cut julienne
1 jalapeño pepper, whole
1 shallot, minced
2 tbs canola oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
1/3 cup chicken broth

Pull your steaks out of the refrigerator an hour and a half before you are ready to cook them and let them get to room temperature. This allows for more even cooking. 30 minutes before you are ready to cook salt the steaks liberally and set aside.
While those are soaking up the salt you can cut all your peppers and onions.
Put oil in a large skillet and heat to medium-high. Throw the whole jalapeño into the oil and leave it there while you cook your steaks. Cook the steaks to your desired doneness and remove from pan.
Put the anaheim, poblano and shallots into the pan and cook until soft. After they are soft add the flour in with the veggies. Stir to combine. Pour the chicken broth in to deglaze, then add 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Stir until it creates a thick sauce.
Salt and pepper to taste. If you’d like some more heat add some cayenne.
Put the steaks on the plate and pour the cream sauce with all the peppers and onions on top of the steak.

photo via Inspired Design

Is anyone else ready for Spring? I’m ready for little dresses, farmers markets and picnics! Every time I pull out one of my sundresses the weather turns ugly. Ugh, come on Springtime!

Here’s this weeks meal plan full of a bunch of old faithful recipes.

Tonight: roasted chicken (roasted like we do our turkey), salty potatoes and salad.
Tuesday: 5 spice stir fry with squash, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, onion, and noodles
Wednesday: chicken pot pie/shepherds pie. I’m going to throw all the leftovers from Monday night into a casserole dish and bake it. We’ll see how it turns out.
Thursday: pork chops with shells and cheese. We’ve been trying to make this meal for weeks and something come up every time we plan for it.
Friday: date night

Happy eating!

Much needed caffine


Night time reading


If you don’t have a daily devotional to read I highly recommend this one. It comes in a handy app for your phone and takes just a minute to read. I am always amazed at how it says exactly what I need to hear that day.


I have an iPad with a notepad and calender in it and I still stick sticky notes to it.


My view from the sound booth.

A couple of weeks ago my wonderful husband made the best BBQ sauce I have ever had! Seriously, this stuff is good on ANYTHING. As Texans we take our BBQ sauce very seriously and we eat it on everything. Chicken, fries, steak, burgers, crackers, or just in a bowl with a spoon. Needless to say the mass produces bottles at the grocery store just won’t do. I think this recipe with kick all of those bottled sauces butts.

Be sure to have plenty of time when you make this sauce. A good BBQ sauce is going to take you a while but it will be worth your time in the end.

Jace’s BBQ Sauce

1/4 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 strips of bacon
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp hickory smoke seasoning
4 cups chicken broth
1 package beef bouillon
1 package chicken bouillon
1 ounce sherry wine vinegar
1 cup worcestershire sauce
3 ounces soy sauce (low sodium)
2 cups ketchup
salt to taste

In a large pot cook the bacon. You are just wanting the bacon fat so after it cooks down remove the bacon. You don’t need it anymore so you can eat it. I promise I won’t tell.

Cook the onions in the bacon fat with a pinch of salt. After about a minute and a half of cooking add the garlic. Cook only until the onions are translucent.

When the onions are ready add the chicken broth with a couple of dried chilies thrown in. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

While this is cooking put together your dry mixture and wet mixture:

In a small bowl combine the celery salt, onion powder, ground ginger, paprika and hickory smoke seasoning.

In a large measuring cups combine the vinegar, worcestershire sauce, and low sodium soy sauce and honey.

When the liquid is reduced by half pour the wet mixture and 3 tablepoons of the dry mixture in and stir to combine.

Stir in the ketchup and taste it. Add salt as needed. And let is simmer for about 30 minutes so the flavors can come together.

This is one of my favorite photos from my Africa trip

Tonight: clean out the pantry pasta. We’ll be using celery, onions, Earl Campbell’s hot links, shrimp (for Jace) and anything else I can throw in there. I love this dish!
Tuesday: Steak and mashed potatoes with a spicy cream sauce on top.
Wednesday: pork chops and mac and cheese
Thursday: take out after praise and worship practice
Friday: date night

Happy eating!