Cherry Muffins

We made a very yummy breakfast this morning.
My mother-in-law sent us two jars of her home-canned cherries
on our anniversary,
and these are some of our favorite things.
We eat them straight out of the jar, with a spoon!
I also have enjoyed experimenting with baking
and using some of her cherries.
The flavor is fantastic!

So...
I created
Cherry Muffins
In blender
(we use our magic bullet):

1 egg
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. milk
Cream these together.
1 c. Bisquik mix
I add it little by little,
mixing as I go.

3 tsp cherry syrup
about 10 cherries pitted, roughly chopped
(I think if you wanted to use fresh cherries
you could do it,
and just add some white grape juice instead of syrup
and an extra Tbsp of sugar)
Add these straight to the batter
and turn on the blender.
It will turn purple.
So pretty!

Pour batter into greased muffin cups.
Top each muffin cup with three pieces of cherry.

Bake at 400 degrees
13 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Enjoy!
Mmmmm!

Chimichurri Steak & Alfredo

Last night we made Chimichurri
(from my mom's amazing recipe
which she got from The Columbus Steakhouse in Ecuador)
on steak skewers with grilled bell pepper and purple onion

We ate, it was yum.
But I was wondering what to do with the left overs.
The meat that we bought was on MAJOR sale
at the grocery store yesterday.
It's a Top Round London Broil
or something like that,
and then I cubed it, marinated it in the chimi
and then we grilled it a few hours later.
While it was tastey, it was a little chewy,
and didn't have a great "meat" flavor,
so hoped for inspiration
with the leftovers for lunch.

Inspiration came!

I created
Chimi AlfredoI do wish I had a few other ingredients on hand.
If doing it over again, I would hope to have fresh Parmesan cheese to add,
and cream instead of milk.
Also, just beware, that my portion
was just barely enough for two people,
as I was making it with leftovers.

Chimi-Alfredo
In pot:Boil Water for
enough bow tie pasta
for two portions
After boiling, add generous salt.
Add pasta.
Drain when done.

In deep frying pan:
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 purple onion, chopped
Saute for a few minutes.(I used the leftover grilled ones)

1/2 c. white wine
2 Tbsp Chimichurri sauce
Let simmer and reduce to about half.
3 Tbsp ricotta cheese
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp milk (I would like to use cream)
large handful cubed leftover steak
1/4 red pepper, sliced
Whisk together. Bring to a simmer.
Let simmer for a few minutes,
frequently whisking together.

1/4 c. sour cream
(add fresh parmesean now if you have it)
Whisk together again. Heat until bubbling.
Let thicken for two minutes.
Add cooked pasta. Simmer two more minutes.
Serve with lots of bread to soak up the sauce.
I am sure you can imagine
that the Parm and cream would
add a bit of decadence,
but it was quite a tasty leftover meal!
I've seen some Alfredo sauces
use mozzarella in their mix as well,
and that would probably add richness too.

**side note**
This is obviously not a
"watch your waistline" meal
but what alfredo sauce is?**end side note**

Just in cases you want,
here's the recipe our family uses for

ChimiChurri(a la Columbus Steakhouse, Quito, Ecuador)

1/2 c "large leaf" dried oregano leaves
(we get these
in South America-
haven't seen them
yet Stateside)
1/4 c dried, crushed oregano
(like what you
buy off the
spice rack)
1 clove finely chopped garlic
(or 1 tsp jarred
garlic paste)
1/4 very finely chopped red onion
2 tsp salt (you want it salty)
1 c. cooking oil (corn oil, vegetable oil, etc)

It makes a little over 2 cups of Chimi.
I keep mine for several days
(if it lasts us that long... we really like it!)
and we eat it on bread a LOT.
I like it when it's sat together
for about 3 hours or more,
but it's very tasty if you have to
make and eat right away.