Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

I've made this twice- once for Marc's birthday and once for our 4th year anniversary dinner.  So I guess you can say it's our "special occasion" dessert.  Except it's really easy and the great thing about this recipe is that it's made with low fat milk.  Most of the recipes I found were packed with tons of egg yolks and heavy cream.  We could not even tell the difference!

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee from this recipe from Cooking Light

4 large egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup nonfat dry milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 300°.

• Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl.  Whisk and set aside.
• Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Add vanilla, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and dry milk to pan. Heat mixture over medium heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around the edge, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Do not boil.
• Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Divide milk mixture evenly among 6 (4-ounce) ramekins. Place ramekins in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Fill pan with hot water up to about an inch. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until center barely moves. Remove ramekins from pan and cool completely. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Sprinkle the tops of ramekins with granulated sugar.  Using a torch, brown the tops.
• ***If you don't have a torch, the original recipe is as follows:  Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and water.  Microwave at HIGH 30 seconds; stir until sugar dissolves. Pour evenly over each dessert, quickly tipping ramekins to coat tops of brûlées. (There will be a thin layer of melted sugar.) Let harden.

Homemade Lemonade

We went to the beach for the 4th of July...What could be better than a nice, tall, cold glass of lemonade?

Homemade Lemonade from this recipe from Paula Deen

2 cups sugar

1 cup hot water

2 cups fresh lemon juice

1 gallon cold water

Mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)

In a large pitcher, place sugar and hot water.  Stir until sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and cold water. Stir until well mixed. Garnish with mint, if desired.

Grilled Skirt Steak Gyros

I know this picture is not good.  But, this recipe was absolutely delicious!  It's the perfect summer dinner.  The yogurt sauce really adds to it, so don't skip that step!

Grilled Skirt Steak Gyros adapted from this recipe from the Food Network Magazine

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt

1 onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

1 pound skirt steak

4 pocketless pitas

1 tomato, chopped

1 bunch watercress, roughly chopped

Preheat a grill to medium high. 

To make the marinade:  whisk the olive oil, garlic, oregano, paprika, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste in a large bowl.  Transfer 1 tbsp. of the marinade to a small bowl.  Mix in the yogurt and 1 tbsp. water.  Set aside.  Add onions and steak to the bowl with the remaining marinade and toss.

Grill the onion and steak, turning once, until lightly charred, about 4 minutes per side for the onions and 4 to 8 minutes per side for the steak (depending on the thickness). Set aside to rest, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grill the pitas until grill marks develop, about 1 minute per side.

Per serving: Calories 567; Fat 29 g (Saturated 7 g); Cholesterol 55 mg; Sodium 891 mg; Carbohydrate 41 g; Fiber 3 g; Protein 33 g