Pumpkin Crunch Cake & The Weekend

 Did you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving?

We sure did!

But I got so caught up in the moment of having all of 

our children here together that I forgot all about the camera.

It took us six hours to prepare our meal,

and only eight minutes for everyone to destroy it.

I realized I forgot to capture our Thanksgiving the next morning.

So I quickly snapped some pictures while the grand kids

were destroying Grandma's pumpkin bread French Toast.

 This is sweet baby Tristan.

I say baby lightly.....

He is growing so fast and will soon be ONE.

 He was going to town on the French Toast.

 This is bedhead Lydia.

She is such a little helper with baby Tristan.

Johnie and I continued our Thanksgiving into Sunday.

The three heaping plates of Thanksgiving food,

and sixteen servings of dessert just wasn't enough.

We headed out Sunday at noon to visit one of our 

favorite eating spots.

The 1812 Food & Spirits in Port Clinton, Ohio. 

 I had the Prime Ribeye Steak,

 and Johnie ordered the Alaskan Steak.

His steak was topped with crab meat and mushrooms 

with a really yummy white sauce.

 One of the perks of knowing the manager personally is,

he allowed us to walk the hotel lobby and restaurant to 

see all the Christmas decorations.

It was absolutely beautiful!

Ceiling high Christmas trees,

Christmas accents on banisters, and mantels.

Definitely gets you in the mood for Christmas.

And I finally snapped a shot of their famous people

"guest list"

Did you happen to see Marilyn Monroe is listed there?

 Johnie and I stole the opportunity to snap some selfies with Christmas 

in the background.

I played around with the picture and made it look like a personalized

Christmas card. 

 Here are some of the decorations in the hotel restaurant.

I would love to reserve for our family Christmas celebration this year.

Or maybe next year.

 I can't believe Johnie photo-bombed Santa.....

But that's Johnie.

He is fun like that all the time....

 Now as far as the Pumpkin Crunch Cake goes....

Definitely delicious!

This recipe came from Flour Me With Love.

The only thing I did differently is,

I drizzled some vanilla icing over the cake 

while it was still slightly warm.

All you have to do is visit the Flour Me With Love link

and you will find a fantastic holiday recipe.

See Ya'all Soon

Cabbage Roll Casserole and the Weekend

I am sharing this recipe at The Weekend Pot Luck.

Go take a look at all the great recipes that are there for the taking (pinning).

 Did you have a nice Labor Day weekend?

We did!

Of course we took another trip on the Harley.

And played a lot of pool.

But most of the weekend was spent at home.

We did some house cleaning and Good willing.

Yeah, got rid of lots of stuff.

Our trip consisted of a visit to Port Clinton, Ohio.

An hour and a half away.....

Just to eat at this fine restaurant.

You can read all the details

CLICK HERE

Monday Johnie fixed his signature rib-eye steaks.

Now let's get back to this yummy casserole.

 Johnie and I discussed how we both love cabbage rolls.

We bought everything we needed to satisfy our love.....

But then I ran across this amazing looking cabbage roll casserole recipe.

I'm thinking,

this would be simple,

satisfying,

and shouldn't take too much time to throw together.

I found the recipe inspiration at Spend With Pennies.

I did make some changes though because 

I was not prepared to make a casserole.

All you have to do is make the sauce,

saute one head of cabbage,

cook the rice,

and then layer it all.

 It has a very interesting topping too.

 As you can see the casserole comes out clean in perfect squares.

The cabbage was cooked perfectly.

Not mushy.

And it looks very pretty on a plate.

But the taste.....

AWESOME!!

Johnie's son tasted it and kept coming back for more.

He lives right behind us.

Cabbage Roll Casserole

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 jar Ragu roasted garlic spaghetti sauce (the normal size)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. thyme
1 TBS tomato paste
1 can tomatoes with green chilies
1 large head cabbage
2 c. cooked rice (I used the 2 c. water to 1 c. rice ratio)
1 TBS olive oil
2 c. shredded Italian cheese
1 egg
1/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Brown beef, onion, and green pepper until beef is fully cooked.
Drain any fat.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, spaghetti sauce and seasonings.
You will want to cook your rice as you are preparing the sauce.
Simmer the sauce uncovered for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in cooked rice.
Chop (shred) your cabbage (I placed this in a large bowl)
Heat 1 TBS of olive oil in a skillet over med. heat.
Add half of the cabbage and saute just until wilted.
Add the first half of wilted cabbage to a 9x13 cake pan.
Top with half of the sauce.
Wilt the second half of the cabbage (I heated up another TBS of olive oil)
Place the second half of wilted cabbage on top of the sauce in the cake pan.
Top with remaining sauce.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees F. for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and remove foil.
In a small bowl mix together the shredded cheese, egg, and milk.
Top casserole with cheese mixture (I just used my fingers to drop it on) and place back in the oven uncovered for another 20 minutes.

See ya'all soon

Restaurant Review: 1812 Food & Spirits, Port Clinton, Ohio

This restaurant review is one that you are not going to want to miss. 

We had such a good experience that I don’t really know where to begin. 

Okay, I’ll begin with the appetizer…… 

I didn't get a picture of the appetizer because I dove in as soon as it hit the table. 

I didn't have time to stop and photograph. 

The appetizer consisted of perfectly cooked mussels in a citrus garlic wine sauce. 

And a perfect amount for two people. 

I don’t think we took a breath the whole time we were eating them. 

The wonderful server then brought our salads and a fresh loaf of warm bread. 

The bread had a perfect crust with a velvet center. 

Perfect for soaking up the mussel sauce. 

And that is exactly what we did. 

Every time the server would approach the table 

Johnie would hug that bowl of mussel sauce and say,

 “You’re not taking it!” 

“Can we have more bread please?” 

We went through two loaves of bread to soak up that wonderful, 

heavenly, 

dreamy, 

perfected sauce. 

The server removed a dry to the bone mussel bowl. 

Now let’s move onto the main course. 

I ordered Chicken Marsala: 

The chicken was seasoned to perfection, 

 and tender enough to cut with my fork. 

The wine sauce was totally amazing once again. 

The fettuccine pasta was cooked perfectly. 

Johnie ordered the Prime Rib-eye meal.

He chose fries to assist his steak. 

 The steak was melt-in-your mouth perfect. 

And the seasonings, to-die-for. 

 The fries had the perfect amount of crunch and softness. 

 The atmosphere was perfect.

 They have a lovely dining area. 

And our server was over-the-top. 

She was amazing! 

Do you have to be dressed in suit and tie for this dining experience?

Heavens NO!

Johnie and I showed up in motorcycle gear.

We rode an hour and half to eat at this lovely place.

So we were wind-blown and sun burnt.

Take some time to visit their Facebook page.

Give them a "like" so you can keep up on

what they are doing.

And don't forget to share this wonderful information with

your friends,

family,

and co-workers.

At the end of the meal our server approached with that dreaded question:

 “Would you like some dessert?” 

We both quickly said no, but she replied with, 

“Let me bring you the dessert platter so you can see what we have.” 

Dessert platter? 

Really? 

How could we possibly say no to that?

 Do you see that 5 layer chocolate fudge cake? 

Yeah, that’s what we ordered. 

To share! 

That piece of cake was big enough to serve 10 people easily. 

This is how much damage we succeeded at. 

 I’d say Johnie and I did a very good job destroying that cake. 

And the leftover that we brought home was my next morning breakfast. 

Who says you can’t eat cake for breakfast? 

The 1812 Food & Spirits Restaurant was the experience I long for 

when completing a restaurant review. 

They are perfect in every way shape and form. 

They can also be found on Trip Advisor. 

So if you plan a trip to Port Clinton, Ohio make sure you stop in. 

The restaurant is attached to the 1812 Island House Hotel. 

You can easily make reservations and soak up everything Port Clinton has to offer. 

A gorgeous place with lots and lots of history.

On our way out I noticed they have a framed 

"Famous people that have stayed in our hotel" sign.

Some of the famous ones that stuck with me are:

Marilyn Manroe

Al Capone,

and the entire Yankee's baseball team was served at the restaurant

many years ago.

So if you are a history buff you have got to visit this place.

See ya'all soon