First of all....Happy 32nd Birthday to Hannah, on Saturday, the 9th!!
I've been busy getting all the ingredients together and scoping out the recipes she's picked out for her birthday meal.
I have to say that everyone else in the family usually picks a fairly normal meal for their birthday choice; however, Miss Hannah usually picks exotic, involved recipes...after all, this is her chance to enjoy whatever she would like!
Here's what I'll be making for her birthday...all are recipes she found on Pinterest.
Let's start with the most delicious sounding first....dessert, which is Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pie, found on The Complete Savorist blog. I think I can do this one fairly easily. Are you a dark chocolate lover?
Next is her side dish...Quinoa Fried "Rice" found on Gimme Some Oven blog. We already have a big bag of quinoa, so hopefully that will prepare quickly. Are you a quinoa lover?
And lastly, I have a choice for the main dish. She picked two similar beef dishes...either Slow Cooker Cashew Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry (seems easier as the crockpot does almost everything for me). This one was found on The Recipe Critic blog.
Or her second choice of Bulgogi Korean BBQ found on A Spicy Perspective blog. I looked up the word Bulgogi, which was new to me, and it literally means fire meat in Korean. I'll see which recipe strikes a chord tomorrow. Which one would you pick?
Where is Sarah when I need her help in the kitchen?!
Anyway, I hope everything will turn out delicious. I'll just start early enough in the morning to get it all accomplished. Of course, Hannah volunteered to help with the meal. But no one should have to cook or do any sort of manual labor on their birthday! ...just my humble opinion.
Happy Birthday, Hannah! Enjoy it to the fullest!
~Deb
Hi Deb!
'Tis a cruel hand of fate to lose your right hand in the kitchen, but alas, we must cook on. I know as the same thing happened to me several years ago.
Oh yes, dark is the only way I eat chocolate these days - more bang per bite, I say. As it happens I've eaten bulgogi many times. Back in the stone age, when Goodman was in service we had a couple of different neighbors who had Korean spouses, and they brought us lovely dishes of food to try including bulgogi, kimchi and sesame ribs. I've made it before, but it was very different from the recipe you posted. We had it in the days of MSG overkill in Korean cooking, and it was smothered in hot pepper flakes, too. A real five-alarm dish. Just my opinion, but the recipe in the link does look delicious, maybe better than the kind we ate.
Hope Hannah has a fabulous birthday!
Toni
Posted by: Toni | Friday, January 08, 2016 at 08:19 PM
I'll pray that the meal turns out beautifully, and that it's a joyous day for all. Happy b'day, Hannah!
Posted by: Cathy | Friday, January 08, 2016 at 08:55 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNA, GOD BLESS YOU. AUNQUE ME ADELANTO UN DIA, LA SALUDOCON LA PAZ DE JESUCRISTO. HOY 8 DE ENERO ES MI CUMPLEAÑOS NUMERO 56, AGRADECIDA A DIOS POR OTRO AÑO DE VIDA, HE PASADO UN DIA DELIZ CON TODOS MIS HIJOS Y MAÑANA LO FESTEJAREMOS CON TODA LA FAMILIA Y MIS HERMOSOS NIETOS Y JUNTO A MI AMADO ESPOSO DESDEHACE 37 AÑOS. QUE TENGAN UN MUY BENDECIDO 2016.BLESSING FOR ALL, FROM BUENOS AIRES,ARGENTINA. I'M SORRY MY ENGLISH. NO SE ESCRIBIR MUCHO EN SU IDIOMA.
Translated:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNA , GOD BLESS YOU . I ADVANCE ME BUT ONE DAY , THE PEACE OF CHRIST SALUDOCON . JANUARY 8 TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY 56th , grateful to God for another year of life , spent a day DELIZ HE WITH ALL MY CHILDREN AND TOMORROW WITH ALL will celebrate family and my beautiful grandchildren and with my beloved husband desdehace 37 years. HAVE A VERY BLESSED 2016.BLESSING FOR ALL, FROM BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA . I'M SORRY MY ENGLISH . NOT MUCH TO WRITE IN YOUR LANGUAGE .
***Ana,
Happy, happy 56th Birthday, Ana!! I hope your day was extra special!! May you have many more to celebrate with your family. I will pass your well wishes on to Hannah. Thank you again for your comment!
Posted by: ANA | Friday, January 08, 2016 at 09:48 PM
Happy Birthday Hannah! Hope you have a wonderful day. You sound like our second eldest son, who is known for picking unusual dishes for his birthday. Everyone here looks forward to what interesting menu he is going to choose, but I live in fear of having to cook it! :)
Enjoy your special menu, and I'll be praying for you Deb as you prepare it.
Posted by: victoria | Friday, January 08, 2016 at 09:51 PM
Hannah my sweet we are just ending the 9th, happy birthday to you as you begin it.
Posted by: Rose | Saturday, January 09, 2016 at 06:49 AM
Happy Birthday Hannah!
Slow Cooker Cashew Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry would be my pick.Gregory would be able to eat.
Have a fun celebration.
Posted by: Tammy C | Saturday, January 09, 2016 at 09:06 AM
Happy birthday to Hannah! The dark chocolate rasperry pie sounds wonderful... I have never tried quinoa but have pinned some recipes for it on pinterest, they always look so good! My favorite recipes are a little on the fancy side too... Usually something Italian like a lasagna with a real homemade sauce. :) Maybe there will be enough leftovers so as to not have to cook a couple of days...
Posted by: Danielle | Saturday, January 09, 2016 at 12:17 PM
I've been trying out a few new recipes this week and you're right - some of them have far too many ingredients. Think I'll go back to some simpler things next week. We're not dessert eaters but that dark chocolate raspberry pie sounds wonderful. Hope Hannah enjoys her birthday dinner.
Posted by: Barbara J. | Saturday, January 09, 2016 at 03:41 PM
It all sounds delish! Happy birthday to your Hannah, she's lovely!
Posted by: Tori | Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 03:00 AM
Hannah mentioned her birthday today and I never got to ask her about her birthday meal. It was pretty handy to see it the menu complete with links! Hope it was delicious as it sounds!
Posted by: Kim Cupo | Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 04:25 PM
Hannah, Happy Belated Birthday to you. Hope your day was great.
I know your Mom did a good job on your birthday dinner.
Take care andlove you.
Brenda
Posted by: Brenda Perdue | Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 07:17 PM
Happy Birthday Hannah! I hope God blessed you with many wonderful birthday memories.
Posted by: Bobbi | Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 08:16 PM
Happy birthday, Hannah! I share your sense of culinary adventure. Whenever we go out to eat I order the most exciting or interesting thing on the menu. Who wants the boring ol' usual food, right?
Posted by: Mandy Drumheller | Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 09:50 PM
Thank you all for your birthday wishes! It was fun hearing from so many of you. Mom did a wonderful job on my special meal, and we are enjoying the leftovers. Now to start gathering ideas for next year.....
Posted by: Hannah | Monday, January 11, 2016 at 03:16 PM
Happy Birthday Hannah!! Which beef dish did you get? The cashew one sounds really good. Abram's birthday is also 1/8! He is 13 this year.
Posted by: Joanna Donahue | Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 07:17 PM
Thanks, Mrs. Donahue. Mom ended up making the slow-cooker recipe that included the cashews/broccoli/carrots. The meat was tender and very tasty.
I remember when Abram was just a toddler!
Posted by: Hannah | Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 08:46 PM