Dinner for My Honey!

I love doing special things for my special man! And a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Steve has been working so hard (he always does), but this month, he has been kicking tail! He's one of the hardest working people I've ever met. He doesn't look for any recognition, but he does everything he does with excellence. The grace at work in his life has been so encouraging! Last week he was gone every night, except one, so Friday night I was able to make him a special dinner! We ate by candlelight by our Christmas tree with Jim Brickman and Celine Dion for entertainment! It was a wonderful night and I loved including the girls! They went shopping with me and were excited when it was time to go to bed, because they knew their Mommy was planning something special for their Daddy! (Steve played the part of "Prince Edward" while I prepared dinner! He went to the girls' "Royal Feast" they had made out of Legos and danced with his little princesses!)

So, here's what we had!
Crab Cakes with Lemon Dill Sauce (Paula Deen)
Steak wrapped with Garlic Herb Butter and Spinach
Cheese and Wine Risotto
Roasted Asparagus
Shiraz

And of course, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk!

(Will add pictures soon!)

Yummy Caramel Corn!

Here's a Roberts' favorite...caramel corn! I made it the other night and the girls, Steve and I snuggled up with bowls of it and watched a movie!

5 quart freshly popped corn, unsalted (1 C unpopped popcorn)
1 cup raw peanuts (found in the produce area of the grocery store)
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine popcorn & peanuts in a lightly greased roasting pan; (I use the big disposable aluminum kind because of room to stir in) mix well & set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in sugar & corn syrup. Bring to a boil; boil 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Stir in soda, salt & vanilla.

Pour sugar mixture over popcorn mixture, stirring until evenly coated. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. Cool & store in an air tight container.