Herb Oil Infused Pan-Fried Steak & Coconut Butterscotch Cookie Bars

I made this steak dinner for Mel's birthday.  (I also included mashed potatoes and a salad.)  The recipe actually called for pork chops, but Mel much prefers steak and it was a special occasion.  He said the herbs & olive oil gave the steak a really good flavor and he loved how I fried it in the skillet (the recipe called for it to be grilled, but we don't own a BBQ grill).  He gave it a 10!

Then I made these cookie bars for Mel's b-day dessert.  I got the recipe from the back of the graham cracker crumb box.  It was supposed to have chocolate & peanut butter chips, but butterscotch is Mel's favorite - he also loves coconut which is why I made these.  We both loved these and both give them a 10 as well!

Apple Rice Salad

I made this dish last week.  It is actually supposed to be made with barley and not rice (the actual name of the recipe is "Apple Barley Salad), but I could not find barley in the stores around here, so I decided to use rice.  The recipe also called for parsley, but I am not a fan of parsley, so I decided to make this sweet like a dessert.  I added vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in place of the parsley (this would also be really good w/ raisins).  This turned out much better than I expected.  Mel and I both give it a 10!  I will definitely make it again!