Cooking With The Preacher's Wife

BACON!!

2012-01-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP

2011-12-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

YUM!!! Just in time for your New Year's Eve party snack list! Don't you just love a nice, piping hot dish of Spinach and Artichoke Dip with chips? I sure do! This one turned out AMAZING! It baked up so nice in my Pampered Chef pie plate too. It was the perfect size for it. The recipe made a bit more than I had planned on, but that's ok, because it tastes just as good warmed up the next day! ENJOY!

SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP

1 (8 oz) softened cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup prepared Alfredo sauce (or you can substitute mayonnaise)
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 stick melted butter
1 tsp. minced garlic
8 oz shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (divided)

In mixing bowl combine cream cheese and sour cream. Beat until combined. Mix in alfredo sauce (or mayo) and stir to combine. Then add next 5 ingredients one by one mixing well after each to make sure it is well combined. Lastly, add 4 oz of the shredded Monterey Jack Cheese and stir well. Pour mixture into pie plate and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until light brown on top and bubbly. Remove from oven, sprinkle remaining 4 oz of shredded monterey jack cheese over top. Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes to melt cheese. Serve with Tortilla or pita chips or any other dipper of your choice!

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES

2011-12-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

The weather here in MO has been gorgeous all week, so hubby and I decided to grill out last night. Dinner time for us coincided with our youngest daughter and her husband's return from spending Christmas week in IA, so we invited them to come over and join us. Since their 1st anniversary is today, I made these last night as a special celebration treat for them. They received thumbs up all around, so that was the green light I needed to put them on here for you all to try. WARNING: These are very rich! I expected the inside to be a thinner consistency. It was very ooey, gooey, yummy though. Served these with vanilla ice cream, as a dollop of whipped cream just wouldn't have been enough! SUPER easy to make though. Went together in a snap! And the bake time is only about 12 - 14 min, so quick and easy dessert. Most lava cakes are made with bakers chocolate. This recipe calls for chocolate chips. That enticed me to try it, as most cooks already have chocolate chips in the pantry.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES

1/4 sticks unsalted butter
Granulated sugar (for the ramekins)

1 stick unsalted butter
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus a little more for dusting)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
6 ramekins

Preheat oven to 425. Soften the 1/4 stick of butter and coat the inside of your ramekins with it. Sprinkle granulated sugar inside each ramekin, turning to coat all sides of it with the sugar. Set those aside.

Put the remaining stick of butter and the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Set the bowl on top of a saucepan filled with 1" of boiling water. Be sure that the bowl is not touching the water. Gently stir the butter and chocolate together until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
In separate mixing bowl combine the eggs, egg yolks, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until it doubles in size and gets very thick and pale colored.
Gently and slowly mix the melted chocolate into the egg mixture. Temper it first, so the eggs don't start to "cook." Once the chocolate is combined with the eggs, gently stir in the flour. Whisk to combine. Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins. Arrange the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 14 - 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and let rest for 3 - 4 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the ramekins and arrange them on individual serving plates. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a hot cup of coffee!

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

2011-11-22T09:06:00.000-08:00

Mmm! Don't you just love a crispy bottomed, hot, buttery, yeast roll with your Thanksgiving dinner?! I sure do! And these little beauties steal the show! It's an old recipe. Possibly the original Parker House Roll recipe.
Parker House rolls are an American tradition, dating back to 1855 and the opening of Boston's famous Parker House Restaurant. They are very easy to make. The first time I had them at someone's house, I knew I had to add the recipe to my blog to share with you all. It's just way too good to pass up! And it makes a ton, which is nice for those big family dinners!! Make sure you have lots of REAL butter on hand to slather on these puppies when they come out of the oven. I dare say, you won't be able to resist their charm!

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

6 to 6 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 packages dry active yeast
1 cup butter softened
1 egg
2 cups hot tap water (120 - 130 degrees)

About 3 1/2 hours before serving:

1. In a large bowl,combine 2 1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast; add 1/2 cup butter. With mixer at low speed, gradually pour 2 cups hot water (120' to 130'F) into dry ingredients. Add egg. Increase speed to medium. Beat 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in 3/4 cup flour or enough to make a thick batter. Continue beating 2 minutes, occasionally scraping the bowl. With a spoon stir in enough additional flour (about 2 1/2 cups) to make a soft dough.

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape dough into a ball and place in greased large bowl, turning over so that the top of dough is greased. Cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place (8-0' to 85'F) until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Punch down dough by pushing down the center of the dough with fist, then pushing the edges of dough into center. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly to make a smooth ball. Cover with bowl for 15 minutes and let dough rest.

4. In a 17 1/4" by 11 1/2" roasting pan, over low heat, melt the remaining 1/2 cup butter. Tilt the pan to grease bottom.

5. On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick. With floured 2 2/4 inch round cutter, cut dough into circles. Holding dough circle by the edge, dip both sides into melted butter in pan. Fold in half and give it a push right in the middle, with the tip of your finger (to make it stay folded). Arrange folded dough in rows in pan, each nearly touching the other. Knead trimmings together, re-roll and cut more rolls. Cover pan with towel. Let dough rise in warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, preheat over to 425'F. Bake rolls 18-20 minutes until browned. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

FROZEN STRAWBERRY PIE

2011-08-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, the first thing I notice about this pic is, the plate color doesn't blend with the pie AT ALL! Must have been in too much of a hurry that day! And I didn't garnish! How dare I? But... the pie was DEElicious! This is one of those easy, peasy, make-ahead pies that you can throw in the freezer days before your event! Love recipes like that! The only mistake I made with it, was not getting it out at the beginning of dinner, so it could thaw a bit before I served it. Trying to cut a frozen, rock solid pie is no small feat! Especially when the coffee is done brewing and you have waiting dinner guests at the table! Lesson learned! This recipe could be a bit versatile though. As I mixed together the ingredients, my husband and I dipped a spoon in to taste test. I realized then that it could also be served as a mousse. It's so yummy! I suppose you could also switch out the fruit in the basic recipe. You could probably sub fresh raspberries or blueberries for this pie .... OR a mixture of berries would be delightful too!

FROZEN STRAWBERRY PIE

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups chopped, fresh strawberries
1 (12 oz) container, frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
2 (9") chocolate crumb crusts (I used graham cracker crusts)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla.
Beat in the strawberries.
Fold in the whipped topping (and pecans if you are using them).
Divide & pour evenly into the 2 crusts.
Cover and freeze for 3 - 4 hours or until firm.
Remove from freezer 15 - 20 minutes before serving.
Garnish with chocolate curls or shavings if desired.

Yield: 2 pies - 8 servings each.

COCONUT CREAM PIE

2011-08-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Recently we hosted a Revival meeting at our church. My husband's brothers and lots of other family members traveled in from other states to do the special music and the preaching. Many of them stayed with us for several days. I wanted to be "on the ball" with meal plans this time! I knew coconut cream was a favorite pie choice for a few of them, so decided on this one. Then I asked my husband of 31 years what his favorite pie was. I thought it would be nice to make his favorite as well. What a surprise it was to me, to hear him say COCONUT CREAM! 31 years.... How did I not know that? I would have said Pumpkin! Wow, you learn something new every day, I guess! I have to confess, coconut cream pie is my LEAST favorite pie. So all I had to go on for a review was the truthfulness of our dinner guests! The pie got cleaned up, so it must have been pretty good! They all gave it a thumbs up! So if you have a hankerin' for coconut cream pie and want something a little different than the normal "pudding" type variety - this one is a real keeper!

COCONUT CREAM PIE

1 pkg graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup cream of coconut (sold in beverage flavoring section)

1 (3.4 oz) pkg cheesecake flavor, instant pudding mix
1 (6 oz) pkg sweetened, flaked coconut
1 (8 oz) container, frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together (first 3 ingredients) graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press mixture into bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, bake 1/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut in a single layer in a shallow pan for 6 - 8 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and set aside for garnish.
Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add cream of coconut and continue beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add dry pudding mix, beating until blended.
Stir in the 6 oz portion of flaked coconut. Fold in thawed, whipped topping. Spoon into prepared, cooled crust. Cover and chill 2 hours or until set.
Beat heavy whipping cream at high speed until soft peaks form. Spread over top of pie. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

PEACH FRENCH TOAST

2011-08-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is a lovely recipe! A few weeks ago we were invited to accompany a family from our church on a 2 night get-away, to go rafting and stay in a Bed & Breakfast. We drove about 5 hours South, down to the Ozarks. It is beautiful down there! We took a small detour and stopped off at Lamberts for lunch, before we made our way down into Eminence. Lamberts is home of the "thrown rolls!" They were DEElicious too! Well worth the 1 hr wait to get in! Late in the afternoon we arrived at The Hawkins House Bed & Breakfast in Eminence, MO. Miss Patty is a FINE hostess and made our first ever stay in a bed & breakfast just delightful! It felt just like home! The morning we left she made this wonderful Peach French Toast for breakfast. We were all proclaiming how wonderful it was and talking about trying to finagle the recipe out of her. Next thing you know, out she walked from the kitchen with a smile and plopped the recipe down right in front of my plate! I was so happy and couldn't wait to get home and experiment on family and friends with a new recipe! I made it for my family when they were all gathered here last week for a Revival meeting with the Tharp Brothers. Then I made it for the Saturday morning soul winning crowd today. Both times it has gone over with a bang! Everyone loves it!
The only difference between Miss Patty's recipe and mine is, I have to make everything on a LARGE scale! Other than having to add a little extra cooking time, it still turns out MAHvelous Dahling! I know you'll enjoy this one!

PEACH FRENCH TOAST

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tblsp water

1 (29 oz) can sliced peaches
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tblsp vanilla
1 loaf french bread, sliced about 3/4" thick

Drain peaches. Heat brown sugar and butter on medium heat until melted. Add water and continue cooking until sauce foams up. Pour into 6 individual buttered baking dishes and cool 10 minutes.
Place peaches on cooled sauce and cover with slices of bread placed close together. In separate bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla until mixed. Pour over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove from fridge and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Loosely cover with foil the last 10 - 15 minutes if browning too fast. Remove from oven and loosen from edges of dish. Invert each dish onto serving plate to serve (so it is peach side up!)

PECAN FRENCH TOAST

Make caramel sauce from peach french toast. Pour into 6 buttered baking dishes and cool. Add chopped or whole pecans. Cover with slices of bread placed close together. Pour egg mixture over, cover and refrigerate overnight. Next morning bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

*TIP* I skipped the cooling time on the caramel sauce and it didn't affect the recipe at all. Actually placing the room temp peaches on the sauce probably helped cool it down faster. Also, since I frequently cook for a crowd, I doubled this recipe to fit a 1/4 sheet cake pan (lasagna pan). I think I fit 16 slices of french bread in the pan. You can get 16 slices out of one loaf if you slice it down the middle and slice each half into 8 equal portions. I also added 10 - 15 minutes of extra baking time to allow the custard laden bread to cook through all the way. The tricky part to making this in a large batch is inverting it when it is done baking. I use the 1/4 sheet cake pan because it doesn't have handles on the edges and I can fit my 1/4 sheet cookie pan over the top and then invert it right onto the cookie sheet. You still have to be very careful for two reasons: 1) it's VERY hot and 2) remember there is sauce in the bottom of the pan and when you invert it, if you are not flush against the bottom of your cookie sheet, the sauce may splash out. I did it over the sink. You may want to wrap a towel around it just to be sure you don't splash or burn yourself. If you do it quick though, you should be alright. I was, but still, please be very careful when you invert it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you ever get a chance to travel down to the Ozarks, I encourage you to look up The Hawkins House Bed & Breakfast! Each bedroom has it's own private bath. Very clean and beautifully decorated. And a HEAVENLY wrap around porch with all sorts of swings and bistro sets and wicker furniture! We stayed in Annabelle's room - it has a partriotic theme - just lovely! http://hawkinshousebb.com/index.html
Tell her the preacher and his wife from Independence recommended her!

CHORIZO PEPPER HAND PIES

2011-08-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

I knew my kids and grandbabies were all coming home to spend a few days over the 4th of July holiday. So I busily perused cookbooks and magazines for tasty new treats and snacks to serve while they were here. I ran across this one and it sounded so delicious and filling. They were a bit time consuming, but well worth the effort. Tons of flavor! I had never cooked with Chorizo sausage before - it had a very different texture than sausage as we Americans know it. Also, it's very greasy, so you have to drain it well. I also had never cooked with queso fresco. It was very different from any other cheese I have ever used - but very delicious and it was amazing how it cooked right up into the meat and thickened it. And what can you say about puff pastry? What's not to love about that stuff?! Add these to your next family get together or fellowship. They are sure to be a hit!

CHORIZO PEPPER HAND PIES

1 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 of a yellow sweet pepper, seeded and chopped
5 oz of uncooked chorizo sausage
1/2 cup chopped tomato, fresh or canned
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
4 oz grated queso fresco
1 (17 oz) pkg frozen puff pastry sheets (2 sheets) thawed
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
1 Tbsp. milk
Salsa, taco sauce, sour cream (all optional) for garnish or dipping

For filling: In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and sweet pepper. Cook 7 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add Chorizo. Cook 5 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking up sausage and stirring occasionally. Drain fat. Return to heat. Add tomato, oregano and cumin. Simmer uncovered 5 - 8 minutes or until liquid is evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and let cool. Add the queso fresco and stir to combine.
Preheat oven to 400. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll puff pastry sheet to 1/8" thick. With a 3 1/2" round cookie cutter, cut 24 circles. Place 1 Tblsp filling in center of each circle. Combine beaten egg yolk with milk. Brush edges of half the circle with egg wash. Fold circle over to enclose filling; pinch edges together to seal. Brush tops with egg wash. Place on an ungreased baking sheet (I used my PC stone and it worked wonderful!); Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm with toppers and dips of your choice.

Make ahead: Unbaked or baked hand pies can be made well in advance and frozen. Remove from freezer; place on ungreased baking sheets in single layers. For frozen unbaked pies, bake 17 - 19 minutes. If baked before freezing, reheat 5 - 6 minutes on top rack of 400 degree oven.

Yield: 24 pies

FRESH RASPBERRY BARS

2011-08-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a sweet treat for you! Found this recipe in a random ladies magazine, as I waited in a Dr's office. I love raspberries, so was excited to try this. It's just the right balance of fruitiness from the berries, tartness from the lemon zest and creaminess from the cream cheese. And the tender shortbread crust just adds to the yummy factor! I would imgaine you could substitute whatever berries you like best in this. Seems like it would be equally delicious made with blueberries. I'm thinking once Fall comes, you could even make this with apples, cinnamon and caramel!! I'm totally going to be experimenting with this one! It's a keeper!

FRESH RASPBERRY BARS

1 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups flour

3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam or preserves

2 cups fresh raspberries

1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tblsp. flour

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 Tblsp. fresh lemon zest

2 Tblsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Powdered sugar (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with foil - extending extra foil over ends of pan (to lift bars from pan later). Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until it just begins to blend and soften slightly, about 30 seconds.

Add brown sugar and salt. Beat on low speed until incorporated - 30 seconds or so. Add the 2 cups of flour and beat on low speed until the flour is incorporated. Don't undermix it, or it will be too crumbly. Break dough into small chunks and place in prepared pan. With your fingers, pat dough into an even layer. Bake 20 minutes or until dough has begun to puff and is just set. Cool for 5 minutes.

Lightly brush exposed sides of foil with softened butter to keep filling from sticking.

Spread jam over cooled crust.

Sprinkle evenly with fresh raspberries.

With a lemon zester, remove peel from lemon, making sure to avoid the bitter white pith. Don't try to do this ahead of time - do it right as you are baking.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium high for 30 seconds or until creamy. Mix in granulated sugar and 1 Tblsp of flour until blended. With mixer running, add egg and egg yolk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Pour custard batter evenly over berries. Tilt pan back and forth to distribute the custard evenly. Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes or until barely set. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Top will crack slightly as it cools.

Use foil to lift the bars from the pan. With a knife or metal spatula, support the sides of the bars while you gently peel the foil downward and away from the sides of the bars.

Cut into long bars. Peel foil from bottom and transfer to cutting board using side of a long knife or spatula. Cutting first on the foil results in cleaner edges. Cut into 24 squares.

Sprinkle very lightly with powdered sugar

Yield: 24 bars

THAI PEANUT SAUCE

2011-07-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

See this?! You MUST try it at your earliest convenience!! It is so YUMMY! I started to make one of my good ol' standbys tonight for dinner, but just wasn't thrilled about using the same ol', same ol' Frank's hot sauce. I was in the mood for something a bit different. So on a whim, I grabbed from the store shelves: Teriyaki sauce & marinade, Frank's hot sauce, and Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce. I figured once I got home, I could be a little more decisive! I prepped the wings for frying, then cracked open the teriyaki sauce and the peanut sauce, letting my nose lead me! The peanut sauce smelled so spicy and wonderful! I fried up my wings (w/ no coating or batter), drained them, then coated them well in the peanut sauce and put them into a 375 degree oven for about 5 minutes to get the sauce sizzling hot.
One finger licking, lip smacking taste at dinner was all it took to tell me it was a real winner worth keeping!
I will be using this sauce over and over again! Plus looking for other ways to use it!

INTRODUCING ......

2011-06-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

Hannah Lu (Tharp) Flaugher. This is my youngest daughter & her husband, Ryan. They were recently married in December 2010. She and her husband, are expecting their first baby - Gideon Lee on Oct. 27. My daughters, Sarah & Hannah have been my right & left arms from the time that they were very young. I have had them in the kitchen cooking with me when they were yet too small to see over the cooking pot, even standing on a stool. Many times I would sit them on the counter to help stir batter or throw ingredients into a recipe I was mixing up. I've LOVED having them as my kitchen partners! Now they are all grown & cooking up their own masterpieces! The only problem is, we are 9 hours away from each other. I still desire to cook in my kitchen with them though, I miss it greatly! So to help remedy that - I've invited Hannah to come on board on my cooking blog as a c0-hostess. From time to time she will be posting her own wonderful creations! Things that she has created for her new husband. I think you will grow to be as excited about this prospect of new recipes, as I am! I've taught her everything I know and turned her loose! haha

Stay tuned to the blog for some new and exciting recipes from Hannah!

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Hello to all of my Mom's fans! *ahem* Soon to be mine as well I hope! ;) Just to clarify something... The drink right in front of me (Hannah) is simply a regular coke, with cherry flavoring added. Lol Nothing more! :) I enjoy the little cherry on top with the little sword thingy, and put it there so as to not have to search for it amoungst the ice in the bottom of the cup. Lol I very much look forward to creating new recipes, and sharing them with each one of you. Please don't forget to post a comment on the recipes you try, and let me know how they turn out! :)

BACON CHEDDAR PULL APARTS

2011-06-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

This one is super yummy! When my daughter Sarah and her friend, Amy were raising funds for their missions trip to Brazil - this was one of the top sellers every week at our bake sales. It always sold out first, and was being requested every week at the sales. I made these today for our Saturday morning soul winners / prayer breakfast. We had a ladies meeting last night and there was all kinds of left over fresh fruit to go with them. So I served Bacon Cheddar Pull Aparts, Scrambled Eggs and Fruit. It was the perfect breakfast combo! The muffins went really well with the eggs!

BACON CHEDDAR PULL APARTS

2 eggs

4 tablespoons milk

4 (7.5 oz) (10 count) cans refrigerated biscuits

1 lb bacon, diced and cooked

1 (8 oz) bag shredded Cheddar cheese (I've also used Shredded Monterey Jack)

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (4 medium) (I use half of the tops too)
1 stick butter, melted

Optional: 1 small can diced green chiles, drained
Can also add: diced green pepper or diced red pepper if you like those.

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 regular size muffin tins with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat eggs and milk with wire whisk until smooth.
Separate dough into individual biscuits; cut each into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Gently fold in bacon, cheese and onions. Spoon mixture evenly among 12 sprayed muffin tins. You could also use the foil muffin liners - but I would even spray those.
Drizzle melted butter evenly over top of pull aparts.
Place muffin tin on cookie sheet - the muffins tend to leak the butter a bit and the cookie sheet helps contain the mess.
Bake at 350°F. for 20 - 23 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from muffin tins.
Best served warm.

PIG PICKIN' CAKE

2011-05-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice, moist, light, Summery cake. The cake batter has chopped mandarin oranges in it, and the whipped topping has crushed pineapple in it. So it has a fruity, but subtle, tropical flavor. It's always a hit at potlucks. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law way back in the late 80's. She was one of the first people I ever met that absolutely loved to cook and it showed in her cooking! She was (and still is) a fantastic cook and I use so many of her recipes in my cooking. I think you'll like this one as much as I do!

PIG PICKIN' CAKE

1 Duncan Hines Super Moist Yellow cake mix (w/ pudding in the mix)
- or Duncan Hines Butter recipe cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 small can mandarin oranges w/ juice

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs & oil. Stir until combined. Add oranges & juice and continue to mix until oranges are evenly incorporated into the batter. Pour into 3 greased & floured 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 20 min.

FILLING & TOPPING:

1 (6 oz) Vanilla instant pudding
1 (20 oz) Crushed pineapple
1 (12 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

Combine pudding mix and pineapple w/ juice. Stir until pudding is completely dissolved. Fold in Cool Whip. Mix until thoroughly combined. Use to frost middles, sides and top of cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

AMISH BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

2011-05-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

There are SO many recipes for breakfast casserole floating around on the internet and in cook books. You'll find them as breakfast casserole, quiche, strata, etc... Some of them are made with meat, eggs, cheese & bread cubes.... some with veggies.... this one was made with bacon, eggs, cheese & hash browns, which made it seem like a pretty hearty one dish breakfast. So I opted for this one for our soul winner's prayer breakfast this morning. Then I set out the toaster and a loaf of whole wheat bread, so they could make a piece of hot, buttered toast with it, if they wanted to. It must have been a winner, because the pan was empty at the end! That's always a good sign!

My co-hostess, Brenda Bell, made a Mexican Breakfast Casserole & that one had corn tortillas in it. She served it with Salsa. If she'll give me the recipe for it, I'll add that one too. She also made a delicious, " "cinnamony" bread pudding as a treat! Didn't get a pic of it, but got a few nibbles and it was YUMMY! Special THANK YOU to Miss Brenda for her good help this morning! (Should have snapped her pic! I'll do it next week.)

AMISH BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

1 lb slice bacon, diced (I use scissors - makes it quick)
1 medium onion, chopped
6 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded swiss cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is crisp. Drain. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, stir in bacon mixture. Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes or until set and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

HOT CHEESECAKE W/ FRESH RASPBERRIES

2011-05-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

This is an awesome cheesecake. The crust is a bit involved. But if you don't mind working with a yeast dough, you won't have any problems. This tastes like the freshest raspberry, cream cheese danish you've ever had! It really is worth the wait on this one! Trust me, if you love cheesecake and raspberries, this will become one of your new favorites!

HOT CHEESECAKE W/ FRESH RASPBERRIES

Dough:

1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled a bit
1 pkg dry yeast
1 Tblsp sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup butter
3 egg yolks

Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk. Set aside. Cut butter into flour (like pie crust). Add egg yolks to milk. Stir and pour into flour. Mix well. Divide dough in half. Roll out first half into 11 x 15 pan. (May need to add a bit more flour as you mix and roll, to keep it from being too sticky. Roll out second half into a rectangle on cotton towel and set aside.

Filling:

4 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients together and spread over dough in pan. Cover with 2nd half of dough. Sprinkle top crust with sugar. Let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm with raspberry sauce, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Or you could just serve it plain - it's just as good that way!
May be re-heated.

To make Raspberry syrup: Stir together in small saucepan: 1 cup fresh raspberries, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar. Heat over med-high heat until boiling. Turn down and simmer until berries are cooked down. Keep warm to serve over cheesecake.

TRI-COLOR PASTA SALAD

2011-05-16T20:31:00.001-07:00

I love this Pasta Salad and make it often during the Summer months. It is light enough to be a salad, but hearty enough to fill you up. It goes together quickly and keeps well in the fridge. With the busy life that a Preacher's wife leads, those are certainly 2 bonus features of a good recipe!
If you like pasta salad even just a little bit, you'll love this one!

TRI-COLOR PASTA SALAD

2 (1 lb) boxes tri-color rotini pasta
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 container grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 (8 oz) bag pepperoni, cut in 1/4's
1 (8 oz) chunk colby jack cheese, cut into small cubes
1 (16 oz) bottle Italian dressing

Boil noodles al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Place cooked noodles in a large mixing bowl.

If you are serving the same day: that you mix this up - then add next 5 ingredients and stir gently to combine. Pour entire bottle of Italian dressing over salad and stir gently again to incorporate dressing into salad. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

If you are serving the next day: After noodles have cooled, pour 1/2 of the bottle of Italian dressing over noodles and cover tightly and refrigerate. Place other prepared ingredients individually in ziploc baggies and refrigerate. The next day, mix everything together and pour in remaining 1/2 bottle of Italian dressing. Stir gently to combine. Serve chilled.

Feeds: An Army!

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA DELIGHT

2011-04-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

This dessert is a classic. I've seen it with lemon pudding, chocolate pudding and now here it is with two kinds of pudding, chocolate AND vanilla. It tends to be a bit on the heavy side, so serve it with a lighter meal, or else cut smaller portions. I made this in a prepared graham cracker pie crust, but next time will make it in a 9 x 13 cake pan. The prepared crust was convenient, but it made 8 very large slices of pie - not bad if you're a dessert lover! But I tried to "skinny" this down a bit, and putting it in a smaller pan, didn't help the calorie count much. 1/8 of the pie was 294 calories. If you make it in a 9 x 13 pan and cut it into 16 pieces, the calories drop to 147 - that's a lot more acceptable, especially if you're trying to watch your weight. If you're not dieting, feel free to make the full fat version! ;-)

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA DELIGHT

1 prepared graham cracker pie crust

1 (8 oz) pkg light cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (16 oz) light Cool Whip, thawed

1 (3 1/2 oz) pkg sugar free, instant chocolate pudding

1 (3 1/2 oz) pkg sugar free, instant vanilla pudding

3 cups cold 2% (or skim) milk (divided)

Chopped pecans

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy. Stir in 1/2 of the 16 oz Cool Whip. Spread evenly in bottom of crust. In separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups milk with chocolate pudding mix. Beat with whisk until combined. Let sit until thickened. Then spread evenly over cream cheese mixture. Again, in separate bowl, combine, remaining 1 1/2 cups milk with vanilla pudding mix. Beat with whisk until combined. Let sit until thickened. Spread evenly over chocolate pudding. Spread remaining Cool Whip over vanilla pudding. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 8 servings if using prepared Graham cracker crust.

Makes 16 servings (with fewer calories) if you use a 9 x 13 pan and make your own graham cracker crust.

"KAHLUA" COFFEE CAKE

2011-04-29T21:26:00.001-07:00

I recently took this cake to a church fellowship and brought back an empty cake plate. That's always a good sign!! (Jessica, this is the cake) This is a really moist cake and goes REALLY well with a cup of hot coffee! Trust me on this one! They are a match made in heaven!

"KAHLUA" COFFEE CAKE

1 pkg Golden Butter Cake Mix
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding (3 1/2 oz)
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Kahlua flavored syrup
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine cake mix adding 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, pudding, oil, and vanilla. Mix well

Divide batter in half. To one half, add brown sugar, Kahlua syrup, and pecans. Grease bundt pan.

Pour 1/2 of the pecan flavored cake mixture into the bundt pan, then all of the plain mixture on top of that, then remaining half of pecan cake mixture. Run a knife through mixture to marblize. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Check cake in 1 hour. Remove cake from pan onto cake plate. While still warm, mix glaze.

Glaze: Mix powdered sugar and Kahlua flavored syrup until it is the consistency of thin icing - thin enough to drizzle over a cake. Poke holes in top of warm cake and drizzle 2 or 3 times w/ glaze.

If you can't find Kahlua flavored syrup. I would make a simple syrup using equal parts of water (1/3 cup) and sugar(1/3 cup). Heat until the sugar dissolves. Mix in 1 tsp. of instant espresso powder while hot. Let it cool before making the cake. If you love coffee flavored desserts, then this will work well for you! You can use the same coffee syrup in the glaze.

New post.... new start..... new hope!

2011-04-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 1 yr since my last post on here. After 9 very long, very hard months, I'm back! Glory! For those of you who have faithfully followed my blog, I'm sorry if it seemed like I just dropped off the edge of a cliff (truthfully that may have been easier!) After 16 yrs in our last ministry, the Lord saw fit to move us from that place. Since we lived in a parsonage, we had no home of our own to stay in. A very good friend allowed our family, and our son's family (who was our ass't pastor) to move into their college dorm.

Very humbling.... God is so good though! Do what you can with what HE'S provided you and BE CONTENT! "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." If ol' Brother Paul who suffered tragedy, shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments, etc... like we'll never know of, can say such a thing.... who am I to open my mouth against the Lord and complain about what He's provided. Life isn't always steak and ice cream, new cars, fancy houses. Sometimes it's a meager existence. Living paycheck to paycheck. Hand to mouth. Sometimes it's NO paycheck! Daily waiting on GOD alone to supply your needs. But oh, we need to be so careful to praise Him in the tough times as well as the "easy." I have to say on the Lord's behalf, we never got behind on even one payment. He took such wonderful care of us through God's people. He dumped blessings on us by the dump truck load!! He will be a debtor to no man. For years I've watched my faithful husband give to people & ministries hand over fist. He's given vehicles away, paid rent for people, let folks live with us (many times), bought groceries, bought gas, paid for bus and plane tickets, paid utility bills, not to mention the hundreds of dollars he gives to faith promise missions every week. I believe God takes note of such things. As a direct result of giving, God fed us daily while we waited by the brook! And you know what? Sometimes it was even steak! :-) Don't stop up the hand of God's blessing in your life. Be faithful in your giving! Even when you think you can't!

For the last 8 months we lived in 2 dorm rooms (1 for living, cooking, etc...the vanity area of 1 of the bathrooms was my "kitchen", and then 1 for sleeping) The photos up above are just a small glimpse of our every day living arrangements while we were there. We moved about 10% of our very basic belongings into the dorm rooms. The other 90% was in a nearby storage unit, that we paid monthly rent on.

When we moved, our daughter Sarah had just left on her missions trip to Brazil. We sat at the computer many a night, having heart to heart talks over Skype, wiping tears together. When she arrived back in the states, 2 months later, it was coming "home" to the dorm - with no room of her own. She slept on the couch and never once did I hear a negative comment from her. A while later, she moved in with her brother, who had a bit more room for her than us.

I can't begin to describe to you the devastation we felt the day we moved in there. It was 110 degrees in the shade that day. Not only were we unloading our things, but our son's family was around the corner and we shared the moving truck and trailer w/ him. The men unloaded his things, then we went to the storage unit to unload the rest in there - front to back and to the ceiling - it was piled. The men were sweating so badly, they took their shirts off to wring them out. I went to buy cold water for them so they could at least try to get refreshed a bit. Once we were back to the dorm - we stood there amidst packed boxes and furniture crammed here and there, hoping it would all find a place and fit somehow. My precious brother-in-law who helped us load the truck at point A, followed our moving truck on the 5 hr trip and helped unload at point B, was there in our dorm room moving the last box in. He was exhausted, we all were just drained. The look on his face as he stood to say Goodbye, was one of utter dismay. We were numb over all that had just happened, losing a ministry after that many years, is like a death in your family. The deep grief and sense of loss was overwhelming. This was even more so for our precious son & his wife who had just lost their sweet baby Simeon, at 6 months in the womb - just 3 months earlier. We wondered, "where do we go from here?" We could only sit in silence and stare at each other and the floor. Oh how we needed God's help, His strength, His grace, His peace. And He provided it all in such a marvelous way. That day I climbed up into His omnipotent lap, laid my head on His compassionate shoulder and wept and cried out to Him. I had no words of comfort for my precious husband who had just lost the ministry that he labored so hard in, for so many years. He gave the best years of his life there. How do you encourage the man of God when you yourself are so discouraged? So disillusioned.

The only remedy was to saturate ourselves in the Word. But when I sat down to read my Bible, I could only read a chapter or two before I ended up staring at the pages. I didn't even want to go to church. I didn't want to do anything. All I wanted to do was sleep. We were all so exhausted. Physically, mentally, spiritually. God knew that. I would try to pray and end up just sitting there quietly muttering, "Lord, please..... Lord please...." I'm so thankful for the precious Holy Spirit who goes to God and speaks things that we don't know how to utter. It took about a month or so for the numbness to start wearing off. Our preacher at the church where we joined, was so good about keeping us near him and keeping an eye on our spiritual temperature to make sure we were slowly healing. Every service, every message, God spoke so clearly to our hearts. His word ministered to us like the balm that it is.

I was battling a very severe case of Vertigo brought on by the intense stress of the situation. I would stagger through the grocery store. I would stagger to the laundry room and back. Stagger into the church. It was awful. I couldn't even go to the altar, because the floor sloped and made me feel like I was falling. Everywhere I went, I had to hang onto my husband's arm. The Dr tried meds, but they made me want to sleep all the time. And the very first side effect was DIZZINESS! So I flushed the meds. After about 2 months of that, the Lord provided the money and the Dr to help get me back on track. It was a very expensive set of 12 treatments (traction, deep muscle massage, acupuncture, and adjustments) but it helped me see and walk straight again! And God provided every penny needed for it!

Although I was battling Vertigo, I knew if we were ever going to "make it" there, I would have to get to work on making those rooms as much like "home" as I could. I knew even though it was temporary, it HAD to feel cozy for my family. Our son's family has 3 dorm rooms, since he has 2 little ones and 1 on the way in June. They are currently still there in the dorm, as our daughter in law is expecting and is considered a high risk pregnancy. A move at this time would not be good (nor affordable) for them. When we all left our last ministry it flung our son into full time deputation for the field of Ireland. He has felt the call of God on his life for missions for years now and this move precipitated his deputation. Please pray for Philip & Monica Tharp if the Lord brings them to your mind. They are precious young people with a desire to serve God in the needy country of Ireland.

Although living in 2 dorm rooms isn't an ideal situation, I am very thankful to have had a roof over our heads! I mastered the art of "convenience cooking" and am contemplating adding a section on my blog about it. Mostly though, I prefer to put it out of my memory (the cooking part!). It was a very trying time in our lives. But God is so good and He took such wonderful care of us that I had to start journaling His MANY blessings in our lives! He gave us a GREAT church to join with, for those 8 months, and get our heads screwed back on straight! God knows just what we need and for how long! We heard some tremendous preaching while we were there and the Lord really ministered to our hearts through our preacher and the Word. We were able to heal up while we were there.

As an added bonus, since our daughter Hannah was a student there, we got to be near her. We also got to know the young man she was courting in a much more personal way. We enjoyed many a meal together in our apt with the two of them, on our "courting couch!" Then when they got engaged, I was right there to help plan the wedding. Even though it was on a shoestring budget ($1,000) the Lord provided every penny needed to make it a beautiful and memorable day for them.

Trials will either make you better or they will make you bitter. If we would have harbored unforgiveness in our hearts, bitterness would have set in. Bitterness would had ended our ministry. God is so good and so faithful - He sees right where you are and knows just what you need. He won't forsake His children.

Earthly friends may prove untrue, Doubts and fears assail; One still loves and cares for you; One who will not fail.

Chorus Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails, Heav'n and earth may pass away, But Jesus never fails.

Tho' the sky be dark and drear,

Fierce and strong the gale, Just remember He is near, And He will not fail.

Chorus

Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails, Heav'n and earth may pass away, But Jesus never fails.

In life's dark and bitter hour,

Love will still prevail;

Trust His everlasting pow'r, Jesus will not fail.

Chorus

Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails, Heav'n and earth may pass away,

But Jesus never fails.

Now, 9 months later, we are in a new state, new church, new home, have a new church family.... We miss our kids and grandbabies immensely! This is the first time in our ministry years that our children have not been serving in our church. We moved 9 hrs away from them all. That part has been hard to get used to. God moved us to a church that had been hurt by their former pastor. Here we were, a hurt preacher's family! Can a hurting preacher and a hurting church be a good match? It sure seems like it! We have loved them from the very first meeting. These precious folks have taken us in and treated us like blood relatives! We are so excited at what God is doing here and so humbled to be a part of it! Please pray for us if the Lord brings us to your mind. We just want to live a life pleasing to the Lord.

Just look at what GOD has done for us - this is where we are now! I'm so excited! Love our new home! We used the front room (entrance room) for our dining room furniture - since hospitality is such a way of life for us. I had to have a place to entertain folks at our table. The small eat in kitchen would not hold my dining set.

My new kitchen! Notice the freshly baked, glazed coffee cake on the stove and the bread baking in the oven?! ;-)

If you read all the way through this story of trials and triumphs, then you are a trooper and deserve a gold medal! Bless your dear heart!

Tablescape - Hawaiian theme

2010-05-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

My goodness - it's time for a new post - a tablescape! I've been so busy lately, I've just completely ignored you all!

My oldest daughter (and her friend) are getting ready to take a missions trip to Brazil. To help fund their trip, I have been baking my fingers off! We have hosted 6 bake sales in the last 6 weeks! Finally they have raised enough for their tickets. Now we just have to trust God that He will provide what they need to live on while they are there. They have a little (very little) but God knows and I believe HE is IN this thing. This Saturday was our last sale ~*sigh*~ time to take a break from baking! In a few short weeks our Sunday family dinners will be missing 1 person! I'm having a hard time with the thought of her leaving. She is the sweetest, most precious 27 yr old lady you would ever want to meet (and one of my dearest friends.) She LOVES her mama!

Yesterday it was a WARM 87 degrees - time to break out the Summery tablescapes. To surprise everyone (especially Sarah, who LOVES table decor as much as I do!) I decorated the table in a Hawaiian theme.

When my little 4 yr old grandson saw the table, he said, "Wow! Somebody really did a lot of work on this!" haha He was enamored with the little paper umbrellas I stuck in our cups. He even had one stuck in the hole of his sippy cup!

We have 2 college age girls who attend our church (we actually have many college age kids) but these two (Rebekah and Jamie) are some of our faithful servants in our bus ministry and just all around good helpers. To encourage them a bit, I invited them over to share Sunday dinner with us. I think they enjoyed themselves! Praise the Lord for willing workers to help share the load.
Rebekah insisted on an "eating" pose. I wish I would have snapped a nice pic too, but everyone was getting down to the business of eating!

I served Beef AND pork roast. Mashed potatoes and gravy, mashed yams, corn, and broccoli. My daughter-in-law is the queen of making hot yeast rolls, so we enjoyed those too! She also made a delicious berry compote and served it warm, over a small slice of marbled pound cake. Then she whipped up a batch of homemade whipped cream with orange zest to top it with. Mmm! DEElicious!

I cannot believe this place setting has UNmatched silverware! I'm so ashamed! haha I have 2 of these cute fish plates - and the grandbabies had fun eating on them.

I love FUN, theme related dishes. I find most of them at places like Rite Aid, Walgreens, the Dollar Store, etc... I like to keep just enough to decorate a Sunday dinner table.

The pretty floral table runner, is actually a piece of one of those cheap plastic tablecloths. I cut it lengthwise into 4 runners. I used them for a dinner at our church.

I think I've posted about these napkin rings before, but I really love them. Our "adopted" daughter, Amy bought them for me when she was in FL on vacation. They are made from real shells and are so pretty. I have 4 of them, so don't get to use them a lot, since I'm usually hosting larger groups. But I DO love them.

MINI CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES WITH CREME ANGLAISE

2010-03-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my daughter Sarah found a recipe and asked if I would make it for her birthday dessert. Birthdays are a BIG DEAL in our home! The birthday person always gets their favorite dinner, favorite dessert and many times we'll have extended family or other company in for dinner, with lots of presents and celebrating! When I agreed to making Sarah's dessert, I didn't realize it was a souffle! When I read the recipe, I was a bit apprehensive. But after it was done, I thought it was one of the easiest recipes I'd ever made! So tender, light and delicious! And the raspberries with the chocolate.... WOW!! The flavors just POP in your mouth! The batter for these souffles is all mixed in the blender! How easy is that?! You have GOT to try this one! The best part is, you can mix these up ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven when you sit down to dinner!

MINI CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES w/ CREME ANGLAISE

1 Tblsp soft butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water1 Tblsp espresso powder (I sub. instant coffee granules)
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate + 3 oz. milk chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 eggs
1 tsp. rum flavoring
12 oz. cream cheese, cut into chunks
Preheat oven to 375.
1. Coat 6 mini souffle dishes with butter (any oven safe, 8 oz glass bowl, will work). Using 1/4 cup of the sugar, distributing among the 6 dishes, sprinkle evenly with sugar.
2. Put remaining 1/2 cup sugar, bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate and water together in microwave safe bowl and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and whisk to combine.
3. Break the eggs into a blender, add the heavy cream and the rum flavoring. Blend until eggs and cream are thoroughly mixed.
4. With the blender running, scrape in the melted chocolate slowly. Add the cream cheese chunks one at a time. When batter is completely mixed, blend on high speed for a few seconds to make sure any leftover chunks of cream cheese don't get missed.
5. Pour the batter to 3/4 full, distributing evenly among the 6 dishes.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove from oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries and strawberries) drizzle with creme anglaise and serve warm!

CREME ANGLAISE
(I usually double this - YES, it's THAT good!)

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
2 Tblsp butter

In a saucepan over med-high heat, combine cream, 1/4 sugar, whisk. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar. When cream mixture comes to just a boil, remove from heat, whisk a small amount of hot cream into egg yolks, stir, then whisk in a bit more until the temp of the eggs gradually rises to meet the temp of the hot cream. This is called 'tempering' the eggs. If you do it too quickly you will 'cook' the eggs and ruin your sauce. So just a couple small drizzles at a time, until the eggs are warmed. Then pour warmed egg yolks into hot cream and whisk until smooth. Return this mixture to med high heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm over mini chocolate souffles and assorted berries.

TIRAMISU

2010-03-17T07:22:00.001-07:00

I love Italian food, and have always wanted to make 'real' Tiramisu. The last event I catered was our church's formal Winter banquet. The theme was "A Night to Remember" and it was decorated in Italian flair, complete with red & white checked tablecloths, drippy candles, imported cheeses, grapes and big crusty loaves of bread w/ seasoned olive oil. I served Chicken Marsala, Mozzarella stuffed meatballs, Angel hair pasta, Strawberry lemonade salad, Garlic bread, and then Tiramisu for dessert. If you like coffee flavored desserts, then you will love this. So easy to put together too.

TIRAMISU

3 egg yolks
3 1/2 oz. white sugar
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese (sub: softened Cream cheese)
16 oz. cream, whipped
(if you're pressed for time, you can use cool whip - but the REAL thing is so much better!)
8 1/2 oz. strong espresso or 3 tsp. of strong instant coffee in 250 ml of hot water
20 Lady fingers (can find these in the ethnic section of your local grocery store)
1 3/4 oz. cocoa powder

Cook egg yolks and sugar over hot water until thin (to do this, fill a saucepan 1/3 of the way with hot water, place pan over med-high heat, then place a mixing bowl in the top of the pan, making sure it doesn't touch the water. Then place the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl and continue). After eggs are thinned and heated, add them to the Mascarpone cheese (or softened cream cheese), add whipped cream and gently stir until well combined. Dip lady fingers in coffee, layer in pan, cover with cream mixture, add another layer of dipped lady fingers and cream mixture. Refrigerate until firm. Before serving, dust with cocoa powder (do this by holding a small mesh seive over a bowl, place a couple of tablespoons of cocoa in the seive. Gently move over the top of the pan of Tiramisu and begin tapping the edge of the seive as you move it evenly over the top of the dessert.

EGG NOG FRENCH TOAST

2010-02-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

What's your favorite thing to make on a Snow Day? School is canceled, many can't get out to go to work, you're not going anywhere until the driveway is plowed or snowblowed. You may as well make a hot breakfast for everyone. If you like egg nog and can get your hands on some, you have GOT to try this! It's so custardy and delicious. The only thing I would change would be to use a heartier bread. All I had in the bread box was Aunt Millies Cracked Wheat bread, and it was a bit to thin for this thick, custardy recipe. I still used it, but a nice, crusty, french, bread loaf, sliced thick, would work a lot better for this.

EGG NOG FRENCH TOAST

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup store bought egg nog
1 tsp rum flavoring (or vanilla, it's your choice)
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/8 t. cinnamon + 1/8 t. nutmeg)
6 slices bread

Whisk together eggs, egg nog, rum flavoring and spices. Heat a griddle to hot. Dip bread in egg mixture, allowing it to soak in slightly. Butter (or oil) the hot griddle and place soaked bread on griddle. Cook on each side until golden brown and crispy. Serve with butter and powdered sugar or hot syrup.

*Note* To increase the recipe: for every additional 3 slices of bread, add one egg, 1/4 cup of egg nog and 1 tsp. rum flavoring (or 1/2 t. vanilla)

CRUNCHY ONION CHICKEN

2010-02-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love a nice crispy, oven fried chicken? This chicken recipe is as easy as falling off a log! Exactly what you want on a busy day - something that goes together in a snap AND bakes in the oven! For having so few ingredients, it had great flavor. The onions gave it a nice crunch. Super easy and quick! A real keeper, for sure!

CRUNCHY ONION CHICKEN

1 (6 oz) French's original or cheddar french fried onions (crushed)
2 Tblsp flour
1 egg, beaten
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or whatever chicken pieces you prefer)

Crush french fried onions with flour in plastic bags. Dip chicken in egg, coat in onion crumbs. Press firmly to make the crumbs adhere. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Bigger pieces of chicken will require a bit more cooking time.

GLAZED NUTS

2010-02-06T17:42:00.001-08:00

Just in time for your Valentine goody boxes. These glazed nuts will be a HUGE hit with your loved ones. They are so addicting! If you start eating them warm from the oven, before you've even packaged them, you'll have to tell yourself to "STEP AWAY FROM THE PAN!"

GLAZED NUTS

1 lb pecans (I use half walnuts and half pecans)
1 egg white
1 tsp cold water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325.
Beat egg white with cold water until frothy. Mix nuts thoroughly with it. Mix dry ingredients, coat nuts. Bake on buttered cookie sheet at 325 for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. Dry on paper towels until dry. Nice for gift and goody boxes!

SOUTHWESTERN MAC-N-CHEESE

2010-01-28T10:15:00.001-08:00

Here is a cool spin on an old favorite - Mac-n-Cheese! Try it with a Southwestern flair! It's delicious and so hearty, you could serve it as the main entree for dinner and the whole family would be happy! Well unless you have a hubby that is a "meat and potatoes" man like mine is! *wink*

SOUTHWESTERN MAC-N-CHEESE

1 (16 oz) pkg. uncooked elbow macaroni (or pasta of your choice)
1 lb Ground Beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 pkg. Taco seasonings
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 (8 oz) brick shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 (8 oz) brick shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Pace Picante, medium

Toppings:
Extra Shredded Mozzarella and Pepper Jack
Tortilla chips, crushed
Sour cream
Salsa

Cook macaroni according to pkg directions. In a separate skillet, brown 1 lb of ground beef with 1 medium diced onion, 4 oz can of chopped green chiles and 1/2 cup diced tomatoes. When the hamburger is done, stir in the packet of taco seasoning. Meanwhile in a dutch oven, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat, stir in cheeses. Drain macaroni, and pour into cheese sauce in dutch oven. Stir in ground beef mixture and Pace picante. Top with more shredded cheese and bake in oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Top with crushed tortilla chips. Serve with extra salsa and sour cream, if desired.

SOUTHWESTERN DIP

2010-01-28T10:07:00.001-08:00

Don't you just love a good Southwestern flavored dish? Here are a couple of new recipes to add to your collection. This first one is a dip that goes together in a snap. It's a good ol' standby for a spur of the moment get-together, and young and old people alike love this dip.

SOUTHWESTERN DIP

8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz sour cream
4 oz Pace Picante, medium
1 Tblsp chopped green chiles
2 Tblsp Taco seasoning (more or less to taste)

Beat cream cheese with mixer until smooth, Stir in sour cream, and taco seasoning. Beat with mixer until combined. Add picante sauce (or salsa) and chopped green chiles. Stir with wooden spoon until well combined. Serve with tortilla chips.

PEACH COBBLER

2010-01-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

I was going back through my pic files and realized there are pics of recipes that I haven't posted yet! This is one of them, and it's one of our all time favorites! Peach Cobbler. I should have posted it when peaches were in season. But it turns out equally good using canned peaches. It goes together in a snap and puts a smile on everybody's face!

PEACH COBBLER

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches (if using canned, buy peaches packed in juice, not syrup)
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Note: If using canned peaches - drain them first, then proceed.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or a good quality vanilla ice cream.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS

2010-01-21T17:43:00.001-08:00

I've been away too long! But I'm back with a brand new chicken dish. I've been hearing and reading a lot about braising lately. A while back my daughter in law made braised beef ribs and we enjoyed them immensely. Yesterday I watched a French chef make braised rabbit, and I thought, wow, that recipe would be good with chicken! I also have to take my hubby's tastes into consideration, so many times a recipe gets altered simply because I know he won't care for the ingredients. And meal time isn't all about me playing with food! haha It's about pleasing the ones I'm feeding. And I certainly want my family to enjoy what I fix for them!
This chicken was SO wonderfully moist! It received thumbs up from everybody - but especially hubby, which means I'll be making it again and again!

What is braising and what cuts of meat are best suited to being braised?

Braising is a slow, wet cooking method that blends flavors and softens tough textures. The best cuts of meat for braising are those with a lot of connective tissue, that is, the sinew (gristle) and fat that hold the bands of protein together in meat. The connective tissue, during a long, moist cooking process, breaks down into gelatin, becoming soft in texture while retaining its juiciness. Many of these cuts would be horribly tough and unpalatable if they were cooked quickly or with dry heat, since high temperatures make the connective tissue hard and chewy. Braising develops deep, layered flavors and a thick, richly-textured sauce.

Beef cuts most suitable to braising are: chuck pot roast, brisket, rump roast, short ribs, flank steak, skirt steak, eye round roast, top round roast, shanks, chuck eye roast, arm pot roast, shoulder pot roast, cross rib roast, blade roast, bottom round roast and 7-bone pot roast. Veal cuts best suited to braising are: shanks, neck, rib chop, short ribs, arm roast, blade roast, shoulder eye roast, arm roast, round steak, rump roast, breast, riblet, kidney chop and sirloin steak. Cuts of pork that are best braised are: blade roast, picnic roast, sirloin chop, country style ribs and trotters. Lamb is especially good braised, shanks, rolled breast, shoulder roast, shoulder arm chop, neck, blade chop, riblets and sirloin chop are the cuts most used. And the legs and thighs of poultry are good braised, whether chicken, turkey or duck.

Most of these cuts are less expensive, which makes braising a flavorful, satisfying, and inexpensive dinner. Braises are especially easy to prepare if you use a crockpot. Braises are usually served over or with a starch, whether a rice pilaf, couscous, barley, risotto, polenta, wide egg noodles or with biscuits. A mixed salad with a sharp vinaigrette balances the meal.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS

4 chicken leg quarters (or 8 thighs) (dark meat works best in this recipe)
2 cups unsalted chicken stock
2 cups white cooking wine (sold in the sauce & marinade aisle)
6 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 dozen small pearl onions, peeled
1 pound button mushrooms
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1/2 cup croutons (I buy the extra large ass't. Caesar croutons, and I don't measure!)
1 ounce chives, finely chopped

Directions

Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring the chicken stock and cooking wine to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep at a slow, steady simmer.

Warm the olive oil and butter in a 7 quart cast iron low-sided braiser (I used an enamel coated cast iron dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with the flour. Add the chicken and sear until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the onions and mushrooms and sweat, while stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the bay leaves and thyme leaves. Pour in the hot stock/cooking wine mixture, cover with a round of buttered parchment paper (Don't use the lid to the pan, just use the parchment paper and make sure it is pressed right down on top of the chicken and the broth) and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove and discard the parchment paper and bake 10 minutes more.

(to make this parchment cover: use the lid to the pot - lay it on the parchment paper and draw a circle around it. Cut the circle out. Cut a small venting circle in the middle of that for the steam to escape)

To check for doneness, using a small knife pierce the thickest part of the thigh. The meat should feel tender. Remove chicken to serving platter. Scoop out onions and mushrooms and scatter over chicken. Sprinkle the croutons and chives over the top. Serve.

CINNAMON APPLE BREAD PUDDING

2009-10-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

Yum! Do you love a good, warm, cinnamon'y' bread pudding on a chilly Fall day? This is another good Autumn recipe, and a good way to incorporate some of those apples that you've been picking. We are in the middle of our annual Faith Promise Missions Conference and we are feeding the missionaries dinner each night. We thought this one would go over well, and it surely did.
The original recipe had twice the amount of sugar called for here. It was good, but way too sweet. So we reduced the amount of sugar (since we were working with a sweeter bread). And the results were WONDERFUL! I love this because it's almost like eating baked french toast, but better. You will love the crispy, crumb topping too.

CINNAMON APPLE BREAD PUDDING

1 cup white sugar
5 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups cubed - iced cinnamon swirl bread (you can do cinnamon-raisin if you prefer)
1 large yellow delicious apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans, optional
cinnamon-sugar mixture

Sauce:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup apple juice

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Place bread cubes in pan. Mix together sugar, eggs and milk in a bowl, add vanilla. Pour over bread cubes and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Sprinkle diced apple evenly over the top. In a separate bowl, crumble together the brown sugar, flour, butter and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture evenly over the top. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, or until set (no longer 'jiggly' in the middle). Remove from oven.

For sauce: Mix together sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a saucepan. Over medium heat, stir together until sugar is melted. Add apple juice and stir well. Pour warm over bread pudding. Delicious served warm with ice cream!

APPLE CAKE

2009-10-14T19:50:00.001-07:00

Man! I love Fall! Don't you? I love the colors - the deep orange hues, the red, the gold, green, I love it all. The crisp Fall air. Warm, comfy sweaters. Fleece blankets. Fuzzy socks. Hot chocolate. I love the smells of Fall. Baking. Pumpkins. Apple orchards. Apple cider. Apple pie, apple crisp, Apple cake!! haha My daughter has been asking for this for a few weeks now. I finally surprised her with it tonight. If you like apple desserts, this one won't disappoint! Don't let the stiff, cookie dough like, batter scare you. The chopped apples. once they bake, provide just the right amount of needed moisture in the cake. This is soooo good with a hot cup of coffee on a chilly, Fall day! It's SO moist and the sugar creates a yummy, crispy top.

APPLE CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups raw apples, chopped
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375.
Cream butter with sugar, add eggs and vanilla and mix well. In separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir or sift to combine. Add to creamed mixture and beat with mixer until well combined. Don't be afraid of the stiff, cookie dough like batter, the apples will cook up and provide enough moisture in the cake. Use a good heavy wooden spoon and fold apples evenly into batter. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray and spread batter evenly into pan. Bake for 45 - 50 min at 375. Remove from oven and serve warm with desired garnish.
I sprinkle with powdered sugar. You could serve it with a dollop of whipped cream.

PEPPERONI ROLL UPS

2009-10-07T10:40:00.001-07:00

I made these last night to go along with our Italian chicken and rice soup. They are so yummy and so quick and easy to make. These would also make a tasty Sunday night snack for the family or the monthly ladies meeting, or any other group of people you may happen to have over for a fellowship. And biscuits are always on sale at the store. I just used the refrigerated 4 pack regular buttermilk biscuits. The original recipe didn't call for mozzarella cheese, but we are big cheese hounds around here and just look for ways to add it to recipes! haha And I'm telling you, I wouldn't make them without it!

PEPPERONI ROLL UPS

1 can of biscuits
1 pack of Pepperoni
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
garlic salt
butter to brush on
Italian seasoning (optional)

Roll each biscuit out flat (don't worry, it will puff back up when it bakes). Place 2 pepperoni in each half (I overlap the pepperoni on top of each other, about half way) and a pinch of shredded mozzarella cheese. Fold the biscuit in half and pinch shut along all edges. Place on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning if desired. Bake according to package directions. When they are done, brush with butter and sprinkle with garlic. While these are baking you can heat some marinara sauce to dip them in.
I served them with soup and they were so yummy that way too!

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP

2009-10-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

Fall is here! My favorite time of year! Time for some yummy soup recipes. Soup just warms you up on a crisp Fall day. This recipe is ridiculously simple. But oh so tasty. If you are having a busy day and your schedule seems rushed, you should add this one to your menu. It goes together in a snap. Especially if you already have leftover, cooked chicken. I cooked my chicken on my Foreman grill, while I threw the rest of the ingredients together, and it all came together right on time. Don't be afraid of the 'spaghetti sauce' in the recipe. I was a bit nervous to add it too, but then I reminded myself that it's only tomato sauce with the seasonings "already in there!" (Little plug for Ragu there! haha)

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP

1 (49 oz) can chicken broth (I have had trouble finding these big cans of chicken broth lately. Now they are selling it in the 32 oz size box. (This is why it's good to have homemade broth on hand). Anyway, I just mixed up 2 cups of hot water w/ 2 tsp of chicken soup base, and added it to the broth, and it was fine.
1 (26 oz) Spaghetti sauce (meatless)
1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 small zucchini, cubed
1 small summer squash, cubed
2 Tblsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3 cups cooked rice
1 tsp. sugar

In a soup kettle or dutch oven, combine the broth, spaghetti sauce, chicken, parsley, thyme, zucchini and squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until zucchini and squash ore tender. Stir in cooked rice and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 10 more minutes or until rice is heated through.

Yield: 10 servings

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY - APPLES!

2009-09-30T20:06:00.001-07:00

Time for those pretty Fall tablescapes, huh? I picked up 2 1/2 yards of this pretty butterscotch colored linen at Walmart for under $3 / yd. Then I found a cute apple print fabric that matched perfectly with it! I purchased enough for a runner, but since it is so wide, I plan to sew up some matching napkins for the set also.

I have to be honest here. My tablescapes are VERY user friendly! These are actually table settings that are used by my family! This was our tablescape for last Sunday's dinner.
Sometimes when I look at all the elaborate tablescapes, as beautiful as they are, I have to wonder if people really do eat at those tables! haha So pardon me if mine seem a little 'simple.' I just try to make our Sunday dinner special for my special family ;-)

Here's a little trick you can use at your next dinner or ladies meeting. Core an apple and insert a taper candle in the hollowed out center. They fit perfectly and look so stinking cute!
I see one of mine is leaning a bit - sorry. I should have checked that before I snapped the pic. But like I said, it was Sunday dinner and my family doesn't take to kindly to photo shoots when it's time for dinner! haha No, they really are patient. They humor and encourage me in my foodie photos! Sometimes it's with a roll of the eyes and a grin, but still.... haha

I love this little galvanized steel bucket full of apple candles. They look so real!

Thanks for stopping by! Take time to look through the recipes and see if there is something you can use!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

2009-09-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Amy's birthday. She is my favorite bus kid! I used to pick her up for Sunday school when she was just a little girl. Now she is a grown young woman, graduated from Bible college. She is such a blessing to my heart. Now she works with me on my bus route. Talk about full circle! A former bus kid picking up bus kids for church! I love it! She loves cheesecake, so I made this for her birthday today. She came over after the bus route tonight and we sang to her and gave her a few little gifts and ate cheesecake with her! haha

I was surprised today as I sifted through the dozens of cookbooks I have, that so many of them didn't have a simple cheesecake recipe. Either it was a jello type cheesecake (no bake) or a full on NY style cheesecake (time consuming). Then I found this in an Amish cookbook. It turned out so yummy. After my first bite I realized it was the same cheesecake my Aunt used to make when I was growing up. I loved it then and I still love it today! This went together in a snap - so quick and easy - and so tasty!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Mix:

16 graham crackers, crushed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 stick butter melted

I placed the graham crackers in a heavy duty, gallon size ziploc baggie and crushed them with my rolling pin. Then opened the bag and pour in the sugar and melted butter. Reclosed the bag and shook it to mix in the sugar and butter. Then patted it into the pan.

Press into 9 x 13 pan

Mix:

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

In a large mixing bowl beat softened cream cheese with sugar until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat for approximately 5 minutes more, or until it loosens up and feels fluffy. Spread over graham cracker mixture. Bake at 375 for 15 min. (that's not a typo! 15 minutes!) When cool, pour cherry pie filling over the top. Then chill. Serve with whipped cream on top. Other fruits may be substituted in place of the cherries. Blueberry would be nice too.

This is dear sweet Amy, in the middle, between my two precious girls. Aren't they all so 'perty?' She has made herself a part of our family! We all just love her!

PEACH PLANTATION CAKE

2009-09-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Pardon the pic - it's not one of my better ones. I made this for a fellowship dinner last Sunday and was in a hurry to get out the door with it, so didn't fuss much w/ my camera settings. I've been making this cake since I was a teenager. It was one of my Dad's favorite cakes. It's so easy anybody can make it. Great way to use up those peaches you just bought too!

PEACH PLANTATION CAKE

1 butter recipe yellow cake mix, prepared according to pkg directions

1 large (28 oz) or 2 small (14 oz each) cans sliced peaches in light juice, reserve juice
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 (16 oz) Cool Whip
Whole pecans

Prepare butter recipe cake mix according to pkg directions. Spray a bundt cake pan and pour batter in. Bake according to guidelines on box. Remove from oven. Wiggle cake pan a bit to loosen cake from sides. Dump upside down on cake plate. Let cool completely. Use a large serrated butcher knife and horizontally cut cake evenly in half. Lay top half on separate plate. Meanwhile... open peaches and drain (reserve juice!) Pour peach juice in small saucepan, add 1/2 cup hot water, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine and heat over med - high heat until bubbly. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Now drizzle half of this mixture over the bottom layer of cake.

*Let the other half of the syrup cool and save it to drizzle on the top* Next take your drained peaches and lay them around the edge of the cake in the same direction, letting them hang over the edge a bit. *Save some of the peaches for garnish on top* Spoon on Cool whip whipped topping (reserve some for top of cake), place top half of cake on top of cool whip. Now put one dollop of Cool Whip on each large section of cake (for my pan, it ends up being 8 sections) On top of each dollop of cool whip, lay 1 peach slice and 1 whole pecan. *I ran out of whole pecans and had to opt for chopped pecans. They don't look as nice as the whole ones do. When you slice the cake to serve it - lay the cake slice on it's side and drizzle with the reserved, cooled peach syrup. ENJOY!

S'MORE POPS and MORE!

2009-07-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun treat to make with the kids! The original recipe just called for sprinkles, but we decided to try a few other coatings. One that we tried was chopped up Kit-Kat bars. The end result was something similar to a S'more! The kids loved them. They go together super quick and easy. This would be fun for Grandma to do with the grandbabies when they come for a visit. I made them for our Jr church kids and they gobbled them up. Be creative with your toppings and be sure to stop back by and let me know how they turned out for you!
*The pops can also be customized to match school colors, holidays, or special occasions by rolling them in coordinating colored sprinkles, such as red and green for Christmas, or orange and yellow or red for Fall.

S'MORE POPS and MORE

2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
4 tsp. Canola oil
36 - 40 large marshmallows
18 - 20 popsicle sticks
3/4 cup colored or chocolate sprinkles (or other coating)
1 cup flaked coconut, optional
1 cup ground walnuts or pecans, optional

In a shallow microwave safe dish, combine the chocolate chips and oil. Stir and heat for 30 seconds at a time, until melted and smooth. DO NOT over heat as they will get hard on you. Thread two marshmallows onto each wooden stick. Use a pastry brush and dip it into the melted chocolate. 'Paint' each marshmallow with the melted chocolate (this works MUCH better than dipping or rolling, and helps to keep the coating from 'sliding' off afterwards). Roll in sprinkles, coconut or chopped nuts or coating of choice, such as chopped Kit-kat bars, chopped M & M's, etc... Place on waxed paper lined baking sheets. Chill until firm.

OATMEAL ALA MODE w/ FRESH PEACHES

2009-07-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

If you're not a fan of oatmeal, you will be after trying this treat! What a grand way to wake your kids up in the morning.... tell them they are having ice cream for breakfast! We all love oatmeal this way. But I buy the Carb smart ice cream to keep it lower in sugar. Are you a fan of the hot / cold duos? This one will be right up your alley then. Give it a try and let me know how you liked it.

OATMEAL ALA MODE w/ FRESH PEACHES

Prepare your oatmeal according to package directions. I like the quick oats that cook in 1 minute. Hubby likes the old fashioned oats.

1/2 cup prepared oatmeal
1 tsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup ice cream (use good quality ice cream, so when it melts it won't be gooey)
1 fresh peach, peeled and sliced
Sprinkle of cinnamon/sugar

Place prepared HOT oatmeal in bowl, top with butter, sprinkle with brown sugar. Place scoop of ice cream on top of hot oatmeal. Top with sliced peach and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar. ENJOY!

IRON SKILLET PIZZA

2009-07-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever baked homemade pizza in a cast iron skillet? Oh my soul! It is so YUMMY!
The crust gets crispy on the bottom but stays moist on top. If you have an iron skillet, you simply MUST try this some time! You won't be disappointed and you'll probably never bake it on a pizza pan ever again!

IRON SKILLET PIZZA

Instructions for basic pizza dough:

Preheat oven to 400.

2 pkgs. quick rise dry active yeast
1 cup warm water (120ish degrees)
3 tblsp. veg. or olive oil, plus extra for drizzle
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Approx. 3 cups flour, plus extra for handling

It's good to "feel" out your dough. Start with the yeast in a mixing bowl. Add the warm water, oil sugar or honey and let everything dissolve together. Begin adding flour. (This can be done in a mixer, but I prefer to mix by hand, adding the flour a cup or half a cup at a time.) After mixing in about half the flour, add the salt. Mix in the rest of the flour, and when dough can be handled without sticking too badly, begin kneading by hand until soft and elastic, about 12-15 times. Let it rest for about 15 minutes. Punch it down, knead and let it rest again, if you have the time. After the second rise, form it into whatever you want (loaf, rolls, etc.) and bake in 450 deg. oven until golden brown. But this time we're forming it into our pizza dough. So lay it on the counter and begin rolling it into a circle big enough to fit your cast iron skillet on the bottom and up the sides a little. Grease your skillet heavily with Crisco. Pat dough into skillet and push up sides of the pan a little.

HAM & PINEAPPLE PIZZA

1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 lb lean deli ham, sliced into thin, bite size pieces
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained (if you don't have crushed, you can use chunk, just dice it up)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Spoon the pizza sauce (or pasta sauce, doesn't matter) evenly over your dough in the iron skillet. Top with 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Layer on your ham and pineapple and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and crust is light golden brown on the bottom.

*Feel free to add more or less ham, pineapple or cheese, according to your taste.

PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS

2009-07-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

We had a cookout after Sunday night service this past week. Everyone was asked to bring a side dish to share. I had a ton of Rice Krispie's for some reason and figured I'd throw together a batch of Rice Krispie treats (which I did). But I still had a ton more cereal! So I whipped up a batch of peanut butter rice krispie treats. They were gone in a flash! One minute the platter was full, I turned my head and a minute later it was empty! LOL Who doesn't love a Rice Krispie Treat?

PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS

4 Tblsp butter
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 whole bag mini marshmallows
8 cups Rice Krispie Treats

1 cup chocolate chips
1 Tblsp oil

M & M’s

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and peanut butter and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add rice krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. You could also wet your hands and pat it down into the pan good and tight.
4. Place the chocolate chips and the oil into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 15 - 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until melted. Spread evenly over peanut butter rice krispie treats.
5. Sprinkle with M & M's
Optional: Melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips w/ a teaspoon of oil in the microwave and drizzle over the top.
Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

SZECHUAN BEEF AND BROCCOLI

2009-07-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

This dish was amazing! I found it in the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook that I just purchased at Barnes and Nobles. This even got me a high five and knuckle bump from my Honey! He LOVED it! It is so very simple to make, but packed with a ton of flavor. A little on the spicy side, but not too much. We all have different tolerances for spice, and this pleased the whole family. This one will be making an appearance on our family dinner table again and again! I purposely made extra with lunch in mind for the next day. But..... after dinner was 'over' everyone just sat around 'picking' at the leftovers in the dish, until it was completely gone. It was just so tasty. 2 thumbs up from the whole family!

*This dish cooks up quickly, so be sure to have all of your ingredients prepped before you start. Watch the meat - if you overcook it or the pan isn't hot enough when you put it in, the beef could turn out tough.
I also added sliced zucchini and summer squash to this dish and it was DEElicious!

SZECHUAN BEEF AND BROCCOLI

1 lb of chuck steak, sliced against the grain, into thin strips (1/4")
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil spray (or cooking spray)
1 (14 oz) bag frozen broccoli (about 5 cups) (I used fresh broccoli)
1 Tblsp. freshly minced garlic
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup bottled Szechuan stir-fry sauce (I used 'House of Tsang' brand)

In a large bowl, combine the steak, garlic powder, salt and pepper and toss until will combined.
Place a large non-stick skillet or nonstick wok over high heat. When hot, mist it with the olive oil spray. Add the broccoli and garlic and cook, stirring, for 4 - 6 minutes, or until the garlic softens and the broccoli is heated through and crisp tender, being careful not to burn the garlic. Transfer to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.
Return the pan to high heat and add 2 tsp of the sesame oil. When hot, add the steak in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on both sides, 2 - 3 minutes. Return the veggies to the pan with the meat, and remove from the heat. Add the Szechuan stir fry sauce and mix well to coat. Divide among 4 bowls and serve.

Calories: 191
Carbs: 10 g
Fat: 6 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 25 g

ASIAN GRILLED GREEN BEANS

2009-07-07T20:14:00.001-07:00

Boy! Where does the time go?! I need to start posting some new recipes on here that we've tried and enjoyed. In our quest to eat healthy, I'm scouring 'light' cooking books and magazines for new takes on veggies. Tonight we tried this yummy little dish called Asian grilled green beans. It was a real hit with hubby, who isn't a huge fan of veggies. It's spicy, so beware. If you tend to be whiner when it comes to spice, just use half the amount of crushed red pepper flakes. This one is a keeper, for sure.
* One thing I would like to try next time though, is stir frying this dish, rather than 'steaming' them in the foil packets. I like my beans a bit on the crisp side.
* You could also top this side dish with a sprinkle of heart healthy, toasted nuts to give it a nice crunch.

ASIAN GRILLED GREEN BEANS

1 Tblsp. Brown sugar (I omitted this because we are cutting down on sugar, and it still turned out fabulous)
1 Tblsp. Sesame oil
1 Tblsp. Soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (can reduce to 1/4 tsp if you don't like spicy dishes)
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 medium fresh mushrooms, quartered (I used baby bellas)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients.Add the beans, onion and mushrooms. Toss to coat.
Place the veggies on a double thickness of heavy duty aluminum foil about 24" square. Fold foil around vegetables and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 18 to 20 minutes or until beans are tender, turning packets over once. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

Serving size: 3/4 cup
55 calories
2 g fat
9 g carbohydrates (less if you omit the brown sugar)
3 g fiber

Diabetic exchange: 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE SALAD w/ LEMON POPPY SEED DRESSING

2009-05-30T13:30:00.001-07:00

Another light treat just in time for Summer! I like to call this one "Strawberry Lemonade Salad" because that is what it tastes like! It's so light and refreshing and all of the flavors just POP in your mouth. Even my grown son enjoyed this one! That REALLY made my day!
My daughter was invited to dinner at her voice teacher's house and this was one of the dishes she served. Sarah came home just raving about it and said I HAD to make it some time!
I have to admit, again, I was a bit skeptical about the combo of red onions, cucumbers and strawberries! But believe me when I say the cucumbers and onions take a definite 'back seat' in this salad! You simply must give it a try! YUM!
*this pic is shown without the poppy seed dressing*

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE SALAD

Salad:

1/2 plastic container organic spinach leaves
1/2 plastic container organic baby greens
Small red onion, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thin (eyeball the amount you would enjoy)
1/2 medium cucumber, sliced thin
1 (8 oz) container strawberries, quartered
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Combine all salad ingredients in salad bowl and toss gently to combine.

Dressing:

1 lemon zested and juiced (about 4 - 6 Tablespoons of juice)
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Place dressing ingredients in medium size mason jar, screw on lid and give it a few shakes to combine. Set out with salad for people to drizzle their own dressing on.

*Couple of tips*

To get more juice out of your lemon for the dressing - roll it back and forth on your countertop for several seconds, pressing firmly with the palm of your hand.

To remove the 'bitterness' from the cucumber - slice the whole cucumber in half, lengthwise. Then take a teaspoon and run it down the length of the cucumber, removing the seeds. Now slice the cucumber in thin 'half moon' shapes. I am not a fan of cucumbers at all! But I don't mind them when the seeds are removed.

Also as far as the almonds go - feel free to use any crunchy nut you enjoy. Walnuts would be nice. I happened to grab a bag of those new salad toppers for mine - it was almonds, chinese noodles and something else (the Asian blend) and it was really yummy on it!

PERFECT LEMONADE

2009-05-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Summer - Perfect Lemonade. Don't settle for the powdered kind that you mix with water! Is that stuff even real? The secret to perfect lemonade is to start by making a sugar syrup, called "simple syrup." Dissolving the sugar in hot water helps disperse it into the lemonade, rather than watching it sink to the bottom, and then try to get it stirred in. Always remember this ratio: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup fresh lemon juice. Then go from there.

PERFECT LEMONADE

1 cup sugar
1 cup water - for the simple syrup
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 to 4 cups cold water to dilute
ice

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan, until the sugar is dissolved completely. While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice. *Hint* If you roll your lemons one at a time, on the counter back and forth, while applying gentle pressure with the palm of your hand, your lemons will produce more juice* Add the juice and the sugar water to the pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Add ice and fresh slices of lemon and you're ready to go! Super easy!
Serves 6

*Tips about heating lemons to produce more juice*

Heating lemons in a microwave oven really does increase the amount of juice produced. I don't know what process is at work, but once heated, the lemon becomes very soft, and very juicy. So I suspect that heating bursts the cells of the lemon pulp, and releases the encapsulated juice. It seems the hotter the lemon, the more juice that can extracted.

But be careful: If you heat a lemon too much, it may burst and spew lemon juice all over your microwave oven. Or worse yet, an over-heated lemon might NOT burst, but rather just sit quietly, waiting for you to 'pop' it. Once your knife pierces its skin, it bursts and spews hot lemon juice all over YOU! (BTW: If this does happen, as with other mild burns you can lessen the damage by putting ice on the burn immediately.)

For best results use lemons at room temperature, or even slightly warmed up in the microwave. Lemons will be much easier to squeeze and will yield the most juice.You could even let them stand in a bowl of very hot water for about 10 minutes before squeezing them.

ZESTY PULLED PORK SANDWICHES W/ COLESLAW

2009-05-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Oh how I wish this was a better pic - and oh how I wish you could smell this pic! haha This is one delicious sandwich! My Honey makes a mean smoked pulled pork, but he is out of state this week! So I had to come up with an oven version of pulled pork. This one was a winner! As you read down through the recipe for the dry rub and the liquid portion, don't be skeptical like me! haha I read it, and thought WOW 2 Tablespoons of black pepper?! But.... I threw caution to the wind and just went with it. And am I ever glad I did! This was just sooooo good! IF you have leftovers, be sure to pour the leftover juice, that the meat cooked in, over the leftover meat, before you refrigerate it. It will be extra juicy when you warm it up!
Also - I have NEVER tried coleslaw on a pulled pork sandwich before (I tend to be a bit skeptical about new things) but my daughter in law and daughters all urged me to try it.... I'll never eat it without the coleslaw again! It was that good!

ZESTY PULLED PORK SANDWICHES W/ COLESLAW

2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons black pepper
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons paprika
1/2 Tablespoon cayenne pepper

4 pound shoulder pork roast (boston butt would work too)

2 cups apple juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar (trust me on this)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
1/2 Tablespoon liquid smoke
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder

6 soft, deli style hamburger buns
Bbq sauce
Coleslaw (recipe follows)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Use a spoon to sprinkle the dry rub over each side of the meat, using only your left hand, press the rub into the pork, then rub it in good. Sprinkle it on and rub it into all 4 sides of the pork. If you only use 1 hand to rub the pork, then whatever dry rub you have leftover won't be tainted from pork juice. Seal up the remainder of the dry rub ingredients in a zip top bag and store it in your pantry until you need it again. Cover the seasoned pork with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. *NOTE* I was rather in a hurry this day and skipped the refrigeration step and it still turned out fine. I'll try this on another day when I'm not so hurried.

Combine liquid ingredients and the garlic powder in a large measuring pitcher, pour into a large dutch oven. (I used a porcelain coated, cast iron dutch oven and it worked wonderful!) Unwrap the pork and place it in the dutch oven with the liquid. Lightly cover the pork with a piece of aluminum foil, and then place the lid on the pot. Roast in oven for 4 hours or until fork tender and shreds easily. Brush the meat with the cooking liquid every hour.
Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred the pork with a fork or tongs into bite size pieces. Serve on toasted hamburger buns and top with Bbq sauce and coleslaw.

COLESLAW

1 (12 oz) bag rainbow slaw (Green Giant)
1 (12 oz) bag broccoli slaw (Green Giant)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 green onions (white and green parts) chopped
1 fresh red chile, sliced (I substituted 1/4 of a poblano)

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1 lemon juiced
Pinch sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Several dashes hot sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

*Special Note* If you are pressed for time, Marie's coleslaw dressing is the closest substitute for this dressing recipe. You just might want to add the few dashes of hot sauce to it before you mix it into the slaw.

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the rainbow slaw, broccoli slaw, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the mayo, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the coleslaw with the celery seeds, hot sauce, salt and black pepper. Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

KEY LIME CHEESECAKE

2009-04-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

This recipe goes WAAAAAY back for me. My Mom used to make this when I was just a little girl. I don't know why I've always called it "key" lime cheesecake, because no key limes are used in it! Maybe it just sounds better than plain ol' lime cheesecake! LOL At any rate, this is an old family favorite. For those of you that have been following my blog, you will notice I've been MIA for a few weeks. My mother got very ill and passed away last week. I've been doing a lot of traveling back & forth to my old home town, for the past couple of weeks. I made 2 of these pies for the funeral luncheon afterward. I heard several people talking about the lime cheesecake earlier in the week and thought it would be a nice way to remember her.
This one is super easy, I actually do a shortcut on this one that my mother never would have done. I use Cool Whip in place of the dream whip. When I have the time to fuss over it, I'll use dream whip - it does make it heavenly creamy!

KEY LIME CHEESECAKE

2 Graham cracker crusts
1 lg box lime jello
2 cups boiling water
1 brick cream cheese, cut into chunks
8 oz Cool Whip

In large mixing bowl, pour boiling water over lime jello. Stir well until jello is completely disolved. Carefully drop cream cheese chunks into hot jello. Stir briskly with whisk until cream cheese is completely stirred in. You shouldn't see "chunks" of cream cheese anymore. Now add 4 or 5 ice cubes to it to cool your jello mixture down a bit. Stir until they are disolved. Carefully fold in the Cool Whip and stir until combined. Pour into prepared graham cracker crusts and refrigerate for 2 or 3 hours or until set. Garnish with more cool whip and fresh lime slices.
Yeild: 16 servings

CREAMY CHEESY PASTA

2009-04-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

My daughter made this pasta dish a couple of weeks ago and it was so delicious, I asked her to snap a pic so I could add it to my blog. It was heavenly and creamy! So good! I couldn't stop eating it! The original recipe called for it to be made into Mac-n-Cheese, but we discovered that you can use any pasta you want and it will turn out equally delicious. She used egg noodles.

CREAMY CHEESEY PASTA

3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (or any pasta you want - egg noodles, bow tie pasta, or rotini)
1/4 cup butter plus 1 Tblsp. (divided)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2
1 tsp. salt
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 brick cream cheese, cut into chunks
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (can use any that you wish)
1/8 tsp. paprika

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and place in greased 2 1/1 qt. casserole baking dish. Set aside. In a small saucepan, melt 1 Tblsp. butter over med-high heat. Saute onion until tender about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced by half.
Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk & 1/1 & 1/2. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in salt and 2 cups cheese. Continue to stir just until cheese melts. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese chunks and sour cream. Pour over pasta and mix well.
Combine remaining cheese, bread crumbs and paprika. Sprinkle over pasta. Bake at 350 for 45 - 50 minutes or until bubbly.

Yeild: 8 servings

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY - Hubby's BD Dinner

2009-04-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Tablescape Thursday, each and every week. It's so much fun to visit all the blogs and see such creative tablescapes!

I'm coming in a bit late today. I had to wait until I got home from work to post. Last week we celebrated my Honey's 49th birthday. I made all his favorite things. Smothered Chicken, Mashed potatoes & gravy, Corn, Crescent rolls, and for dessert - Rice Krispie Ice Cream Dessert. He LOVED it! I figured since it was his special day, that I would set a "manly" table. I don't have a lot of "specialty" type dishes, plates, things like that. I don't really collect dishes. I tend to accent more with table linens, napkin rings, and other table decor or theme related items. I just do my best with what the Lord has given me.

I love anything in Adirondack style. That would be moose, pine trees, canoes, ducks, etc... We decorated our family room, master bedroom and master bath, all in that style. I find it a very peaceful, relaxing and cozy decor. Most of the items I used for the table, were taken from those 3 rooms. We have a local store called Northern Reflections, and it is dangerous for me to go in there! haha I am just a sucker for Adirondack decor. For Christmas one year, my Honey bought me a log bed - I LOVE it!

This pic turned out a bit blurry, but I think you get the idea. I just love this little canoe and set of oars.

TACOS AL CARBON

2009-03-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

Cooking "al carbon"--grilling over charcoal--is a great specialty of northern Mexico. One of the best ways to appreciate their cooking technique is in tacos al carbon, for which the meat, after being marinated and grilled, is coarsely diced or thinly sliced and then folded into warmed corn tortillas along with guacamole, salsa, and a grilled green onion-the standard edible garnish for this dish. (I substituted sauteed onions and peppers for the green onion)
My niece was here visiting for a while and she kept talking about this wonderful "taco" that someone made for her back in January. She gave me the name, but didn't have a recipe. So I went searching for it. I found the basic recipe and then she gave me the "spins" that this man put on it. If you are pressed for time, you can substitute pre-made, store bought salsa (Pace is best). But DO NOT try to use a substitute for the marinade. It makes the steak SO juicy and flavorful!

Step 1:

STEAK MARINADE

1 - 10 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 - 4 oz can, chopped chiles w/ juice (can also use jalapenos)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
1 tsp. Cumin

Place all ingredients in blender and whirl until well combined.

Use With Two Pounds:

Pork tenderloin, or
Chicken breasts, or
Beef tenderloin, or
Flank steak

Pour marinade in large resealable plastic food bag. Mix well.
Add meat, seal the bag and turn over several times to
coat meat thoroughly. Place bag in refrigerator, turning bag occasionally
8 hours or overnight.

Remove meat from marinade.

Preheat a gas grill (medium high) or light a charcoal fire and let it burn down until the coals are evenly white. Adjust the rack to 6-inches above the heat source. Lay the flank steak on the rack and grill it, covered, turning the steak once, for a total of about 12 minutes for medium-rare, or until done to your liking. Transfer the steak to a cutting board, tent it with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Brush the green onions lightly with olive oil and lay them on the grill rack. Cover and cook, turning them once, until they are just lightly browned and becoming tender, a total of 3 or 4 minutes. Transfer them to a platter. (I substituted sauteed onions and peppers for the green onion)
Carve the flank steak across the grain and at a slight angle into 1/2-inch slices. Cut the slices crosswise into 1/2-inch cubes. Serve immediately, accompanied by the grilled onions, tortillas, guacamole and salsa. The best way to enjoy your tacos al carbon is with steak that is grilled med-rare. This batch shown here is about medium to medium well. The longer you cook your steak, the tougher it gets. You can see the importance of letting it rest for a few minutes - the juice has a chance to redistribute and when you slice the meat, it's so juicy.

Step 2: Assembly

Warm flour tortillas
Grilled steak
3/4 loaf Velveeta, cut into chunks
1 large sweet onion, sliced thin
1 large green pepper, sliced thin
1 large yellow pepper, sliced thin
Pico de gallo (homemade is best - but can substitute prepared salsa)
Chopped lettuce
Guacamole (homemade is best - but can substitute store bought)
Sour cream

Heat a cast iron skillet to med high. Drizzle with olive oil. Place onions and peppers into hot skillet and saute until soft and opaque.
Place Velveeta chunks in microwave safe bowl and heat until melted. You can thin it with milk if it seems too thick. It should be a cheese sauce, not watery, but you need to be able to pour it.
Begin with the warm tortilla, place meat down the middle, top with sauteed onions and peppers, drizzle melted Velveeta over that. Top with Pico de gallo and guacamole. Fold it all up like a burrito and turn it seam side down. Drizzle with more Velveeta, sprinkle with chopped lettuce and add a dollop of sour cream.
Prepare your tastebuds for a party!

TURTLE SUNDAE PUFFS

2009-03-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

I made these for dessert, for a banquet, that I catered this past weekend. I wanted to go with a "lighter" dessert, rather than cheesecake, pie or cake. Everyone loved these. The funny thing is, they were SO easy to do. I made homemade hot fudge and homemade caramel sauce to top the Turtle ones with. Then my precious daughter in law, Monica, made homemade fruit compote, as a second choice.
The puffs are made with simple puff pastry. Super quick and fun. And who doesn't like ice cream?!

*Side note* Both the hot fudge and the caramel sauce, make tremendous edible gifts. Why not make a double batch and plan to give some away as a pick-me-up, to someone who needs it? You can bottle the sauces individually in mason jelly jars. Deliver it with a carton of nice, vanilla ice cream and watch their faces light up!

TURTLE SUNDAE PUFFS

Vegetable cooking spray
1 (17.3 oz.) package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets)
Vanilla Ice Cream
Hot Fudge Sauce - recipe follows
Caramel Sauce
Chopped pecans or walnuts

Thaw the pastry at room temperature for 40 minutes or until it’s easy to handle. Spray 12 (2 1/2-inch) muffin pan cups with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 375°F.

Unfold the pastry sheets, one at a time, on a lightly floured surface. Roll the sheet into a 12 x 9-inch rectangle. Cut into 12 (3-inch) squares. A pizza cutter works really well, to cut the squares. Use a small rolling pin to further press each piece into a 5" square. Prick each one with a fork, several times. Press squares into the prepared muffin pan cups.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a small knife, cut a small slit in the puffed center and gently push down. Remove pastry cups from pan and cool completely.

Fill each pastry cup with a scoop of ice cream, drizzle with hot fudge sauce, and hot caramel sauce. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa
1/2 cup evaporated milk (I used heavy whipping cream)
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Stir together sugar and cocoa in small saucepan; blend in milk and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm. Mmm!

This is the Fruit compote sundae that we served, as a second choice. My daughter in law, Monica made the fruit for these. You can find the recipe on her blog. I think the group was about half and half on the choices. This one was like berry pie ala mode!

You can see how large I roll out each individual pastry section. They really overlap in the pan, but they puff right up and bake up nicely in the oven.
Here it is step by step in pics so you can get a better idea how it all works.

CRISPY COCONUT CHICKEN

2009-03-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

I forgot how awful the picture was for this recipe! I just made it for a banquet this weekend too, and should have snapped a new picture of it for the blog. Oh well, next time.
I get asked for this recipe all the time. It's so delicious, moist, sweet. A real keeper! This recipe is already posted here on my blog, in the Hawaiian section, but very few can find it. So I decided to bring it to the front for those that asked about it this weekend. You can also use this same recipe to coat shrimp.

CRISPY COCONUT CHICKEN FINGERS

1 cup Angel Flake Coconut
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1" strips
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter or margarine

Dipping Sauce

1 cup apricot preserves
2T Dijon mustard

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix coconut, flour, salt, pepper and garlic pwder in medium bowl. Dip chicken strips into egg, then coat with coconut mixture. Place in a shallow baking pan; drizzle with melted butter. Bake 25 minutes or until chicken is browned and cooked through, turning once. Serve with Apricot Dipping Sauce (mixture of apricot preserves and Dijon mustard) or Honey mustard.

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY

2009-03-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

This is my first post on Tablescape Thursday. I've been doing them on my own, all along. Terrie told me the other day, about a group of women who get together and post pics of their tablescapes. So I jumped right in to join them! If this is something that you enjoy doing, you can head over to "Between naps on the porch" site and join in the fun!

My Honey is Irish, so St. Patrick's Day is ALWAYS celebrated in our house. We do everything green (that's probably not all Irish, but it's fun anyway!)

Here is my St Patricks Day table. I did a practice run, so I would know how I want to set it up, next week. I went with gold accents because of the Leprechaun's pot o' gold!

It wouldn't be a special day at PawPaw and MooMoo's house without a special treat for the grandbabies! So the little mesh bags in the forefront are filled w/ goodies just for them!
The "centerpiece" is just a cake stand with metallic green paper shreds. Then a wide mouth vase filled with Kelly green Christmas bulbs. I tied a wire accent around the outside of it, that has clovers entwined on it.

I made the runner for the table. I stopped at Walmart to see if they had any St Pat's material and they only ONE bolt left, and this was it. It's a sheer stiff fabric with glittery appliques on it. Wouldn't have been my first choice, if they would have had others, but it still turned out cute. Was a pain to press though! I had to cover it w/ a tea towel. I just hope nobody spills on it over dinner! haha

The little metallic wire "trees" w/ clover leaves, I picked up at Dollar Tree.

I just tied a ribbon around the napkins. I found this for less than a dollar at Walmart.

I also made little Leprchaun placecards for our guests. On the day of our dinner, I'll write each person's name on the hat.

I found these cute little plastic tumblers at Walmart - 4 for $1. I bought enough for each person to take one home, as a reminder of their visit with us that day. We plan to celebrate on the 15th (Sunday). We'll have a busy weekend. I am catering a banquet on Saturday for our church family, and several college students (friends of our daughters) will be coming in for the banquet, and staying the weekend with us. I thought it would be fun to have this dinner with them on Sunday. They probably don't get to do this kind of thing much. So we'll spoil them and love on them a little, while they are guests here.

THANKS for visiting! Erin Go Bragh!

BANANA CREAM MOUSSE DESSERT

2009-03-01T14:45:00.001-08:00

First of all, let me tell you, this is like no banana pudding dessert you have ever had! This one is, how does my Honey say it, "make your socks roll up and down on your legs good!" haha
I've been making this for years. It was one of my precious Father-in-law's favorites. The only thing about it is, the Chessmen cookies can sometimes be a challenge to find in your store, if you live in a smaller town. But don't substitute - it is worth the hunt for them! You can usually find them at the larger chain grocery stores, like Walmart or Meijer.

BANANA CREAM MOUSSE DESSERT

2 bags of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 bananas, sliced
3 1/2 cups low fat milk
2 small boxes, Instant, Sugar free, French Vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 oz) 1/3 less fat, cream cheese
1 (14 oz) can, fat free, sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) Light Cool Whip, thawed

Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with 1 bag of the chessmen cookies (single layer). Top with the sliced bananas (you don't have to lay the bananas neatly, just pile them evenly over the cookies). Blend milk with pudding mix and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the condensed milk and beat with mixer until smooth. Fold in Cool whip. Add pudding to this mixture and fold with rubber spatula until well combined. Pour mixture over the top of the bananas. Cover with remaining bag of Chessmen cookies (single layer). Refrigerate for at least an hour or two, to allow time for the pudding & cream cheese to set up and get thick. Serves anywhere from 12 - 20, depending on the size of your servings. It's a thick dessert, so I cut mine where the cookies separate and get 20 - 24 servings out of a pan.
*NOTE* Don't make this too far in advance, as the cookies will get soggy if left in the fridge too long. It's much better when the cookies still have a bit of a crunch to them.

TABLESCAPES - GREEN AND GOLD

2009-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

I'm SO ready for Spring!! I just had to do a green table today, to remind me that the "official" start of Spring is only 20 days away! Yippee! But MI is known for it's snow and ice storms in late March and even April! Still, I had to hold myself back from digging out my Gerber daisy napkin rings! I thought purple and yellow flowers were rushing it just a tad. This is a simple tablescape, but hey, I'm a simple kind of woman! I think it looks clean and neat and I like things matching or at least blending. I'm not into all the mismatched shapes and designs (just yet anyway!)

If you have the extra cupboard space, and you ever find a "funky" colored set of goblets for sale somewhere (like Goodwill or a garage sale) you should totally get them! If you like doing tablescapes at all, you will love having colored goblets to pop out on the table, just for something different. I have a deep purple set and this green set and we use them quite often.
In a couple of weeks, we'll have fun doing a St Patrick's day table. I'll probably use this same linen set, but we'll jazz it up quite a bit with clovers and "green" food!

TABLESCAPES - VALENTINES DAY

2009-03-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot to add our Valentine tablescape! Nothing extremely fancy. I used my pillar candles, along with some strands of red beads and red ribbon, red flower petals and some red cut out hearts. The little red votive holders have the letters K-I-S-S on them and I picked them up on the clearance rack last year after Valentine's day! This red tablecloth & napkin set holds a lot of sentimental value to me. The first year we were at our old church - 1987 (as youth pastor) the church bought us a brand new dining room set. That same year, we did Secret Sisters at our church. My secret sister that year was VERY good to me. Right after the church gave us the dining room set, she gave me the table linens for Christmas! I've used it every year on Christmas morning since then. It still looks like new, as I take very good care of it. I can't use it without thinking fondly of Bea. She's in Heaven now, but every time I use this set I think of her, and her kindness to me and my family, while we were there.

We had dinner guests that day - Bob & Sue McWilliams. Very sweet people. Getting very involved in the church and it's exciting to see their growth in the Lord!

CALLING ALL PASTOR'S WIVES

2009-02-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

I would like to start a series called "Feature Friday" where I would invite other pastor's wives, youth pastor's wives and missionary wives to post a favorite recipe on "Cooking With The Preacher's Wife." I regularly make and post new recipes, but thought it would be nice to hear from other pastor's wives as well.

If you are interested in having your favorite recipe featured, here is what you need to do:

1. Prepare your dish
2. Photograph your dish. Just a couple thoughts: Take a good close-up shot. If you have the Macro feature (for extremely close shots), you should use it. Be sure to use good lighting. Try a couple shots with the flash and then a couple without the flash, and choose the best one. A portion or a bite always photographs better and looks more appealing than the whole dish.
3. Type out the recipe and instructions.
4. Send both, the picture and the recipe to my email - Cookingwiththepreacherswife@gmail.com along with a little bit about yourself - particularly where you and your hubby serve the Lord, and for how long. If you have a blog or a website that you'd like people to visit, be sure to include that and I will link to it from here.
5. THAT'S IT! I'll take it from there! From the entries, I'll choose 1 a week to feature here on my blog.

Preacher's wives have some of the best recipe files I've ever seen! They collect recipes from all those fellowships they attend, and dinners they get invited to. I'm looking forward to hearing what your favorites are, and sharing them with my readers.

CRUNCHY COATED FISH

2009-02-25T13:21:00.001-08:00

We had a guest over the weekend. Sarah is a friend of my daughters, from Bible college. She is quite an industrious girl too! I must say, I've never had a guest that had so much initiative around the house or in the kitchen! She just jumped right in with both feet and helped with everything. I ended up relaxing in the living room. Which was nice, since I've been laid up with a bad back for almost a month now. Sarah insisted on making dinner one night, even though she claims to have never cooked a meal by herself before! When dinner was over, she helped clean up the dishes, mopped the floor, wiped down my garbage can and even cleaned my dog's place mat! For never having made a meal before, she sure picked a doozie for her first one! And I told her she had quite a lot of moxie fixing CATFISH for the king of fish frying (my Honey)! haha This crunchy coating could be used on any fish or even chicken. It was delicious. Hubby didn't care for the dijon mustard in one part of the dipping, but he said it was delicious over all. For that reason, I made the dijon mustard, optional. So to Sarah, goes a great big THANK YOU for a job well done!

CRUNCHY COATED FISH

1 lb fish filets
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1 Tblsp milk
3 Tblsp Dijon mustard (optional)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 cup coarsely crushed pretzels
2 Tblsp cooking oil
Thin lemon slices

Rinse fish filets and pat dry. In 3 separate containers, place the following: Container 1 - flour; container 2 - egg, milk, mustard and black pepper; Container 3 - crushed pretzels.
Heat oil to med - high. First roll fish filets in the flour, then dip them in the egg mixture, then coat them in the pretzel mixture. It is helpful to coat a panful at a time, so all the fish filets go in the skillet at the same time. Cook over med high heat for 3 - 4 minutes per side (depending on thickness of the filets), or until light golden brown. Carefully flip with spatula and cook on other side. If you are not familiar with cooking fish, you may want to check it with a fork. Stick the fork straight in and pull forward. If the fish "flakes" then it is done. If it is still tough and rubbery, it is not done. Once the fish is done, remove and drain on paper towels. Serve with lemon slices if desired.

FRESH SALSA AND HOMEMADE CHIPS

2009-02-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

OK, OK I know it's easy to stop at the store and pick up a bag of Tostitos and a jar of Pace salsa, but come on! Where's your sense of adventure? There is NOTHING like the taste of FRESHLY made salsa! And what's better than serving something fresh to your family, that has absolutely no preservatives in it? There really is no trick to it. It's a cinch to make and you can make it as hot or mild as you like it. And the chips - they are just fun to make! And CRUNCHY? Wow! They are super good with the homemade salsa. Guacamole too!

FRESH SALSA

8 - 10 ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 of a large sweet onion, diced
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, with juice
3 - 4 Tblsp fresh Cilantro, chopped fine
1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients, stir well and let it sit for about 30 minutes to marinate. Serve with homemade chips.

HOMEMADE CHIPS

1 pkg corn tortillas, cut into 1/4's
Canola oil
Salt

Line a platter or cake pan with paper towels, and set aside. In a heavy iron skillet, heat oil to at least 350. Separate cut tortillas and fry them about a dozen at a time. As soon as you get a dozen into the hot oil, start flipping them over, starting with the first one you placed in the oil. Let them fry on the 2nd side for about a minute. The longer you let them fry, the crispier they get. So after the first batch comes out, use your own judgement, on whether they need to fry longer or not. Use a "spider" or some other slotted untensil to remove the chips from the hot oil. Place them on the paper towel lined platter to drain. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat until all the chips have been fried.
Serve with Fresh Salsa or Guacamole.

Rice pilaf with Macadamia nuts

2009-02-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we had the leftover Island pork that my daughters & daughter in law made for the banquet they catered on Friday night. It was yummy, but I was anxious to taste the sauce when it was freshly made. So tonight I made the chicken version! Island chicken. It's the same recipe as the Island pork, but you use chicken in place of the pork!

Here it is fresh out of the oven. I used leg & thigh quarters w/ skin on. I loved the taste of this! A couple of things I might change next time though are: to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, instead of skin on dark meat. I also might cut down on the brown sugar just a tad. If you like the sweet Asian dishes, then leave it just like it is. For me personally, I just thought it could have had a bit less of a sweet taste. I have to be honest and tell you that my "meat and potatoes" hubby said this is a "chick dish!" haha He ate 3 pieces, and even said it was good. But he more prefers the Szechuan style (hotter dishes) of Asian cooking, as opposed to the sweet dishes. Still a VERY YUMMY dish. I drizzled the sauce over the rice and WOWZERS was it ever good! I absolutely LOVED the crunch of the macadamia nuts in the rice!!

Rice Pilaf with Macadamia nuts

Ingredients
1/3 cup (1/6 lb.) butter or margarine
3/4 cup (4 oz.) salted roasted macadamia nuts, very coarsely chopped
1 onion (1/2 lb.), chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 2/3 cups short- or medium-grain white rice
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Procedure
1. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add the macadamia nuts and stir until slightly darker brown, about 3 minutes. Scrape from pan into small bowl and set aside.
2. Add remaining butter, onion, and garlic to pan. Stir often over medium-high heat until onion is limp, about 5 minutes.
3. Add rice and stir often until grains turn opaque, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the broth and pepper. Heat to a simmer. Pour the mixture into a shallow 2 1/2- to 3-quart casserole; cover tightly.
5. Bake in a 375° oven until rice is tender to bite, 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with nuts and parsley. Give it a stir and serve immediately.

ISLAND PORK

2009-02-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

I have Arlene to thank for this one!! I was scheduled to cater a sweetheart banquet this past weekend. I was so excited to have another event to cater! Then wouldn't you know it, I was laid up for 2 solid weeks with a sprained back! PAINFUL! So the task fell to my precious daughters and daughter in law. I sent my recipes and notes with them and didn't have a worry in the world that they wouldn't be able to accomplish it. And do you know, they didn't call me even ONE time to ask for help! The nerve! haha Anyway, I digress. I had posted a few months ago about an international dinner we had at our church. I hosted a Hawaiian table, and made all Hawaiian recipes. Arlene then wrote and told me about a delicious dish that her Pastor's wife from Japan used to make, called Island chicken. I made a mental note to try it sometime. As this banquet approached, I began putting the menu together. When I heard it was a Luau theme, I went back to my old post to read again and was reminded of Arlene's chicken recipe. I had found pork roast on sale for .99 / lb and purchased it ahead of time with the intention of making some sort of pulled pork. I began to roll around the idea of using pork in place of the chicken in the recipe. So I purchased the ingredients and sent the girls off with a brand new recipe that I hadn't even tried myself yet! Why do I do that to myself? It just sounded like a real winner! Nothing in it sounded weird or yucky. They all came back with rave reviews about it. And Arlene you were right - my son said, as soon as he walked into the building he could smell this wonderful Asian food aroma! They said it just wafted everywhere! I made them promise to bring back some left overs so I could try it. That's on the menu for Sunday dinner tomorrow!

ISLAND PORK

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbs. vinegar
1 Tbs. oil
1 lg. can pineapple chunks, drained
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, sliced into strips
3 lbs. Pork roast

Mix first 7 ingredients together. Stir in fruit and veggies. Place pork in 13x9" dish. Pour sauce evenly over top. Cover and bake @ 375 for 1 1/2 - 3 hours; baste pork occasionally. You want the pork to fall away from the bone, so you can shred it. Serve over rice.

Remove meat from bones and shred with forks. Pour sauce over meat and keep warm until serving time. You can serve it immediately, but letting it sit for a while makes a world of difference!

TROPICAL DREAM CAKE

2009-02-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

A friend gave me this recipe about 10 years ago and it has been a real "keeper!" This cake is SO moist! The pineapple syrup just sinks down into the holes in the cake and it soaks in and wow... you have to try it to believe it! It's kind of like a "poke" cake, but BETTER!

TROPICAL DREAM CAKE

1 white cake mix + ingredients to prepare it

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple w/ juice
1 cup brown sugar
cinnamon

1 lg instant vanilla pudding + ingredients to prepare it
1 large Cool Whip
Optional: Shredded coconut

Bake white cake according to pkg directions. While cake bakes, make the syrup. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the crushed pineapple w/ juice, brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Cook over med heat until it boils. Simmer until it thickens a bit. Poke holes all over baked cake with handle of wooden spoon. Pour the pineapple syrup mixture slowly and evenly all over the top of the cake, making sure it sinks into the holes. Smooth it over evenly with the back of the spoon. Prepare instant vanilla pudding according to pkg directions. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to thicken a bit. Pour evenly over top of cake and spread smoothly with back of spoon. Chill completely in fridge. Spread Cool Whip evenly over entire cake. If desired, top with shredded coconut. If you aren't a fan of coconut, then garnish it with sprinkles of cinnamon.

CHOCOLATE or CARAMEL PECAN FONDUE

2009-02-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever done fondue? If you haven't, you are missing out!! It is an absolute BLAST!
We usually do it once a year with our family - my oldest daughter, Sarah, requests it for her birthday dinner. Usually we do all 3 courses, cheese, meat and chocolate or caramel (or both!)
Tonight we skipped the cheese fondue, and I made a couple of sides instead. Fondue is served in stages. You set out the cheese fondue, the bread chunks, the veggies, etc... then when all have had their fill of the cheese, you clear the table of all that, and bring out the preheated oil in an electric fry pot, raw meat, and several dipping sauces. When all have had their fill of that, you clear the table again and bring out the dessert fondue, fresh fruits, pretzels, pound cake, etc... It's not a "hurry up" type dinner. It's a sit and talk and laugh and spend time together type meal. This would be a lot of fun to do with a group of young married couples or college age singles even. Everybody could bring something to contribute to the fondue. That would ease the expense on the hostess. You can pick up fondue pots for next to nothing in your local Goodwill stores. Some of them are kept warm by a simple tea light candle. I use those kinds for the dessert fondues that don't require a lot of heat to keep them warm. But the pot we use to fry our meat, has an electric cord. You could also make up a dessert fondue platter and set it out at a fellowship or dinner in your home. People could casually come and go and get their dessert as they wish. It's just so unique and SO much fun! Not to mention YUMMY!! Promise me you'll put this on your "to do" list soon!

CARAMEL PECAN FONDUE (this one is our all time favorite!!)

*IF you have any leftovers, refrigerate them and use it as topping for your ice cream!* Mmm! Talk about YUMMO! Rachel Ray has nothing on this one! haha

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp. Rum flavoring
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Dippers: Bananas (the best!), apples, pears, frozen twinkies, brownies, pound cake, angel food cake... all cut in chunks - use your imagination

In a medium heavy bottom sauce pan, combine the sugar with the corn syrup & water. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves (about 10 min). Increase the heat to med-high and simmer, brushing down the insides of the pan occasionally with a wet pastry brush. I keep a bowl of water with the brush in it, near the saucepan to do this. I do it several times throughout the cooking process. Cook until the syrup starts to turn golden. Gently swirl the pan and continue to simmer until a deep amber color forms - about 40 minutes total time. Remove from heat. Carefully stir in cream and butter, a little at a time, until melted and combined. Return to heat, bring to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in rum flavoring and chopped pecans. Let sit for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour into heatproof serving bowl or fondue pot set over low heat and serve with dippers.

* This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Rewarm gently over low heat.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CHOCOLATE FONDUE

2 Tblsp sugar
1 cup heavy cream
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 oz milk chocolate
1 Tblsp butter

Dippers: Apples, oranges, pears, bananas, strawberries, cherries, marshmallows, pretzel rods, frozen cheesecake chunks, etc...

In a microwave safe bowl, mix the sugar, heavy cream, chocolate and butter together and microwave for 1 - 2 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave. Remove bowl from microwave and give it a quick whisk, making sure chocolate is melted and completely combined. Transfer to fondue pot with a flame underneath to keep warm. Serve with your favorite dippers.

*Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Can also use the leftovers as ice cream topping. Or..... top your ice cream with both fondues and have a turtle sundae!

Shhhh don't tell anyone this isn't WW friendly! This was a special occasion! ;-)

HOT CHILI DIP

2009-02-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the weekend! Here is a hot, hearty, and very addicting dip for your tortilla chips! This is great for your Friday night family movie or game night, or just to whip up for visitors.
My thanks to Colleen for this recipe. The original recipe called for shredded cheddar rather than the Velveeta. But I was helping to feed a group of teen girls last Friday night, and needed to make this dip s-t-r-e-t-c-h. It turned out FANTASTIC! The heat from the salsa cut the thick taste of the cheese. It really was just delicious! If you like things really hot, you could also add a small can of chopped green chilies, or use a hot salsa rather than medium. VERY yummy!

HOT CHILI DIP

1 lb ground meat
1 pkg taco seasoning
16 ounces (2 cups) salsa (I used Pace chunky salsa, medium heat)
8 ounces cream cheese - cubed
1 large loaf of Velveeta cheese - cubed
1/2 cup milk (add a little more if it gets too thick)
Optional: sour cream

Brown ground meat and drain the grease off. Return to pan and add taco seasoning (with water) and salsa and cook for about 7 minutes on medium. Remove from heat and add cream cheese cut into cubes (so it will melt in) and stir until it melts. Add Velveeta cheese cubes and stir until it is melted and mixed in. Make sure to keep a close eye on it and stir it frequently, the velveeta can quickly scorch if you're not careful. I usually just remove it from the heat when I stir in the Velveeta chunks. Stir in milk and *keep warm until ready to serve. If it gets too thick after you let it sit in the warmer, just add a little more milk.
Serve with warmed tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream on top.

* I use a West Bend electric pot to keep it warm, sort of like a fry Daddy, but it is bigger. You could also use a crockpot to keep it warm.

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

2009-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you have either had this, or made it at one time or another. But for those of you who aren't as fortunate (haha) you simply must give this a try sometime! It's super easy to make and goes over REALLY well at any function. I like it because, not only does it taste good, but it serves 32 or more. So it's a good economical choice when you are feeding a crowd. And you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry, right now.

I like to do the top half nuts (chopped pecans) and half plain, to please everyone. The icing tastes like a thin fudge, it's so yummy with a tall glass of cold milk! Definitely not on WW, but a nice treat once in a while.

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

In a mixing bowl, combine the following, and set aside:

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder

In a saucepan over med-high heat, combine the following and bring to a boil:

2 sticks butter or margarine
1 c. water
2 Tblsp. cocoa, heaping

While hot, add to flour mixture above. Cream will with mixer. Pour into greased and floured jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet with tall sides). Bake 20 min at 350. Frost while still warm.

FROSTING

1 stick butter or margarine
6 Tblsp. milk
2 Tblsp. cocoa

Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add all at once:

1 box powdered sugar (4 cups)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts

Stir until well combined. Pour over warm cake and spread evenly to edges.

CHEESY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

2009-01-27T19:41:00.001-08:00

I borrowed this recipe from my daughter in law, Monica. She makes a killer chicken enchilada! I changed it just a tad, because I felt more comfortable doing the thickening of the sauce a bit differently. But it still turned out fantasmagoric! haha Super easy and quick too! I should have served chopped lettuce and roma tomatoes with these though, but I was in a hurry and we were starving! Next time! These were easily "lightened" up with light sour cream, FF chicken broth, and low fat Cheddar cheese. Not positive on the points value, but as near as I could figure, they seemed to be around 6 pts per enchilada. If you're not dieting, by all means, feel free to use the full fat versions of those ingredients though.

CHEESY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

12 boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders, cut into chunks
Cumin
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 or 3 Tblsp butter
1 (6 oz) can chopped green chilies w/ juice
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pkg large whole wheat tortillas (my pkg had 8 in it)
1 (8 oz) pkg shredded cheddar - Mexican blend

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Place chicken chunks in small skillet, heated to med-high. Sprinkle chicken liberally with Cumin and cook until done. Set aside. In separate skillet, heated to med-high, place butter, onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Add chopped green chilies w/ juice. Stir until chilies are heated through. Add flour and stir to combine - will be very thick and pasty. Add chicken broth and whisk to combine. Stir in sour cream and simmer until slightly thickened. Add chicken to sauce and simmer for a few minutes. In the meantime, in a separate skillet, heated to med. Add just a drizzle of oil. Heat each tortilla in the oil for a few seconds on each side, just enough to soften them for rolling. Remove from heat and keep warm on a pizza pan covered with paper towels.
To assemble: Use a slotted spoon to scoop up the chicken and veggies. Place 1 spoonful on the center of each tortilla, top with a small handful of shredded cheese. fold up each end of the tortilla and hold in place while you roll in each side of the tortilla. Place seam side down in baking pan. After all your tortillas are filled, pour the remaining sauce over the top. Heat in the oven for 15 minutes, or until bubbly. Top with remaining cheese and stick back in oven for an additional 5 - 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 8 enchiladas

UNFRIED CHICKEN

2009-01-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

This is the best "unfried" chicken you will ever have. The coating also works well on skinless, boneless chicken tenders to make into chicken fingers for the kids. You could serve that with honey mustard dipping sauce (I'll add a yummy recipe for that at the end of the chicken recipe). This particular chicken went really well with steamed white rice and the roasted veggies that we had for dinner tonight. My daughter Sarah cooked dinner tonight and surprised us with this meal. It was delicious! The black specks on the chicken is fresh ground black pepper. I sprinkled it on just before I dug in. Mmm!

UNFRIED CHICKEN

1/4 cup Fat free mayo
1 t. dijon mustard
2 t. grated lemon zest
1/2 t salt
4 drops hot pepper sauce (more or less to taste)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 c. cornflakes, crushed

* Preheat oven to 375. Spray a large baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
*whisk together mayo, mustard, lemon zest, salt and hot pepper sauce in a bowl. add chicken, toss to coat.
*Place cornflake crumbs in a large zip-close plastic bag. add chicken, one piece at a time and toss to coat.
*place chicken in the baking pan, drizzle lightly w/ olive oil.
*Bake until golden brown and cooked through - about 30 minutes.

Number of Servings: 4

WW points value: 3 pts

HONEY MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice or juice from 1/2 lemon
1 dash paprika
2 tablespoon orange juice (more or less as needed)

Combine all ingredients except orange juice; stir well. Thin to pouring consistency for dressing or dipping consistency for dips with orange juice. Cover and chill for 2 or 3 hours.

COOKING WITH THE YOUTH PASTOR'S WIFE

2009-01-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to introduce my daughter-in-law, Monica, to you all! She is a tremendous cook. For months now, I have rolled around the idea of adding her as a guest blogger on my site. She is so busy though, the timing is never right to just sit and work on it together. But tonight, she surprised me and started her own blog! Tonight was her first post, so be patient as she builds her recipe files. You won't be disappointed in any of them, I can assure you! She is an amazing & creative writer too. I know you will enjoy her wittiness as much as I do. Be sure to hop over and take a look and tell her I sent you!

SHRIMP SCAMPI

2009-01-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love it when someone else does the cooking? I got to enjoy that wonderful treat tonight! My daughter, Hannah made dinner tonight. She chose this wonderful Shrimp Scampi dish and did a wonderful job on it. She has never made it before, but this one will be making an appearance on our table again! *NOTE* If you like a lot of sauce - just double the liquid in this (cooking wine, lemon juice and butter) not the veggies and herbs. She doubled both, but we all agreed, it was too much to double the latter. Very very tasty! The next time we have this, I'd like to try the WW skinny version of alfredo with it.

Shrimp Scampi

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 1/2 tbsp shallot(s), finely chopped
1/4 cup white cooking wine, divided (sold next to the vinegar)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
2 tsp parsley, fresh, minced
1 tsp thyme, fresh, minced
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 pound(s) shrimp, jumbo-size, shelled and deveined*
Instructions

* Warm a large skillet over a medium-low heat; add oil and heat until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add shallots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the white cooking wine and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice; stir, scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are translucent, about 5 more minutes; allow to cool.

* In a small bowl, combine shallots, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper with softened butter; refrigerate until butter hardens (can be made 1 day ahead).

* Preheat oven to 475̊F.

* Using a medium-sized oven-proof casserole dish or skillet, arrange shrimp in a ring, tails up and touching one another for support; place bits of chilled herbed butter around shrimp. Pour remaining cooking wine and lemon juice in bottom of dish. (Or cook in four individual oven-proof dishes.)

* Roast in oven until shrimp turns pink and butter starts to sizzle, about 4 to 5 minutes. Yields about 3 jumbo shrimp per serving.

Notes

* Perfect for company, this dish looks great and is easy to prepare—especially when assembled in 4 individual oven-proof dishes. Make the butter ahead of time and have your shrimp already cleaned and on ice. When company arrives, just assemble the ingredients in a baking dish (or dishes) and pop in the oven.

*You can leaves the tails on if you prefer.

WW points value: 5 pts

* We couldn't afford the pricey jumbo shrimp for this dish tonight, but instead chose the "large" shrimp which happened to be on sale for half price - WOOHOO! It was just as good and appeared to be about the same size of shrimp that Red Lobster uses for their Shrimp Scampi.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-01-13T20:02:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU to my friend Nikki for this one. She gave it to me a LONG time ago. The original recipe calls for full fat peanut butter and real sugar, but I've been meaning to try them, using Splenda. I tried it tonight and they are delish! I also used reduced fat peanut butter in these, and you can't tell the difference! If losing weight is no concern of yours, then I've included the regular recipe at the end of this post.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup Splenda (bulk)
1 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1 egg

Combine ingredients in bowl, beat with mixer until combined. Using a cookie scoop, form dough into balls and place on baking stone. Flatten with fork. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
Makes about 16 cookies

WW points value: 2 pts

*For those that aren't doing WW and would like the regular recipe:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg

Mixing directions: Same as above.

DIET SODA CAKE w/ FRESH STRAWBERRIES & WHIPPED CREAM

2009-01-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of the Diet soda cake? It's any flavor cake you like, mixed with 1 can of diet soda. This is the white cake, mixed with diet 7 - up. No eggs, no oil. So the fat content is very low. The next time I make the white version, I'm going to try using diet cherry 7-up. When I first heard about it, I wondered how the cake would bake up with only diet soda as the binder, but it bakes up beautifully and is SO moist. The chocolate version is good too. I make that one with diet coke and top it with fresh raspberries and light cool whip. The possibilities are endless. Use your imagination. This cake is good for those that have an allergy to eggs too. I have to say though that the original version of the diet soda cake is just that - cake mix and diet soda. The addition of the SF jello and the berries was something I did for us.

1 pkg White Cake Mix
1 (12 oz) can Diet Lemon Lime soda
1 small box, sugar free strawberry jello
Fresh Strawberries (sliced)
Cool Whip - Sugar Free (or light cool whip)

Directions

Mix together cake mix and lemon lime soda.

Coat 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Pour cake mix into pan.
Bake at 350* for 20 - 30 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Using a meat fork, poke holes all over in the cake.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the sugar free jello with 2 cups boiling water. Stir to combine until jello is completely dissolved. Slowly pour over the top of the cake, letting the jello sink into the holes in the cake.
Refrigerate until jello is set. Or if you want a "speedy set" put it in the freezer for 30 - 45 min.
Top with whipped cream and strawberries.
Makes about 15 servings.

Number of Servings: 15

Calories: 159
WW points value: 3 pts

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK

2009-01-08T16:43:00.001-08:00

Chicken stock is used in so many dishes and you can have it handy for all of your cooking needs. This is a delicious and simply elegant stock and you will be surprised how easy it is to make. No more buying store bought.

There are 2 ways to go about making your stock.

One is to cook down the carcass from last night's roast chicken dinner.

The other is to make your stock from start to finish, using a whole chicken, fresh veggies and herbs. The second way will yield a lot more stock, and you can freeze it for future uses. There is no comparison to homemade stock!

Things You'll Need

Take your chicken and put it in a large pot and fill with cold water.
Make sure that you use a large enough pot so that everything has more then enough room to fit. There are a lot of large items going into the pot including the chicken. Add all of your ingredients the turnips, carrots, the 3 springs of thyme, 2 rosemary stems. 2 onions and the celery, to the pot. Cook over medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the chicken and set aside. Drain the stock over a large bowl. Be careful not to burn yourself with the broth. Now you can:

Shred the chicken and enjoy for supper with some rice, vegetables or potatoes.
You can use ice cube trays to freeze the stock and then put in ziploc freezer storage bags
Or other plastic storage food containers
Use stock in your favorite soups, stews and rice dishes.

ROASTED CHICKEN SOUP w/ NOODLES

2009-01-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

Have you ever made something for no good reason, and you weren't sure why you did it? I seldom boil the carcass down from our Sunday roast chicken, but this past Sunday, I did. When the family started smelling the aroma late Wednesday night, they all asked what I was making. I just kind of shrugged and said, "I don't know, I figured I'd boil this down for some good stock, and then make a pot of chicken & noodle soup out of it." They all just kind of said, "Oh" and left it at that. haha Anyway, I finished the soup up, let it cool down, put it in the fridge and went to bed. I suppose I intended to warm it up the next day for my hubby and I for dinner, with a nice hot loaf of crusty bread. But, I forgot about it, until a phone call from my hubby reminded me that our deacon's wife had had foot surgery today, I realized then, WHY I made the soup last night! It was for her and her hubby! I put that ALREADY MADE pot of yummy soup on to simmer and whipped up another caramel apple galette (I had made one Sunday for our family). Then hubby and I headed over to deliver the meal to a very happy and grateful couple! I love it when the Lord works in your heart to do something, and you don't understand why at the time, until later. I'm so glad I listened!
This soup has tremendous flavor - if you've never made homemade chicken & noodle soup, you really should give it a whirl! There's nothing like it!

ROASTED CHICKEN & SOUP w/ NOODLES

Good stock is like the foundation of a house - it lays the groundwork for a delicious soup, stew or pan sauce. Trouble is, many packaged versions are drowning in sodium (often 1,000 mg per cup!) The answer to this dilemna - make your own!

Start by making your stock - you can either do it this way, or you can make a whole roast chicken for dinner one night, and boil the carcass and leftover skin the next day to produce your stock. When you are done eating, just wrap up the bones, and the carcass to cook down the next day. Save any leftover chicken to put into the soup. This is a creative way to use leftovers.

1 Tblsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups water
3 - 4 cups chicken stock
1 cup sliced carrots
3 cups shredded, cooked chicken
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 bag of egg noodles

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over med-high heat. Add chopped onion, celery and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, or until onions are tender. Stir in flour, basil, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add water and broth and stir with whisk to combine. Add bay leaf and carrots. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add noodles, cook 10 minutes or until noodles are done. Stir in cooked chicken. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

Mmm! I think this Caramel Apple Galette turned out better than the one I made Sunday! It smelled so good as we drove it over in the car! It felt awfully nice and warm sitting on my lap too! It's soooo cold here in snowy Northern MI right now!

WARM CINNAMON MINI SWIRLS (WW)

2009-01-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a yummy little Saturday morning treat to lure even the worst sleepy head out of bed! And with a points value of only 1 each - what's not to love?! They are super quick & easy to make and so good! If you're doing WW and are craving a big fat cinnamon roll - then QUICK make these and it will take care of that craving! These make a nice treat for company too. Serve them up with a hot mug of coffee or a tall cold glass of milk.

WARM CINNAMON MINI SWIRLS - WW 1 pt each

1 (8 oz) pkg refrigerated reduced fat crescent rolls
4 tsp bottled cinnamon sugar
cooking spray
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp 1% milk

Preheat oven to 375. Unroll crescent roll dough onto work surface. Separate the 2 hunks of dough. Leave 4 of the crescent rolls hooked together, and with a mini pie dough roller, press the perforations together. Sprinkle each portion of dough with 2 tsp of the cinnamon sugar. Starting at the wide side, roll up 1 portion of dough, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets. Pinch seams to seal. Cut roll into 10 slices. Place rolls, cut side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat process with remaining dough and cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 375 for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden. Whisk together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls with a small whisk.
Yield: 20 swirls
Serving sz: 1 swirl
Points value: 1 pt
Cal: 55
Fat: 1 g

CARAMEL APPLE GALETTE

2009-01-04T13:18:00.001-08:00

Oooh! Here's one to add to your WW Flex points! I have always wanted to make a Galette, and finally made one for Sunday dinner today. I loved the taste and texture of this. I made it on my Pampered Chef cookie sheet and I can't imagine making it on anything other than a stone now. It was simple, quick and so yummy! Only 5 pts per serving too!

CARAMEL APPLE GALETTE (WW - 5 pts)

The galette is a free form French tart. Golden colored turbinado sugar is coarse raw sugar. It makes the pastry glisten and adds crunch and a slight molasses flavor to the dessert. You can substitute 2 tsp granulated sugar, if you do not have the turbinado sugar.

Cooking spray
1 refrigerated pie dough such as Pillsbury
4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4" slices (4 cups)
Use the apples of your choice. I used Gala and it turned out delicious!
1/2 cup Splenda (bulk)
1 Tblsp flour
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp water
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 Tblsp turbinado sugar
1/3 cup fat free caramel topping

Preheat oven to 425. If you have a papmered chef stone, spray it with cooking spray and set aside. If you do not have a stone, then line a baking sheet with parchment paper, coat the paper with cooking spray. Roll dough into a 13" circle on prepared parchment paper. In a separate bowl, combine the apples and next 6 ingredients; toss well. Place apple mixture in center of dough, leaving a 3 inch border (apples will be piled high on dough). Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing slightly to seal (dough will only partially cover apple mixture).

Combine water and egg white; brush over edges and top of dough, sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until golden brown and apples are done. Filling may leak slightly during cooking (mine did not, but I think it might have been because I used Splenda in place of the sugar that was called for in the original recipe).

Remove from oven, drizzle with warm caramel sauce and serve warm with fat free whipped topping. You can tell my stone was still hot, the caramel sauce bubbled right up when I drizzled it on!

Yield: 8 servings.
Points value: 5 (I replaced the sugar with Splenda, so it may be less, like 4 or so)
Calories: 233
Fat: 7 g
Carb: 40 g

TABLESCAPES - Snow and Ice

2009-01-04T13:00:00.001-08:00

Today we woke up to our little town being covered in ice! We had to cancel morning services, because nobody could drive safely on the roads. So I decided to decorate our Sunday dinner table with the weather in mind - snow and ice. It's a simple table, but blue is my favorite color, so this is one of my favorite tablescapes. I've had this linen set forever, it seems. But it has held up so well over the years. I have a red set just like it, and the same thing holds true about it. If you ever find a "satin stripe" linen set, you should invest in it, they keep REALLY well. I've had both sets for probably 20 years now. We use linens every Sunday, so they get a LOT of use, but you would never know it with these. I do take pretty good care of them. I never wash them with any other laundry - only by themselves. I also keep them hung on individual hangers in the linen closet, with the napkins, pressed and hanging over the tops of the tablecloths.

I love the icy garland that my daughter found on clearance a couple years ago. And I found the white ceramic snowflakes on clearance, after the Winter season was over. The silver pillar candle holders, I bought brand new at a garage sale this past Summer. I think she only charged me $2 for them. Normally when I do this table, I'll sprinkle fake snow around the centerpiece too, but just didn't do that today for some reason. I had it, just didn't do it.

The china was passed down to me, when hubby's mother passed away back in 1985. It's very special to me, and goes so well with the Winter theme.
I'm always on the lookout for table decorations - but I never buy anything very expensive. I stick to the clearance racks, after season sell-outs, garage sales, etc... You can find some really pretty or cute things if you just keep your eyes open specifically for that sort of thing.

CHICKEN W/ PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS AND CREAMY POLENTA (WW)

2009-01-03T17:45:00.001-08:00

Here's another yummy recipe from the WW files. Total points for this one: 7 (Chicken - 5; Polenta - 2) This had the most delicious flavor. Will definitely be making this one again. It called for skinless thighs, but all I had were bone in breasts (got them on clearance!) so that's what I used. To keep the points in tact, make sure you skin your chicken. I usually cook my chicken with the skin on, but then pull it off before I eat. I've never been a chicken skin lover - BLECH! Well, unless it's crispy fried chicken - that's a different story! LOL But then that's why we're having to eat light now! haha You simply MUST give this a try - you won't be sorry! This simple dish packs a ton of flavor! And be sure to try it w/ the polenta - it's new and different and goes REALLY well with the mushroom sauce!

CHICKEN W/ PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS (WW - 5 pts)
AND CREAMY POLENTA (WW - 2 pts)

Serve over creamy polenta or rice. Trim the woody stems from the shitake mushrooms before slicing the caps.

1 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
garlic powder
Lawry's seasoned salt
6 chicken pieces, skinned - breasts or thighs work well
1 1/2 cups sliced onion (1 med onion)
1 (6 oz) pkg baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 (3.2 oz) pkg fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced
2 Tblsp all purpose flour
2 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup white cooking wine or fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley (or rosemary if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a large ovenproof dutch oven over med-high heat. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Lawry's seasoned salt. Add chicken to preheated pan. Cook 5 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Remove from pan; set aside. Add onion and mushrooms to the pan, and saute 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in 1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, chicken broth, cooking wine, and parsley (or rosemary). Bring to a full boil, scraping pan as it deglazes. Return chicken to pan full of sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Place pan over med-high heat; cook 5 or 6 min or until mushroom sauce is slightly thick, stirring occasionally. (I actually skipped this last step of heating the sauce after the chicken was done, and we still loved the taste of the sauce!)
Serving size: 2 thighs and 1 cup of sauce
points: 5
Cal: 258
fat: 7 g
pro: 32 g
carb: 15 g
fiber: 1.8 g

CREAMY POLENTA

A favorite in Northern Italy, this quick side dish takes the place of mashed potatoes, rice or noodles at the dinner table. I have to admit, hubby and I both commented how nice it was to try something different. We both enjoyed it, especially with the mushroom sauce drizzled over it! Soft polenta is best served immediately while it's still creamy. But leftover polenta can be chilled in a pan until firm and then cut into squares and pan-seared for a side dish at another meal.

1 1/2 cups low fat milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (14 oz) can fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 cup instant dry polenta
1/4 cup preshredded Parmesan, romano, asiago cheese blend (or just parmesan works too)
1 Tblsp butter

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a med saucepan. Reduce heat to low and slowly add polenta, stirring constantly with a whisk, to prevent lumps. Cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese blend and butter, stirring until cheese melts. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings (1/2 cup).
WW Points value: 2

GENERAL TSAO'S CHICKEN (WW version)

2008-12-30T17:18:00.000-08:00

We love Chinese food in our house, and it's really not all that hard to prepare, if you have the right ingredients on hand. General Tsao's is one of our favorites, but the normal way is deep fried chicken in a spicy sauce. In this WW version, the chicken is sauteed and bypasses a lot of the fat calories in the normal version. If you're used to the fried version, please don't think this one is inferior. The flavor is tremendous! I have to admit though, I fix fried rice with mine. We all love it. I'm adding the recipe for the fried rice, at the end of this post.

GENERAL TSAO'S CHICKEN (WW version) 6 pts

3/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp peanut oil
2 medium scallion(s), chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or 1 dried chili pepper, minced (add more if you like it extra spicy)
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cup(s) cooked white rice, kept hot

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and pepper and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
Add reserved sauce and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.
Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Yields about 1 cup of chicken and sauce and 1/2 cup of rice (white) per serving.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FRIED RICE

1 - 2 green onions, as desired
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
4 cups cold cooked rice
1 - 2 tablespoons light soy sauce or oyster sauce, as desired (I use Soy sauce)

Wash and finely chop the green onion. Lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper.
Heat a wok or frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the eggs. Cook, stirring, until they are lightly scrambled but not too dry. Remove the eggs and clean out the pan. (I use a non-stick skillet to fix mine in).

Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add the rice. Stir-fry for a few minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart. Stir in the soy sauce or oyster sauce as desired.

When the rice is heated through, add the scrambled egg back into the pan. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the green onion. Serve hot.

TABLESCAPES - Burgundy & Gold

2008-12-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a pretty "Burgundy & Gold" table. My sweet daughters bought me this whole outfit one year for Christmas. Including the gold rimmed plates and the gold flatware. The gold chargers were purchased later, on a clearance rack.
For the centerpiece, Sarah used a clear cake stand, with a rim, and placed a pillar candle in the middle, some gold ornaments and then a strand of gold beads. She took a strand of gold ribbon that she found in a drawer and laid that on the table around the candles. Your centerpiece can be made up of most anything you have sitting around your home.

Here is a better close up of the centerpiece. I had to giggle when my daughter in law said she was bringing place cards for the table. She had Toddler church this morning, and this was the craft that the little ones made. haha She is such a nut!

If you notice, one of the places on the end, doesn't have a charger or goblet. This was my grandson's first time to sit at the "big" table. Little sister has moved on to big people food and has commandeered the high chair for family meals! Little D didn't mind though. I think he loved the idea of sitting with the grown ups.

This is why there was no goblet at his place! haha He loves his special "Cars" cup from his Grpa and Grma Rader in NY.

Here's Katie in the high chair. She just finished a plate of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and a roll. I think the Tryptophan is hitting her early! haha

DEEP FRIED MUSHROOMS

2008-12-29T06:23:00.000-08:00

We love mushrooms! Every once in a while we get a hankering for a batch of crispy deep fried mushrooms. My Honey made these the other night and boy, were they ever good! You just can't go wrong using Drakes coating mix. It is wonderful on chicken, mushrooms, onion rings, etc... The only "problem" is, everyone wants to stand around the kitchen, eating the mushrooms, as soon as they come out of the fryer. It just doesn't work to make these to "go with the meal!" You'd be better off to consider them as an appetizer. haha

DEEP FRIED MUSHROOMS

1 lb. First Choice, fresh, white mushrooms
3/4 c. Drakes coating mix
3/4 c. water
Cooking oil for deep frying

Wash mushrooms and dry thoroughly on towel. Cut stem ends even with bottom of mushroom. Stir coating mix and water together until smooth.

Dip mushrooms in batter and fry in 400 degree oil for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Oil should be deep enough for mushrooms to float freely. Drain on paper towels. We don't dip ours in anything, they are good just like they are.

RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD DREAMS

2008-12-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

This little shortbread cookie has become a real family favorite over the last few years. My friend Chris passed this one on to me and we all love her for it! It's a super simple recipe. Very few ingredients. And if you don't like raspberry, then you can use your own favorite jam in place of it. See here I've used some homemade peach jam as well. The peach is really yummy too!

RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD DREAMS

1 cup butter (NO SUBSTITUTES), softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in extract. Gradually add flour until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center. Fill with jam. Bake at 350°F for 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Spoon additional jam into cookies if desired.

Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cookies.

Yield: about 3 1/2 dozen.

*NOTE* I use my finger to make the indentation, but a spoon works too. Also, if you are using Pampered chef bakeware, you may want to shorten the baking time. You don't want these cookies to brown, necessarily. Just a light tan on the bottom. They will finish cooking on the stone when you take them out of the oven.

PUPPY CHOW

2008-12-17T20:07:00.001-08:00

Now here's a classic that's been around for a very long time. It's super easy, and what a fun little treat to bag up in cute little snowman bags and stick in your Christmas goody boxes! I usually have to make 2 batches of this when I mix it up - one for home and one for giving! It disappears fast - especially when the gang's all here!

PUPPY CHOW

9 cups Corn Chex®, Rice Chex®, Wheat Chex® or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions
1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

TURTLES

2008-12-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

This has GOT to be one of the easiest Christmas treats I have ever made in my life! It literally took just minutes to make an entire sheet pan full! And they go great in the Christmas goody boxes!

CHEWY TURTLES

A bag of Mini Pretzels
A bag of Rolos (chocolate candy) UNWRAPPED
A bag of WHOLE pecans ( or cashews, walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350.
Spread the pretzels out on a baking sheet.
Put one Rolo on top of each pretzel.

Put into oven for 5 minutes, take them out of the oven. Don't walk away from your oven. The rolos only take 4 or 5 minutes to soften. The rolos won't look melted, they will retain their shape. Now push a nice, big, crunchy pecan down on top of the Rolo`s.
It should be nice and soft and gooey at this point.

Eat immediately or cool and serve. Makes a fun gift to give to someone!

CHOCOLATE COVERED PEANUT BUTTER CRACKERS

2008-12-17T19:46:00.001-08:00

Thank you all for allowing me a bit of a posting break. Seems like since Thanksgiving, we have been going non-stop. But recipes and pics are starting to back up in my files, so I wanted to pop on tonight and post a few new ones for you.
This one is SUPER easy and a real favorite during the holidays. The best part is, you don't have any mixing to do and you don't have to fire up your oven either! These are nice for those goody baskets at Christmastime.

CHOCOLATE COVERED PEANUT BUTTER CRACKERS

1 (12 oz.) box round Ritz crackers
Jif Peanut butter
1 lb. white chocolate
3 tbsp. shaved paraffin

Make peanut butter crackers as you usually would, using a decent amount between 2 Ritz crackers. Press the crackers together until peanut butter comes to the edges of the crackers. This gives a nicer look once they are coated. Here they are all piled up, waiting on their chocolate bath!
Place white chocolate and paraffin in top of double boiler. Heat over boiling water until ingredients melt and mixture is smooth. Turn heat down as low as possible.Drop each cracker in the chocolate. Using a fork, turn cracker over to coat other side. Lift cracker and drain excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper to cool. Store in canister. Yield: 4 dozen

OVER THE TOP GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

2008-11-28T14:32:00.001-08:00

Are you tired of the same ol' green bean casserole that's been around for 100 years? If you still love it, then my apologies. But for me, it's gotten a bit blase'. I was SO thrilled when Monica (my daughter in law) walked in with this dish yesterday, for Thanksgiving dinner! I heard she was trying something different. And this was just over the top! You REALLY need to try this one! It's amazing. You'll have a hard time not picking at the croutons though, until dinner is ready!

OVER THE TOP GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

* 3 pounds green beans
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 loaf crusty Italian bread
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
* 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
* 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 pounds mixed mushrooms (such as button, cremini, shiitake), sliced
* 2 shallots, sliced
* 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a big pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes, the beans should still be crisp, they will be cooked more in the oven. Drain them and set aside. Butter a baking dish large enough to hold the green beans with 1 tablespoon butter and set aside.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Tear the bread into 2-inch pieces, put them into a bowl, and add 1 tablespoon chives, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon rosemary, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Stir well to coat and spread onto a baking sheet. Bake just until the bread just starts to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 10 minutes. Pour in the heavy cream, add the remaining thyme and chives, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the green beans and stir well. Put the green bean mixture into the prepared baking dish, top with the croutons, and sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan. Bake until everything is hot and bubbling, about 20 to 25 minutes.

SOUTHERN PECAN PIE

2008-11-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

Have you ever made a pecan pie? I love it but had never personally made one, until this year for Thanksgiving. And now, it's going to be a yearly thing! It got rave reviews, especially from my Honey! I guess I always thought pecan pie was difficult, or too expensive, but neither is the case. If you like it all, don't hesitate to try this recipe - it's a piece of cake. OOPS! I mean a piece of pie! *hehe*

SOUTHERN PECAN PIE

4 Tblsp butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tblsp flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup light Karo syrup
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pecan halves (roughly chopped - or whole, it's your preference)
1 (9") pie crust

Preheat oven to 325. Cream the butter, brown sugar, flour and salt until smooth. Add the Karo syrup, eggs and vanilla, then fold in the pecans. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or utnil firm to the touch.
Serve the pie warm or cool.

*One thing I noticed as I was scouring the many recipes, out there, for pecan pie. The argument over whether to leave the pecans whole or roughly chop them. I've always felt that roughly chopping them, helps them stay in place better on top of the pie as you're cutting into it. I like pecans with each bite, and if they are whole, chances are, that won't happen as you're eating it. So for my pie, I roughly chopped them. But if you prefer them whole, by all means, leave them that way!

SWEET POTATO CRUNCH

2008-11-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a favorite Thanksgiving recipe of ours. The first time I had this was at a friends house. I begged her for the recipe, I could not believe it was sweet potatoes! It is just absolutely delicious and gets requested every year for Thanksgiving. The crunchy topping is just to die for!

SWEET POTATO CRUNCH

6 cups mashed sweet potatoes (I use canned)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 stick butter, melted
4 eggs
Cinnamon to taste

Beat all ingredients, except melted butter, until creamy, and with as few lumps as possible. In a 9 x 13 pan, pour melted butter. Place sweet potato mixture in pan on top of butter, do not stir.

TOPPING:

2 cups pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 stick butter, melted (more as needed)
2/3 cup flour
Dash of salt and cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together until moist and crumbly. Sprinkle topping over potato mixture until evenly covered. Bake at 350 for about 45 min., or until topping is lightly browned.
Let it sit for abotu 10 minutes before serving.
ENJOY!

COMPANY CORN

2008-11-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

Looking for a way to jazz up your boring dish of corn? Then you will like this recipe! It has a bit of a zing to it. I made this Sunday for my Guinea pig family! LOL The women liked it, the men folk - not so much. But it's hard to get anything new or different passed the men! They like their food the "usual" way! Me, I get sort of bored with the same ol', same ol'.
I do have to tell you though, that this dish is best when it is warm and fresh. Don't make it and then leave it sit. If you are serving buffet style, it would be best to put a warmer under this. Once it starts to cool off, it's not so good.

COMPANY CORN

2 (10 oz) pkgs frozen corn, cooked according to pkg directions
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup butter, cubed
2 Tblsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried savory
1/2 tsp. white pepper
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. lemon juice

Cook corn according to pkg directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onions and celery in butter until tender. Stir in the parsley, salt, savory and white pepper.
Drain corn. Add to onion mixture in skillet. Stir in sour cream and lemon juice. serve immediately.

APPLEBEE'S BLONDIE

2008-11-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had a Blondie from Applebees? Does this look yummy? Well it's not the right recipe! LOL I have been to at least 20 different sites looking for a copy cat recipe for the Blondie like Applebees makes. And NONE of them are right. Most of them say the sauce is: butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and nuts. But that can't be right because Applebees sauce is white, thick and has a slight tartness to it. The sauce for the recipe I made on Sunday was "close" but still not quite on the money. The Blondie recipe itself, was TOTALLY wrong. So I'm still on a quest for the RIGHT copy cat recipe for Applebees Blondie! I won't rest until I find it and make it. My family and I all love that dessert! They humored me on Sunday and said it was good, but I'm a big girl - they wouldn't have hurt my feelings if they would have told me the truth! LOL I knew it was blah and not the right one.
I'm off to hunt some more! ~*sigh*~

SUBSTITUTES IN A PINCH

2008-11-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

Don't you hate running out of something right when you need it? Especially when it's late and you don't feel like driving to the store, to get more, even if it is only 4 miles! I'm like that. I HATE running out of needed items. But..... occasionally it happens.

Last week I let my self run out of 2 things: dishwasher soap and spray starch!

A quick google search gave me a recipe for homemade dishwasher soap, but who keeps "borax" in their house? Not me. I did find one suggestion to add 3 Tblsp of baking soda to the dishwasher to wash the dishes, but that just didn't seem like a "clean" enough substitute to suit me. So along with the 3 Tblsp of baking soda, I added a scant teaspoon of regular Dawn dishwashing detergent. (What can I say? Yes, I had regular dish soap, but didn't feel like washing an entire sink of dishes by hand! I'm so spoiled!) It worked and my dishwasher didn't even suds over (and yes, I've been there, done that! LOL)

My next adventure was running out of spray starch (the same week!) A quick google search uncovered a "recipe" for homemade spray starch. I was a bit skeptical, but decided to try it anyway. My hubby wears dress shirts most every day of the week, so I needed something quick to iron up a few shirts for him. The homemade starch worked like a charm!

*Special Note* I would only use the homemade spray starch on whites and brights though. I tried using it on some dark dress shirts and it left a spotty residue that I had to wipe off with a damp cloth. But.... hey, it worked for me in a pinch! And hubby's white dress shirts were clean, and crisp looking! Could use on table linens, cloth napkins, pillowcases, etc...

Here's the recipe in case you ever need it:

HOMEMADE SPRAY STARCH

2 cups cold water
1 heaping Tblsp corn starch
A couple drops of your favorite scented essential oil (but if you're like me, and don't have essential oil in your house, just take a new, scented Bounce sheet and stuff it down in the spray bottle along with the corn starch mixture!)

Combine it all in a measuring cup, whisk until corn starch is dissolved and pour into spray bottle. Add your essential oil (or your bounce sheet!) Give it a good shake, and you're good to go! Be sure to shake it occasionally to keep it mixed up while you're ironing.
Even if I'm just using plain water to mist my clothes when I iron, I still keep a fresh bounce sheet stuffed inside my spray bottle of water.

So, that's my favorite way to use a food item in a non-food way. What's yours? Do you put cucumber slices on your eyes to prevent puffiness? Do you rub lemon on your copper pots to make them shine? Share your food / non food tips with me. I'd love to hear them!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHEWIES

2008-11-22T04:48:00.000-08:00

Here's another one from my daughter in law, Monica. She created these last weekend. They had the youth group over to their house for food, after they raked lawns for our Sr citizens. My daughter Sarah brought one over to me, and said, "These were so good, I just knew you would want to put the recipe on your blog!" She was right! They are so moist, and chewy. And I LOVE the cherries in them! It might look like a brownie in the pic, but I broke the cookie in half, so you could see the cherries inside. THANKS Monica! This one's a keeper!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHEWIES

1/3 cup veg. shortening

1/3 cup butter (softened)

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups flour

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 whole jar Maraschino cherries, drained and roughly chopped

Mix first 6 ingredients until blended and smooth. Combine thoroughly with dry ingredients Fold in cherries at the end. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. (I used parchment paper on baking stones) Bake at 350 until tops of cookies begin to look cracked. Let stand on baking sheet 5 min., then remove to rack to cool.

Note: If uncertain about whether or not they're done, take them out on the "under" side of done. They'll be chewy and gooey with the consistency of a soft brownie!! YUM

Enjoy!

100 THINGS EVERY OMNIVORE SHOULD TRY

2008-11-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

I came across this tonight and thought it was interesting. It’s a list of 100 things every good omnivore (one who feeds on both animal and vegetable substances) should try at least once in their life. I didn’t fair very well. I see a lot of things I would like to try one day, though.

The Omnivore’s Hundred:
The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. The instructions are quite explicit...

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

*I did remove all the references to liquor and alcohol as I don’t drink and don’t promote drinking.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle

19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float

37. Clotted cream tea

39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk

46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle

59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare 87. Goulash 88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

How about you? How'd you do with this list?

SAVORY STUFFED "TURKEN"

2008-11-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

WOWZERS is all I can say about this one! Have you ever heard of the Turducken? Well, I couldn't find anything other than a whole duck, so I skipped the duck part and did my own thing! I stuffed this turkey breast with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a delicious savory stuffing. I was a bit nervous as it was cooking and kept wondering if I should have seasoned the layers of meat. But amazingly, the meat picked up the flavors of the stuffing as it was baking! This was a REAL WINNER! A bit of work to prepare, but every bit, worth the effort! I'll be taking this to our church's Thanksgiving dinner too. I've included sort of step by step instructions on how to assemble the "Turken." If you can grab an extra set of hands when you tie it up, you really should - you'll need them!

SAVORY STUFFED "TURKEN"

1 lb. mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil, plus some for brushing over turkey
3 oz. prosciutto, finely minced
3/4 cup onions, minced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tsp. salt, divided (1 tsp each)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
garlic powder

1/2 (14 oz) bag of seasoned crouton stuffing
1 cup hot water or chicken broth
1/4 butter

1 3 lb. boneless turkey breast with skin
1 lb boneless, skinless, thin, chicken breasts
butcher's twine

2 Tblsp butter
2 Tblsp honey

Roughly chop mushrooms. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Add prosciutto and sauté for 1 minute. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic; cook until onions are translucent. Add thyme, parsley, 1 tsp salt, salt and pepper. Set aside. Melt the 1/4 cup butter into the 1 cup of hot water or chicken broth. Pour over stuffing mix and stir until moistened. Add mushroom mixture and toss to mix well.

Do not remove skin from turkey breast. Debone and butterfly if not boneless. Place breast, skin side down on cutting board. Evenly layer in boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Spread the stuffing mixture evenly over the turkey, leaving the edges clear all around. Roll the turkey up over the filling and secure with cotton string.

Place roast in a roasting pan, skin side up. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Roast in a preheated 500°F oven for 20 minutes, or until roast is well browned. Reduce temperature to 325°F and roast an additional 60-90 minutes, or until temperature reads 165-170°F on an instant read thermometer.

*I put this in the oven on 350, before I left for church (9:00 a.m.) and it was done when we got home (12:45) I still checked it w/ my meat thermometer though.

Combine 2 Tblsp melted butter with 2 Tblsp honey and using a pastry brush, baste the turken with the mixture. Place back in oven for 10 minutes or until nice and shiny and crisp. Remove from oven and Allow roast to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Cut into 1/2" slices and serve with pan drippings as gravy.

If you can't find a boneless, skin on turkey breast, you can debone your own, but it is a little work. I did it, and if I can figure it out, anybody can! You have to have an extremely sharp deboning knife to get the carcass cut away from the breast meat. And be careful not to cut the turkey breast in half while you're removing the bone a little at a time. As you removing the bone - do not cut away the extra skin at the neck area. You'll want that to help cover part of the stuffing.
Once you get the bones out and get the turkey breast layed out flat - layer in your pound of thin, boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Then spoon on the stuffing. Don't be afraid to load that puppy up! I spooned it on and then pressed it down with my hands.
Now, remember that extra skin at the neck area? Using both hands, grab from the sides and pull it together as tight as you can. Have your extra set of hands pull the extra skin up and over the top of the Turken. Then have them wrap butcher's twine around it. Wrap it around horizontally in at least 3 or 4 evenly spaced sections and tie it TIGHT. Then wrap one vertically and tie it tight. Flip it over so the skin side is up. Season with salt and pepper and place in roasting pan with 2 cups of water.
VOILA! Just out of the oven! Now take your honey and butter mixture and baste the turken with it. Place the turken back in the oven for about 10 minutes or so, just long enough for it to get nice and shiny and crispy on top.
OH NO I have tan lines! See what I mean? YUMMO!

Soooo moist and delicous! Don't you want to try it now? You won't be disappointed! Trust me!

SAVORY SQUASH CRISP

2008-11-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

Do you ever make new recipes for dinner guests? I must be a glutton for punishment - I made 2 things today, that I had never eaten or made! This was one of them. A friend had given me a couple of butternut squash from her garden, and I had them sitting in a basket by my stove. I needed to use them, but am still sort of new to the whole squash scene. We're trying to eat more of it, but it's still unfamiliar territory for me. I actually saw this recipe in one of those recipe card holders at the grocery store, by the produce. I saw the word squash, read the recipe, and said, "I have everything I need to make this! I'm making this for Sunday dinner!" It got rave reviews at dinner, by everyone at the table. So yep, it's a keeper!
Very savory and delicious!

SAVORY SQUASH CRISP

1 (2 lb) Butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1" cubes
1/4 cup butter, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups seasoned crouton stuffing mix
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400. Bring large pot of water to boiling. Drop in squash cubes. Cook 7 - 8 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well. Spoon squash into 3 qt baking dish. Toss with 1 Tblsp butter, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Set aside.
Meanwhile, melt remaining 3 Tblsp butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in bread cubes, remaining 1/4 tsp salt and thyme. Saute 1 to 2 minutes to coat with butter. Stir in pecans. Spoon evenly over squash. Bake 10 - 15 minutes or until bread cubes are lightly browned.

*This can be made the night before. I mixed this up last night. Pulled it from the fridge early this morning (7 am) and then let it sit and come to room temperature during church. When I got home, I tossed it in the oven for about 20 minutes (maybe 30) and it baked up just as nice and fresh as if I had just made it.
*I also drizzled a little melted butter over the top before I put it in the oven.