Kitchen Concoction

New York Cheesecake

2011-04-22T14:20:00.000-04:00

The Mission:
To make a cheesecake for my husband for his birthday. Even though his birthday was two weeks ago, I figured he'd still like one! I've only made one cheesecake in the past, but since he's not a fan of raspberry, I decided to go with a tried and true New York style using a recipe that I stole from my sister. Since I had the day off and my husband had to work, I planned to have this delicious dessert prepared for him when he got home as the grand finale to a yummy meal of corned beef with cabbage and potatoes.

The Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 (8 oz. each) blocks of cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup lemon juice

The Instructions:

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Pour in the melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbs are evenly moistened.
Press the mixture firmly and evenly onto the bottom of a 9" spring form pan.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sweetened condensed milk until mixture is smooth.
Add in the eggs, flour, and lemon juice, mixing well. Pour cheese mixture into the pan.
Bake in a preheated 300*F oven for 1 hour and check - the edges should be solid and the center of the cake should be jiggly (like pudding) - it will set as it cools. If cake is too jiggly or liquidy, bake longer, checking every 5 minutes or so.
Cool cake on the counter for an hour and then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. Serve with whatever topping you'd prefer (raspberry sauce, cherry pie filling, etc.) or enjoy plain.

The Results & Reviews:
YUM! It turned out fantastic. My husband was very, very happy with his birthday cake - he's very reluctant to share, so I'm not sure I'll get any other reviews..... though I'm pretty proud of myself that it turned out so well on the first try. I used a dark non-stick spring form pan, which made my cake bake a little quicker than usual, so I adjusted this recipe to bake for 1 hour instead of the extra ten minutes my sister's recipe had listed. The flavor, density, and creaminess of this cheesecake are an excellently rich combination. I'd recommend not taking too big a piece, since a little goes a long way with this delicious dessert.

Weekly Menu: January 30th - Feb 5th

2011-01-30T18:02:00.000-05:00

Sunday: Hot dogs with meaty chili and potato chips - our favorite brand was on sale this week! I love stocking up on a good sale.

Monday: Roasted Pork Loin with cheesy mashed potatoes (out of a bag) and green beans - pork loin was also on sale. It was a good week at the grocery store.

Tuesday: Grilled chicken breast (not sure what I'll marinate them in quite yet.....) with mac'n'cheese and peas

Wednesday: Fried Pork Chops with pinto beans (yuck) and broccoli (yum)

Thursday: London Broil with baked potatoes and California blend veggies

Friday: Chicken Pot Pie

Saturday: ???????

Weekly Menu: January 23rd - 28th

2011-01-22T15:50:00.000-05:00

Sunday: Grilled chicken, side salad, and rice.

Monday: Lasagna

Tuesday: Soup and Sandwiches

Wednesday: Beef Stir-fry

Thursday: Hot dogs with chili, raw veggies on the side

Friday: Roasted beef with sauteed mushrooms. Baked potato for my husband and a side of zucchini for me.

Saturday: Take out - probably Pizza - and hanging out at a friend's house.

Pecan Pie

2011-01-15T17:07:00.000-05:00

The Mission:
To use some of the pecans that husband's friend gave us after Christmas. I'd heard that The Pioneer Woman makes a fabulous pecan pie, so I went to her website and decided to use this recipe. I was pretty pleased to see that I had all of the ingredients on hand.... though I chickened out and used a store bought refrigerated pie crust instead of making my own. (Though I do plan on trying my hand at pie crust some other time..... eventually..... when I find ~~my courage~~ the time.)

The Ingredients:

pie crust - unbaked
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup corn syrup (I used light)
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup melted butter (salted)
3 eggs
1 heaping cup of broken pecans

The Instructions:

Prepare the pie crust in a 9" pie plate.
Pour the pecans into the unbaked crust.
Mix the remaining ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and pour mixture over the pecans.
Cover the top and crust of pie gently with aluminum foil.
Bake in a 350*F oven for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes.
If the pie is too jiggly, re-cover with foil and bake until set. (My pie took an extra 15 minutes in the oven until I felt it was solid enough.)

The Results & Reviews:
Okay. Let's start off with things that were good...
1 - For the most part it tasted fine.... well at least the filling did. The crust edges were a bit too done for my taste.
2 - It was easy enough to make, though apparently I'm missing something since it wasn't perfect (or even close to perfect).

Now let's talk about what is not so good.
1 - Even though I recovered with aluminum foil in order to bake the jiggly pie an extra 15 minutes, the crust came out too done and the top tasted a tad burnt. (and the filling somehow managed to stick to the foil and peeled off - you can see in the pictures.)
2 - it was UGLY. Really ugly. Again - see pictures.
3 - The crust cracked during baking and syrupy filling got underneath and stuck everywhere. Not quite sure how that happened.
4 - As the husband pointed out, the gel part of the filling wasn't smooth but instead had turned lumpy and weird.

Overall score: No one else ate or saw the pie except for the two of us, so I don't have many reviews to go by. If I do make pecan pie again - which I will soon - I will try a different recipe. Obviously I missed some key step in this one in order to have it turn out lovely and rave-worthy. But since we ate it and didn't throw it out, I guess it wasn't all that bad. I'm just glad I didn't attempt this for company!

Asian Chicken with Broccoli

2011-01-11T21:12:00.000-05:00

The Mission:

Make something a little different using the chicken that I thawed. We haven't had any Chinese in a while, so I figured that a chicken/broccoli stir-fry would be tasty and easy enough to make. So I added broccoli to the grocery list and hit up Food.com for a simple recipe. Hopefully I have sesame oil.... I can't remember if I ran out or am almost out. Oh well. I added in some cornstarch to thicken the sauce a bit as well.

The Ingedients:

4 cups cubed chicken
1 bag ( 16 oz) frozen broccoli florets
4 cloved minced garlic
5 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup sesame oil - I was out so used peanut oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger root
2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp oil (I used peanut oil)
rice to serve with

The Instructions:

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet.
Add the chicken and the garlic and stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the sauce ingredients (brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch) until smooth.
Pour over chicken and stir.
Add broccoli and stir-fry until broccoli is tender (but not mushy)
Serve over hot rice.

The Results & Reviews:
This recipe is a definite keeper. Not only was it super easy to make, my husband just raved about it. I'm glad I decided to make extra. As mentioned above I was out of sesame oil, so I just used peanut oil. Though the sesame oil would've given it a slight bitterness to offset the sweetness of the brown sugar, I think the full third cup would add too much bitter, so when I make it again I will start with adding just a tablespoon of the sesame oil to see how it turns out. Adding the cornstarch to the thicken the sauce gave it a great texture - so that was a definite plus. I have a feeling that my husband is going to be requesting this meal often. Actually - he thinks the sauce would be good with beef, so I'm sure I'll be blogging about that in the next few weeks!

Weekly Menu: Jan 9th - 15th

2011-01-09T10:05:00.001-05:00

Sunday: I'll making a new recipe! Asian Chicken w/ Broccoli to serve over white rice.

Monday: Roasted Pork Loin with mac'n'cheese and mixed veggies.

Tuesday: London Broil with baked potatoes and green beans.

Wednesday: Sandwiches and possibly soup.

Thursday: Venison Steaks - sides to be determined

Friday: Fried Pork Chops with pinto beans (yuck) and some veggie.

Saturday: Up in the air!

"Food Orgy Finale 2010!!!"

2011-01-01T14:41:00.000-05:00

This is what my bestest friend in the whole wide world dubbed our New Year's Eve Celebration. He picked me up early on the 31st to hit the store after we got our menu together. Our spread was to include:

Cheese Sticks & Marinara Sauce
Honey BBQ Chicken Bites
Sliced Sausage with Cheese and Crackers
White Trash Puff Balls
Cocktail Weenies in BBQ sauce
Sausage Balls
Tiny Piggies in Blankies (made with some of the cocktail weenies)
Lemon Meringue Pie

Basically we ate our way into the new year.... which was tasty and fantastic! When the ball dropped at midnight we attempted to wake up my husband so we could toast the new year. Unfortunately it was a futile attempt, so instead we went out side with our glasses to see if we could spy any fireworks that the neighbors were setting off.

Ironically enough we both resolved to lose more weight in 2011. So our days of gorging ourselves on fantastically delicious and horribly unhealthy food will be limited. Oh well - we did decide that we can splurge every now and then and are looking forward to making some wonderfully tasty dishes in the near future.

Weekly Menu: December 26 - 31st

2010-12-27T11:11:00.004-05:00

The week following Christmas is always a little crazy, but I'm hoping I can manage to get things together to have an easy time figuring out what to do for dinner!

Sunday: Frozen Pizza - lame, I know

Monday: Dinner at my parents house to finish off Christmas leftovers

Tuesday: Venison BBQ (or as my brother-in-law calls it: Bambi-que)

Wednesday: To be determined - suggestions welcome!

Thursday: Possibly hamburgers - I need to make up my mind!

Friday: New Years Eve!!! We will be heading to a friend's house for pickups. Due to popular demand, I'll be bringing Crack Dip for sharing - and most likely some Christmas cookies.

Southern Style Grits

2010-12-26T18:22:00.008-05:00

The Mission:

I was given this bag of Charleston Favorites Yellow Grits as a gift from my third cousin and his wife. They were visiting over the Thanksgiving holiday after recently moving back to the Charleston area. I've only had instant grits before and never cared for them, so I figured I'd wait and make these for someone who really enjoys grits.

My husband's dad came to visit us for Christmas, and I know he likes yummy grits, so I made these for breakfast the day after Christmas. I was pretty excited to have someone really look forward to this treat! He said that yellow grits were one of his favorite things to eat growing up. Serving them with bacon and scrambled eggs seemed to go over quite well.

The Ingredients:

1 and 1/3 cup Charleston Favorite Grits

4 cups water

1 and 1/4 tsp. salt

The Instructions:

Put the measured amount of grits into a heavy saucepan. Cover them with water to help bran rise to the top. Drain as much of the bran and water off as possible.
Pour the 4 cups of measured water over the rinsed grits and stir in the salt.
Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 28 minutes - stirring occasionally.
Serve hot with butter, salt, and pepper

The Results & Reviews:

I was a bit worried about how they would turn out since I've never made them before, but I was assured that they tasted wonderful. Rinsing the bran part off seemed to go alright, though I was sure I'd screw that up. At first I didn't realize that grits are more of a side dish and not the main event like oatmeal or cream of wheat. Thankfully I had some bacon in the fridge and plenty of eggs so I could whip up a proper breakfast.

Now for those of you who know me know that I'm not a Southern girl. You also know that I hate, hate, hate bacon. So obviously I skipped the meat part.... but maybe you'd be surprised to know that I didn't only try the grits, I actually liked the grits! I added some butter, salt, and pepper to my portion and they tasted pretty good. I'm beginning to wonder if it's just the instant stuff that tastes icky, or if the Charleston Favorites brand is just spectacular. Either way everyone loved breakfast and I felt pretty good about it!

Scotcheroos

2010-12-19T15:22:00.000-05:00

The Mission:

Make Gramma's Scotcheroo recipe for Christmas time. It's been many years since I've made these or even eaten one. In my family it's quite a big hit. Gramma's been making them for many years and passed on her recipe to me. They're easy enough to make and everyone seems to love them.

The Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups Rice Crispy cereal
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

The Instructions:

In a 4 quart saucepan cook the sugar and syrup over medium heat stirring frequently until boiling. Remove from heat.
Stir in the peanut butter. Add the Rice Crispies and stir until blended. Lightly press mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together and stir until blended. Spread evenly over the crispy mixture.
Cool until firm - do not put in the refrigerator - and then cut into bars.

The Results & Reviews:

They turned out absolutely divine! I melted the chips together in the double boiler which makes it very easy to get a nice smooth texture. I also find it easiest to measure out the peanut butter and rice crispies ahead of time so I can stir them immediately into the hot sugar/syrup mixture. Make sure you use a large enough pan to stir in all six cups of rice crispies.

My husband had never had these before and raved about how tasty they were. I have a feeling that he'll be requesting these often in the future. They always disappear quickly off of a cookie tray, but I always make sure to reserve a few for my family who are die hard Scotcheroo lovers.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

2010-12-18T15:22:00.000-05:00

The Mission:
Make yet another kind of cookie for Christmas this year that is tasty and delicious. I selected these chewy ginger cookies that I've made in the past but apparently never blogged about. They come out very soft so if you're looking for crunchy ginger snaps, this is not the recipe for you! But if you enjoy a chewy, spicy treat - then give this recipe a try. (This is a doubled recipe and makes about 8 dozen or so cookies)

The Ingredients:

4 and 1/2 cups flour
4 and 1/2 tsp gruond ginger
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 and 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (not 4 like pictured)
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup extra sugar for rolling

The Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl cream the shortening, eggs, 2 cups sugar, and molasses.
Beat in all of the spices and mix well. Gradually add the flour and mix until dough is formed.
If desired, refrigerate dough for an hour or so. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in the extra sugar.
Place sugar coated balls on a non-greased cookie sheet and press down lightly with the bottom of a glass.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in a preheated 350*F oven or until cookies are done. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

The Results & Reviews:

They turned out really well and I'm glad I learned the trick of pressing them down a bit with a glass before baking. They don't spread very far and I found that if they weren't pressed down, they came out a little humped and underdone in the middles. Now - ginger cookies are not beloved by all people like chocolate chip are, so some people won't care too much for them. I found that it's nothing personal. I happen to love ginger, so of course I like this recipe. Mom would rather have them crunchy and thinner so next year I'm going to make a dozen or so that are pressed much flatter than normal to see how they turn out!

Cookie Baking Day

2010-12-17T15:10:00.001-05:00

The Christmas 2010 Cookie List

1. Chocolate Chip
2. Oatmeal Raisin
3. Jumbo Raisin
4. Sugar Cookies
5. Scotcheroos
6. Chewy Ginger
7. Snickerdoodles
8. Peanut Blossoms
9. Chocolate No-Bake

I love to bake cookies and give them out as gifts. Above is just a fraction of the tins and containers I gave out or used to store the hoard. This years list is a little longer than usual since I had extra time off work. Cookies are so much fun to make, but after spending two days in the kitchen working on them, I was completely exhausted. Maybe next year I'll either get started earlier and freeze the cookies that will hold well, or enlist some help from someone!

Weekly Menu: Dec 12 - 18th

2010-12-12T13:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday: Out to dinner with a friend

Monday: Left over night

Tuesday: Frozen Pizza ;)

Wednesday: Baked Chicken, creamed corn, California blend veggies

Thursday: White Bean Chicken Chili

Friday: London Broil

Saturday: unknown!

Chicken Parmesan

2010-12-06T13:42:00.000-05:00

The Mission:

I wanted to try something a little different with my Chicken Parmesan this time around, but I got so busy that I fell back onto my old standard. Oh well - it still tasted really yummy. (And of course I forgot to take any pictures since I was trying to get dinner ready in a hurry!)

The Ingredients:

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts - trimmed off fat
1 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese - grated
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese - shredded
1/2 cup milk
1/2 pound of cooked thin spaghetti or Angel hair pasta
1 jar of your preferred marinara/spaghetti sauce

The Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350*F
In a shallow bowl, dredge each piece of chicken in the milk, then coat with the bread crumbs.
Place breaded chicken into a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 - 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. While waiting for chicken, boil the pasta according to the instructions and warm the sauce until hot.
When chicken is done, top with the shredded mozzarella and return to oven for 5 - 10 minutes or until cheese is melty.
Serve chicken with the pasta and the sauce.

The Results & Reviews:

The chicken turned out just fine, but I served it with a marinara sauce as opposed to my husband's favorite spaghetti sauce (Prego meat flavored) so he didn't think it was as good. Next time I'll make sure to use our normal sauce! But all in all this is an easy recipe to make and it does taste pretty good. In the future I hope to make a really great chicken parmesan that is truly something to brag about.

Weekly Menu: December 5 - 11th

2010-12-05T13:17:00.004-05:00

The weather has finally turned colder so I wanted to make some hearty and warm comfort foods for dinner this week. I've pulled out a lot of my go-to recipes that are easy winter favorites and added a few things that I haven't made in a while. Chicken Parmesan is going to be my blogging concoction for the week - so I'm off to find a great recipe to use!

Sunday: Dinner at a friend's house.

Monday: Improved Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday: Beef Chili with corn bread

Wednesday: Roasted Pork Loin with Green Bean Casserole

Thursday: Venison Stew and rolls

Friday: Chicken Parmesan with a side salad and garlic bread

Saturday: Throwing a party! Menu TBD.

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

2010-11-28T15:21:00.000-05:00

The Mission:

To make two delicious pumpkin pies to bring for Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house. And the only way I know how to make delicious pumpkin pies is to use the original Libby's recipe. It's what I've always used and it tastes absolutely wonderful, so I really don't feel the need to try anything else. I am lazy, though, and buy pre-made pie crusts.... perhaps that's cheating but I'm okay with it :)

The Ingredients:

1 can (29 oz.) Libby's 100% pure pumpkin
2 cans (12 oz. each) evaporated milk
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
5 large eggs
2 unbaked 9 inch pie crusts

The Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the canned pumpkin, sugar and all of the spices.
Line 2 9-inch pie plates with the pie crust and press the edges into scallops.
Crack one egg into each pie crust, making sure not to break the yolk. Swirl the pie plates around until the egg white has coated the bottom of the crust. Pour the eggs into the pumpkin mixture and set the pie crusts aside.
Add the remaining eggs to the pumpkin mixture and beat in well. Gradually stir in both cans of evaporated milk.
Divide pumpkin equally between both pie plates making sure you don't over flow the crust. Place strips of aluminum foil over the crusts to prevent burning. (If you have pie shields, use those instead.)
Bake in a preheated 425*F oven for 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350*F and bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool on wire racks for 2 hours. Serve with cool whip, whipped cream, ice cream, or plain.

The Results & Reviews:

The pies turned out fantastic as I knew they would and everyone gobbled them up. Dinner guests were very complementary, which is always an absolute joy! I'm always sad to see that they're gone since I have an addiction to pumpkin pie and would be happy to eat them all by myself without sharing!

Note: This recipe turns out much, much tastier than Libby's "Easy Pumpkin Pie" with the spices already mixed into the canned pumpkin. I highly recommend using the original and not subsituting "pumpkin pie spice" for all of the individual spices either.

Crumb-Top Choco-Peanut Butter Bars

2010-08-02T20:01:00.008-04:00

The Mission:
To find an easy cookie/bar recipe to take to a surprise birthday party. I really wanted to find something that didn't require a trip to the grocery store, either.... so I scoured my little recipe booklets - the ones you can find in the grocery store checkout lane - to find the perfect bar. Success was met when I found this yummy recipe out of a 2005 "Treasury of Holiday Cookies" featuring Jif Peanut Butter.

The Ingredients:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups quick oats

The Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan - I used a non-stick pan so I skipped this step. Melt the cup of chocolate chips - either in a double boiler or the microwave and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat well. Sift in the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. Stir in the oats. Take 3/4 of the dough and press into the bottom of the baking dish, then spread with the melted chocolate. Dot the chocolate layer with the remaining dough. Bake for 25 minutes and let cool. Cut into bars and serve!

The Results:
I was really making this in a hurry, so I was a bit scared of how they'd end up, but they turned out great. I melted the chocolate in the double boiler, but in retrospect, it probably would've been easier to use the microwave. Even with the melting step, this recipe was easy to put together - using the non-stick pan really helped too, it was a breeze to cut and remove the bars from the pan! They smelled delicious, too :)

The Reviews:
Everyone had great things to say about them, especially my husband. A friend cut them into mini-bars so they were bite sized and easy to handle - they disappeared quite quickly from the serving plate. All in all - they tasted great, were easy to make, and I didn't get any leftovers since my husband took them all! haha. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Improved Chicken Pot Pie

2010-07-28T20:43:00.007-04:00

The Mission:
To flavor up the original Chicken Pot Pie recipe so it wasn't so bland. Since it's an easy dish to throw together, I wanted to have another "in a hurry" meal to add to my menu regime, but was disappointed with my first batch. Adding spices and cheese really flavored up the pie and made it into a dish worth making more often.

The Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts - cubed
canola or olive oil
salt - to taste
pepper - to taste
paprika - to taste
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup (or so) milk
2 (or more) cups frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup (or so) shredded cheese

For the crust:

2 cups Bisquick
2 eggs
1 cup milk
The Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350*F. In a large skillet, heat the oil and toss in the chicken and as much salt, pepper, and paprika as you want. Cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink. As the chicken browns, mix the two cans of soup, 1/2 cup of milk, frozen veggies and cheese together in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. (You can add more salt and pepper to the mix if you'd like). Stir in the cooked chicken and spread mixture evenly in the pan. In a medium bowl whisk together the Bisquick, eggs, and 1 cup of milk. Pour onto chicken mixture and smooth with a spatula so the mixture is covered. Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes and serve hot. *If your "pie" is very full, you might want to place a cookie sheet under the baking dish to catch any drips that might occur when chicken mixture bubbles over.

The Results:

Much, much better! This pot pie had a lot of flavor and was definitely not bland. I was very pleased with how it turned out and my husband practically licked his plate clean - haha. Adding the cheese and the spices really perked up the flavor but didn't take away from the simplicity and ease of this comfort-food recipe.

The Reviews:

This was definitely a hit with my husband! I'm sure he'll be requesting this recipe a lot in the future - especially once the weather turns colder. It also has the added benefit of freezing quite nicely - which is why I make such a huge pan for the two of us. By the time he has seconds for dinner, and scoops a big serving into his lunch container I still have at least 2 servings to freeze for later.

Hamburger Patties

2010-07-10T23:14:00.016-04:00

The Mission:
To make hamburger patties. I realize this sounds ridiculously simple and that most people have done this before. But the truth is that I have never made them. My parents always bought pre-made patties, and for the most part I have too. If handmade patties were ever served at my house, it was because someone else made them. So, since the grocery store didn't seem to have good pre-made patties, I bought some ground beef and made my own :)

The Ingredients:

3 lbs ground beef
6 tsp A-1 Steak Sauce
6 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp parsley flakes

The Instructions:
With clean hands, thoroughly mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Shape meat mixture into equally sized patties. I made 12. Next time, I will make 8 bigger ones so they won't be so small after shrinking.

The Results:
Besides the fact that the patties shrunk up more that I would've liked, the hamburgers turned out great. The flavor was fantastic, and they were grilled to perfection. Obviously my husband's grilling skills have improved quite a bit over the years.... though he does need to work on his powers of recommendation when it comes to patty size. I was sure they were too small, but he assured me that they would be fine. Oh well. They were definitely edible!

The Reviews:
Everyone at the small dinner party thought they tasted great. There weren't any serious complaints about the size, though it did make for some funny jokes. All in all, I got quite a few compliments on the flavor of the patties, so I'm pretty proud of how they turned out :) with clean hands, thoroughly mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Shape meat into equally sized patties - I made 12. Grill, broil, whatever until hamburgers are done to your liking. My wonderful husband grilled them for me ;)

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

2010-07-03T19:10:00.011-04:00

The Mission:

Make the chocolate no bake cookies that my husband has been requesting. I checked out numerous recipe websites and this seems to be the classic recipe. I didn't bother hunting through my cookbooks for this one since I was in a hurry :)

The Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats

The Instructions:
In a 4 quart pot combine butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Add the oats. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto wax paper lined cookie sheets. Cool until set.

The Results:
I think they turned out great. Though I probably should have made a double batch.... I doubt these will last long at my house. I really hope that I can refrain from eating all of them until my husband gets home on Monday.... Wish me luck :)

The Reviews:
coming soon!

Meaty Hot Dog Chili

2010-07-03T17:42:00.014-04:00

The Mission:

Get out of my blog-less slump by blogging something easy and spur of the moment..... Hot Dog Chili it is! I learned how to make this simple and simply delicious chili from my husband, who learned it from his father. It's easy. It's yummy. It's popular. And it only takes three - yes (3) three! - ingredients.

The Ingredients:

Ground Beef - 1 lb
Ketchup - start with 3/4 cup
Chili Powder - start with 3 Tbsps

The Instructions:

Brown the ground beef. Drain off the fatty grease. Stir in the ketchup - remember that it tastes best if it's Heinz ;). Stir in the Chili Powder. Let simmer for five minutes or so and then taste it. Add more ketchup or chili powder if needed. Repeat until you decide it tastes perfect. Then serve it with hotdogs, burgers, chips, or by itself on a bun - kinda like a sloppy joe ;)

The Results & The Reviews:

I think it turned out yummy as always. I like it best with all of the grease drained off. My husband would prefer some grease left on. But I'm cooking it, so I win. Honestly, most of our friends like it best when it's not drowning in fatty grease, so I figure I win all around :) I've been making this for years for various cookouts, barbecues, and random Wednesday night dinners and it's always gotten good reviews.

Lemon Glaze & Lemon Pound Cake

2010-03-03T16:57:00.007-05:00

The Mission:
To make yet another dessert for my best friend's birthday party. He requested "chocolate" or "lemon" so here's part two! And again, instead of making a simple boxed cake, I tried something different :) I altered my Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe by adding the zest of one lemon and leaving out the vanilla extract. Here's the original recipe: Cream Cheese Pound Cake.

The Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups flour, sifted
zest of one lemon

The Icing:

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
4 Tbsp butter, melted
4 Tbsp lemon juice (I used the juice from the lemon I zested and had the perfect amount!
Mix all of the ingredients together until blended and pour over cooled cake.

The Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300*F. Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. Add in the lemon zest and then slowly add the flour. I like to add one cup at a time, mixing thoroughly and scraping the bowl between each cup. Spoon the batter into a tube or bundt pan (it will be thick). Bake for approximately 1.5 hours. I usually set the timer for 1 hr 15 minutes and then test the cake for doneness. Cake is done when an inserted knife comes out clean.

The Result:
The icing ran way more than I thought it would. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I needed to thicken it up a bit by adding some more sugar. Who knows. Certainly not I. But the flavor was divine and complemented the cake very well. I think that the cake could use a tad more lemon flavor, so next time I might add a tsp of lemon extract in addition to the zest.

The Reviews:
Mark loved it! Which was the whole point of this recipe :) Everyone else thought it was really good. The rest of my dinner guests had very nice things to say about it, as did the recipients of my leftovers (namely coworkers and my parents). This twist on my pound cake is definitely a keeper :)

Somehow the pictures ended up being deleted. I shall blame the dog.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes (with Chocolate Buttercream Icing)

2010-03-02T17:47:00.011-05:00

The Mission:

To make something chocolatey to bring to my best friend's birthday party. And instead of baking a cake, I figured I'd do something different and make cupcakes. And since box cupcakes are easy and boring, I figured I'd try out a new recipe. I chose this recipe from my America's Test Kitchen: Family Cookbook. I fell back on my favorite website - recipezaar.com - for the icing.

The Ingredients:

2 sticks butter
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
The Instructions:
Microwave the butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder together, whisking often, until melted and smooth (took me about 4 minutes). Set aside to cool. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, wisk the eggs and vanilla together, slowly whisk in the sugar until combined. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture. Sift in half of the flour mixture, stir in the sour cream, and sift in the remaining flour mixture. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners and fill about two-thirds full. Bake in a 350* preheated oven for 18 minutes or until done. Let cupcakes cool and ice as desired.

The Icing:

1/2 cup butter - softened
2 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/3 cup half and half cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Cream the butter in a small bowl. Blend in the cocoa powder, vanilla, and the confectioners sugar alternately with the cream. Beat with an electric mixer until the desired consistency. If needed, add a more cream. Click here for the Recipezaar link!

The Results:

Well - I thought they turned out good. Though I have to admit, it was waaaaaay too much work for something that wasn't just absolutely fantastic. So I probably won't make these again. The idea of a dark chocolate cupcake went over very well, though.

The Reviews:

I had my husband test them out before I took them to the party. He said that they were too bitter. Obviously he doesn't really care too much for dark chocolate. He made sure to tell me that it was a personal preference and that he wasn't implying that my cupcakes were awful. He said they were "hoity toity." hahaha. I got a big laugh out of that :) Everyone else who tried one liked them..... one person said they were very rich. Dad gave me his honest opinion and told me they were slightly on the dry side, but that he and Mom enjoyed them regardless. So this recipe isn't a winner, but it wasn't a total loss either.

Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle

2010-02-20T18:55:00.008-05:00

The Mission:
To make a smashingly fantastic dessert to take to Mark's parents house since they had graciously invited us over for Thanksgiving lunch. I wanted to make something a little bit fancier than a traditional pumpkin pie (though I love pumpkin pie dearly!), so when I came across this recipe listed in the Taste of Home Thanksgiving 2009 booklet, I knew it would be perfect.

The Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 egg
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup hot water

Filling/Topping:

2 cups cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon rum extract

The Instructions:
In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut gingerbread into 1/2-in. to 1-in. cubes; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; stir into pudding. In another bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and extract; beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside 1/4 cup gingerbread cubes. In a 4-qt. trifle bowl or glass serving bowl, layer a third of the remaining gingerbread cubes; top with a third of the pumpkin mixture and whipped cream. Repeat layers twice. Crumble reserved gingerbread; sprinkle over top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

The Result:
Oh wow! It was fantastic. I loved it.... though I think that I might use a little less rum extract in the whipping cream next time. Though everyone else thought it was delicious just the way it was. It turned out really pretty, too. Which is always a plus when I'm taking a dessert somewhere for a special occasion.

The Reviews:
This dessert got RAVE reviews. Everyone who tried it told me how amazing it was. I am so pleased with myself :) It was definitely worth the effort to make all of this from scratch. This will be a dessert I make every year for sure!

Stir Fried Rice

2010-02-10T19:06:00.001-05:00

The Mission:
To make stir fried rice for my husband since he's never had it homemade before. I had to head over to Mom's to copy down her recipe since I apparently didn't have it. Though her recipe is more of a guide line than an actual set-in-stone procedure, it's good to have the basics. For the veggies, I like to use frozen peas, carrots, and corn, though any veggie choice is fine. Fresh grated ginger is preferred, but powdered is fine if that's all you have on hand. Oh - and serving it with egg rolls or spring rolls is quite nice ;)

The Ingredients:

3 cups cooked, chilled rice
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 lb deli sliced ham, cut into strips
2 cups veggies - your choice
1 Tbsp cooking oil - I use peanut
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
4 Tbsp soy sauce - add more if needed
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger OR 3 Tbsp powdered
2 - 3 dashes ground red pepper (optional and to taste)

The Instructions:
Spray a medium sized skillet with cooking spray and set on medium heat. Pour in the beaten eggs and tilt the pan until it forms a thin layer. Cook for a few minutes or until the egg is set. Invert the skillet over a cutting board to remove egg; cut egg into short narrow strips and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the oils. Stir-fry the veggies for 2-3 minutes or until warm. Add the rice, ginger, soy sauce and red pepper. Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until heated through. Stir in the egg strips and ham. Serve hot.
The Results:
It didn't turn out quite as good as Mom's.... probably because I had to use powdered ground ginger instead of fresh. Oh well. I will be sure to add ginger to my grocery list next week! I think I might've added a bit too much ground pepper, since the rice had quite a kick to it. But it was delicious regardless. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, considering I've never made it before.

The Reviews:
My husband LOVED it. Thank goodness! It's never a fun night at our house when he doesn't like my cooking.... no one ends up happy. I have a feeling I'll be making this quite often for the next little while. That's what usually happens when he likes a new recipe ;)

Pot Roast

2010-01-15T20:01:00.004-05:00

The Mission:
Make Pot Roast.... 1 - because we have a ton of venison pot roast in the freezer.... 2 - because I love it.... And sometimes I just need to make what I want and not care too much what the husband says ;) I know he's not a fan of Pot Roast, but I'm pretty sure he can deal with eating it once or twice a year! It can't possibly be that bad.

The Ingredients:

3 lb pot roast (beef, venison, whatever)
2 Tbsp cooking oil
3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp instant beef bullion granules
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
2 small onions, cut into wedges
2 stalks celery, cut into bite sized pieces (optional)
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Black pepper (optional)

The Instructions:
Trim fat from meat. In a 4-6 quart pot brown roast on all sides in hot oil. Combine the 3/4 cup water, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon granules, basil and salt in a small bowl. Pour over the roast and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 hour. Add potatoes, carrots, onions and celery to the pot, return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 45 - 60 more minutes or until everything is tender. Transfer the meat and veggies to a warmed platter and cover with foil, reserving juices in the pot. For the gravy - whisk the 1/3 cup of flour into 1/2 cup of cold water until no lumps remain. Stir into the juices is the pot. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Add black pepper if desired. Serve the gravy with the meat and veggies.

The Results:
I think it turned out fantastic. Of course, I forgot to photo document how fantastic it turned out.... so you'll just have to take my word for it. The roast was perfectly tender, and the veggies turned out superb! I did add a bit of extra flour than the recipe called for in order to get my gravy to the desired consistency, but sometimes it happens.

The Reviews:
The husband ate it, and admitted that it tasted fine.... but did remind me that it's not his favorite and he really didn't want it again any time soon. Boo. It's always disappointing to me that he doesn't fawn over everything I make, though it's to be expected. My coworkers who saw my leftovers thought it looked and smelled fantastic, though. That's always a nice ego boost :)

Mom's Meat Loaf

2010-01-09T10:05:00.006-05:00

The Mission:
Make meat loaf for dinner because I've been craving it lately. I use my Mom's recipe, which I've been eating since childhood, though I omit the celery and substitute onion powder for the diced onions. My husband prefers it that way, and if he's going to eat it, he has to like it. I love to top mine with Piquant sauce (recipe at bottom), but the husband prefers his with boring old ketchup.

The Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground lean ground beef (or venison)
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup milk
2 slightly beaten eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion (optional if you have a picky eater)
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dry ground mustard
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning 1
Tbsp Worchestshire sauce
2 Tbsp chopped celery (also optional)

The Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients with your hands until combined. If the mixture doesn't seem firm enough to form a loaf, add 1/2 to 1 cup of Quaker Oats. Place the meat into a loaf pan and pack down tightly. Form the meat into a loaf shape (higher in the middle and lower on the edges) and place in a preheated 350*F oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the meat is done. Serve with Piquant Sauce, ketchup, or mustard if desired.

Piquant Sauce:
Combine together the following ingredients: 3 Tbsp brown sugar 1/4 cup ketchup 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp dry ground mustard Then heat in the microwave for 30 second increments, stirring inbetween, until warm.

The Results:
I left out the chopped onions and substituted onion powder for my picky eater. It's important to use lean ground beef or else the meatloaf will be very greasy. I've also tried this recipe using ground venison with fantastic results. My husband shared some of his leftovers with a coworker, who just raved about how good it was :)

The Reviews:
Though my husband griped about the meatloaf a bit before hand, he dug right in and cleared his plate. Then he had seconds. Then he ate all of the leftovers. Apparently leaving out the celery and diced onions really made this meatloaf tasty to him. I'm thrilled. Unfortunately, he hid the camera so I couldn't take any more pictures :(

Venison BBQ

2010-01-05T10:56:00.003-05:00

The Mission:
To use some of our ample supply of venison to create a hearty meal on a cold, cold Monday. I wanted to make something especially comforting since this particular Monday happened to follow a four-day weekend :) Pulled venison barbeque happens to be a favorite of my husbands, and it was his Dad that told me how to make it. My father-in-law has some very yummy ideas for wild fish and game.

The Ingredients:

1 venison roast water
1 or 2 tsps of salt
liquid smoke - optional
your favorite barbeque sauce

The Instructions:

This is extremely simple to make. I place the roast into my crockpot. I cover the roast with water and add about a tsp or two of salt. If the mood strikes me, I'll add some liquid smoke to the water as well... just a few dashes. (I skipped that step this time.) I'll set the crockpot on low for about 20 hours, since I usually put the roast in the night before. 8 hours on low is just fine if you prefer to assemble the goods in the morning. 30 minutes prior to dinner time, remove the roast from the crockpot, placing it in a glass baking dish. Discard any bones or fatty things from the meat, then use two forks to pull the meat apart until it is in bite-sized pieces. It will look kind of shredded. Serve immediately with your favorite BBQ sauce and side dishes.

The Results:

Delicious as always. Someday I plan on making barbeque sauce from scratch and seeing how it turns out. I served this particular meal with green beans - frozen for me and canned for him, and his favorite biscuits. As an added bonus, I use the leftover 'broth' from the crockpot to moisten up the dog's food. They adore it, and it's pretty healthy once you drain off the little bit of fat. We usually add water to their food anyway, so I consider this to be a special treat for them and a way to recycle for me. This roast yielded about 2 quarts or so of broth.

The Reviews:

I thought it tasted fantastic, my husband was really happy, and I believe the dogs were just thrilled :)

Weekly Menu: January 3 - 8, 2010

2010-01-05T10:19:00.004-05:00

I have become complacent in my meal planning and rarely cook any new concoctions.... and even though I tried new things over the holidays, I was too lazy and too busy to spend much time documenting and blogging about them. Oh well! There's always next holiay season :) But for now, there's the start of a new year and a new plan....

In an attempt to get my life back on track, become more organized, and rekindle my love for my kitchen, I'm working hard at menu planning for each week. This ensures that the grocery shopping will be productive, that I won't be stressing out each day over what to make for dinner, meats will be thawed & marinated on time, fresh veggies will not go to waste, and I can generally keep things calm and effective in the kitchen.

So for this week, I have planned on the following meals:

Sunday 1/03/2010:
Shake 'n' bake chicken, frozen peas, fresh carrots, and sauteed potatoes.

Monday 1/04:
Pulled venison BBQ, green beans, and biscuits.

Tuesday 1/05:
Seasame ginger chicken breast, broccoli, and rice with soy sauce.

Wednesday 1/06:
Meatloaf, pinto beans, and california blend veggies.

Thursday 1/07:
Roasted pork loin, butter beans, and steamed cabbage

Friday 1/08:
Venison pot roast with potatoes and carrots (new recipe!), green beans, and a fun dessert... maybe pumpkin custard....

Festive Cranberry Spread

2009-11-25T12:02:00.005-05:00

The Misson:
To create a different but fantastic appetizer to take to my Mother-in-Law's house for Thanksgiving lunch. I knew that other people were bringing desserts, so I figured I'd make something different. I'm a huge fan of cranberries, and they're so pretty and festive during the holidays, so when I ran across the recipe for a spread, it sounded like the perfect option.

The Ingredients:

1 package - 8 oz - cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp orange zest
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped dried cranberries
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Crackers for serving - I used Townhouse

The Instructions:
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, orange juice, sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon until fluffy. Stir in the cranberries and pecans. Refrigerate overnight (the flavors will have time to blend together nicely that way). Garnish as desired. As you can see, I left a few pecans and cranberries un-chopped so I could use them for garnishing as well as leaving a small handful unmixed in order to sprinkle them on top. The orange curls added a nice touch, too.

The Results:
It turned out prettier than I thought it would. And though I had some serious problems zesting the orange, I was lucky enough to have two tangerines on hand, so I tried them instead and met with success. They made for pretty curls as well.

The Reviews:
As always, my husband refused to try it because he hates cream cheese. If possible, I sample my food before I serve it, just to make sure that it didn't turn out to be a complete disaster. This was so good that I almost didn't take it with us. I could've eaten the whole bowl myself. I received some very nice complements on it from the other guests as well.

Haitus is over!

2009-11-04T08:30:00.004-05:00

Apparently I had no inspiration to cook much over the summer. I shall blame the humidity and the disgustingly hot weather.

Ever since October rolled around I've been itching to try out new yummy recipes. Unfortunately life got in the way and I resorted back to my usual menus and didn't spend much time experimenting.

With November here, I've decided that I can't abandon my hobby any longer! I am going to attempt to juggle my schedule and plan things more efficiently so I can knock out at least one new recipe a week. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I am hoping to host a small dinner party to show off my culinary skills. I'm working hard on the menu and the guest list! If anyone has any suggestions for a side dish or dessert, please feel free to share :)

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

2009-05-05T09:33:00.015-04:00

The Mission:
Use up the leftover buttermilk. So I searched through a few cookbooks and websites and found a Banana Cake recipe that sounded fantastic. I love a good fruit based cake.

The Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ripe mashed bananas
2 tsps lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

The Instructions:
Preheat oven to 275*F. Grease and flour a 9x13" pan (or use non-stick). In a small bowl, mix the mashed banana with the lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, then stir in the banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. (This will keep the cake very moist and make it easier to frost.) Frost the cake with the cream cheese icing and garnish with chopped walnuts or pecans.

Icing Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Icing Instructions:
Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth then beat in the vanilla. Add the confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.

The Result:
It smelled soooo good. It looked very pretty as well. If I make it again, I will halve the cream cheese icing recipe, since I didn't use it all. I only iced 3/4 of the cake, since my husband doesn't like cream cheese icing. I just found out that I don't like it either, so I'll only be icing 1/3 of it next time!

The Reviews:
I thought it tasted fantastic. Mark really liked it, as did my favorite co-worker. My husband's not a big fan of bananas (now he tells me!) so he wasn't overly thrilled with it. I think he's crazy - haha. I left some for my parents to eat and they both loved it. And to get rid of the extra icing, I sent Mark home with the tub of it. I'm sure he's already polished it off with a spoon :)

Raspberry Baked Brie

2009-05-01T20:24:00.009-04:00

The Misson:

Make Raspberry Baked Brie as found in one of my older cookbooks. I never made it at Easter, so I already had all of the ingredients. It looked tasty and seemed elegant, so I figured it would be perfect for my sister's Bridal Shower.

The Ingredients:

1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 round (8 oz) Brie cheese
1 Tbsp seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup fresh raspberries
1 egg, beaten
assorted crackers or slices of French Baguette

The Instructions:

Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into two 6" squares. Place one square on a cookie sheet and press on the seams to seal. Place the round of brie in the center of the square and top with the jam and the fresh raspberries. On each corner of the remaining square of dough, use a small cookie cutter to cut out a shape and set aside the shape. Take the dough square and place it ontop of the brie round, folding the corners of the dough under. Fold the bottom layer of dough up around the top layer and pinch to seal. Brush with the beaten egg. Place the cut out shapes on the top and brush them with the egg. Bake the brie in a 350*F oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and place on serving plate. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm with water crackers or sliced french baguette.

The Result:

The brie turned out a bit browner on top than I would've liked. I also think that my cookie cutter was too big. If I use this in the future, I'll go buy a teeny tiny cookie cutter (perhaps in the shape of a flower or a heart). I honestly wasn't really thrilled with baking the brie in the crescent roll dough. I'm going to add a "brie bowl" to my Christmas list this year, so I can just bake it with the rasperries by itself and skip the bread part.

The Reviews:

Everyone said that it tasted good and that it looked very pretty. So it wasn't a complete failure, but only half of the brie was eaten. I left it with Mom to finish off.

Bridal Shower Punch

2009-04-30T08:23:00.006-04:00

The Mission:

Make "Bridal Shower Punch" using the recipe that my sister found. It's the same punch that she made for my Bridal Shower in 2007. It's supremely tasty. I added sliced limes (recipe called for lemons or oranges, but I thought limes would look cooler) to give it some color other than pink.

The Ingredients:

8 cups of prepared sweetened pink lemonade (I used the frozen concentrate kind and mixed with water as directed)
4 cups of carbonated lemon-lime beverage (Sprite, etc.)
2 quarts raspberry sherbet
lemon or orange slices (to garnish)

The Instructions:

Using a round ice cream scoop or large cookie scooper, scoop out HALF of the sherbet into balls. Place them on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once they're frozen, you can remove from sheet and place them in a ziplock baggie to save on storage space. By freezing the balls in advance, it will slow the melting process. I froze the balls over night. In a large glass punch bowl, mix the prepared lemonade and the lemon-lime pop. (Make sure that both are VERY cold, since that will slow the melting of the sherbet). Add in the remaining half of the raspberry sherbet and stir well until mixture is frothy. Add the small scoops of frozen sherbet and the lemon/orange/lime slices (if using) and serve immediately.

The Results:

The punch turned out fantastic! Since I was pressed for time, I failed to get pictures of the punch until it was ready to serve. Oh well. Freezing the sherbet balls ahead of time turned out really well. The only problem was that I kept wanting to eat them instead of saving them for the punch. Next time I'll have to buy a separate quart of sherbet just for me ;)

The Reviews:

The ladies at the shower enjoyed the punch. My sister was thrilled with it (it was a special request from her) and there were absolutely no leftovers. I swear I thought my Mom was going to lick the punch bowl! Though it's impractical to make this punch very often, I'm going to have to come up with an excuse to make it again soon.

Oreo Balls

2009-04-29T11:01:00.013-04:00

The Mission:

Make Oreo Balls for Heather's Bridal Shower, They look fantastic. They sound tasty. And I'm pretty sure that they'll be impressive.

The Ingredients:

1 package Oreo cookies, crushed
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 package white almond bark
1 package chocolate almond bark

The Instructions:

Using a blender or a hand-held mixer, blend together the crushed oreos and the softened cream cheese. Roll into walnut sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Chill for at least one hour. Melt approx 3/4 of the chocolate almond bark. Stick a toothpick in an oreo ball and dip it in the melted chocolate until coated. Place on a sheet of wax paper and allow to harden. Repeat for every oreo ball. While waiting for oreo balls to harden (approx 15 minutes), melt 1/4 of the white chocolate. Pour the melted chocolate into a decorator bag (or a plastic ziplock baggie with a tiny piece of the corner cut off). Drizzle white chocolate over the hardened oreo balls to decorate.

The Results:

Wow. I think they turned out pretty good. I had toothpick holes in each of the oreo balls and I didn't like that, so next time I'll try and figure out a way to elimate the holes. I also had problems with the oreo balls falling off the toothpick while I was dipping in the chocolate. I think next time I'll freeze the balls first. I'll see how that goes. They still turned out quite nice looking and I received a lot of complements on how professional they looked.

The Reviews:

I had not one single left over oreo ball. Everyone raved about how pretty they were and how good they tasted. My sister was very pleased with them and reserved a few for her to take back to school. I will definitely be making these in the future since they went over so well. The only complaint I got was from my husband, who didn't like the "wang of the cream cheese." But he doesn't like cream cheese, so his opinion doesn't count! ;)

Sausage Balls

2009-04-28T09:26:00.015-04:00

The Mission:

Add one more item to the Bridal Shower menu... something a little more hearty and "male friendly" since my Dad and Husband would be scarfing leftovers later. So I started flipping through recipe books, taking suggestions, and checking around online and found these. I figured they fit the bill quite nicely for being a heartier appetizer. And they looked fun and easy to make.

The Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package of extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb pork sausage (mild or spicy - your choice)
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1-2 dashes of hot sauce

The Instructions:

Let the sausage come to room temperature before making. I've been told that this step is very, very important and that the balls will turn out dry if you mix them with cold sausage. I have not tested this theory, since I didn't want to have a dry appetizer. Maybe sometime I will try just to see what the difference is. Anyway - mix together the room temperature sausage, the grated cheese, the bisquick, and the hot sauce. I've found that it's easiest to just mix it by hand in a large mixing bowl. Shape bits of the sausage into tablespoon sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 375*F oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until balls are hot and golden brown. Serve warm.

The Results:

I thought that they turned out fantastic. The recipe made about 60 sausage balls for me, and I found that it was a perfect amount. Since I was cooking them at my parent's house I wasn't using my own things, so I will make the following changes when I make them at home: first I will use a bigger mixing bowl to mix up the ingredients. It was difficult to do in a smaller bowl. I will also line the cookie sheets with foil so there will be no clean up. I love to cook and bake and entertain, but sometimes the amount of cleanup gets overwhelming!

The Reviews:

The ladies who attended the shower thought that they were fantastic. Dad really liked them, and my husband ate all of the leftovers. Then he went to the store to buy more ingredients so I can make more this week. So apparently these were a big hit! He wants me to make them for our next big cook-out as well. I'm very pleased with this recipe!

Bridal Shower

2009-04-24T15:45:00.008-04:00

The Mission:
Host a Bridal Shower in honor of my little sister who will finally be getting married in June. Since my house was too small to comfortably hold all the shower guests, I am taking over Mom's for the day. I wanted to keep things simple but very, very tasty. I finally came up with the following menu that I think will be bound to have something for everyone's taste. It also has a lot that can be made in advance, so I won't be over-doing it in the kitchen on Saturday. Hopefully everything will turn out well!

The Menu:

Ranch Dip

Assorted Veggies

Raspberry Baked Brie

Water Crackers

"Crack Dip"

Tortilla Scoops

Sausage Balls

Ricotta Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms

Cream Puffs

Eclairs

Oreo Balls

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Bridal Shower Punch

Sweet Tea

Heather's Deviled Eggs

2009-04-21T10:34:00.008-04:00

The Mission:

Learn how to make my sister's recipe for deviled eggs. She has never written it down, and I'm not very good with making things up. Heck - I'd never even made hard boiled eggs before, so this was going to be a big first for me! Because things got crazy over the weekend, I ended up not really helping her, but just listened to her instructions while she made them. All of the ingredients are approximate. She usually makes it to taste and appearance, so feel free to adjust everything to your own personal taste!

The Ingredients:

12 hard boiled eggs
6 Tbsp mayo
9 tsp dijon mustard
6 tsp worchestire sauce
paprika for sprinkling

The Instructions:

First you need to hard boil all of the eggs. I handled this completely on my own. I pricked the top of the raw eggs and set them in a medium saucepan. I then poured enough water in the pan to completely cover the eggs. I brought that to a full, rolling boil for 10 minutes. I then placed the eggs in a separate bowl and doused them with cold water so they would be cold and ready for Heather when she got to my house. The first thing she did was peel the shell off each egg, then slice each egg in half (lenthwise) and scooped the yolk out into a medium mixing bowl. She then added in the mayo, mustard and worchestire sauce to the yolks by sight, giving me approximate measurements so I could write them down for future use. She mixed all the ingredients together until smooth, filled the hollow eggs, sprinkled with paprika, and served! It seemed very easy.

The Results:

They looked good. They tasted good. People ate them. I'd say that they turned out really well. Of course, I can't take any credit for them at all. I just boiled the eggs. That was it. I'm excited to try them on my own sometime, though.

The Reviews:

Other than my family, people said they were good but "different." Apparently my sister's recipe for deviled eggs isn't the standard or typical. Who knew! I wasn't serving them to people who were huge fans of deviled eggs anyway, so the reviews weren't rave, but I thought they tasted yummy :) Thanks, Heather!!

Cheesey Green Bean Casserole

2009-04-18T16:36:00.009-04:00

The Misson:
Make Green Bean Casserole the way my husband and his family like it - cheesey!

The Ingredients:
2 cans of cut green beans
1 can of french cut green beans
1 can of cream of chicken soup
shredded cheddar cheese - we use about 6 oz.
1-2 tps pepper (optional and to taste)
2-4 Tbsp paprika (optional and to taste)
French's Fried Onion crunchies - enough to cover top of casserole

The Instructions:

Mix together the green beans and the cream of chicken soup in an 8x8x2 inch baking dish. Stir in the grated cheese, the paprika and the pepper until well blended. Smooth out the top and bake in a 350*F oven for 30-45 minutes or until hot and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle the fried onion crunchies on top. Place back in the oven and bake uncovered for 3-6 minutes, or until onions are a golden brown. Serve hot.

The Results:

Turned out fantastic as always, the onions were the perfect golden brown color, the ratio of cheese to beans was superb.

The Reviews:

Everyone loved it! I had not a single spoonful of leftovers. Yay :)

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

2009-04-16T08:10:00.015-04:00

The Mission:

Try out "Kittencal's Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes" as found on recipezaar.com since the recipe got great reviews and can be made ahead of time (see the link at the bottom of the page). The recipe says "you may even make them up to 2 days in advance." Which I thought was fantastic considering I had a lot of cooking to do for the Easter dinner. With this big side dish out of the way, I'd be free to concentrate on other things.

The Ingredients:

8 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into cubes
1 1/2 tsps onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar (optional)
paprika to sprinkle (optional
ground black pepper (optional)

The Instructions:

Butter a 9"x 13" casserole dish. Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling water with 1 Tbsp salt and 1 Tbsp white vinegar until just fork tender. Drain and place into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer - I used my KA mixer - beat the hot potatoes until just semi smooth and still a little chunky. Add in cream cheese, sour cream butter, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until combined and smooth. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle lightly with paprika. Allow to come down to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When ready, bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes in a 350*F oven. If desired, sprinkle with the shredded cheddar and return to the oven for 3 mintues or until cheese is melty.

The Results:

I apparently chose super duper large potatoes, because mine were overflowing the KA mixer. So I spooned out about 4 cups worth and everything went back to normal. In my case, this had an extra bonus, since it left me with some plain mashed potatoes to serve to my husband, who was not interested in the "creamy junk" that was going into the fancy recipe. Silly husband. The potatoes turned out really well and the recipe went smoothly. My only regret is that I forgot the cheese. I'm sure they would've tasted fantastic covered in cheese, but they were pretty darned good with just the sprinkled paprika! Next time I might add a little bit of milk to make them slightly creamier. I thought mine turned out slightly on the dry side, but I probably should've scooped out more than 4 cups of my excess potatoes.

The Reviews:

Everyone who attended my Easter Dinner had nice things to say about the potatoes. I'm very pleased with how they turned out - though I did have quite a bit of leftovers since my three absent guests were the big potatoe eaters in the group. Oh well. I brought some leftovers to my coworker and she enjoyed them. I will definitely be adding this recipe to my holiday/big event dinner menus for future use. The fact that they're "make ahead" makes them a fabulous side dish!

http://www.recipezaar.com/Kittencals-Make-Ahead-Mashed-Potatoes-191490

Muenster Bread

2009-04-15T16:23:00.016-04:00

The Mission: Make "Muenster Bread" as found in an old Taste of Home's Blue-Ribbon Recipes booklet by my best friend Mark. I decided to add this to the Easter Dinner menu in order to get as many reviews as possible (and feed it to Mark who will be attending).

The Ingredients:

2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk (110* to 115*F)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
4 cups (1 lb) shredded Muenster cheese
1 egg white, beaten

The Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. add butter, sugar, salt, and 2 cups of the flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a sof dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. In a large bowl, beat egg and yolk; stir in cheese. Punch dough down; roll into a 16" circle. Place in a greased 9" round cake pan, letting the dough drape over the edges. Spoon the cheese mixture into center of the dough. Gather dough up over filling in 1 1/2" pleats. Gently squeeze pleats together at top and twist to make a top knot. Allow to rise 10-15 minutes. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake in a preheated, 375*F oven for 45-50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

The Result:

Well, the bread got a little brown on the top instead of staying a nice golden color, but I'll go ahead and blame that on my cheap oven. haha. I didn't take my time and make nice, even pleats, so the loaf looked a little funky, too. But it tasted fantastic!

The Reviews:

Everyone who tried a piece really liked it. My family and my in-laws all tried a piece and were raving about it. My husband - who wasn't really sure about the muenster part of it - seemed rather impressed. I think this bread is definitely worth baking again. I am adding it to my repetoire for entertaining.

Easter Dinner - The Menu

2009-04-13T13:42:00.007-04:00

The Mission:
I decided that I was going to host dinner at my house for Easter this year. I've never hosted a big holiday dinner in my own home before. I'm usually in charge of most of the cooking, but mainly at my parent's house or another relative. So this was a first for me! I think the hardest part was actually coming up with the menu.

The Appetizers:

Deviled Eggs

Ranch Dip with fresh veggies

Muenster Bread

Raspberry Baked Brie with crackers

The Main Course:

Glazed Ham

Cheesey Green Bean Casserole

Healthy Green Bean Casserole

Asparagas

Corn Niblets

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

The Desserts:

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Mom's Chocolate Sauce

Vanilla Ice Cream

The Result:
Due to some cancellations, an un-expected trip to Columbia, and a birthday party not everything on the menu was made. I had planned on making as much as I could on Saturday so I wouldn't have much to do on Sunday.... well that didn't work out!

My husband and I were adopting another greyhound, and the one we picked up Friday night decided that it really, really, really wanted to eat our cat, so we took him back and picked up another. So all of Saturday was spent with Mark driving to and from Columbia. So much for cooking and cleaning! ha. Saturday night was my husband's birthday party, so doing anything then was a lost cause. Oh well. Dinner still turned out fantastic on Sunday even though it felt rushed.

The Reviews:
Everyone had very nice things to say about how dinner turned out. I had some wonderful help in the kitchen as well - Mom and Step-mom-in-law, Blake, helped cut veggies for the veggie tray and my fabulous sister made deviled eggs! It was wonderful to have my In-laws and my parents together again. We all had a really good time catching up. And my amazing step-mom-in-law helped wash dishes!!!! I don't have a dishwasher, so everything - absolutely everything - must be done by hand. And by the time dinner was over I just wanted to cry when I thought about washing more dishes. But Blake pitched right in and washed, while my Mom dried. Aren't they fabulous?!?

225th Anniversary Cake

2009-04-13T13:17:00.011-04:00

The Mission:
Bake the cake that my husband saw in the Baker's Chocolate recipe book that I have. He'd been begging for it for quite some time, but since it was fairly involved, I decided to wait and bake it for his birthday. I made the cake and the icing the night before, but didn't have time to ice the cake until immediately prior to serving it.

The Ingredients:

2 tsps butter, melted and divided
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 package (8 squares) Baker's Semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

The Instructions:
Lightly grease 2 (9" round) cake pans with half of the melted butter. Cover the bottom of each pan with wax paper (or parchment paper); brush evenly with the remaining melted butter. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Melt the chocolate and the cut-up butter in a double boiler until smooth and creamy. Set aside. Beat the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened and pale in color. Add the chocolate mixture; beat until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed until well blended. Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat on low for 15 seconds, then on high for 15 seconds. If the batter isn't completely blended, mix with a rubber spatula until it is. Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans, and spread to evenly cover bottom of each pan. Bake for 30-34 minutes in a preheated 325*F oven. Cool in pans for 5 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely after removing wax paper. Fill and frost with 225th Anniversary Fudge Icing. Refrigerate until 30 minutes prior to serving.

225th Anniversary Fudge Icing

The Ingredients:

2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 package (8 squares) baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 Tbsp butter, cut into 1/2" pieces

The Instructions:

Place all ingredients except butter in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wire whisk to dissolve the sugar and melt the chocolate. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer 25 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add the butter, once piece at a time, stirring after each addition until it is completely melted before adding the next piece. Pour the fudge mixture into a 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan and spread evenly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (If refrigerating for more than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before beating as directed in next step.) Place chilled fudge mixture in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 1 minute., scrape the bottom and side of the bowl. Continue beating 30 seconds or until light and fluffy. Immediately frost the cake.

The Result:
Well - for whatever reason, my cake looked NOTHING like the picture. It seemed very flat somehow.... and I'm still not quite sure what I did wrong there. I will try again sometime. The Icing never got "light and fluffy" instead it was runny and gooey. I ended up pouring it over the cake and hoping for the best. Thankfully it tasted absolutely fantastic! I had people fighting over the last piece. I didn't even have time to take a picture :(

The Reviews:

I heard a lot of reviews. "oh my god" "wow" "mmmmm" and "can I have another piece" were among the most coherent. I will definitely be making this again sometime. Most likely sometime soon. I have to please the herd of people that didn't seem to get enough of it on Saturday night.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

2009-04-07T13:24:00.010-04:00

The Mission:
Make a cheesecake for my friend for her birthday. And I didn't want to just make a 'normal' plain cheesecake, I wanted something much more fantastic. So I double checked with her, and raspberries were okay, so I found a recipe that looked yummy, bought all the ingredients, and proceeded to stay up extra late to make a cheesecake.

The Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (I used smashed oreos)
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup butter - melted
1 (10 oz) package frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half and half
3 (8 oz each) packages cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

The Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325*F. In a medium mixing bowl mix the cookie crumbs, 3 Tbsp sugar, and 1/4 cup melted butter until well blended. Press onto the bottom of a 9" spring form pan. In a medium sauce pan, combine raspberries, 2 Tbsp sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Continue boiling and stirring until the sauce is thick and no hunks of raspberries remain. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove all the seeds. Set aside. In the top of a double boiler, heat the white chocolate chips and the half and half until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to luke warm. In a large bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer) beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Blend in the vanilla and the melted chocolate. Blend until smooth. Pour half of the batter on top of the crust in the spring form pan. Spoon 3 Tbsp of the raspberry sauce over the batter. Pour the remaining batter into pan. Spoon another 3 Tbsp of raspberry sauce over the batter. Swirl the batter with the tip of a knife to create a marble pattern, being careful to NOT disturb the bottom crust. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until filling is set. Allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

The Result:
Well, the middle of the cake was still VERY jiggle when I tested it at the 55 minute mark. So I put it in for a total of 20 minutes more, checking at each 5 minute interval. This is the first time I have ever made cheesecake, so maybe a jiggle center was okay. Who knows. Obviously the cake turned out to be fairly well down and browned on the top. But it tasted fantastic. I also could not get it out of the pan to save my life. The sides of the spring form ejected just fine, but the crust might as well have been super-glued to the bottom. I'm not sure how to solve that particular problem, but I'll give a few different things a whirl next time I try this.

The Reviews:
Well - I thought the cake tasted absolutely divine. Of course, when I took the cake to the party I forgot to bring the extra raspberry sauce for serving :( Sad. I'm sure it would have tasted just amazing with the extra sauce. Oh well. All of the party-goers thought that the cake tasted wonderful. My husband - who at first wasn't going to even try it - even liked it. He's not a big cream cheese fan. Silly man. The birthday girl seemed pleased, and in the end, that's all that really mattered.

Happy Birthday, Meranda!!!!!

Monkey Bread

2009-04-07T10:38:00.015-04:00

The Mission:

Make Monkey Bread from scratch using a recipe that I've had for years and never bothered to try out. The original plan was to make it for breakfast on a Saturday morning since we were supposed to have overnight guests on Friday. Well, the sleepover never happened, but I made it anyway as a snack for the guests.

The Ingredients:

4 cans of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits
1 1/3 cups of sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks of butter

The Instructions:
In a medium bowl combine the sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside. Cut each biscuit into fourths, then roll each piece into a ball. Roll each ball around in the sugar-cinnamon mixture until coated and plunk in a tube pan. Continue doing this until all the biscuit pieces are gone. It takes a little while. This is also a fun activity for children (if you trust them in your kitchen). Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan then stir in the remaining sugar-cinnamon mixture. Heat to a boil, then pour over the balls of dough in the tube pan. Bake in a 350*F oven for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Turn the tube pan over onto a plate or platter of your choosing and serve warm.

The Result:
Well, for some reason they didn't turn out perfect. I had a few problems. 1) they were underdone. This could be because of the non-stick tube pan I used, or the fact that my oven is super cheap. So if I make them again, I will probably bake them in a 325*F oven for an hour. 2) I wasn't a huge fan of the biscuit taste. So when I make these again I will use brand-name biscuits instead of generic. 3) My tube pan is the kind that comes apart - so the melted butter leaked allllll out from the bottom and all over the bottom of my oven. Well, part of it managed to get on the cookie sheet that I had on the bottom rack just in case. Stupid tube pan. So I need to buy another tube pan - one that is all one piece - no stupid removable part.

The Reviews:
Everyone who tried it really liked it, even though I thought it left something to be desired. I think it would have gotten more reviews if it had been the main attraction at breakfast rather than an afternoon snack. I'll be making this again sometime, and hopefully under the "right" circumstances to have a better result and better reviews!

Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken

2009-04-06T15:50:00.011-04:00

The Mission:

Make dinner. Like always. Yeah. I wanted to make something different, so I pulled out one of my oldies-but-goodies recipes that I have been making for years and years. It is one of my favorites for entertaining since it's easy, much of it can be done in advance (the chopping and cubing), and it looks very pretty. It's fairly healthy, too!

The Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
4 carrots, coined
1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped - you can substitute frozen broccoli if you're in a hurry
2 cloves minced garlic
12 oz angel hair pasta
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

The Instructions:

Heat 1 tsp. of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and sautee until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken and drain on paper towels. Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet and add the carrots and sautee them for 4 minutes. While carrots are cooking, begin boiling the water for the pasta. After the carrots are done, add the broccoli and the garlic, sauting for 2 more minutes. Add the broth, basil and parmesan cheese to the skillet and stir. Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer for 4 minutes. Serve the chicken/veggie mixture over the pasta. (Note: I never follow the measurements for the broccoli or the carrots exactly. I like a lot of veggies in mine, so I tend to double them compared to the rest of the ingredients. This recipe is very easily adapted to what you prefer.)

The Reviews:

My husband really liked it. He thought it smelled fantastic and kept getting in my way as I was trying to cook - haha. A few of our friends had leftovers with us over the weekend and really seemed to enjoy this dish. Which is funny to me because most of our friends say that they don't like veggies - but they usually seem to eat them for me! Weird.

Jumbo Stuffed Shells with Spinach

2009-03-31T14:01:00.013-04:00

The Mission:
Use up some leftover ricotta cheese from lasagna the other day, and use the box of jumbo shells that has been sitting in the cabinet for the past two months or so. I didn't really use a recipe for this, instead I kinda just tossed the ingredients together. I thought it turned out okay, but next time I'll use less spinach.

The Ingredients:

1 box of jumbo shells
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 cups mozzarella - shredded
1 lb ground beef
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
6 oz chopped spinach (I used frozen since I had it on hand)
4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 big jar of the sauce of your choice

The Instructions:

Prepare the jumbo shells as directed on the package. Drain them and set them aside to cool off a bit (they're easier to stuff when they don't burn you). Brown the ground beef in a medium saucepan with the garlic and the Italian seasoning. You can also add other spices to taste. I think I threw in a tsp or two of crushed red pepper to pep it up a little. Thaw and drain the frozen spinach. Add half of it to the ground beef mixture. Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce into the ground beef mixture and stir. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs then stir in the ricotta cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella, 2 Tbsp of the parmesan, and the remaining spinach. Set aside. Now you're ready to stuff the shells. Spoon a bit of the meat mixture and a bit of the cheese mixture into each shell - I think I put about 1 Tbsp of each into each shell. Set the stuffed shells into a 9x13" baking dish. When all the shells are stuffed and placed in the dish, pour the remaining pasta sauce over them, top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover and bake in a 350*F oven for 40 minutes, uncover and bake 15-20 minutes more - until cheese is melty.

The Result:

My husband HATED the spinach. He said that it really took away the flavor of the cheese. So, if I ever make this again, I will only use half of the spinach and add it only to the meat mixture, leaving the cheese mixture green-free. I thought that I'd made these for him before, but apparently not. Oh well - he at it anyway and it kinda grew on him. This recipe can be made without any of the spinach of course, in case you have a picky eater. Other than that issue, everything else was fine.

The Reviews:

I thought it tasted pretty good, and we had one friend who shared leftovers with us who liked it as well. I wish it had gone over better with my husband, but it's no big deal. I can leave out the majority of the spinach and still sneak a little bit into the meat mixture. I will dice it very small so maybe he won't even notice it :)

Roasted Potatoes

2009-03-29T10:53:00.015-04:00

The Mission:
Make something different for a side dish using the white potatoes I found on sale at the grocery store. Since I was already roasting some top round steak, I figured that I'd use the oven to roast some potatoes, too. So I got out my trusty "red-checkered" Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and started flipping through until I found what I needed. No home should EVER be without that cookbook - it doesn't matter what year or what version... it's a necessity!

The Ingredients:

1 lb. medium red or white potatoes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

The Instructions:

After you scrub the potatoes all nice and clean, dice them into bite sized pieces and layer them in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle the pototoes with all of the seasonings and then drizzle on the olive oil. Using a spoon, stir the potatoes around until they are covered evenly with the spice mixture and oil. (Be careful not to launch a piece of potato out of the pan and onto the floor.) Place the pan in a preheated 325*F oven and set the timer for 45 minutes. Potatoes are done when they are slightly crispy on the edges and soft in the middles. (To speed cooking time you can roast the potatoes in a 450*F oven for 25 minutes.) Serve with your favorite meat & veggies.

The Reviews:
A+ !!! yay! This was well received by all of the guests. I knew we were having ONE extra person for dinner.... so when THREE extra people showed up, I had to tell my husband to inform the extras that we just didn't have enough for dinner. They seemed cool with it - but I did have extra potatoes, so the 2 freeloaders ended up with a small plate of my new side dish. Everything was gobbled up and I received nice compliments. I love compliments!

Mom's Chocolate Sauce

2009-03-29T10:52:00.011-04:00

The Mission:
Make fabulous chocolate sauce to serve over vanilla ice cream in order to indulge in a wonderful comfort food. That and my husband made me. hahaha. He calls this stuff "Chocolate Gravy" because it's so thick and good. This recipe has been in my family for generations and I really have no idea where they found the original. It was passed down from my Grammy to my Mom to me. I'll be sure to pass it down to any children I might have.

The Ingredients:

1/2 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

The Instructions:
Whisk the first five ingredients until no longer lumpy, then stir constantly at a boil for five minutes. Turn off burner and add the butter and the vanilla. Stir until the butter is completely melted. This sauce can be served hot, warm, or cold. Though it is a pain to stand at the stove doing nothing but stirring sauce for a full five minutes, I promise you it is well worth it. I also don't recommend trying any short cuts. The sauce doesn't turn out as well if you try to cut corners on cooking time.

The Reviews:
I've never, ever had a bad review of this sauce. I also very rarely have left-overs. I've given this recipe out to quite a few of my friends, since it's just so darned good. I hope that you enjoy it if you try it! I like to serve it over plain old vanilla ice cream, but feel free to use your imagination, it's good over many, many things!

White Bean Chicken Chili

2009-03-29T10:51:00.010-04:00

The Mission:

Make the recipe that my friend Heather gave to me after I begged her for it. She served me this Chili at her place on Superbowl weekend and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Her recipe actually said "Superbowl Chili" on the top. (Bonus - I'm a huge Steeler's Fan, and they won the Superbowl this year!) I tried this out on a Friday so my husband wouldn't have to deal with eating leftovers at work the next day - just in case he didn't like it.

The Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless chicken, cubed
1/4 cup diced onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cans (10.5 oz each) chicken broth, divided
2 cans (15 oz each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (small) diced green chilis
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 packet of white gravy (country gravy)

The Instructions:

In a large sauce pan, sautee the chicken and onions in oil until chicken is done and onions are transparent. Add 1 can of the chicken broth, both cans of northern beans, the can of chilis, and the cumin. Stir well. Mix the packet of gravy with the reserved can of chicken broth until blended. Pour the gravy mixture into the sauce pan and stir untl thickened. Cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours.

The Result:

I thought it turned out fantastic. I served it with shredded sharp white cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. I found out later that eating it with the tortilla scoops is fabulous - this chili is thick enough to use as a dip!

The Reviews:

My very good friend Jess came to visit me the night I made this and she was impressed - I'm glad I finally remembered to email the recipe to her. My Husband and our Friend Mark enjoyed the chili and it has since been requested a few times. A couple of our other friends (we have quite a few people who regularly join us for dinner) have been pleased as well. I'm glad to have yet another hearty meal to add to my repetoire!

Yummy Marinade

2009-03-03T19:03:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Make my delicious marinade to pour over boneless tenderloin chops for dinner. I'm not sure where I first came across this recipe. It appears to be something printed out and cut into a 4x6 recipe card, and it's covered in splattered spots... most likely soy sauce. Anyway - it's very good. Even my picky eater of a husband likes it, and he knows what's in it!

The Ingredients:

1/2 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp chopped parsely
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp pepper
Whatever meat you want - pork, chicken, etc.

The Instructions:

Combine all of the ingredients together and mix well, recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of marinade. Place in a shallow container or a heavy duty zip-lock plastic bag. Add whatever meat you desire, turning to coat. Cover or seal and chill at least 4 hours,turning meat occasionally. Grill, bake, broil, or sautee meat as desired until meat reaches proper temperature. Serve with your favorite sides.

The Result:

Delicious as always. I've tested it out on many people using both chicken and pork. Chicken is a big favorite. I've never tried it with beef... maybe I'll do that some day. I typically marinade overnight because I find it easier to make it the night before.

The Reviews:

I've named this "Yummy Marinade" because that is what my sister called it in the past. I've never gotten a bad review on this one - even though my picky husband loathes many of the ingredients. If you have a picky eater - just don't tell them what's in it. You can rub it in later ;)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

2009-02-27T10:25:00.005-05:00

The Mission:

Test out one of the recipes that sounded good from my current Taste of Home: Simple and Delicious Magazine. The ingredients and preparation looked simple enough, and hopefully the result will turn out fantastic. I know that casseroles aren't exactly "gourmet" but I love a simple, hearty meal that's easy to make and tastes good. As soon as my husband found out that mayo was NOT on the ingredient list for this dish, he gave it his approval for a test-run.

The Ingredients:

1 (6 oz.) box chicken stuffing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
4 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 lb. deli ham, sliced into 1" strips
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided

The Instructions:

Prepare the stuffing mix as directed and set aside. Combine the soup and the milk in a small bowl and set aside. Place the chicken in a greased 9x13" baking dish and sprinkle with the pepper. Layer the chopped ham strips onto the chicken, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the swiss cheese. Pour the soup mixture over the cheese layer and then top with the stuffing. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then cover and bake 30 minutes in a 350*F oven. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more until cheese is melty. I like to bake for 25 minutes until the cheese is a little crispy crunchy, but that's just me. Serve with your favorite side dish.

The Result:

It turned out great! The first time I made it I followed the Taste of Home recipe exactly (which called for a mixture of swiss and cheddar cheeses), but decided that using all swiss cheese would taste better to me, so I changed the recipe to suit my taste. The dish set up well in the oven, didn't take long to make, can be prepared the night before, and is definitely going into my "main rotation" of week-day dinners.

The Reviews:

Let me see..... so far I've fed this dish to a number of people and they all seemed to really like it. My husband is thrilled with it, Friend Mark thought it was tasty, and I've received compliments from everyone else as well :) I'm very pleased. This recipe is definitely a winner!

Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie

2009-02-27T09:43:00.005-05:00

The Mission:

Make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner since I was craving it. I used the Bisquick recipe since that's what my husband suggested, since he remembered liking it as a child.

The Ingredients:

2 cups frozen veggies, thawed
1 cup cooked chicken, or 1 can chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten

The Instructions:

Mix the chicken, veggies, and soup in a bowl until well combined. Pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, eggs, and bisquick until dough forms. Drop dough by the spoonful onto the chicken mixture in the pan. Bake in a 400* oven for 30 minutes.

The Results:

In all honesty, I wasn't very thrilled with how it turned out. It tasted rather bland, so I added salt and pepper to my portion. The crust part tasted just fine, but the chicken part seemed too thick. I guess I like "soupier" chicken pot pie. Oh well - next time I'll try a different recipe and see how that goes.

The Reviews:

My husband seemed to really like it, though he did add salt and pepper to his portion as well. Friend Mark had the same thoughts that I did - it was rather bland, and too thick. But at least it was still edible! I will look into finding a more appetizing recipe for chicken pot pie to use in the future.

"Crack Dip"

2009-02-27T09:08:00.002-05:00

The Mission:
Make a delicious dip to please the crowd at an impromptu party held at my house. The perfect time to try the famous (or infamous) "Crack Dip." I'd had the dip once before at a friend's house, and she graciously provided me with the recipe. She's awesome :)

The Ingredients:

2 (8 oz each) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of Ranch (or Bleu Cheese) salad dressing
2 cups of chicken - finely diced or shredded (you can also use canned chicken)
3/4 cup of Frank's buffalo hot sauce
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

The Instructions:

In an oven safe dish, stir the cream cheese until it's smooth and creamy. Mix in the ranch (or bleu cheese) dressing and hot sauce, stir until smooth. Stir in the chicken and the cheddar cheese. Bake in a 350*F oven for 30 minutes or until dip is hot. Serve with tortilla chips - I found that the scoops or strips were exceptionally awesome with this.

The Results:

mmmmm - very good. I didn't stir the cream cheese until it was completely smooth, figuring that it would melt in the oven and get creamy enough. wrong. So I ended up with some little chunks of cream cheese in the dip - which didn't taste bad at all, it just wans't as smooth as I wanted. I made the dip using Ranch dressing, but I think next time I'll try Bleu Cheese and see how that turns out. I used the Frank's buffalo hot sauce because that is what was recommended to me - I think it's super tasty, but I'm sure that you could substitute your own favorite sauce. I served the dip in a glass bowl that I kept refilling from the bowl I baked it in (I didn't want any burn accidents) - that seemed to work out quite well, since I kept the original dish in the oven to keep the remaining crack dip warm.

The Reviews:

Let's see..... Everyone except my husband tried the dip. He's not a fan of cream cheese, or ranch, so he passed. But everyone kept telling him that he was seriously missing out. I had one friend who must have told me a dozen times "This is really good." haha. The dip went over extremely well. I had saved a little bit on the side to share with my favorite coworker and my parents - good thing, too, since the party-goers scraped the bowl clean! My coworker LOVED it, and so did my parents. This is definitely a recipe I'll make over and over again!

Valentine's Day Waffles

2009-02-26T16:17:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Make my husband's favorite breakfast to serve him on Valentine's Day! I use my Mom's recipe, so these are the waffles I grew up eating. My husband loves them, and I wanted to make him something special. We don't usually make 'fancy' breakfasts, so it was a treat!

The Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder - sifted
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce (can substitute oil if desired)

The Instructions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well blended - making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Follow the instructions on your waffle iron, since waffle irons tend to differ greatly. Serve waffles hot with butter and syrup, or your own personal favorite topping!

The Result:

These got RAVE reviews from my husband, even though he seemed a bit perturbed that I woke him up to eat them. It was noon, and I was hungry! I've never used my waffle iron before so it took me a little bit to get the proper amount of batter in the iron to make a perfectly sized waffle. All in all - I adore my waffle iron. It's actually my Gramma's Pizzelle maker/Waffle iron. She got it as a Christmas present in 1976. Yes. My waffle iron is older than I am! haha. But it is in perfect working condition, and I love it.

Amazing White Trash Puff Balls

2009-02-05T16:16:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Ingredient Challenge #4 - CREAM CHEESE!

I wanted to try something new that involved cream cheese in addition to falling back on my reliable favorite. So I used recipezaar.com to find something fun. And an recipe that includes "white trash" in the title, I knew I had to click on it. Hooray that it sounded delicious.

The Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package of sliced pepperoni
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
2 packages refridgerated crescent dinner rolls

The Instructions:

Dice the pepperoni into teeny tiny pieces. Combine with the softened cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until blended thoroughly. Set aside. Unroll the crescent roll triangles. Take each triangle and cut into thirds so you have three small triangles. Using your fingers (I found it easier than a rolling pin) flatten out each triangle until it's half as thick as originally. Plop about 1 to 2 Tbsp of the cream cheese/pepperoni mixture onto the flattened triangle. Pinch the sides of the dough up around the cheese mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Continue this process until all the crescent roll dough is used up. Bake puffs in a preheated oven at the temperature and time that's specified on the crescent roll package. (Every brand seems to vary). Remove from oven and let cool a little bit before eating - a burned tongue is no fun!

The Results:

The thinner the dough is, the better. I attempted using a rolling pin, but it was kind of a pain, so I went back to smushing the dough flatter with my fingers. I was also having some issues with my crescent roll dough being weird. Next time I guess I won't buy generic. It seemed to fall apart a lot when trying to unroll it. I had a bit of filling left over (probably because I wasn't putting enough in the balls - but I was afraid of spillage, so I was skimpy. Next time I will not skimp!

The Reviews:

My husband does not like cream cheese, so he didn't care for them. But he did try, which is all I ask. Friend Mark loved them, as did my parents. Dad agreed with me that the thinner the dough, the better. Mom thinks that I should try making them with mozarella cheese instead of the cream cheese next time. I might take her up on that suggestion. All in all, it's a good recipe, easy to make, and received good reviews.

Beef Stir-Fry

2009-02-05T15:46:00.001-05:00

The Mission:

Make Beef Stir-Fry. Because it's yummy and healthy and I like it. I wasn't sure if my husband would eat this or not, since it involves a lot of veggies, but he surprised me and completely loves it. It's a common meal in our house since he requests it frequently.

The Ingredients:

1 lb thinly sliced beef
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp minced garlic
3 medium zucchinis, sliced
1 bag matchstick carrots
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
additional teriyaki sauce

The Instructions:

I usually buy the beef when it's on sale and thinly slice it then wrap it up in freezer paper and freeze. When it's time to make stir-fry, I pull the frozen package out, remove the beef from the paper and dump it in a glass bowl (one with a lid). Then I'll pour some teriyaki sauce on it, and sprinkle in a couple of tsps of ground ginger. I prefer to let it thaw/marinate for a few days before making to allow for maximum flavor impact. I also cut up all the veggies before I start the stir-fry. So once everything is chopped, diced, marinated, or whatever - I begin the process. First I heat up approx 2 Tbsp of canola oil in a large heavey skillet or wok. Sometimes I add a tsp or so of sesame oil because I like the flavor. Then I add the beef and garlic and stir-fry until the beef is almost done. Broccoli, carrots, and zucchini come next. Stirfry those for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms. Continue to stirfry until all the veggies are crisp-tender. It usually takes about 5-10 minutes, depending on how big a batch you're making. If the mixture is looking too dry, or starting to stick, pour in some more teriyaki sauce. It's a very "add what you want, and do what looks good" meal. I usually serve it with rice.

The Result:

I didn't like the carrots in this one as well - you can tell from the pictures that I had to use sliced regular carrot, since I usually use the matchstick carrots. But since the store was out of them, I took what I could get. I added a bit more ginger to this batch than normal and that was very nice. I tried a box rice that my husband picked up - I don't even remember which one - and it was okay. I prefer white rice.

Mom's Beef Stew

2009-01-22T08:28:00.004-05:00

The Mission:

Make beef stew. Because it's tasty and I like it. Also, beef was on sale a few weeks ago, and I have a lovely amount of stew beef all cut up and ready to go in the freezer. Mom's been using this recipe my whole life, so I find it to be extremely comforting. It can be made on the stove, or in a crockpot - which is nice! It makes a fabulous addition to my winter menus, since it's such a warm and invitingly aromatic comfort food. It's also great using venison.
The Ingredients:

2 lbs stew beef
2 Tbsp oil
4 cups boiling water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
few dashes allspice or cloves
1 tsp sugar
1 medium onion - roughly chopped
3 medium potatoes - chopped into bite sized pieces
5-6 carrot sticks - chopped into bite sized pieces
1 bag of frozen green beans

The Instructions:

Stovetop directions: Brown meat in batches in hot oil. Add boiling water, seasonings, and onion (if you like your onion less mushy, add onion when you add other veggies). Simmer for 2 hours. Add sliced carrots and potatoes, then stir in the frozen green beans. Cook for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are done. Thicken stew gravy by adding flour to cold water and whisking until all lumps are gone, stir flour mixture into stew and cook at least five minutes more. Crockpot directions: brown meat and then assemble all ingredients except beans into the crockpot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Microwave green beans until they're done and add to stew in crockpot. Add flour mixture and cook on high for 20 minutes.

The Result: Let's see. Next time I will add more carrots. It just wasn't quite enough for me. My husband liked the stew and ate it happily. I served it with pillsbury crescent rolls this time. Not exactly the most healthy side dish, but yummy nonetheless. I obviously assembled this one in the crock pot. I actually prefer the stew on the stove, but for week-night meals, it's just easier to put it in the crockpot so it's ready when you get home.

The Reviews: Not much to say here. Obviously I love this recipe. My whole family likes it and looks forward to eating it whenever the weather turns colder. I've made it for a few friends before and they all go back for seconds :)

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2009-01-15T10:55:00.002-05:00

The Mission: Ingredient Challenge #4 - CREAM CHEESE!

This one was actually my suggestion. I didn't even have a recipe in mind, but I figured it was an extremely versatile ingredient that could be used in a ton of recipes for any course. After the ingredient was agreed upon I realized that I'd have to post my cream cheese pound cake. Gramma gave me the recipe, she's been using it for years and years. It is soooo amazing. It's extremely rich, so it goes a long way. I'm always amazed at how much batter actually makes it into the pan, because this is the kind of recipe that makes you want to stick your face in the bowl and never come up for air!

The Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of butter (REAL butter, no substitutes!), softened
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
3 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
3 cups flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

The Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300*F. Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. Add in the vanilla and then slowly add the flour. I like to add one cup at a time, mixing thoroughly and scraping the bowl between each cup. Spoon the batter into a tube or bundt pan (it will be thick). Bake for approximately 1.5 hours. I usually set the timer for 1 hr 15 minutes and then test the cake for doneness. My oven is kinda touchy. Cake is done when an inserted knife comes out clean. Do NOT try and rush this cake by cooking faster in a hotter oven. Gramma says so.

The Result:

Ahhhh - this recipe never fails to put a smile on my face. Though I usually just serve it plain (that's how my husband likes it), I'm considering making a cream cheese glaze to top it with when I serve it to company. I may also add some fruit or something. Who knows. Oh - and you can switch out the extract to get different flavors. I have used almond extract before, and maple. Both are completely delicious. I'm hoping to branch out to try some other flavors soon.

The Reviews: This cake has never gotten a bad review. The first time I made it for my husband, I thought he was going to start attacking me. He absolutely loves it - which is ironic for a guy who "hates" cream cheese. hahaha. I usually don't tell him what's in a recipe until after he's tried it and reviewed it. ::insert evil laugh here:: All of our friends who have sampled this dessert have given rave reviews, and I always save a few portions for my parents - because if they found out I made it and didn't share, they'd be a bit peeved. My sister is always sad that she's out of town when I make it. I hope to surprise her with it at her bridal shower in April :)

Roasted Pork Loin

2009-01-15T10:24:00.002-05:00

The Mission: Dinner

It's that time again. Dinner time. I've been doing really well with having a weekly menu so I know what the plan is. You can't imagine how awesome it is to not have any stress where dinner is involved. So tonight's menu is Roasted Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes (covered in cheddar cheese) and Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower. Sounds good, right? I hope so!

The Ingredients:

a pork loin (as big or small as you want it)
rubbed sage (amount depends on pork loin size)
mashed potatoes
grated cheddar cheese
frozen broccoli/cauliflower

The Instructions:

Place a thawed pork loin in a baking dish fat side up. Sprinkle with rubbed sage - I used about 3 tsps. tonight for a 2.5 lb piece of pork. Rub the sage into the top of the pork loin. Place uncovered in a preheated 325*F oven for 1 to 1.5 hours. Using a meat thermometer, check the pork loin for doneness. When the internal temperature is 155*F, the pork loin is ready. You want it to be nice and golden on the top, too. Let sit for 10 minutes before carving. Remove to a cutting board and slice into 1/2 to 3/4" slices or whatever you prefer. Serve with mashed potatoes and veggies (or whatever sides you desire).

The Result: Very good. I love to serve this meal often - and it's nice because pork loin often goes on sale at the grocery store. The Husband and I will usually pick up 2 or 3 when they're 50% off at our local market. I'll then cut them each in half (they're usually 6 lbs or so) and wrap them up in freezer paper to freeze for later use. Roasted Pork Loin is tasty. The key is to not overcook it. As long as you heat it to the proper temperature, you don't need to worry about bacteria. I've noticed that a lot of people tend to overcook their pork and it's dry and not as flavorful. By cooking just until the proper temp, you'll have a moist, juicy, and flavorful loin that's perfectly safe to eat. Unless of course you're allergic to pork. Sorry Friend Mark!

The Reviews: The Husband is very happy with this meal.... which is nice, since I love it, too. He can't believe that the only thing I do to this pork is just rub some sage on top! It sounds ridiculously easy, right? haha - I keep tellin him that the trick is in the temperature. Just don't overcook it and it'll turn out fine. My parents, my sister, and most of my friends love this as well. I've never had any complaints.

Garlic Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms

2009-01-11T15:50:00.002-05:00

The Mission: Ingredient Challenge #3 - MUSHROOMS
I don't usually care for mushrooms. I don't mind them in somethings, but as a general rule, they just aren't my favorite. Something must be wrong with me. But I'm learning. So when mushrooms were suggested as our third ingredient challenge, I knew I'd have to turn somewhere for help. And what better place to turn than recipezaar? So I looked up mushroom recipes by the highest rating and came across this yummy looking appetizer. It just so happened that I had some left over ricotta cheese that needed to be used up. So it was perfect. The only thing I actually needed to purchase was the mushrooms.

The Ingredients:

7 large white mushrooms, stems removed
5 garlic cloves, crushed
3-4 Tbsp part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese - divided

The Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350*F. Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems. Chop the stems. Heat olive oil in a small saute pan, add chopped mushroom stems and saute for 3 minutes. Add the crushed garlic, salt, and pepper and saute for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly in a small mixing bowl. After the mushroom mixture has cooled, add ricotta cheese and 2 Tbsp of the grated parmesan. Mix well and then fill the mushroom caps with the cheese mixture. Place mushrooms on a greased cookie sheet. (I greased up some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet so I'd have less mess to clean up.) Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese on the stuffed mushrooms and then bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

The Result:

Oh.My.God. I am soooo glad I doubled this recipe, because these mushrooms are to die for. Seriously. And I don't even like mushrooms. I served them to my husband and Friend Mark. My husband loves mushrooms and I think he ate most of them. Mark isn't a big fan of mushrooms, but I think he managed to eat at least three before the disappeared. I had a little bit of extra filling left over and I just baked it in a glass dish. It was so tasty. I would HIGHLY recommend making at least a double batch.

The Reviews:

Well - my husband loved them. I loved them. Mark loved them. This recipe is fantastic. They will be on the menu for my sister's bridal shower and I'm trying to come up with an excuse to host another party where appetizers will be needed. Definitely give these a try!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-01-05T11:47:00.001-05:00

The Mission:
Make something yummy for a "Christmas Brunch" at work. I wanted to do something easy, something cheap (I had all the ingredients already), yet something a little bit different. Chocolate Chip muffins are slightly more unique than blueberry. Right??

The Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar - packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter - melted, then cooled
2 eggs - lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 (11.5 oz) package of chocolate chips

The Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400*F. Arrange 12 muffin cup papers in muffin tin. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, blend together the milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add milk mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and spoon batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin tin to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin to finish cooling. Serve warm or cool. The Result: They turned out really well. They were heavier than I expected them to be, but that worked out nicely. In my oven (which tends to be a bit weird) they took the full 20 minutes. I ended up doubling the recipe so I'd have 2 dozen muffins. We were expecting about 20 people at the brunch.

The Reviews: My muffins got rave reviews. Hooray. One coworker commented on how nice it was that I used regular sized chocolate chips instead of the mini ones. It had never crossed my mind to use minis, so I'm glad I didn't think of it. The muffins were devoured by hungry coworkers so I didn't have a single one left over to get any family reviews. I'd say that this recipe is a keeper!

Falling Behind

2009-01-05T11:38:00.000-05:00

I was trying so hard to be super organized this past holiday season. Obviously that didn't work out so well - at least as far as my kitchen blog was concerned. So I'll try better for 2009! I hope to get my act together and post at least one yummy recipe a week. I have so many new foods that I want to try out and a ton of "tried and true" recipes that I'd love to share.

Happy New Year!

Peanut Blossoms

2008-12-17T11:58:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Christmas Cookie Recipe #6

These are always a huge hit. My friends and family beg me to make these every year. The tradition started with my Gramma and she taught me how to make them years and years ago. I can remember when I was so young that the only thing I was allowed to do was unwrap all the hershey kisses.

The Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I use butter flavored)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
48 chocolate kisses - unwrapped
extra granulated sugar for rolling

The Instructions:

Cream the shortening, sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, peanut butter, and milk in a mixing bowl. Add the baking soda and salt mixing until blended. Stir in the flour and mix until dough forms - it will be a little bit thick. Shape dough into balls, using a rounded tablespoon for each. Roll balls into granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 375*F oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute - then top each cookie with a hershey kiss, pressing down firmly so the cookie cracks around the edges. Let cool completely before storing.

The Results:

MMMMMM. The peanut butter. The chocolate. It's delicious. They turned out perfectly! I doubled the recipe this time since there never seems to be enough to go around. I love to eat them fresh, when the hershey kiss is still kinda soft and melty. It's divine.

The Reviews:

It's hard to understand what people are saying when their mouths are stuffed full of cookies, but judging from the looks on everyone's faces and the emphatic head-nodding and thumbs-up gestures, I'd say they were a hit yet again!

Snickerdoodles

2008-12-17T11:56:00.000-05:00

The Mission: Christmas Cookie Recipe #5
I usually don't make snickerdoodles at Christmas time, but I'm not sure why. I love them, they taste good, and they seem to be fairly popular. So this year I dug out my Gramma's recipe and went to work.

The Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups sugar - divided
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs

The Instructions:

In a mixing bowl cream butter shortening, eggs, vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar. Add baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, making sure you scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the flour. Cover and chill dough for an hour or so or until easy to handle. In a small bowl combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Roll the dough into 1" balls and then roll balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated. Place 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 375*F oven for 10-11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

The Results:

They turned out really well. I doubled the recipe so I could have more of the cinammony sugary goodness. In my oven it only took 10 minutes for them to be done. I found that it's easier to get all of the dough balled and rolled in the cinnamon-sugar mixture before baking. That's my time-saving advice.

The Reviews:

My friends who tried them said that they were even better than the sugar cookies (which for them is saying something). My husband loved them. Apparently he's never had them before. He was a bit skeptical at first, but once he had one, I think he ate a dozen. Now he's begging me to make more!

Sugar Cookies

2008-12-17T11:51:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Christmas Cookie Recipe #4

Mmmm. Sugar cookies. Yum. Now - I'm incredibly lazy and didn't make the cut-outs. These are just round cookies. But to spruce them up for Christmas time, I roll them in red or green sugar. It makes them much more festive!

The Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter (use real butter - not margarine)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 and 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda

The Instructions:

Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs. Add the vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until blended. Gradually add in the flour and mix well. I find that chilling the dough for a little while makes assembling the balls a little bit easier. I also recommend having a cookie scoop. Scoop out dough by rounded tablespoon and roll into a ball with your hands. Then roll that ball into sugar - I use colored sugar.... it's more fun. Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake in a preheated 375*F oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

The Result:

Yummy! (I think I overuse the word 'yummy,' but I don't care.) They turned out very nicely and I found a new method to the madness. I will clean my kitchen counter until it's completely sanitary. Then I will scoop out all the cookie dough straight onto the counter. Then I'll roll each scoop into a ball and roll into the colored sugar. Once they're coated in sugar, the balls won't stick to the plate where I'll put them until they're ready to go in the oven. It saved a ton of time, and a ton of mess! Not to mention you're never caught with sugar dough all over your hands when the timer goes off on a batch of cookies!

The Reviews:

The guys loved them. The husband was thrilled that I didn't change recipes, so I kept him happy. All in all - an excellent choice for Christmas Cookie give-aways. They were devoured at our friends' Christmas party and I got compliments all night. Hooray!

Buttermilk Pancakes

2008-12-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

The Mission:

Use up the rest of the buttermilk that was needed for the coffee cake recipe. The easiest thing I could think of was to just make pancakes. Everyone likes pancakes, right? So I got out my trusty Red-Checkered Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and proceded to gather the rest of the ingredients. Thankfully they were all things I have stocked at all times! So as the husband slept in on this beautiful Saturday morning, I was in the kitchen making pancakes and preparing to bake a few more cookies.

The Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk

The Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a fork until blended, then create a well in the middle of the mixture. Set aside. In a separate bowl, gently beat eggs, then beat in the buttermilk. Pour into the well in the flour mixture and beat well. I've found that the more air you beat into the batter, the fluffier the pancakes will be. Pour batter onto a hot griddle or pan. I have found that each pan requires a different temperature. I usually start out with a medium heat and then adjust from there. I typically use a large ladle and make each pancake about 1/4 cup worth of batter. My Mom actually makes her batter in the blender - less drips when pouring onto the griddle! When the pancakes look dry around the edges, flip them over to cook on the other side. Pancakes are done when the batter is no longer runny and each side is a beautiful golden brown.

The Result:

As usal, the first batch came out all weird and burnt. I always seem to have trouble getting the temperature adjusted correctly. Hey - I never claimed to be a good cook, just an enthusiastic one! But once I got the temperature and the timing down, the subsequent batches turned out delicious and properly golden brown.

The Reviews:
I thought they were tasty. Buttermilk tends to make a "heavier" pancake, and I prefer mine light and fluffy. I probably won't make them again unless I have some buttermilk to use up. The husband liked them, though. He refused to get out of bed and eat them on Saturday, but I packed them for his breakfast (he eats it at work) on Monday and Tuesday and he seemed happy. I can only hope he ate them himself instead of donating them to a coworker or the trashcan!

Jumbo Raisin Cookies

2008-12-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

The Mission: Cookie Recipe #3!

This is Dad's favorite recipe. He adores them. He loves them. He craves them! Gramma has been making these for a very long time and the recipe has been handed down to me. It's Christmas tradition that I make these cookies for Dad every year. I also make them for Father's Day :) It's a very easy present to make. And there's no chance that the Husband will steal any of the cookies - because they contain coconut.... and the Husband is allergic.

The Ingredients:

2 cups raisins
1 and 1/4 cup water
1 cup shortening (I use butter flavored)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 cups flour - sifted

The Instructions:

What you'll want to do first is boil the raisins so they'll have sufficient time to cool. I'll usually do this the night before and then just stick them in the fridge. ** Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in mixer. Add the cooled raisin mixture (do not drain). Beat in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix in the sifted flour until blended. Add the chocolate chips and coconut. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet, placing them 2" apart. Bake in a preheated 375*F oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. - Chilling the dough makes it easier.

**Once - many many years ago - Mom and I made these and skipped the cooling step. What could it hurt? Well - it was hot and melted the chocolate chips. Oops. We apparently weren't thinking very clearly. So - do not skip the cooling step! It's important :) Also - do not double this recipe. It's already doubled, and if you try and double it again, it won't fit in the mixing bowl. Yes - I do know this from experience.

The Result: They turned out delicious as always. Since these cookies stay extremely moist, I cut out wax paper to put between each layer as I put the cooled cookies in Dad's special tin. I highly recommend doing this - if you don't, the cookies will stick together and you'll end up with a big glob instead of pretty individual cookies.

The Reviews:
Dad is happy. Mission accomplished. I even took some left overs (the ones that didn't fit into Dad's special tin) to a party. Everyone who thought that they sounded good tried one and liked them. A lot of people don't care for coconut in their cookies - so they're not terribly popular. But everyone who likes coconut raves about them :) HOORAY!

Dad's Special Tin:
My family has a thing about the M&M guys. It all started with a gift set of M&M mugs. A yellow, a red, a blue, and a green. Dad liked the red guy. The blue one was playing a saxaphone, so it went to my sister. Mom got the green girl M&M since, well, Mom's a girl. So I got stuck with yellow. Who is portrayed as a happy-go-lucky character, but not the brightest bulb in the box. Oh well.

Lasagna

2008-12-08T12:36:00.001-05:00

So it's 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon and I don't know what to cook for dinner. I don't even know what groceries are in the house that I could use for dinner. All in all - I wasn't doing so well with my meal planning and my grocery list this weekend. Oh well. So I was contemplating being bad and just ordering pizza when my husband called me from the grocery store, asking if I'd mind making lasagna tonight - he'd pick up everything we'd need, and what else did I want, since he couldn't find the grocery list. YAY! So I'm feeling pretty thrilled with my marriage right now, and I didn't have to agonize over dinner. Hooray.

Though I do tend to be a lasagna snob - my Gramma makes the best lasagna in the entire world and it's her recipe that I usually use - I figured that there wouldn't be any harm in making a lasagna from jar sauce and other "I don't have time" ingredients. So this is what I threw together....

The Ingredients:
12 to 15 lasanga noodles - cooked and drained.
1 lb ground beef - browned and drained of fat.
3 lbs (48 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb (16 oz) riccota cheese
2 cups grated mozarella cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
3 Tbps parsely flakes
1 cup grated mozarella cheese (to be added on top, not mixed with eggs etc)

The Instructions:
Pour a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9'' x 13'' baking dish. Mix the rest of the sauce and the browned ground beef together. In a separate bowl, mix the riccota cheese, the mozarella cheese, the eggs, and the parsely. In the baking dish, cover the sauce with 4-5 lasagna noodles. Then spread half of the cheese mixture on the noodles. Follow with half of the sauce mixture. Then put 4-5 more noodles on, then the remaining cheese mixture, the remaining sauce mixture, and another layer of noodles. Top with the 1 cup of grated mozarella cheese. Then sprinkle liberally with parmesean cheese. And of course - when your husband looks at the lasagna and asks why you didn't put cheddar cheese on it, sprinkle top with lots of grated cheese to make him happy. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in a 350*F oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes to help the lasagna set up. Enjoy!

The results:
yummy. Not the same as Gramma's and not as good, but definately a very tasty dinner for a cold Sunday evening. Both my husband and Friend Mark thought it was delicious and both men stuffed themselves full of my lasagna. Dinner was saved. The end.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2008-12-08T12:03:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Christmas Cookies #2

It has begun. The annual Christmas Cookie Baking! I'm spending the next week pumpking out dozens of deliciousness to share for the holidays. First up were chocolate chip cookies, but since I'd already blogged about those, I didn't bother including the recipe here :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins (for plumper raisins, soak in warm water overnight)

Instructions:
Cream together the butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix well. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl since the spices tend to puff up onto the sides. You don't want to miss out on any of the yummy, spicy flavor! Next add the flour. Your dough will become stiffer at this point, so you might want to increase the power of the mixer. Next add in the rolled oats. I usually use the old-fashioned kind instead of the instant. Mix everything well, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Dump in the raisins (making sure you drain them if you had them soaking). Scoop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving about 1.5'' between cookies. Bake each batch for 8-10 minutes in a preheated 375*F oven. Let cool on pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cook completely.

The Result:
Yummy as always. My husband and Friend Mark taste tested the cookies stright out of the oven and were thrilled. It was difficult to keep them out of the cookies after that. I had to allot them a few for eating right away for fear they'd riot in my kitchen! The remaining cookies are safe in their tins awaiting distribution for the holidays.

Pear Coffee Cake with Ginger Pecan Crunch Topping

2008-12-08T11:55:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Ingredient Challenge #2 - Pears

The Recipe:
Pear Coffee Cake with Crunchy Pecan Ginger Topping. Though it's a mouthful of a title, I still think it will turn out well. After all, it is a yummy coffee cake including ginger. I figured it'd be a nice, spicy addition to a breakfast menu. And it meets the requirements by including pears :)

The ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup canola oil
1 slightly beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups chopped ripe pears
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup chopped pecans

The Instructions:
Mix together flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, and oil. Set aside 1 cup of mixture for topping. Add 2 cups chopped ripe pear to the rest of the above mixture. Add egg, buttermilk, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well. Spread in greased 9''x 13'' pan. Topping: add ginger and pecans to the reserved mixture and blend well. Sprinkle over top of batter. Bake at 350*F for 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

The Result:

Delicious! Even though I figured out after putting it in the oven that I forgot to add the salt. Oops. But I didn't notice it in the final product, so oh well. I also wasn't sure whether or not to peel the skin off the pears. So I didn't. I took the lazy way out and hoped for the best. Success! I couldn't detect any skin at all in the cake once baked. Hooray.

The Reviews:

Dad - "yum!" Mom - "delicious!" Husband - "I don't eat pears." (so he didn't try any. Wuss.) Friend Mark - "Oh my God." All in all - it was a big hit. My coworker also enjoyed the piece I set aside for her. I'll be back with more reviews. Mom took the remaining cake to work so her coworkers could pass judgement.

Update: Mom's coworker's thought it was good, but no rave reviews.

Garlic and Mushroom Beef Roast with Sun-dried Tomatoes

2008-11-19T08:48:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Use the beef tip roast that I bought on sale at the grocery store.

The Recipe: I *heart* this recipe. It's so easy, it's so tasty, it's so comforting. I found it in one of those little recipe booklets you can find at the grocery store check-out lines. This one happens to be from the Sept 2004 Betty Crocker simple slow cooker one. 2004 - yeah, that's old! I tested it out originally on my parents years ago and they both adored it. It became one of our favorite crockpot roast meals.
The Ingredients:
3 to 4 lb. beef boneless rump or tip roast
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 oz. small whole fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatioes in oil, drained and chopped
1/2 cup light Italian dressing

The Instructions: Spray a 12" nonstick skillet with cooking spray. If beef roast comes in netting or is tied, do not remove. Sprinkle beef with salt and garlic. Cook beef in skillet over medium-high heat 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides. Spray a 4-5 quart crockpot with cooking spray. Place mushrooms in pot. Place beef on mushrooms. Spread tomatoes over beef, then pour dressing over the mixture in the pot. Cover and cook on Low heat setting for 9-11 hours. Place beef on cutting board; remove netting or strings if necessary. Slice beef and serve with mushrooms and juices. Makes 6 servings.

The Results: Fabulous. End of story. Even if I take the lazy way out and skip the "browning meat" stage, it turns out wonderful. If I'm ill-prepared for this recipe and forgot to buy fresh mushrooms, I'll add a can of sliced mushrooms an hour before eating. They're not quite as good, but they still get the job done.

The Reviews: As previously stated, Mom and Dad love this recipe. My sister likes it as well, though she usually doesn't eat the mushrooms. My husband on the other hand isn't as thrilled with this roast as the rest of my family. Which is extremely disappointing, since I'd probably make it every week if he was up for it. Instead, I indulge in this yummy beefy goodness about once a month through the winter months. He can just deal with it.

Venison (or Beef) Chili

2008-11-19T08:22:00.002-05:00

The Mission: Make delicious crockpot chili using Mom's recipe only substitute ground venison, since the husband's friend shared his poor Bambi's Daddy with us.

The Recipe: I love my Mom's chili. This is the recipe that she's been using ever since I was a small child. I'm not quite sure where she got it from, I think she said she adapted it from a couple of different recipes she found in the red-checkered Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks. Oh how I love those red-checkered bibles of goodness.

The Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (substitue venison or turkey if you wish)
2 cloves minced garlic
4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
15 1/2 oz. can of dark red kidney beans, drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
16 oz can of diced tomatoes
10 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
8 oz tomato juice (I use canned sauce instead)
6 oz can of tomato paste
1/4 tsp. salt

The Instructions: In a large pot, brown the ground meat with onion and garlic. Drain any fat and add the rest of the ingredients. Let simmer for 2 hours. Enjoy.

The Result: Delicious as always. This time we shared the dinner with my parents, so I doubled the recipe. I also put it in the crockpot so it would be ready to eat. This is easily accomplished by browning the meat on the stove, and then assembling all of the ingredients in the crockpot. You'll want to cook it on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 3-4. I usually assemble everything the night before, so the chili has time to meld all the flavors in the fridge overnight, then I leave it on Low alllll day long! It's great to have yummy food waiting for you when you get home at night :) I love to eat my chili with cottage cheese. Mom likes to add sour cream. Dad and the husband enjoy adding shredded cheddar cheese. And everyone loves it with cornbread on the side.

The Reviews: Though the husband isn't a big fan of the chopped onions, peppers, or celery, I chop them really small using my food processor. They cook down so much that he doesn't really notice. Apparently if he can't see them, he doesn't know they're there! I've never had any complaints about this recipe. The whole family loves it! I've taken it to quite a few potlucks and have never had to worry about leftovers. I've been asked for the recipe several times as well.

Butternut Squash Cake Roll

2008-11-17T08:31:00.001-05:00

The Mission: Since my first butternut squash recipe turned out to be a flop, I decided to try a second recipe. This time instead of making a side-dish, I went for a dessert. mmmmm......dessert...... This is a great way to use up a little bit of extra squash - the recipe only calls for 2/3 cup of mashed squash. So, it's definitely a recipe to use when you're already planning on doing something else with your butternut of goodness.

The Recipe: I was looking through my Taste of Home magazines to find an interesting recipe to make for dinner this week when I stumbled upon a fabulous picture of a cake roll - and to my delight it called for Butternut Squash which just so happens to be the ingredient for the current recipe challenge. Hooray! I hope mine turns out as pretty as the picture in the magazine....

The Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup mashed cooked butternut squash

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup finely chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

Confectioners' Sugar

Filling:

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. butter, softened (I used real butter, not margarine)

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Additional confectioners' sugar optional

Instructions: In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs; gradually beat in sugar. Add squash and mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; add to squash mixture and mix well.

Line a 15" x 10" x 1" baking pan with waxed paper; grease and flour the paper. Spread batter evening into pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 375* for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Turn cake onto a kitchen towel that has been dushed with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off wax paper. Roll up cake in the towl, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on wire rack.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Unroll cake; spread filling evenly over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up again. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Just before serving, dush with confectiners' sugar if desired. Makes 10 servings.

The Result: Wow. The cake turned out fabulous! I have learned that my oven is a bit testy and tends to overbake my baked goods, so I only put the cake in for 11 minutes until it was done. I didn't have quite enough confectioners' sugar dusted onto my kitchen towel, so I ended up with a small bare spot on the cake because it peeled off. Oh well - it turned out alright in the end!

The Reviews: I ended up taking the Roll to a gathering on Sunday night. Everyone who tried it really liked it. (My husband doesn't care for cream cheese stuff, so he didn't eat the filling, but liked the cake part.) I had a few comments on how it was similar to a Pumpkin Roll, but that was to be expected. I was very pleased with the rave reviews it got - I even had one friend chastise my husband for not liking it! Hahaha. This recipe is definitely a keeper :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

2008-11-14T12:12:00.000-05:00

The Request: Some of my husband's friends (all single) apparently get cravings for homemade food. So they end up at my house for dinner and dessert often. One of their favorite things is the simple yet delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie. I make them every time they have a big cook-out with their car club. I've never had to take leftover cookies home!

The Recipe: Nestle Tollhouse's Original Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter flavored shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups chocolate chips.

Cream the shortening, the sugars, and the eggs. Add vanilla, soda, and salt. Gradually blend in flour. Add chocolate chips (I like to add a bit extra). Drop by rounded Tbsp onto cookie sheets. Bake in a 375* oven for 9-11 minutes. Cool on racks before storing.

The Result: I've never made a bad batch ;) Usually I double the recipe to maximize the yumminess. I love to eat them slightly warm with a nice glass of cold milk.

Carmalized Butternut Squash

2008-11-08T21:14:00.001-05:00

So a few of my really good friends and I decided to do a bi-monthly "ingredient challenge." Basically, twice a month we will decide on an ingredient and do something fun with it to see what happens. I'm really looking forward to this. It's just sad that distance won't let us taste each other's creating - we have a chef in NYC, Chicago, and then me in NC. I think the project will be tons of fun and I'm hoping to get a lot of new recipes out of it. Not to mention have a fantastic time adding some variety into my regular cooking routines.

The Challenge: Butternut Squash

The recipe: Carmalized Butternut Squash

2 medium butternut squash (4-5 lbs total)

6-8 Tbsp butter - melted and cooled

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400*F. Cut off the ends of each butternut squash and discard. Peel the squash andcut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" cubes (large and uniform is best), and put them in a large bowl. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper in the bowl. With clean hands toss all of the ingredients together and spred out in a single layer on a baking sheet or in a baking dish. Roast for 45-55 minutes until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to carmalize. Turn the squash while roasting a fe times witha spatula to be sure it browns evenly. Serve hot (makes 6 servings).

The Result: Well. Um. I didn't care too much for it. Not only did I fail to get the glaze to carmalize, I just didn't care for the salt and pepper with my squash. I think I'd rather have it with just the butter and sugar. Maybe all mashed up instead of roasted.

The Reviews: Mom - liked it, but thought there was too much pepper. Dad - isn't a big fan of squash, but ate it all. Husband - tried it, hated it. but he's not a big fan of squash either.

So, I manged to bomb the first recipe challenge. Oh well. Tomorrow I will try out a recipe I found for butternut squash cake roll and see if I can redeem myself!

Black Bean and Corn Salad (Dip)

2008-11-07T10:21:00.000-05:00

The mission: Bring a side dish to the 6th annual Greyhound Lifesavers Picnic.

The recipe: Black Bean and Corn Salad (Dip) as found on http://www.recipezaar.com/

Salad ingredients:

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz) can corn, drained

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

2 cans of Rotel diced tomatoes with cilantro and lime juice

Dressing ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil

2 Tbsps lime juice

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 clove minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, comine salad ingredients

In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients

Pour dressing over salad and toss until coated.

Notes: What you see above is the revised recipe after I made a few minor changes to the original. First, since fresh tomatos aren't in season, I decided to use a can of Rotel. I figured it would be tasty since it had the cilantro and lime juice, plus would add an extra little kick to the dip. Second, I originally used an entire red onion and I didn't chop it very fine. Consequently, the onion was extremely over-powering. After indulging in my latest concotion, I ended up with horrible "dragon breath." So I adjusted the onion to half and mentioned the finely chopping bit above.

The Result: It was tasty! Sadly, I don't have many reviews. In my excitement to get to the picnic in order to adopt our greyhound, I managed to leave the dip in the fridge and didn't realize it until I had already driven the 2 hours to Columbia. Ooops. So I brought it into work the following week and my coworker and I made a fabulous lunch, devouring an entire bag of tortilla chips loaded with my creation. (At least I wasn't the only one with dragon breath in the office!)

Review: I'd highly recommend taking this to picnics, barbeques, and potlucks. It was simple to make, has easy-to-find ingredients, and is colorfully attractive! Next time I'll probably add a diced green bell pepper to add a bit more color. It'd be easy to increase the quantities and spicy-ness to whatever you desire.

Almost Romantic - London Broil

2008-11-06T08:58:00.001-05:00

Last night's dinner was a tried and true staple. And since I served it at the table instead of plunking it down in front of the TV, it almost felt like a romantic dinner.

The menu:
*London Broil
*Rice from a box (Chicken & Broccoli flavor by Knorr's)
*Green Beans (canned for the husband, frozen for me)

What I found interesting was the conversation the husband and I had over dinner. Apparently he'd never had London Broil before he married me. I was baffled and astonished. I grew up eating London Broil. It was a popular menu item for my family and I learned how to make it when I was 10. It's quick to make, and doesn't involve many ingredients.

London Broil: Marinate top round steak in Italian dressing for 2-3 days. Broil in the oven 6" away from heat source for 7-8 minutes. Flip meat. Broil for another 6-7 minutes. Meat is done when it has reached an internal temperature of 130. Slice thinly and serve.

Simple. Easy. Tasty.

Introduction

2008-11-05T10:43:00.001-05:00

In an effort to expand my weekly menus, get my husband to eat more interesting foods, and enjoy experimenting in the kitchen I realized that I need some motivation. With blogging becoming more and more popular, I decided it was time for me to join the crowd and share my kitchen concoctions. The goal: to try out and post at least one new recipe a week. Hopefully I'll manage to keep up ;)