Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

November 12, 2012

Whoopie Pies: The Recipe

Y'all ...

I feel like "whoopie pie" is my middle name this season.  I have made these sweets a few times now and even shared some cute ways to package them up over here, but neglected to recently share the recipe.  I'd be remiss if I left you out in the cold without sharing that!  These are the perfect treat for this time of the year, full of flavor and super moist!



Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

1 (18-ounce) box carrot cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup raisins
Filling:
1 pound cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl beat the carrot cake mix, butter, and eggs until incorporated. Stir in the grated carrot, and raisins. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Using a small ice-cream scoop drop the batter by 2 tablespoon mounds onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove and cool 5 minutes on the pan before moving to a wire rack and cooling completely.
In a mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer until well combined and light and fluffy.

To assemble the whoopie pies, put the filling into a resealable bag and snip the corner to make a 1/2-inch opening. Put the chopped walnuts into a shallow dish or pie plate. Flip over 1 carrot cake cookie and pipe a dollop of frosting into the center. Top with another cookie and press gently to spread the frosting to the edges. Roll the edges of the whoopie pie into the chopped walnuts and set aside. Repeat with the remaining cookies and frosting. Arrange the pies on a serving platter and serve.


I've boxed these for gifts, bagged them for sweet treats and kept a healthy pile of them in my kitchen (until they are gobbled up!) for weeks now! 

Enjoy!

October 15, 2012

A is for Apple

Each week, Baby B's little school focuses lessons on a specific letter of the alphabet.  I try my best to re-enforce the learning at home with some sensory use of the letter and examples.  Lucky for me, A came easy for our household.  Not only is fall prime time for apple season, but we found a few great ways to re-enforce that indeed A is for Apple.

The big bowl of apples graces the kitchen counter top.  Not only does it remind us to not go straight for the pantry snacks and to consider this as an alternative, but it's an easy grab for a re-enforcement lesson with B.  Occassionally, I'll grab him and we try making our "a" sound together.  Usually, this ends up with a big mouthful of apple and baby B looking like a little piggy on a bbq with a giant apple hanging out of his mouth!




This week's "a" lesson was perfectly timed for a new recipe I wanted to try for Paula's (that's Deen for those new around these parts) delish apple cake.  It was a smashing success and definitely will be made again and again!  I thought I was being clever by snapping a pic of the finished product as it cooled.  Someone beat me to it and you can see it was well enjoyed by the slice out of the back half in the pic below!  Keep scrolling to the bottom for this FAB recipe!




And then there's the prized bring home from school, baby B's very first school art work.  Awww, my heart melts.  He's growing up way too fast for my taste!  And yes, this pic was taken and the apple picture promptly removed from his clutches.  This is a keepsake, y'all!  Five more seconds with him and it would have been trashed.




Paula's Apple Cake (slightly modified from food.com and the Paula magazine fall 2012)

Ingredients:
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 cups chopped apples ( about 3 apples)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup raisins
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F Grease a bunt pan.
  2. Mix flour, soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon; set aside. Beat oil and sugar until blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then stir in apples and vanilla. Add flour mixture until blended; stir in pecans and raisins.
  3. Transfer to pan and then drop and shake the pan to release bubbles.
  4. Bake 1 1/2 hours until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack 15 minutes.  Once cool, remove from pan (I always try to run a spoon or dull knife around pan first before flipping) and dust with powder sugar.

October 05, 2012

Soup's On

It's fall ... one of my four favorite seasons!  I love to cook, but on busy weeknights, getting creative and daring in the kitchen requires speed too.  Last night, I made a batch of delish creamy tomato soup.  Garnished with a sprig of fresh basil from the garden, we dined on a delightful "pumpkin" soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for a cozy Thursday night.  The soup even received a (shocking) rave review from Dear Hubs. He went back for seconds and I'm sure is dining on round 3 for lunch today! 

 

Creamy Tomato Soup
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced 
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (powdered works in a pinch!)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 - 1 cup white wine
  •  24 oz San Marzano tomatoes (these taste better than other can tomato in my opinion)
  •  1/2 - 1 cup mascarpone cheese

 Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and saute onion and carrot until tender.  Add herbs.  When cooked throughout, add tomato paste and stir until the veggies are covered in the tomato.  It will be very thick.  You need to move fast at this point so it doesn't burn, add the white wine and cook for about a minute or until the liquid is mostly evaporated.  Follow by the can of tomato, salt and pepper.  The can tomato breaks down almost immediately.  You can use a large spoon to "chunk" up the tomato on the saucepan.   

Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until all lumps are sufficiently removed and soup is smooth.  Return to saucepan and salt and pepper to taste.  At this step, I added a bit more white wine to thin out my mixture (that's why directions say up to 1 cup).  Add the mascapone cheese and stir until smooth.  The mixture will be a thick, rich orangy red. 

When I make this soup, I go heavy on the red pepper because it gives an interesting zip to the soup.  If you are serving to kids ... you might want to go sparingly on this.

For pumpkin presentation, simply add a sprig of basil to the bowl of soup ... voila ... so festive!

Soup's on, y'all!

xoxo
~b

September 12, 2012

Sunday Supper

Yes, this is post #2 this week devoted to the delish food and drinks I consumed last weekend! On Sunday evening, as we were winding down our weekend festivities, the fam came over for a casual Sunday Supper. We try to do this most weeks. It gives Zsa Zsa, Dear Ole' Dad and Lala a chance to catch up with us AND most importantly, dote all over their prized baby B.

This weekend, I was so excited about my take home Holeman and Fitch ciabatta that i almost called that dinner! Instead, I made an easy dish of Hilton Head shrimp, big salad, the notorious bread with herb des provence butter and a lovely honeycomb almond cake for dessert! And every ounce of stuffed you may feel from reading that pales in comparison to how full we all were after dinner!

Whenever possible, that means not "too hot" or "too humid" as defined by Dear Hubs or "too cold" as defined by Zsa Zsa, we try to dine outside.  The table is casually set and we balance the meal somewhere between Thanksgiving fancy and fend for yourself Lord of the Flies.  I was pleased as punch that the table, recently painted for it's final (Lord willing) face lift, was dry in time for dinner!  The newly painted chalkboard table welcomed everyone with a "Bon Appetit y'all" written on both sides of the table.



 
 
The darling "sweet" and "water" tags were a birthday gift from Lala and were on backorder for two long months.  This was the first time I had to show them off.  I just love them.  Once again, Ballard Designs came up with a cute little thing I just had to have!

 
The much discussed "bread" was slightly toasted and sliced.  Served with a homemade spread it was just divine!  To make the butter, I softened a stick of salted butter and added a heaping dose of Herbes des Provence (French blend herbs) and a big pinch of kosher salt.  The result was just lovely.
 

 
Besides the bread, I tried to stay true to a gluten free meal.  Lala has a wheat allergy that was just recently diagnosed so I always try to accomidate when we can.  I always look for a reason to break out my Williams Sonoma honey comb pan, so this was as good of an excuse as any! 
 
This cake was simply great and totally gluten free!  Who knew that there are regular cake mixes now on the cake aisle that are gluten free.  Exciting stuff for Lala!  I took a gluten free yellow cake mix, stirred in about 1/2 cup of ground, toasted almonds and a dash of almond extract.  The cake turned out moist and yummy.  Topped with a honey glaze made of Savannah Bee Company honey, light brown sugar and butter ... yummy just got even better!

 
cheers to Sunday Supper, y'all!

July 31, 2012

A Cocktail or Two...

With family in town earlier this month, I took the opportunity to experiment on them like they were lab rats dazzle them with  new recipes .  Among the tested recipes, two cocktails topped the list and will make a repeat debute occassionally around these parts!

Not only were these two cocktails another great excuse to drink out of Mason Jars, but they were also a welcome change from our standard drink rotation here!

First up is a Berry Blast.  It's light and fruity and goes down way too easy!  Mix 1 part Trader Joe's French Berry lemonade, 1 part club soda and 1 part blueberry vodka.  Delish.  After one or two, we became brave and started mixing various fruity vodka flavors with the club soda mix.  When you want it less sweet or less strong ... simply adjust the 1:1:1 ratio. 


Next up is a delish cherry beer-garita.  Don't let the name fool you.  This bevvy will have the men happy for manly-ness of the drink and the gals pleased with the cherry nature too!  It's a win across the board.  And, should likely be renamed "Call a Cab" because after 2 of these you most definitely will need too!

This recipe was a gem I found on pinterest.  The graphic below is the best recipe ever ... how simple and informative is that?




Like I said ... even my toughest critics (Pop Pop and Pops) agree they were a smashing success!  Cheers, y'all!

July 30, 2012

Clean Eating

What if I told you I have uncovered the Holy Grail of healthy, fast dinners?  That's right ... now you are interested!  It feels like forever since I posted a recipe or two.  Fear not, we have done our share of eating and entertaining around these parts! 

Over the course of a week, I took on a challenge to prepare a home cooked meal every week.  While I love to cook and do serve my family homecooked goodness most weeks; we all have our days where we give in and cut corners!  I was inspired after reading "Eat This Not That for Kids" that we needed to clean up our hungry ways.  So, I consulted my fave Clean Eating magazine (which has an amazing recipe listing online too!) and grabbed down a few select recipes to keep me busy. 

Fortunate for me, Clean Eating has a section of recipes titled "20 minutes or less".  And, while we all know that basically nothing can be completed in 20 minutes when you arrive home after a full day of work, are standing in the kitchen in half of a business suit (after loosing the jacket, 5 inch heels and various jewelry components), and having a small little person tug on your leg ... I must confess they were pretty darn close to the 20 min promise. 

I'd strongly recommend 3 of these recipes.  Rest assured some are being served again around these parts this week!

The Fresh Pizza with Mozz, Spinach and Veggies
Country Fried Steak that's Healthy ... I'm in!


Herb Crusted Chicken with a tangy sauce that is to die for!
While I must confess, I do make the recipes my own and don't follow exactly ... the week's dining consisted of Country Fried Steak with mushroom gravy that was definitely a reasonable alternative for the "fat" version.  The Skillet Saute Chicken with a zippy, tangy sauce was impressive.  While I didn't follow the recommended seasoning to a "T", it was close enough and the sauce turned out fantastic.  With no dijon mustard on hand, I used regular yellow mustard and added some of my fave Savannah Bee Company Honey.  Lastly, the delish Flat Bread Pizzas were just what the doctor ordered.  Iadded some veggies, but rest assured these are already on the menu for the coming week simply because they are so easy and so healthy!  Not only are ease and health a criteria ... all of these are just delightlfully tasty.  I'm completely sold.  Each recipe was created with swift timing and was between 200-400 calories.  Scoot over and check them out!  Impressive, I do declare!

April 11, 2012

Double Double Southern Burger

Ya'll... if this were any more tasty and any more southern, I'd de'clare (note the apostrophy to get the appropriate dialect) this "Smack Yo' Mama Good".  Armed with a little free time after spending Saturday fixin' the yard, a large big green egg, desire to stay home and watch Master's highlights and a wild hair to create something delish... Dear Hubs and I created this masterpiece. 



Now, I'm a burger girl ... that's true, but this was so fabulous I'll be dining on it again real soon!  The only name suitable for such a fancy treat is the Double Double Onion Bacon Fried Green Tomato Southern Burger.  Short and catchy, right?  For short, we call this fancy the Double Double Southern Burger. 

Here's how this southern belle gave this burger the name....
  • The patty is a mish mosh of ground beef, chopped bacon and minced onion.
  • Cooked to perfection on the big green egg.
  • Topped with American cheese (only the finest).
  • Slide on some crispy bacon.
  • Slathered in 1,000 Island dressing.
  • With a fried green tomato and bibb lettuce for a dose of veggies.
  • Served on an onion roll.
It's a meal on it's own.  Well, maybe that's because I snacked on the extra fried green tomatoes while I was waiting for the big debute!  My Christmas gift, cast iron skillet, came in handy here!



Since it was nice out, the Double Double Southern Burger was served with veggies from the grill and washed down with a lovely Arnold Palmer. 

Divine!

March 26, 2012

Wedge Salads All Around

This salad changed my life.  Wait, not even my inner Scarlet O'Hara believes something so dramatic.  (I should totally do infomercials).  Ok, while that is not the case, this tasty treat was the perfect accompanyment for a delish dinner of filets on the Big Green Egg now that the temperature is at perfection here in the south. 

If you have spent more than 2.5 seconds in any fancy steakhouse or nice restaurant, I'm sure you have encountered their version of the gentleman's wedge ... or the traditional wedge salad for us less fancy folks!  Well, in a diva first, I made them at home and they were oh so easy and ever so tasty! 


Ya'll... this salad was to. die. for.  So ultimate yum and according to my principles of cooking - so very easy!  Make one and dazzle guests, heck ... even Zsa Zsa was impressed!

How To:
  • It's just a simple iceburge wedge.  Cut the head into 4 equal quarters.
  • Drizzle with a GOOD 1,000 island dressing
  • Top with bacon and tomato. 
  • The fancy ingredient ... shrimp! 

I'm telling ya'll.  It's that easy.  Look like a gourmet foodie chef in minutes by whipping this prize up!  It won't dissappoint!  Next time the boss is coming for a last minute supper or you need to impress the neighbors, just put one of these at their placesetting and I'm sure it will be devoured lickity split!

~charmed b

March 22, 2012

Home Cooking Working Mom Style

I work full time, ya'll know that.  And when I say "full time", well I mean I'm half married to my work.  That said, I do put family first and make sure that we do have our time together every day when I'm in town.  Since Dear Hubs and I were wed, almost ten years ago, I have found great pride in putting a hot home cooked dinner on the table.  Sure, some days it isn't exactly gourmet, and some days we go out, but on many days I do my very best to cook something to show my love language to my handsome fellas. 

I'll confess something if you promise to keep it our little secret?  I haven't exactly figured out the cloning thing and I am still searching for the mystery formula to have a few more hours in the day ... but, I've picked up a few tips and tricks along the way that keep me sane and able to attempt a healthy balance.  This is one of those trusty tricks.  Whenever I cook a big meal that can be frozen, I AT LEAST double it and freeze a second (and maybe a third) portion for a later meal.  It's a perfect way to cook once and enjoy the fruits of my labor on a day when chaos ensues and our dinner plan is left to the wind.



On a recent Sunday, Baby B served as my trusty kitchen assistant as I tried something brand spankin new ... cook once and have over TWENTY meals ready to go.  Sure, I did the heavy slicing and dicing, but his company made the time fly by!  And, who knew how much fun a spatula and bell pepper could be for an 8 month old!

There was 10lbs of chicken, about 8lbs of pork, about a dozen bell peppers, rice a plenty and homemade tomato base as far as the eye can see!  Following a simply plan published by Rachel Ray's Everyday magazine, I cooked once and froze my goodies to be repurposed for all sorts of tasty treats.  So far, we have dined on chicken quesadillas, Greek veggie flat breads, creamy polenta with chicken and wild mushrooms, Asian pork noodle soup and brunswick stew.

The freezer with individual portions of the stock ingredients!

The concept is simple, make a huge helping of certain base ingredients and then freeze them in individual batches.  When you are ready to prep your dinner, simply add a few fresh ingredients and in less than 10 minutes a hot and flavorful meal is waiting.  While I can't exactly find the plan I followed on Miss Rachel Ray's website, I did find this great little recipe finder for many make ahead meals.  Once we exhaust our current stash, I'll be finding my next recipes here!  Scoot over to the site and try out this cooking experiment next time you have a little free time!

February 29, 2012

Frozen Pizza Up-do

This tasty pic was just uncovered on my phone.  Woopsie, ya'll.  I had every intention of sharing this weeks back and never did.  What's a working mom to do when she works a little too late and shows up at home famished with no strategy for dinner?  She becomes a kitchen wonder woman.  This tasty creation actually started as an average cardboard looking, inexpensive frozen pizza (gasp).  Topped with fresh spinach, mushrooms and goat cheese ... presto, chango ... it's a delish pizza that made a perfect dinner for Dear Hubs and I on short notice.  Not bad for under $8!






February 16, 2012

Bestie S's spin on Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is my dear bestie S on our recent ski adventure.



In addition to her many talents, bestie S has proven that a good chicken dip can get even better.  While I've had that delish and addicting dip many of us know as buffalo chicken dip more times than I care to admit, I will confess that good can get better .... and that's what bestie S's recipe has done for this dip!

On our ski trip, she made this divine dip for our indoor super tailgate festivity for the Super Bowl.

Here's her top secret, better-than-good, OMG yum buffalo chicken dip recipe.  Try it and you'll be hooked like all of us!


Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients:
  • 3-4 chicken breast
  • Frank's hot sauce, couple of dashes
  • 1 pkg ranch powder
  • 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
  • white sharp cheddar cheese
Directions:

1.  Boil and shred chicken breasts.  If you have a bay leaf handy, she swears this makes a difference - boil with it!
2.  Mix with Frank’s hot sauce to your hotness tolerence.
3.  Mix ranch powder with cream cheese and layer on the bottom of Pyrex dish
4.  Add sauced chicken on top of mixture then top with shredded white sharp cheddar cheese
5.  Bake on 350 for 30 minutes and serve with Frito scoops


YUM!

February 08, 2012

Always Room For Bacon



This is bestie R posing for a quick pic with Dear Hubs (I'm going to be crucified for posting this pic).  They are a perfect match.  Bestie R is a fabulous chef.  She spoiled us all rotton with her gourmet treats while on vaca.  Dear Hubs likely thought he died and went to heaven, because like many of us (me included) Dear Hubs has a soft spot in his heart for a fine piece of swine ... that's right he's a sucker for bacon :). 

Bestie R whipped up the savory treat by the slab for breakfast ....


We were dazzled by a dessert tray featuring chocolate covered bacon....




And as shocking as it may sound, bacon also made it's way into our milkshakes!  What's crazier, after dining on it (and even converting a few skeptics to give it a try) I found out that this little gem is being piloted in many restaurants as a new staple!  Who knew???



Overall, we tested the versatility limits of one of our favorite meats and learned it's so much more than just a breakfast staple or the "B" of "BLT".  Thanks bestie R for some good grub and some even better bacon!


December 01, 2011

Birthday Dinner ...IN!

My dear bestie A just celebrated the anniversary of her 29th birthday ... again.  And we were lucky enough to have her and her family in town with us just days after her birthday fete.  After driving 5 plus hours from Charleston, the thought of packing up the littles (back in the car ... again) and hoping for 3 well behaved children and 4 adults was just too much to ask.  Instead, we celebrated their arrival and dear A's birthday with a fun make your own pizza dinner and a delish giant cupcake!

First, our casual appetizer (which Dear Hubs and I drooled over before they arrived trying to control ourselves) was a 5 layer Greek Dip served with pita chips.  So easy and so good, you must try!  If you humor me and browse through the pictures below, the recipe for this tasty treat is at the bottom!

Then, with the pizza toppings laid out buffet style, bigs and littles took turns topping their pizza crust with fresh ingredients.  After a short bake in the oven, everyone had the pizza that tickled their fancy.

And last but certainly not least ... a cupcake fit for a queen!  After years of resisting the purchase, I finally broke down and bought an oversized cupcake pan.  It was such a snap to make the cake and frosting it was a breeze.  I just may even break this little guy back out next week for Dear Hub's birthday!

Yummy Greek Dip (recipe below) served with pita chips

Look at all that yummy goodness!

Easy, breezy and kid friendly - toppings for the pizza!

Masterpiece in progress

Dear Hubs loading up his pizza pie!

Cupcakes for all!

A with her darling littles

The claps say it all - Happy Birthday!

5 Layer Greek Dip
Ingredients:
1 container hummus
1 cucumber - diced and remove most seeds
1 red bell pepper - diced
1 jar kalamata olives
1 container feta cheese
fresh dill
pita chips

How To:
1.  In a serving dish, cover the bottom with a layer of hummus.
2.  Chop the cucumber, bell pepper and olives into diced, small pieces.  Combine in a bowl and add the dill.
3.  Layer the veggies on the hummus.
4.  Top with feta.
5.  Garnish with more dill.
6.  Serve with pita chips.
Enjoy!


~charmed, b 

November 30, 2011

Easy, Fun Breakfast

Ya'll ... I must apologize in advance for the horrid photograph that accompanies this recipe.  Here's the scoop... I have a bad rep with friends and family for taking pictures of the strangest things.  Heck, I've even had an entire photo shoot over a cupcake before (they say confession is good for the soul, right?).  And so, when our dear friends, the M family, stayed with us a few weeks ago, I had to be sneaky and snap the pic of the finished product when everyone was occupied with littles, coffee or conversation!

I just love to entertain and I'm also a sucker for a delish breakfast.  This recipe is an easy two for one!  These little tasty treats are bacon, egg and cheese cups.  They make the perfect single serving for a big crowd.  Some of the gents even had two or three! 



Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Cups
(first select your quantity of finished items.  I will use X in the recipe below, but insert that quantity)

The Ingredients:
X eggs
X pieces of bread - white or wheat works just fine
X pieces of bacon
shredded cheese - I used about 1 to 1.5 cups  (just eyeball it)
salt and pepper to taste

How To:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Begin by cooking the bacon to a state where it's warm but NOT crisp.  Don't worry, it will continue cooking when you bake.  I did mine in the microwave for about 3 minutes for 8 slices.
3.  Using a rolling pin, roll the bread to a 1/4 inch thickness.  You want this thin, but not so thin that it breaks.  Using a cookie cutter, cut a circle out of the bread that is big enough to fill the bottom of your muffin cups and also cover some of the side.
4.  Crack all eggs, whisk to scamble and add salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Place the bread in a greased muffin tin.  One piece per cup.
6.  Fold each piece of bacon in half and lay on top of the bread.
7.  Fill the cup with egg mixture.  Do NOT fill to the top, it will expand as you bake.  It's about 1 egg per cup.
8.  Sprinkle cheese on top.
9.  Bake for about 20 min or until set to your liking.  (the egg will stop jiggling when it's done!)

For a big group, plate these up for a large table to pass or dine on buffet style.  The best part ... you don't need a fork to eat these bacon and eggs!  Kids love that!

Voila!
~charmed, b




November 04, 2011

All Mashed Up

Being southern through and through, a potato is something that just doesn't go to waste at our house.  While it doesn't happen often, on occassion there's an extra potato, hash brown, french fry or mashed goodness that isn't devoured and I try my darnedest to creatively use it in left overs.  This past weekend, I realized there was a tray of those short cut, prepared mashed potatoes (dread the thought) in my fridge that was just screaming to be repurposed.  With a few searches around the net, I used some creative licensing and my potatoes made their debute as soup!  I'm happy to report the steamy soup was totally yummy and well received.  Next time you want to give new life to mashed potatoes ... you just simply must try!
We dined on this with a big salad for dinner this weekend and it was delish!
Mashed Potato Soup
Ingredients: 
2 tblsp butter
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 med container fresh mushroom, chopped (about 1-2 cup)
2 can chicken broth (about 20-24 oz)
2 cups mashed potatoes (the prepared refrigerator kind work great - so do leftovers!)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 c half and half
1/4 sour cream
crumbled bacon - optional
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
Directions:
1.  Cook bacon (if using) and set aside)
2.  In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute onion until soft.
3.  Add mushrooms and continue to cook down until soft and cooked through.
4.  Add chicken broth, seasoning and stir to mix completely.
5.  Blend in mashed potatoes and stir until the lumps are gone.  Note - if the potatoes are cold, it will take a few minutes to come up to temperature and blend completely.
6.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in 1/2 of the scallions, 1/2 cup of cheese, sour cream and half and half. 
7.  Bring back up to temperature.  Garnish with remaining scallions, cheese and bacon.



August 24, 2011

June Cleaver Would Be Proud



It's been a nice change of pace being home on maternity leave for the past few weeks and in taking a page from June Cleaver's domestic diva manual ... having hot dinner on the table at 6pm is something I set out to accomplish this week. 

This meal has all of the wow of a meal that took hours to prepare; but with the help of your trusty slow cooker, it can be ready with minimal fuss!

Chicken Scallopini with Slow Cooker Veggies
Ingredients

  •  2 1/2 cups frozen seasoned diced potatoes
  • 2 cups frozen sliced carrots
  • 2 cups frozen early harvest peas
  • 2 cups frozen haricots verts
  • 2 pounds thin-sliced chicken breast fillets
  • 1 packet Knorr veggie soup dry mix 
  • 1 can condensed cream of asparagus soup
  •  1/2 cup white wine 
  • Vegetable oil
  • Flour, for dredging
  • Seasoning - Mrs. Dash and garlic powder

 Directions

1.  In a slow cooker, combine all veggies.
2.  Whisk togetherr 2/3 of the dry soup mix, condensed soup and wine.  Add to the slow cooker and mix with veggies.  Set slow cooker on low for approx. 4 hours.
3.  Heat oil in a large skillet.
4.  Combine flour, remaining dry soup mix, seasoning and a dash of salt in a shallow plate or dish.  Dredge chicken in mixture. 
5.  Cook chicken in skillet for approx. 2-3 min per side.
6.  Serve chicken over the veggies.


Voila!  Domestic diva meal in a flash!






August 01, 2011

Savory Herb Monkey Bread

It's been a wonderful few weeks at home with Baby B.  One of the lovely blessings we have had the opportunity to experience is the gift of hospitality and food.  Many friends have spoiled us just rotten by dropping dinner by so that we can adjust to our new baby routine without the fuss of having to prepare dinner.  While I absolutely love the chance to taste some of my wonderful friends' home cookin ... I've missed having the time and energy to cook and such myself. 

And so ... yesterday in the midst of a home renovation project (more on that later this week), I asked the fam to come over for a visit and dinner with Baby B.  Of course, you don't have to ask my lovely fam twice to spend time with Baby B, so they were over lickity split!  It felt so good to get back in the kitchen and we dined on flat iron steak and chicken, corn on the cob and a summer veggie saute.  It was all delish, but the menu item that had the fam swooning was the savory monkey bread.  It was a new recipe take on an old sweet favorite and it was a HIT!  The recipe came straight from my favorite lady, Paula Deen, and appeared on her show (which I love catching up on while I'm home!). 



Herb Monkey Bread
Ingredients

1 stick butter melted, plus 1/4 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 packages biscuits

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 12-cup Bundt pan; set aside.
2.  In a small bowl, combine cheese and Italian seasoning.
3.  Roll each individual biscuit into a ball. Dip each piece in the 1 stick of melted butter, then coat with the cheese mixture.
4.  Place dough into prepared pan; overlapping will occur. Bake bread, 30 to 35 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning, if needed.
5.  Let cool in pan, 10 minutes; invert bread onto a serving plate. Drizzle remaining 1/4 cup melted butter on top and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

I actually used 4 cans of the 7.5 oz size biscuits and pinched each biscuit in half to make more pieces in my bread.  You may also want to use more of the good stuff; cheese, butter and herbs, to make it even more tasty!  We all agreed that this not only makes a nice complimentary dish for dinner, but could make a great appetizer if served warm with marinara (pizza bread, ya'll!).

So as an app or with your meal, ya'll be sure to give this one a whirl!

July 13, 2011

2 in 1 Cookies

These may look like sweet, innocent yet satisfying chocolate chip cookies but au contrare ... these cookies are much more than meets the eye!  What you don't see in this pic is the tasty second cookie treat that hides inside just waiting to be enjoyed!  Yes, a chocolate chip cookie can perhaps be improved upon.  How's that you ask?  By adding the greatness of the Oreo nestled in the middle of the cookie surrounded by sweet chocolate chippiness.



Have I got your attention?  By all means ... let me explain how EASY and tastefully simple these cookies are!  First, you can start with just storebought chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge section at the grocery.  Sure, you could make your own from scratch, but those genius minds at Tollhouse sure have this one figured out!  Of course, the Oreos are from the grocery too - no work there.  P.S. - the new mini Oreos are absolutely fab for this, the perfect bite size!



To assemble, you simply scoop the chocolate chip dough into a tablespoon size ball.  Then, press the Oreo into the ball and surround the entire Oreo with the cookie dough.  Place on a cookie sheet, bake according to the chocolate chip dough directions (about 10-12 minutes on 350 degrees most likely) and then, voila ... you have a delish treat that people will be mesmorized to eat!

~charmed, b
 

July 04, 2011

Rice Krispy Sparklers

For one of the wonderfully festive cookout events with friends and fam this holiday weekend, we celebrated with a good food and friends at dear neighbors J and J's house.  Every year on the 3rd of July, we join them for a celebration, sparklers, bounce houses and delish treats that all the guest prepare.  Each time, J features the super "feet long" sub sandwich that her dad sweetly prepares for the crowd; importing bread long enough for miles and miles of sandwich from Florida where his restaurant sources the tasty roll!

This year, my contribution to the fete was rice krispy treat sparklers.  To gussy up the fan fave treats a bit, I cut them into the shape of stars and added star sprinkles.  If that wasn't cute enough, I added treat sticks from the craft store.  Once I had about 50 or 60 of these cute krispy pops, I realized I needed a way to display these upright instead of just placing them on a platter.  Insert the great tutorial of friend A (bestie M's sister) over at Dixie Delights.  Using a similar technique as she describes in her baseball posting, I fashioned a foam display board for the sparkler treats that made it not only easy for transporting, but adorable for display!






Happy 4th, ya'll!  Hope everyone is celebrating with good weather, good friends and good times!

~charmed, b