Grandma's Irish Soda Bread

My son, Jimmy, had to do a presentation in Geography on a country. He chose Ireland, of course. He has Irish on his dad's side. He had to bring in a dish from that country for extra credit. So, he asked me to make Irish Soda Bread (at least he changed his mind from corned beef hash).

I found an easy recipe in Gooseberry Patch Farmhouse Kitchen book. It came out delicious! The container came out empty!

Grandma's Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 c. sugar

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 1/2 c. raisins

2 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

1 T butter, melted and slightly cooled

Directions

Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl; stir in raisins and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk and melted butter, blending well. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir until well mixed. Pour batter into two greased 9x5 loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Turn loaves out of pans and let cool on a wire rack. Makes 2 loaves.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Brown Butter

This recipe is from the October/November 2010 Taste of Home Magazine. I kept looking at this recipe wanting to make it. Tonight, we decided to have breakfast for dinner. It made a lot. I should've halved the recipe. It was quite good. I loved the pecan topping.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Brown Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 T packed brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups milk

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Directions:

In a small heavy saucepan, cook butter over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add the maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Remove from heat, stir in pecans.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, pumpkin and cheese. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle. turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until second side is golden brown.

Serve with brown butter.

Yield: 14 pancakes.

Apple Orchard Snack Cake

This is another YUMMY recipe from Southern Plate. I've been wanting to make something with apple for a couple weeks now. I miss being in Ohio and going to the apple orchard to get your own apples and the fresh apple cider and maple candy. Sigh......

But...anyway, I decided to make this recipe. It was so great. Very easy. I used 2 apples and it was enough. Both apples were on the large side.

Apple Orchard Snack Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted

3 eggs

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2-3 apples, peeled, cored and diced

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 inch pan. Blend the granulated sugar, margarine, and eggs in a large bowl with a spoon. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, apples, and walnuts until blended.

Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until firm to the touch. Sprinkle liberally with confectioners' sugar. Cool and cut into squares.

Steak and Milk Gravy

I just recently purchased the Southern Plate cookbook. LOVE IT! I want to make practically every recipe! If you have not visited Christy's site, you must. Lots of down home cooking.

This was Wednesday night's dinner. My son had band practice until 6:00 to get ready for competition of marching bands on Saturday. I left work and went straight home. I had a cake made (next post that I am doing), homemade mashed potatoes made and prep dishes done before going to pick him up. Nice.

I had not made cubed steaks in ages. These were so delicious and tender. I rarely make homemade gravy. This came out great! Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow for lunch!

Steak and Milk Gravy

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour - divided

1/4 tsp salt, plus more for the gravy

1/4 tsp pepper, plus more for the gravy

4 pieces cubed steak, approximately 4 oz each

1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

Place enough oil in a pan to just coat the bottom, and place over medium heat while you prepare your steak.

In a shallow bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt and pepper. Stir that up. Dip each piece of steak into flour on both sides to get it coated well. Place each piece of steak in the pan and cook until good and browned on both sides. Remove the steak to a plate while you make your gravy.

Place the remaining 1/4 cup flour into the skillet with the meat drippings. Add a little more salt and pepper and stir over medium heat until the flour is lightly browned (just a few minutes). Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wire whisk to break up any lumps, until thickened and there are no lumps. This will happen rather quickly. Add a little more milk if you prefer thinner gravy. Return the steak to the pan and turn to coat with gravy on both sides.

Serve the steak and gravy together in a bowl or serve the gravy on the side to go with mashed potatoes.

Salisbury Steak

This is another recipe from Paula Deen's Best Dishes 2010 magazine. I actually made this last week. I think it turned out good, not my favorite, but I would make it again. More gravy next time. My son ate it up and wants me to make again.

I left out the mushrooms since we both can't stand them. I didn't make the gravy because I wasn't sure if Jimmy would like the gravy with the onions. So, I cheated and just used Heinz Beef Gravy. I thought it was good that way.

Salisbury Steak

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 (8 oz) package sliced baby bella mushrooms

2 T all-purpose flour

1 (10-oz) can condensed French onion soup

1 (10 1/2 oz) can beef consomme

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper and salt. From mixture into 6 (4 inch) patties. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Add patties to skillet, in batches if necessary, and cook 7-8 minutes per side or until browned. Remove patties from pan; set aside. Reserve 2 T drippings in skillet.

Add mushrooms to skillet, and saute for 1-2 minutes or until just tender. Add flour and onion soup, and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. stir in consomee.

Return patties to skillet; bring to a boil. reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until patties are cooked through and sauce is thickened. Serve immediately.

Easy Chicken 'n' Dumplings

This is another recipe from Paula Deen's Best Dishes 2010 magazine. This was another yummy recipe. I was going to make something else for dinner tonight, but Jimmy asked to make this instead. I loved the dumplings! I will definitely make this again. And, use the dumpling recipe, too.

Easy Chicken 'n' Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 chicken bouillon cubes or 2 tsp chicken granules

1 tsp House Seasoning

1 quart water

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of celery or cream of chicken soup

Dumplings (recipe follows)

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven, combine chicken, celery, onion, bay leaves, bouillon cubes, House Seasoning, and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is done.

Stir in cream soup until blended, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer; drop in Rolled Dumplings, one at a time, into simmering soup, and cook 6-8 minutes or until dumplings are tender and float to the top. (Do not stir mixture while dumplings cook).

Remove and discard bay leaves.

Rolled Dumplings

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup ice water

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Sprinkle a small amount of ice water in center of flour.

Work mixture with fingers from center of bowl to sides of bowl, adding small amounts of water as you move to sides of bowl.

Knead dough, and form into a ball. On a floured board, roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Dough will be firm. Cut dumplings into 2x1 inch strips.

Cookies 'N Creme Brownies

This recipe was in the Betty Crocker June/July 2010 magazine - "It's Summer." I wanted to make this the minute I saw the recipe. I'm so glad I did----awesome! I made this Wed and glazed them Thursday. They are the best! Did not last long!

Cookies 'N Creme Brownies

Ingredients:

1 box (1 lb. 2.3 oz) Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup coarsely chopped creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (7-8)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2-4 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray bottom only of a 13x9 inch pan. In large bowl, stir brownie mix, water, oil and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. Spread cookies over batter.

2. Bake 28-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour 30 minutes.

3. In small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and milk until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over brownies. Store at room temperature.

Cajun Seared Steak

I found this recipe on a site that I can no longer remember. It helps you plan meals and make a grocery list. I didn't venture any further with it since there is a fee involved. Anyway, I found this recipe and thought it sounded great. I was hungry for steak, too. This was delicious. However....I had a severe smoking issue. The recipe says to heat skillet to high. I did that but when I put the steaks in, you would have thought my house was on fire. I had my son running around opening windows. But, besides that..it was delicious!

Cajun Seared Steak

Ingredients:

2 (8oz) New York strip steaks or filet mignons

1 cup unsalted butter

1 T black pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Butterfly the steaks. Mix dry ingredients in small bowl. Melt the butter and pour in shallow bowl.

Heat skillet on high for 10 minutes. Dip steaks in melted butter; sprinkle with the seasonings on both sides and sear 2-3 minutes on each side.

Place on warmed plates. Add rest of melted butter to skillet. Stir for 2 minutes and pour over steaks.

Dalmatian Cupcakes

This recipe is from Betty Crocker's April/May 2010 book, Cupcakes, cakes & more. I had all the ingredients. It is soooo good. I actually made a week ago but never got around to posting.

I had to use a Betty Crocker picture off the computer. My finished cupcake came out blurry.

Ingredients:

2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, or regular size

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist devil's food cake mix

1 1/3 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy or whipped vanilla frosting

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 35o degrees. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular size muffin cups.

2. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and 1 egg with electric mixture on medium speed until smooth. Stir in one cup of the chips Set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and 3 eggs on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Divide batter among muffin cups (1/4 cup in each). Top each with 1 heaping tablespoon cream cheese mixture.

4. Bake 17-22 minutes or until tops spring back when touched lightly. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove from pans, cool completely, about 30 minutes.

5. Frost with frosting. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Store loosely covered in fridge.

Chicken Pot Pie

My 16-year old cousin, Brittany, made this a few months ago when we went to visit her and her family. She got the recipe from one of those recipe cards you get in the mail asking you to join. It might have been Grandma's Kitchen. It was very good. My son liked it too. I had her text me the recipe the other evening so tonight we made it. It came out so delicious.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 T butter, divided

1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste

1/2 tsp of dried thyme leaves

1 (16 oz) thawed package of frozen veggies (I didn't thaw, just simmered more)

1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1/3 cup of dried white wine (I used chicken broth)

1 refrigerated pie crust

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt 1 T butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle with thyme and salt. Cook and stir until no longer pink.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in vegetables, soup and wine; simmer about 5 minutes or until veggies are a little tender.

3. While soup mixture is simmering, unwrap 1 pie crust. Using a small cookie cutter, or a knife, make several decorative cut outs form pie crust to allow steam to escape. (or not so decorative).

4. Remove chicken mixture from heat and pour into a 9 inch pie plate. Top with pie crust. Melt remaining 1 T of butter. Brush the butter over the pie crust.

5. Bake pie 12 minutes. Turn oven to broil; broil pie 4-5 inches from heat for 2 minutes or until crust is golden brown and chicken mixture is bubbly. (Keep an eye on it.)

6. Serve immediately.

This looks good in the pot...over mashed potatoes!

Before being buttered.

I think it came out nice!

Italian Baked Pork Chops

This recipe is from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, September/October 2010 issue. I actually made this last week. I liked it, but my son did not. It's just he is not the biggest fan of pork chops. I did make one with just BBQ sauce on it and he ate that.

Italian Baked Pork Chops

Ingredients:

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

4 pork center loin chops (6 oz each)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, oil and Italian seasoning. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper; then, brush both sides of chops with mustard mixture. Press Parmesan into both sides of chops.

3. Place chops on prepared baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until just cooked through.

Crunchy Chicken-Cheese Bake

I have no idea where I got this recipe from. I haven't made it in years. My husband used to love it, so it's been 8 years or so since I made it! It's really easy and delicious. My son kept saying how good it is. We decided next time to double the toppings. There just wasn't enough soup and cheese for the rice...and dipping bread...

Ingredients:

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (used a package of 3)

4 sliced Swiss or American cheese, each cut in half (I used Swiss)

1 can (10-3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup

8 thin tomato slices (omitted)

2 T butter, melted

1/2 cup Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing

Hot cooked rice

Directions:

In 3 quart oblong baking dish, place chicken. Top with cheese. Stir soup and spread over cheese, top with tomato. Combine butter and stuffing; sprinkle over tomato.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Serve over rice.

Pizza Loaf

I found this recipe in the new Taste of Home cookbook I received - Grand Prize Winners. I was dying to try it and I'm glad I did. It was so delicious! My son loved it.

I used different "toppings" in mine. I added pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, black olives, pepper rings, ham, and sausage.

Ingredients:

1 loaf (1 lb) frozen bread dough, thawed

2 eggs, separated

1 T grated Parmesan cheese

1 T olive oil

1 tsp minced fresh parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

8 oz. sliced pepperoni

2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1/4 to 1/2 cup pickled pepper rings

1 medium green pepper, diced

1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives

1 can (15 oz) pizza sauce

Directions:

1. On a greased baking sheet, roll out dough into a 15 inch x 10 inch rectangle. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, oil, parsley, oregano, garlic powder and pepper. Brush over the dough.

2. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients - except the pizza sauce. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side, pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under.

3. Place seam side down; brush with egg whites. Do not let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Warm the pizza sauce; serve with sliced loaf.

Yield: 10-12 slices

Have the Cake: Big Soft Pretzels

This month's Have the Cake is soft pretzels. Thanks, Rena, for choosing this for our theme! I have not made soft pretzels in my teens! I love to eat pretzels. I was originally going to do a copy cat of Auntie Ann's pretzels. My I found this one in my recipes that I wanted to try. I used to get the recipe cards from Grandma's Kitchens and this was one of them. It looked simple and I had all the stuff. I made these yesterday.

It was super simple. I didn't really enjoy rolling the dough out. The recipe called to make 30. They must be very thin pretzels. I made my thick....I got 9! These came out sooooo delicious! I will make these again and again.

Ingredients:

1 envelope dry yeast

1 1/2 cups war mater (110-115 degrees)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 large egg, beaten

1 T coarse salt

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Sift flour, sugar and salt into yeast mixture and mix well.

2. Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 45o degrees. Grease baking sheets.

4. Divide dough into equal portions. Roll each portion into an 18-inch rope. Loop into pretzel shapes. Arrange on prepared baking sheets.

5. Brush the pretzels with beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake until golden 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately or store cooled pretzels in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Chorizo Frittata

I found this recipe in the September/October 2010 Cooking With Paula Deen magazine. I don't usually cook with chorizo and now I remember why...greasy! I made it for myself since Jimmy does not eat eggs. So, I have breakfast for tomorrow!

This tasted great. I think hashbrowns would taste great in it as would regular breakfast sausage.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

3 oz chopped chorizo sausage

1/2 cup chopped tomato (I omitted)

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup whole milk (I used 1%)

1/4 tsp salt

2 T chopped fresh cilantro, divided (I omitted)

1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend (I used a little more)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage, and saute until browned, 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomato.

2. In a small bowl, combine eggs, milk and salt. Pour over sausage and tomato. Reduce heat to medium, stir in 1 1/2 t cilantro. Cook until eggs set in center, about 3-4 minutes.

3. Sprinkle eggs with cheese and place skillet in oven. Bake until cheese melts, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 T cilantro. Cut inot wedges, and serve immediately.

Serves: 2

MSC Club: Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

This is my first entry for the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club. What a great month to enter! The recipe was on page 104 of the Martha Stewart Cupcake book. These were so delicious! I made these Thursday. We actually did not have anywhere to go, which was nice. It's been crazy since school started....marching band, scouts. My son is now Freshman class Vice President! We have two new people at work.

These were easy to make and very yummy! I just had to wait til the next day to try them. Since I did not have enough muffin tins, I halved the recipe.

Ingredients:

42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos. 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 lbs cream cheese, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temp, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat over to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

My Girl, Paula: Pineapple Upside-Down Biscuits

Last week's My Girl Paula was bread. I almost forgot to do it! Tonight, I actually did not have any where to go (Miracle!) so I made a meatloaf for dinner and baked! This recipe is from the Lady & Sons II cookbook. The recipe was super easy to make and DELICIOUS! You really must try it!

Ingredients:

One 10-inch can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

10 maraschino cherries

One 12-oz package refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 count)

Directions:

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease 10 cups of a muffin tin.

Combine the pineapple, sugar, and butter, and mix well. Divide the pineapple mixture evenly among the muffin cups. Place a cherry in the center of each muffin cup. Place one biscuit in each cup on top of sugar and pineapple mixture. Spoon 1 tsp pineapple juice over each biscuit.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool for 2 minutes. Invert the pan onto a plate to release the biscuits. Serve warm.

Tangy Garlic Wings

This recipe is out of the newest Paula Deen magazine, September/October 2010. It looked really good and thought it would be perfect for Labor Day since I am having issues with my grill.

It had a good taste, but Jimmy and I decided it could've been spicier and crispier.

Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 T red wine vinegar

2 T Dijon mustard

2 T chili powder

1 tsp garlic salt

2 dashes hot sauce

4 1/2 lbs chicken wings

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ketchup, butter, vinegar, mustard, chili powder, garlic salt and hot sauce. Add wings, tossing to coat; chill for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove chicken, reserving marinade, and place on prepared baking sheets in a single layer. Brush with wings with marinade.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Discard any remaining marinade.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream

I found this recipe in the Paula Deen Best Dishes 2009 magazine. I had all the ingredients..so why not! I made it Monday for breakfast. It was really easy to make. The pancakes were awesome! But, I could have done without the cinnamon cream. Just didn't do it for me!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3 T sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs, separated

3 T butter, melted

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate morsels

4 T butter, divided

Cinnamon Cream (recipe follows)

Directions:

Preheat griddle to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl, combine milk, egg yolks, and 3 T melted butter; add to flour mixture, whisking until smooth.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites at medium high speed with an electric mixer until stiff. Gently fold into batter. Fold in chocolate morsels.

Melt 2 T butter on hot griddle. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto hot griddle. Cook pancakes for 2-3 minutes, or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look dry. Turn, and cook other sides. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 T butter and remaining batter.

Serve with maple syrup and cinnamon cream.

Cinnamon Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, beat cream at medium high speed with an electric mixture until thickened. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and cinnamon, beating until stiff peaks form. Cover and chill.

Chili Mac

This recipe is from the September/October 2010 Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine. My son agreed that it looked like one to make. It was super easy for a weeknight and tasted good. It says 4 servings, but I think it was more like 6. I had a ton left over. It needed some liquid added to it when re-heating. But, otherwise, we liked it alot.

Ingredients:

2 (14-oz) boxes mac and cheese dinner

1/2 cup water

1 lb ground chuck

2 T chili mix

Directions:

1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, prepare macaroni according to package directions. Stir in 1/2 cup water; remove from heat. Cover and keep warm.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef, stirring occasionally until browned and crumbly. Drain well and return to skillet.

3. Stir in chili mix and macaroni mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

Grilled Caesar Chicken Breasts

This recipe is found in the August/September 2010 Taste of Home Simple & Delicious. I saw it and thought it sounded good. My daughter, Kelly, of What's Cooking Kelly made it and said it was really delicious. I had all the ingredients, so I did!

It is so simple to make. Just got to remember to leave time to marinate. I broiled mine since I'm having issues with my grill at the moment. It did splatter some. It did have a good taste. I will make again. It would taste really good in a wrap!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing

3 T olive oil

3 T Dijon mustard

6 garlic cloves, minced

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz each)

Directions:

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the dressing, oil, mustard and garlic. Add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 inches fromt he heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

I found another recipe on Fake Ginger that I wanted to try. I had some bananas getting ripe, and I had all the ingredients, so I had to make it. OMG! This is awesome! Amanda has the most awesome site. You really must check it out.

The recipe can be found here. You MUST try it!

Cookie Carnival: Coconut Cherry Bars

One of the selections for The Cookie Carnival this month was the Coconut Cherry Bars by Betty Crocker. I wasn't sure how I would like them even though I love cherries and coconut and nuts. I must say...they are delish! The only part about making these that I did not like was cutting the cherries..I had red fingertips for a while! But it was well worth it.

If you want to try these, go to Betty Crocker to find the recipe.

The crust after baking.

My Girl, Paula: Slip 'N' Sliders

This week's theme for My Girl, Paula was lunch. I couldn't decide at first what to make until I spotted this recipe in the July/August Cooking With Paula Deen Magazine. It was good, but I think next time I will do my own seasonings. Jimmy ate 4 of them! It was his first week of high school and he was starving!!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground round

1 T dill pickle juice

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3/4 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

6 slices sharp Cheddar cheese, quartered

12 slices fully cooked bacon, cut in half

Ketchup

1 (15 oz) pkg miniature wheat sandwich buns or 12 (3 inch) dinner rolls

24 hamburger dill pickle slices

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ground round, pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper; mix gently to combine. Shape mixture into 12 (3 inch) patties.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat until hot. Add patties; cook for 2 minutes. Turn patties; cook for 1 minute. Top with cheese; cook for 1-2 minutes or until patties are done and cheese is melted. Top with 2 half-pieces of bacon.

Spread ketchup on cut sides of buns. Place pickles on bottom of buns; top with patties, and cover with bun tops.

Peanut Butter Blondies

I saw this recipe on Fake Ginger's blog. I kept looking and looking...finally I printed out the recipe. My son had Freshman Orientation this morning so I took the day off. The orientation was very informative and he was interested in some clubs, saw lots of friends. I hope he has a great experience with high school. I took the whole day off today just to hang out. I had the time and needed a dessert for dinner at my parents' tomorrow, and this is what I wanted...badly! I did try a little piece and YUMMY GOOD! I love it! I'm sure everyone will tomorrow. I definitely will make this one again!

The recipe is found here on Fake Ginger.

My Girl Paula: Chicken Fried Chicken

This week's theme for My Girl Paula is Anything Goes. This was not the original Paula Deen recipe I was going to make. I was going to make oven fried chicken, but did not read recipe close enough to realize it had to sit in fridge for several hours. So, I searched on line and found Chicken Fried Steak and decided to make it with chicken instead. It was easy to make. The chicken was very tasty. The gravy.....never thickened up and I felt like I kept adding and adding salt and pepper. But, served with mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, and biscuits...very yummy meal.

The recipe can be found here.

Four Cheese Baked Ziti

This recipe came in an advertisement for a Taste of Home Cookbook. I kept looking at the recipe and wanting to make it. After Mom broke her foot, I decided it would be good for our Thursday night dinner. I made breaded baked chicken, 1/2 of the ziti, salad, garlic bread and the cherry pie previously posted. Dinner came out delicious if I do say so myself! My mom was glad to not have to cook...but she would not stay out of the kitchen!

I forgot to take a picture of it until after we served, so here's the whole dinner. It was so good!

Ingredients:

1 package (16 oz) ziti or small tube pasta

2 cartons (10 oz each) refrigerated Alfredo sauce

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 3/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta; drain and return to the pan. Stir in Alfredo sauce and sour cream. Spoon half into a lightly greased 3 qt. baking dish.

2. Combine eggs, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese and parsley; spread over pasta. Top with remaining pasta mixture; sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan.

3. Cover, bake at 350 degrees, 25 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly.

My Girl Paula: Chocolate-Cherry Chiffon Pie

This week's theme for the My Girl, Paula is Pies. I love pies! It's been so hot out, that when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. It involves no baking! Since I'm making this on Wednesday, we all know it's for dinner at my parents' house tomorrow. I tasted the filling. Awesome. I am making the entire dinner tomorrow since my poor mom broker her foot on Saturday. I feel bad for her!

The picture is before being frozen. I will take a picture of it tomorrow!

Ingredients:

24 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (oreos)

2 T butter

1 cup boiling water

1 (6 oz) box cherry-flavored gelatin (Jell-o)

1/2 cup ice

1 (16-oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (12 oz) package frozen cherries, thawed

Directions:

In the work bowl of a food processor, combine cookies and butter. Pulse until crumbs form. Press into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine boiling water and gelatin, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Add ice, and stir until melted. Fold in whipped topping until smooth. Fold in cherries. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Cowboy Burgers

My friend, Michele, at Alwayz Bakin' made this recipe the other night. She raved about it and I love a good hamburger, so Jimmy and I decided to give it a try. She was so right! It was so awesomely good! Jimmy did a great job grilling for me (especially since the grill didn't want to start for quite a while!). I did not set the burgers in the fridge for 30 minutes since Jimmy was afraid to turn grill off and then have it not start again! This was very easy and so good.

The recipe is from Deep South Dish. You can find the recipe at her site. Please try...you won't regret it!

Fresh off the grill!

My Girl, Paula: French Toast Stuffed with Banana and Walnuts

Last week's Theme for My Girl, Paula was Breakfast. I found this recipe in the The Lady & Sons, Too cookbook. I can't say this was my favorite recipe, but it was still good. I think I would have liked a little less banana stuff.

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

4 very ripe bananas

1/4 cup (1 oz) coarsely chopped walnuts

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

3 slices egg bread

4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

In a large, shallow bowl, using a fork, beat the eggs until lightly frothy. Stir in the milk; set aside.

Peel bananas into a small bowl and mash them with a fork. Stir in the walnuts and nutmeg. Spread the banana-walnut mixture evenly over half the bread slices, leaving a 1/4 inch border uncovered on all edges. Top with remaining bread slices and press down gently to seal.

Place 2 sandwiches in the egg mixture and press down gently. Turn gently and let soak for a moment, until evenly saturated on both sides. Remove from the bowl and repeat with the remaining two sandwiches.

In a frying pan or on a griddle large enough to hold all the sandwiches at once, melt 2 T of the butter over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and fry until the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Cut the remaining 2 T butter into several pieces and dot them around the pan. Flip the sandwiches with a spatula and fry until the second side is browned, about 2 minutes longer.

Place the French toast on warmed individual plates. Using a small, fine sieve, lightly dust the tops with confectioner's sugar. Serve hot, with jam or maple syrup.

Sweet and Spicy Jerk Ribs

This recipe is from the August/September 2010 "A Taste of Home" Magazine. It did not take any time to put together into the crock pot. And, man, was it DELICIOUS! Just the right amount of kick to it. The meat fell off the bone. I will definitely make this again.

Ingredients:

2 racks pork baby back ribs (about 4 1/2 lbs)

3 T olive oil

1/3 cup Caribbean jerk seasoning

3 cups honey barbecue sauce

3 T apricot preserves

2 T honey

Directions:

Cut ribs into serving-size pieces; brush with oil and rub with the jerk seasoning. Place in a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over ribs.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Skim fat from sauce before serving.

Cookie Carnival: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

One of the recipes for this July's Cookie Carnival is Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. The recipe is from Pillsbury. I made these this afternoon. I added some chocolate chips to part of the batter. the cookies were so delicious! Hard to stay out of them!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Stir in oats, raisins and nuts.

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute, remove from cookie sheets.

My Girl, Paula: Blueberry Cream Pie

This week's, My Girl, Paula theme is Anything Goes. After looking through The Lady & Sons, Too! cookbook, I found this recipe. Had to make it! It is for tomorrow night's dinner at my parents'. I've been meaning to make it for a couple weeks now. It was really easy. THIS PIE IS AWESOME!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

one 9-inch deep-dish pie crust (thawed if frozen)

Two 3-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup granulated sugar

One 21-oz can blueberry pie filling

Directions:

Press the chopped nuts into the bottom of the pie crust. Bake as directed on the package and let cool.

Beat the cream cheese with the confectioners' sugar. Beat the heavy cream with the granulated sugar until it forms into soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the cooled pie shell and top with blueberry pie filling.

Refrigerate until well chilled.

Fajitas

My daughter, Kelly, wanted to make this recipe by Tyler Florence while she was visiting. All of us chipped in...Kelly doing most, Jimmy making the guacamole, Steve helping with the grilling, and I did clean up and found stuff.

This was one of the best fajitas I have ever had! Thanks, Kelly!

Ingredients:

1 orange, juiced

2 limes, juiced

4 T, olive oil

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

3 chipolte chiles, in adobo sauce

3 T roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 lb shirt or flank steak, trimmed of fat, cut into thirds or 8 inch pieces

salt and pepper

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

Lime juice, olive oil, optional

12 flour tortillas, warm

guacamole, recipe follows

good quality store bought salsa

Directions:

In a small 2 cup measuring cup, or something similar size and shape, combine all the marinade ingredients. Using an immersion blender, puree the marinade until smooth. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and add the steak, seal and shake to coat. Refrigerate the beef for 2-4 hours to tenderize and flavor the beef.

Preheat a ridged grill pan on high heat. Drain the marinade from the beef. Lightly oil the grill or grill pan. Season liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill the steak over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes on each side and then transfer to a cutting board and let rest. Depending on the size of your grill pan, you may need to cook in batches.

Once the beef is off the grill pan and resting, add the bell peppers and onions tossed with lime juice and olive oil, if using. Grill the mixture for 7-8 minutes until the vegetables are just barely limp.

While the peppers and onions are cooking, heat up the tortillas. Turn any free burners on a medium low flame; place a tortilla on each flame and let it char about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip the tortilla and repeat on the second side. Once heated and charred, remove the tortilla to a clean tea towel and wrap to keep warm. Repeat until you have warmed all the tortillas. Or, you can heat the tortillas in the microwave.

Thinly slice the steak against the grain on the diagonal.

To serve: Spread guacamole on a tortilla, top with a few slices of steak, peppers and onions, and salsa. Roll up tortilla to enclose the filling.

May also be served with sour cream and shredded cheese.

Guacamole:

5 ripe Hass avocados

3-4 limes, juiced

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 serrano chile, chipped

1 big handful fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Drizzle olive oil

Halve and pit the avocados. With a tablespoon, scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl. mash the avocados with a fork, leaving them still a bit chunky. Add all the rest of the ingredients, and fold everything together. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole so it does not brown and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.