Closing the Kitchen Doors...for good.

It's been coming...and I've been fighting myself in my head about this for awhile now but I am officially closing the kitchen doors to this blog on Oct. 11th.  So if you want a recipe, print it out now lest it be gone forever. 

Quitting this blog has been a horrible, wretching decision but my path in life has just gone in a total opposite direction.  Even the way I look at food has changed, not so much as a pleasurable item, but rather fuel for my body.  I just don't feel I can bring you quality content any longer and let's face it, there are a TON of other bloggers out there who do it better on a more consistent basis and so, I'm going to let them keep on doing it for me. 

It's been fun, I've met some cool people, I learned alot and I am sad to see it end but the time has just come.  I send you all great big hugs for your support and your readership....blessings to you all.

Jilly

Taco Bubble Casserole

This, my friends, is the epitome of comfort food.  Well, Mexican comfort food anyways.  Much akin to my Bubble Puff pizza, this follows the same procedure - chopping up the biscuits for the crust so it puffs up and bubbles through the toppings for crispy, crunchy goodness.  YUMMY much! 

I wish I could claim this one as my own but I found it off TastyKitchen and I knew I had to try it.  I only altered it a wee...mostly in that she stirred the biscuits into the hot mixture but I knew that would make a melty hot mess of the biscuits so I changed it up by spreading the tomato mix over the biscuits instead.  I also added black beans and cut back the beef by about 1/2 a pound.  Feel free to use her recipe by clicking the Tasty Kitchen link or try mine.  Either way, just try it! 

You get spicy, cheesy, creamy, crunchy...just everything your mouth could possibly want!  Your belly will be mega happy you made this.  Enjoy!



Taco Bubble Casserole
adapted from FeistyFilly on Tasty Kitchen

1 pound Lean Ground Beef
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 package Taco Seasoning Mix (1 Ounce Package)
¾ cups Water
1 can (10 3/4-oz.) Condensed Tomato Soup
1 can (17.3-oz.) Grands Refrigerated Golden Corn Biscuits Or 1 (16.3-oz.) Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Your Favorite Taco Toppings:  sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, olives, green onions, etc.
 
Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x 13 with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.
 
Brown ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning mix, water and soup; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 minutes. Stir in the black beans.  Remove from heat.

Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 8 little wedges.  Add to the bottom of the 9x13 pan.  Carefully spoon tomato soup mixture over the biscuits, spreading out evenly to edges.

Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 23 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven; bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Let stand for 5 minutes to cool before serving.  (also makes cutting and serving easier)

To serve, cut into 8 squares. Top each serving with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, olives, sour cream and onions.  (I did this buffet style with bowls of toppings to people could customize their own piece.  It worked really well.)


Hope you enjoy!  It's absolutely delicious!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

It's rare that I come upon a recipe where words fail me.  This recipe though, I'm speechless.  Utterly speechless when it comes to describing this lush, velvety and somewhat indecent chocolatey ice cream.  I have never, ever had a dessert make me ooh and ahh at EVERY single bite.  Oh, the pleasure as spoonful upon spoonful passed my lips.  You just simply HAVE to make this.  

In all honesty, this is bar none, one of the easiest recipes I have for ice cream as it doesn't have a ton of fussy ingredients.  No tempering of egg custard, etc.  Just pretty straight forward - warm it, chill it, churn it.  I would describe it more but....I'm literally speechless.  That and I want to log off here to go get some more!  :)

Make it for yourself and see!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

from Jen @ My Tiny Oven

2 cups Half-and-half

2 cups Whipping Cream

½ cups Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, Unsweetened

1 cup Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

1 cup Smooth Peanut Butter

1 cup Peanut Butter Cups, Chopped

In a large sauce pan, combine the half and half and cream with the cocoa powder, sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine. Heat the mixture until it comes to a full boil, whisking all the time. When the mixture starts to foam, remove it from the heat and stir in the peanut butter, until fully incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until mixture is completely chilled, 8 hours or so.

Then put the chilled mixture into the canister of your ice cream maker. Finish in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Add the chopped peanut butter cups during the last 2 minutes or so of churning.

Serve right away for a soft serve texture or you can stash it in the freezer, in an air tight container, for a harder ice cream.

Amish Pancakes

I have a love affair with Amish cooking but being down South here, I'm sorely deprived of anything Amish.  When I lived in Ohio there was an *amazing* Amish restaurant that served the best chicken and noodles I have ever, ever had.  Oh, how I  miss a nice hot bowl of noodles over mashed potatoes.  (insert sad face here)  I decided I'd buy some Amish cookbooks and maybe I could find something similar to my beloved noodles and in the process found this fabulous pancake recipe that has since replaced all my others, hands down.  My 15 year old proclaimed these "the best pancakes he's ever eaten".


The book I found this in is called "The Amish Cook at Home" and goes not by recipe sections like veggies and meats, etc. but rather by seasons and shares with you what life is like in those Amish communities.  It really is a great book; I can hardly say I've read a cookbook cover to cover but this is that rare case where I did.  They really are a fascinating people and I love their simplicity in everything from cooking, to sewing to gardening.  That's what the recipe is...basic, simple and delicious.  I hope you'll agree.


These pancakes fluff up wonderfully, are thick and hearty and have this wonderful cakey flavor.  They are so good I ate one without butter or syrup and it was delicious.  The batter itself is VERY thick so you might need to thin it down with some additional milk as I did.  Using a 1/3 cup, this recipe yielded 9 medium sized pancakes.  Using a 1/4 cup, you should get 12 smaller ones.


Amish Pancakes
adapted from The Amish Cook at Home


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten


Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl.  Whisk to combine.  In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just till combined.  Don't overmix.


Add to your griddle and cook for 3 minutes approximately per side until golden brown and bubbles form along the dry edge.  Flip and cook on other side for another 3 minutes.

* Picture courtesy of StockXchang as we ate ours too quick to take a picture!

Slow Cooker Cheesy Ham & Potatoes

Since everyone has been on the slow cooker bandwagon as of late due to the uber hot weather, I wanted to share with you this delightful gem of a recipe.  Whether you add a salad, a roll and make it a full dinner meal like we do, or as a side or even as breakfast, this hearty fulfilling dish will leave you with some very happy tummys!

Using my food processor to slice the potatoes and shred my cheese makes this ever so faster.  This dish was in my slow cooker and on my plate in just 4 hours.  (on high or 8 hours on low)  It's super velvety, creamy, cheesy, salty...it just doesn't get any better than this for a quick set it and forget it type of meal.  I hope you enjoy!

Cheesy Ham & Potatoes
adapted from Mixing Bowl Magazine

6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 pound boneless ham, cut into small pieces
3 cups of shredded cheddar
1 small onion, diced
1 can of cream of chicken
1 can of cream of celery
Paprika
salt/pepper

In a 3.5-4 quart slow cooker, layer half the potatoes, half the ham, half the onion, half the cheese and one can of soup (spread out as best you can with the back of a spoon).  Add salt/pepper.  Repeat another layer with remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle paprika over top.

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  Edges will be bubbly and cheesy and browned. 

Note:  spray the inside portion of your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray to prevent sticking or use a slow cooker liner available at your grocery store in the foil aisle.  It's a lifesaver as this cheese likes to stick to everything.

Hibatchi Style Teriyaki Sauce

My family and I are total hibatchi/sushi nutjobs.  We could eat there everyday barring the $15.00 lunch price tag per person.  What's a starving, hungry family to do?  Come up with a your own teriyaki sauce to serve over rice and chicken, of course!

Seriously though, this fabulous sauce rivals anything that a restaurant serves and is way cheaper to make that buying a bottle version.  It uses stuff I usually have on hand too, which is handy since I make this about once a week and it's zippy fast to make.  And, using a low sodium soy sauce, I'm controlling the amount of salt and no MSG.  Yay!

Of note:  I use pre-grated ginger and garlic in a squeeze tube.  You can find it in your local produce aisle usually.  They have cilantro, garlic paste...all kinds of stuff in a handy dispensing tube but you can always feel free to grate your own ginger if you have a piece laying around.  Or you can use dried, ground ginger/garlic but I think fresh has more zing and pow to the flavor punch.


Hibatchi Style Teriyaki Sauce
adapted from Witchy, a friend

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
1 cup water (or chicken/beef broth)
½ teaspoon ground ginger (or 1 Tablespoon fresh from a tube or grated)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder (or 1/2 Tablespoon fresh from a tube or minced)
5 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon Wondra flour
pepper/salt to taste

In a saucepan, add soy sauce, water, ginger, garlic, brown sugar and honey.  Whisk together over medium heat till warmed through.  Salt/pepper to taste and adjust garlic/ginger to taste if desired. 

To thicken, sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of Wondra over top and whisk thoroughly.  Or alternatively, make a slurry of 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water and add to sauce pan, stirring till desired consistency.

Serve warm as dipping sauce or poured over meat/rice.  Delicous!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Today's recipe is one that can be found all over the US but especially here in the South where it seems everyone has their own version of it.  I thought being here in Georgia for this 4th of July, red velvet cupcakes seemed appropriate with it's fluffy red against a creamy white frosting.  Seemed patriotic to me!  

I cannot believe how much debate there is over this recipe.  From frosting choice to cocoa usage to nuts and more, it just seems there are so many versions of this floating around.  I'm particularly fond of this one though from Hershey's dating back to the 30's.  My step mom gave me a cookbook eons again with recipes from the backs and labels of famous product lines.  This was one from a Hershey can way back when things were in short supply.  This cake is so deep red, so moist and soft that you can hardly believe there is only 2 eggs in it.  You would swear it has oodles of butter too but not one ounce of butter is in there.  It is really just an amazing recipe and Hershey was genius for coming up with this version. 

Hope you enjoy!  I'm sending this batch of goodies off to the Army lab today at Ft. Benning for those poor guys who have to work today.  (like my hubby)  Happy 4th ya'll!  

Hershey's Red Velvet Cocoa Cake

1/2 cup white shortening

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp cocoa

2 ounces red food coloring

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp vinegar

Cream shortening and sugar together.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In a separate dish, mix cocoa and food coloring.  (be careful - that part can get MESSY!)  Add coloring to the sugar/shortening mix.  Add flour, buttermilk, salt alternating.  Mix soda and vinegar in a cup and pour into batter.  (will be foamy)

Bake in 2 - 9 inch pans that have been greased and floured  (or 1 9x13 or muffin tins) at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting with your favorite cream cheese frosting.  (I cheated and used ready made on this round.  Shhhh!)

This recipe is linked over at:

Chocolate Chip Cinna-Minis

I had such an intense craving this morning for Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Chunk Cinnamon Rolls...it was flat out awful how badly I craved those.  I adore her version but I find it long and tedious to make them so I only do it for special occasions and holiday brunches.  Today though, my cravings would not be sufficed by a bowl of Special K.  I had to have chocolate. 

Inspired by my insatiable lust for chocolate and mixed with the ease of TheCountryCook's shortcut apple danishes, I came up with my own version of chocolate chip cinna-mini's complete with icing for dunking.  My 15 year old proclaimed them "winner, winner"...and I whole-heartedly agree!  Give them a whirl, won't you?

These use those fabulous new Pillsbury crescent roll sheets in the tube.  So easy to do!

Chocolate Chip Cinna-Mini's

1 tube of crescent roll sheets

cinnamon, for sprinkling

brown sugar, for sprinkling

mini chocolate chips, for sprinkling

2 tbsp melted butter

glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, unroll your crescent roll sheet and re-shape into a rectangle, if needed.  Just pull it into shape; it won't mind at all. 

With a pastry brush, brush on the melted butter, coating VERY well.  Sprinkle a good healthy amount of cinnamon over the butter.  Now sprinkle about a cup of brown sugar over top of the cinnamon and butter.  Using your fingers, schmear it all together, coating the dough sheet well.  Now sprinkle on about a half cup of mini-chocolate chips (or less/more if you like). 

With the long edge facing you, roll up tightly.  Pinch the seam to the dough to seal.  Now using a very sharp serrated knife (I used my bread knife), cut dough into 1 inch slices.   (I think I ended up with 10 slices)  Place about an inch apart on your cookie sheet. 

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving and dipping into the dipping glaze.

Dipping Glaze

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla (I used vanilla paste so you can see the vanilla bean specks in my picture)

4-5 teaspoons milk

Mix all together.  If too thick, add a splash more of milk to desired consistency. 

Orange Delight Brownies

I wanted to do a really bad orange knock knock joke here but I'll spare you.  I have had this recipe lingering around in my "to make" pile since 2003.  2003, people.  That was the print date on the bottom of this page.  That's crazy to hang onto a recipe that long and not try it.  Boy, was I sure glad when I did because now it's in my keeper file for good.  It's so good, I had to pass it onto you guys.

I am a true blue brownie fanatic.  I've never met one I didn't like so I think when I saw this recipe had NO chocolate in it, I panicked and thought it wouldn't be good or something.  With this searing heat looming in Georgia though, I didn't want a brownie with chocolate chunks that would melt the second I took it outside for dessert on the patio.  This brownie was the perfect answer.  Not quite a blondie, not quite a cake but somewhere in between where happiness and kittens frolic together in Brownieland. 

I was surprised there was no baking soda or powder in it too...but really, the thinness added to the crispy top texture before adding to the super soft, tender and buttery middle.  The orange shines through clean and bright but no overpowering.  And don't skip on the powdered sugar because there is a world of difference if you don't. 

I do think adding white chocolate chips to these would be a great way to make them "Orange Creamcicle Bars".  *HINT*HINT*

Hope you enjoy these...and don't take 8 years to make them like me.  :)

Orange Delight Brownies

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup of unsalted butter, softened

4 eggs

2 Tablespoons orange extract

Grated peel of 1 big orange

Preheat your oven to 350.  Grease a 13 x 9 pan and set aside. 

Cream the butter and sugar together till smooth.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition.  Add the salt and flour, mix well then add in your orange peel and extract.  (Add chips if  using)

Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool entirely and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. 

Tuscan Lemon Muffins ~ Light & Airy

Keeping in line with our new lighter and "better for us" menu, I subscribed to Cooking Light and was so pleased to find this recipe in their latest edition.  Muffins are super great for us with hubby being up and at 'em so early in the A.M. for the Army.  He can grab one, a glass of milk and a piece of fruit and he's ready to go.  So when I found a lemon muffin that was moist, tender and in the end good for you, I had to make them.  It was a no-brainer.

These muffins roll in at only 186 calories with 6.2 grams of fat.  Not bad!  And it uses part skim ricotta and heart healthy olive oil.  It is has a wonderful, light taste thanks to its lemon rind and fresh squeezed juice.  Crispy on top, tender in the middle - it became the perfect breakfast muffin in our house. Best part is, your family will never be able to tell these are "healthy" or "light".  They are seriously THAT delicious.   Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.  Here's to keeping it light and healthy!  *cheers*

Lighter Spicy & Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Wow has it been awhile!  Its also been 12 pounds, 3 inches off my waist, 2 inches off my thighs and 1 inches off my arms ago!  YAY to healthier eating and exercising!  I thought I would start posting again....this time using some lighter fare for those of you who are battling the bulge like me!

One thing I thought about diet food - it was generally pretty yucky.  Reduced fat or low fat can be bland, rice noodles can get gloopy (it's a word - promise!) and skim milk is just like drinking badly flavored water.  I am NOT a diet foodie.  However, if you disguise diet food with spicy ingredients - it's winner.  I am not a fan of reduced fat cheese.  I think it had less flavor BUT in this format, it works really well, especially since cheese isn't the main flavor.  It's subtlety is nice and lends to the creamy, cheesy texture you're after.

I wouldn't dare call this diet food - as it does use a canned soup mix but it is LIGHTER than what I would normally make and I used reduced fat sour cream (you could even use Greek yogurt here instead), brown rice, white breast meat, low carb whole grain tortilla shells and reduced fat cheeses.  This in itself has been the mainstay of my diet - changing up what I can, when I can.  Making better choices where I can without sacrificing taste or texture.  Let's face it - if you can't bear to eat lighter foods because of the way they taste, you're going to turn to bad things to eat instead.

I hope you enjoy these ..we have them about once a week now.  They're amazingly good, cheesy, creamy, spicy and lighter than normal.  Perfect on all accounts.

Dark Chocolate Expresso Brownies w/ Almond Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Swirls of buttercream are good!

Yeaaa...this is how I re-cooperate from my little spill down the stairs!  Gimme chocolate and I'm good to go!  I'm doing MUCH better today, thank you all for your emails and messages.  I think I'm just badly bruised in my nether regions but I'll survive.  THIS was what I had planned for Monday to bake and share with ya'll but since I was laying on my back all day in bed, it didn't happen.  Let me introduce you to this sassy gem of a creation.

Awhile ago, on Tasty Kitchen, I stumbled upon a dark chocolate brownie recipe that blew my mind.  I am such a fan of dark chocolate so this just had to be made.  When you mix it up, the batter is near pitch black!  If you follow me on Facebook, I posted that I had made these and kinda left it at that.  But since then, I seriously make these every other week like clockwork.  They are so rich and sinful, it should be a crime...and I'm so willing to do the time for them.  (on the treadmill that is!)  Then, I had a King Arthur Flour cake recipe that called for expresso powder and it ramped the chocolate flavor to the heavens.  I put two + two together and added the expresso powder to this brownie batter and OMG.  Just OMG.  Not only do you get this thick, dark brownie with this deep, rich accent flavor but then you have molten pockets of chocolatey goo that just melt in your mouth too. 

And yet...that wasn't enough obviously.

Sweet & Spicy "Picnic" Chili

Forgive me for not using my own actual image but this morning I had a tremendous fall down 8 stairs or so trying to dodge a leg weaving cat and have severely wrenched my back, shoulder and wrist all wonky now.  I'm currently flat on my back in bed on my laptop.  I wrote this last night, thinking I'd get up, make it, shoot pics of it and post but that didn't happen per my slide on my butt down the stairs.   Hoping to be up and around tomorrow some...but wanted to give you all something today.  See you tomorrow hopefully.... *fingers crossed*

Since the last of the cool evenings seem inevitably upon us here in Georgia, I was wanting to pull out my chili one more time before its time for lighter spring fare.  Called "Picnic Chili" when I was given the recipe eons ago by a lovely, long lost internet forum friend, I was so intrigued by the ingredient list, not to mention the name that I immediately had to try it.  It has since become the ONLY chili my hubby will eat and has forever proclaimed it his absolute, dead favorite chili on the planet.  I'm not far behind him on praises but for different reasons.  For me, I think its great because its so dang easy to make with all the canned beans and condiments!  I am convinced that's where the "picnic" term came into play.  You simply brown your beef and then drop it all in a crock pot and let it go.  Its so simple but tastes like you've been working hard at it all day long in the kitchen. 

Yummy Sugar Free Dream Pudding Pie

Hate indoor lighting right now!  lol

Now, I know pudding pies are not anything new to the scene and neither is using Dream Whip but just stick with me a minute.  I started making this pie in a sugar free version for my diabetic boyfriend eons ago and just recently, I made another one for the Army lab here on base.  They have 4 diabetic lab techs there and I had sent a huge cake for a celebration for another solider and I felt bad for those 4 that couldn't indulge with everyone else.  How awful to nosh on a carrot stick when everyone else is eating Death By Chocolate cake?  There is just no comparison.  So I sent it along with the cake and don't you know, the pie was gone FIRST.  When they heard it was sugar free, they went nuts.  We figured it up once and at 21 grams of sugar for the whole entire pie (divide that by 9 slices), that is a relatively low dose of sugar AND its milk sugars and not processed cane sugars, which your body processes differently.  One soldier said "I've tried like every thing sugar free out there but this was the best sugar free dessert I have ever eaten."  

Pepperoni & Four Cheese Lasagna Rolls

DISCLAIMER: Upon making this recipe, you hold neither Sublime Hodge Podge nor its creator Jill Moore responsible for any harm done by excessively gained weight, high carb overload, exponentially jiggly thighs, burst waistbands or broken bathroom scales. 

Hi.  I like lasagna.  I like Guy Fieri also.  And waaaay back when Guy was just a another contestant on Food Network's Next Big Star thingy, he made an ultra gooey, over indulgent pepperoni lasagna.  I remember sitting there going "omg, that's just genius."  I like pepperoni too.  (forgot to mention that)  The only thing I hate about making lasagna is that I *always* have leftovers for nearly 3 days.  I don't know about you, but I'm kinda funky monkey on the eating leftover thing for days on end.  I need a break in there somewhere for my poor taste buds.  So, taking Guy's pepperoni and riffing on it a bit, I love lasagna rolls.  Not only are they smaller portioned, but they are typically lighter than my usual lasagna, meaning not as much ricotta or sauce is used.  They're cute too, all rolled up and mini looking.  

Pomegranate Blood Orange Sorbet

I've had some pretty bangin' desserts over my years but I've never yet had one of those truly orgasmic food experiences that makes your eyes roll back in your head, gives you tingles from head to toe and leaves you wondering "what do I need men for if desserts like this exist".  But...this is by far the sexiest sorbet I have ever had.  So tart and slightly sour, its icy texture just melts upon hitting your tongue and leaves this lusciously lingering chilling pop in your mouth of deep orange and bright pom flavors.  The pinky color is so cheerful & inviting, just beckoning you to scoop out one two more scoops into your bowl.  Its evil like that.

Bubble Puff Pizza

I've never met kid who didn't like pizza until recently when I was babysitting for an Army buddy of my husband's.  I had planned to make this recipe for her since she could help me prepare lunch.  She's 4 and what kid wouldn't love playing with food and sneaking pepperoni slices?  When lunch time rolled around, I told her we'd be making Bubble Puff Pizza, something my mom had made for me and that I had made for my kids when they were little too.  I started pulling out ingredients from the fridge and she's standing there, looking at her feet disheartened.  I said "Oh honey, what's the matter?"  She sheepishly looked up at me and said "I don't like pizza at ALL!"  I was floored.  I thought pizza was a staple in any kid's diet, who knew otherwise?!  So we ate peanut butter sammies and chips.  Oh well.

Dark Chocolate Orange Mousse

Valentine's Day here in Georgia was a beautiful, warm day and for my sweetie, I made him a plate of treats to tempt him.  I bought him the aphrodisiac truffle collection from Vosges Chocolates called Sweet Coquettes.  They had oyster cream chocolates with real pearl dust....not my thing but he's into the exotic stuff so it was right up his ally as a present.  (the Absinthe truffle was a really decadent though)  So what better to spoil him rotten than placing his favorite chocolate candies with his favorite chocolate mousse?  We sat outside on the back deck and enjoyed the Valentine's Day sun rays and ate our treats happily, like little kids, licking every last bit out of our dessert dishes.  We're gluttons, we know.  :P 

Happy Valentines Everyone!  Wishing it the sweetest one ever.  <3

Luscious Lemon Ice Cream

Click to enlarge!

I wish I could say I was in the mood for Valentine's Day and have something chocolatey with sprinkles all over but alas, I am not in a lovey dovey mood.  However, I am so ready for spring and sunshine or at least warm rains, not this freezing cold stuff.  I am ready to hear the birds singing and squirrels prancing all over the yard.  I miss green grass and swaying tree branches, heavy with pretty glossy green leaves.  *sigh*  In keeping with that line of thought, lemon ice cream came to mind to add a bit of sparkley happiness to my rather dull, bland life as of late.  Lemon is always cheery and bright.   Just what I needed!

Chicken Croquettes - a diner classic!

In our hometown was a very small diner, known for its counter where everyone would sit and watch their food being prepared on an ages old flat griddle.  My grandpa used to take me there nearly every weekend as a child and I fondly remember stacks upon stacks of flapjacks and never-ending plates of bacon.  The people who owned the diner happened to live next door to my grandparents and I remember quite well the smell of baking pies and cakes wafting over into the yard from their kitchen, cooling for tomorrow's dessert menu at the diner.  While I can't say they ever had chicken croquettes there, it certainly IS in the spirit of the Taylors who owned that diner and every time I make these, I think of them and how awe inspiring their food was.  Simple, tasty and made with someone's hands JUST for you.  Nothing was pre-packaged or nuked.  It was made right then and there for you. 

Me vs. Tate's - A Cookie Comparison

There has been much hype about Tate's Cookies as of late on the blogosphere and our store finally received some in stock so I caved and bought a bag of the chocolate chip version.  I was so excited to have found them, I think I actually did a mini-jig in the aisle.  We raced home and while putting items away, I opened the bag for a pre-dinner snack.  I have to say, I am not impressed in the least and I have to wonder if their popularity has more to do with Ina Garten's praise than it does their flavor.  Whether it be Paula Deen or Rachel Ray, whenever a food celebrity touts praise of an item and/or brand, it grows to ridiculous popularity due to zealous fans wanting to be just their televised idols.  I have to think that after tasting a Tate's cookie, this is the issue as well.

Breaking News!

I am so happy to have my first submission to Food Gawker chosen!  I always heard it was really hard to get your photos on there as they have over 400 photos submitted EVERY day.  That's alot to wade through.  That particular photo was my first real "stylized" photo so maybe I'm on the right track now. 

That just really made my day...thanks Food Gawker!

You can see my submission by clicking HERE.

A Divine Brisket - My Food Porn

I can do it.  I have the willpower today to resist.  I.must.not.look.  Just keep walking.  You want the deli counter, not the butcher shop.  Boots, don't fail me now!  I nearly walk past the meat counter at my store but stop dead in my tracks, staring and drooling at the raw brisket laying there all nice and demure.  "Come on...buy me.  You know you wanna.", it taunts me.  Feverishly, I bite my lower lip....my heartbeat drums in my ear.  *THUD THUD THUD* And before I know it, I'm telling the overly hot, tattooed butcher boy Jimmy, I want a piece of his meat brisket.  He smiles up at me as he slowly wraps his the red, juicy meat in brown paper.  "Thanks, sweetheart.", he tells me while our fingers longingly touch as he hands over his the package.  "No....thank you.", I quip before being so rudely interrupted by my husband who, at the other end of the counter, while waving a plastic bag full of crab legs, bellows out "HEY HON!  I GOT CRABS!"  Sighing, and looking at the empathetic butcher god staring sympathetically at me, I mutter under my breath, "Great.  Just great."  The size 0 fashion model-ette standing next to me mockingly twists her lips into a evil sneer and sideways glances at me as Jimmy barks "NEXT!". 

Country Classic - Creamed Chicken over Buttermilk Biscuits

This is a big post - bear with the length.  

My grandma was an *amazing* country cook.  For eons, every Sunday, we'd all pile into her sunflower yellow little mobile home's kitchen/dining room and after she'd get back from church, lunch was served.  We're not talking like a nice little old brunch either...we're talkin' the full fixin's.  Turkey, green beans w/ ham, dumplings, homemade rolls, pies of all sorts - the list could go on and on.  That woman lived to feed her kids and grandkids!  There was no such thing as a small portion and if you left the table hungry, it was your own fault for not going back for thirds or fourths.  Such was Sundays at my grandma's house.  She raised 4 very big boys and the woman lived in the kitchen.  She was phenomenal to watch too.  Every recipe was in her head and heart - there was never a recipe book in sight.  She made so many amazing meals and while holidays were her shining moments that will forever live on in everyone's minds in the family, I liked when she did smaller meals, like when I'd stop by unannounced just to visit and she'd make dinner for just us.  One of those meals was a creamed chicken over biscuits that just made my mouth water.  Tender pulled chicken in a creamy gravy over hot, buttered homemade biscuits.  There was, and likely will never be, any that compare to hers but I've kinda come to a happy place where I like mine fairly much as I did hers.  Makes me think of her...alot.

Its My Cake & I'll Cry if I Want To...

Some things I learned today...

a)  arthritic hands SUX for decorating a cake with a squeeze type icing bag  

b)  when using gel coloring, start with the smallest dot, not a spoonful or else your sky blue goes neon navy

c)  if you nearly choke to death coughing on dry crumbs, that's not a good sign

d)  if your mouth feels greasy after you eat the icing, its prolly not a keeper recipe (gross)

e)  I really, really need to take a Wilton decorating class in immediate future

and finally...

f)  it sucks to make your own birthday cake but if I left it to my hubby, I'd be eating a Twinkie or Ho Ho with a candle in it.

Easy Wonton Soup

Hubs is quite the Japanese food fanatic.  In New York, we had the pleasure of eating at Yobo, which served the best dim sum I have ever had in my life and had some of the most beautifully prepared sushi I have ever seen.  Everything about Yobo made you want to just linger.  It had dark wood, was dimly lit, had a fountain and pond in the middle of the restaurant and everything was geared to make you feel like you welcome to stay just a little longer...they served a fabulous spicy, hot tea at the end of the meal as if just beckoning you to kick back and relax a little longer and sip your mug of hot, steaming tea.  Nothing was rushed or hurried - it was just perfection.  Our last meal from New York was at Yobo, in fact.  I miss the Hudson Valley more and more every day.  Not their 8 feet of snow at the moment, but you know what I'm getting at.  :)

Terrific Butter Dip Biscuits

Last week since Jon and I couldn't decide exactly what we wanted for our menu, we decided to try something different.  We picked ALL new stuff we'd never had before.  Every meal we ate was brand new to us.  That ended up being a good and a bad thing.  Good because I found some really lovely new dishes (as in Jenna's Spicy Sweet Asian Beef) that renewed my faith choosing new recipes but then bad as I wasted ample time and money on others as they went down my garbage disposal from "big name bloggers" which I thought would be better than they were.  *cough* 

Spicy Sweet Asian Beef

Ever come across a recipe that you think will be just "ho hum" but you want to try something different so you make you and then...BOOM!  Sparklers go off, a marching band trumps through your kitchen and the heavens open up and a beam of glorious light sprays across your stove?  Yeah...I had that last night when I made this recipe from Jennalaughs.com  

I mean, just LOOK at that picture for crying out loud!  The rich, spicy, sweet beefy sauce just beckons to me to remake it tomorrow.  I could, in all seriousness, eat this once a day & not ever get bored.

Luxurious Brunch Quiche

Yesterday was a very lazy day for me.  I've nearly recovered from my flu/infection bout and I almost have my full appetite back so I was really craving something filling but comforting, yet still easy on my sensitive belly.  I stood there in front of my fridge just staring, wondering what I could make.  I had eggs, cream and a stump of Gruyere leftover.  QUICHE!  Oh yeah...I could deal with some creamy, fluffy cheesed up eggs.   

German Knoephla Dumpling Soup

The perfect bite with a bit of everything!

As a kid, do you remember those cheapy frozen chicken pot pies that had the perfectly cut cubes of potato and carrots in them?  Came in a red box?  Growing up, they were one of my most favorite lunches on the weekend or as a snack.  For nostalgia's sake, I would love to sneak one into my grocery cart if I could pretend to forget what chemically is all in those pot pies just for the sake of tasting that delicious chicken gravy that's inside them.  That was the best part for me!  And I couldn't be happier when I discovered this recipe nearly perfectly mimics the taste of that lovely chicken gravy.  *glee*

I have seen knoephla soup on various sites recently and I always kept it in the back of my head to try.  I even marked it into my favorites folder and then couldn't find it a week later when I wanted to make it. There seems to be some debate on the origins of this soup, whether it be Russian or German.  Knoephla, I've come to learn, is sorta kinda German for "little knob".  Traditional knoephla soup is a thick chicken and potato stoup (to borrow from Rachel Ray's terminology) and is popular up north in the Dakotas and Minnesota areas thanks to some emigrants way back when.  My version here is a mix between several I found on the web - including Angel in the Kitchen and Taste of Home and one or two others.  Each one seemed just a tad different but kept hold of that chicken and potato base.  (and I couldn't find frozen little dumplings at my store...they only had flat dumpling strips which worked but just needed broken up into smaller pieces before simmering.  You could totally make homemade dumplings but I'm sick still and not up to the extra effort.)

Oatmeal Choco-Toffee Muffins & the Georgia Snowstorm

Let me start by saying, I am from the North.  I was born and grew up in Ohio which gets a good amount of snow and ice thanks to the Great Lakes.  I also spent last winter in West Point Military Academy in the Hudson Valley area of New York which gets MOUNTAINS of snow.  We are currently at Ft. Benning, Georgia and last night they called for a snow storm which prompted all kinds of shut downs from schools, offices, and onwards.  You'd think it was a state wide emergency here in our area.  Everyone on the base yesterday was shopping and stocking up.  Every aisle was bare boned from frozen pizzas to ramen noodles, there was nary a box or bag in sight.  We just laughed because if it even RAINS too hard down here, people wig out, can't drive and stay home like shut ins during a hurricane.  But this...lol...was our "BIG" Georgia snowstorm.

Decadent Valrhona Chocolate & Peppermint Candy Ice Cream

Were you left with copious amounts of peppermint candy canes?  I was...and I didn't want to toss them.  Its candy!  You can't pitch perfectly good candy!  I had considered making brownies and putting them on top of a creamy buttercream frosting but blah.  Everyone has done that.  Nah!  I made ice cream.  But not your normal run of the mill ice cream.  Boooooring!  I upped the ante BIG time and made a super zippy pink peppermint ice cream studded with dark chocolate Valrhona pearls.


A few weeks ago I spotted these Valrhona pearls sold bulk at my market.  They are small pellets of crunchy biscuit (think almost a shortbread or the middle of a Twix bar for comparison) covered in layers of shiny dark chocolate.  I didn't know what I'd exactly DO with them but I wanted them.  So they sat taunting me for near two weeks as I pondered what to do with them.  Putting them in a cookie seemed kinda redundant...in a brownie they would just get lost and not noticed....but ice cream seemed the perfect vehicle for my new chocolatey pearls of delight.  And in this recipe in particular they would just be awesome possum.  You'd get the crispy mint from the candy canes, the creamy custard ice cream base and then BOOM!  A crunchy chocolatey bite in every spoonful.  It was madness I tell you!  Madness!