The Lazy Dog Cooks!

Cheesecake Praline Squares

2009-07-30T23:01:00.000-05:00

Back in the days when I lived a couple hours away from my parents, my mom would make this cheesecake often when I would come visit. Now that I've moved backed to my hometown and only 15 minutes away from their house, my visits aren't such a special occasion anymore. Not that I'm complaining about the mini candy bars that she keeps in the crisper but I really miss this cheesecake. Fortunately, she still makes it for holidays. See the picture above? That was my plate for Independence Day. And I'm not even sorry about it.

Cheesecake Praline Squares (originally from Taste of Home magazine)

Crust:2 cups flour
1 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
2 TBS powdered sugar

Filling:3 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 tsp lemon zest or juice

Topping:1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine flour, butter, pecans and powdered sugar. Press into an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla and lemon. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar and cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pecans and vanilla. Pour over cheesecake. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Sock It To Me!

2009-07-23T22:55:00.000-05:00

When we were in Memphis last month we had a full intinerary. There were museums for the boys, a motorcyle shop for WD, the truck race for all of us BUT the one place I wanted to visit was Neely's Bar-B-Que. I just love watching Down Home with the Neely's on the Food Network. Know what else I love? Pulled pork sandwiches, that's what. But let's talk about what I had for dessert: The Sock-It-To-Me Cake.

Although I've never had this cake before it's a popular recipe that can be found on the box of Duncan Hines' butter recipe cake mix. The Neely's (or more specifically Mama Neely) has tweaked the recipe a bit and the outcome is delicious. The cake is so moist and the lemon glaze is an unexpected but welcoming flavor. And if you have any left over--and surprisingly, I did!--it's perfect for breakfast with a cup of hot tea.

Mama Neely's Sock-It-To-Me Cake (original recipe can be found here)

Filling:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cake:1 package golden cake mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
For streusel filling, combine all ingredients and set aside.
Blend glaze ingredients and set aside.
Combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, water, sugar and flour in a large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes with electric mixer. Pour 1/2 of batter into a greased 13 by 9-inch pan. Sprinkle streusel filling on top and swirl the filing. Spoon remaining batter evenly over filling. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes invert onto serving plate, cool completely.
For glaze:Combine sugar, milk and lemon juice in bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Paula Deen's Squash Casserole

2009-07-16T22:50:00.000-05:00

Get out the butter--it's time for another recipe from Paula Deen!

Our squash is coming in nicely this year and although my husband can eat fried squash for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I thought a little change was due. Since I had great success with Paula's Apple Bacon Cheddar Sandwich and her Cookie Dough Truffles, I decided to give her Squash Casserole a try. You didn't have to twist my arm, though. Sour cream...cheddar...that's right up my alley. And it turned out great--just as yummy as it sounds!

Squash Casserole (recipe from Paula Deen)

6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini (I just used yellow squash)

vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped (I used half an onion)

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz) (I used Keebler's Club crackers)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside. (I guess I did something wrong--I didn't have any excess moisture!)

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

House Seasoning:

1/4 cup salt

1 TBS black pepper

1 TBS garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

My Favorite BBQ Sauce

2009-07-09T00:07:00.003-05:00

While eating our traditional Fourth of July dinner last Saturday I asked my sister what she liked better: Fourth of July food or Thanksgiving food. With her mouth full of potato salad she enthusiastically pointed at her plate. I was in the minority at the table because I picked Thanksgiving food. It wasn't an easy decision to make though. Especially when there was platter of grilled chicken made with my favorite bbq sauce right in front of me.

My dad has absolutely no sweet tooth so this was the sauce that I grew up on. No ketchup or brown sugar here. It's a thin, tangy sauce that requires small cupfuls placed on the table for extra dipping. I hope you love it as much as I do!

BBQ Sauce

3 sticks butter
8 cups water
1 quart apple cider vinegar
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup salt
1/2 TBS black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Heat through until butter is melted. Set some aside for dipping and use the rest as a marinade for chicken.

P.S. Remind me at Thanksgiving, when my sister is enjoying buttered rolls, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie, what her favorite food holiday is!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

2009-07-02T00:03:00.002-05:00

I love the classic mustard based potato salad full of hard boiled eggs and olives. My husband, well, he doesn't like it. At all. And since summer wouldn't be complete without potato salad I came up with this recipe for a Loaded Baked Potato Salad. The concept is pretty popular but after making this several times and trying different ingredients (chives, no chives, white cheddar crumbles, no cheese, more or less mayo, etc.) I think I've found the right combination. Now we just have to agree on whether it should be served hot or cold!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

3 lbs. red potatoes, diced

2-3 TBS salt

pepper, to taste

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and set aside to cool. Combine mayo and sour cream in a large bowl. Add pepper, onion, cheese and bacon and mix together. Add cooked potatoes and stir until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Croque Monsieur

2009-05-28T23:54:00.000-05:00

I was going through my odds-and-ends box on my desk one day, trying to thin it out a bit, and I came across this postcard from my brother. It was from one of his trips to Paris and just in case you can't make out the writing, I will translate:

Bonjour! I spent yesterday at the Palace of Versailles and you didn't! Today, maybe I will go to the Louvre...and you won't! See ya, sucker!

That was a little rude, wasn't it? I'll show him, though. I'll make my own ham and cheese sandwich, French style. The Croque Monsieur. It's a delicious hot sandwich made with ham and lots of swiss and topped with a creamy bechamel sauce. It's a little taste of France in the middle of Arkansas.

Croque Monsieur (original recipe from Ina Garten)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Poke Salad

2009-05-07T23:50:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, when my daddy was a boy, he walked all the way into town to see a movie with a friend. But before they could set off for the matinee, his friend had to pick a mess of poke salad for his mother. So the kid grabbed a bag, quickly stuffed it full of dead leaves and then put some poke salad on the top. He left it for his momma to find and they took off down the road heading into town. Sneaky, huh?

I'm not sure what kind of punishment the kid ended up getting--maybe he wasn't allowed to watch Howdy Doody for a week, or worse, maybe he had to give up Dragnet altogether--but I do know he missed out on some yummy greens for dinner.

We're fortunate to have quite a bit of poke growing in the backyard out by our burn pile. It's very poisonous so don't pick it if it's too big--you want to make sure that the leaves are from young shoots, less than 6 inches long, and don't have any red color to them. I've heard that you can peel the stalks and fry them like okra but I'm not brave enough to try it. I'll just stick to the leaves, thank you.

Poke Salad

a mess of poke
1 or 2 eggs
bacon fat
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add poke. Let boil for 10 minutes. Drain. Rinse leaves in a colander and rinse out the cooking pot. Add more water to the pot and bring to second boil. Add poke and boil for another 10 minutes. Drain. Rinse leaves again and squeeze out the excess water like you would with spinach. Add to a skillet with some bacon fat, scramble an egg into the greens, and season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Chickpeas

2009-04-09T23:42:00.000-05:00

Need a healthy snack? I do. I'm still on the South Beach diet and so far so good. Really good, actually, with snacks like roasted chickpeas it makes me forget that I'm on a diet. WD isn't a fan of garbanzo beans but Little pup and I ate a whole can yesterday afternoon. It makes a salty, crunchy, healthy afternoon snack. And you can pretty much use any seasoning you like--cumin, chili powder, or cayenne if you like it spicy, but I usually just stick to salt and garlic, especially when my 4 year old is around.

Roasted Chickpeas

1 can (15 oz) Chickpeas (Garbanzos)
1 TBS olive oil
salt
garlic

Drain the chick peas and rinse in a colander. Pour out onto a dish towel and pat dry. Put chick peas into a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and garlic. Pour onto a baking sheet and put into oven (I use a toaster oven for this and I think it works even better) for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Don't bother preheating. Shake the pan every 15 minutes. When they're done, let cool and enjoy!

Serving size-1/2 cup, calories-110, fat-2g, sugars-1g, protein-6g, AND it has 24% of your daily value of fiber.

The SB Peanut Butter Cup

2009-04-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago, we moved in with my parents while our house was under construction. I was living the good life. Babysitters at my disposal 24/7, no meals to cook, and the freezer was always stocked with ice cream. And I like ice cream. A lot. So after we moved into our new house, I unpacked my scales and discovered I had gained a lot of extra weight. Like, 20 pounds extra. I started the South Beach diet and lost 8 pounds in the first 2 weeks and I gradually reached my weight loss goal. It wasn't too difficult. But I definitely could not have made it without the South Beach Peanut Butter Cup. And now that I'm back on the SB diet, thanks to all that fudge sauce I've been guzzling lately, I look forward to this dessert every night after I put the kids to bed.

The SB Peanut Butter Cup

1 no sugar added fudgesicle
2 TBS natural peanut butter
2 TBS sugar free Cool Whip

Put fudgesicle in the microwave for about 10 seconds, scrape off stick into a bowl. Add natural peanut butter and sugar free Cool Whip and mix together.

Total calories-270, sugar-3g, fat-18g (the good kind)

Cabernet Sauvignon Hot Fudge Sauce

2009-03-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Okay. So these are not Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. They're green seedless grapes from Walmart. But there is Cabernet Sauvignon in the hot fudge sauce---and it's delicious. There's a local winery here that sells it and I've been trying to duplicate the recipe. Finally, after 3 failed experiments and an extra 10 pounds around my midsection, I have found the PERFECT wine infused hot fudge sauce. Once it has cooled in the fridge, it is creamy and thick and fudgy and unless you hide it on the top shelf behind that old jar of apricot preserves, your 4 year old son will find it and eat half of it while you are on the computer. Really. I know from experience.

Cabernet Sauvignon Hot Fudge Sauce (adapted from the Boulevard Cookbook).

1 stick butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup Cabernet Sauvignon wine

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup Dutch Processed Cocoa (I used Hershey's special dark cocoa)

4 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate (I used the 3.53 oz Dove 63% cacao bar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium saucepan over medium/low heat, combine the butter, wine, corn syrup and sugar. When the butter has melted, stir in the cocoa powder. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate, vanilla and salt, and whisk to combine. Pour into a heatproof glass storage container or bowl. Chill until ready to use. Can be kept covered and refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Ham And Shells Casserole

2009-03-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

I know, this isn't the greatest picture in the world, but it tastes better than it looks. I have the worst luck photographing pasta--I just can't seem to make it look appetizing. But it is. Trust me. The carmelized onions, the rosemary, and the smokiness of the ham give this dish a lot of flavor. You want to know another reason why I like this dish? Because it's a casserole and casseroles can feed a lot of people. And it usually can be made ahead. That's why. Perfect for Easter coming up.

Ham and Shells Casserole (from Taste of Home magazine)

1 pkg (16 oz) medium pasta shells

3 large onions, halved and sliced (I used 2)

1 TBS olive oil

1 pkg (9 oz) fresh spinach, torn (I used a pkg of baby spinach)

1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp pepper

3 1/2 cups milk

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup (4 oz) crumbled goat cheese (I used feta)

2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to pkg directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook and stir onions in oil for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Add spinach and rosemary; cook 1-2 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in ricotta and goat cheeses until blended.

Drain pasta; place in a large bowl. Add the ham, onion mixture and sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; sprinkle with Parm. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

And for the 2 people who's made it this far, what are you serving for Easter dinner!?

The Tim Tam Slam

2009-03-12T06:00:00.006-05:00

Okay, Australia, you've got your cuddly koalas, your magnificent Great Barrier Reef, and your rugged outback--must you keep all the Tim Tams for yourself? You must? Well, I don't blame you. But can you at least convince Pepperidge Farm to continue producing these cookies in the states forever and ever? Right now, for a limited time only, they can only be found at Target. But you don't understand, Australia, I NEED these cookies in my life! More specifically, I need the Tim Tam Slam!

For my Tim Tamless fellow Americans, I will attempt to explain this heavenly experience. First, head to Target and buy a package or 12 of Tim Tams.

Some folks say it's better to refrigerate them for awhile but I couldn't wait.Prepare a hot beverage--I used green tea.

Then, bite off two opposing corners and use it like a straw to suck up the tea, and then, when you feel the hot tea on your tongue, promptly pop the cookie into your mouth, and then....

...well, this is where I lost the use of my mental faculties and didn't get any after pictures so let me just say...nothing. Because there are no words. It's indescribable--you'll just have to try it yourself. The hot tea melts the inside of the cookie and when you pop it in your mouth the whole thing just collapses into a chocolatey mess. It's a divine experience. And it's too bad that the nearest Target is over an hour away but I guess it beats going all the way to Australia.

Homemade Brownies

2009-03-05T06:00:00.002-06:00

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I admitted that I once kept a framed print of Emily Dickinson on my desk? Well, I also used to have a key chain that displayed a baby picture of Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird. I had cut out the picture from a Sports Illustrated magazine. I had issues. Big issues.

I was just following in the footsteps of my Granny B and her love for the Celtics, although I am positive she never carried around pictures of celebrities or sports figures from when they were babies. She's much more stable than I am. She's also a better baker than I am. Every Sunday, she fixes a big dinner and she always makes dessert. One of my favorites is her homemade brownies.

Brownies (original recipe from the 1970 edition of The Home Economics Teachers Cookbook)

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

3 TBS cocoa

6 TBS cream (my grandma uses evaporated milk)

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs; beat. Add remaining ingredients except nuts and beat thoroughly. Fold in nuts. Pour into square baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Paglia E Fieno Alla Papalina

2009-02-26T06:00:00.002-06:00

First, let me start by apologizing to the late Pope Pius XII and to Italians everywhere. This is not really Straw and Hay for the Pope. This is only hay (egg fettuccini) because there is a certain small town in Arkansas where you can not find straw (spinach fettuccini). I know. It's a shame, isn't it? I think I'll write my congressman. But first, here's a great recipe for those Friday dinners during Lent.

Straw and Hay for the Pope (original recipe from Nancy Berzinac's gift book, Pasta Favorites)

1 (9 oz) package fresh spinach fettuccine

1 (9 oz) package fresh egg fettuccine

1/2 butter, divided

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup (about 1/4 lb) sliced mushrooms

1 (10 oz) package frozen baby peas, thawed

1 cup julienned prosciutto or ham (opt out if your abstaining from meat)

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium sauce pan, bring cream, 1/4 cup butter and pepper to a simmer (I add a little garlic powder).

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter over low heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Increase heat to medium, add mushrooms and saute until tender. Add peas and proscuitto and saute another couple of minutes. Remove from heat and add to fettuccini. Add cream sauce to fettuccini, as well, and toss to combine.

P.S. Word is that before Eugenio Pacelli became pope, he requested a dish similar to carbonara but a little lighter, and this is what he got. With all that butter and cream, I'm not sure if I would call it "light" but it is good!

French Dip Sandwiches

2009-02-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

My husband, WD, has been working the night shift this past month and usually leaves the house around 5 p.m. That means I don't have very much time after I pick Big pup up from school to get dinner on the table. I'm always looking for something fast and easy to prepare. Cue the sandwiches, please! You can't get more easy than sandwiches.

These French Dip sandwiches are really good too. After WD had gone to work that evening, I was getting the boys ready for bed and I got a text message from him. He wanted to let me know that he was still thinking about me the sandwiches we had for dinner and was wondering if there were any leftovers. Isn't that romantic? The way to a man's heart is definitely through his stomach.

French Dip Sandwiches (original recipe from Recipezaar)

1 lb thinly sliced roast beef

1 can (10 1/2 oz) beef consomme

1 can (10 1/2 oz) french onion soup

1 onion

2 bell peppers

sliced provolone cheese

1 pkg hard rolls

Slice onion and peppers and saute over medium heat until soft.

Simmer roast beef slices, consomme, and soup until heated through.

Slice rolls in half and put cheese on the top half--put under the broiler to toast and melt the cheese (does that make sense? You want the bottom half on the roll toasted and the top half with the cheese to be melted).

Take the toasty bottom half of the roll and dip it into the au jus, top with roast beef, add peppers and onion, then top it with the cheesy half of the roll.

Triple Chocolate Trifle

2009-02-05T06:00:00.003-06:00

Look what I made for the Super Bowl festivities this past Sunday. It's a Triple Chocolate Trifle! And I will be making it for Valentines Day, and for the Daytona 500 coming up, and again for my birthday in March, and let's see, what else? I need more excuses to make this trifle! And I promise that next time I'll share more of it with my 4 year old. Earlier this week he kept asking, "Where's that thing we ate at the Super Bowl party?" And he wasn't talking about the spinach cheese dip either. So now I feel guilty and the only way to assuage my guilt is to make more. Yeah. That's it.

Triple Chocolate Trifle

1 pkg oreo cookies

3 TBS butter

1 large box of instant chocolate pudding

3 cups milk

1 box brownie mix (plus ingredients needed for mix)

16 oz whipped topping

cherries

trifle bowl--see what I used? It's actually a big candle holder that I bought to put Sangria in:)

Scrape the filling off of the cookies and put into a food processor to make crumbs. Mix half the crumbs with the melted butter and press down into trifle bowl.

Stir the pudding mix into the milk and after it's whisked together, stir in 8 ounces of the whipped topping. Add half of this mixture to the oreo crust.

Then add half of the brownies, broken into bite size pieces.

Then add a layer of 4 ounces of whipped topping, then the rest of the oreo crumbs, followed by the rest of the pudding, then brownies, then the rest of the whipped topping. Garnish with cherries.

Chicken Tacos

2009-01-29T06:00:00.002-06:00

In an effort to keep my husband, WD, from setting up residence at any of the numerous taco trucks around town, I decided to venture away from the Old El Paso taco kits that I usually buy and make my own chicken tacos. The corn tortillas and toppings were a no brainer--the simpler, the better. Just a little onion, some monterey jack cheese, sliced avocado and a little cilantro. But I needed a recipe for some really flavorful chicken.

After searching around online I found the perfect recipe for shredded chicken at For the Love of Cooking. Pam has such great recipes including one for Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup that I'd love to try. And if you're looking for cookie recipes, she has many of those to choose from too, and they all look delicious. I'm so glad I found her blog. Now, I just need to find a recipe for Tacos al Pastor and WD can break his addiction to taco trucks for good!

Shredded Chicken (from For the Love of Cooking)

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and boil for 20 minutes (or longer--I've let it boil for an hour before which I blame on Twilight). Shred chicken with 2 forks after they've cooled.

Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies

2009-01-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

Ever since the first Presidential Cookie Bake-Off in 1992, the winner of the bake-off has gone on to win the election. There was Hillary Clinton (with my favorite chocolate chip cookies) in '92 and '96. Then Laura Bush in '00 and '04. But 2008 was different. Cindy McCain won the contest with her recipe for Oatmeal Butterscotch cookies but she didn't make it to the White House. That honor went to the Obamas. And personally, I think Michelle should have won the bake-off, too. Her shortbread cookies are dense, full of citrusy flavor, and perfect with a cup of hot tea.

Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies (Bake-Off results are here)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (of course, I used salted butter)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbs sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tbs Amaretto (I used 1 tsp almond extract)
1 tsp each orange and lemon zest
3 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg white
chopped nuts or dried fruit, optional (I used chopped pecans)

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Line a 17 x 12 x 1-inch baking pan with nonstick foil. In large bowl, cream together butter and 1-1/2 cups of the sugar.
2. Slowly add egg yolks, and beat well until smooth. Beat in Amaretto and zest.
3. Stir in flour and salt until combined.
4. Spread dough evenly into prepared pan, flattening as smoothly as possible.
5. Brush top of dough with egg white; sprinkle with nuts or fruit (if using) and with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
6. Bake at 325°F for 25 minutes or until brown, turn off oven and allow cookies to sit in oven (with door ajar) for 15 minutes. Cut while slightly warm.

VERDICT: Yum! My mom liked them so much that she made a batch for herself earlier this week. The dough is kind of thick, you won't think that you'll be able to spread it all out in a 17 x 12 pan, but it can happen. The original recipe says that it makes 6 dozen cookies. No way it makes that many. I got around 2 dozen, as did my mom.

Honey Chicken Stir-Fry

2009-01-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

The Year of the Ox is upon us (January 26) so I decided to share the only Asian inspired dish I know how to make. It's sweet, savory, spicy, nutty, satisfying, and super easy.

Did you know I'm an Ox? Yep. I am. If you were born in 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, or 1997 you are an Ox too. We are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. We also bring great sorrow and ruin to those who cross us. So you might want to think twice about cutting me off in traffic. Just sayin'.

Honey Chicken Stir-Fry

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 bunch broccoli
2 TBS honey
1/4 cup stir-fry sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup cashews, divided use
1 box (13.25 oz) whole wheat angel hair pasta

Cut up broccoli--just the florets--and put in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1/4 cup water, cover, and nuke for 6 minutes; drain.Cook chicken in a skillet over medium heat until done. Add stir-fry sauce, water, honey, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil then add broccoli and 1/4 cup cashews. Stir together then serve over cooked pasta. Top with remaining cashews. Enjoy!Oh, wait! Make this the second Asian inspired dish I know how to make--I forgot about my Peanut Sauce!

Paula Deen's Cookie Dough Truffles

2008-12-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

When I saw this recipe on Paula Deen's show earlier last month, I though it would be a great dessert for Thanksgiving. So I made them and then...I promptly hid them. There was no way it could compete with my mother's pumpkin roll. This recipe needed some tweaking. Bad. I didn't want to just scrap the whole thing. I mean, cookie dough that won't send you to the hospital with high fever and severe abdominal cramps? This was a recipe worth salvaging!

First, I went out and got a cookie scoop. Paula suggests using your hands, coated in flour, to roll the dough into balls. That turned out to be a big, sticky, floury mess. Get a cookie scoop. Trust me. Second, use salted butter. And third, use a container of dipping chocolate to coat the truffles. I originally used almond bark but I thought it was way to thick and masked the flavor of the dough. Actually, I made half of them with just a little drizzle of white chocolate on top and they were my favorite. Look out, pumpkin roll!

Cookie Dough Truffles (Paula Deen's unaltered recipe can be found here.)

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
2 containers of Baker's dipping chocolate (1 milk chocolate and 1 white chocolate)

In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate chips and mix well. Using a cookie scoop, place balls of cookie dough onto waxed paper. Place in freezer.
After 2 hours, shape into more round balls with your hands. Using 2 forks, dip into melted chocolate and place onto wax paper. Refrigerate for an hour to set.

Egg Nog Pound Cake

2008-12-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, hold on to your Santa hats, I have a confession. I don't like egg nog.

I don't know why because cream AND sugar? Together? What's not to like about that? Maybe it's the texture. It's like a milkshake that's been left out for awhile. Or maybe the idea of drinking raw eggs gives me the willies. I just don't like it.

My husband, WD, on the other hand, LOVES it. So I knew just what kind of cake to fix for his birthday earlier this week. An Egg Nog Pound Cake. The whole family enjoyed this cake. Even my 6 year old, the pickiest eater in the world. WD thought that the cake itself didn't have a very strong egg nog flavor so I made an egg nog glaze to pour over it. And the birthday boy was happy. Despite the 'Over the Hill' candle I put on top of the cake.

Egg Nog Pound Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 cup egg nog
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup powdered sugar (for glaze)
1/4-1/2 cup egg nog (for glaze)

Combine first 4 ingredients; mix on low speed in mixer until moistened. Add eggs and nutmeg. Beat for 4 minutes on high speed. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan or tube pan. Bake at 350 F. for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick insterted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with an egg nog glaze.

Toscana Soup

2008-12-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

Have you been to Olive Garden lately? I haven't. The nearest one is over an hour away. And although gas prices have dropped considerably ($1.55!) that's still way too far to drive to eat. Even if it's for WD's favorite soup--Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. So a couple of weeks ago when WD was craving this hearty sausage and potato soup, I bravely opened up my messy cookbook and found my own recipe.

3 Italian sausage links

3 large potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite size pieces

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cans chicken broth

4 cups water

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 TBS salt

3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 cups kale

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Remove casings from sausage and brown in skillet. Add onion, potatoes, broth, water, garlic and salt to a large pot. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add sausage, bacon, kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

Rachael Ray's Steakhouse Shepherds Pie

2008-11-20T06:00:00.001-06:00

Sometimes when I watch Rachael Ray's show 30 Minute Meals, I think, "You've got to be kidding me." I mean, is she running out of ideas, or what? Really, who thinks of combining macaroni and cheese, beer, chopped up hot dogs, ketchup and mustard? That's a miss. A big disgusting miss.

But to be fair, she has some hits too. Like this recipe for Shepherd's Pie. I happened to catch it on her show last month and I've already made it 3 times. Add a side of green beans or corn and some bread and it's great family dinner. And even though I've made it 3 times, I still have yet to get it under 30 minutes!

Rachael Ray's Steakhouse Shepherd's Pie (original recipe is here, my version is below)

Gravy:

2 TBS butter

2 TBS flour

1 1/2 cups beef broth

2 TBS steak sauce

pepper

Meat

2 lbs ground sirloin

8 oz container mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

salt

Potatoes

3 large baking potatoes

3 TBS sour cream

3 TBS chives

4 slices bacon

Bring peeled, cut up potatoes to a boil in salted water.Add sirloin, mushrooms, and onion to a skillet and salt to taste. Cook until meat is browned and liquid is gone.In a small sauce pan over medium heat melt butter, whisk the flour into butter, cook 2 minutes then whisk beef broth into flour, add steak sauce and pepper, to taste. Thicken 6 to 7 minutes. Pour gravy over meat mixture, then pour into a baking dish.Drain cooked potatoes and add sour cream and chives. Add a splash of milk so it will be easier to spread. Mash and then spread over the meat mixture. Top with nuked, crumbled bacon.

Pumpkin Soup

2008-11-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

So yesterday I posted a picture of my messy, unorganized cookbook. It's full of recipes I've torn out of newspapers, ripped out of magazines, and jotted down on envelopes. I've got dozens of recipes that are just waiting to be made. Recently, I decided to go through them to see if I could thin out my collection a bit and I ran across a recipe for Pumpkin Soup. I had torn it out of a newspaper (Irene Wassell's food column in the AR Democrat-Gazette) way back in December of 2005. And since soup weather has now arrived, I decided to give it a try.

And...it's a keeper! It's thin but creamy and delicious with buttered french bread. The flavor combination of pumpkin and onion is wonderful and the spices aren't overpowering like I worried that they might be. I can't wait for the weather to get even colder so I can make this soup again.

Let's see, that's one clipping down, 1185 to go.

Pumpkin Soup

1/2 cup minced onion
2 TBS cooking oil
1 TBS all-purpose flour
1 tsp curry powder, or to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)
1 (16-oz) can pumpkin
1 TBS brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, or to taste
2 cups half-and-half

In a large saucepan, saute onion in oil until translucent. Add flour and curry; stir until well mixed with the oil.Stir in pumpkin, brown sugar and nutmeg. Add broth and creole seasoning and whisk until smooth.Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add half-and-half and heat until hot. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Homemade Dog Treats

2008-11-06T06:00:00.006-06:00

I've had dogs for 10 years now and throughout that time I've made several homemade treats for them. Carrot cakes, oatmeal cookies, cheese puffs, but my absolute favorite is the Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits. They're easy, healthy, natural, crunchy and taste great. As a matter of fact, when LP and I made them for Lexie's birthday a few weeks ago, we ate 4 of them drizzled with a little honey!

Peanut Butter Dog Biscuit (original recipe from Sacramento & Co.)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup natural peanut butter

1 cup skim milk (I used 2%)

Mix dry ingredients. Mix milk and peanut butter, separately. Combine. Roll out to 1/4" thickness and cut shapes. Prepare cookie sheets with non-stick spray. Bake at 385 degrees for about 20 minutes. Cool and store airtight in the refrigerator. Best if allowed to come to room temp first.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

2008-10-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Someone needs to tell the tomatoes that it's almost November. My dad's 4 tomato plants are still producing even though they are far from pretty. But they're still edible. And if you just can't imagine dining on bruschetta or fresh tomato and mozzarella salad in October then go ahead and freeze up a batch of homemade tomato sauce before you pull up those tomato plants for good.

10 large tomatoes
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

Score with an X and drop into boiling water. When the skins start to peel back, place tomatoes into an ice bath. Remove tomatoes from ice bath and peel off the skins.
Squeeze out the juice and seeds.
Put into a blender and add sauteed garlic. Blend till smooth. Pour into a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. After 1 hour, add salt, sugar and Italian seasoning. Simmer for another hour uncovered. Makes about 3 cups of sauce.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

2008-10-09T23:07:00.003-05:00

There's a drawer in the refrigerator that's full of nothing but Newcastles. That's WD's drawer. Then there's another drawer in the refrigerator that holds my treats: cheese sticks, cheese slices, parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, feta and cream cheese. I like cheese. Cheese just makes everything...better.

So instead of the usual pumpkin pie this holiday season, try this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese pie from Betty Crocker.

Pecan Shortbread Cookie Crust
1 1/2 cups lightly packed crushed shortbread cookies with pecans (16 cookies)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I used a total of 12 oz)
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (didn't have 'em, didn't use 'em)
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 tablespoon milk

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, mix all crust ingredients until crumbly. Press firmly on bottom and side of ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake about 12 minutes or until light golden brown.

2. In large bowl, beat sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and both packages of cream cheese with electric mixer on low speed until smooth; reserve 1/2 cup. Add all remaining filling ingredients except milk to cream cheese mixture. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl constantly, until smooth. Pour into crust.

3. In small bowl, mix reserved 1/2 cup cream cheese mixture and the milk. Spoon over pumpkin mixture. Cut through cream cheese and pumpkin mixtures with knife in S-shaped curves in one continuous motion. Turn pie plate one-fourth turn and repeat. Cover edge of crust with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.

4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Cool 30 minutes. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Store in refrigerator.

VERDICT: Mmmmmm! This is how I'm going to make pumpkin pies from now on! I would recommend storing it for at least 24 hours though--not just 4. The extra time hanging out in the fridge took away the overpowering pumpkin taste and made it taste more like a pumpkin cheesecake, which was the taste I was hoping for.

Soft Molasses Cookies

2008-09-30T21:02:00.003-05:00

I can't decide if I like Autumn or not. I get taken in by the cooler temperatures, the reds and golds of the changing leaves, and a break on my electric bill. But then there's the spiders. Lots of spiders. And that weird dew/condensation thing happening with your windshield where you have to get the temp just right inside your vehicle to be able to see. I don't like that.

Oh, you know another thing I like about Autumn? The perfect Fall combination of molasses cookies and a hot cup of coffee or tea. I'll suffer through the spiders for that.

Soft Molasses Cookies (from recipezaar)

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream together shortening and brown sugar. Stir in egg and molasses and mix well. Fold in dry ingredients and stir. Cover and chill till firm (1-2 hours). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into small balls and roll in white sugar. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Leave on sheet 1 minute until set.

Four Layer Delight

2008-09-18T06:30:00.000-05:00

Time for a classic! My mom used to make this for Thanksgiving every year when I was growing up. As a kid, it was the highlight of the meal. But then along came the early '90s. A time for change. A time to wear lots of flannel. A time for mom to put aside my beloved four layer delight and start serving a pumpkin roll. So now anytime I want this dessert I have to make it myself. And although it will always be Four Layer Delight to me, it's also known as Baskin Robbins, Robert Redford Pie, Mississippi Mud, and Texas Yum Yum Pie.

1 cup flour
1 stick butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans (plus extra for garnish)
12 oz cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 small boxes (3.9 oz each) instant pudding (I used chocolate)
3 cups milk
1 container Cool Whip

Mix flour, butter, and nuts. Press into a square baking dish. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Mix softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1/2 of Cool Whip. Spread over cooled crust. Mix pudding with milk and pour over cream cheese layer. Spread the remaining Cool Whip on top and garnish with extra pecans. Refrigerate for a few hours.

Quiche Lorraine

2008-09-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

Remember back in January when I told the story about my grandma hobnobing with Paris Hilton? I had mentioned how we had celebrated WD's birthday at a restaurant there in Altus, AR (where A Simple Life was filmed) and WD just went on and on and on about their onion soup. While he was raving about the soup, I was raving about what I had ordered. The Quiche Lorraine. Bacon. Cheese. Onions. You can't get better than that. Oh, wait, you can! When you make it into a pie!

Ready to bake pie crust

8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese ( I used sliced)

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

4 large eggs

2 cups whipping cream or half-and-half

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp ground red pepper ( I didn't use any)

Bake pie crust in pie plate according to package directions.

When done, set temp to 325 degrees F. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion onto pie crust.

In a bowl, beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie plate.

Bake 45-50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Cake In A Mug

2008-08-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wanted just one piece of chocolate cake? Not a whole cake where you would be tempted to eat the whole thing in 2 days--then feel guilty for the next 2 weeks--but just one piece of chocolate cake. Just a little something to keep you company while you pay the bills, or after you put the kids to bed, or while you watch your laundry pile up. Well, here's a recipe for a chocolate cake in a mug that gives you the 'chocolate-pick-me-up' you may need to tackle that load of laundry.

3 TBS all-purpose flour
2 tsp cocoa
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 TBS sugar
2 tsp veg. oil
2 TBS water
1/4 tsp vanilla
latte mug
frosting

In a small bowl, sift first 4 ingredients together. Then add last 4 ingredients and mix well. Spray the inside of mug with cooking spray; add cake batter. Put in microwave for 2 minutes. Top with frosting, a homemade chocolate glaze, or chocolate syrup.

Corn Relish

2008-08-05T00:14:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm...corn relish. I look forward to this stuff every summer. One bite of this sweet, fresh relish makes me want to slap my grandma. Figuratively speaking of course! My grandma is the cook that hands out jars of this relish to my mom, sister, and myself every year so slapping her would not be a very polite thing to do. Especially if I'm expecting to get anymore next year. There's quite a bit of ingredients and chopping involved but it does make a lot (8 pints) and is totally worth it.

2 quarts fresh whole kernel corn
1 quart shredded cabbage
2 cups sugar
1 quart apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 tbs dry mustard
1 tbs mustard seed
1 tbs celery seed
1 tbs tumeric
1 tbs salt

Mix all ingredients in a big ol' pot. Simmer for 20 minutes. Pour into jars. Store in refrigerator. And when you take that first bite, please refrain from actually slapping your granny, okay? That's just an expression.

Crockpot Chili

2008-07-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

My last 4 food posts have been desserts so how 'bout a little protein, okay? How 'bout a big bowl of chili? I know, I know, chili recipes are like blogs--everybody's got one. But this one's my favorite. It's chunky with just the right amount of spices. And there's no standing around a hot stove since it's fixed in a slow-cooker. A definite plus this summer. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chili

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 TBS chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can water

Brown ground beef. While beef is browning add rest of ingredients to crock pot. Add cooked beef and stir. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Blackberry Brulee

2008-07-01T07:30:00.001-05:00

What's better than creme brulee? Creme brulee with fruit!

Our house is surrounded by blackberry bushes. As the berries began to ripen, I wondered what I could do with them this year. Blackberry cobbler? Naw, yummy but too...predictable. Pan Roasted Venison With Crushed Blackberry-Ancho Chile Sauce & Sweet Potato-Toasted Pine Nut Polenta? Um....no. I'll leave that to Bobby Flay. I need something that's easy and inexpensive. Something like Blackberry Brulee!

Although picking blackberries can be a little bothersome, the chiggers and thorns are totally worth it when you taste this sweet fruit combined with rich, creamy, warm, vanilla custard.

Blackberry Brulee

1 cup blackberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 TBS cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp packed brown sugar

Place blackberries evenly in bottom of four 10-ounce ramekins.
Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in half-and-half. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick. Stir in vanilla. Spoon over blackberries. Sprinkly 1 tsp brown sugar over mixture in each ramekin. Broil a few minutes or just until brown sugar is melted.

Sour Cream Coconut Cake

2008-06-17T07:48:00.001-05:00

The last time I had made this cake was for WD's birthday a couple of years ago. I've really been craving it lately so Father's Day was the perfect excuse to make it again. This cake needs to be prepared a couple of days in advance. That way, the sour cream has time to mellow out and not taste so 'sour creamy'. Which means, if you have a 4 year old like I do, you get to hear "I want cake! I want cake!" for 2 days straight.

Sour Cream Coconut Cake

1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients on back of box)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (16 oz) container sour cream
1 (8 oz) container extra creamy cool whip
3 cups coconut, divided use

Bake cake according to package instructions using 2 (9 inch) cake pans; cool.
In a bowl, mix by hand powdered sugar, vanilla, sour cream and cool whip. Save a small amount of coconut for sprinkling on top of cake. Stir remaining coconut into icing. Spread between cake layers. Sprinkle reserved coconut on top. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight.

Hillary Clinton's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-06-10T08:09:00.001-05:00

Remember 1992? End of the Road by Boys II Men was #1 on the radio, Aladdin was the top grossing movie of the year, Jay Leno replaced Johnny Carson as host of the Tonight Show, and a little show called The Real World made its debut. It was also the year I moved away to college and had pancakes for dinner every night. But let's not dwell on that.

1992 was also the year that Hillary Clinton (in)famously said, "I've done the best I can to lead my life. I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas." Well, the Republicans jumped on that quote like me on a pancake and accused her of belittling stay-at-home-moms. So in order to make amends, Hillary agreed to a chocolate chip cookie bake off between her and Barbara Bush. And, unlike her bid for the democratic presidential nomination, Hillary won. Here's her winning recipe:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking sheets lightly with cooking spray.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

Beat together shortening, sugars and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy.

Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy.

Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and then chocolate chips.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or till golden. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

VERDICT: We loved them! Although they were thin, they were very chewy and ooey and gooey. I left out the oats because I didn't have any on hand. The next time I make these I probably won't add any either. Very yummy and dare I say, better than the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I posted a few weeks ago!

Triple-Crust Peach Cobbler

2008-06-03T07:53:00.001-05:00

When this recipe from Betty Crocker popped up on my igoogle homepage, I had to try it. After all, what is the best part of a pie or cobbler? The crust--that's what! Below are the directions just as Betty has them but I will tell you right now that I cheated and used pre-made pie crusts. And I'll do it again, dadgummit.

3 packages (11 ounces each) Betty Crocker® pie crust mix
1 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon extract
2 cans (29 ounces each) sliced peaches in syrup, undrained

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Stir 1 package pie crust mix and 1/3 cup of the cold water until mixture forms a ball. Flatten ball; roll into rectangle, 11x8 inches. Cut into 4 strips, 11x2 inches each. Place strips on ungreased cookie sheet; bake 18 minutes. Set aside.

2. Stir 1 package pie crust mix and 1/3 cup of the cold water until mixture forms a ball. Flatten ball; roll to fit bottom and sides of ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Place in dish; set aside.

3. Stir together sugar, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon extract and peaches in large bowl. Pour half of mixture in baking dish. Arrange the 4 pastry strips on top. Pour remaining half of peach mixture on top.

4. Stir 1 package pie crust mix and remaining 1/3 cup cold water until mixture forms a ball. Flatten ball; roll to fit on top of mixture in baking dish. Cut several holes or slits in crust. Place crust on top of mixture in baking dish; seal to edges of dish.

5. Bake about 1 hour or until crust is golden brown. Store covered in refrigerator.

It turned out great except next time I'm definitely going to drain the peaches. There was way too much liquid in the finished product. I'd say this was a keeper. Behold, the crust:

Pasta With Vegetables

2008-05-27T22:55:00.001-05:00

The only vegetable (fruit?) I've ever grown is tomatoes. Which is kind of selfish because WD abhors tomatoes. So this year I decided to add his favorite vegetable to my little garden: squash.

That's right. He ABHORS tomatoes. As a matter of fact, there was one time when we got take out from Taco Bell and when we got home we discovered that his tacos had tomatoes on them even though "NO TOMATOES" has become a natural, instinctive, habitual add on to everything he orders. Well, he refused to eat the tacos because the tomatoes had the audacity to touch the cheese and honestly, it's been a while since this incident happened so I'm not quite sure how it was resolved. I'm sure a hissy fit was thrown and maybe a trip back to Taco Bell was made where they hid behind the counter, picked off the offending vegetable (fruit?) and gave it back to him as "brand new" taco with NO TOMATOES. And I'm sure he ate it.

Anyway. Where was I? Oh, squash. Right. WD's favorite veggie is squash and I look forward to fixing this pasta dish with my own home grown squash this summer.

2 cups uncooked penne pasta
Sauteed vegetables (zucchini, squash, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, etc.)
1 cup chicken broth
1 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS cornstarch
1 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp salt

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Add sauteed vegetables to cooked pasta.

Mix together broth, lemon juice, cornstarch, dill, and salt until smooth. Microwave uncovered for 3 minutes and stir. Pour over pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-05-21T06:43:00.001-05:00

Big pup's school had a "Water Day" yesterday where they played on those huge, inflatable water slides. Little pup was so sad that he wasn't able to participate. I wanted to make the day special for him too, so we made some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Besides, everyone knows that you drown your sorrows in food, right?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup chunky or creamy peanut butter (I use creamy natural pb)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light.
Add the egg and mix until fluffy.
Blend the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together well.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture.
Add the chocolate chips.
Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven

Key Lime Pie

2008-05-13T06:42:00.001-05:00

This is supposed to be a sweet potato puff.

I spent 2 days last week trying to make the perfect sweet potato puff but each day I wound up with orange gloop all over my kitchen. I want a puff you can pick up! Is that too much to ask?

Anyway, while I was trying to decide what else I could fix, Little pup asked me if I had any eggs. I had no idea where he was going with that line of questioning so I answered him truthfully and said yes. "We can make chocolate chip cookies then!" And although I didn't make any chocolate chip cookies, I did make a very quick and simple and delicious dessert.

Key Lime Pie

1 ready to fill graham cracker crumb crust
8 oz cream cheese, softened
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice (I used about 14 key limes)
cool whip (optional)
lime zest (optional)

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk and lime juice; mix well. Pour mixture into pie shell, garnish with cool whip and lime zest, and refrigerate for several hours.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

2008-04-29T06:40:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday was a rainy, dreary day here at the home of the lazy dog. WD was at work and Big pup was at school. It was just me and Little pup. Home alone and hungry. Not a good combination. Little pup suggested that we make chocolate chip cookies and I suggested we make Mexican Wedding Cookies. And I won. Because I'm the mommy and I said so. (And because we were out of eggs but that's beside the point.)

As I shaped the dough into a log, Little pup licked the bowl clean, and I told him what it is about these cookies that makes them so good. "I love how the salt in the butter--and the extra you add to the dough--pairs up with the powdered sugar. I love that sweet and salty contrast of the cookie. It's so good. It's perfect with a cup of hot tea. And, you know, The Barefoot Contessa says under no circumstances should you ever use imitation vanilla, but unless she wants to personally deliver vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract to my house, I'm using imitation vanilla. And I bet Jeffrey can't even tell the difference..."

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Are you talking to yourself?"

Hmmmph. A 4 year old just doesn't appreciate good conversation.

Mexican Wedding Cookies--also known as Russian Tea Cakes

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus extra for rolling cookies in)

2 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, salt and pecans together, set aside. Beat butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla. Gradually mix in dry mixture. Shape into a log and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place cookies onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Dredge cookies in powdered sugar.

Lemon Garlic Broccoli

2008-04-16T06:40:00.001-05:00

Did you know that broccoli can be served without velveeta cheese? I didn't. And did you know that broccoli served without velveeta cheese can still taste great? Well, no, I had no idea. Until I came across this recipe for Lemon Garlic Broccoli. You might just never use velveeta again. Okay, maybe not never. At least a month. Or two--it's that good.

1 (14 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets
1/4 cup water
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt

Microwave broccoli and water for 6 minutes, covered. Drain when done. Mix together the rest of ingredients and pour over broccoli. Cover and let sit for a couple of minutes.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

2008-04-03T06:43:00.001-05:00

My Granny B turned the big 9-0 on March 20th. She's lived by herself for over 30 years now, still gets around good, is in fairly good heath, and has a great sense of humor. We all got together a couple of weeks ago at a restaurant to celebrate her birthday. Everything was going great until, well, someone asked her what she and Grandpa B did for fun when they were dating and she said, "We always told momma that we were going to church and well, (looks around) sometimes we made it there and (lowers voice) sometimes we didn't (wink wink implied)." My mother and I simultaneously began stuffing cornbread into our ears because, seriously, we did not need to hear that.

Growing up, we had dinner at Granny B's house every Sunday. One of my favorite desserts that she made was Ice Cream Sandwiches. Besides being so yummy, I think part of their appeal is that they're individually wrapped. They're just so darn cute. Cute enough to eat.

4 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
vanilla ice cream (softened)

Blend corn syrup and peanut butter well. Add cereal and stir. Press mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Put into freezer for 15 minutes or until firm. Cut into 12 squares. Make sandwiches. Wrap with aluminum foil. Store in freezer.

Baked Pork Chops

2008-03-27T08:54:00.000-05:00

Here you go, meat eaters. A big ol' plate of pork chops. No fancy smancy recipe this week. No squeezing or whisking or drizzling here. Just your basic, run of the mill, everyday pork chop.

It's also the most mouthwatering, delectable, tasty pork chop I've ever eaten. And with only 2 ingredients, this is very easy dish to make. So go make it! Right now! Chop chop!

center cut bone in pork chops (I only prepare 3 chops since Big pup doesn't eat them)
1 box Lipton dry soup mix (I like the beefy onion flavor)

Cover both sides of pork chops with the dry soup mix. Wrap pork chops in foil and place on a baking sheet. You might want to spray the foil with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Reuben Casserole

2008-03-18T06:44:00.000-05:00

Nothing says Ireland like potatoes, corned beef, and cabbage. I fixed a Reuben Casserole yesterday for our St. Patrick's day dinner and it turned out great. Well, maybe it was a little runny because I might not have let the potatoes absorb all the liquid and maybe I didn't squeeze out the sauerkraut as much as I was supposed to but as far as you know, internet, it turned out great. As a matter of fact, everyone ate 2 helpings, put away their own dishes, gave me flowers and chocolate, and picked up their shoes from the living room. As far you know.

3 cups hot water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 TBS mustard
1 box roasted garlic mashed potatoes
6 oz. sliced corned beef, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can (14.5 oz) sauerkraut, rinsed well and drained (next time I might use more)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded swiss cheese ( I used sliced)
1 TBS caraway seed, optional (I didn't use any)

Heat hot water, milk, and butter to a rapid boil in saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in mustard. Stir in 2 pouches of potatoes just until moistened. Let stand about 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed. Whip with a fork until smooth.

Spread 1 1/2 cups of potatoes in a greased square baking dish ( I used a lasagna dish). Top with corned beef. Spread sauerkraut over corned beef. Spoon remaining potatoes over top; spread gently. Top with cheese and caraway seed.

Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. I bet this would be delicious with warm, buttered rye bread.

Southwestern Smothered Fries

2008-03-11T06:38:00.000-05:00

What is it about watching sporting events on tv that makes you crave food covered in cheese and sour cream? For Sunday's race I dug out a recipe that I had ripped out of an All You magazine last summer. It's called Southwestern Smothered Fries and it is delicious. And so much easier than fixing potato skins, too. Plus, the health benefits from the black beans completely cancel out the fat and calories from the cheese and sour cream. Yep, that's right.

1 (24 oz) bag frozen steak fries
1 tsp vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 tsp chopped garlic (I used minced)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican style cheese blend
sour cream
salsa
green onions

Bake fries according to pkg directions. In a saucepan, warm oil over medium heat. Add garlic, cumin, and chili powder and "cook" for 30 seconds. Add beans with their liquid. Simmer until liquid is thickened and reduced by about half.

Transfer baked fries to a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top with beans and cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Top smothered fries with salsa, sour cream, and green onions.

Spinach Roll-Ups

2008-02-21T06:38:00.000-06:00

Have you seen the commercials for The Olive Garden's new Lasagna Rollatini with Chicken? I have. And everytime I do I curse the fact that we live an hour and a half from Little Rock. Actually, the first thing I do is drool. Then I sob. Then I curse. WD is one lucky man, huh? Since it is unlikely that the town I live in (population 511) will ever get an Olive Garden restaurant, I have had to improvise.

One of my favorite recipes is Spinach Roll-Ups with Parmesan Sauce. Now, to copy The Olive Garden's new rollatini (like I did in the picture above), just add chicken, some reserved sauce, a chopped sun dried tomato, and parsley. But, trust me, you really don't need all that froufrou stuff, the spinach roll-ups are perfect by themselves.

8-10 lasagna noodles, cooked according to pkg directions
10 oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
16 oz cottage cheese
4 TBS Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper

While lasagna noodles cook, mix together remaining ingredients for filling. Spread a few TBS on each cooked noodle, and roll up end to end. Stand up in a 2-quart casserole dish.

Sauce:
3 TBS butter
3 TBS flour
2 cups milk
6 oz pkg Parmesan (minus the 4 TBS for the filling)

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and brown. Add milk and whisk until there are no lumps. Add Parmesan and continue to stir until cheese is melted.
Pour over roll-ups and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Triple Chocolate Mess

2008-01-29T06:36:00.000-06:00

Who knew that a cake made in the crock pot could be so moist? In fact, it is so moist that there's no cutting this cake into squares, it just falls apart. Hence, the "mess" part of the cake's name. The "triple chocolate" part is chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, and chocolate chips.

Although making this cake is extremely easy, deciding on what cake mix to get is not. I must have stood in the baking aisle for 15 minutes trying to decide between chocolate fudge, dark chocolate, devil's food, german chocolate, milk chocolate, and triple chocolate fudge. Why must Betty Crocker make this so hard? It's like having to pick which of your children you love more. I love them all! I grabbed a box of devil's food and quickly found the chocolate pudding mixes. More choices. I chose chocolate fudge. Really, I don't think any of them would have been a bad choice.

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box (3.9 oz) instant chocolate pudding
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pint sour cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 cup water

Mix all ingredients with a mixer in a large bowl. Pour into a greased crock pot. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours. I did 6 hours on low and it was perfect.

P.S. Pups still sick, no school again for Big pup.

Wiederkehr Onion Soup

2008-01-22T06:46:00.000-06:00

Did you know that my Granny B is a TV star? It's true. She made a small appearance in season 1 of The Simple Life. She and the other ladies of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Altus (Arkansas) belong to a quilting group and one day Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie just happened to drop by. With a camera crew. And what did these church ladies think of these Hollywood celebrities? Well, not much, apparently. My grandmother mentioned that they were filmed by a tv show but she couldn't remember what it was called or the names of the 2 stars.

Besides being the setting for The Simple Life, Altus is also home to Wiederkehr's Wienkeller Restaurant. While dining there with family one Sunday evening, WD raved about their onion soup. It wasn't until halfway through the meal that I remembered I had cut out a recipe for Wiederkehr onion soup several months ago. Jay Harshaw of the Fort Smith Times Record had printed the recipe in her column. So last week when our heat went out, I got out the space heater, piled extra blankets on the bed, and fixed up a pot of this delicious, creamy soup.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water
1 can French onion soup
1 can chicken broth
6 TBS flour (or 3 TBS cornstarch)
1 can milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat chicken soup and water over medium heat. Add onion soup, chicken broth, and flour. Whisk until lumps of flour are dissolved. Add milk. Melt in mozzarella cheese.

Corn Chowder

2008-01-15T06:39:00.002-06:00

Okay. Forget that it was 70 degrees outside last week. Arkansas momentarily forgot that it is the middle of winter. This week, the temperatures have dropped once again and they are even calling for a chance of snow over the next couple of days. That's more like it. Perfect time for another yummy soup recipe. And you can't get more yummy than Angie's Corn Chowder. Or more simple.

1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups cream
1 can (15-1/4 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14-3/4 oz) cream style corn
8 oz velveeta, cubed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Saute onion and red bell pepper in melted butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add flour and stir into a paste. Add milk and cream and whisk until thick (don't give up! It will thicken!) Then add the 2 cans of corn, velveeta, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted. Top with crumbled bacon, if desired. And, boy howdy, do I desire.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2008-01-01T07:37:00.001-06:00

Brrrrrr.....it's cold out there. With high temperatures in the 30's and 40's for the next few days, it's a perfect time for a bowl of soup. My favorite is broccoli cheese soup served with a loaf of french bread to soak up all that creamy, cheesy goodness. Forget the snickerdoodles, forget the greek spinach bake, if you try only one recipe from my "cookbook" let it be this one. After all, anything with a pound of velveeta in it can't be bad.

1 lb frozen chopped broccoli
1 pint half & half
2 cups water (I use 2 cups of the water that I boiled the broccoli in)
1 lb velveeta
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cornstarch with 1 cup cold water

Cook broccoli until tender; drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, add half & half and 2 cups of water. Then add velveeta, salt and pepper. When cheese is melted, add broccoli. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl and stir into hot soup to thicken. Ladle soup into a bowl, salivate, get out camera and take 36 pictures of said bowl of soup and hope that there's one picture good enough for posting.

Snickerdoodles

2007-12-04T06:08:00.000-06:00

When I was a kid my parents didn't have a vcr or cable television. So when shows like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or The Wizard of Oz came on, it was quite an event in our house. We couldn't record it to watch it over and over, nor could we catch it on a TBS week long marathon. Back then, if you missed it, you were just out of luck. You had to wait a whole year to see it again. It was a big deal in our family. Momma would either make popcorn or fried pies. Or sometimes she would make cookies--either oatmeal or snickerdoodles--and Angie and I would get to lick the beaters.

So when A Charlie Brown Christmas came on TV last night, I got out the ingredients and my electric mixer and the boys helped me make some snickerdoodles. And some memories of their own.

Big pup: Can I have one of those? (pointing to the beaters on the mixer)
Me: Well, if you're not worried about salmonella, you can.
Big pup: I'm not!
Little pup: I'm not, either!
Me: Okay, go ahead.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
cinnamon-sugar

In a mixing bowl beat the butter with a mixer for 30 seconds. Add the cup of sugar and baking soda. Beat till combined. Beat in egg and vanilla till combined. Then beat in flour till combined. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll balls in cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool. But not too much. They're best warm.

Paula Deen's Grilled Apple, Bacon, and Cheddar Sandwich with Roasted Red Onion Mayo

2007-10-31T06:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, I realize that to call this simply a grilled cheese sandwich is a bit like calling Multi BIS/Ch. Chudrinka's Dance In The Wind SDX by the name Breezy. But that's a really long name for a sandwich. Even it's acronym, PD's GABCSRROM, doesn't work. So, grilled cheese it is. Albeit a more flavorful, filling, delicious grown up version of your basic grilled cheese sandwich that Big pup lives on. But whatever you call it, it is heavenly.

2 slices thick cut sourdough or another hearty bread (I used wheat)
4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked crisp
4 slices of cheddar cheese
1/2 Granny Smith apple, cored, sliced thin
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup of mayo
salt and pepper
butter

Toss onion, oil, salt and pepper together on small rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove, let cool. Transfer to a blender, add mayo and pulse till smooth and creamy.

Heat skillet over medium heat. Spread 1 slice of bread with red onion mayo, top with 2 slices of cheddar, then the bacon, next the apple slices, the rest of the cheddar, finishing with another slice of bread that's been slathered with red onion mayo. Butter the outside of each slice of bread and add to the hot skillet. It's easier to build this sandwich in the skillet.

Greek Spinach Bake

2007-10-04T06:07:00.001-05:00

Now it's time for one of Little pup's favorite side dishes. He's such a good eater. Spinach, fish, fruit, froglegs. He eats just about anything. The other day he ate a whole can of corn for lunch. We call it "Dora Corn" because there's a huge picture of Dora the Explorer on the label. Genius! Thank you Green Giant! Now can someone please put a picture of cellulite on tubs of Cool Whip because I'm having some trouble losing these last 5 pounds. Okay, grab a pen and paper, here's the recipe:

3 eggs
2 - 10 oz boxes of frozen spinach (thaw, squeeze out excess water but leave a little moisture)
8 oz reduced fat feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp dill
2 tsp minced garlic

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish that's been coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, uncovered. If I have any on hand I'll sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top before it goes in the oven.

And, you know, spinach is very good for you. It's high in folic acid which plays an important role in preventing heart disease, stroke, and ensuring proper fetal development (I'm looking at you, Kristina!). Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Sauce

2007-09-25T06:10:00.001-05:00

Anyone looking for a good peanut butter sauce to serve over chicken? I was. Until I came across this one from the lid of a Smucker's peanut butter jar. I had to make a couple of changes to suit our tastes and now it's WD's favorite dish.

1/3 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon garlic powder
red pepper flakes (I use one of the packets that Pizza Hut gives you when you order takeout)

Mix it all up until it's nice and creamy then pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds. WD eats it like gravy. It's that good. The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of water. Way too runny, but you could certainly add more than the 2 TBS I use to make it thinner. The original recipe also calls for 1 tsp of sugar but given my affair with Dr. Agatston I decided to omit it and it still tastes great. Try it!

The Perfect Hot Chocolate

2007-09-06T09:40:00.000-05:00

Today I share one of my greatest discoveries: the perfect, the ultimate, the best hot chocolate recipe ever. Last winter, I was fed up with all of the mixes sold in the grocery stores. They tasted weak, watery, and had absolutely no flavor. After doing some research online I came across a recipe from Jeffrey Steingarten's book It Must've Been Something I Ate. It sounded good and looked easy enough so I gave it a try. And....wow! It's just....wow! So good. You know that feeling you get when you see Shepard Smith on Fox News? That inexplicable giggle like a school girl giddiness? No? Really? Well, trust me, you'll never go back to Swiss Miss again.

2 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder, loosely packed
1 3.5 oz dark chocolate bar, chopped (I used Dove chocolate and a mini chopper)

In a 2 quart saucepan, stir together milk, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add chocolate and cocoa. Whisk until dissolved. Put into blender for 30 seconds. Heaven.