Little Bit of Everything

Ribs, Smashed Potatoes and Carrots - Mozza Cookbook

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

It's a good sign to be able to admit when you have a problem, right? I am a cookbook addict! There I said it! I need to count but I know I have over 100! Out of all of the wonderful cookbooks published last year, I was able to narrow it down to just two for my Christmas wish list. Okay, that's progress isn't it?

A couple of years ago we celebrated my son's 30th birthday at Mozza. This was one of my all time favorite meals and restaurants! For the past two years there's been talk of a Mozza cookbook. When I saw it had finally been released, I immediately put the book on my Christmas list! The second cookbook I received was Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream's at Home. I will be blogging about the first recipe I tried soon!

If my first recipes are any indication, this cookbook rocks! Being a Kansas City girl, ribs to me mean BBQ ribs. When I saw the recipe for Pork Ribs with Fennel and Apple Cider Vinegar, I was intrigued. The recipe didn't disappoint, these ribs were fall off the bone tender and delicious.
Rounding things out for an all Mozza dinner, I tried the Smashed Potatoes with Rosemary and the Roasted Carrots. Roasting has taken on a new meaning in my kitchen. My new oven has a convection roast setting. The end result is perfectly roasted veggies in less time! This is a meal I will be adding to list of recipes to prepare when we are having dinner guests. Delicious and ones that do not require a lot of hands on prep!

If you're interested in these recipes, send me an email! I am linking this to Foodie Friday.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

2012-01-18T17:23:00.009-06:00

Funny my only holiday recipe left to post about is a recipe from this week's most talked about chef, Paula Deen. While a lot of Paula's recipes are way too rich for me, I've always enjoyed and respected her as a chef. This week she revealed she has diabetes which apparently she has had for three years. We also found out she recently signed an endorsement deal with a diabetes drug company. Coincidence or not?

Christmas week I wanted to make something for my neighbors. Pumpkin is perfect for the holidays but I wanted to make something different. I searched and found Paula's recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread. The cream cheese gives the bread a more subtle pumpkin flavor. I chose to omit the nuts and raisins. It's a great spin on traditional pumpkin bread.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.
In a medium bowl and with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add sugar, beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and next 5 ingredients, stirring to combine. Gradually add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture, mixing until blended. Stir in pumpkin, pecans, and raisins.
Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans, and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday and Let's Do Brunch!

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes - MSC

2012-01-15T05:00:00.001-06:00

I am not sure how many cupcake recipes I've made from Martha Stewart's Cupcake book but I do know I haven't made very many that I thought were real winners. January's recipe, Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes is the exception. These cupcakes are delicious and I will make again, soon!

The recipe called for bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. I love dark chocolate, so I decided to use that instead. After you make the batter, you scoop one tablespoon into the cupcake pan, put a peppermint patty on top and scoop on more batter. I didn't have peppermint patties but I did have Andes peppermint chips. They worked out as a great substitution. The mint pairs nicely with the chocolate and these are a dense chocolately "cupcake". These are more like a brownie in a cupcake wrapper. Regardless of what you decide to call to call them, give this this recipe a try! It's a keeper!

Thanks to Rebecca of The Baking Sisters for choosing a winner! You can find the recipe on Martha's website and links to all of the MSC bakers here!

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday!

Asiago Breakfast Bake

2012-01-12T06:00:00.002-06:00

It's always fun when you run across a blogger who lives in the same town you do. Early in 2011, I ran across the blog You Go Girl. While checking out Susan's recipes, I realized she lives in Omaha, too. Of course, I commented. Susan sent me an email and asked if by chance I was related to Mike. As it turns out her daughters attended the same high school as Mike and she's good friends with the Mom of one the boys from Mike's soccer team. I continue to follow her blog and often bookmark her recipes.

This one particularly caught my eye. I am always looking for make ahead breakfast recipes, especially those that are good for company. I decided to make this for Tim and I for New Year's Day. We stopped at Panera to pick up Asiago Bagels and unfortunately they were out. The asiago bagel bins at Hy Vee were also empty. While debating whether to use plain bagels or make the recipe another time, I spotted Asiago dinner rolls. I decided to give them a try, they worked fine. This is a delicious make ahead breakfast dish. The next time you have company or want to make something special for Sunday morning breakfast, give this one a try!

Asiago Bagel Breakfast Bake

8 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
1 tsp fresh chopped tarragon or 1/2 tsp dried
1/4 tsp paprika
freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 oz Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated
6 oz. Asiago cheese, grated
4 Asiago Cheese bagels

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, milk, salt, tarragon, paprika and season with pepper. Grate and mix the cheeses in another bowl. Cut the bagels in bite-size pieces. Grease a 2 qt casserole or souffle dish. Starting with the bagel pieces, alternate layering the bagel pieces and grated cheese into the dish. Pour the egg mixture evenly over everything. Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350 and bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour til eggs are set and top is golden brown.

I am linking this to Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday.

Drunken Smokies

2012-01-10T07:00:00.008-06:00

When Tim and I began looking for a house in the neighborhood we moved into last October, one of the things I really liked about it was the real community it is. We have a very active homeowners association and lots of neighborhood activities. I was thrilled to find there is a monthly BUNCO group. I played BUNCO years ago with a great group of girlfriends in Kansas City, if you haven't played it's what we always called an excuse game. An excuse for a bunch of women to get together and talk!

I joined our BUNCO group the first month after we moved in. I was welcomed with open arms, everyone is so friendly. This just reconfirmed what I already knew, Tim and I made a great decision moving to Riverside Lakes. December BUNCO was a pot luck and a yankee gift exchange. I was lucky enough to draw number one! I got to choose from all of the gifts, or at least the ones that hadn't already been stolen twice. I chose a high heel cake server!

It so happens Gayla who brought the cake server for the gift exchange also made a delicious appetizer, Drunken Little Smokies! I made these for Tim and I for New Year's Eve. They're a fun change from the typical BBQ Smokies.

DRUNK BACON & BROWN SUGAR LIL SMOKIES
one pack Lil' Smokies
one can cola
one cup brown sugar
spiced rum
one pack of bacon
Toothpicks

1. Cut bacon into 2-1/2 to 3 inch strips.

2. Wrap Lil smokies in bacon; Place toothpick through center.

3. Place cup of brown sugar, Cola and rum in a saucepan over medium-low heat (until sugar has dissolved). Reduce to low heat and continue to cook until sauce thickens.

4. Preheat oven to 400°F.

5. Place Lil' Smokies on a baking sheet, brush with Sugar-Cola mixture and bake in oven until bacon is crisp.

6. Remove from oven and dip in Sugar-Cola sauce. Place in slow cooker to keep warm. ENJOY.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday.

Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

2012-01-05T05:00:00.003-06:00

Probably by now everyone has had their pumpkin fix for the year. Just in case you haven't or if you're someone who bakes with pumpkin all year, give this recipe a try. These cupcakes are like mini pumpkin pies. I recently discovered how well pumpkin and chocolate chips go together when I made this cake. I added chocolate chips to a few of these cupcakes. With or without chocolate chips, these are a delicious and fun dessert!

Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Recipe Courtesy of Baking Bites
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup half and half (or evaporated milk)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and half and half until well combined. Add in dry ingredients and whisk until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth.
Fill each muffin cup with approximately 1/3 cup of batter.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan. They will sink as they cool.
Chill cupcakes before serving. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Makes 12

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Sweet Tooth Friday.

Devils Food Cupcakes - Club Baked

2012-01-02T16:07:00.015-06:00

As with most of my scheduled posts of late, I am running behind. I love all things chocolate and this cake is no exception. The recipe as written makes an 8" layer cake. Still recovering from all of the holiday sweets, I didn't want a layer cake around the house. I decided to cut the recipe in half and make cupcakes. I ended up with 12 cupcakes.

I double checked the recipe and am positive, I used the right measurements but my cupcakes didn't rise. Instead of the Angel Frosting the recipe called for, I added cocoa to some leftover cream cheese frosting that was in my fridge. It complimented the deep devils food flavor nicely. Despite their appearance, these cupcakes are delicious. They are light and fluffy with a deep chocolate flavor. I will be making this one again soon!

You can find the recipe at Just About Food Today. Thanks Natalie for a great choice of recipes!! Check out the links to the other Club Baked bakers cakes here!

Chocolate Nut Biscotti - Chocolate With Francois

2012-01-01T16:32:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

Chocolate With Francois was supposed to be posted yesterday but lately my favorite expression seems to be better late than never. Better late than never certainly applies to this biscotti, it's some of the best I've ever made. The recipe calls for aniseed, I didn't have any so I omitted it. Also, the nuts used is the recipe are supposed to be a combination of hazelnuts and pistachios. I only had pistachios, so I just used a few more of them. Despite the changes and omissions, the flavor is a nice, slightly orange and chocolatey. These were a perfect sweet treat with my coffee this morning.

Chocolate Nut Biscotti
Recipe courtesy of Francois Payard

Makes 25 Biscotti

3 tablespoons unsalted Butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon aniseed
1 cup shelled pistachios, toasted
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted

Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the butter, sugar nad orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until the ingredients are about halfway combined. Add the pistachios and hazelnuts and beat until everything is just combined.

Lightly dust your work surface with flour and remove the dough to it. Roll the dough into a log 12 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. Using your rolling pin, slightly press the log down to flatten its top. This will help the dough spread, to make long biscotti. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the biscotti feels firm when you press on its top. Remove from the oven and let the log cool to room temperature on the baking sheet. Do not turn off the oven.

Using a serrated knife, cut the log diagonally into 1/2 wide slices. Place the slices back on the baking sheet, cut side down and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. The biscotti will crisp up as they cool.

Once completely cool, store them in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can also store them in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw completely in the refrigerator, overnight, before serving.

Countdown to 2012 - Desserts

2011-12-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

It's been so fun this week taking a look back at my favorite recipes of 2011. A big thank you to Sno White of Finding Joy in My Kitchen for hosting this party!!!

Our final countdown is my favorite recipe category, Desserts! Although I don't know for sure but if I had to guess I would think I've posted more desserts than any other category in 2011. I do love dessert but I also belong to two baking groups.

What were my favorite dessert recipes of 2011?

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

Cake Batter Ice Cream

Payard's Flourless Chocolate Cake

Happy New Year everyone! Cheers to 2012!

Countdown to 2012 - Crock Pot Recipes

2011-12-30T07:25:00.020-06:00

We're nearing the end of Sno White's Countdown to 2012. It's a fun way to look back at all of the recipes you made this year! Today's countdown features crock pot recipes.

If you follow my blog, you know I love my crock pot / slow cooker!! Working full time, it's so wonderful to come home and dinner is ready! It's interesting how crock pots have made a comeback. You can even find recipes that are considered gourmet.

My absolute favorite crock pot recipe this year is Root Beer Pulled Pork. When the grocery store has pork loin on sale, I purchase one, cut it into 4 or 5 loins and freeze them. Some recipes are better suited for the crock pot than others, this is one those recipes. After cooking the pork all day, just shred it, add your favorite bbq sauce and you have the best pulled pork for sandwiches!

Until this year, I'd never made a dessert in the crock pot. On one of our first camping trips this summer, I really wanted a dessert but didn't want to heat the oven. I found this recipe for Crock Pot Chocolate Cake! It's like a pudding cake and is delicious.

Tomorrow's our last countdown and we're ending the year with my favorite category of recipes, desserts!

Countdown to 2012 - Soup Recipes

2011-12-28T20:08:00.003-06:00

So far this week in Sno White's Countdown to 2012, we've counted down with our favorite bread and breakfast recipes. I didn't have many to choose from in those two categories. However, today's countdown is soup recipes. I've blogged about quite a few soup recipes this year, so choosing my favorites took a little time.

I love French Onion soup. When I saw this recipe for Crock Pot French Onion Soup, I questioned whether or not you could make good French Onion soup in the Crock Pot. I was pleasantly surprised to learn, you can.

My other favorite soup recipe, Sweet Potato and Black Bean, a meatless recipe that even my meatatarian husband enjoyed.

Stop by tomorrow for my favorite Main Dish recipes!!!

Countdown to 2012 - Bread Recipes

2011-12-27T19:38:00.012-06:00

Today's countdown features our favorite Bread recipes of 2011. Although bread is one of my favorite things, I didn't blog about it much in 2011.

However, hands down my favorite bread recipe of 2011 was Nutella Banana Bread. I decided to substitute Nutella for peanut butter in banana bread. If you're like me and love Nutella, you'll love this bread.

You'll find lots of other great bread recipes over on Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

Check back for tomorrow's countdown, soup and stew!

Countdown to 2012 - Breakfast Recipes

2011-12-26T16:12:00.013-06:00

In 2010, I participated in Countdown to 2011 hosted by Sno White of Finding Joy in My Kitchen. I was thrilled when I saw she was going to host the countdown again in 2011!

Today I am featuring my favorite 2011 breakfast recipes. Like 2010, I didn't post a lot of breakfast recipes. Also, like 2010, my favorite recipe is one of Sno White's. We bought a camper this year and prior to one of our first camping trip, I was thrilled to find Snow White's recipe for Crock Pot Breakfast!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T21:30:00.003-06:00

From Our House to Your House, Merry Christmas to All!

Meyer Lemons

2011-12-22T06:00:00.006-06:00

We were fortunate to be able to spend Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with my son Justin, his girlfriend Lily, Lily's mom and sister. Not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving, we celebrated Lily's birthday. Justin surprised her with this cake. Isn't it amazing? That's their dog Ducky who was such a good dog while we snapped the photos!

Justin and Lily have a Meyer lemon tree in their backyard. It was covered with lemons. Fortunately, I had a little extra room in my suitcase and was able to bring 12 home with me. I've never seen Meyer lemons in the store here. Maybe Whole Foods has them this time of year.

I wanted to be able to savor the flavor of these lemons, so I decided to make Preserved Lemons.
These were so beautiful sitting on the counter for five days. I haven't tried them but plan to use them in a chicken recipe real soon.

Preserved Lemons
Recipe Courtesey of Epicurious

2 1/2 to 3 pounds Meyer lemons (10 to 12)
2/3 cup coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Special equipment: 6-cup jar with tight-fitting lid

Preparation

Blanch 6 lemons in boiling water 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut lemons into 8 wedges each and discard seeds. Toss with salt in a bowl and pack into jar.

Squeeze enough juice from remaining lemons to measure 1 cup. Add enough juice to cover lemons and cover jar with lid. Let stand at room temperature, shaking gently once a day, 5 days. Add oil and chill.

Cooks' note: • Preserved lemons keep, chilled, up to 1 year.

Orange Marmalade was always in the fridge when I was a kid. Not really remembering whether or not I liked it, I decided to try making marmalade. I halved this recipe. After reading a few of the reviews, I added 1 tsp. vanilla. Also, I let it sit a week before tasting it. It has a nice tang but it's still sweet. Delicious on an English Muffin or Crumpet.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Recipe Courtesy of Epicurious
6 Meyer lemons (1 1/2 pounds)
4 cups water
4 cups sugar

Special equipment:

Cheesecloth
Kitchen string
6 (1/2-pint) Mason-type jars, sterilized

Preparation

Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours.

Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 minutes.

Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.

Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely.

I am linking this to Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday.

Red Velvet Cupcakes - MS Cupcake Club

2011-12-16T05:00:00.001-06:00

Last Friday, we had all new appliances installed in our kitchen. I am so excited about my stove. It's a GE Cafe, their restaurant inspired appliances. Our local furniture store had on of this model left and we were able to get a great deal on it! The oven is convection and there's also a second oven that can be used for baking!

Having read a few articles about convection baking, I decide to bake these cupcakes on the convection setting. I baked these at 325 instead of 350 the recipe called for. I also began checking them at 15 minutes. Some of them seemed to have a bit of a crunchy top but all in all I was pleased with my first attempt at convection baking.

I remember my mom making Red Velvet Cake when I was a little. I'd never made one until this one I baked with Sweet Melissa Sunday's. The MS recipe was very similar to the SMS one. I did use a gel food coloring in this recipe and not only were my cupcakes more red, so were my hands.

Thanks to Cindy at Everyday Insanity for choosing this month's recipe. These are a perfect cupcake for the holiday season! You can find the recipe on Martha's website here!

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Sweet Tooth Friday.

Baked French Toast - Club Baked

2011-12-15T05:00:00.001-06:00

Many times when you read the list of ingredients for a French toast recipe, you'll find it calls for Challah bread. I never seem to be able to locate it and always use a thick toast of some sort. Last weekend while shopping at Trader Joe's, I was thrilled to find Challah.

Baked French toast recipes are perfect for this busy holiday season. You can make it the night before and bake it the next morning. We almost always have some sort of overnight dish on Christmas morning.

My favorite part of this recipe is the raspberry syrup. Yummy! It reminds me of eating at one of those pancake houses where you have all of these flavors of syrup to choose from but tastes so much better!!!

We liked but didn't love this recipe. The 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon wasn't nearly enough. I added more, maybe up to a teaspoon but still thought it lacked cinnamon flavor. I am going to make this recipe again for Christmas using a local bakeries French toast bread which is loaded in cinnamon.

Our host for this month seems to be MIA, so I'll be sharing the recipe with all of you.
You'll find the links to the other bakers French toast here!

Baked French Toast
Recipe Courtesy of Baked Explorations

Ingredients

For the Baked French Toast
1 loaf French, Italian or Challah bread, about 11 ounces
5 large eggs
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup whole skinned almonds, coarsely chopped

For the Raspberry Sauce
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or raspberry liqueur

Generously butter the sides and bottom of an 8 inch square baking pan. Cut the loaf into 1 or 1 1/2 inch slices and arrange in the pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until the just break up. Add the half and half, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk until combined. Pour the mixture over the bread slices. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use your fingers to flip each bread slice over, making sure to coat the entire surface with liquid. Arrange the bread in an overlapping pattern, sprinkle it with almonds, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until French toast is golden brown and the mixture is puffy. Set the French toast aside to cool in the pan.

Make the Raspberry Sauce
In a small saucepan, toss the raspberries with the sugar. Cook the mixture over low heat until the berries start to break down, about 10 minutes. Strain the cooked raspberry sauce into a bowl to remove the seeds, then stir in the lemon juice.

Assemble the French Toast

Pour the raspberry sauce directly over the warm French toast (or serve it alongside in a gravy boat) and serve immediately. Top with whole fresh raspberries, if you have any left over.
Bakers Note: If you are interested in a creamier bread pudding type recipe, increase the half and half to 1 cup and the milk to 3/4 cup. And any hearty, crusty white bread makes a great substitute for the baguette.

Pumpkin Alfredo - Secret Recipe Club

2011-12-12T07:00:00.013-06:00

It's Secret Recipe Club time again! Last month, when I said it was my fourth month participating, I was wrong. It was my sixth month. WOW, I can't believe it was June when I started. I've met some great bloggers and cooked up some delicious recipes.

My first month, I was assigned the Hagis and the Herring and made their Crunchy Roasted Potatoes and Carrots. Month two was Creative Culinary and her beautiful Lavender Martini. August was month three and The Wednesday Baker's Wild Blueberry Muffins. September was fellow Omaha blogger Biking and Baking's, Rosemary Squash Soup. Just in time for football season, October brought me Sticky Chicken Wings from Lavender and Lime. November was a delicious holiday breakfast idea, Eggs en Cocette from Searching for Spice.

For December, our hostess Tina of Mom's Crazy Cooking suggested we find a holiday recipe to share. Having not tired of eating pumpkin, I was drawn to Pumpkin Alfredo from Veggie Converter. Kristi has amazing vegetarian and vegan recipes, most of which I found would be easy to change or convert if you aren't vegetarian. Although we aren't vegetarian, we try to eat at least one meatless meal a week. To lighten the recipe up a little, I decreased the butter and increased the milk. The pasta was still rich and creamy.

When Tim saw what I was making, he questioned the peas. I used the small canned peas. They added nice flavor and color to the dish. As I was putting the finishing touches on the dish, I was wishing I had some fresh sage to add. I think sage would add a nice finishing touch. We enjoyed this hearty pasta dish.

Pumpkin Alfredo

1 pound spaghetti noodles
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen

2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter (I used 1/2 stick)
4 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk (I used 1 cup of skim milk)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Boil spaghetti noodles according to package directions, add peas into the boiling water with 5-7 minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, brown garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add butter and cream cheese, allow to melt partially. Add pumpkin and stir. Mix cornstarch with a bit of the milk to create a slurry. Add slurry and remaining milk to pan. Cook a few more minutes, stirring regularly, until thickened. Add Italian seasoning and House seasoning, to taste.

If serving immediately, mix sauce with noodles and peas. If serving later, package noodles and peas separately from sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Chocolate Nutella No Bakes - Cookie Exchange

2011-12-07T06:30:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a virtual cookie exchange over at Di's Kitchen Notebook. Reveal day was December 4th. As it seems with most of my posts these days, I am running behind. What's my excuse this time? Not moving, not Thanksgiving but putting up the Christmas decorations! Di was kind of enough to say it was okay for me to go ahead and post late! Thanks Di and thanks for hosting!!!

When I was growing up, Christmas always meant lots of holiday goodies. One I remember helping my mom make was Chocolate No Bake Cookies. Hers were gooey and oh so full of chocolate. Unfortunately, I don't have her recipe. I did some searching and found several versions. Although I don't remember the ones we made having peanut butter in them, most of the recipes I found contained peanut butter. I settled on a recipe I found on Food Network and decided to use Nutella instead of peanut butter. The cookies I remember as a kid were very gooey, I wanted to make one that was a little firmer. After reading the reviews, I decided to cook the mixture for five minutes instead of one minute. I think five minutes was too long, these weren't gooey at all. What they are though, is delicious. The Nutella flavor pairs beautifully with the chocolate.

Chocolate Nutella No Bake Cookies
Adapted from Food Network

2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup Nutella
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
Waxed paper

Directions

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add Nutella, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

I am also linking this to Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday and Sweet Tooth Friday.

Spicy Chocolate Pots De Creme - Chocolate With Francois

2011-11-30T18:47:00.018-06:00

Here I am again, at the last minute, baking Chocolate With Francois. We've been in our house 6 weeks, so I can't play the moving card. We did just return from spending Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with my son Justin, so I am going to say I am baking at the last minute because of traveling. Really I am baking at the last minute because I procrastinated before we left for LA.

I love all things chocolate which must be why I chose to start Chocolate With Francois. One of my favorite chocolate desserts is a simple Pots De Creme. When I saw this recipe for Spicy Chocolate Pots De Creme, I was intrigued and chose it for this months recipe.

I halved the recipe and ended up with four 5 ounce ramekins. A little hesitant about using too much pepper, I used a scant 1/4 teaspoon. I think I would increase the amount slightly next time. I loved these silky, chocolate desserts. This recipe is a keeper, so many possibilities for adding different flavors to the base recipe.

Spicy Chocolate Pots De Creme
3 1/3 cups heavy cream
7 ounces 72% chocolate (I used dark chocolate)
1/2 teaspoon pimete d'espelette* (I used red pepper flakes, finely ground)
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons of sugar

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 300.

Combine the cream and chocolate in a large saucepan over medium low heat and heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the piment d'espelette.

Whisk together the egg, egg yolks and sugar until well combined. Whisk the mixture into the chocolate cream. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher or a bowl.

Pour the liquid into six 6 ounce ramekins. Place the dishes on a rimmed baking sheet and pout about 1/2 inch of hot water into the bottom. Cover the dishes with a large sheet of aluminum foil and bake for about 1 hour, until the custards are very lightly set.

Remove from the oven and let cool, without removing the foil. Once cool, transfer the dishes to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

These can be made ahead and kept, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.

*Piment d'espelette is a type of pepper used in Basque cuisine. Payard says it has a distinct, yet delicate, heat which is perfect for dessert. You can substitute finely ground red pepper flakes.

I am linking this to Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:56:00.002-06:00

Nutella Banana Bread

2011-11-22T06:05:00.001-06:00

I am late getting on the baking with Nutella bandwagon. There's so many recipes out on the blogsphere. I imagine I have a dozen or more in my bookmarks to try. We don't seem to have bananas left for baking very often, so when we do I quickly take advantage of them.

It's hard to decide whether or not to make my favorite banana bread recipe or a new one. I decided to substitute Nutella for Peanut Butter in this recipe. Unfortunately the flavor of the bananas overpowered the Nutella. The bread was still delicious. I think next time, I will use less bananas and more Nutella.

Nutella Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F . Grease and flour a large or two smaller loaf pans.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir in nutella, bananas, flour and baking soda until blended. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake for 40 - 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday.

Buckeyes - Club Baked

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

I am really enjoying baking and cooking in my new kitchen. Although I didn't set them up this way intentionally, the layout of my cabinets just seems conducive to baking. As I was reading over the recipe for the Buckeyes, I was reminded of these Peanut Butter Balls.

I halved the recipe and ended up with 26 buckeyes. Because it was what I had on hand, I used milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate. My buckeyes have their eyes closed. I am anxious to read the other Club Baked members secrets for dipping these. The first three or four, I dipped were a just a mess. I decided to continue, like I do with the peanut butter balls, and cover the entire surface with chocolate.

Peanut butter and chocolate, does it get any better than this? Nope not really. While these are delicious, I can't get past the grittiness of the graham cracker crumbs.

You can find the recipe at Karen's Cookies and More and the links to the other Club Baked bakers here.

Eggs en Cocotte - Secret Recipe Club

2011-11-14T07:00:00.005-06:00

This is my fourth month participating in Secret Recipe Club. It's a fun group. Each month our hostess, Tina, assigns us all a blog. We get to pick from our bloggers recipe collection and post about it on reveal day! If you'd like to join, you can find the details here!

This month, I had the pleasure of choosing a recipe from Searching for Spice. Each month when I receive my assignment, I can't wait to check out my assigned blogger. It's hard to decide which recipe to make. I was torn between this soup and the eggs. We're still trying to get everything done around the new house. Sunday morning when I realized I hadn't made the recipe yet and needed something for breakfast, Eggs en Cocotte or Baked Eggs it is. I've never made Baked Eggs before. I decided to add mushrooms, Parmesan Cheese and Bacon to the eggs. I didn't have any cream, so I substituted skim milk. I wouldn't recommend skim milk, although the eggs were still good, they were a little runny. This recipe is a keeper and would make a great breakfast for company.

Eggs en Cocotte

Ingredients – makes 2

2 slices of bread (I omitted this and served toast on the side)

2 eggs

8 tsp cream

Salt

Black Pepper

Option 1

2 tsp grated parmesan

A few leaves of rocket (argula)

Option 2

2 tsp grated cheddar

1 mushroom

I used Bacon and Sauteed Mushrooms

How to Make Eggs en Cocotte

1. Flatten the bread with a rolling pin.

2. Grease the insides of 2 ramekins

3. Make 4 cuts through the bread starting from the middle of each side, stopping half-way to the centre.

4. Put the slices of bread into the ramekins so the sides that have been cut overlap each other.

5. Put the cheese in the bottom of each ramekin. Put some rocket on top of the parmesan one and some sliced mushroom on top of the cheddar one. Add 2 tsp of cream to each ramekin then add the egg. Top with another 2 tsp of cream, some salt and pepper.

6. Bake in the oven at about 350 for about 25 minutes. If you like a soft egg it will be ready sooner, but I prefer a harder egg.

From The Good Life - Solar Drive In

2011-11-10T21:00:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago when Tim and I were picking up our convertible from his mom’s garage in Minnesota, we stumbled across the Solar Drive In in Springfield, Minnesota. We enjoyed an ice cream cone. It’s a warm and inviting spot with a fireplace and Food Network on the TV’s. I was immediately smitten. This was my kind of place. I said to Tim we need to come back here sometime to eat!

Saturday afternoon when Tim’s mom suggested we have a frozen pizza for dinner, I knew I had to come up with a better plan. Then it hit me, I said, let’s go try that great little drive in over in Springfield. Knowing we’d been there a couple of years ago, I was so hoping they were still open. I searched and found not only were they still open but they have a website, a blog and are on Face book!

First I checked out the menu and discovered this wasn’t your average drive in. They make all of their breads from scratch and their menu consists of way more than burgers and fries. Totally satisfied and excited about the menu, I explored other areas of the website. Seriously, the Solar Drive In has a blog, gives cooking classes and the owner and her daughter also have a blog! My trip to Darfur had taken on a whole new meaning; I was excited about the culinary adventure before me. Trust me when I say this doesn’t normally happen during our visits to Tim’s home town.

When we pulled up in front of the Solar Drive In, Tim said look they have one of those compost barrels you want and a raised garden! Knowing I planned to blog about this, I snapped a couple of pictures before we went in. Once inside it was decision time, the menu has so many great choices, it was hard to choose. I was torn between one of their burgers and a wrap. After reading the description of their wraps, my decision was made. Who could pass up a wrap where the wrap itself is homemade and not one of those store bought ones. They take their dough and stretch it thin and then bake it in the oven. Tim and Bernie both had Philly’s. The owners are originally from Pennsylvania, so they know a little bit about how to make a good Philly! For a side we chose the sweet potato fries. Yum, a drive in that serves sweet potato fries, it just keeps getting better! The fries were served with a dipping sauce. When I inquired what it was, I was told mayo and ketchup and their secret spices! Tim says it had to have some dry mustard in it; he has a thing about mustard! Regardless, the sauce was delicious and a perfect compliment to the fries!

While we were waiting for our food, I checked out their giant solar ice cream cone, all decorated for the holidays. They encourage you to take a photo. Like I seem to always do, I forgot to take a picture of the cone or my wrap. Once my food arrives, I am all about eating and totally forget the picture taking part. After we got home, I sent an email letting them know how much we’d enjoyed our visit. I asked if they would be so kind as to snap a photo of the cone and a wrap. Francine (the owner’s daughter) responded and provided those pictures I’d neglected to snap!

If your travels ever take you along Highway 14 in Springfield, Minnesota, stop by the Solar Drive In! It’s way more than a Drive In!

Pumpkin Spice Cake

2011-11-08T06:00:00.001-06:00

Every year during pumpkin season I always ask myself why I only make pumpkin recipes in the Fall. Pumpkin is so versatile, it can be used in savory or sweet recipes.

This cake is actually the first recipe I baked in our new house. When I saw this recipe over at One Crazy Cookie, two things caught my eye......the chocolate chips and the fact that one of the little boys at Tiffanee's preschool thought these were FANTASTIC! Besides the delicious pumpkin and spice flavors, this cake has a cream cheese icing! If you're looking for a deliciously moist pumpkin cake for the holidays, give this one a try!!!

Pumpkin Spice Cake
Recipe courtesy of One Crazy Cookie

1 16 oz. can pumpkin
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together pumpkin, eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat again. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake 30-35 minutes. Frost when still slightly warm.

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
Beat cream cheese. butter, vanilla and salt together. Slowly add powdered sugar slowly until fluffy and frosting consistency. Spread over warm cake.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday!!

From The Good Life

2011-11-03T06:16:00.000-05:00

Sharing a few pics of our new home.......

Apple Cupcakes - Club Baked

2011-11-01T19:52:00.015-05:00

Two nights in a row I am going to play the moving card. Since we moved two weeks ago, time just hasn't been on my side where baking is concerned. However, this recipe looked delicious and Tim needed treats for work. I knew I didn't have time to make the layer cake and caramel sauce the recipe called for so I made a few changes. I decided to make cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

I cut the recipe in half and ended up with 21 cupcakes. I baked them for about 18 minutes. This recipe totally says fall. The aroma coming from the kitchen while this was baking was heavenly!! These cupcakes are so moist and very delicious. I would have liked a just a little more spice flavor in these!

Thanks to Melissa of Lulu the Baker for choosing this month's recipe. For sure, it's a keeper! You can find the recipe on her blog and links to the other Club Baked bakers creations here!

Chocolate Ginger Angel Food Cake - CWF

2011-10-31T21:03:00.009-05:00

I spent all day yesterday unpacking the last of the moving boxes. The moving boxes that really needed to be unpacked, that is! The good news is I did it! The bad news is that didn't leave me a lot of time to bake for Chocolate With Francois. It's a proven fact if I wait till last minute to bake for one of my baking groups, the recipe won't turn out quite right. Once again, that's the case. I baked this cake after work tonight, yes the last minute! I am not sure if I didn't let it bake long enough or what but it didn't come out of the pan quite right. The texture is unlike any angel food cake, I've ever had before. The cake is very heavy and dense, not light and airy like I think of when I hear angel food cake. I omitted the candied ginger because I didn't have any and it wasn't in the cards to make some tonight. The flavor of the cake itself is good but I can't get past the texture!

You can check out the other CWF baker's cakes here. You'll find their cakes look much better than mine did. The recipe should be up over at Leslie of Lethally Delicious' blog sometime soon. If not and despite my not so great review, you want the recipe, just send me an email! Next up for CWF is Spicy Chocolate Pots De Creme!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T06:21:00.002-05:00

Herbed Spaghetti Squash

2011-10-25T06:00:00.012-05:00

I have been a bit of a slacker with my posts lately, moving has taken a tole on my cooking!

As I was looking for a recipe to post today, the ones remaining in my drafts were either squash or something pickled. I've made spaghetti squash only once before and I don't think I let it bake long enough. Spaghetti squash is so fun to make. You bake the squash and then use a fork to scrape out he strands of "spaghetti" in the squash. This would be a fun dish to make with kids.

Herbed Spaghetti Squash
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

1 small spaghetti squash, about 2 1/4 pounds
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped mixed soft herbs, such as basil, chives, parsley and sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise and place, cut side down, in a baking dish. Add enough water to come 1/2-inch up the sides of the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, until the squash is easily pierced with a paring knife. Turn squash over and cover with foil again and continue to cook another 15 minutes, until the squash is very tender. Remove from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool slightly. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and discard. Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from peel and place the squash strands into a mixing bowl.

Heat a skillet. Add the butter, spaghetti squash, herbs, salt and pepper and toss thoroughly but gently to heat and combine. Serve immediately or cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday.

From The Good Life

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Tim and I both have a love of water! Not the kind you drink, although we love that too but the kind you boat or swim in. When we were first looking for our house in Omaha six years ago, we drove around Riverside Lakes, a great community just on the outskirts of Omaha. We thought it would be a wonderful place to live but it just wasn't in the cards at the time. As it happens, Riverside Lakes is right by our dog kennel and our mechanic. Both of which we visit frequently, the mechanic sometimes too frequently! We'd often drive around the lake and comment on how much we'd like to live there.

A few months ago, we noticed there were several houses for sale. Just for the heck of it, I called on a couple of them, from there I contacted our real estate agent and set up an appointment to tour the houses. Tim was reluctant at first but I convinced him to take a look. After a few weeks of driving around and looking at houses, we decided to put our house on the market. We made an offer on the house at Riverside, they accepted our offer and 9 days later our house sold. The rest is history. Four weeks and way too many boxes later, we're enjoying a beautiful fall in our new home. Today I'm sharing a view from our deck. More pictures to come, as we get a few more of those boxes unpacked and some pictures on the walls.

Sticky Chicken Wings - Secret Recipe Club

2011-10-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

When I received my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment for the month, I immediately checked out her blog. Lavender and Lime is a lovely blog and one I have browsed on several occasions before! There's a lot going on here at Little Bit of Everything, so I needed a recipe I could make quickly and have ready in plenty of time for today's posting date.

It's football season and a few Sunday's ago there was a game between my KC Chiefs and Tim's Minnesota Vikings. Neither one of these teams had won a game yet this year, so this was a big event in more than one way. What foods do you think of when you hear football? Chicken Wings, Nachos and Dip are the first that come to my mind. I found a recipe for Sticky Chicken Wings on Tandy's blog. Perfect! Normally I make these wings, much more spicy than sticky.

I cooked these in the oven for about 30 minutes and then finished them on the grill. Tim enjoyed the wings a lot more than the outcome of the game. KC Chiefs 22 - Minnesota Vikings 17.

STICKY CHICKEN WINGS

ingredients:

8 chicken wings

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon crushed ginger

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon wasabi sauce

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

method:

preheat the oven to 180°Celsius

make a marinade out of the lime, soy, ginger, oil, honey, wasabi and garlic

massage the marinade into the chicken and leave to marinade for 20 minutes

place the chicken and the marinade into an oven proof dish

season and cook for 25 minutes

grill for a further 2 minutes

Note: I grilled these for about 20 minutes. I didn't find these to be done after 20 minutes in the oven.

Exciting News From Little Bit of Everything!

2011-10-10T19:07:00.006-05:00

Thursday, Tim and I are moving! I'll be back next week with recipes and more about the new house! Now off to pack another box!

Caramelized Onion, Cabbage and Sweet Potato Chowder

2011-10-04T06:00:00.004-05:00

Are you a follower of Eats Well With Others? If not, you should check it out, I think you'll want to follow. Not only does Joanne have some delicious recipes that are good for you too, she also tells the best stories. Besides a terrific blog, Joanne's a med student and runs marathons. Can you say amazing?

A few weeks ago Joanne posted this soup, I thought it sounded delicious and I just happened to have a head of cabbage in the fridge. My husband is always telling me how much he dislikes cooked cabbage, so to humor him, I added some Italian sausage to Joanne's recipe. A soup is always better, where Tim's concerned, if it has meat in it. We so enjoyed this soup and Tim didn't even mind the cabbage.

Caramelized Onion, Cabbage, and Sweet Potato Chowder with Rosemary

Serves 4-5, adapted from Vegetarian Times September 2011 (Courtesy of Eats Well With Others)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
12 oz cabbage, cut into large dice (6 to 7 cups)
3 large onions, cut into large dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb sweet potato, diced
2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

Method:

1. Combine pomegranate juice, soy sauce, and vinegar in small bowl.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and season with salt, if desired. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to shallow bowl.

3. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and season with salt. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, or until onions are softened, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 16 to 18 minutes, or until onions are golden brown. Add garlic, rosemary and pomegranate mixture, stirring to scrape up browned bits on pan bottom. Bring to a simmer and cook 1 minute. Add cabbage, sweet potato cubes, and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and cook 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: I added 3 links of Sweet Italian Sausage to this recipe.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday,. Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday.

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins - Club Baked

2011-10-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

When I saw this week's Baked recipe was for Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins I was curious. Would these be delicious or not so good? I first experienced savory muffins when baking along with Sweet Melissa Sunday's. After baking these Carmelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins, I decided I loved savory muffins almost as much as sweet ones.

The batter for these Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins is quite thick and at least for me, these didn't rise very much. I filled the muffin tins almost to the top and they rose just over the top. I made these for Sunday dinner a couple of weeks ago. My step son, Mike joined us for dinner. I wondered if he'd like the muffins or think they were gross, as only a teenager could express. Guess what, he loved them and so did we! These would be delicious with any fall or winter soup.

Thanks to Billie of Chocolate and Chakra for choosing this recipe. This one is a keeper!! You can find the recipe on her site. Check out what the other Club Baked bakers thought here!

Next up for Club Baked, Sawdust Pie!

Chocolate Rice Krispie Bars - Chocolate WIth Francois

2011-09-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

Things have been a little crazy around here lately, I will share more once we know how it all shakes out. Needless to say, I was thrilled with this month's Chocolate With Francois recipe. Rice Krispie Treats, seriously? Way too easy for Francois. Of course, he just had to add an element to differentiate his from those Rice Krispie Treats we all know and love. His recipe calls for the Rice Krispie treats to be shaped into round spheres.

I made a half recipe, took the easy way out and used a 9 x 9 glass pan. Sometimes regular Rice Krispie Treats seem too sweet. You know when it's so sweet your teeth hurt? The cocoa in these seems to cut the sweetness making these delicious.

Thanks to Linda of Diva Weigh for choosing this month's recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog!

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Full Plate Thursday and Sweet Tooth Friday!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies - Cookie Carnival

2011-09-27T04:30:00.000-05:00

Since things have been a bit crazy around my house lately, I was thrilled when I saw one of the recipes for this month's Cookie Carnival was to make cookies using a cake mix. I am not sure why I've never made cookies using a cake mix. Do you love cake mix? I do, I am one of those people who loves to lick the bowl, raw eggs and all! I did some searching on the Duncan Hines website and found this recipe.

If you like cake mix, give these cookies a try! They're delicious and too easy to make!

Cake Mix Cookies
1 box any flavor Duncan Hines cake mix (I used Devils Food)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
(I added 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips)

Add 1/2 cup oil and two eggs to one box of cake mix. Add chips, nuts, and flavorings if desired.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

This is my entry for this month's Cookie Carnival and I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday.

Rhubarb BBQ Sauce

2011-09-23T06:00:00.011-05:00

Being from Kansas City, I always have one of Kansas City's many famous barbeque sauces in my fridge. Until this summer, I'd never made barbeque sauce from scratch. How about a non traditional barbeque sauce for my first try? This rhubarb barbeque sauce is delicious. It's a little on the sweet side, so it's not made for burgers or hot dogs but is perfect with pulled pork or chicken.

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home

1 cup chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
2/3 cup water
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup ketchup
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (I used molasses)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring rhubarb and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat; cool slightly.
Place rhubarb in a blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. Set aside.
In the same saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Add the remaining ingredients.
Whisk in rhubarb puree until blended. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2-1/3 cups.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday!

Rosemary Butternut Squash Soup - Secret Recipe Club

2011-09-19T07:00:00.005-05:00

I don't know about you but I can't believe it's Secret Recipe Club time again. Another month has flown by. Fall is in the air here in Nebraska and the pumpkin farms are open for business.

When I received my Secret Recipe Club assigned blogger for the month, I clicked over on her site and read she'd just attended a Minnesota Twins game. Was she from Minnesota like my husband? I clicked around and found out she's not from Minnesota, she lives right here in Omaha.

Sarah of Biking and Baking is a med student and follows a plant based diet. Browsing through Sarah's recipes was a real learning experience for me. I ran across ingredients I wasn't familiar with like hemp seeds and lucuma powder. Lucuma powder is a raw, organic low glycemic sweetner.

I wanted to try and make one of Sarah's recipes without making too many substitutions. Sarah's Rosemary Butternut Squash soup was the perfect recipe. I had a Butternut Squash in the pantry from my CSA bag and Agave Nectar on the shelf. I used vegetable broth and no milk in my version. I'd intended to top mine with roasted pecans but forgot them in the oven and I didn't think burnt pecans were a good topping.

We love butternut squash soup at our house. Sarah's recipe is more savory than the recipes I normally follow. I love the addition of the smoky paprika, it adds a nice smoky touch to the soup. Thanks Sarah for a wonderful recipe for a fall soup!

Rosemary Butternut Soup
1 butternut squash
3 sprigs rosemary
olive oil
salt and pepper
2-3 cloves garlic
onion
1.5 cup coconut milk (Sarah used the So Delicious drinkable kind, if you didn't have this she suggests soy or almond milk). I omitted the milk.
1.5 cup veggie broth
1 bay leaf
cinnamon
smoked paprika
cumin
oregano
basil
drizzle agave
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Slice squash in half, scoop out seeds. Peel garlic, rough chop onion. Place squash, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bake until squash is soft, about 1 hour. You will need to remove the onion and garlic about half way through cooking time.
Place veggie broth, milk, an bay leaf in a stock pot. Bring to a simmer. Place onion and garlic in pot. Scoop squash flesh out of shell and place in pot. Whiz up with an immersion blender. Add a drizzle of agave and about a teaspoon of paprika, cinnamon, and cumin. Add about 2 teaspoons of dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon of oregano. Simmer together for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning/sweetness.
Toast pecans. Serve soup with a sprinkle of pecans:).

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday!

Pickled Green Beans

2011-09-13T07:00:00.001-05:00

The CSA we joined this year has enabled us so many delicious fresh vegetables. As I see the morning temps begin to drop, I am reminded fresh vegetable season is drawing to a close. In order to be able to enjoy them a little longer, I froze and picked as many of the vegies as I could. One of my favorites was the pickled beans. These are perfect on a salad or even better in a spicy Bloody Mary.

Pickled Green Beans
Adapted from several recipes on the internet

½ lb string beans, trimmed (or as much will fit in a medium-sized jar)
1 c white vinegar
1 c water
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 T pickling spice
2 t sugar
½ t kosher salt
dash red pepper flakes
(Most of the original recipes called for dill weed. I didn't have any, so I just left it out)

1) Place string beans upright in a glass jar. Trim any ends that reach the top of the jar. Pack the jar tightly.

2) Combine all other ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl (or large measuring cup). Microwave for 90 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 90 seconds.

3) Pour mixture into jar, leaving ½ inch of space at the top. After you pour in the brine, if the jar's not full, add water and vinegar until it is. Screw on the lid.

4) Let cool to room temperature. Shake to distribute seeds and spices. Refrigerate.

5) Beans are ready after four days, and will last a month in the fridge.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday!

Let Us Never Forget!

2011-09-11T08:13:00.005-05:00

Bobby Flay's Pickled Onions

2011-09-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, my CSA included several sweet onions. Although onions have a good shelf life, I still didn't think I could use all of them before they went bad. Searching for things to make with them and being on a roll of pickling veggies, I ran across this recipe for pickled onions.

The reviews I read said these were pretty tart, so I cut back just a bit on the red wine vinegar. This recipe is easy, fun to make and perfect for burgers or salads.

Bobby Flay's Pickled Onions
2 large red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used sweet onions)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
6 whole black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Garnish: 2 tablespoons finely chopped thyme

Directions

Saute the onions over low heat in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Place the vinegar, 1/4 cup of olive oil, sugar, peppercorns and thyme in a large noncorrosive saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the onions to the hot liquid and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the onions to steep for at least 2 hours or overnight. (if storing overnight, place in a bowl and cover.) When ready to serve, drain the liquid and top with thyme.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday.

Freezer Cole Slaw

2011-09-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

When I was in my early twenties, I made cole slaw for the first time for a family gathering. I am not sure what I did but the cole slaw was a BIG disaster and I haven't made slaw since. A few weeks ago my CSA included the biggest head of cabbage I'd ever seen and I decided to give cole slaw another try. After all, it's been 30 years, surely I can make a good slaw? I decide to make Tim's mom's Freezer Cole Slaw. Besides Snicker Salad, most holiday gatherings at Tim's moms include this slaw.

Tim said my salad wasn't quite as good as his mother's but it was good. Hey, I can live with that, it was so much better my first try years ago.

Freezer Cole Slaw

1 medium head cabbage (about 2 pounds), shredded
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, combine cabbage and salt; let stand for 1 hour.
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, water, celery seed and mustard seed. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; cool.
Add the carrot, green pepper and vinegar mixture to the cabbage mixture; stir to combine. Transfer to large freezer bags; seal and freeze for up to 2 months.
Remove from the freezer 2 hours before serving. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 10 servings.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday.

Chocolate Rice Pudding - Chocolate With Francois

2011-08-31T07:01:00.009-05:00

I've never made rice pudding. Chocolate Rice Pudding seemed like a great first time! As far as Payard's recipes go, this is one of the easier ones. Most of the time is spent with the rice in the oven. The recipe calls for an hour's baking time, stirring every 20 minutes. Mine was beautiful after the first and second 20 minutes. I should have checked it again after 50 minutes instead of letting it go the full hour. Mine ended up over done and a little dry. The orange and chocolate flavors of this recipe are delicious and leave your kitchen with a wonderful fragrance.

Chocolate Rice Pudding was the recipe choice of Peggy of Pantry Revisited. You'll find the recipe over at her blog! Her pudding looks beautiful, just as Payard describes.

In My Garden

2011-08-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Wild Blueberry Oat Muffins - Secret Recipe Club

2011-08-22T06:00:00.015-05:00

This is my third month participating in Secret Recipe Club. Secret Recipe Club is the brainchild of Amanda of Amanda's Cooking. You're assigned a blog, you choose a recipe and keep it a secret until reveal day. How fun is that? Secret Recipe Club has become so popular, we've been divided into three groups. This month I am posting in Group B. Our host is Tina of Mom's Crazy Cooking.

My blog for this month is The Wednesday Baker. Andi has a lovely blog with lots of delicious recipes. After browsing on her blog several times, I settled on the Wild Blueberry Oat Muffins. I happened to have a pint of blueberries in the fridge and needed to make something for food day at hubby's work. Perfect!

I had some leftover crumb topping in the fridge. Instead of topping with sugar after baking, I decided to top with the crumb topping before baking.

The batter for these muffins is the most liquid batter I've ever seen. Usually, at least for me, muffin batter is thick. After putting these in the muffin tins, I read the recipe again, thinking maybe I'd read it wrong. That does happen to me quite a bit. No I read the recipe correctly. My muffins baked just shy of 20 minutes and were perfect. This is by far the best blueberry muffin I've ever eaten. They're moist with a nice soft crumb. The crumb topping added a beautiful finishing touch. I can't wait to experiment with this recipe with other fruits. Thanks Andi for a fabulous recipe!

Wild Blueberry-Oat Muffins
Paula Deen magazine July-August 2011
Courtesy of The Wednesday Baker

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp orange zest
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries*
*keeping out 1/2 cup of the blueberries to sprinkle on top of the batter before baking
confectioners' sugar to sprinkle on top after baking

Place the milk and the old-fashioned oatmeal in a bowl, stir to combine and allow to set for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with papers or spray muffins pan well with pam spray.

Add to the oatmeal the sugar, oil, orange zest, and egg and mix well. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon and the nuts then add to the wet mixture. Stir just long enough to combine. Carefully stir in the one cup of blueberries and mix gently. Spoon into the baking cups, sprinkle the tops with the remaining blueberries. Bake at 425 degree for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack. After they are cool sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar and serve.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday , Tuesday's at the Table,.
Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday.

Squash Pudding

2011-08-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago my CSA contained quite a bit of yellow squash. Although we enjoy yellow squash, we always eat it grilled or in a stir fry. In searching for a different way to prepare yellow squash, I found this recipe for Squash Pudding.

If you've never had squash pudding, give this recipe a try. You'll think you're eating a vanilla custard or pudding. Or if you're looking for a great recipe to get your children to eat veggies, this one is perfect. You'll never know the main ingredient is yellow squash.

Aunt Bea's Squash Pudding
Adapted from Sustainable Table

Ingredients:
6 medium yellow squash
1 egg, beaten well
3/4 cup milk or half and half
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Nutmeg

Directions:
Peel and cube squash and boil until soft. Puree in the blender. Add milk, vanilla, sugars, flour and egg. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 350 degrees 30-45 minutes until set.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Sweet Tooth Friday.

From The Good Life - Nebraska Wine and Balloon Festival

2011-08-18T06:33:00.000-05:00

After several consecutive weeks of heat and humidity, last weekend we were treated to almost Fall like temperatures. What do people do when they've been held hostage in their house by this heat for weeks, they celebrate by attending the Nebraska Wine and Balloon Festival.

Along with thousand's of other Nebraskan's we enjoyed a beautiful evening of balloons, wine and music. Many of our favorite Nebraska wineries were in attendance. We sampled a couple of old favorites and discovered a new wine or two. My favorite was Dryline White from Superior Estates in Superior Nebraska. The Dryline White is one of the wines in their Tornado Alley Series. A perfect name for a wine from a winery on the Kansas/Nebraska line, tornado alley for sure!

Wine seems to be the weekend theme in August. Next up this weekend, the Riverfront Wine Festival. Unfortunately, due to flooding it isn't being held on the riverfront.

Celebrity Cook Along - Rachael Ray

2011-08-16T06:14:00.016-05:00

For the past several months I've been participating in the Celebrity Cook Along hosted by Lynn at Happier Than A Pig In Mud. When I read that this month's celebrity was Rachael Ray I was thrilled, I already had a Rachael Ray recipe in my que. Or so I thought! Last night when I went to finish the post and link up, I realized the recipe was NOT Rachael's but Giada's. OOPS!

Fortunately, though I'd posted a lovely Rosemary Potato Frittata almost two years ago when I was first blogging. No one, except my husband and occasionally my son, was reading my blog, so I am posting this one again today. Rosemary is my favorite herb and this makes a delicious Sunday brunch or even weeknight meal.

Rosemary Potato Frittata
Adapted from Rachael Ray

1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped.
3 medium to large yukon gold potatoes
3 to 4 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup parmesean cheese
1 tablespoon McCormick vegetable seasoning

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Thinly slice the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the skillet and season the layers with rosemary, salt and pepper. Raise the heat and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Carefully turn the mixture and cook for 5 minutes longer.

In a large bowl, wisk the eggs and milk together. Wisk in the parmesean and vegetable seasoning. Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and lift the potatoes to allow the egg mixture to settle under them. Bake in the oven for 10 - 12 minutes. For the last couple of minutes, turn on the broiler to brown the top of the frittata. Watch carefully, so it does not burn. Remove from the oven and cut into slices and serve.

My notes on this recipe: The original recipe called for onion along with the potatoes, I am not a big fan of raw onions, so I omitted these. Next time, I think I will use them but saute them first. I added the vegetable seasoning to the eggs to give them a little more flavor. I put the Parmesan in with the egg mixture, the original recipe had it sprinkled on top for the last couple of minutes in the oven. I would like to try this recipe with another type of cheese, just to make it a little cheesier. Not sure what cheese will compliment the rosemary and potatoes, I think some type of savory cheese would be so good.

The recipe was a hit with my husband, although he couldn't resist telling me how good it would be with some MEAT in it, possibly some spicy sausage.

I am linking this to Celebrity Cook Along, Tasty Tuesday's, Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Sunday Night Cake - Club: Baked

2011-08-15T06:15:00.000-05:00

When Karen asked for my recipe choice for Club: Baked, I was drawn to Sunday Night Cake. The title of the recipe took me back to when my son was in high school, we had a pact to always have dinner together on Sunday night's. A cake that's perfect for Sunday night's sounded like the perfect recipe to me.

As I tend to do, a little too often, I made the recipe the day before the post was due. I read through it again and realized, I didn't have sour cream or cake flour. Quickly, I grab my keys and head to the closest store. Of course they had sour cream but did they have cake flour? Nope! I substituted all purpose flour and added 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Well the second time I measured the flour I added cornstarch, the first time I added baking powder. You know those great new square plastic tubs you find cornstarch and baking powder in these days? This is the second time, I mixed them up. Can't remember what I was making the other time. You'd think I would have learned. I am reminded of my mom saying "Haste makes waste". Once I gathered the proper ingredients, the cake went together easily.

Oh I guess I also forgot to mention, I didn't have a 9 x 9 square pan or a 9" springform pan. I used an 8" springform and made a couple of cupcakes with the extra batter. My cupcakes were done after 20 minutes but the cake itself took almost 50 minutes. Probably because I made it in a smaller pan. My cake rose much higher than I would have anticipated. I sliced off the top so there would be a flat surface for frosting.

This recipe is all about the frosting. While this cake is moist with a wonderful texture, I thought it lacked flavor. The frosting reminds me of a lighter version of chocolate pudding and makes this cake. I can't wait to try this frosting again, maybe on a peanut butter cake? I am looking forward to reading the other Club: Baked members comments on this cake.

Sunday Night Cake

1 3/4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

Frosting

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ round cake pan (springform works great) with parchment paper. Melt a little butter and brush it onto the paper and the sides of the pan, then shake about 1 tablespoon of flour around the pan, disposing of excess. This will keep the cake from sticking.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Add eggs one at a time and mix until blended. Scrape down the bowl again.

Add the flour one scoop at a time, alternating with scoops of the sour cream. The last addition should be flour. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix a few more times to incorporate.

Pour batter into pan and bake 30-35 minutes. Allow cake to cool at least 25 minutes on a wire rack. Flip out of the pan and frost with the chocolate frosting.

Frosting instructions:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and cocoa powder. Add the chopped chocolate. Pour 1 cup boiling water into the pan, wait 30 seconds, then whisk until mixture is combined and the chocolate is melted.

Turn the heat to medium-high and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken. (Once pudding begins to thicken, it will come together very quickly.)

Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high until the steam escapes and the mixture is room temperature. Add the butter and mix for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the frosting is light and pudding like. If you prefer a fluffier, more spreadable frosting, continue to mix for a few minutes longer.

Frost the top of the cake, allowing a little of the frosting to drip down the edges. Chill for 5 minutes to set the frosting. Serve immediately.

The cake can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring it back to room temperature before serving.

You can see what the other Club: Baked members thought of this recipe here! Next up for Club: Baked is Boston Cream Pie Cake!

Rhubarb Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

2011-08-14T06:07:00.001-05:00

Do you watch Cupcake Wars? My favorite part is seeing all of the flavors of cupcakes, icing and filings the bakers make. Inspired by Cupcake Wars, I decided to make a rhubarb syrup to flavor a cream cheese frosting. I used frozen rhubarb and was concerned they would be too wet. Quite the opposite, they were moist and delicious. The rhubarb cream cheese frosting just added that extra touch of sweetness.

If you have some rhubarb in your freezer and want a delicious cupcake, give this one a try. Lorraine, the PhDcupaker is our host for this month and you can find the recipe on her blog. You'll find the other MSC baker's cupcakes here!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

2011-08-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

My wonderful husband Tim celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks ago. When I saw this recipe on One Perfect Bite, I immediately bookmarked it to make for his birthday. Butter Pecan is Tim's favorite ice cream! Never having made Butter Pecan Ice Cream before, I was looking forward to making this recipe. The fact that I don't really care for Butter Pecan didn't hurt either. I knew I wouldn't be spooning out taste scoops straight from the freezer like I did with the Cake Batter Ice Cream a few weeks ago.

I substituted skim milk for the whipping cream and the recipe turned out great. I've found you make ice cream base with any combination of milk, half and half or cream. Even though butter pecan isn't my favorite flavor, I did try try a bite or two. This is a rich, delicious ice cream. If you like Butter Pecan, give this recipe a try!

As a side note, the beautiful blue dish and spoon were part of a set I won over at A Musing Potpourri. Thanks La for the fun prize!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Recipe Courtesy of One Perfect Bite

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon butter
1-1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Melt butter in a small skillet set over medium heat. Add pecans and toast until lightly brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool.
2) Heat half-and-half in a large heavy saucepan set over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 175 degrees F. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
3) Whisk a small amount of hot cream mixture into eggs. Add egg mixture to pan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches at least 160 degrees F and coats a metal spoon. Remove from heat. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Stir in toasted pecans.
4) Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full. Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Allow to ripen in ice cream freezer or firm up in the refrigerator freezer for 2-4 hours before serving. Yield: 1 quart.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday.

From The Good Life

2011-08-11T07:00:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we went camping at Pawnee Lake, a beautiful state recreation area about an hour west of Omaha. Despite the closed roads due to flooding, our friends Karen and Larry made the trip up to join us.

Saturday we visited three wineries in the area. Our first stop was Deer Springs Winery, just outside of Lincoln. We tasted four whites and one red. We really enjoyed the Bianca. Biana is a cold hardy Vitis Vinifera cross developed in Hungary, where it is also known as Bianka or Ergi Csillagok. From Deer Creek we traveled to Raymond, the home of James Arthur, Nebraska's largest winery. We tasted six wines, I think it was four whites and two reds. We did enjoy the Nebraska White and the Nebraska Red, how original?! My favorite part of the visit to James Arthur was their wine cupcakes, a Red Velvet infused with the Nebraska Red. Our winery of the day was Windcrest , just down the road from James Arthur. Unlike James Arthur where the tasting room was crowded and somewhat commercial, we were greeted by the wine maker. He shared his thoughts on the flavor profiles and production of his wines. Our favorite was a wine that actually didn't contain any grapes. The wine was made from cherries and there's only one word to describe it, YUMMY!!!

After a fun day, we headed back to the campground. There were clouds in the area and we were hoping to get dinner in before the rain began. No such luck, we grilled between thunderstorms. Parts of Lincoln received heavy rain and 60 mile per hour winds. The rain kept us inside the camper and set up for an encore game of Farkle!

Despite the rain, we had a wonderful weekend with good friends!!!

Cinnamon Peach Preserves - SMS

2011-08-07T19:43:00.024-05:00

I am a little sad as I write this post, this will be my final post for Sweet Melissa Sunday's. Sweet Melissa Sunday's was the first group I joined when I first began blogging . The SMS bloggers are a great group and it's been so fun getting to all of them. Several of the bakers from SMS have formed a new baking group, Club: Baked! Thanks to Karen of Karen's Cookies Cakes and More for hosting SMS and creating Club: Baked.

As SMS draws to a close and I reflect on all of the recipes we've made, I contemplate which one's were my favorites. These preserves are in my top five. One of the reasons it's my favorite is because preserves have always been one of those recipes I wanted to make but thought it was too difficult. This recipe has shown me making preserves easy and fun. The flavor combinations are endless.

Summer brings beautiful, juicy peaches to the Midwest, making this the perfect August recipe. One of the unique things about Melissa's recipe is she uses Granny Smith apples instead of pectin. I added a bit of vanilla bean paste to this mixture, right before spooning it into the jars. The vanilla blends nicely with the cinnamon and peach flavors.

Our host for this week is Tessa of The Cooking Chemist. Tessa was the first blogger I "met" who lived in my town. I immediately became a follower and enjoy her blog. She's since graduated from pharmacy school and moved to Phoenix but I still follow her blog. You'll find this delicious jam recipe on her blog and you can check out the other SMS bloggers here!

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday!

Green Bean Salad with Goat Cheese

2011-08-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love browsing my favorite blogs or finding new blogs I've never explored before. How many food blogs do you think there are on the internet today? Every day I find at least one recipe to bookmark, often they're recipes I haven't made before or wouldn't normally make. Rarely do I prepare a main dish salad for lunch or dinner. When I saw this recipe and realized I had all of the ingredients on hand, it became the perfect Sunday lunch.

Everyone says you eat with your eyes. Anyone would be drawn to the vibrant colors in this salad. Fresh summer green beans, bright yellow corn and juicy red tomatoes make up the pallet for your eyes and feast for your stomach.

When I make this salad again, I would cook the green beans a little longer. While I enjoy my green beans crunchy, cooking just two minutes leaves them a little too crisp for my taste.

Green Bean Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing
Recipe Courtesy of Love & Olive Oil
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound green beans, trimmed
2 ounces crumbled fresh goat cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, divided
3/4 cup fresh corn (from 1 ear corn)
1 large tomato, diced

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and cook just until they turn bright green and are barely tender, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can steam the green beans in a microwave save, lidded glass container. Fill with approximately 1 cup of water, and microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes or until beans are crisp tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Pat dry.

To make the dressing, whisk together goat cheese, lemon zest and juice, apple juice, garlic and pepper in a small bowl. Toss green beans with half the dressing and half the basil or basil and spread on a platter. Top with corn and tomato, drizzle with remaining dressing and sprinkle with remaining basil.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

In My Garden

2011-08-04T06:09:00.006-05:00

Despite the heat and lack of rain, there's still a few beautiful flowers in our garden!

Faux Mashed Potatoes

2011-08-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

A number of years ago when the Atkins Diet first became popular, a couple of the restaurants where I ate lunch served these Faux Mashed Potatoes. I'd actually forgotten all about them until a few weeks ago when I was searching for recipes for the cauliflower I'd received in my CSA basket. These are so delicious and if you use your imagination, you may just think you're eating mashed potatoes!

Faux Mashed Potatoes

1/2 head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
2 tablespoons Cream Cheese
2 tablespoon Butter
Salt & Pepper
Chives

Steam the cauliflower for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and shake to dry. Using a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese and butter. Add the cauliflower and blend until smooth. Salt and Pepper to taste. Sprinkle with freshly snipped chives.

I am linking this to Tuesday's at the Table, Tasty Tuesday's, Made From Scratch Tuesday's,

Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies - Club Baked

2011-08-01T06:00:00.014-05:00

What do you think of when you hear Thumbprint Cookies? For me it's those peanut butter ones with the Hershey's kisses in the middle or the ones that are filled with jam. I am always intrigued when I see a new flavor for an old favorite. These thumbprints combine two delicious flavors, chocolate and mint, Andes Mints. I am reminded of standing at the cash register in a restaurant with my Dad, who always bought everyone present for the meal an Andes Mint.

This recipe goes together quickly and easily. The dark chocolate sticky dough, as with most thumbprints, is chilled before rolling them into balls. After chilling this dough for most of the afternoon, it was way too hard. I let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes, way too soft. I put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes and rolled quickly. Trying to create the look of Andes Mints, I rolled a few of them in green sanding sugar. I did cheat, just a little on this recipe. I used Hershey's white chocolate kisses for the centers!

You can find the recipe for these little gems over at Jamie of Random Acts of Food. Check out the other Club: Baked member's thumbprints here!

Next up in two weeks, Sunday Night Cake, hosted by ME!

My Favorite Flourless Chocolate Cake - Chocolate With Francois

2011-07-31T06:25:00.007-05:00

I think my first experience with flourless chocolate cake was twenty or so years ago when I worked with a girl who had gluten allergies. Unlike today, when it seems everyone has some sort of food allergy, no one had ever heard of someone being allergic to flour.

As I was preparing to make this recipe, I realized I didn't have the bottom for my 9" springform pan. I think I left it at my mother in laws when I made her a cheesecake for her birthday. I did some research on using an 8" for a 9" recipe. 10 cups for an 9" and 8 cups for an 8". Perfect, I can put the extra in my mini cheesecake pans and save the balance to serve for dessert when friends come over next weekend. When I poured the 8 cups into the cheesecake pan, I didn't feel like there was enough batter in the pan, so I added one more cup. In the end, I think I could have used it all since these cakes don't rise.

Watch your cooking time very closely, flourless cakes can be dry. I tasted the mini one on the day I made it. It was just okay, a little sticky and not as rich in chocolate as I would have liked. I froze the larger one for about a week. This resulted in the perfect flourless chocolate cake, moist and fudgy, like a decadent chocolate brownie. This recipe is a keeper. It's easy and can be made in advance, the perfect dessert to serve at a dinner party.

Joanne at Apple Crumbles is our host this month. You can find the recipe on her blog.

Grilled Kohlrabi - CSA

2011-07-29T06:00:00.014-05:00

I joined a CSA this year. For those of you who don't know, a CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. You find a local farm who basically sells "shares" of the farm in exchange for fresh produce and sometimes a little manual labor at the farm.
Early in the Spring, I started researching the local CSA's. Since there's just two of us, I needed find a farm that offered half shares. I wasn't having much luck and had almost given up when my husband sent me an email, Wenninghoff's Farm was offering to deliver CSA shares to my husband's work. Even better, they offered half shares. I was so thrilled, I'd found my CSA.

We're in our fifth week of the CSA and we're loving it. Today I am sharing with you a recipe from our first week, Grilled Kohlrabi. Kohlrabi isn't an every day vegetable, I think we'd eaten it once before a few years ago. Kohlrabi is available in green or purple and tastes like broccoli stems with a hint of cabbage flavor. The word kohlrabi is German for cabbage turnip (kohl as in cole-slaw, and rübe for turnip).

Grilled Kohlrabi

1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and cubed
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar

Toss the kohlrabi in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil. Grill over medium heat for 45 minutes, until kohlrabi is tender. Remove from the foil. Adjust seasoning and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

Asian Grilled Green Beans

2011-07-26T05:55:00.000-05:00

I remember eating fresh green beans in the summer as a kid. Or at least I think they were green beans. Why is it a lot of my early veggie memories are of vegetables being cooked until they were almost mush? I remember my mom cooking green beans with onions and bacon for hours. I think I thought they were good but again I didn't know any better.

I soon realized green beans that aren't cooked for hours, are better than good, they're great! With the hot summer weather we've been having, anytime I can find a recipe suitable for the grill, it's a bonus! Since I didn't have any on hand, I omitted the fresh mushrooms. The red pepper flakes add a touch of heat and a nice kick to the green beans. This recipe is quick and easy, perfect for fresh green beans on a hot summer night!.

Asian Grilled Green Beans
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1-1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 medium fresh mushrooms, quartered

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Add the beans, onion and mushrooms; toss to coat.
Place half of the vegetables on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square); fold foil around vegetables and seal tightly. Repeat with remaining vegetables.
Grill, covered, over medium heat for 18-22 minutes or until beans are tender, turning packets over once. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. Yield: 8 servings.

I am linking this to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, and Tasty Tuesday.

Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chops

2011-07-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

When Tim and I first began camping this summer, we purchased a Coleman Road Trip Grill. Although I love food grilled over an open fire, it can be a bit challenging especially when the temperatures are in the 80's and 90's. We enjoyed these pork chops on our recent Fourth Of July camping trip. No doubt our fellow campers thought we were a bit strange, always photographing our food.

When I first shared this recipe with Tim, he was a bit skeptical. I must admit, I wasn't 100% sold either but the reviews were excellent. Alton doesn't usually serve up disappointing recipes. I've always been a big Alton fan although he was a bit of a jerk on a recent episode of Food Network Star. Maybe it's all of the weight he lost? I know for a fact, people with a few extra pounds are happier :).

This recipe is a keeper. The molasses marinade makes a rich and delicious sauce. As it cooks down it thickens and the flavor develops. I wanted to eat it by the spoonful. This would be wonderful on chicken or even ribs. Give this one a try, you won't be sorry!!!

Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chop

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

1 cup cool strong coffee
6 ounces molasses, by weight
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6 to 8-ounce) bone-in, 1-inch thick pork chops

Directions

Place all of the ingredients into a 1-gallon zip top bag, seal, and shake to combine. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Remove the pork chops from the marinade. Transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and boil gently, stirring often, until reduced to about 1/2 cup liquid, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the thyme stems after the glaze has reduced. Meanwhile, grill pork chops 3 to 4 minutes per side or until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Allow the pork chops to rest 4 to 5 minutes before serving with the glaze.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

From The Good Life -

2011-07-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Over the 4th of July weekend, Tim and I camped at Prairie Rose State Park, one of our favorite state parks. Friday was hot and humid but Saturday brought cooler temperatures and the rest of the weekend was beautiful.

On Saturday, we took a drive to see the Bridges of Madison County. You know the ones from the movie with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. Tim was disappointed, he said he expected them to be larger, functioning bridges. After seeing the birthplace of John Wayne, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the park in Winterset.

From Winterset we headed east to St. Charles to check out the Madison County Winery. It so happened on this particular day they were celebrating the grand opening of their brewery. Despite the crowd, we managed to belly up to the bar. We were served by the owners daughter who shared with us the bar was made from the crushed wine bottles her father had saved for 5 years. After tasting seven wines, we purchased a bottle of Summer Blonde, a semi sweet white wine.

Our travels then took us north to to Adel and Penoach Winery. The tasting room is in a 1917 barn. Not sure how many wines we tasted, our cordial host just keep saying oh try this one, now this one. We chose a Windmill Red, a red that reminded us of a Pinot Noir, which is quite unusual since Iowa wines tend to be sweeter. The last wine we tried was an apple wine made from local apples. We've tried apple wines before but this one had a touch of cinnamon. It will be wonderful to enjoy this wine, warm around the campfire this fall.

The balance of our holiday weekend was spent enjoying the beauty of Prairie Rose State Park!

Wild Blueberry Chews - Cookie Carnival

2011-07-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

This is my second month baking with Cookie Carnival. In addition to trying new cookie recipes, the thing I love most about this group is there is no certain posting date. Most of the groups I participate in have a set posting date. Sometimes it reminds me of a school assignment, it's almost due and I haven't even started!

The two recipe choices for Cookie Carnival this month were Wild Blueberry Chews and Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies. I chose The Wild Blueberry Chews because they seemed to be the healthier option, can you say that about cookies?

After mixing the recipe, my dough seemed dry so I added an additional tablespoon of water. The recipe calls for dropping the teaspoons of dough onto the cookie sheet. I used my medium size scoop. When I checked them at 11 minutes, they hadn't flatted at all. I quickly grabbed a fork and flattened them.

When you read the title of this recipe, you'd think these cookies are "chewy" but they're not or at least mine weren't. I love the tartness of the blueberries mixed with the sweetness of the chocolate and the crunch of the almonds! These cookies are delicious!

Thanks to Tami for hosting Cookie Carnival. You'll find a recap of all of the Cookie Carnival bloggers on her site after the end of July!

I am linking these to Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday , Tasty Tuesday's and
Sweet Tooth Friday.

Secret Recipe Club - Lavender Lemonade Martini

2011-07-18T05:31:00.007-05:00

This is my second month participating in Secret Recipe Club. When I received the email with my assignment, I couldn't wait to see which blogger been chosen for me. I was assigned Creative Culinary. What a lovely and delicious blog!

On a Saturday morning I sat at my computer scrolling through the hundreds of recipes on Creative Culinary. As I was scanning the recipes, I ran across many things familiar to me. There were posts of recipes from Nordstrom's Cafe, drinks from Yia Yia's and several versions of St. Louis Butter Cake. I started out with a list of six recipes: Nutella Fudge Brownies, Potato Chip Cookies, Lavender Lemonade Martini, Best Coffee Cake Ever, Hamburger Baked Bean Casserole and Olive Oil & Rosemary Cake.

I've been wanting to bake with Nutella! Potato chip cookies sound so fun. Who can pass up a martini? The casserole would be perfect for camping! My rosemary is growing like crazy. Which recipe to choose?

Inspired by Tim's and my recent trip to the Missouri Valley Lavender Farm, I chose the Lavender Lemonade Martini.A couple of summers ago I made some lavender simple syrup to use for cocktails. I think it ended up in the back of the fridge and not in the cocktails. Infused simple syrup is perfect for cocktails. It adds sweetness, along with a nice hint of lavender. This is a perfect summer cocktail or if you prefer, this makes a refreshing lavender lemonade.

Lavender Lemonade Martini

Recipe Courtesy of Creative Culinary
Ingredients

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
6-8 sprigs of lavender
sugar for rimming
Vodka, preferably chilled
lemon slices and lavender sprigs for garnish (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Add sugar to water in pot on stove and bring to boil; cook only until sugar is dissolved. Add lavender sprigs and allow to cool completely.
Put lemon juice in pitcher and strain lavender/sugar water into same pitcher.
Add cup of ice to pitcher and stir well.
Use a lemon slice to wet the edge of a martini glass. Rim the edge with sugar. I typically put a layer of sugar on a saucer and dip the top edge in it.
Add ice to the glass and fill 2/3 with lemonade.
Add 1/2 to a full shot of vodka, stir. Enjoy!

Cake Batter Ice Cream

2011-07-17T10:49:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! We'd planned to take a camping trip to a state park about an hour west of Omaha. The hot weather, heat indexes of over 110, caused us to change our mind and stay home. The unexpected weekend at home left me with the time and motivation to cook and bake all sorts of summer treats!

If you live in the Midwest, you may be familiar with Sheridan's Frozen Custard. Sheridan's is a Kansas City based custard company with locations in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois and few other states across the US. I was thrilled when our first Omaha location opened a few years ago! My favorite treat at Sheridan's is a Be My Cupcake Concrete. My husband loves it when we go to the drive through and he get's to order the "Be My Cupcake" for me! It's a frozen treat made with vanilla custard, white cake and sprinkles.

I was looking for a similar treat to make at home, when I found this recipe for Cake Batter Ice Cream. Instead of cake and custard mixed together, cake mix is used for the cake batter flavor. In reading the comments on this recipe, I found a couple of people who used skim milk and half and half instead of heavy cream and whole milk. Awesome, anything I can to do to make ice cream a little less bad for you works for me. Several people also commented the recipe was a little lacking in flavor, so they added more cake mix. I used 1 cup of cake mix and 1 tablespoon of vanilla paste.

My cuisinart ice cream maker is several years old and just didn't seem to be freezing properly anymore, so I'd been thinking about getting a new one. A few weeks ago, while browsing the shelves at Goodwill, I found a Cooks Essentials for $7.99. It looked brand new, I am not sure it had ever been used. My new ice cream maker made the perfect consistency of ice cream! Gotta love a bargain!!

While it was freezing, I spooned out a taste. OMG this is so good! I had to make myself back away, I could have continued to spoon out way too many tastes. I can't wait to try a chocolate version of this recipe!

I love ice cream socials. As a kid, we always had an ice cream social at church to celebrate the end of Vacation Bible School. They were always so fun. Today I am participating in two ice cream socials in the blogsphere. Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet is having her third Ice Cream Social Weekend. I particpated last year with these Key Lime Ice Cream Sandwiches! In celebration of National Ice Cream Day, La at A Musing Potpourri is also having an ice cream social.

Enjoy!

Cake Batter Ice Cream
Recipe adapted from All Recipes

1 cup milk (I used skim milk)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used a tablespoon of vanilla paste)
2 cups heavy whipping cream (I used half and half)
3/4 cup yellow cake mix, sifted (I used 1 cup)

Directions

Whisk together milk, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, cream, and cake mix in a saucepan until well blended. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), stirring frequently. Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator or freezer until liquid is cold.
Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions until it reaches "soft-serve" consistency. Transfer ice cream to a one- or two-quart lidded plastic container; cover surface with plastic wrap and seal. For best results, ice cream should ripen in the freezer for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Bobby Flay's Grilled Sweet Potato Salad

2011-07-15T06:00:00.003-05:00

This month's celebrity cook along over at Happier Than A Pig in Mud features Bobby Flay. Are you a Bobby Flay fan? Is it me or has Bobby mellowed a bit the past couple of years? Maybe, like me, people were finding him a bit arrogant. Whether or not you like him, one thing is for sure, the man can grill!

When I was planning our meals for Fourth of July weekend, I found Bobby's recipe for Sweet Potato salad. Tim's not a traditional potato salad fan. Since potato salad is synonymous with 4th of July, this recipe was perfect. I'd been wanting to try sweet potato salad!

The flavors in this salad are delicious. The sharpness of the balsamic vinegar, the sweetness of the potatoes and the salty bacon all compliment each other. This salad gets better after it sits a day or two and the dressing has a chance to soak into the potatoes.

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon & Herb Vinaigrette
Recipe Courtesy of Bobby Flay

3 large sweet potatoes
1 T. plus 1/4 cup olive oil
8 oz bacon, diced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 t. fresh thyme, finely chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup canola oil

1. In a large pot of salted water, boil the potatoes until just cooked but not completely soft, 25 - 30 minutes, depending on the size. Test by piercing a potato with a thin bamboo skewer. (I used a fork) When the skewer meets some resistance but can slide all the way through, the potatoes are ready. Drain them immediately; set aside and let cool.

2. Heat grill to medium.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saute pan over high heat. Add the bacon; cook until golden brown and crispy. (I didn't add the olive oil) Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.

4. Return the pan to the heat, adding the shallots to the rendered fat, cook until golden brown and slightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. (I skimmed off most of the remaining bacon fat) Add the vinegar and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil, herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

5. Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices; brush both sides of the potato slices with canola oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill until slightly charred on both sides and just cooked through, about 5 minutes total.

6. Place the potatoes in a bowl while they're still warm and gently toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with the crispy bacon. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Thanks to Lynn at Happier Than A Pig in Mud for another fun Celebrity Cook Along! In addition, I am linking to Foodie Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!!

In My Garden

2011-07-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Santa Fe Noodle Bake

2011-07-12T06:03:00.000-05:00

When Kraft first introduced Philadephia Cooking Cream, I received a coupon for a free tub. I knew I wanted to use it for some type of pasta dish. Inspired by some of the other noodle dishes I've made, I decided to make a noodle casserole. The cooking cream is a good substitute for sour cream or cottage cheese. If you have kids or are in the mood for comfort food, this dish is for you!!!

Santa Fe Noodle Bake

Ingredients

1 tub Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Cream
1-¼ pound Ground Chuck
1 can 15-ounces Rotel Tomatoes
½ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
8 ounces, Egg Noodles
1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine Philadelphia Cooking Cream and meat mixture. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir.

To assemble, add half of the noodle and meat mixture to a casserole. Top with half the cheese. Repeat with noodles and meat mixture and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Meet Me On Monday

2011-07-11T07:33:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! There's no official Meet Me on Monday over at Never Growing Old today. I decided to go back and answer the questions from one before I started participating.

1. What do you put on your hot dog?
Mustard! About the only time I eat a hot dog is at a summer baseball game!

2. Do you play Sudoku?
Nope! Words with Friends and Angry Birds for me!

3. What is your favorite vegetable?
This is a hard one. I love vegetables. There's hardly any I don't like. I guess it would be asparagus!

4. Do you color your hair?
Violet red. Think Sharon Osborne, only not as violet!

5. What is your favorite brand of clothing?
I am more of a bargain than brand shopper. My favorite brand is whatever pair of jeans fit me!

How about you, what's your favorite veggie?

Pink Saturday

2011-07-09T01:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Pink Saturday!

Lemon, Rosemary and Balsamic Grilled Chicken

2011-07-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

In the summer we grill at least two nights a week. There's always chicken in my fridge and I'm frequently looking for new ways to grill it. I love it when I find a recipe that uses ingredients I have in my kitchen. Even better when it uses one of the herbs from my herb garden. This recipe does both of those things and it's delicious.

Lemon, Rosemary and Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 chicken thighs (I used chicken breasts)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine and pour into a 1-gallon resealable food storage plastic bag. Put the chicken thighs in the bag and seal it. Turn to ensure that the chicken is evenly coated, then refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 2 to 4 hours.

Preheat a grill to medium-low and brush the grates lightly with an oil soaked cloth. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Season the chicken well on all sides with salt and pepper, then place on the grill, skin side down. Cook the chicken about 8 to 10 minutes, turn and continue to cook an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the heat and serve while hot.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

From The Good Life - Tempo of Twilight

2011-07-07T06:24:00.001-05:00

Omaha's botanical garden, Lauritzen Garden's has a concert series in the summer called Tempo of Twilight. Each concert features a different Omaha 70's or 80's cover band. On this particular night, we were treated to the tunes of The Fabulous Rogues. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and a picnic dinner in the beautiful setting of the garden's courtyard.

The garden is also featuring an exhibit of large scale ceramic sculptures by artist Jun Kaneko.

Graduation Candy Pops

2011-07-05T06:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I was looking to make something fun for Mike's graduation party! I found this recipe for graduation pops on Bakerella's blog. When Mike saw them, he said "crafty"! We all laughed about the different meanings of "crafty". In this case, I am hoping he meant that in a good way.

You'll find the assembly instructions here! I used red hots for the tops and Ghirardelli chocolate squares for the mortarboards. These were easy to make. The most challenging part was finding all of the ingredients.

I am linking this to Tuesday's at the Table, Tasty Tuesday's and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays!

NY Style Crumb Muffins & A New Baking Group

2011-07-01T06:00:00.037-05:00

One of my favorite baking groups, Sweet Melissa Sunday's is coming to an end. We're baking two recipes for the next couple of months, with our last recipe in August. Besides Melissa's great recipes, the reason I've enjoyed this group so much is the other bakers. It's such a great group of women! I was thrilled when Karen from Karen's Cookies Cakes and More suggested we bake our way through Matt Lewis's Baked Explorations. I'd been wanting to buy this cookbook and now I have a really good reason to buy it! Not that I need another cookbook, I am not sure what the count is these days but I know it's way over 100.

When I read through the recipe for the NY Style Crumb Cake, I quickly realized this wasn't a low fat recipe. 2 1/2 sticks of butter? I knew this much butter would bring two things, a delicious cake and way too many calories! My solution, cut the recipe in half. When reading Karen's comments on the recipe, I noticed she'd had a failure with an 8" pan. Thinking maybe the pan was too small, I sent Karen an email and inquired about using a 9" pan. She quickly responded that the 8" pan was too big and I needed to use something smaller. I decided to use my large muffin tins.

Not being from New York, I was curious what a New York style Crumb Cake was. I think it's what we call a Coffee Cake in the Midwest. My crumb topping didn't seem to be sticking together enough to make these big crumbs. I didn't have the time or the patience to make a bunch of large crumbs, so I went with the topping as it was. There were some large crumbs, otherwise it was like a cake topping. My half recipe made 5 muffins. A couple were pretty large, so I think I could have made 6 muffins. I had quite a bit of topping leftover, which I saved for the next fruit crumble.

The recipe called for 60 minutes of baking time. I set the timer for 30 minutes and when I checked them, I was a little surprised to find they were done. I think they could have baked for 20 - 25 minutes. As the muffins rose, the topping spread out and in the end I didn't end up with as much crumb topping as I would have liked. That's probably why I have so much leftover!!!

OMG! These are so good. They have such a nice tender crumb and the flavor is delicious!
You can find the recipe here on Karen's blog and the links to the other Baked bakers's here!

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Sweet Tooth Friday and Full Plate Thursday!

Crock Pot Chocolate Cake

2011-06-28T06:00:00.021-05:00

If you follow my blog you know I use my Slow Cooker a lot. Nothing's better than coming home after work and having dinner ready to go. As you continue to use your slow cooker you learn some dishes are more suited to the slow cooker than others.

Until recently, I had never used my slow cooker for a dessert. A few weeks ago during one of our first camping trips, I tried this Apple Crisp. Wow, dessert does work in the slow cookert!! After my first success, I found this recipe for Crock Pot Chocolate Cake. I never would have thought a chocolate cake would bake in the slow cooker but it does. Don't expect the same texture as a cake baked in the oven. The texture of a slow cooker cake is more like a flourless chocolate or pudding cake. A trick I learned when I made the Apple Crisp is to take a towel or a few paper towels and put them under the lid. You'll find this absorbs the steam and moisture and helps the desserts to bake. If you're a camper, like I am or if you don't want to heat up your oven this summer, give this cake recipe a try!

Crockpot Chocolate Cake

1 pkg. two layer chocolate cake mix
3 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup water
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preparation:

Spray a 4 quart crockpot with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and pudding mix. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the water, then add the sour cream and oil and beat until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into crockpot. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until top springs back when touched very lightly with finger. 8-10 servings

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday's at the Table.

Meet Me On Monday

2011-06-27T06:06:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday! It's short work week for me. We're taking Friday as a vacation day to get a jump start on our 4th of July camping trip!!

If you want to join in the Meet Me On Monday fun, you can find the details at Never Growing Old!

1. What is your favorite food?
This is a tough one! Pizza, Pasta, Potatoes. You know all of those foods that aren't really good for you! Although I do love veggies, too!

2. What color scheme is your bedroom?
Lavender!

3. Do you carry a donor card?
Absolutely! If you don't, please think about getting one today!

4. In your opinion, is the glass half empty or half full?
Half full!!! I try to always remember how lucky I am!

5. Vanilla or Chocolate?
CHOCOLATE!!!!!! Actually, that's probably my favorite food. :)

What's your favorite food?

Pink Saturday

2011-06-25T07:26:00.001-05:00

Happy Pink Saturday!

Cookie Carnival - Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-06-24T06:00:00.011-05:00

I enjoy baking but I can't remember the last time I made cookies! I seem to gravitate towards desserts instead of cookies. I decided to join Cookie Carnival, a baking group that features two cookie recipes each month. As a member of Cookie Carnival, you can bake one or both of the recipes and post them anytime during the month. Simple and fun!!

I am excited to share my first Cookie Carnival recipe, Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies. When I think of Peanut Butter Cookies, I think of those I learned to make as a kid. You know the ones where you criss cross the tines of a fork on the top of the cookie? I love the ingredients in this recipe! Besides the usual ingredients, there's oats and coconut! They add crunch and flavor to the cookies. I made jumbo cookies and they took every bit of 20 minutes to bake. At the end of 20 minutes, they still looked a little wet in the middle but as they were fine after the cooled. Even if you're not a coconut fan, give this recipe a try. You'll keep reaching in the cookie jar for more!!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe Courtesy of Smucker's


•	1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
•	1/2 cup butter, softened
•	3/4 cup Creamy Natural Peanut Butter, stirred
•	2 large eggs
•	2 tablespoons milk
•	1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•	1 cup All Purpose Flour
•	1 teaspoon baking powder
•	1 teaspoon baking soda
•	1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
•	1 cup flaked coconut

Directions:

1	HEAT oven to 350°F. Beat sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter in large mixing bowl on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; stir in rolled oats and coconut. Add to peanut butter mixture and beat on low speed until well blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
2	Drop by heaping tablespoonful, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown around edges. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
	VARIATION:
	JUMBO CHEWY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES: Prepare dough as directed above. Drop by 1/4-cupfuls, 3 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 14 to 17 minutes or until light brown around edges. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

I am linking this to Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday and Sweet Tooth Friday!!

In My Garden

2011-06-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

2011-06-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

I am envious of those of you who take beautiful photographs of the main dishes you've prepared. I struggle to get the shot set up and still eat before everything is cold. This is one of those photos! Photo aside this is a great chicken recipe. Chicken is a staple at our house and I am always looking for new recipes.

I found this one over at One Crazy Cookie. Tiffanee, thanks for a great addition to my chicken repertoire.

Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken
chicken pieces (I used 4 chicken thighs)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette (I used balsamic vinegar)
1/2 cup pop (I used Root Beer. Tiffanee says Cherry Coke Zero is her favorite to add. )
1 Tablespoon minced onions
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
Place all ingredients in crock pot. Stir to combine and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Update: (Optional) About 30 minutes before you are going to eat mix up 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch in a little bit of water and mix it in the sauce. Replace the lid, keep it on low and cook about 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. This will allow the sauce to thicken up a bit.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday's at The Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Your Recipe My Kitchen!

Meet Me On Monday

2011-06-20T06:00:00.009-05:00

Did you have a nice weekend? Hot and humid here but a wonderful weekend just the same!

Monday means two things, back to work and Meet Me on Monday! If you'd like to join Meet Me on Monday, you can find the details here!

1. What feature of the opposite sex do you notice first?
Okay I know I am getting older, I don't even know!

2. Do you talk to yourself?
All the time! Sometimes, I even answer myself, too!

3. What is your current relationship status?
Very happily married to the love of my life! Maybe that's why don't have an answer for #1.

4. Do you have a garden?
Yes, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, brussels sprouts, peas and beans. Sounds MUCH bigger than it is. Most of those, it's just one plant!

5. What is your favorite licorice flavor?
I don't like licorice!

How about you, what's growing in your garden this summer?

Pink Saturday

2011-06-18T01:00:00.001-05:00

I've been absent from Pink Saturday the past few weeks. We've been out of town, without internet access, so I've had no way to link to Pink Saturday. I am guessing there's a way from my phone but have yet to be successful.

Today I am sharing a couple of pink roses from my garden.

Happy Pink Saturday !!!!!

From The Good Life

2011-06-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

Sadly enough today's From The Good Life doesn't reflect such a good life for many. Here in Omaha, as well as all around us we're experiencing terrible flooding. Having lived in the midwest all of my life, I've experienced flash flooding and some river flooding but never anything like this. Farmland and towns have become lakes, highways are closed and levee's are breaking. I was amazed on Sunday when I spoke with my son, who lives in Los Angeles, he hadn't heard anything on the news about what was going on here. Just this week, I've started to see a bit in the news about the devastation but certainly, or so it seems, not as much as when disaster occurs on the east or west coast.

Photograph courtesy of St. Joseph Post

The really sad part is this could go on for weeks or even months, as the release of water continues from Gavin's Point Dam in South Dakota. Please keep all of the people effected by this in your thoughts!

Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

2011-06-15T06:00:00.004-05:00

When Rachael asked me to host June's Martha Stewart Cupcake Club, I thumbed through the book trying to decide which recipe to choose. Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes, the perfect choice for June.

Don't tell Martha but I cheated a bit on these. (Didn't she do that on something, too?) Anyway, with a lot going on preparing for Mike's graduation party in Minnesota, I used a boxed cake mix! Okay and canned frosting, too! At least I am honest and letting you all know, I could have passed them off as homemade and you'd you have never known.

These cupcakes were so fun to put together. After searching everywhere for something to use for the golf ball, I settled on a white gumball. Since the gumball was kind of large, I made giant cupcakes. The balance of the ingredients were easy to find! I used construction paper for the pin flags. If you're looking for something fun to make for Father's Day, give these a try.

Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes

24 Cupcakes (Your choice of flavor)
White Icing of your choice
1 to 2 cups green sanding sugar
18 round white candies
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (3 -4 sheets finely ground in food processor)

1. Using an offset spatula, spread each cupcake with a smooth layer of icing. Pour green sanding sugar into a small bowl. Dip tops of frosted cupcakes in the sugar, then sprinkle more on top to coat completely.
2. To create putting greens, make flags (you will need 18). Cut out lengths (3 to 4 inches) from white grosgrain ribbon. Fold each length around one end of a wooden skewer, and adhere folded sides together with hot glue or double sided tape. Cut ribbon into a triangle shape and plant the skewer into a cupcake. Place a small white candy "ball" near the flag.
3. To create sand traps, spoon about 1 teaspoon graham cracker crumbs in the center of each of 6 cupcakes. With your thumb, make an indentation in the middle of each pile of crumbs, shifting to one side to form a steeper side or an irregularly shaped trap.

Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow frosting to set.

You can find the other MSC member's cupcakes here!

I am linking this to Sweet Tooth Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday !!

Quick Crescent Taco Pie

2011-06-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Have you participated in the Celebrity Cook Along over at Happier Than A Pig in Mud ? If not, you should check it out. Each month, she chooses a chef or in this month's case, a company. You pick a recipe and blog about it.

This month's Celebrity Cook Along is Pillsbury! To make it even better, Jo at LazyonLoblolly is giving away a Dough Boy and a cookbook! Gotta love that Dough Boy...and Pillsbury!

When I think of Pillsbury, I often think of desserts. Since I am always looking for new dinner ideas, I chose a main dish. If you like tacos, give this one a try! It was DELICIOUS, one I will be making again soon. It's quick and easy to put together and make's a great weeknight dinner.

Superspeedway Taco Pie
Recipe Courtesy of Pillsbury
Ingredients:

1 (1.25 oz) package taco seasoning

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup water

1 (8 oz) package refrigerated crescent rolls

2 cups crushed tortilla chips

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large pan brown your ground beef. Drain of the grease and stir in the seasoning mix and water. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place the triangles in a ungreased 10 inch pie pan, pressing to form a crust. Sprinkle 1 cup tortilla chips over the bottom of the crust, Spoon meat mixture over crust and chips. Spread sour cream over meat mixture and cover with cheese. Sprinkle the remaining chips over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until crust is brown.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Secret Recipe Club

2011-06-13T05:24:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite things about participating in a blog hop is the new friends you meet. Secret Recipe Club introduces you to new blogging friends and new recipes! Here's how it works, each month you're assigned another person's blog, you choose a recipe from their blog and post about! Can you keep a secret? If you're going to participate in Secret Recipe challenge, you have to! You can't reveal the blog or the recipe until the posting date! How fun is that!! Secret Recipe Club is the creation of Amanda at Amanda's Cooking!

This month I was assigned the blog, Haggis and the Herring! Haggis and the Herring is a husband and wife blog team who feature "tasty recipes tested in our kitchen – drawing from flavours around the world including our English, European, Mediterranean and South-Asian food experiences." There were so many recipes to choose from, it was hard to narrow it down to just one.

We love roasted potatoes, so after much deliberation, I chose Crunchy Roasted Potatoes and Carrots. In this recipe you boil the potatoes and carrots before roasting. I've seen lots of recipes where you boil potatoes before deep frying them. I cut my potatoes into large chunks instead of a dice. I used 1/2 regular paprika and 1/2 smoky paprika. Mine didn't get very crunchy but maybe that's because I made them on a silpat instead of parchment? We really enjoyed these, they were just a little spicy with a lot of flavor.

Crunchy Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
by Daniel Saraga November 3, 2010
Courtesy of The Haggis and The Herring

Serve it as a side or eat it alone for the pure comfort-food value.
Ingredients
5 or 6 potatoes, diced, (peeled, optional)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 3/4" rounds
3-4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
to taste salt

Instructions
1. Boil potatoes and carrots in salted water until soft (15-20 minutes).2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.3. Drain and run potatoes and carrots under cold water for 2-4 minutes, drain again and let dry for 2-3 minutes.4. In a small bowl, mix oil, paprika, cayenne and a pinch of salt.5. Toss potatoes and carrots in oil mixture and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.6. Roast for 30-45 minutes, until outside is golden and crispy.
Details
Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 6 servings

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

2011-06-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

What if your favorite cookie could also be a cake? It can be if you love Snickerdoodles. I found this recipe over at Let's Dish. When I read Danelle say it was one of the best cakes she'd eaten recently, I was sold. I made this cake for a co-workers birthday and Danelle is right, this one is a keeper. It's so moist and tastes just like Snickerdoodles!

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake
Ingredients
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream

Directions
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon; mix well. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously spray a 9-inch Bundt pan with cooking spray, being careful to cover all the nooks and cranies, as well as the center tube. Gently dust the entire inside of the pan with about 1/3 cup of the cinnamon and sugar mixture, set the rest aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Beat just the butter on medium speed for one minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar. Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture is light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well. Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

I am linking this to Full Plate Thursday and Foodie Friday !!

From The Good Life

2011-06-09T06:00:00.043-05:00

I am excited to have my first guest poster on Little Bit of Everything. He's my photographer, my taster, my supporter and my best friend. If you haven't already guessed, it's my husband Tim. Thanks for all you do for me!

Hi! I am Julie's husband, Tim aka "The Photographer". I seem to be on standby 24/7 as I never know when Julie is whipping up that next creation in the kitchen or I need to photograph something PINK! When Julie asked if I wanted to be her first guest blogger, I knew I had to tie something fun together, incorporating my pictures and of course food.

With summer temperatures rising this week it takes me back to our vacation this winter in Cabo San Lucas. Our friend Larry and I went fishing in the Pacific. We had the option to fish inland (small fish and lots of them) or head out in the ocean 40 miles and the chance for Yellow Fin Tuna. We went for fun and adventure and we found it. I never knew Tuna traveled with Dolphins. It was an amazing site to see hundreds of Dolphins and Tuna jumping at the same time next to the boat.

As a kid in Minnesota, I learned seeing a fish jump and catching a fish are two different things. We were lucky enough to catch a nice 15 pound Yellow Fin. After reeling him in, our deck hand filleted the fish out at 40 MPH on the back of the boat. If you have ever cleaned fish it’s hard enough doing this standing still. We ended up with 4 nice fillets that would sure taste good on the grill this summer.

This week, We fired up the grill to enjoy our catch. We lightly covered the 1 1/2 inch thick filets with olive oil and seasoning. Having never grilled this type of fish, our wisdom and Google said to cook 2 minutes each side. The joy of cooking is to experiment and learn. Looks like we needed to sear on one side and flip over after 1 minute, or less as they were a little bit over done. Still tasty, it brought back great memories of a great vacation.

Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake

2011-06-07T06:00:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite signs of Springtime is rhubarb. Although rhubarb desserts aren't my first choice, I like them better than I did as a kid. There's so many great recipes using rhubarb. My favorite rhubarb recipes are those that combine rhubarb and another fruit. When I ran across this recipe over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen, I bookmarked it to try.

If you have rhubarb in your garden, give this recipe a try. This cake has great flavor and the coconut gives the topping a nice crunch.

Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake
Recipe courtesy of Finding Joy in My Kitchen

4 C rhubarb
1 C sugar
3 T cornstarch
1 box (4 servings) Strawberry Jello
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 box dry yellow cake mix
1/2 C butter
1/2 C coconut

Combine rhubarb, sugar and cornstarch in a pan and heat until warm; stirring frequently as rhubarb cooks and becomes thick. When thicken, pour rhubarb into a 9x13 glass pan. Sprinkle with strawberry jello and 1 can of crushed pineapple (do not drain, use the juice!).

Meanwhile, mix together cake mix and butter until crumbly. Stir in coconut. Sprinkle over the rhubarb mixture.

Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes.

*If you wish to make a bottom crust, place 1/2 of the cake mixture over the bottom of the cake pan and press to form. Bake crust for 10 minutes at 350. Then pour cooked rhubarb over the top and follow the directions above.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday's at the Table.

Meet Me On Monday

2011-06-06T05:27:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!! It was so hot and humid here, more like July or August than June. What happened to Spring?

Meet Me on Monday is fun way to get to know more about your fellow bloggers. If you'd like to participate, you can find the details at Never Growing Old!!

1. What is was the last piece of candy that you ate?
A Reeses Peanut Butter Cup! I made Graduation Cap Candy Pops today! (Look for a post on those sometime in the next couple of weeks.)

2. Do you "read" in the bathroom?
NO!! Isn't that a guy thing?

3. I can't stand when someone _________?
Wow, this one was hard. Just ask my husband, I am sure he would tell you there's tons of things I can't stand but I had trouble coming up with one.

How about when someone brings their young child to a nice restaurant? To me there's nothing worse than sitting there trying to enjoy a nice dinner and at the next table is a two year old banging their spoon.

4. Do you do daily, weekly or monthly grocery shopping?
Weekly! I try to plan the week's menu, scour the grocery ads and then do my grocery shopping on Sundays.

Do you plan your menu's in advance or are you a spur of the moment cook?

Pink Saturday

2011-06-04T06:34:00.004-05:00

Happy Pink Saturday!

Salt and Pepper Chicken

2011-06-03T05:59:00.004-05:00

Isn't it great when you find a recipe you love? Even better when the recipe requires very little time and only has two ingredients? Yes, that's right, besides the chicken itself, just two ingredients. When I saw this recipe over at There's Always Time To Cook, I knew I'd be giving it a try. Carol said it was outstanding! Curious, I tried it that same weekend. She was right, it IS outstanding. In fact, we liked it so well, we had it again the following weekend while camping with friends. I am planning on adding rosemary next time.

Grilled Salt and Pepper Chicken
Source: original recipe can be found at Martha Stewart online
Courtesy of There's Always Thyme to Cook

1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), quartered, rinsed, and patted dry ( I used thighs, and removed the skin!)

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Combine salt and pepper. Rub chicken with mixture, covering all sides and shaking off excess. (You may not need all of the mixture.) Or put the mixture in a ziploc with the chicken and shake it all up. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Place chicken on grill, skin side down. Close cover, and grill 8 minutes. Flip chicken, and close cover. Grill until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes more.

Transfer chicken to a plate, and let rest 15 minutes.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

From The Good Life

2011-06-02T01:00:00.002-05:00

Tim's son Michael graduated from high school! Congratulations, Mike! We're so proud of you!!!

Mike will be attending The University of Nebraska Omaha this Fall. We are looking forward to watching you grow in this next chapter in your life!!!

Yogurt Parfaits with Chocolate Granola - CWF

2011-05-31T06:28:00.010-05:00

If you follow Chocolate With Francois, you know we all talk about the difficulty and complexity of many (most) of the recipes. As I was flipping through the book trying to decide what to choose for the May recipe, I knew it needed to be an easy one. The posting date would fall just after Michael's graduation and Memorial Day weekend. As a child I remember my mom saying "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today". I really wanted to make this recipe before we left town for the long Memorial Day weekend. I bought the ingredients I didn't have, read the recipe, left the cookbook on the counter and still didn't get it done until we got home. I don't think I listened to her advice as a kid either!!!

Chocolate granola seems a bit counter intuitive since I think of granola as somewhat healthy. I see this recipe for dessert rather than breakfast. The granola is easy to put together, uses ingredients most of us have in our kitchens and is delicious!

To make the parfaits you layer brown sugar glazed bananas, yogurt with orange zest and the chocolate granola. I love brown sugar glazed bananas but didn't care for them in this recipe. As well, I thought the orange zest overpowered the simple flavor of the vanilla yogurt. I think this would be best served with just the vanilla yogurt and the chocolate granola. There's too many flavors going on to really enjoy the yummy chocolate granola.

If you're curious what the other CWF members thought of this recipe and I know I am, you can find the links to their blogs here!

Yogurt Parfaits with Chocolate Granola
Serves 8

Chocolate Granola
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins

Yogurt
One 32 ounce container vanilla yogurt
Grated zest of 1/2 orange

Bananas
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 ripe bananas, cut into 1/4 inch slices

Make the granola. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, walnuts, coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Stir with your hands or a spatula to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the honey over the mixture, and mix with a silicone spatula until it is well incorporated. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking sheet, anthd bake for 15 minutes, without stirring. Remove from the oven and let cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the chocolate chips, raisins and the remaining tablespoon of honey. Add the cooled granola and toss the mixture together, slightly breaking up the granola. The granola can be stored in an airtight contained in a cool, dry environment for up to 1 week.

Make the yogurt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest and yogurt until combined. Keep the yogurt cold until ready to use, up to 2 days.

Make the bananas. Put the butter in a large saute pan over medium high heat, and let it melt until it just begins to brown. Add the brown sugar, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the sugar is melted. Add the bananas, and cook them until they pick up a little bit of color, about 1 minute.

Assemble the parfait. Place a spoonful of warm bananas (the equivalent of 1/2 banana per glass) at the bottom of a tall glass. Place 1/2 cup yogurt over the bananas, and top with the granola, just before serving. Repeat for the remaining 7 glasses.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Pink Saturday

2011-05-28T01:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to Pink Saturday! Pink Saturday is celebrating 3 years today!!!
I love all things pink! A big THANK YOU to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting each week!!

It's a little hard to tell from this picture but everything about this house is pink. I found this house on our trip to Brownville, Nebraska a few weeks ago.

Rosemary Scones

2011-05-26T06:00:00.005-05:00

What's your favorite herb? Mine is rosemary with basil running a very close second! I first posted this recipe in August 2009. The rosemary gives these a wonderful earthy flavor that blends well with the sweetness of the jam.

Rosemary Scones
Adapted from Giada De Laurentis

Scones:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup jam

Glaze:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or silpat).

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, sea salt and butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a medium bow. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough. On a lightly floured work surface, rool out the dough into 1/2 inch thick, 10 inch circle. Using a heart shaped cookie cuter, cut out heart shaped pieces of dough and place on the cookie sheet. Gently knead together any leftover pieces of dough and cut into heart shapes and add to the baking sheet. Using a small round measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each pastry heart. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of ham into the indentation. Bake for 18 to 2o minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Transfer scones to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.

To make the glaze, mix together lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually add the water until the mixture is thin enough to spread. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the scones set for approximately 30 minutes. Can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days.

My notes on this recipe:

One of the keys a good dough is making sure the butter is very cold. In the summer I keep my flour in the refrigerator, to keep away those pesky summer bugs. If you keep your flour in the refrigerator, allow it to warm to room temperature before using (approximately an hour).

The glaze recipe made way too much glaze for the amount of scones, next time I will cut the recipe in half.

I followed Giada's recipe exactly with one exception. Her recipe called for Strawberry jam. I used my mother in law's homemade, Strawberry Rhubarb jam instead.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

From The Good Life

2011-05-26T01:00:00.007-05:00

I'd planned to post graduation pictures of Tim's son Michael's high school graduation today. I am putting those on hold until next week.

If you live in the midwest, you're "used" to tornadoes. I've lived in the midwest all of my life. I've seen my share of them and certainly spent many an hour huddled in the basement.

What we've all seen this week in Joplin, Missouri isn't one of those tornadoes those of us from the midwest are "used" to, it's an unbelievable scene of devastation. I've been mesmerized by the coverage, so much so I've forced myself to turn off the TV! Last night, as I walked in my house from work, the sun was shining, my house was comfortable and warm. I felt guilty and lucky all at the same time. I paused in my hallway for a moment to be so thankful to have a house and family. It's ironic the subtitle of my blog and the title of my Thursday posts is From The Good Life! So true, this is The Good Life!

Remember what's important! Tell your family how much you love and appreciate them!

Beer Marinated Pork Chops

2011-05-24T06:12:00.017-05:00

I first posted this two years ago, thrilled to be grilling after a long winter. If you're like me and have childhood memories of shoe leather pork chops, give this recipe a try. This marinade produces a delicious, tender pork chop.

Pork Chops in Beer Teriyaki Marinade

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (syrupy rice wine)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
2/3 cup of your favorite beer (no dark)
4 1" thick rib or loin pork chops

In a saucepan combine the soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sugar, gingerroot and the beer. Simmer until the mixture is reduced to about 1 1/3 cups. Let the marinade cool until it is room temperature. In a shallow baking dish or plastic bag, cover the chops thoroughly with the marinade. Marinate overnight, turning them several times.

Pour the marinade in a saucepan and boil it for five minutes. Grill the pork chops on a oiled rack set about 4 inches over glowing coals, basting them with the marinade while cooking, Cook 8 - 10 minutes of each side.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday Night Supper Club.