Keeper Worthy Recipes

New blog

2011-03-14T18:38:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone. I have been so absent, there are no excuses, but I am starting fresh with a new blog. I will try and keep up with this one better. So if you want to take a peek, I hope you will, it is http://gatheredaroundthetable.blogspot.com.

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits- Have no Fear- No Yeast involved!!!

2009-11-21T06:17:00.002-05:00

I am a huge fan of Cinnabon. Oh, come on you all know who they are. If you have ever been to a mall, you have probably walked by one or tried to walk by one, but inevitably you get sucked in by the smell and you give in and buy this humongous creation of butter and dough and cinnamon sugar and then curse yourself the rest of the day for having no willpower at all...I have done it, I am not ashamed to admit it. My sister and I have made cinnamon rolls with yeast and they were good, but they were time consuming and I don't have alot of time to spend waiting for dough to rise. These are more a biscuit type cinnamon roll. so easy and they are so gooey and soft, they are a great fake out to the all time consuming yeast cinnamon roll. The original recipe can be found here, at Ezrapoundcake. All you have to do is check out the recipe index and you will know why I visit there so often.

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

Filling:

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Mix together in small bowl and set aside.

Biscuit Dough

2 1/2 cups flour

2tbsp packed, brown sugar

2 tsp baking powfer

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbso heavy cream

Icing:

6 tbsp powdered sugar

6 tsp heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

For the Dough:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour,brown sugar,baking powder and salt.

You do not need to use your stand mixer for this recipe, just a bowl and a good wooden spoon.

Add 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream( yes, this is fattening), and stir until dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. With your hands, fold dough over a few times in the bowl, until dough is smooth.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands, and pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle, about 9x13 inches. Brush the surface of the dough with the remaining tbsp of heavy cream.

Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping.

Starting from the long side, roll dough into a cylinder.

Slice into 9 equal rounds.

Place the rounds, cut side down, into an ungreased 8 inch square baking dish or a pie plate.

Bake about 30 minutes, until biscuits are lightly browned.

For the Icing:

While the biscuits bake, mix together confectioner sugar with the heavy cream until smooth.
When you remove the biscuite from the oven,immediately drizzle with icing. Serve warm or I am sure they would be fine the next day or later on if you have to microwave them for a few seconds or do what I did and eat them cold.

These were so quick and easy and they really were good. A great treat to serve if you are having company stay for the holidays and what a great way for them to wake up, to a house that smells like Cinnabon.

I will eventually try a yeast recipe, but for now these cinnamon biscuits will do the trick.

Come on, who wouldn't want one of these with a nice cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate while you are decorating your tree this year? Or have a batch ready Xmas morning and enjoy them while the kids are tearing through their presents. I would, I'll have two, thanks....lol

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies-Week 7-Mini-Linzer Torte Cups

2009-11-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

Week 7 of Christmas Cookies and do I have a treat for you, I have found a new favorite holiday cookie and it comes from Coleens Recipes. I love her blog and she posts new recipes 5 days a week. I am lucky if I get one on. I have made a few of her recipes and have a dozen more printed out and waiting for me but these are awesome. Everyone knows Linzer cookies, the cookies with the jelly in them, right, but Coleen did a little twist which I absolutely love, she made little linzer torte cups. They were so good, I say were because they are gone already and I am a little bit sad about it, but they will be front and center on my holiday tray this year and for years to come.

Mini Linzer Torte Cups

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups plus 2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (ground finely in food processor)
red raspberry jam with seeds

Directions:

Finely grind/chop toasted pecans in your food processor. Please take a few minutes to toast them, it does make a difference. Beat butter and pecans on medium speed, in your mixer, until very soft and light, about 3 minutes.

Beat in confectioners sugar and vanilla until well combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and add dry ingredients. Beat about 30 seconds, or until well combined. (dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl)

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place in an UNgreased miniature cupcake pan. Find something in your kitchen that is the same diameter as the cupcake hole, and press gently down on each ball to make an indentation like this:

This is where I had a slight problem, I didn't have anything the same exact size, so I used the end of my rolling pin, so I felt my crust wasn't thin enough, but it turned out ok because the crust is sooooo good, anyway. Place a rounded half teaspoon of raspberry jam in each depression and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. The jam will melt and spread out evenly.

Before:

After:

Keep the baked cookies IN the pan, but on a cooling rack for 10 MINUTES. After 10 minutes, you will be able to VERY gently lift the cookies out of the pan. You can use the tip of a knife to help, but you shouldn'y have to...just lift with a steady, gentle pressure and they will pop out.

I sprinkled them with a bit of powdered sugar and they are so festive and pretty and honestly, the taste is out of this world. If you are going to try any new cookies this Christmas, this should be one of them.

My daughter, Justine, loved them.

The pictures don't do them justice, you really can't seee the jewel tone color of the jam. Trust me, you will impress people with these.

And don't be sad when they are gone, like I was. Just make more, like I will...lol

Please make sure you check out April,Kim,Megan,Barbara and Megan to see what they are offering up .

12 weeks of Christmas Cookies #6-Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars

2009-11-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, we are into Week # 6 of the 12 Cookies of Christmas and this is a new one for me. I found it over at Valerie's blog, Valerie's Attempt at Pondering. This is my second cookie recipe of hers that I have tried and she hasn't let me down yet. Even my sister, Donna, has tried one of her cookies and they looked awesome. You have to take a peek at her blog, there are so many good things on it. Just look at the desserts alone and you will bookmark quite a few, trust me. So, this is a bar cookie and it is easy and fudgy with a bit of a crunch from the oatmeal topping. If there is any drawback at all to this cookie it would be that when left out, the chocolate gets soft and they get a bit messy. I kept mine in the fridge and they were so good. I am not a big chocolate fan, but my husband, who is, loved them. And it is the holidays, a little bit of mess never hurt anyone, right?

Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars

Dough:

3/4 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup quick cooking oats

Filling:

1 cup semi sweet choc chips
1 (14) oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter,sugar and salt in a mixer.

Add flour and oatmeal, blend until it holds together. Heat milk in saucepan and add chocolate chips.

Use low heat and stir until chips are melted and you have a smooth chocolate cream.

Using a 9x13 pan, press 3/4 of the dough mixture in the greased pan, spreading and patting it to cover the whole surface.

Pour chocolate cream over crust. Crumble last bit of the dough over the chocolate, creating a third spotty layer.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool a long time before cutting or do what I did and refrigerate overnight. Made it much easier to cut.

Here they are. They look good, they taste good and would be a great addition to a holiday tray or great as a hostess gift.

The crust is so good, it is like an oatmeal shortbread with a layer of chocolate fudge on top. As my girl, Ina, would say, How bad could that be?

Take a look at what the other elves have made:

April @ Abbey Sweets
Kim @ My Kentucky Home
Megan @ Megan's Cookin
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
Megan @ My Baking Adventures

12 Cookies of Christmas Cookie #5 :Sparkling Toffee Butter Cookies

2009-11-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am telling you right now before you go any further, these are addicting, and rich and buttery and so pretty and festive to look at. So if you are not looking for something like that, please move on to someone else, but if they sound good to you then pull up and read all about these sparkly little gems. I originally found this recipe on Recipe Girl, then my sister Donna made them here. It has come full circle, I have made them numerous times and they are fantastic. So easy to make and they just make you happy just looking at them.

Sparkling Toffee Butter Cookies

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup toffee bits, I used milk chocolate toffee bits

sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Put some sugar in a bowl and set aside for later.

Combine butter,1 cup sugar,egg and vanilla in a large bowl.

Beat at medium speed,scraping down the sides often, until creamy. Add flour,baking powder and baking soda. Reduce speed to low. Beat until well mixed. Stir toffee bits in by hand.

Should look something like this:

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll into sugar you have set aside.

Place 2 inches apart on parchmant lined baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes. I take mine out at 10 and they are perfect. DO NOT OVERBAKE!!!! Sprinkle with some more sugar while they are still warm. Let cool a minute or two before removing to cooling rack.

See that sparkle. This makes about 36 cookies. Store in airtight container.

I am warning you, these are rich and buttery and oh so good. They will add some shine to any holiday tray.

Happy Cookie Making!!!!

Let's see what the other girls are up to, shall we:

April, Kim, Megan, Barbara and Megan

Zucchini Pie

2009-11-02T17:00:00.002-05:00

I love this recipe. It is easy and so, so flavorful. It is good for a brunch or if you cut it into small enough pieces, it would work as an appetizer. It is great for vegetarians and just if you are looking for something lighter to eat. This recipe comes from Amy over at Dinners for a year and beyond, her food is incredible looking and tastes just as good. If you use store bought pie crust, which I did, this can be ready in about 45 minutes. It comes together very quickly.

Zucchini Pie

1 pie crust, unbaked
Dijon mustard
1/4 cup butter
4 cups slice zucchini
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup fresh parsley, choppes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano, dried
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 cups shredded mozzarella, or a combo of sharp cheddar and mozzarella works great
2 extra large eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Line a pie plate with the pie crust.

I lined nothing, this is a thawed out frozen pie crust. Brush the crust with Dijon mustard.

Melt butter in large saute pan and add Zucchini and onion.

Saute for about 8 minutes. Add parsley,salt,pepper,oregano, and garlic salt. Toss to coat.

Cool slightly and then add cheese and eggs and mix. Pour into pie crust.

Bale 25-30 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

This is super yummy and the mustard gives it such a nice tang. It will make everyone wonder what is in there.

So, please give this a try and you won't be disappointed. It is so delicious and so perfect for many occasions.

Come on, it is waiting for you !!!!

Christmas Orange and Cinnamon Cookie-Cookie # 4 of 12 weeks of cookies

2009-10-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is going to be a short one, just because honestly I'm tired and have been fighting with my 5 year old and it has upset me. If it is like this now, what the hell am I going to do when she is 12???? UGH!! Anyway on to this weeks cookie. This is my fourth cookie of the 12 cookies of Christmas and it is pretty simple but the aroma it gives off is extraordinary. It smells like Christmas Potpurri in your house, like one of those Yankee candles we all buy this time of year...the cinnamon and the orange make this an irresistable cookie. The recipe comes from Canary Girl, I'm not sure how much she still blogs, but it is worth a trip to check out her older posts, they look so good. On to the recipe:

Christmas Cinnamon and Orange Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

zest from 1 orange

1/4 cup orange juice ( from the orange I zested)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Line baking sheets with parchmant paper.

Baet 1 cup sugar with the shortening,egg,vanilla and orange zest.

Add Orange juice, flour,salt and baking soda. It will look like this. Can you see the zest?

Shape dough into walnut sized balls.
Roll into reserved cinnamon sugar and press onto prepared cookie sheets with a glass dipped in cinnamon sugar.

Bake 10-15 minutes- until lightly golden.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

I wish you all could smell these. They smell like the holidays and it is something a little different from the regular Cookie tray cookie.

So if you are looking for something new, something a little out of the ordinary, look no further, they are right here. Make them and take deep breaths, and smell the holidays.....

Please check out April, Barbara, Megan,Kim and Megan to see what they have in store for you....

Chicken Stuffed Shells and an award

2009-10-28T15:30:00.001-04:00

This is a great, quick and easy weeknight meal.I found this recipe over at Pioneer Woman. It was the response to one of her contest questions, just like my last post. This is a big hit in my house and you really only need to add a salad and you have a satisfying dinner. It can be put together fast and you can use store bought Rotissere chicken, if you don't want to roast your own.

Chicken Stuffed Shells

1 package Jumbo shells, I used Ronzoni
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1/2 cup mayonaise
1 box stove top stuffing
1 large jar beef or chicken gravy, I used Franco American

Instructions:

I roasted my own chicken, so basically took 2 chicken breasts on the bone, salted and peppered them, drizzled with olive oil and baked for 45-50 minutes, until they looked like this:

Let them cool and then shred them and put in a bowl to the side.

Cook shells according to package and drain. Make stuffing according to directions, using the butter and water. Cool and add in chicken and the mayo:
Right here I could stop and just take a fork and go to town, the filling is soooo good.

Fill shells with the chicken mixture and place in a 9x13 pan, that already has a thin layer of gravy spread on the bottom of it.

Pour remaining gravy over the shells.

Cover and bake 30 minutes. That's it, that is all there is to it. It is really yummy and so easy and so perfect for weeknight dinner. Aren't we all looking for easy weeknight dinners right now? I know I am.

I would also like to take a minute to thank Spryte, over at Sprytes place for this awesome award. Go visit her if you haven't already. She has lots of good things to try. I tried to answer the questions but couldn't figure out how to copy and paste them....sigh....oh well

3 packet Pot Roast

2009-10-26T15:20:00.002-04:00

I love my crockpot. It is so great to be able to cook something without turning your oven on . My husband is typical Irish, loves his meat and potatoes and not much else, so you can see how my hands are somewhat tied when it comes to making new things in our house. I found this recipe over at Pioneer Woman, no, it is not her recipe, but she had a contest last year and it is one of the responses that I thought my husband would like. I finally got aroiund to making it and it is to die for. He loved it soooo much. The meat is fork tender and it makes a wonderful gravy and embarassingly enough it only contains 5 ingredients. Here are 4 of them...

3 Packet Crockpot Pot Roast

1 beef roast, any kind, sized to fit your crockpot
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 package brown gravy mix, I used Lawrys
1 package Italian dressing mix, I used Good Seasons
1/2 cup very warm water

Directions:

Place roast in crockpot. In a bowl combine the envelopes of mixes together.

Sprinkle on top of the roast, I rubbed it in all over. Donna, you would have been so proud.

Pour in 1/2 cup warm water. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

I broke the cardinal rule, I opened the crockpot to get a picture for you guys. This had about 2 1/2 hours left to go. Some rules are made to be broken!!!!!

Here it is after 7 hours, it smelled so good. My husband was practically drooling, but honestly, it doesnt take much to have that happen. Sorry, honey, the truth is the truth.

The meat is so tender.

For the gravy, just pour the liquid from your crockpot into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. I usually thicken with a cornsatrch slurry. Some cornstarch mixed with cold water. Make sure the drippings are boiling before you add the cold water mix. Makes a delicious gravy. I usually always serve this with buttered noodles. It is a favorite in my house and its great to pour the gravy over everything. Mashed potatoes would be awesome with this. I would defiantely serve this for company as well. It's that good. It's nice to have a recipe that doesnt call for the most expensive cut of meat, either.

Enjoy, and sop up that gravy....you won't be sorry.

12 Cookies of Christmas- Cookie# 3 Lemon Luscious Snow Cap Cookies

2009-10-23T06:00:00.008-04:00

Ok, so I am up to week #3 of the 12 cookies of Christmas, and do I have a good one for you this week. This cookie has some of my favorite things in it, coconut, macadamia nuts and lemon flavor. This recipe comes from Recipezaar. The original can be found here. I follow it completely, no changes for me. I think most of us have heard of chocolate snowcap cookies, but this goes totally the other way, and it produces a chewy cookie loaded with flavor, and it is pretty to look at, as well. How bad can it be when these are the main ingredients?

Lemon Luscious Snowcap Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon extract

1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup coconut

1 cup macadamia nut pieces

2 large eggs

1/2 cup powdered sugar, to roll cookies in

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream sugar and butter together in mixer.

Add Lemon zest,eggs and lemon extract.

I always use my microplane to zest, it is one of my fave kitchen gadgets. Just thought I would share that random thought. Moving on.

Stir in flour and baking powder.

Add nuts and coconut. It should look like this:

Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar.

Place on parchmant lined cookie sheet.

Did you notice something missing? I ran out of parchmant paper. I hate not having it but life goes on and I sprayed the hell out of my sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes or until the edges are set. I always underbake my cookies, its just personal preference.

Cool a minute or two on the cookie sheets, and remove to wire racks and sprinkle with more powdered sugar over the tops of the cookies, as they continue to cool.

The smell this cookie gives off as it is baking is incredible. It is so simple and quick to put together. The only issue is that the dough is a bit sticky to roll, but it is definately worth the extra effort to have these babies on your holiday tray. They are so pretty to look at and I think they are something a little different. They have great chewy texture . I hope some of you will give them a try.

Please also check out what the other ladies will be offering up today:

http://abbysweets.blogspot.com/

http://www.barbarabakes.com/

http://meganscookin.blogspot.com/

http://mykentuckyhome-kim.blogspot.com/

http://mybakingadventures.com/ ( Megan just lost her dog, so excuse her if she doesn't have something to add this week. It is a hard thing to deal with, the loss of a family pet. Take your time and come back when you are ready, Megan)

These ladies know their cookies....

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies #2 and a change

2009-10-16T06:00:00.004-04:00

I am not a big fan of change. I like my routines and I thrive on them. My kids need their routine, as boring as it may be, it is what keeps me sane and makes my life work. So, that being said, I was all set, I was ready with my xmas cookie tray list. I had thought it through, I added and subtracted and tried to figure out what was best and then I got thrown 2 curveballs. The first one being asked to join The 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies bake along, April over at Abbey Sweets, invited me to join her and other ladies in posting a Christmas cookie every Friday from now until Xmas. I am thrilled. I quickly accepted, and thought to myself, I got this, I am so anal and so prepared, that this will be easy. Then my 2nd curveball struck.

I got a comment on my last post from Valerie, she is at Valerie's attempt at pondering. She was new to me, so I immediately checked out her blog, and I was blown away. It is full of so many things that I cannot wait to try. Please, guys, for me, check it out, you will be so happy you did. The first thing I see when I get there is these. Well, these are mine, but you get the picture. These are Baby Shortbread Bites with Mini Chocolate Chips and Toffee. Are you kidding me?

I made them that night and they are incredible. They are little buttery pieces of heaven with choc chips and toffee added in just for the hell of it. My whole gameplan has now changed and I am posting these as my Week 2 cookie because that's how good they are. You have the option of melting chocolate and dipping half the cookie into it, but I believe they stand up well enough on their own. These will now be on my holiday cookie tray. You have to try them, you will thank me later.

Baby Shortbread Bites with Mini Choc Chips and Toffee

1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup mini choc chips
3/4 cup heath toffee bits
1 tbsp vegetable shortening, optional
1 cup mini choc chips, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Mix in the flour until combined, then stir in ( or add with the mixer on the slowest speed) 3/4 cup min choc chips and the 3/4 cup Heath bits. It should look like this.

And like this. You can definately try the dough, there are no eggs. Yes, you will try it. I did!!!

Shape spoonfuls of dough into small balls(Donna, behave), about one inch wide. I used my hands, but I'm sure you can use a very small cookie scoop. Place 2 inches apart on parchmant lined cookie sheet. Press down lightly to give each cookie a slightly flat surface to rest on.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until fairly firm to the touch. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the pan, shortbread can be delicate and is very brittle. If you choose to, you can melt the remaining 1 cup of mini choc chipsand shortening in a double boiler, stirring frequently until smooth. Dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate, then place them on wax paper until set. Store in air tight container at room temperature and try, just try to control yourself. These are amazing cookies.

Makes 4 dozen Baby Shortbread Bites, love the name.

As shortbread normally does, these taste better as the days go on. They taste better today than yesterday.

I guess sometimes change is good. lol

Back...with my 12 cookies of Christmas

2009-10-12T16:29:00.011-04:00

Hello all. Yes, I have been away for awhile and I really have no excuse except I was overwhelmed with the start of kindergarten, and pre- K, a new work schedule, my husband got very busy at work and was working 18 hour days, 7 days a week and I felt like a single parent for a while. We also had my Brother -in-laws wedding, in which my daughter was the flower girl,

and we were busy picking pumpkins and getting ready for fall.

I have missed you all and hope you will still follow along as I get back into the swing of things. I have loved looking at all the delish things that have been made while I was away. I cannot wait to be inspired by you all again and hope I can do the same for you.

I am back with a cookie, not just a cookie, but a cookie tray cookie. I am going to give you, over the next few weeks, the 12 favorite cookies that go on my cookie tray for the holidays. These cookies are so pretty to look at and so delicious to eat. This recipe comes from Stick to your hips, her blog is full of tempting recipes that will definately catch your eye, so check it out, when you get a chance. This cookie is flaky and tender, from the addition of cream cheese and they are so good with a nice cup of tea or coffee, so here it is Cookie #1 on my cookie tray:

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Swirls

1 cup butter, softened

1-8 ounce package cream cheese, room temp

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

In a large bowl beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until fluffy.

Combine the flour and salt and gradually beat it into the butter mixture. Divide dough in two and wrap each tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour. Combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a rectangle- about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread 1/2 the cinnamon sugar mixture to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Don't be afraid that it is too much, it's not. Repeat with other half of dough.

Roll up tightly- starting at either the short or long edge, I did long edge, using the shorter edge will give you a fatter log and bigger cookies.

Wrap log tightly in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375, I use 350, but that's just my oven. Slice logs into 3/8 inch slices and place 2 inches apart on a parchmant lined cookie sheet pan.

Bake 14-16 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

This is what you get. A tender, flaky, cinnamon sugar cookie that will knock your socks off. They sparkle and are so perfect for your holiday tray.

'
I cannot wait to see what everyone else is putting on their holiday trays, I'm sure I will find some additions to make to mine and I hope mine make you make some additions to yours.

It's good to be back!!!!!!!

Peppers and eggs, Donna's way

2009-08-31T08:30:00.000-04:00

This recipe comes straight from my sister, Donna, over at, My tasty treasures, you all know her from her bodacious blog, so funny, so offensive to those who have NO sense of humor and so delicious with all her food. She is not only a great cook, she is a great sister. She has always been there when I needed her, she would do anything for us(and often has), I call her 3-4 times a day, sometimes just to ask a question about something, usually food related, or to chit chat. We are usually on the same page about everything. My kids adore her, my husband loves to bust her chops and she gives back just as good. So think what you will from her blog, but know she is the best person I know!

On to the recipe, this is comfort food at its best and in the most simple form. All you need are the above few ingredients and a skillet and you can have a good for you, creamy and easy to adapt to different things, dinner, lunch or even breakfast.

Peppers and eggs, Donna's way

1 red bell pepper,seeded,sliced, cut in half

1 green bell pepper, seeded,sliced and cut in half

1 onion, sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper

4 eggs

1 tbsp butter

american cheese, 2-3 slices, rippes in thirds, vertically

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Place peppers, onions and olive oil in pyrex dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix together. Toss with hands, they are your best kitchen tool.

Bake till peppers are softened slightly, but still hold shape. This can be done day before, hours before etc.Heat a large non stick skillet. Throw in 1 tbsp butter. Melt.

Add peppers, onion, and oil mixture. Heat through a little.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs to a nice consistency. Add some more black pepper. Little milk or cream. Pour directly onto the peppers in the pan. Immediately, scatter cheese thirds all over the eggs. Let sit 1 minute or 2, then begin to toss gently in the pan.

Cook the scrambled eggs to your liking, I like mine on the well done side. Plate it up, sigh and dig in, you have come home. If this doesn't make you feel warm and cozy, then there is no hope for you. lol

Even better, you can serve this dish solo, or you can serve on sub, or with hash browns, bacon, etc. Can easliy double, triple recipe. Add more peppers if you like. Maybe at your next brunch make these with a side of salsa instead of plain ole scrambled eggs. People will love it, and you can thank Donna for it.

Here we are back in the day, in our nice Catholic school girl uniforms, anxiously awaiting our Dad's promotion . Weren't we cute? It's the uniform. It does wonders. I hope she is not too angry that I showed you all what nice Catholic school girls we were. Catholic School girls, if they only knew......

Easy weeknight Chicken Teriayki

2009-08-25T17:14:00.006-04:00

Weeknights are so difficult. I get out of work at 3:00, I come home and then my husband goes to work and I then start my second job as "mom". I have to clean up after the 3 of them, do laundry,dishes, be a referee and on top of that make dinner. I don't know how we moms do it, but we do. Recipes like this help. I got this recipe from a woman who lived in our apartment complex years ago. It is a quick , go to meal. I usually have everything I need for it on hand, and it is made on top of the stove. It is really good, I don't know if it has true teriayki flavor but I like it better than what I get at Shen Wangs for 10.00. Let's get started.

Chicken Teriayki

1 lb chicken cutlets, cut thin and in strips
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove ( I used 2)
1 med onion, sliced into thin rings
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp Guldens spicy brown mustard
1-2 tbsp brown sugar ( I used 2)
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

Mix soy sauce,mustard,brown sugar, and ginger in a small bowl.

Whisk together and set aside.

Cut your chicken into thin strips

Set aside, until ready to use.

Cut garlic in half and the onion into thin rings. Heat oil in skillet and add garlic and onions and cook for 5 minutes.

Add chicken to the pan. Cook chicken for a little bit.

Add the soy sauce mixture, cover and simmer until sauce thickens and juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

***Double the sauce ingredients, remove cover after 10 minutes to help thicken quicker. Sometimes I use a cornstarch slurry. Remove chicken and keep warm if done before the sauce thickens to your liking.

That's the whole thing, done, finished. Serve over white rice or even better serve it with Donna's special fried rice, this takes it to a whole other level and you know exactly what you are eating and you can control the ingredients. Even my kids like this. So when you are stuck , at home, kids are screaming, the laundry needs to get done, the dishes need to get washed and you are trying to keep the kids from killing each other, give yourself a break and try this quick, easy, delish weeknight meal.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have laundry to fold and put away, because just like washing the dishes, my husband forgets how. It never ends. Keep smiling everyone, keep smiling.

Coconut Cashew Crunchers

2009-08-24T22:00:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, I am a little biased. I love this cookie. I love the texture, the flavor, the aroma that goes through the whole house as they are baking, and I forgot just how much I loved them because I haven't made them in a long time. My sister, Donna, over at My tasty treasures, mentioned to me the other day that she had mentioned to Cheryl, over at Cookin Dunkin Style, whose blog I adore, that she was telling Cheryl about theses cookies because Cheryl loves cashews.Are you with me so far? So I pulled out the recipe, which comes from Betty Crocker, you all know her, right, and I made them. So good,so chewy, with some cashew crunch in it and on top of that, coconut. I cannot think of a better combo, so Cheryl, this ones for you and that freakin cute dog of yours.

Coconut Cashew Cookies

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flaked coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped cashews

Directions:

Heat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, beat sugars,egg,butter and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until creamy. Stir in flour,baking soda and salt. Stir in coconut and cashews. Usually right about here I would have a picture of the mixture, but for some reason I don't have one. Just use your imagination, thanks.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto parchmant lined baking sheet. I used my ice cream scoop.
Flatten slightly. I tried 3x to rotate this dam picture and then I gave up. You get the idea.

Bake 12-16 minutes or until edges are golden brown and your house smells heavenly. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to rack to cool completely.

Did I forget to mention how huge theses cookies are. They are big. I have also done them with a regular cookie scoop, you just have to adjust the baking time, probably to 8-10 minutes, but keep an eye on them. I think I got about 21 cookies out of this.

So here they are in all their glory. Cheryl, I hope you try them and love them .Oooh they really are good. Try them, you won't be sorry. I am running around getting my oldest daughter ready for kindergarten and the bus for the first time, she just started soccer practice, my little one is starting pre-k and is turning 4 soon, so there is a party to plan, and on top of that my house is a mess, so forgive me for this short post. I promise it will get better, just hang in there with me.

Lemon Garlic Sirloin Tips and Red White Beans

2009-08-17T20:44:00.010-04:00

This is another one of those" I just saw it and I have to make it" recipes. Both of them. I saw your friend and mine, Rachael Ray, make these dishes on her 30 minute meal show, this past Saturday and I knew immediately I would have to make them. It is definately a 30 minute meal. It was fast and easy and the flavor combos were great. I, myself , would never think to combine lemon and beef together, but it works. She also made a side dish using cannellini beans and I have to tell you, it was amazing. Simple ingredients lends itself to layers of flavor in these dishes. Let me share them with you. Up first, is the Red White Beans, original recipe here. I didn't stray from her recipe at all. This is it, this is all it takes to make a great side dish.

Red White Beans

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped
salt and pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
2(15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, rosemary and salt and pepper.

Cook the onions until sweet and soft, 8-10 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste for 1 minute. I looove the tomato paste in a tube. So much easier than scraping it out of that abnormally small can.

Add the stock, then stir in beans and reduce heat to low. Adjust seasoning and turn out into a serving bowl. Keep warm until ready to serve. I just kept it on low until the meat was done.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed these. The rosemary and the beans are such a great combination of flavors. I could have just ate these with a big loaf of crusty bread. These are a definate keeper for me. If you try either one of these recipes and I hope you try both, try this dish. You will love it.

Up next is the main dish, Lemon Garlic Sirloin Tips, recipe can be found here. While Rachael was making this, I kept saying to my husband, I am making these tomorrow, it looked that good. Another plus was that it was cooked on top of the stove. It has been so humid here in New York, I was so happy to make something that didn't require me to turn the dam oven on. Here it is:

Lemon Garlic Sirloin Tips

2 lbs sirloin tips ( I had to ask the butcher in the supermarket for these)

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

4-5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped ( I used 5)

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls

Directions:

Bring meat to room temperature and pat dry. I left mine on the counter for 1/2 hour and I actually did pat them dry. It is an important step. Also, if you have some pieces that are larger than the others, cut them so they are uniform in size.

Heat oil in large, heavy skillet or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the oil smokes, add the meat and DON'T MOVE IT for 5 minutes. Let it develop that nice crust or caramelization, before turning. Once browned, it should look like this:

Season meat liberally with salt and pepper, add the garlic and toss with the meat for 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley and the lemon zest and cook for another minute. Add the white wine, this is one of my favorites:

Deglaze the pan. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

It makes a nice little sauce.

I have to tell you the flavor of the lemon and the garlic, mixed with the beef was such a hit with me. I absolutely loved this. I only wished I had bread to sop up the juices from both dishes.

What a messy plating, but it tasted great. I'm sure Racheal won't mind. Whether you like her or not , you will love these two dishes.

Almond- Orange Shortbread and Basil Grilled Chicken

2009-08-11T19:36:00.011-04:00

It is so hot. It is so humid. It is so sticky and muggy out and I have just about had it with the constant threat of thunderstorms, so I am going to think of Chrsitmas. Christmas means cold weather and snow. It means hot chocolate and presents, but most importantly it means Christmas cookies. This recipe comes from everyday food and I discovered it, I believe, about 2 years ago and it is a definate keeper to my holiday trays. The orange flavor really shines through and the almonds make them look so pretty, and it is a true buttery, shortbread. It hits on all cylinders in my book.

Let's get started, shall we:

Almond -Orange Shortbread

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners sugar

3/4 tsp almond extract

2 cups flour

grated zest of 1 orange

3/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

In mixer, beat butter, sugar almond extract until smooth. With mixer on low add flour and zest, until a dough forms.

Gently mix in almonds, by hand.

It should look like this:

Form dough into rectangular log. 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. ( keep it clean people, keep it clean. We are talking dough here. lol)

Wrap log in wax paper, I used plastic wrap and freeze.

When you are ready to bake, remove from freezer and let sit for 30 minutes.

Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices. Place on parchmant lined baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes.

Cool 5 minutes, before transferring to rack to cool completely.

They are just gorgeous and I love that the almonds show through so nicely and when you make them, and I know you will, you will see the little bits of zest show through.

A fantastic addition to any holiday tray, or simply wrap some in cellophane with a pretty ribbon and you have a great little gift for someone special, they better be someone special if you make them these babies.

Up next is a recipe my sister Donna, of My Tasty Treasures, just posted the other day, Basil Grilled Chicken. I was looking for something easy for the grill and this is both easy and tasty. I think this is a Paula Deen recipe, so prepare for butter, lots of butter.

Basil Grilled Chicken

3/4 tsp coarsley ground black pepper

4 skinned chicken breast halves

1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves, plus 2 tbsp freshly minced basil leaves

5 tbsp butter, melted, plus 1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

fresh basil sprigs, optional

Directions:

Prepare your grill

Get out your fresh basil.

Press the coarsley ground pepper into the meaty side of the chicken breast halves. Stir the chopped basil into the melted butter.

Brush the chicken lightly with this mixture.

In a small bowl, combine the softened butter,minced basil,parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix together until smoothly blended. Transfer to a small serving bowl and set aside.

Grill the chicken 8 to 10 minutes on each side, basting frequently with remaining butter mixture.

Easy with the flames, Babe, you are not Donna's FFH, who puts out flames for a living and unfortunately, you cannot arrest a flame for burning your eyebrows off.

Serve the chicken with the basil- butter mixture. Garnish with fresh basil, if you choose.

And I would definately take Donna's suggestion and add a squeeze of lemon or lime over the top, just brightens everything up.

Great summer BBQ dish.

135 days until christmas, but who's counting?

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

2009-08-05T06:34:00.012-04:00

If you have come here looking for light and fluffy, you will have to move on. If you have come here looking for a healthy recipe, please move on. If you have come here looking for "these will be good for me", you definately have to move on. But if you have come here looking for a pretty decadent, extremely rich and delicious cupcake, then please stay and read on. You are in for a treat. I just got a new cookbook. Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.. It is a great cookbook. It has the basics as well as so many different kinds of cupcakes ,this will be keeping me busy for awhile. These cheesecake cupcakes are out of this world. They are surprisingly easy and don't require anything that is probably not already in your house. I think the thing I love most about them is that instead of making a crust, one whole oreo serves as the base of each cheescake cupcake. Nice.

These little beauties start with these: How bad could they really be?

Cookies and Cream Cheescake Cupcakes

42 Oreos, 30 left whole, 12 coarsely chopped

2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature ( yes, 2 lbs)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 large eggs, room temperature,lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275.

Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. I found these really cool eco-freindly ones at the supermarket ( any little bit helps right?) They have a whole line of baking products, you can check it out here. The company is called "if you care". Check it out.

Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

Withan electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt . Stir in chopped cookies, by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes.

Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Remove from tins just before serving.

How cool do the bottom of these look. I love that you can see the oreo thru the liner.These are wicked good and very rich. They were gone before I knew it. They were creamy and oh so good. These are as keeper worthy as anything I have ever made and the kicker is they were really easy to make. So if you are looking for something a little different for your next party or just want a little something something that will blow you away and make you feel like hitting the treadmill for a 1/2 hour after you are done, look no further, you have arrived. ENJOY!!!

I want to be Ina for a day and her Homemade Granola Bars

2009-08-02T06:49:00.004-04:00

I want to be Ina Garten. Just for one day, I want to be The Barefoot Contessa. I want to live in a huge house in The Hamptons, have a brand new barn built as my new kitchen, I want to flit around town and go the the coolest food stores, where everyone knows my name. I want all my food to always look and taste as fabulous as hers does. I want to have fab friends who are always having parties and need my help to make it perfect. I want her collection of white dishes. It also wouldn't be bad to have a husband who works in another state during the week and only comes home on weekends. Oh, what a perfect wife I would be then. (just kidding, honey!!) I want her collection of pots and pans and her beautiful herbs that are waiting so patiently on her counter for her to use. I love Ina and how idyllic her life seems, but I would only trade it for one day, because I would miss my own disorganized, chaotic and kid filled life too much. A girl is allowed to dream. Now that I got that off my chest, I can move on to her Homemade Granola Bars, the original recipe can be found here. I saw her make these last week on TV and had to make them immediately. They were easy and so good and the ingredients can be interchangeable, I think, so if you don't like something, change it to something else. A Barefoot Contessa recipe has never let me down, and this one is no different.

Homemade Granola Bars

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup wheat germ ( I did not use, because I didn't have any)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped,pitted dates
1/2 cup chopped, dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter an 8x12 inch baking dish and line it with parchmant. I used a 9x13 and it was perfect. Do not skip on the parchmant paper, it will help you remove these later.

Toss oatmeal,coconut and almonds together on a sheet pan and bake 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.

Transfer to a large bowland stir in wheat germ. Reduce oven to 300.

Place butter,honey,brownsugar, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots and cranberries.

Stir very well.

Pour the mixture into prepared pan, please use the parchmant paper. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into pan.

Looks good, no? Bake 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool at least 2-3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

The parchmant paper made this so much easier for the whole thing to come out when I flipped it over.

These were so good and my coworkers inhaled them. I was really impressed. They were so easy to make and they made alot and I think for the upcoming school year they would make a great snack or quick breakfast. I think you could substitute any dried fruit or nuts you like to make it work for you, but definately try them. They are a keeper.

As you can tell by my picture, I did not let them sit for 2-3 hours, so they drooped a little for this shot. Ina would have never done that, she would have known better. Oh well.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Duo

2009-07-31T07:05:00.007-04:00

I had to do it, I just had to. I just saw these cookies yesterday over at Jenny's blog, Picky Palate, I just knew I would have to make these ASAP. I am sure you are all familiar with Picky Palate, she has the most amazing things and her pictures are always awesome, so please go visit her, if you don't already. You will be sorry if you don't. You will be missing out on things like these cookies.The combo of chocolate and peanut butter is a big hit in our house and I love that I had everything on hand to make them. The Peanut Butter cookie dough has only 3 ingredients, 3 people, does it get easier than that. Here we go.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Duo

Peanut Butter Cookie dough

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix all together in a bowl until well combined, set aside

Seriously, how hard is that?

Chocolate chocolate chip Cookie

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup hersheys cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugars until well combined. slowly beat in eggs and vanila until well combined.

Place flour,cocoa,baking soda and salt into a bowl, mix with fork .

Add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips, until just combined.

You will end up with these two doughs, yummy.

To Form Cookies:

Take 1 tablespoon of peanut butter dough and a tablespoon of choc cookie dough and gently press them together, forming a " not so perfect ball". Don't press too much, just stick them together and place on silpat or parchmant paper lined baking sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are cooked how you like them. Let cool 5 minutes before removing them to cooling rack. Enjoy, with a big, ice cold glass of milk.

These cookies are so cool. They look great. They were big and chewy and you could definately taste both flavors. These will become a regular in my house.

I think the next time I will double the peanut butter dough, because it didn't make as much as the chocolate cookie dough. It worked out ok though, I just used the leftover chocolate dough to make delish chocolate chocolate chip cookies, that were awesome as well.

I'm back...with Everything LoMein

2009-07-27T17:15:00.006-04:00

Hey everybody. I am back from the Jersey Shore,vacation was great, good weather,good friends and lots of sun at the beach but I swear it's like I never left. The kids are fighting, I am swamped at work and I am so far behind on commenting that I feel as if I am drowning. But never fear, I will catch up and I am sharing a really good recipe with you. This is a Rachael Ray recipe, I know, I know, some of you love her and some of you hate her, just deal with it and you will get something really good when it's done.The original recipe can be found here. I don't know why there are such RR haters out there. If you really look at her recipes, they are full of veggies and good stuff. So, for me, do me a favor, don't turn away , just read through and you might be surprised. My sister has made this recipe and I really was scared to try it. The ingredient list is long, and there is alot of prep work. There were a few things I did have to pick up at the store, but if you prep everything ahead of time, it comes together really quick.

Everything Lo Mein

Sauce:

3 rounded tbsp hoisin sauce

3 tbsp dark soy sauce(tamari)

3 tbsp water

2 tsp hot sauce( I used red hot)

* I doubled the sauce

Everything Lo Mein

3/4 pound spaghetti

salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

2 large eggs, beaten ( I used 4)

3 chicken cutlets, thinly sliced into strips

3 thin cut pork chops, thinly sliced into strips

black pepper

2 tsp ground coriander

2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped or grated

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 scallions, cut into 3 inch lengths, then sliced lengthwise

1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cut into quarters,seeded,and sliced into strips

1 small can sliced water chestnuts,drained

1/2 pound shredded cabbage ( i used Napa)

Mix together sauce ingredients and reserve.

Bring pasta water to a boil, salt water, and cook spaghetti to al dente. I used this brand pasta.

It is a little more expensive, but it is better than whole wheat pasta and has a low glycemic index and honestly I couldn't taste the difference and I felt better for eating it.

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in large non stick skillet. Scramble the eggs, remove and reserve.

Season the meat with salt,pepper and coriander.

Heat remaining oil to a ripple, then add meat and stir fry for 4 minutes. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Add ginger,garlic, and veggies to pan.

Stir fry veggies for 2 minutes, or to your liking, then drain and add pasta and eggs back to skillet. Return meat to the pan. Pour sauce over all and toss to combine. Remove from heat and let the liquids absorb a little.

This makes enough to feed a small army and it tastes so much better the next day. I love chinese food but making your own will make you feel better about what you are feeding everyone. So let go of your misconceptions or just your annoyance with Rachael Ray and just give it a try, Please. For me.

Just for fun I am adding in some random pics. Here is our brand new stone patio, we just had put in on Saturday. I love it. Now I need patio furniture.

Here we are at the beach. The girls had an awesome time. I hope they remember these vacations, because they mean so much to me. Especially this one, my oldest lost her first tooth while we were away. I still cannot believe she is old enough for that to have happened.

And of course, here is my sister, Donna, of My Tasty Treasures and her FFH, who joined us for a day at the beach. Aren't they cute?

And finally, here I am , with my girls.

It was a great trip, but I am happy to be home. I missed all your posts and am anxious to catch up on all the good things that were made while I was gone.

Vacation and Orange-Cranberry Walnut Loaf

2009-07-16T05:49:00.007-04:00

Well it is that time of Summer. We are going off on vacation. We rent a beach house every year down the Jersey Shore. The girls are at a perfect age to enjoy the beach, the boardwalk and all the goodtimes we hope to have. I will be back in a wekk or so, so I am leaving you with one of my favorite breads, Orange- Cranberry Walnut Bread. Is it a bread or a poundcake, I don't know, I don't care, all I know is that is is really good and the smell it makes in your home while baking, well you will just have to see for yourself. How could anything that starts with these ingredients be bad? This recipe comes from Good Things Catered. Her blog is really good, full of tons of great recipes. Check her out if you haven't already. There are so many things on there that I want to make and if they are all as good as this bread, I am hooked. The recipe is for 2 loaves, so cut it in half if you only want one. Or do what I did. You'll see. Be patient.

Orange- Cranberry Walnut Loaf

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 2 large oranges
zest of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
12 tbsp unsalted butter,softened
1 1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cup chopped walnts

2/3 cup finely chopped dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare loaf pans, spray with baking spray

In a large bowl,combine flour,baking powder and salt and whisk to combine; set aside

In medium bowl, combine milk,orange juice,zests,a nd whisk to combine; set aside

In bowl of stand mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy in texture, about 3 minutes

Reduce speed to medium and incorporate eggs, one at a time,beating each until fully combined before adding another

Add vanilla and beat to combine

Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk mixture, starting and ending with flour and mixing until incorporated.

Remove bowl from mixer and fold in walnuts and cranberries. Doesn't it look good so far?

Scrape batter into prepared pans and spread evenly.

Place in oven and bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean, 35- 40 minutes, for mini loaves and 45-50 minutes for full sized loaves. Or if you don't want 2 loaves, do what I did, make 1 loaf and 12 muffins.

If you make muffins, only bake 12-15 minutes, keep an eye on them. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and remove and cool on rack. Cool completely before serving.

I couldn't cut open the bread to show you because it was a thank you gift for someone I work with. But trust me the smell is amazing and it is so pretty when cut open.

You know what I can show you, here are the muffins. Aren't they pretty?

This recipe comes out very moist and would be great for brunch or as a gift for the holidays, especially Christmas, with those festive red cranberries. So everyone have a great week and I cant't wait to see what you all will have done when I was gone.

Here is the top of my bread. What, I told you I couldn't cut it.....lol.

Melt in your mouth BBQ ribs

2009-07-13T19:27:00.008-04:00

I cannot lie. I have always been intimidated, let's be honest, just plain scared to try and make BBQ ribs. Let's face it, I live in New York and we are not known for our bbq ribs. But I love them so much and was determined to find a way to make them, and did I ever. These ribs are as advertised, melt in your mouth. I don't think it is so much the recipe but the method. Let me share with you. The original recipe comes from Recipezaar, I have adjusted a few things and my changes are in parenthesis.

Melt in your mouth BBQ ribs

4lbs pork ribs ( I used Baby Back, from costco)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp hickory salt ( i used regular kosher salt)

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp cumin ( my addition, not in original recipe)

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground red pepper ( optional, I did not use)

2 cups favorite BBQ sauce ( i use Sweet Baby Rays)

The Method:

Pre heat oven to 300.

Peel off tough membrane that covers the bony side of the ribs.

Mix together sugar and spices to make the dry rub.

Apply rub to ribs on all sides.

Lay ribs on 2 layers of foil, shiny side out and meaty side down. Lay 2 layers of foil on top of ribs and roll and crimp edges tightly, edges facing up and seal. At this point, I put them in the fridge and let them marinade in the rub for 4-6 hours.

Place on baking sheet, or as I did, use throw away aluminum pans, in case rub leaks. Bake 2-3 hours, I did 3, until meat is starting to shrink away from the ends of the bone.

STOP. Right here at this point, you are good. You can eat them now, they are soooo good. But let's keep going and go for the gusto with the big finish. Remove from oven, unwrap ribs and apply BBQ sauce to both sides and carefully put on the grill. I say carefully, because at this point they are so tender they will fall apart if not handled with care. So, handle with care.

I was, once again, lucky enough to have my hubby man the grill, and grill those babies for 5 minutes on each side. Apply more BBQ sauce if you like. And please use a silicone brush. Dear hubby is old school and has a bristle brush and I was picking strands off my ribs all through dinner. It's time to embrace the 20th century, honey. Hurry up and join the rest of us. Good Lord. Very carefully remove ribs from the grill.

Get lots and lots of napkins and wet wipes and get to it. These are truly awesome and I love the easy clean up and the minimum effort these ribs require. So go forth and conquer your fear of BBQ ribs. I have and if a woman from New York can make Good ,old fashioned, messy,sticky ribs, you can too. Don't let me down.

Can you smell them?

My favorite Chicken Salad,Sugar Cookie Bars and awards

2009-07-11T07:05:00.013-04:00

First things, first. I have amazingly received another award. I never thought anyone would even look at my blog, let alone give me for an award for it and it is very rewarding for me. This Kreativ Blogger award comes from Teresa over at A blog about food. Her blog is wonderful, she has great recipes, so if you haven't visited her, please do so today. You won't be disappointed.

I am giving you 2 recipes today, just because I feel like it. My kids are quiet, the husbands sleeping, so in between cutting out paper hands for the girls , I am posting my absolute favorite cranberry-walnut chicken salad and sugar cookiebars. First the chicken salad. This recipe comes from smitten kitchen. I am sure most of you know about her blog. It is amazing. There are so many recipes and they all look so good. Go see, if you haven't already seen. You will be so happy you did. I love this salad because it has so many different textures, creamy and crunchy and just so good. I tweaked it a little to suit me. My changes will be in parenthesis.

Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad

4 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 cup walnuts,chopped and toasted

1 cup dried cranberries

1 celery rib,diced into small bits

2 tbsp chopped shallots

2/3 -3/4 cup mayo ( i didn't measure, just put what looked right)

3 tbsp Tarragon vinegar ( used white vinegar, its fine)

2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon or herb of your choice( I used dill)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

The way I prepared my chicken, was The Barefoot Contessa way. I took 2 chicken breasts on the bone and drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Roast at 425, for 40-45 minutes, or until they look like this:

I know my picture is upside down. So dumb. Let the chicken rest and when it is cool enough to handle, shred it into large bowl.

Then comes the hard part. Add all ingredients to the bowl with the chicken and mix well.

Refrigerate and enjoy on bread, english muffins, put it in wraps or enjoy it on toast. I am going to share one of my favorite appetizer s with you. Have you seen these little shells in the supermarket. When you see them, buy them. They are so versatile. Sweet or savory.

I take a teasoonful of chicken salad and put it in a prepared shell and serve it as an appetizer. People love it.

And why wouldn't you? They are adorable and really tasty. Try it, you'll like it.

Next up are sugar cookie bars, that's right you heard correctly. Sugar cookies as bar cookies. This recipe comes from stylish cuisine, this blog is full of goodies you have to see to believe. So when you have a minute , go check it out. I'm sure you will like it. You will find things like this on there:

These sugar cookie bars are so easy and it makes a huge amount. They are perfect for a school bake sale or a big holiday party. The original version called for buttercream frosting, but I used a cream cheese frosting instead, I didn't want them overly sweet. I even cut down on the amount of sugar used. I only used 1 2/2 cups and it is just perfect to me.

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar ( i used 1 1/2)

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar, until fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Add vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour,salt and baking soda.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spread into a greased jelly roll pan (13x18)

Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool completely and frost with your favorite icing. Cut into as many bars as you can. This makes alot!

I used cream cheese icing. I also doubled the icing , you can never have too much. Here is the recipe:

Cream cheese icing

1/2 cup butter ,softened

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat together butter and cream cheese, add vanilla and then add powdered sugar. Beat until you reach the consistency you want.

Aren't they lovely? And the best thing about these cookies, think about the holidays. For Valentines day add a little red food coloring to the icing, St Patricks Day, add some green, how about Halloween add some orange food coloring and you will have a huge tray of the most festive cookies, at whatever party you are at.

I hope you try them, you will like them. They are a keeper.

Chocolate Meltaway Brownie Bites

2009-07-07T16:46:00.007-04:00

Hey all, I hope everyone had a safe and fab 4th of July. Once again I find myself playing catch up with this blog and my comments, so please forgive me. I believe you will, once you see the beauties I made these with these brand spanking new Hersheys kisses that just came out. They are called chocolate meltaways. They have a velvety smooth center, at least thats what the bag says.

We went to my Brother-in- laws house in Virginia for the long weekend and as usual it was a great time. There was BBQ and of course, fireworks:

A good time was had by all, but by the end of the day, we were all tuckered out. Some of us more than others.

Now onto the brownie bites, I would say these definately fall somewhere between a brownie and a cookie and any recipe that calls for the use of my trusty, favorite mini muffin pan, I am all over that. This is a back of the package recipe, which I think makes life easier. Here we go:

Chocolate Meltaway Brownie Bites

48 Hersheys kisses, brand Chocolate Meltaway Milk Chocolates
2/3 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
powdered sugar

Directions:

Remove wrappers from chocolate; place in freezer while preparing and baking cookies. VERY IMPORTANT!!

Beat butter, sugar,water and vanilla in a large bowl on medium speed of mixer until well blended. Add eggs; beat well

Stir together flour,cocoa, salt and baking powder.

Gradually add to butter mixture, beating on low speed until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate dough about 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.

Heat oven to 350.

Line 48 small muffin cups with foil baking cups or spray well with cooking spray.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls; place in prepared muffin pan.

Bake 11-13 minutes or until cookie surface is set. I say more around 12 minute mark.

The cookies will appear soft and moist. Do not overbake. Cool about 5 minutes on wire rack.

Dust cookie tops with powdered sugar.

Press one frozen kiss into surface of eah cookie. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

I have to admit I did things a little different. I placed the kiss, about a minute after taking them out and I didn't dust them with powdered sugar until the next morning. I refrigerated them overnight. And they came out like this:

They were a huge hit with my husband and my office co-workers. The oohs and ahhs made it all worth while. I love oohs and ahhs, don't you? Great for a party or a housewarming gift. These are a keeper in my book.

Can you smell them? Can you? They are calling you, don't be afraid, they won't hurt anything but your waistline......lol......

Tasty Tortellini, Upside Down Peach Pudding cake ,awards and apoligies

2009-06-30T18:22:00.009-04:00

I have to start this out by saying I am sorry I have been absent for a week or so and that my lack of commenting was just due to a very crazy week at my house, but it is over and done with and I can now move on to my regular schedule again, hopefully. I also want to apoligize for taking so long to acknowledge these two fabulous awards that were given to me. The first is from
Michelle, over at the cooking nurse, please check it out. Not only does she have great recipes, she has sites where you can get free samples and also many sites for moms to save money. So please take a quick peek, you will love it. Thanks, Michelle.

This second award comes from someone most of us know, Rachel over at rachel vs the kitchen, her blog is so much fun and everything always looks so good. Thank you so much Rachel, I appreciate it.

Now, onto two pretty quick and easy recipes. The first one is I found over at allrecipes.
I was looking for something quick to make for a light dinner and still have some to take to work the next day and I wanted to use what I had. I didnt want to have to run out to the store. I had these in the freezer:

Frozen cheese tortellini. I knew I could find something, and I did. This is a quick, tasty pasta salad that is open to so many possibilities. Here is the recipe and I will add my changes and additions in.

Tatsy Tortellini

20 oz frozen cheese tortellini
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
4 green onions, thinly sliced ( i did not use)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup black olives ( i did not use)
6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini according to directions, al dente.
While tortellini is cooking, prepare marinade. Combine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic, basil, parsley, onions and salt and pepper, to taste. Whisk well, to combine. Set aside.
Drain tortellini, and rinse under cold water. Pour marinade over tortellini, olives( add additional ingredients here, ie: artichoke hearts, cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, chunks of salami or mozzarella cheese) and refrigerate. When ready to serve, add parmesan cheese.

I added string beans, cannellini beans and tomatoes. I think artichoke hearts would work really well. The marinade has a great flavor from the mustard and I think it will taste better tomorrow after sitting in the fridge all night.

Up next is a quick but rather impressive looking cake. Peach Upside- Down Pudding Cake, I found it on recipezaar.
I had a can of sliced peaches in the cabinet, just waiting for me, calling to be used, can you hear them?

I think that most people probably have everything they need for this really beautiful cake at home.

Peach Upside-Down Pudding Cake

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 (29 ounce) can sliced yellow cling peaches, drained

1 package yellow cake mix

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup veg oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine butter and brown sugar in small saucepan and heat up, until sugar dissolves. I took some advice from the people who reviewed this recipe and doubled up on this part. Pour into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange peaches on top, like this:

Set that aside, while making the batter. Combine remaining ingredients and beat at med speed for 4 minutes. Spoon into pan and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until cake springs back when touched. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. It will look like this:

I know, I know it doesn't look too impressive yet, but just wait a minute. Invert cake onto platter and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream, and Enjoy. Once you invert the cake, it should look like this:

Now, to me, that is impressive. It was so fast and easy and the smell in the house while it was cooking was out of this world. I think it would be great for a brunch or to bring to a BBQ. It is a perfect summer cake.

Want some? Try it. You won't be disappointed.

No exact Recipe Chicken with Pasta and Broccoli

2009-06-23T06:06:00.007-04:00

This is one of those dinners that I have no exact measurements for, there is no exact science to it, I only know it is a family all-time favorite of my kids and husband and the excitement builds in my house if they know it is being mad for dinner. I cannot even remember where the recipe comes from, I believe it is a firehouse recipe and you will notice the title says broccoli, but there is no broccoli in my pictures, because noone eats anything green in my house, other than myself , so there is no broccoli in my dish, but please add it to yours, if you like, it really is good.

Here is what you need:
1lb to 1 1/2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
eggs,beaten
olive oil
bread crumbs, Italian flavored
garlic, minced
1 can chicken broth, I use low sodium
1 box pasta, I use rotelli or my new favorite is pipette
1 head broccoli, cut into florets, if you choose
freshly grated parmesan cheese

First, heat up a large skillet with olive oil and add minced garlic. This is to your taste, I probably add about 5-6 cloves, minced. Add garlic to oil and be careful not to burn. Meanwhile, dip the chicken pieces into the egg and then into the bread crumbs, until well coated. I usually put the breadcrumbs in a large ziploc bag and then just shake up the chicken until I think they are coated. Add chicken to skillet. You may have to add more oil as it cooks, just use your judgement. It should look like this.

At the same time pour your can of broth into small saucepan and warm through on the stovetop. And in another pot have your pasta water boiling and get that cooking. And if you are using broccoli, you should have that steaming at the same time. Or if you want to use a box of chopped , frozen broccoli, go ahead and microwave it now .So, ideally you should have all 4 burners occupied at the same time, it is key to the dish that everything be ready at the same time. When your chicken is done, it should look like this:

Sorry, I couldn't rotate my picture, so dumb. When the pasta is ready, drain it and put it right back into pot you cooked it in, add chicken and scrape all the bits of breadcrumbs and oil you cooked it in to the pasta pot, add broccoli, if using, and finally add the warmed through chicken broth. Mix all together and add lots and lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Mix it again and breathe it in, breathe again. It smells so damn good and it is quite honestly a 30 minute meal.

Here is my broccoli-less version. The chicken broth keeps everything so moist and makes a little light sauce. This is an all-time keeper in my house. They come running when this is at the dinner table. It is even better the next day, reheated. All you need with this is a salad and a loaf of bread. So, I know it is not exact, the ingredients are rather simple, the instructions are hopefully understandable, because normally I wing this, and have never written it down before, so forgive me if it sounds confusing. I think you will forgive me once you try it. It is so good and family friendly. Added bonus: Can easily be doubled or tripled for a party.

Snickerdoodle Blossoms and a huge sigh of relief

2009-06-19T12:40:00.006-04:00

I have to admit, I don't panic often. I am usually in control to the point where I am annoying. I do not like surprises or to be thrown a curve. So when I got an email from my daughter's little league committee yesterday afternoon at 3:20, that everyone was expected to bring a salad or dessert to the picnic the next day at 3:00pm, I admit I panicked. I fell into the dessert category and now I thank my lucky stars I did, because I was able to make these beauties:

These awesome, delicious and simply fantastic cookies comes from Monica, over at Lick the Bowl Good. Her blog is soooo good. I have looked through pretty much the whole thing and yummy is the word that comes to mind. So go visit her if you haven't already, you won't be disappointed and maybe one of her recipes will save you the way it saved me. Monica posted these cookies just the other day and I printed it out to make at a later date, then this email comes and I am thinking what do I have, what can I make and then it hit me, I have these:

Everything I needed was on hand and it promised to make 4-5 dozen. Perfect. Then I had and idea, I decided to break out my favorite mini muffin pan, and bake them in that instead of just a flat cookie. Man, they turned out fantastic, even the husband was duly impressed. Hence, the sigh of relief.

Snickerdoodle Blossoms

1/2 cup wite sugar

1/2 cup packed, brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

48 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped

Heat oven to 375.

Combine 1/2 cup white sugar,brown sugar and butter in large mixing bowl.

Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and salt; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; and add flour and baking soda. Beat until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. If dough is too soft, refrigerate for 1/2 hour. I reccomend doing that, makes it easier to handle. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll dough balls into cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate kiss in center of each cookie and sprinkle remianing cinnamon sugar mixture over them while they are still warm. Remove from sheets; cool completely on a wire rack.

*Instead of the cookie sheets, I put the rolled dough into my mini muffin pan and baked the same amount of time, maybe a few minutes more, took them out, placed choc kiss in and still sprinkled the cinnamon sugar over the top.

*If you do it the way I did, be careful not to make the dough balls too big or it will be hard to get them out of the pan.

The house smelled incredible and the result was so good. It is like having a chocolate kiss surrounded by a snickerdoodle cookie. I cannot thank Monica enough, because she saved me and because there is a new favorite cookie in my house now. This one will even make its way onto my holiday cookie trays, that's how good they are. So wether you do the original version or my version with a little twist, try these and you will see they are "keeper worthy".

C'mon, try one, you know you want to. I hope the other teeball moms will be impressed.

Darleen's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

2009-06-16T06:33:00.003-04:00

I have to admit, I don't know Darleen or the woman who blogged these cookies. I found them on Foodgawker. If you don't know about foodgawker, run there, right now, I will wait for you to come back. Ok, Foodgawker is a sight that, everyday posts the best pictures of all the blogs in one place and they will directly connect you to that blog. It is really amazing. I check it out everyday. Some of the things people make and the incredible pictures of them makes me want to cook and bake even more. I searched the sight last night for peanut butter cookies, and I found the picture of these and they looked so good. Thick and chewy, not your normal thin, crunchy peanut butter cookie, and maybe the addition of oatmeal will make you feel better about eating them, it didn't work for me, but maybe for you. This is the original recipe, her name is Suzy and she has great pictures and stories. But this recipe is so simple and seems like a classic to me. I added chocolate chips and it worked really well.

Darleen's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips( my addition)
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Beat shortening, then add both sugars, and then the eggs. Add peanut butter. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and then stir in chocolate chips. Roll into balls and press with a fork. Bake 350 for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven. I went about 14 minutes. Let them cool on the pan, then transfer to rack to cool. Makes about 5 dozen delicious cookies.

Don't they look great. Thick and chewy and the peanut butter is the star. So next time you pull out that old recipe for peanut butter cookies, maybe be daring and try this one. You won't regret it. This is my new go to peanut butter cookie recipe, which makes it keeper worthy, in my book.

Just an additional note, Congratulations to Justine and Emily this week. Justine is graduating preschool and getting ready for Kindergarten next year, yes, I am panicked over the bus, and my Emily had her moving up ceremony, she will attend Pre K next year. Congratulations girls, I am very proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!

Easy Summer Cucumbers and Mojo Skirt Steak

2009-06-14T06:29:00.005-04:00

I know, I know you probably think you have stumbled onto my sister, Donna's blog, My tasty treasures, but you haven't. It is me and my favorite English Cucumbers. I love English cucumbers because you don't have to seed them. They are a little more expensive but for this really refreshing and delicious summer salad, it would be worth the extra cash. I found this recipe last summer here, on Recipezaar. This salad is the perfect side to have with your next BBQ. It is cool and so flavorful and it couldn't be easier. So here we go.

Easy Summer Cucumbers

2 Large Cucumbers, peeled and seeded if desired
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 tsp celery seed(optional)
salt and pepper

Slice cucumbers, no thicker than 1/4 inch. Place in tupperware bowl or other container with tight fitting lid. Add sliced onions. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, add remaining ingredients. Refrigerate, minimum 1 hour to overnight. Stirring occasionally. Enjoy.

I am warning you, these are addictive. The hardest part is waiting. I hate waiting, but they are worth the wait. Try them with your next BBQ or just make a batch to snack on, you will be glad you did. Or if you are stuck with what to bring to someones house the next time, double or triple these and bring it on over. Your host will be glad you did.

To go with my cucumbers I made skirt steak. I love,love,love skirt steak. I know it doesn't look so appealing when you buy it, but it turns into very tender meat. I just saw this recipe last week over at Dinners for a year and beyond, and it just called to me.I absolutely love this blog, everything I have tried so far has been spot on. So take a visit and look through the archives , you will find many things you want to try. I love everything that this marinade had in it, from the cumin to the fresh citrus juices and when it was done it did not disappoint. It was amazing and even my husband and kids said how good it was. ( pat on the back). This is what my skirt steak looked like after lounging around in the marinade overnight.
Mojo Skirt Steak

for the marinade:

1/3 cup orange juice
juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp cumin
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 pounds skirt steak or flank steak
1 lime, cut into wedges

Whisk together ingredients for marinade. Place in resealable bag and add the steak. Marinate 2-6 hours. I let mine go overnight.
Heat grill or grill pan. My hubby was kind enough to man the grill for these babies for me.

Remove steak from marinade and grill for about 4-5 minutes per side, for medium rare. For medium, cook steak a couple more minutes per side. Remove steak from grill and let rest, tented with foil, on a cutting board. Please do not skip this step. If you cut it right away, all the juice will run out, what a waste. To serve, slice on an angle and squeeze lime wedges over sliced meat.

This was so smoky and delicious. I can't wait to make it again. It does go perfectly with those cool, refreshing cucumbers, so if you are stuck in a rut when it come to what to BBQ next, try these, they are both keepers.

My kid's Favorite meal...Easy, Peasy Chicken Legs

2009-06-11T17:51:00.006-04:00

I am almost embarassed, really to share this recipe, because it is just my way of cooking my kids favorite dinner...Chicken legs. They love them. I don't know if it is because they can use their hands and not worrry about making a mess, but I really don't care, this is the one thing I make that they are guarranteed to do the happy dance for. I do not have to beg, cry or bribe them to eat. They happily come to the table and stuff themselves, it is such a relief, really. This can be adapted a million different ways, The Pioneer woman has a recipe for spicy,roasted chicken legs that is also really good. I have made that numerous times, but it may be a little too spicy for the little ones. Anyway here it is, it is not exact and it is not written in stone. Interpret it the best way to suit your family:

Easy, Peasy Chicken legs

1 jumbo package of chicken legs( usually contains around 14 legs)

olive oil

salt and pepper

garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400.

Place chicken legs in large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, enough to cover them all, generously.

Sprinkle with salt,pepper and garlic powder.

Place on large baking sheet and bake for 1-1 1/2 hours, turning them to ensure crispiness on all sides.

Serve with french fries and get out of the way..

Can you see the joy on their faces, or maybe it is annoyance because Mom is trying to take their picture while they are eating, I haven't decided yet.
Like I said there are a million different ways to do this. You can use lemon pepper,adobo, if you like it hot, use cayenne peper, or maybe go with oregano or just lawrys seasoning. whatever works for you. These legs come out so tender on the inside, with a nice crispy skin outside, who doesn't like crunchy skin. These are also good the next day for lunch.

So if you are ever stuck for an idea for a cheap, easy dinner( chicken legs are always on sale) try these, I bet your kids will love them as much as mine. This is an all-time keeper in our house.

Pioneer Womans Corn Fritters

2009-06-08T15:37:00.005-04:00

One of the first blogs I ever started to visit regularly, even before I started my own, was The Pioneer Woman. I am sure most of you already check in on her , on a daily basis. Ree tells wonderful stories and even better has easy and really delicious recipes that deliver a punch. When I saw these cute and crunchy looking little corn fritters, I knew I had to make them immediately. It was a beautiful weekend, here, in New York, so we were going to BBQ, and I thought, this is perfect. These fritters will go great with the ribs we were having. I left out the chives, because nobody in my house, other than myself, eats anything green, but I feel like they were still as good. My kids loved them and ate them like popcorn.

PW Corn Fritters

4 generous cups corn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk, more to thin, if necessary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
3 tsp fresh, chopped chive
canola oil, for frying

Mix flour,sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Add eggs, milk, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir together to make batter. Add corn and chives. Fold together to combine.
In a skillet or pot, heat an inch or so of canola oil to 365. When oil is heated, drop spoonfuls of batter and cook, flipping them once, until golden brown, like this:

Remove fritters from pot with slotted spoon and drain on paper lined plate. Serve alone, with dipping sauce, or sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with maple syrup. I served them in a big bowl and it was every man for himself.
So do yourselves a favor, and try these, as soon as possible. These will be a keeper and a regular at every BBQ we have. Thanks, Ree, for another winner.

YUMMY!!!!!!

Awards and Banana Bread Muffin Top Cookies

2009-06-05T19:17:00.011-04:00

I know, I know, I am a total slacker when it comes to posting but honestly, TeeBall has taken over my life. These games are right in the middle of the day or at 6:30 at night and they throw me off schedule completely. I am a very schedule oriented person, any little change sets me back for days. But I have a few new posts that I will be putting up in the next few days, so stay tuned. Before I get to this great little recipe I want to thank Rachel over at Rachel vs "the kitchen" and Heidi over at tried and true cooking with heidi for this award. They both have fantastic blogs and if you haven't paid them a visit, please do. You won't be disappointed. Thanks, girls, it means alot to me.

Now on to these cookies. I found this recipe over at The Hungry Housewife. I love her blog. It has so many great recipes. Please check her out, if you haven't already. These cookies are a great alternative when you have these:

Instead of the predictable Banana bread, we all have one we like to make, try these. They are like the tops of a muffin, and who doesn't love those. They are so moist and really delicious. Here is the recipe:

Banana Bread Muffin Top Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 bananas, peeled and mashed

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

powdered sugar, if desired

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchmant.( I love parchmant paper, you know).

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and banana. Combine flour, baking soda, slat, and cinnamon; Blend thoroughly into butter mixture to make batter. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Cool to room temperaature on cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

These really are good and a great use fo those beautiful, darkened bananas, that some people, who don't know better , throw away. Please try these instead, you will find them to be a keeper.

Chicken,Mushrooms and Artichoke hearts with Cheese tortellini in a light lemon, butter sauce

2009-06-02T16:49:00.005-04:00

This is a picture of the beginning, the beginning of a fantastic recipe from Pam, over at For the love of cooking. Her blog is one of my go to blogs when I am looking to try something new. Please go visit her, if you haven't,I guarantee you will find a thing or two to try. Anyway, on to this great dish. Like I said, this is the beginning , chicken swimming in oil,lemon zest, garlic and basil. How bad could that be?Marinade:

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 leaves of basil, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil(for cooking )

Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, and pound them, with a mallet, until 1/4 inch thick. Place chicken in ziploc bag and add 1 tbsp olive oil,garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix so the chicken is evenly coated. Let marinate for 1 hour. I let mine go for at least 4 hours.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large skillet, over med heat. Once hot, add chicken breast and cook for 4 minutes, then flip and cook another 3-4 minutes, or until juices run clear. You can also grill them, which I was lucky enough to have my hubby do for me. Let the chicken cool for 5 minutes before cutting into bite size pieces.

Don' t they look great? Right here at this point you could serve them as is, with a few side dishes and you have a great alternative to regular breaded chicken cutlets. I have served them as is and they are fantastic, but we must move forward.

The Rest:

8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1 handful grape tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 package cheeses tortellini, prepared per instructions
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp butter
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper

Cook tortellini according to package. While pasta is cooking, add mushrooms to skillet where you cooked chicken and add more oil, if needed.Saute 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes and garlic. Stir frequently for 1 minute. Add tortellini, chicken, lemon juice, butter, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Warm through and serve.

I love this recipe, it has so many of my favorite things in it and many of us probably have most of these things in our kitchen already. It is a light meal, great for when the weather is hot. Thanks, Pam, for a recipe that is a total keeper.

Tropical Coconut Bread

2009-05-29T15:26:00.007-04:00

I was going to wait until over the weekend to post this one, but after tasting it, I cannot wait to share it with you. Coconut is one of my favorite things, ever. I have a recipe for coconut cake, that I will save for another time, but I was searching Recipezaar, trying to find a way to use up some buttermilk I had and I came across this recipe.
To me, it is more like a poundcake. I am in love with this bread. It is so moist and so much lighter than I thought it would be. The coconut is definately the star ingredient in this bread. It would be fabulous if you are attending a luau themed party or just if you are looking for something a little different than you usually make. The recipe is for 2 loaves. I halved it and am sorry I did. This is a definate keeper for me.

Tropical Coconut Bread

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp coconut extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2. DO NOT USE A MIXER WITH THIS RECIPE, USE A SPOON OR SPATULA AND STIR BY HAND.

3. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well.

4. In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs, and coconut extract; mix well.

5. Alternately add flour and buttermilkto sugar mixture and stir only until moist.

6. Stir in shredded coconut.

7. Pour batter into 2 prepared loaf pans , place on middle rack and bake for 1 hour.

I hope you will all give this a try. ALOHA!

Chicken Fingers

2009-05-27T19:07:00.007-04:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I am actually on vacation this week, at home, trying to potty train my 3and 1/2 year old and I am failing miserably. Any advice or tips welcome. But back to the food. These crispy,crunchy, and delicious chicken fingers are from a great blog, one I really love and have bookmarked numerous recipes to try and this is the first, and that blog is Coleen's Recipes. Coleen lives in Allaska, how cool is that, no pun intended. So, if you haven't already, please visit her. These chicken fingers were moist and extra crunchy and my whole family inhaled them. They were just as good the next day. So, in my book, these are a "keeper".

Chicken Fingers

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
vegetable oil

Combine buttermilk, eggs and garlic powder in a large ziploc bag. Cut the chicken into long half inch strips and put them in the same ziploc bag. Refrigerate until ready to cook(at least 2 hours).
In another ziploc bag combine flour,salt,pepper and onion powder. Shake up, to mix well.

When it is time to cook, follow these steps:

1. Drain chicken(saving liquid) and coat chicken in flour mixture.

2. Shake off excess flour and put back in liquid again.

3. Repeat step one, then discard buttermilk liquid.

4. Fry chicken until golden brown. Keep warm in the oven.

Trust me, this is a great recipe and not just for everyday dinner but make a bunch, for your next party and serve them with some ranch dipping sauce or your favorite hot sauce and watch them disappear. Thanks Coleen, for a great recipe that will become a regular in my house. And a special thanks to Donna over at My Tasty Treasures, for the two awards. I appreciate them.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-05-24T12:30:00.006-04:00

Hey All. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend. Me, I am home, with two kids, my husband is working a double today, and I have just about had enough for one day, but besides that everything is going swimmingly, even more so since I made these little cuties. These are my daughter, Emily's, absolute favorite muffin. She has been asking for them,(relentlessly) for 3 days now, so I whipped them up quick this morning and here they are. This recipe comes from Recipezaar, whenever I am stuck looking for something to make I fall back to them time and time again, the original recipe can be found here http://www.recipezaar.com/Chocolate-Chip-Muffins-9326. I do not make these regular muffin size, I use my favorite pampered chef, mini muffin tin. I find the kids like them mini size. I put them in their lunchbag for a snack for school, they eat them for breakfast and they are a great thing to bring to someone's house for a gathering. They make 12-18 regular size muffins and about 36 mini muffins.

Here they are, only fill them halfway, because they do rise.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter,cooled

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1-bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin tin, whichever size you are using.

In a bowl, mix flour,both sugars,baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, mix eggs,milk, vanilla and cooled butter.

Make a well in center of dry ingredients.

Add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in Chocolate chips. TIP: I always mix chocolate chips with a little bit of flour befoe adding them to muffins,breads or cakes, it keeps them from sinking to the bottom.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake 8-10 minutes for mini muffins and 15-20 minutes for regular size muffins.

Remove muffins to wire rack, cool for 5 minutes and ENJOY, like somebody I know.

Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-05-22T18:10:00.004-04:00

Ok, so here she is, my first born, my main helper in the kitchen and my sister, Donna's, goddaughter. She is 5 1/2 years old, getting ready to start kindergarten in September and whenever cookies are being made she is right there on her stool , ready to help and lick the spoon or eat the dough. She makes me laugh and cry, but she loves peanut butter so these are for her. I got this recipe from my sister, Donna, over at My Tasty Treasures . She got the recipe from the back of the Heath Bits bag. I do love back of the bag recipes. They are really good, and full of peanut butter and chocolate toffe, it doesn't get much better than that. These are a keeper.

Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 TBSP milk
1 TBSP vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cup Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee bits,divided

Heat oven to 375.

Beat shortening,peanut butter,brown sugar,milk, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add egg; beat until just blended. Combine flour,baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. Stir in 1 cup of toffee bits; reserve the rest for topping.

Drop by heaping teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto parchment lined cookie sheet(I love parchmant paper). Top each with reserved toffee bits. Bake 7-8 minutes or until set. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes abot 3 dozen cookies.

My Justine loves them, maybe you will too.

Tuscan Shrimp withWhite Beans

2009-05-18T20:23:00.007-04:00

If there was ever a recipe that should be considered a "keeper"this one is it. I found this at Dragon's Kitchen.

I absolutely love this blog and this recipe blew me away. Now, I know you all know my sister, Donna, at My Tasty Treasures.

If you haven't already, check her out. Her blog is fantastic. It is for a more mature audience, but it's all fun. She is the reason I am doing this. She inspires me to want to cook more. She is my best friend and the best sister ever and the whole reason behind this, is that even she can't wait to try this recipe. TIP: Make sure you have lots of fresh,crusty bread on hand to sop up the juices. Here is my version of the recipe, just a few minor tweaks to my tatse.

Tuscan Shrimp with White Beans

3 cups canned white kidney beans

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp olive oil

16 Large Shrimp,peeled, tail on ( I used way more than 16)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup peeled, seeded and diced tomato, canned or fresh

1 cup whoile basil leaves, I rolled mine up and sliced them

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Drain the beans over a bowl and reserve the liquid. Put the beans in a large skillet with just enough of their liquid to moisten them.

2. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and bring the beans to a low simmer. Keep them warm while preparing the shrimp

3.Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook for a minute, tossing frequently. ( I cooked mine longer, like my shrimp crunchy) Remove the shrimp to a bowl.

4. Add the garlic to the pan and saute until garlic browns. Add red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute. Add tomato and basil and stir breifly, then add lemon juice.

5. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, and then stir in the shrimp. Toss well and reheat the shrimp. When shrimp is heated through stir in the beans and everything you can scrape from the pan and toss gently together. Spinkle with parsely. Serve in a bowl with lots of bread.

I hope you will all give this a try, I think you will love it as much as I do and take a visit to Dragon's Kitchen.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

2009-05-17T16:40:00.002-04:00

Hey all, I know I have been absent for a few months,but we were doing work on our very first house. But things have now quieted down and I can concentrate way more time to this. It's exciting. I am not a professional cook. I am a working mom and wife and am always looking for easy and foolproof recipes for my family. Recipes that are considered "keeper worthy".

I am going to start simple until I get the hang of this blog thing, so bear with me and follow along for the ride.

I found this recipe on April's Blog, Abby Sweets. It has all the criteria I am looking for. Quick, easy and the use of a box mix. Now dont be a snob, there is nothing wrong with things made from box mixes, and this is proof. I made this at my sister's house yesterday and it smelled great and tasted even better. Try it and you will be amazed at how easy it is. Here is the recipe:

Cinnamon Roll Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

Mix by hand and pur into 9x13 greased baking pan.

Streusel topping

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Mix and pour over cake batter. swirl into batter with knife.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let cake cool 10-15 minutes before icing.

Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

4 tbsp milk

whisk together and pour over warm cake.

Yummy!!!!!! It's a KEEPER.

Reese's Pieces Cookies

2009-03-03T11:59:00.006-05:00

If you or your children like Reeses Pieces candy

These are the cookie for you. I like to have these waiting for my kids as they come home from school. They are simple to make. Kids enjoy them.

Reese's Pieces Cookies

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups Reeses Pieces

Cream together your shortening, sugars, and vanilla. Add your eggs and beat well. Mix together in another bowl the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add your creamed mixture to the flour mixture and mix in the Reeses Pieces.

Cover and chill for one hour. Drop by spoonful on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet. Makes about 65 cookies.

I got this recipe from Cooks.com

I know they use shortening, and I know that isn't the healthiest stuff on earth, but if you are looking for a health food blog, this blog is not for you. I will and do have some healthy recipes, but they are not in the majority in my household. Not intentional, just our taste.