Category: Recipe

Recipe

Lemon Crumb Bars

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I am not crazy about lemon flavor, but my husband loves it.  I am crazy about sweetened condensed milk.  So, with these bars, we are both happy.

Lemon Crumb Bars

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (18 1/2 ounce) box lemon cake mix or 1 (18 1/2 ounce) box yellow cake mix
  • 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, softened
  • 1 large egg, plus
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2 cups saltine crackers, finely crushed (1/4 lb)
  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In large bowl, heat cake mix, margarine and 1 egg with mixer until crumbly.
  • Stir in saltine crumbs.
  • Reserving 2 cups of crumb mixture, press remaining crumbs into bottom of greased 13×9 baking pan.
  • Bake 20 minutes.
  • With mixer or wire whisk, beat 3 egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Spread over prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Cool.
  • Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.
Recipe

Broiled Pork Chops

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These easy pork chops are delicious with this sauce.  Next time I make it, I’m skipping the racks and just letting them lay around in the sauce to soak it up.  Otherwise, it doesn’t pick up as much flavor as it could.  Hope you like it!

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Broiled Pork Chops

  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 6 pork chops

Directions:

  1. In a saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients; bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Set aside half of the sauce.
  4. Place chops on broiling pan rack.
  5. Broil about 4 inches from the heat for 4 minutes on each side.
  6. Brush with remaining sauce.
  7. Continue broiling, turning and basting occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until juices run clear.
  8. Serve with reserved sauce.

Source: Taste of Home

Recipe

Baked Spaghetti by Paula Deen

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Paula Deen is such a great ambassador for the South. But. She lays on that accent a little too thick sometimes and God help me with the cackling.  No matter.  If she says a recipe is good, you can take it to the bank.

This spaghetti is her recipe, and one of the most popular ones I’ve ever shared on Food.com.  Tons of reviews.  It is really juicy and you will be tempted to increase the pasta, but don’t do it!  It makes it too dry, upsets the balance of goodness or something.  Trust me, the best way to make this dish is just to do it exactly as Paula says.  If you want to take a short cut by using jarred marinara, I understand the inclination; but you are shortchanging yourself.  Delish with a salad and hunk of french bread.  If you’re real naughty, splurge on that fancy Irish butter in your fancy grocery store and slather it on the bread.  Heaven.

Baked Spaghetti by Paula Deen

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups canned diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 small bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
  • 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
  • House Seasoning (use 1 1/2 tsp)
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1/4 cup black pepper
  • 1/4 cup garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar, and bay leaves.
  • Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
  • Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet.
  • Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining.
  • Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the stockpot.
  • Simmer for 20 more minutes.
  • Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
  • Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with sauce.
  • Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce.
  • Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
  • Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes.
  • Cut into squares before serving.
  • House Seasoning: Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Recipe

Never Fail Chicken Casserole

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Never Fail Chicken Casserole

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Easy to put together on a busy weeknight, with plenty of passive cooking time. A new staple for us! The rice does get pretty “soggy” so if you are someone who likes individual grains of rice, this is NOT the recipe for you.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of celery soup
  • 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 soup can water
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 chicken, cut up (I used breasts)
  • salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Combine soups, butter, water and rice in buttered oblong casserole dish. Salt and pepper chicken and place in mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Recipe

Almost-Famous Spinach-Artichoke Dip

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Almost-Famous Spinach-Artichoke Dip

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Our Christmas Eve tradition is to gather the family for a night of appetizers and punch. Our grandparents always cooked a large Christmas Dinner on this night, much like a Thanksgiving feast, which we had to suffer through (and the cleaning of the dishes!) before we were able to get to the much awaited gift exchange. My family developed this appetizer idea as a way to avoid the formality, just a grab and go while we get to the good stuff. This however, has morphed into fancier appetizers and complex desserts as we grew up and had children and realized the value of making them wait! It is excruciating for them, and thus, much fun for us. 🙂

This is from Food Network, and it is a dip, but I think of it almost as a fondue. It was runnier than I expected. The flavor was good, but I encourage you to spice it up to you taste!

Almost-Famous Spinach-Artichoke Dip

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INGREDIENTS

2 (10 ounce) bags spinach, stems removed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup frozen artichoke heart, thawed, squeezed dry and roughly chopped
tortilla chips and salsa, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the spinach and cook until bright green, about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water; squeeze out the excess moisture, then finely chop.

2.Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until the onion is soft, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, parmesan and sour cream.

3. Return the pot to medium heat. Add the spinach, cheddar and artichokes and stir until the cheese melts and the dip is heated through. Serve warm with tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream.

Recipe

Eggnog Thumbprints

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Every year I have such grand dreams of baking these fabulous cookies, these intricate creations that are beautifully decorated and look really fancy…but I always fall back on the old favorites.  These, however, I tried for the first time this Christmas, and they were delicious!

Eggnog Thumbprints

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon rum *

DIRECTIONS

  • In a large mixer bowl beat 3/4 cup butter till softened. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat til fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and salt and beat well. Add flour and beat til well mixed. Cover and chill about 1 hour or till easy to handle.
  • Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down centers with thumb. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 12 minutes or till done. Remove and cool.
  • For filling, in a small mixer bowl beat 1/4 cup butter til softened. Add powdered sugar and beat till fluffy. Add rum and beat well. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon filling into center of each cookie. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Chill till filling is firm.
  • *You may substitute 1 tablespoon milk and 1/4 teaspoon rum extract for the rum.

Follow this link to Pin or Print: Eggnog Thumbprints

I got the recipe here:  Grumpy’s Honey Bunch

Recipe

Hot Cocoa Reindeer

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The kids always love to do these simple Christmas crafts, and this one was the most fun for my sweetie.  I have to tell you, if you aren’t a crafty person, getting all of these items at once may be a little costly, but my little chick had fun using the leftovers for various craft projects later.

Hot Cocoa Reindeer

You’ll need:

  • Hot Cocoa Mix or make your own: Dad’s Hot Chocolate Mix
  • Mini marshmallows
  • Mini chocolate chips
  • Sprinkles
  • Disposable Pastry Bags
  • Red pom poms (or black, I guess)
  • Googly eyes
  • Glue
  • Brown pipe cleaners

Add enough cocoa in each bag to make 2 cups of cocoa.  Top with marshmallows, chocolate chips and sprinkles.  Seal with pipe cleaners.  Glue on googly eyes and pom pom noses.  Give to your buddies!

I got this idea at Little Wonders’ Days

Recipe

Christmas Ornament Cupcakes

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I feel bad putting this under the “recipe” column, but sometimes you just need an “easy” fun thing to do with the kids during Christmas.  Believe me, you better enjoy it while your children “want” to do it, because the day will come all too quickly when they get bored with these simple projects 😦 

MATERIALS:

  • Cake Mix (any flavor)
  • oil and eggs for cake mix
  • 2 containers white frosting
  • food coloring
  • decorating gels, dragees, edible confetti, etc.
  • bag of mini Reese’s cups
  • mini pretzels

So, here’s what we did.  Bake some cupcakes (I freely admit to using a mix).  I’d fill them a little more than you normally might so they’ll hump up more when baked.  While they cool, take a few containers of store-bought white frosting and dye it the colors you desire.  Frost and decorate.  Top with mini Reese’s cups with a pretzel “hook” jammed in.  As you can see, mine look weird.  The only pretzels I found were football shaped and I couldn’t get a good “hook” out of it, but a regular shaped pretzel would work amazingly. 

I got the idea from: Homemaking Fun

Recipe

Peppermint Popcorn Bark

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Peppermint Popcorn Bark

Adorable and delicious for Christmas!

ingredients

  • 2 bags microwave popcorn, popped (18-20 cups)
  • 1 6oz box candy canes, crushed
  • 1 package Almond Bark
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract or a few drops of peppermint oil

directions

Place popcorn in a very large bowl – the biggest one you have. Pour crushed candy canes on top of the popcorn. (I crush my candy canes in the food processor – it is quick and it pulverizes the candy canes!) Melt almond bark according to instructions on the package. Add the peppermint extract or oil to the almond bark and pour over popcorn. Stir until all the popcorn is coated. Pour popcorn on wax paper and allow to harden. Once the popcorn has hardened, break into pieces and enjoy!

I found this idea at Plain Chicken

Recipe

Recipe: Cobb Salad

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I love love love a good salad.  “A big salad?  With lots of stuff in it?”  Yeah, I also lovelovelove Seinfeld.  Anywho, I found this recipe online by Kelsey Nixon.  I used the exact recipe, and made the dressing…but I HATED the dressing.  Sorry Kelse!  Anyway, I’m not including it here, so use your favorite dressing.  I prefer homemade Ranch, but I bet Bleu Cheese would be good, as well.

Cobb Salad

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped (about 3 to 4 cups)
  • 1/2 head Boston lettuce, chopped (about 3 to 4 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups watercress, stems removed and chopped
  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
  • 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 3/4 cup Roquefort cheese, crumbled
  • 1 hard-boiled large egg, forced through a sieve (grated)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS

  • Rinse and dry all the salad greens, and toss them together in a large bowl. Arrange the chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato, and Roquefort in uniform rows on top the mixed greens. Garnish with the grated hard-boiled egg, and chives.
  • Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss.