Uncategorized

Coated Grape Salad

My daughter requests this salad that’s more like a dessert every Christmas! She doesn’t like nuts, so I serve it with nuts and Grapenuts cereal on the side for crunch.

COATED GRAPE SALAD

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 lbs red and green grapes
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
  • 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
  • 12 cup sugar
  • 12 teaspoon vanilla
  • 14 cup chopped pecans (optional)
DIRECTIONS
  • Combine cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla, & sugar in a large bowl and beat together with mixer.
  • Wash your grapes and remove from the stems. Fold into the cream cheese mix until well coated .

Uncategorized

Almond Frosting

Even though this recipe is called “ALMOND” frosting, you’ll notice there is no actual almond extract in here. That’s because the almond flavor comes from the maraschino cherry juice. We normally use this frosting to ice our sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day, so to frost these cupcakes I had to thin it out with some milk, then fluff it up with some marshmallow fluff.

Almond Frosting

  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice, more if needed

Mix all ingredients together and spread on sugar cookie.

  

Recipe · Uncategorized

Maria’s Chicken Canapes

I met my friend Maria when we were sophomores at the University of Alabama. We used to play cards to all hours of the night! I eventually moved off campus and got a job at a hospital. One year I was unable to go home for Christmas, so we got together and did a “Friendsmas” together. She made these canapes and they were so delicious I’ve made them for every Christmas ever since! Hope you enjoy them!

MARIA’S CHICKEN CANAPES

  • 34 cup mayonnaise, more if needed to moisten
  • 14 cup minced fresh onion
  • 1(4 ounce) can green chilies
  • 1cup cheddar cheese, grated
  • garlic salt, to taste
  • miniature party rye rounds

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat oven to Broil.
  • Combine all ingredients and place them on the Party Rye bread.
  • Broil until brown and bubbly.

Print it here: Maria’s Chicken Canapes

Uncategorized

Garlic Chicken with fresh veggies

Isn’t summer the best? My friend brought some delicious fresh veggies from her garden, so we had a feast! Below are the recipes for all of this yumminess.

BAKED GARLIC CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS
2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons celery salt
4 teaspoons
Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 cups crushed butter-flavored crackers (about50)
1/2 cup melted butter melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
In a large shallow glass dish, combine the first seven ingredients. Add chicken; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
Place cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl; roll chicken in crumbs until coated. Transfer to a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish.
Combine butter and oil; pour over the chicken.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Best Way to Cook Corn on the Cob

Source: Spicy Southern Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 6-8 ears of corn, husks, and silks removed and cut in half (if desired)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

  • Fill a large pot about halfway with water. 
  • Bring water to a boil.
  • Add milk, salt and butter. Add corn and reduce heat. 
  • Simmer corn for 6 to 8 minutes. 
  • Remove corn from the cooking liquid and it’s ready to serve.

Fresh Green Beans

Source: Southern Plate

Ingredients

  • Fresh Green Beans
  • 1 stick of butter
  • salt and pepper
  • minced garlic, red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

  • Break ends of green beans off and discard. Break each bean into bite sized pieces.
  • Place green beans and butter in a large pot. Cover with water.
  • Bring to a boil over medium high heat (add minced garlic now if you like and a pinch of salt) and continue cooking, stirring often, until water is almost completely cooked out and beans are very tender.
  • Salt and pepper to taste. And if you like red pepper flakes add them here and enjoy!
Uncategorized

Ladies who Lunch

Open Houses don’t always get the desired traffic we wish they would, especially if they aren’t a million dollar property or on waterfront. So, how does a broker get some interested parties into a home they are trying to sell? A Broker Luncheon!

We all know that most folks who come to Open Houses are just looky-loos or curiousity seekers. Very rarely do real, qualified buyers come through the door and make an offer (like we see on television). However, if you get brokers inside, who have bevvies of buyers, you have a better chance of getting that house to the people who are ready, willing and able to buy. And to do that, you need to feed them.

I find that serving homemade food (and advertising it as such) is a special treat in this fast food society. Here are a few of my favorite recipes that have always been crowd pleasers.

Spinach Dip Recipe

I’ve always made the spinach dip on the back of the Knorr’s soup box, but this one is nice, too. It has a tangier taste, and I’m more likely to have the ingredients for this at home.

2¼ hours | 10 min prep

SERVES 8

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch dressing mix
1 (10 ounce) package of chopped spinach, thawed and drained well

Mix all ingredients and chill.

Aioli Beef Roll-ups Recipe
My crew loves these delicious roll-ups that sound fancy, but are so very easy. Aioli is basically mayo and garlic, how hard is that? The original recipe comes from CD kitchen.

2¼ hours | 10 min prep

SERVES 24

1/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 10-inch flour tortillas
1 cup fresh spinach
1/4 lb cooked roast beef, thinly sliced or sliced cooked turkey
6 slices cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced

Mix mayonnaise and garlic in small bowl.
Spread mixture evenly over tortillas.
Top tortillas with layers of spinach, beef, cheese and tomato; roll up tightly.
Cut each tortilla into 12 pieces; secure with toothpicks.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.
Do-Ahead: Wrap tortilla rolls individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Substitution: In place of the roast beef, you can use sliced cooked turkey.