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Showing posts from February, 2011

Creme Brulee

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Creamy, Smooth, and Delicious! And Simple And ranking up there with a good cheesecake in my opinion! You won't need much, and it's definately worth every bite. Perfectly scrumptious!! I found this fabulous recipe in a Cuisine at Home magazine a few weeks ago and decided I must try this. I have made it before using a different recipe but this one sounded perfect. For this occasion I bought my very first Vanilla Bean. Interesting things, those. The Ingredients: ½ vanilla bean, chopped into ¼-inch pieces 2 Tablespoons sugar 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup half-and-half 3 egg yolks 1 egg ¼ cup sugar Pinch of salt Creme Brulee Sugar for the top: ½ cup brown sugar ¼ cup white sugar Combine both sugars, then spread the mixture on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. After baking the brulees, turn off the oven. Place the pan containing the sugars inside the oven for 1 hour to dry the sugar. Transfer to a food processor and pulverize until fine. Store in an airtight conta

Ham Balls

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These babies are super simple, very tasty, and never disappoint us! The graham crackers make them extra tender. Today I didn't have quite enough plain grahams so I used cinnamon graham crackers to make it enough and the cinnamon really added a good flavor to them! Nice surprise!! I'll have to do that again. There were a few of us that think we might prefer them this way. 2 lbs. ground beef 2 lbs. ground turkey ham 2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs 2 eggs 1½ cups milk Mix like you would for meatloaf. Using a size 20 cookie scoop shape and put into a non stick sprayed baking dish. For a 9 x 13 pan use a half recipe. These freeze well so if you have extra just pop them in the freezer for a convenient supper later. I usually freeze my extra ones without the sauce. Sauce: 2 cans (10½ oz.) tomato soup ¾ cup white vinegar 2 ¼ cups brown sugar* 2 teaspoons dry mustard * I didn't add all the brown sugar. I used some SomerSweet (see previous post) and just went by

Savory Pot Roast

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For an easy fuss free dinner that hits the spot, you can't go wrong with this pot roast. Plus it is cooked in the crock pot for added convenience. Several weeks ago we were eating lunch with a dear friend from church and she had prepared this roast and I'm telling you, it was perfect! She  graciously shared the recipe with me. Thanks Arlene! 3-4 lb. Chuck Roast Coarse sea salt, optional Freshly ground black pepper, optional Olive oil 10¾ ounce can Cream of Mushroom soup 1 onion, chopped ½ cup water ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon prepared mustard 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of roast and let it set for a short while to allow it to be absorbed. Brown the roast in oil on both sides over medium-high heat to seal in juices. Place in crock pot. Combine remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour over roast. Cook on low heat for 12-16 hours. This will depend largely on your crockpot and maybe the size

Smore's Bites

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Say it with me, yuummmm! Now if I could only eat it!! Our 12 year old son loves to help me in the kitchen, so tonight when he walked into the kitchen and said "I wish I could make something" I thought of this because it's something I would love to eat. Buuut , my husband and I are on a sugar fast for the next few weeks, so I guess I will have to breathe deeply when I put some in their lunches and be satisfied with that. :( But it's all good, I really do feel better when I avoid this kind of thing.☺ I ended up with a little more chocolate on it than I would prefer (I'm giving y'all the adjusted version) but I'm sure it's good anyway. Okay I know it's good because I had a  tiny taste. But that is  all I plan on eating!! Really, seriously ... it's  all  I plan on eating! Have I convinced you yet? What you'll need: 8 cups Golden Grahams 6 cups mini marshmallows 1½-2 cups milk chocolate chips ½ cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanill

Taco Bake

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Yesterday we were invited to some of our friends for lunch and had this yummy casserole. It's simple and satisfying. The boys loved it so I made it for their supper tonight, they were happy!☺ I added some ingredients to enhance the flavor and was pleased at what they added. The Taco Salad dressing adds the perfect finish. The dressing recipe can be found in a previous post. For the Mashed Potatoes: 8 cups potatoes, cut into chunks 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature ½ cups sour cream 4 Tablespoons butter, room temperature ½ cup warm milk, approximate 2½ teaspoons salt Boil the potaoes till they're soft. Drain. Put into a mixer bowl. Beat on high till smooth, scraping down sides a few times to avoid lumps. Add the cream cheese, butter, sour cream and salt. Mix. Then add the milk till it is the consistency that you want. Pour into a casserole dish that is sprayed with non stick spray. Spread evenly. 6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated Sprinkle over mashed

Taco Seasoning Mix

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                                                                   MSG FREE!!! I don't know about you but in my mind MSG (mono sodium glutamate) is evil. It is a chemical additive used to enhance the flavor of food. It has many different names and the name changes every few years, or so I'm told. So if you are an ingredient reader, just because it doesn't say MSG doesn't really mean it's not in there. I'm sure that I would be horrified at some of the other ingredients that I consume and am ignorant of, but for now I have this one pegged and if it's in there I have a hard time buying the product willingly.  Aspartame is another no no. Anyway for now I've learned how to avoid the first one in my taco dishes by mixing my own seasoning with ingredients that I can read. Try this one sometime, it's delish! Taco Seasoning Mix ½ cup chili powder (Chile En Polvo) 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons onion powder 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper fl

Super Simple Italian Chicken

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It doesn't get any easier than this! And the flavor is great! What you need: Italian Seasoned dry bread crumbs 2 eggs Butter, for frying 5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves Cut breast pieces into cutlets. Sprinkle salt on both sides of each cut piece. Refrigerate for several hours. Beat the eggs with a fork. Prepare a dish with bread crumbs and one with the beaten eggs. Melt butter in a frying pan. Dip each chicken piece into the egg and then into crumbs and place into melted, sizzling butter. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Keep adding butter to your pan after each batch too avoid sticking. Remove from pan and keep warm till all the pieces are done. Serve immediately. Serve with pasta and Ceaser Salad. Enjoy! Linking to: Made It Monday Be Blessed!

Roasted Garlic Bow Tie Alfredo

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YUM!! Before today I had never roasted any garlic and also had never used Bow Tie pasta for anything. Both have always intrigued me. So I decided to try them in a recipe together. Of which the end result is scrumptious! The ingredients are simple and few: 16 oz. Mini Farfalle* 1½ cups milk 1½ heads roasted garlic 2 Tablespoons flour 2 ounces cream cheese 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded 3 Tablespoons butter To roast the garlic: Heat oven to 375°. Cut the tops off of the garlic bulbs. Place them in a foil lined pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Tent the foil, closing all sides. Bake for 1 hour. When it's finished roasting allow to cool until you can handle it without burning your hand. Squeeze the pulp out of the skins. Cook pasta according to package direstions. In a saucepan, whisk together milk and flour until smooth. Add the garlic pulp and softened cream cheese. Stir over medium-low heat until cream cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil

Orange Cream Cheesecake

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so light, so refreshing For years I've collected the hardcover Taste of Home Cookbooks. I enjoy going through them now and then just for inspiration. I was reading the one from the year 2003 recently when I came across this one again and remembered that my sister Karen has made it and always says how refreshing it is. It is a fuss free, no bake, not your run of the mill cheesecake. It's an easy, fun recipe. The next flavor on my list to try is Lime. MMM, I can taste it already. For the crust: 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon orange zest ½ cup butter, melted zesting the orange peel Mix all crust ingredients and pour in melted butter. Mix thoroughly and press into the bottom of a greased 10 inch Springform pan. Refrigerate at least 30 minuters. Filling: 1 package (3 oz.) orange gelatin 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened 1¼ cups sugar 5 oz. evaporated milk 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/3 cup ora