Come relax with your friends while enjoying a small cooking presentation and tips for easy home cooking.
Operating as usual
Don't you love sitting down at an Italian restaurant and they bring you a plate of hot, crunchy Baguette bread and that oh so yummy oil for dipping. We do it at home alot. Get a fresh baguette from you favorite bakery and heat it, in a small bowl take some extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic and fresh cracked black pepper, heat it for 30 seconds in the microwave and dip away.... so yummy. Try it with your pasta dinner and a salad. Perfectly perfect.
Tiny change and huge flavor difference. Classic French toast made with your favorite creamer instead of milk. I found a new coconut cream creamer that turned this classic into a gourmet yummy. Use your favorite and see what you get.
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup creamer
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Makes 4 pieces.
Mix everything together, dredge each piece of bread and place on a hot skillet coated with cooking spray. Flip after golden. Serve with your favorite syrup.
Enjoy.
Everyone loves chicken strips, and my homemade ones are no exception. 5 ingredients and so much cheaper.
I fillet and cut the strips, I got 20 strips out of one chicken breast.Total cost was under $3. Use plastic bags for the breading process and then toss them for a very easy clean up.
You need: boneless skinless chicken breast, seasoned bread crumbs, and panko bread crumbs,
2 eggs and 2 T. Water,
salt and pepper
Cut your chicken in to strips
In 1 large baggie place 1 cup of flour and coat all straps at once, shake well, in the next baggy mix the eggs and water and take the strips from the first bag to that bag, getting rid of the excess flour, shake well, in the 3rd bag mix 1 cup of each bread crumbs and take strips from bag 2 to bag 3. Seal the bag and shake well to make sure each one is covered. Remove and place one a plate. You can now bake or fry them or save them up to 3 days in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer. Cook until temp hits 165. Enjoy. If you do not over cook them, they are very moist.
Homemade gourmet is way better!!
Chicken Alfredo Pizza. Parker's new favorite.
So easy!!!!
Stores have amazing pizza crusts and flat breads to choose from.
Left over grilled chicken (or store bought from your local meat counter)
Store bought alfredo sauce of your choose
Mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese
Basil and garlic salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Top your chosen crust with sauce, then cut up chicken and top with cheese. Season with garlic salt and basil if desired but also tastes great with out. Bake until golden and yummy.
Parker's reaction "damn that looks amazing"
I love easy fast, sometimes! This was less then 15 minutes from start to finished. Enjoy!!!
Easy, cool, delicate, refreshing and pretty and DELICIOUS!
Beach cake! I used pineapple, but you could also use mandarin oranges, coconut, or any combo.
1 angel food cake
1- 14oz. Can crushed pineapple
1- package vanilla pudding powder
I container or cool whip.
You may purchase or make your own angel food cake.
Cut the cake in half at the center.
Drain the pineapple and place in a medium bowl. Pour in pudding mix and stir. Now fold in the whole container of cool whip. Put half the mix in the center of the cake, put on top and top with rest of the mix.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Enjoy!!
If you do not like angel food cake you can make a white cake and do the same.
Want something fun to do with the kids while we are all enjoying our time at home!
Fried Croissant donuts.
VERY easy and the kids will love making them.
Open 1 pop open can of croissants and roll them up. Let them sit out at room temp for about 15 minutes.
Heat your fryer with fresh oil.
Make glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk.
I also made orange glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon orange juice.
You can also make lemon, almond.. any flavor you are hungry for.
Fry the croissants for about 3 minutes on each side.
Place on a paper towel to absorb the oil.
Place on a separate plate and pour glaze over them.
I also had a small piece of chocolate left, so I melted that over a few of them.
Yummy!
You can also buy pop open biscuits, or cinnamon rolls.
If using biscuits, have the kids use their fingers and make a hole in the middle so they look like real donuts.
My favorite memories are in the kitchen and my kid loves it too.
It's been a few years since I posted these and you all still share and like it.
Loaded hashbrowns!!!! Out my page for more info!!!!!
Do you ever go to a game and buy those yummy hot cinnamon nuts from the vendor? Have you ever purchased candied nuts for your salad or just munch on? Here is the easiest recipe for you to make those at home.
Preheat oven at 250 degrees.
You will need a jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet with 1-inch sides.
Take one egg white and one tablespoon of water and whip them together until they become frothy. Poor in one pound of pecans or walnuts, or almonds, and coat them with the egg and water mixture. In the same Bowl add 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and a teaspoon of salt, mix until everything is coated.
Pour this onto your sheet pan and bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.
They are wonderful hot and cold. Store them in a bag to enjoy now or freeze them to enjoy later.
Tried something new tonight, cheesy cauliflower casserole. Cheesy potatoes are one of our favorite side dish but when you're trying to let go of carbs they are not a very good choice. I've been trying different things with cauliflower and so far everything has been very good. So tonight I thought I'd try something that I've been seeing a lot of, but make it my own. Bring a saucepan full of water to a boil and drop in 1 head of cut up cauliflower. Boil for 7 to 10 minutes or until fork tender. drain and set aside. melt 3 tablespoons of butter and mix with one 8oz block of softened cream cheese and two cups of shredded cheddar cheese, chopped up some green onions, add a teaspoon of fresh garlic or garlic powder, and salt and pepper mix this together and add your cooked cauliflower. mash it all together until it's a consistency that you like. Spray a 9 by 9 cake pan and placed cauliflower mixture inside. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. This has less than one gram of carbs in the whole thing. Enjoy.
If you wanted to make this your entire meal you could add chunked pieces of chicken.
Easy rhubarb dessert. Once you've chopped the rhubarb this desert takes about 1 minute to prepare, Then it bakes for 45 minutes on 350. Spray a 9 by 13 cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, and chop 5 to 6 cups of rhubarb and place in the bottom. Now sprinkle one cup of sugar over the top of all the rhubarb, and then one package of red Jello over the top of the sprinkled sugar. Open a white cake mix and dump on top. Now melt 1 stick of butter and mix it with a half a cup of water. Pour over everything, and bake. Let it cool and serve it with a dollop of whipped cream. This is awesome and one of my favorites. Enjoy
One of my favorite recipes to make came from my mother-in-law. It was one of the daycare kids favorites and I would like to share it with you. So let's make some chow mein. Start with a half a pound of each of these meats, top sirloin, pork cushion meat, and a turkey fillet. Chop all three meats up into little pieces discarding any fat. Chop one whole stalk of celery leaving out the green leafs and the ends, and one whole onion. You will need two cans of bean sprouts drained, one can of sliced water chestnuts drained, soy sauce, water, and cornstarch,. Once you have everything diced heat a large saucepan with 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil in the bottom. When oil is very hot put in all three meats and cook quickly until brown but not cooked through. At this point add a fourth of a cup of soy sauce and a cup of water. Cook meat in liquid for 2 minutes then add your celery and onions and cover and simmer for 1 hour. At the end of 1 hour take a fourth of a cup of water and 4 tablespoons of cornstarch and mix it together. Turn your mixture on high until it boils and poor in the cornstarch and water. Stir this immediately, for it will thicken quickly. Add the two cans bean sprouts and the can of water chestnuts and heat it all through. Serve over rice and sprinkle with chow mein noodles for a little crunch. The noodles are optional but they do add a wonderful texture. Enjoy
I started a new endeavor at work, cooking lunches a few days a week for my coworkers. I put out a menu and they tell me if the are interested. So far, it's a huge success. Tomorrow's menu, chicken enchilada and Spanish rice. I'm want to share the enchadas with you.
Start by cooking and shredding 1 large boneless chicken breast, place in a large sauce pan with 3/4 can of refried beans and 1 jar of rotel (I make my own every summer) open a larger jar of green chili enchilada sauce and add 1/4 of the can... mix this all together and summer for 20 minutes. Take 1/3 cup of the mixture and place in a flour tortilla shell, roll and place in a large baking dish. Once all shells are rolled, pour the rest of the can of green chili sauce over them and cover with Mexican blended cheese. Bake on 350 until bubbly delicious.!! This is one of my clients favorites . My Spanish rice is home made but you can use box. Enjoy!
So I went to my grandma's once when I was a teenager and she made me a sandwich. it was totally different it wasn't egg salad and it wasn't ham salad, it was her take on both of them together. I never got the chance to ask her how she made it but one day decided to try on my own. It is so good so different and so easy. Finely chop up Deli shaved ham and hard boiled eggs. I have about a cup and a half of each. In a bowl mix the eggs and ham with a few shakes of liquid smoke and a half a cup of Miracle Whip. Add a tiny bit of salt and pepper, remember your ham is salty already so you don't need much. chill for a couple hours. It goes great on crackers, warm toast, or just a plain old bun. Just thought I'd share something that has sentimental value to me and I'm so glad I figured out how to make it by taste and memory. Enjoy
Okay I kind of stole this one from a burger joint we went to. But it is fantastic and simple and yummy. Who does not love a warm baked pretzel with nacho cheese? And who does not love a bacon cheeseburger? Well we just mix the two together. All the stores in town sell pretzel buns, you can buy or make nacho cheese, you can make bacon, and you can Grill yourself One Juicy Hamburger. And Wallah yum you have one fantastic supper.. my burger was made with chicken and it is just as good as Parker's which was made with beef. Enjoy
Sweet Asian chicken stir fry. So yummy, so easy.
Need: chicken, carrots, celery, green onion, onion, chicken stock, corn starch, soy sauce, 1 egg white, sweet chili sauce, pepper, ginger
Dice 1 full boneless chicken breast in to small 1/2 inch chunks. Take chicken, 1 egg white, 1 T soy sauce, 1 T corn starch and 1/4 t pepper. Mix and set a side of 20 minutes.
Dice 1 1/2 cups off carrots, 1 cup of celery, 1/2 cup of onion, 1 bunch of green onions. Set aside.
Mix 1/4 cup of chicken stock with 1 T cornstarch, set aside.
In a very hot large pan or wok, heat 1 T veg oil, cook chicken. For 3-5 minutes until done, remove from pan. Using the same pan add another tablespoon of vegetable oil and sautee the onions celery and carrots with 1/4 tea. Ground ginger for 2 minutes, add the chicken back in to the vegetables, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and a fourth a cup of sweet chili sauce and 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock. Cook this to a boil for two minutes. Now take your cornstarch and chicken stock mixture, stir it together and pour it into chicken and vegetables, this will thicken the sauce instantly as you stir it in. Make sure you stir it as you pour it in and continue to stir until it boils again. At this point put in your green onions and let them get warm. You can mix it up by adding water chestnuts or any other Asian ingredient that you like. this is wonderful all by itself or you can eat it over a bed of your favorite rice. It is simple easy and yummy it just takes a little time to get all your ingredients chopped. Enjoy
I have had several people tell me that they do not like to use the grill, or it is just too cold to grill. I made pork tenderloin tonight without using the grill and it has all the flavor and juiciness that you could ask for. I used my cast-iron skillet and placed a small amount of olive oil in the bottom. take your tenderloin and season it with your favorite pork seasoning or just salt and pepper works great also. Get the oil in the pan nice and hot so that when you place the meat in and it sears the meat and caramelizes it right away. This traps all the juice and flavor inside. Turn it so it Brown's all sides of your meat, place the entire cast iron skillet in the oven at 375 degrees preheated and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or into a meat thermometer reads 155 to 160 degrees. Remove meat and let sit for three to five minutes, slice and enjoy. If you do not have a cast iron skillet you can sear the meat in a regular skillet and then transfer it to a baking dish. just make sure that your oven is preheated.
Try something a little different with your spaghetti. Instead of Browning up a plain old pound of hamburger, why not make some quick easy homemade meatballs. One pound of hamburger equals 27 -1 inch meatballs. Start with one pound of hamburger, add one egg, a half a cup of Italian bread crumbs, 6 tablespoons of milk, a drizzle of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of dry basil and salt and pepper. mix all of this together until just combined, do not overmix to make meat tough. Use an ice cream scooper, mine was one inch, you could use a half an inch if you'd like smaller meatballs, scoop meatballs on to a cooking sheet with edges, and bake at 375 for 9 to 12 minutes depending on the size. in a saucepan heat your favorite spaghetti sauce and add meatballs to warm and cook in sauce until finished. for one jar of sauce you will use 4 servings of spaghetti noodles or 7.5 Oz. Cook noodles to done and Mix all of this together until married and warm, and serve. Enjoy
Chicken, spinach, artichoke lasagna. Omgosh..... so good!
I'm a large sauce pan mix 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken, one small jar of Alfredo sauce, 2 cups of spinach, 1 cup of chopped artichoke hearts, cup of parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 4 oz of cream cheese. Heat all of this together over low heat for 10 minutes. Put a small amount of the sauce in the bottom or a 9x9 cake pan. Put a layer of lasagna noodles on top and half the sauce with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, repeat the process one more time. If using no boil noodles add 1/2 c water. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 10 more minutes or until brown and bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes. Enjoy
I know I haven't posted in awhile and I'm very sorry. With the holiday season it's just busy. Check this out. It is a cream cheese, spinach and Parmesan cheese stuffed Crescent log. In a bowl Mix 4 oz of soften cream cheese with a half a cup of Parmesan cheese, a half a cup of mozzarella cheese and a cup of spinach, and a teaspoon of garlic powder. Set aside roll out a sheet of crescent roll dough, and spread the mixture evenly over the dough. Roll into a log tuck in the edges. In a bowl beat one egg till it's all Blended and brush the egg wash over the Crescent dough. Bake at 375 until golden and yummy. Slice and enjoy. If you are not a spinach fan you could leave it out but it's so good with it in.
We are all busy. I have my secretary job,my bar job, my family, my friends and all the other things that a woman does in her life. Being able to multi task is a big deal. So in these pictures you're gonna see how with a handful of the exact same base ingredients you can make 2 totally different meals. On the plates you'll see 3 ingredients chopped up into different ways. Heating 2 totally different pans with a little oil I drop both ingredients in at the same time. After letting the veggie saute in both pans and you're a chicken. From that point on is where your meals become their own. one became chicken fried rice and the other became chicken noodle soup. I now have supper and lunch for tomorrow With leftovers. It really is easy to make multiple meals at the same time, if you're using a lot of the same ingredients. Get a hold of me any time for meal ideas, friends show or private cooking.
Like a Philly.... want it fast, cheap and easy..... tonight I had some left over homemade bread.... You could use anything... for the filling I sauteed pepper and onions and some deli sliced roast beef with a little steak seasoning. It is not traditional but it was very good. I used hot pepper cheese and one and Swiss on the other. Grill them like a grilled cheese sandwich. Try it out, it was yummy. Parker wanted it with homemade mac and cheese. Enjoy.
I was in the mood for something pumpkin today I have Fall fever when it's a hundred degrees outside. Go figure.
Pumpkin praline muffins
In a small bowl add 1/3 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of sour cream mixed together and add 2/3 cup chopped pecans. Set that aside.
In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, one 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.
In another Bowl mix 1/3 cup melted butter. 2/3 cup packed brown sugar, 3/4 a cup of canned pumpkin, 1/4 cup sour cream and a 1/2 a cup buttermilk and one egg. Beat that together till smooth and dumped into the dry mixture Bowl. Mix until blended. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray or line it with paper. Fill the cups three quarters of the way full then top each one with the small spoon full of the pecan mix. Bake at 375, 20 - 23 minutes. This made 14 muffins. Enjoy
Another quick crock pot meal accomplished tonight while out saying goodbye to a friend. Place a bag of frozen vegetables, a handful of shredded chicken, and a 24 ounce bag of Frozen egg noodles into a crock pot. Fill the crock pot with your favorite chicken stock, salt pepper, and a couple bay leaves. To strengthen the flavor of the chicken stock you can add a little bullion. You will need to taste it during the cooking time to adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. Cover put on high and let cook for 2 to 3 hours. Doesn't get any easier than that.
I love crock pot meals. Put it all in in the morning come home at night and supper's ready. This is one of my favorites. Find yourself a nice pork roast out of your favorite meat counter. My favorite are the ones in the net from Fareway. Take a knife and slice each roast down the center without cutting all the way through, and open it up like a hot dog bun. Make yourself one box of your favorite flavor of stovetop stuffing, let it cool and fill each roast with the stuffing and packet it in. Season roast with salt and pepper and place in the bottom of a crock pot, top each roast with a can of cream of chicken soup, turn it on low and cover it with a lid. Let it cook for 8-10 hours. When you come home you will have a very tender roast with its own gravy. Serve with your favorite side and enjoy
Okay so let's face it eating a bowl of cream cheese icing is just not something that we should do. So what do you do when you're hungry for cream cheese icing, you make bars. So today is zucchini bars with cream cheese icing is what I went with. And for those of you who are going to ask yes the zucchini makes it healthy.... Haha.
So let's start with the icing, take one 8oz block of cream cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter soften both of them in a bowl, and one and a half cups of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla beat until creamy. If you like you're sweeter add more powdered sugar.
Now for the zucchini bars take 1 cup of oil, 1and 1/2 cups of sugar, and 4 eggs, beat them until creamy, Now add 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon, and 1/4 a teaspoon ground cloves, 3 cups of zucchini shredded. If using frozen zucchini do not drain. Mix everything together pour into an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1 in jelly-roll pan. Bake on 350 for 15 to 20 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean when you poke it in the center. Let cool and top with the best part, the cream cheese icing. Enjoy
When I was a little girl one of the Traditions that we would do was get up early with my aunt uncle grandma and grandpa and some friends and take a pickup out and pick our own corn. The day would consist of the men shucking and cooking the women cutting it off the cob and bagging it and the kids swimming in the swimming pool. Was a fantastic memory. I have carried on that tradition for as long as I can remember. And tonight was no exception. I purchased 10 dozen ears of corn and made 40 3 cup bags to put in my freezer to enjoy for the next year or so.(we ate quite a bit as I cook It) It is a tad bit time-consuming but it is so worth it in the end. Each bag has three cups of corn and it averages about $0.88 a bag. That's 24 oz of fresh Iowa corn with no additives no preservatives no salt no nothing.
Shuck the corn while your water is boiling. Boil each corn cob for 6 minutes, my pot can hold 14 ears at a time. Remove the corn and put it into cold water in your sink to shock it and make it stop cooking. Use a nice sharp knife trim all the corn off, bag it in any amount you would like and put it in a freezer bag. Seal it by pushing out all the air lay it flat and freeze. When warming it up I just microwave it or put it in a pan just until hot doesn't take very long and the flavor is as good as a day you put it in the freezer. Sometimes a little bit of effort is a great reward for a very long time. You do not have to do as much as I did but I usually use my corn in my homemade salsa so I do quite a bit. Enjoy
Going total Old School tonight...throw back Monday...lol
A friend of mine has been craving a meal of Chili Macaroni like his mom made when he was little with some old school white bread garlic bread. Anyone over the age of 30 can relate...am I right......
For the bread; butter both sides of a piece of white sandwich bread and sprinkle it with garlic powder. Grill or bake it on 350 till brown.
For the chili mac... I used spicy sausage with onions and peppers, when it's browned and ready add a large can of Chili beans 3 tablespoons chili powder and V8 juice till it is pretty soupy... cook 16 oz of elbow macaroni until done and add to chili... let simmer for 15 minutes. The macaroni will absorb most of the liquid. Remember... bean are optional for those of you who believe chili has no beans...lol
Why even use a folk when the bread makes a perfect spoon.... enjoy
So I know that everybody's busy. I have two jobs a family I love to have fun. Eating out cost too much and is not good for you. Most things. So I dropped my son off at work at 4:30 I got home at 4:35. It is now 5:24 and I have made from start to finish three meals, with leftovers, and as you can see I've finished dishes. If you can plan ahead and your meals have a lot of the same ingredients you can make many meals all at one time. Tonight all my meals consisted of almost the same veggies two different Meats pasta and rice, and different seasonings. I pumped them all out in less than an hour now I have leftovers for work and nobody in the house and complain about being hungry and I'm all done for the night. So if you can figure out a way to squeak out an hour or so to make your week a lot easier go for it. And if you need more suggestions that's what I'm here for.
Your favorite breakfast spot cannot compare with what you can make at home. Sunday breakfast at its finest. Country skillet and strawberry cream cheese stuffed French toast.
For the skillet: dice one potato, a little green pepper and onion and your favorite meat (I used sausage) In a hot skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter, add potatoes and veggies, you can add mushrooms or any other veggie you would like also. Add salt and pepper and a little crushed red pepper flakes, fry until tender. Remove from pan to a plate and top with cheese... now cook your egg the way you like and place on top... add salsa if desired... sooooo good.
For the French toast; take 2 tablespoons of your favorite flavored cream cheese spread and add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, mix till smooth. Take two pieces of bread and spread the cream cheese mixture between them to make a sandwich, mix 1 egg and a splash of milk with a little vanilla in a bowl.. dunk the bread into the egg mixture on both sides, now in a hot skillet spray a little cooking spray and brown toast on both sides. Remove from pan to plate, add a little love by sprinkling powdered sugar in top. Serve with or without syrup. Enjoy.
Chocolate zucchini cake... one of my favorite cakes for summer, given to me from someone very special to me. Heat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9x13 cake pan.
Cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup oil and 1 & 3/4 cup sugar. Now add 2 eggs, one at a time, now add 2 & 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup buttermilk and 2 cups shredded zucchini. Mix well and pour into pan. Sprinkle some chopped walnuts and chocolate chips on top and bake 45-55 minutes. Soooo yummy so moist. Enjoy
Gardens a going crazy and the markets are up and running... zucchini is the topic tonight.
Zucchini bread.... this recipe makes 2 Loaves.
Heat oven to 325 degrees and spray 2 loaf pans. This recipe is so nice because you can just dump everything in the bowl and mix.
3 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1 cup oil, 2 cups shredded zucchini, 3 cups flour, 1 Tablespoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Mix well and devide into the two pans evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Unlike other breads, this one has a some what crunch outside and a super soft yummy center. Enjoy
Fort Dodge, IA
50501
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