Food from the Heart

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

2011-03-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

This was a wonderful slow simmering recipe that not only smells delicious while cooking, but is also very tasty. I made some modifications to the original recipe to suit my family, and it was very tasty. I had never cooked with bok choy before (for people like me- bok choy is that green stuff floating in your wonton soup) but it was not only easy to cook with, but had an enjoyable texture.

Everyone in my family enjoyed this, so thumbs up on the two year old and grown man scale. I made it with both egg noddles and Udon noodles, but I could have completely gone without the egg noodles, and just used the Udon that I put in the pot while cooking. It is recommended that you use rice noodles, but the store I was shopping at they were just over $4.00, so I decided Udon ($2) was the way to go.The beef has a tender beef stew texture, and the sauce is a full flavored garlic, ginger, and cinnamon. I hope you all enjoy, and please feel free to comment!

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

2 1/4 Cup water
3/4 Cup Low salt beef broth
1/3 Cup rice vinegar
1/3 C soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 Tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp vegetable oil for browning meat
1 lb beef stew meat, cubed
1 1/4 Green onion
1 Garlic clove
1 Tsp fresh ginger
2 C thinly sliced bok choy
Noodles: Rice noodles, egg noodles, or Udon noodles

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours

1. Combine first six ingredients. Stir with whisk, set aside.

2. Heat oil in dutch oven, or large iron pot, over medium high heat. Add beef, brown lightly on all sides.

3. Add beef broth, green onion, garlic, fresh ginger and boil.

3.After boiling, reduce heat and cover. Simmer at least 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until beef is tender.

4. Before serving stir in Udon noodles (if using Udon) and bok choy. Cook for 5 minutes.

Serve over rice or egg noodles if udon is not added.

If you like carrots, you can add frozen carrots when you are adding the bok choy. This was really good, and it got better as it sat in the pot. I hope that you all enjoy!

One Love,

Virginia

Carrot Pancakes

2011-03-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

Carrot Pancakes with honey butter syrup
The pretentious pancake

This pancake would be great for brunch, or as an appetizer. It is sweet more like a carrot cookie, and contains all of the good sweet stuff that is contained in carrot cake (except for cream cheese.) I made this for dinner, but it would have been much better for a brunch. This would make a great appetizer when made as a silver dollar pancake and served with honey butter syrup on the side.

Carrot Pancakes

1 1/4 Cup flour
1/4 Cup walnuts, toasted
2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp cinnamon
1/4 Tsp slat
1/8 Tsp nutmeg
Dash of cloves
Dash of ginger
1/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup butter milk
1 Tsp canola oil
1 1/2 Tsp vanilla
2 Large eggs, slightly beatn
2 Cup grated carrots
------------------------
Syrup
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp honey

1. Shred carrots and toast walnuts

2. Combine flour, walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, clove, and ginger

3. Add brown sugar

4. Add buttermilk

5. Add eggs and vanilla

6. Add carrots, shred finely

7. Spray pan, and cook like pancake. Press after turning.

For the syrup, melt together the butter and honey.

And enjoy. I think that honey butter is so good that it will make anything taste good. I hope that you all enjoy.

One Love,

Virginia

Light King Chicken Casserole

2011-03-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

Light King Chicken Casserole

This a spicy little dish with a complete full flavor. It had a tex-mex flavor with a excellent consistency for a casserole. It is packed full of fresh vegetables and herbs, which give it a fresh clean flavor.

I wish that I would have gotten a better picture, but it seems like I didn't take an end picture. I can assure you that it looks better that this picture that I have to the right.

Light King Chicken Casserole

1 Large shallot, or one medium onion
1 Large green pepper
2 C. cooked chopped chicken breast
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup, garlic
1 10 oz can of diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 Tsp chili powder
1/2 Tsp pepper
1/4 Tsp garlic powder
12 Corn tortillas
2 Cups of shredded cheddar

Prep: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

1. Saute shallot and green pepper. Cook until lightly tender, so the vegetables remain slightly crunchy
2. Stir together shallots, green peppers, and soups.

3. Stir in can of tomatoes and green chilies

4. Stir in chili powder, pepper, and garlic powder. Remove from heat.

5. Line bottom of casserole with corn tortillas.

6. Pour mixture over tortillas.

7. Layer with chicken and cheese

8. Repeat layers, end with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30- 35 minutes

That's it! This is relatively low fat, if used with low fat cheese. I liked it! We all liked it. I hope you have a wonderful day.

One Love,

Virginia

Steamed Baby Carrots with Ginger Garlic Butter

2011-03-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Steamed Whole Baby Carrots with Ginger Garlic Butter

When my little boy was small, he loved carrots. He could not get enough of them. Now, he won't hardly touch them. I made this not thinking that he would eat them at all, especially with a ginger garlic butter on them. Sometimes I think fresh ginger and garlic can have an overpowering flavor that children might not like, but this was great. Alex ate all of his carrots, "Just like a bunny." Score one for the mama team.

These were very easy to make, and very tasty. I used fresh garlic and ginger, but I imagine that dry spices can work too. It was very sweet with a very light spice to it. I hope that you all enjoy.

Steamed Whole Baby Carrots with Ginger Garlic Butter

2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb whole baby carrots with stems, peeled
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tsp Fresh ground ginger
1 Tbsp lime juice
salt to taste

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cooking Time 10 Minutes
Makes 6-8 whole baby carrots

1. Mince garlic and grind ginger
2. Peel carrots, leave stems on, trim stems so that there are only 3 to 4 inches left.

3. Steam carrots, cover 10 minutes

4. While carrots are steaming, melt butter in large pan over medium heat.

5. Add garlic and ginger. Cook, this usually takes under a minute. Remove from heat.

6. Stir carrots and remaining ingredients together.

There you have it. This will make one small bunch of baby carrots. The original recipe calls for 1 Tsp of fresh cilantro to be mixed in before serving. I'm not a huge fan of cilantro, so I omitted it here. I hope you all enjoy!

One Love,

Virginia

This is from an adapted recipe on myrecipes.com

McDonald's

2011-01-28T09:44:00.001-08:00

Not every meal is a laborious one at our house. I take Alex out to a fast food restaurant once a week to practice eating out in public, and to give myself a little break. Even though eating at the McDonald's might not always be the best practice or the most nutritious, I am pleasantly surprised how many more healthy options there are today than when I was a little kid in the 80's. The chicken nuggets are all white meat ( mechanically separated), you can get apple slices instead of french fries, tea instead of soda, the side salad has a great potential for being nutritious with choice of low fat natural dressing. I guess McDonald's gives you ' free will' now to choose what fits best in your particular life style.

I know most of the foods I post on here aren't the most healthy foods, but the truth is that we really eat them in moderation. I keep chicken portions to 3 to 4 ounces instead of the insanely large chicken breasts the store cuts them into. I sneak vegetables in whenever possible. I choose high in fiber side dishes such as beans and brown rice. And most importantly, I keep sweets to minimal serving size (except the lemon bars, I tore those up. LOL.)

I think it's sad how it seems like the only shows that teach nutrition tend to be shows where people who battle obesity are put in a side show of reality TV.On a side note, has anyone else noticed how the Biggest Loser has turned into a slightly exploitative show where the majority of the nutritional tips are advertisements for corporate sponsors?If it weren't for them and all of the heart they put into everything, the show would not still be running. Jillian is a strong powerful female role model. Bob is a wonderful yin to the yang and motivates people with a beautifully karmic personality. They really make the show what it is today. I really hope that they changes that they are making on the show now are really for the betterment of humanity and not just for ratings.

Not correct "portion size"

I'm really happy that there are these alternatives that we can use. Except, the unfortunate part is that labels can be very deceiving. Especially the label of "low fat". Buying only low fat or fat free products aren't always the leanest way to go. Let me explain why. Sometimes low fat or fat free foods can have a very high caloric content. So you might ask, how can something have a high caloric content but low on fat? The answer is sugar! Somethings that are high in sugar don't have any grams of fat! That's an Oprah "Ah ha" moment.

(See below for full size)

All these calories from sugar can actually be way more harmful than calories from fat if you don't watch out. All of those high calories from the sugar only really provide energy to the quick muscle tissue, meaning small movements. If you don't use them- glycolosys- WAM- weight gain. Also sugar is a highly addictive compound. For example most of the time when you drink a Mountain Dew or a Sierra Mist or even eat a cookie, the sugar makes you want to eat more sugar. Sometimes if you eat a lot of sugar you can even feel the oral buzz that it provides in your mouth. I highly recommend trying this. Next you eat a large amount of sugar (we all do at some point) stop, and feel the sensation that it leaves in your mouth. Ah you see- sugar is a drug! And the worst part of it is that it causes more deaths than other oral stimulants like chewing tobacco. At least chewing tobacco gives you a warning on the side of the can.

As long as I'm ranting about nutrition, I would like to add one more side note. When I went to Mongolian Barbecue this past weekend, my little boy got a food cup that had a diagram of a food pyramid. One problem- it's the old food pyramid! The USDA changed the food pyramid in 2005! Theyhave improved the science from a decade ago when they created the original food pyramid, and now have completely changed it. How did they change it? They turned the pyramid on its side. It's no longer called the "Food Pyramid" but "My Pyramid".

New "My Pyramid"

Old "food pyramid"

As you can tell there are some differences now. With the help of Dr. Atkins, there is a big change in the Grains section. Grains are no longer supposed to be the most eaten, gone are the days of eating bread, pastas, and cereals all day. No we are supposed to consume equal amounts of grains and vegetables.Also, according to the 'new' My Pyramid grains, vegetables AND dairy are supposed to consumed in equal amounts. The amount of fruits we are supposed to eat is less. We have found out that fruits contain a lot of sugar, all be it natural sugar, but sugar nonetheless. It also suggests that we now eat less meat products. I guess my big problem with this is that a lot of people still don't know about the new food pyramid. I found out myself about a year and a half ago.

Our knowledge of food is ever evolving with the changing science. However, we do know the best way to remain healthy is to exercise and eat within moderation. This doesn't mean that you have to be the skinniest person, there are a lot people that are overweight that are actually in better health than skinner people. You have to eat in a healthful way. Consume the amount of food that you are suppose, and again that means for some people eating more. Get out (or stay in) and get some kind of exercise a few days a week. Even doing some types of household chores can help you get your exercise in- rake some leaves anyone?

I guess the reason that all of this is so important, and why I am so passionate about this is because of have seen members of my family eat their way into their own graves. According to the Wellness International which studies these statistics, Eight out of ten people in the United States are over weight. 58 million overweight, 40 million obese, and 3 million morbidly obese. New studies are showing that 1 out of every 4 of overweight children begin to show symptoms of type 2 diabetes. According to their website:

Obesity Related Diseases

80% of type II diabetes related to obesity
70% of Cardiovascular disease related to obesity
42% breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals
30% of gall bladder surgery related to obesity
26% of obese people having high blood pressure

This is completely staggering. When I think about this, I see visions of the movie Walle. How everyone is just blobular due to centuries of laziness and poor diet. Our diet is the thing that keeps our vehicle of a body active. It is the thing that houses our mind and soul. The truth behind the whole matter is that food really is a drug. To many people it calls and soothes. I just really hope that those 8 out of 10 people wake up before it's too late.

Sugar... only 18 calories, and its all empty.

Scalloped Apples

2011-01-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

Scalloped Apples
An apple day keeps the doctor away..
unless your a diabetic..

My little man loves apples. It is by far one of his favorite fruits. This week I let him pick out his apples at the grocery store. He wanted the green ones. There only was one problem with that..... Green Apple = Sour Apple. These apples might as well have been one of those terribly sour Warhead candies. Needless to say, this bag of beautiful green apples was just sitting there in my kitchen. No one was going to touch them. But hey- when live gives you lemons, make lemonade!

Today I saw this recipe as I was going through my large collection. I figured that this was an easy solution to get rid of the bag of sour apples sitting on top of my refrigerator.
I hope you all enjoy.

Scalloped Apples

7 or 8 Medium Apples
1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/8 Tsp Cloves
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
4 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

1. Peel and core apples

2. Toss apples into large bowl with all remaining ingredients except for butter

3. Melt Butter in large pan

4. Add apple mix and stir until coated. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until apples are tender.

After 5 Minutes

After 15 Minutes

There you have it! Scalloped Apples! I think this recipe has too much cinnamon in it. I would have reduced the amount of cinnamon and added white sugar. But that's just me. I hope that you all have a great day.

One Love,

Virginia

Go gaga over Peanut Butter Fingers

2011-01-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Peanut Butter Day!

Peanut Butter Fingers
Awesomely delicious

In honor of Peanut Butter Day AND one of my favorite foods, the classic peanut butter finger.

This sinfully delicious aromatic recipe was so amazing, that I ate a little bit more that I had planned too. It is a peanut butter oat finger with a chocolate layer and a peanut butter frosting layer. It is a sweet, rich, spongy, and oh so decadent for a little peanut butter finger.

Last night, something happened... we ran out of munchy treats. Oh no! We had finely consumed the entire pan of lemon bars that had made last week. We were out of sweet treats. Rob wanted me to make some cookies at 10 PM, however I decided that I didn't want to wake up to a sink full of dish. I am so happy I did wait, this recipe is so delicious. I wish I had someone here to try it too, but alas, I am all alone.

My favorite candy has always been Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. This really hits all of the spots that the peanut butter cups do for me, but I think that it is ever so slightly less caloric.

If you love peanut butter and chocolate, you have to try this! Trust me, you will be so happy you did!
I hope that you all enjoy.

Peanut Butter Fingers

1/2 C. Softened Butter
1/2 C. Granulated Sugar
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/3 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Quick Oats

Frosting:
Layer One:
6 Oz Chocolate Chips (half a package)

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/2 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
4 Tbsp Milk

1. Cream together Butter, Brown Sugar, and White Sugar. Whip until fluffy

2. Blend in Eggs.

3. Blend in Peanut Butter, Baking Soda, Salt, and Vanilla

4. Add Flour and Oatmeal, mix well.

5. Mixture will be cookie dough consistency. Press into 13" x 9" pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20- 25 minutes.

Before Baking

After Baking

6. While Dough is baking, Mix together icing.

Combine Confectioner's Sugar, Peanut Butter, and Milk

7. As soon as the lady fingers base is done cooking, sprinkle 6 Oz of chocolate.

8. After about 5 Minutes the chocolate chips will melt, Spread over top of cookie

9. Drizzle Peanut Butter Frosting Over the top.

9. Let Cool, then cut.

If you are in the Great White North like me, sticking it outside makes it cool quicker!!

This is unbelievably delicious. If I had to change one thing, I would pick through the peanut butter frosting to marbleize the top. The peanut butter frosting recipe gives you ample amount to do basically whatever you want to do with it. I hope you all enjoy!

One Love,

Virginia

Lemon Bars Deluxe

2011-01-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

Lemon Bars Deluxe

Hello World Wide Interweb! I'd first like to say that I feel truly blessed to be able to share all of these things that were passed down to me with the world. In the past week I have had views from: USA, UK, Canada, Slovakia, Vietnam, Germany, Russia, and Sweden. What a wonder way to pass a legacy on to so many people. The first recipe I have decided to make for the year is a lemon bar. I LOVE citrus fruits. I love oranges, lemon, grapefruit... all of it! As a matter of fact, when I was pregnant with my son I would eat a bag of oranges every two days. I just couldn't get enough of it.

This recipe turned out to look and taste really impressive! The lemon filling formed a perfect crispy top, and the sweet crust that was on the bottom of the bar tasted like a great pastry cookie! I even caught my svelte husband sneaking seconds in the kitchen (which he never does.) I was really impressed with myself on this one. It really looked AND TASTED like a professional treat. It tasted like one of those fruit pies you can get at the gas station ( the diet busters), but way fresher and way better.

My little helper really helped out with this recipe. He insisted on doing every step by 'him-felf (himself)'. As you can see from the instructional pictures below, he really was a great help... and a little bit of a challenge on my part. But we all have to learn at some point, and as my personal philosophy- there is no better time than the present.

I hope that you all enjoy!

Lemon Bars Deluxe

Layer One:
2 Cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 Cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1 Cup butter or margarine (butter makes it better)

Layer Two:
4 Beaten Eggs
2 Cups granulated sugar
1/3 Cup lemon juice
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 Tsp baking powder

Servings 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Clean Up Time: 5 minutes

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

1. Sift together 2 Cups of flour and confectioner's sugar.

2. Cut in softened butter or margarine

3. Press into 13" x 9" baking pan or dish

4. Bake at 350 for 20- 25 minutes, or until lightly brown

5. While first layer is baking; Beat together 4 eggs

5. Stir in granulated sugar and lemon juice into eggs

6. Sift in 1/4 Cup flour and baking powder; mix

7. Pour lemon mixture into baked crust

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top will become brown, and top layer will solidify slightly.

9. Sprinkle with extra confectioner's sugar. Cool, cut into bars.

There you have it- a yummy lemon bar recipe! There is a suggestion that you can add chopped walnuts to the lemon mixture. For me though, I like it just this way!

As previously mentioned and sited, my little helper was a big helper this time. Let me show you the "before and after pictures" to let you see how much he really got into it:

Before:

After:

AND....

Before:

AND After...

We had such a great time making this together. I hope that you all have an excellent day.

One Love,

Virginia

Happy New Year!

2011-01-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had the best holiday season, and that the new year is turning out to be a successful one so far. After a slight holiday hiatus, I am back to continue my blogging quest into my grandmother's recipe collection. When going through my recipes to find a new one to the new year with, I ran into a lot of articles and small clippings that had cooking/baking tips. I think that these tips are very interesting and fun, so this year, I am going to periodically add some of these tips that my grandmother saved.

Over the holidays, my mother dropped off a picture of my grandparents when they were around my age ( or around, my grandpa was 8 years older than my grandmother.)

From Left to Right: My grandma Elizabeth Cruden, grandfather John Cruden, Great Uncle Jack Rubino

This picture was taken around the early 1940's, because it was taken on a cross country trip visiting national parks that my grandparents took before my mom was born (my mom was born in '48.) They took a whole summer to travel across the country. My grandfather was quite the naturalist and spent his younger years work for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) planting pine trees in the parks of Michigan. He really enjoyed being outdoors, and loved to garden. After the CCC, he got a job on the General Motors factory line as a welder. I never really got to meet him, because he died of cancer shortly after I was born.

I'm not to sure what my Great Uncle Jack Rubino did. I remember my mother telling me that he used to sell 'stag magazines' to the factory workers. I think my mom said that he was involved in his own family's business of some sort.

But enough about me. My next recipe is going to be a Raisin Ribbon Bar, which I will post very shortly. For today, I decided that I would post one of my grandmother's cooking/ baking tips. I hope maybe google can tag me on some these!

Tip of the Day

Substitute For Condensed Milk

"Ever wonder what you might do as substitution for a can of sweetened condensed milk? Here's a simple recipe which fills the bill perfectly. What it makes is equivalent to a 14- ounce can of regular sweetened condensed milk."

Substitute Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Cup instant powdered milk

1/3 Cup boiling water

3 Tbps Butter, melted

2/3 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Dash Salt

Combine powdered milk, boiling water; melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in the blender. Process until smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.

Hope that this helps someone out!! Again I wish everyone the best New Years. Please look forward to all of my new 2011 posts!

One Love,

Virginia

Mississippi Mud Cake

2010-11-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

Mississippi Mud Cake

My Thanksgiving Offering
M-i-ss-i-ss-i-pp-i Mud Cake
The Ten Pound Cake

I made this cake to bring with us for Thanksgiving. I thought for sure with all of the sweet and tasty ingredients that it would be delicious.

It is a sweet chocolate and coconut cake with toasted walnuts, and a marshmallow frosting and middle. The cake was very moist, and the marshmallow was very gooey. This is actually my first time ever using marshmallow fluff, and I didn't expect it to be the sticky and messy, but it all turned out in the end, which is one thing I am truly thankful for. :)

Mississippi Mud Cake

1 Cup Butter
2 Cups Sugar
2 Tbsp Cocoa
4 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
1 1/2 Cup Coconut
1 Sm. Jar Marshmallow Fluff
Chocolate Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a large bowl, cream together: butter, sugar, and cocoa.
2. Beat in eggs, and vanilla

3. Gradually add flour, stirring well.

4. Fold in nuts and coconut. Batter will be very heavy.

5. Spoon into greased 9 x 12 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 Minutes.

6. Spoon contents of one jar of marshmallow fluff on top of cake. Bake for 5 minutes.

7. When Cake is done. Frost with chocolate frosting ( I made my own), and decorate.

I thought this cake tasted very good. When I was decorating the cake, I cut it in half and was going to put one half on top of the other. Unfortunately, I didn't get it quite square, and because the marshmallow was so sticky I really couldn't move it. LOL. Oh well. Also, the marshmallow was sooo messy. Thankfully, I read the back of the can and it said, 'to clean use hot water'. The hot water really did the trick. I decorated my cake with coconut and chocolate chips because since this is a new cake, I kind of like to clue people into what is on the inside. I hope you all enjoy. Happy Holidays.

One Love,

Virginia

Left Over Casserole

2010-11-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Casserole
Left Overs. Reinvented

I made this before the Thanksgiving holiday, and realized that after it was done that this whole thing could be made just using left overs from thanksgiving with just a few extra ingredients.

This was really creamy and rich. It took all my favorite left overs and stuck them into one dish. Yes!

In this recipe, I used chicken. However; you can easily substitute cooked turkey for chicken instead.

I hope that you all enjoy.

Thanksgiving Casserole
Formerly Chicken Casserole

1 Pkg Stuffing
4 Tbsp Margarine, Melted
2 1/2 Cups Turkey or Chicken, Cooked
1/2 Cup Onion
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
3/4 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cup Milk
1 Can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan

1. Prepare stuffing as directed.

2. Place half of stuffing mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking pan.

3. In medium bowl mix turkey or chicken, onion, mayo, and salt.

4. Mix turkey in with stuffing mixture.

5. Pour over stuffing in pan.

6. Mix together egg and milk. Pour over pan.

7. Refrigerate until chilled.

8. Spread cream of mushroom soup over casserole. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes.

9. After Baking, Sprinkle with Cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

... And there you have it! A way to re- prepare your holiday left overs.

I hope that you all have a wonderful day. :)

One Love,

Virginia

Potato Pancakes

2010-11-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

Sour Cream Potato Pancakes
Hash Browns With a Kick
Is This Really a "Pancake"?

It's been a really long time since I've had potato pancakes. The last time I can remember having them was when my aunt made them for me in Tennessee about 12 years ago. I really didn't like them then; and to be completely honest, still not to crazy about them now. However; I am not closed minded, and I gave this a chance since it had been so long.

There is nothing like the smell of greasy fried potato stuck in an apartment. Yum. Yum. Yum. Ok, not yum, it was pretty gross. I would first like to say that I am not really a fan of a lot of fried foods beside chicken nuggets. I like a few french fries every now and then, but the taste of greasy nasty grease really gets to me. But let me not be partial, and describe this recipe to you.

The potato pancakes were very creamy inside. It had a very nice texture, and cooked very well. It really did look pretty on the outside with it being golden brown and crispy. They were fun to cook.

I hope that those of you that like potato pancakes really try this out for yourselves. I'm sure you will like the, unlike picky me.

Sour Cream Potato Pancakes
(Sour cream makes these pancakes extra light and tangy)

3 Lg. Idaho Potatoes
2 Eggs
1 Small Onion, grated (1/4 Cup)
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder (not soda)
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
Vegetable Oil for frying

Makes about 30 pancakes

1. Cut potatoes and shred into a bowl of cold water. Drain, then rinse in cold running water. Squeeze firmly in paper towel to remove as much water as possible. This will keep the potatoes from discoloring.

2. Beat eggs in a large bowl until frothy.

3. Add potatoes, onion, sour cream, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper; stir. The mixture will be loose.

4. Heat oil in large skillet. Drop potato mixture by tablespoon into hot oil.

5. Flatten with spatula to make an even thickness. Brown one side about 5 minutes and flip. You will be able to tell when one side is done when you see the edges turn golden brown.

6. Place cooked potato pancakes on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serve with apple sauce.

There you have it! Potato pancakes! It took a little bit of fiddling with the oil temperature on my stove to get the pancakes to cook just right. If it was a little too low, they wouldn't brown. If it was a little too high, it would be too dark. I finally found a spot right between the 7 and 8 on my dial that worked to mass produce these little pancakes.

I hope that you all enjoy!

One Love,

Virginia

Honey Glazed Chicken

2010-11-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

Honey Glazed Chicken
The sweetest chicken I've ever had

So, I have to apologize for the end pictures on this one. It might just be one of the least attractive end pictures you have ever seen, but please don't let that dissuade you from trying this. That stuff in the picture to the right that looks like gravy- not gravy. Its a sweet honey citrus sauce with cinnamon and sugar.

When I gave this to my little boy, I told him it was candy chicken. He completely went for it. That was actually the first thing on his plate that he ate the whole portion of. I really liked this because the glaze made the chicken extra tender underneath, and the top was so sweet that I kind of felt like it was more of a desert than an entree.

The sauce is a really sauce that thickens quite a bit when it is heated up. It is made up of honey, orange and lemon juice, worcestershire sauce ( thank God for spell check on that one), and cinnamon. Very tasty! I hope that you all enjoy.

Honey Glazed Chicken

1 lb Chicken
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Cup Crushed Cornflakes
2/3 Cup Honey
Glaze:
1/2 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tsp Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.

1. Brush chicken with margarine and sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. Roll chicken in crushed cornflakes.

3. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown.

4. While chicken is baking, prepare glaze. In saucepan combine: honey, orange juice, flour, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, and cinnamon. Cook on medium heat until bubbly and thickened.

5. Remove cooked chicken from oven and drain off any excess fat. Spoon glaze over chicken in baking pan. Sauce will get very thick while it cooks on the chicken.

I really enjoyed this sweet chicken. A funny thing about the recipe directions though. The recipe was all typed out on a sheet of paper. And after all the instructions there was one last line- it said "P.S. Before placing chicken in baking pan; roll in crushed corn flakes. Should have been added in the preparing of chicken". When I made this I started cooking the chicken without the cornflakes on it. Then as I read through the recipe for the glaze, that's when I came to the "P.S" part. LOL. You can kind of tell in my picture above that the chicken is already a little cooked when I rolled it in the corn flakes :).

I hope that you all have a great day.

One Love,

Virginia

Ice Cream Candy Cones

2010-11-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

Ice Cream Candy Cones
Bugle Cones
Easy Novelty Candy in No Time

This is a great little sweet treat to bring to fun holiday parties. It is a sweet candy dipped in chocolate with sprinkles set on top of a bugle to make it look like little ice cream cones! It's very cute, and also very tasty.

Ice Cream Candy Cones

2 Tbsp Butter (no subs.), softened
1 1/3 Cup Confectioners' Sugar
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Bag Bugles
1/2 Cup Semisweet chocolate chips, melted, optional
Assorted Sprinkles, and or nuts

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar

2. Beat in salt and vanilla

3. Add Condensed Milk. Mixture will be stiff.

4. Roll filling in 1/2 " balls and place on top of bugle cone.

4. Place 'ice cream cones' in refrigerator. Melt Chocolate Chips.

5. Roll 'ice cream cone top in chocolate and decorate with sprinkles or nuts.

6. Place in refrigerator to cool candies

I hope you all enjoy this fun holiday recipe!

One Love,

Virginia

Crepes

2010-11-14T12:35:00.000-08:00

Crepes- 1950's
"Swedish Pancakes"
" ' Old country' flavor without old-time fussing!"
Pancake Donut (2 yr old talk)

This a great basic crepe recipe! I love crepes, but rarely ever eat them. When I was reading through the recipes this was called, "Swedish Pancakes". I never thought of a crepe as a Swedish pancake before, but maybe I need to know more about crepes. I also love the tag-line underneath it. " ' Old country' flavor without old- time fussing." I wonder what old time fussing is. What do you think that they had to do that would have taken longer to make this? Grind the flour themselves? I guess I will never know.

Anyways, this is a great basic crepe recipe. The crepes where sweet and thin. There are a lot of different things that you can put inside it, but I just went for some strawberry preserves. Now that I know that I can make these, I might just look up other great things that I can put in the middle. :) Enjoy!

Basic Crepes

Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 2 Minutes/ Crepe
Clean Up Time: 10 Minutes
Makes 20 Crepes

1 1/4 Cup Bisquick
2 Cups Milk
3 Eggs
1/4 Cup Butter, Melted
Jelly for Center

1. Beat together all ingredient.

2. In 6" or 7" non stick skillet, spoon 3 Tbsp of batter.

3. Cook until small bubbles appear on surface. Loosen edges with spatula, turn pancake gently and finish baking other side.

4. Spread each with sugar, jam, applesauce, or whipped cream.

5. Roll up like Jelly Roll. Serve warm.

I hope that you all enjoy this.

One Love,

Virginia

Peach Crisp -1956

2010-11-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

Peach Crisp- 1956
"Give me some of that cobbler/ pie/ crispy thing"

When I came home from Pizza Hut, and Rob had taken this out of the oven, all I could smell was this sweet peach cobbler smell all over our house. The aroma was so intense that I might even consider making this as a potpourri (not really.)

This was just the right amount of sweet for us. I don't think that Rob or myself really like things that are overly sweet. It was a little bit of sweet topping combined with the sweet and slightly tart peach filling underneath. The texture of the crisp was crispy on the top and a cobbler like texture underneath. The peaches were baked just right so that they retained all of their juices, yet were soft enough that they balanced the texture of the crispy top.

For this you can use either fresh fruit or canned fruit. I have really gotten hooked on these all natural jarred peaches from Dole. They are jarred in 100 percent peach juice. Also, the color of the peaches is correct. Sometimes when you buy canned peaches and open them up, they aren't the same color as fresh peaches. So, Dole, here is your free endorsement. :) You can send me a case of your these peaches now. Ha ha.

For this recipe it really is your choice if you use peaches or apples. I chose peaches because I wanted something different from all the apples that I have eaten over Michigan's apple season.

I really hope that you enjoy this recipe :)

Peach Crisp

4 Cups peeled fresh peaches or 3 small jars/cans, drained
2 Tbsp Water ( If you are using fresh fruit)
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Bisquick
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Egg, Slightly Beaten

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cooking Time: 20 Minutes
Clean Up Time: 10 Minutes
Servings: 6 to 8

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Place fruit in the bottom of a 9 x 12 non stick or greased pan

2. Sprinkle with 1/4 Cup of Sugar. Sprinkle first with 2 Tbsp water first if using fresh fruit.

3. Mix Bisquick, sugar, and cinnamon.

4. In separate bowl, beat one egg.

5. Slowly add dry ingredients to egg mixture. Stir constantly until crumbly.

6. Sprinkle mixture over peaches.

7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until crust is golden brown.

I really hope you enjoy this fun little treat. I hope you all have a great day.

One Love,

Virginia

Philly Cheese Steak

2010-11-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

Philly Cheese Steak
Steak- Yums!!!
Perfect meal when you just want to smash something!

I'm so proud of myself, I made my very own cheese steaks all by myself. Usually I go and buy the $8 box of Steak ems, but I saved a whole $3.00 making this from cube steak. Yay! And its fresh meat instead of the overly processed (but very very delicious) alternative. Yay!

This is a pretty good alternative to going out and buying a Philly Cheese Steak if you don't want to go out. However, there are some restaurants that make the most amazingly delicious cheese steaks that this home made version can't touch. This is really good though, and also a great recipe if you have any pent up aggression you want to take out with a mallet (see directions below.) Enjoy!

Philly Cheese Steak

2 Tbsp of Butter or Margarine
4 Medium Onions, chopped to desired size
4 Hero/Sub/Hoagie rolls (6 to 8 inches)
1 1/2 Lb Beef Cube Steaks
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Oil
8 Slices of Swiss Cheese
Steak Sauce

1. In a medium skillet, melt butter and saute onions over med. heat until browned (about 10 minutes)

2. Set Onions aside and keep warm.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice rolls lengthwise, wrap in foil and warm in oven.

4. Place Cube Steak between two sheet of wax paper and pound flat as possible with a rolling pin or mallet

5. Season meat with salt and pepper.

6. Heat oil in skillet on high heat. Saute steak until browned, about one minute on each side

7. Place meat on warm toasted bun from oven, top with cheese and onions. Sprinkle with Pepper

8. Top with steak sauce if desired.

There you have it! Your very own homemade Philly Cheese Steak! I really always wondered what that strange looking cubed steak was in the meat department, now I know! This was a lot of fun to make something from scratch with only the directions and the ingredients. I really put a lot of blind faith into making this and it turned out just right! Hooray!

Have a great day everyone.

One Love,

Virginia

Mini Meat Loaves - 1999

2010-11-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

Mini Meat Loaves - 1999
Single Serving Meatloaf

I already had it on my weekly menu to make meatloaf before I came across this recipe. I originally wanted to make a cheeseburger meatloaf that was on the kraft.com website (my favorite recipe website), but when I found this recipe, I decided to make this one instead.

When I was eating this a dinner time, my little boy said to me, "Mommy, I want meatballs." I had his mini meat loaf cut up, so he really couldn't tell if it was a meat ball or meatloaf. It took me a second to figure it out, and then it occurred to me, this recipe for meatloaf is almost exactly the same as my meat ball recipe. It amazes me sometimes how such a little guy can have such a 'simply great' thought process that he can connect the two. Little kids really are amazing.

The barbecue sauce in this made extra tasty and tangy ( I used the Jack Daniels no. 7 BBQ Sauce.) On the downside, the meat in the meat loaf was kind of loose on the inside. While the meat loaf did not fall apart when I took it out of the pan, it was loose when we cut it on our plates. I don't know if this is because I didn't pack it down enough, or if this is how it was supposed to be. Nonetheless, I really liked this. The mini meat loaves were the perfect small serving little size. My husband and I aren't really big eaters, but we ate about a mini meat loaf and a half.

Mini Meat Loaves

1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Pepper
1/2 Dry Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup BBQ Sauce
1 Egg
1 1/2 Lb ground beef

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Clean Up Time: 15 Minutes

6 Mini Meat Loaf Servings

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients.

(No, this isn't baby poo poo)

2. Add Beef. Mix well

3. Press 1/3 cupfuls into six ungreased muffin cups.

4. Top with Ketchup.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 18- 20 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

I hope you all enjoy this. I apologize about the pictures on this one. I don't know if there is anything really attractive about making meat loaf. You almost have to release your inner carnivore. Usually, I make a meatloaf that has oatmeal in it. Maybe next time I make mini meat loaves I can use my regular recipe instead of this one. Ah, the sky is the limit!

I hope you have a great day.

One Love,

Virginia

Macaroni Salad (Topinka's Macaroni Salad) - 1980's

2010-11-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

Macaroni Salad "Topinka's Macaroni Salad"
Macaroni with a slight kick
Bust out your salad with an awesome solo

Everyone has their own version of macaroni salad. There are so many different variations- and if you ask me, they are all delicious!! I guess when you run into a classic recipe like this one, it is easy and enjoyable to change it up a little bit and personalize it.

As a side note, I recently started taking my mandolin lessons from a new instructor. He wanted me to play a song I knew well, so I played a bluegrass classic, "The Girl I left Behind". I asked him if he played it different, and his response is that everyone plays it different. That when you get to such a classic song, that everyone plays it differently. And that these staple songs are where people put their own style into what they play. Then I started thinking today, maybe this is that kind of recipes. Most people who cook know how to make macaroni salad; and most people that make macaroni salad have their own versions. Maybe us as humans, feel a need to express our creativity in that which we find comfort. I don't know. Maybe that goes too far for my food blog; and I need to stick to my song and recipe. lol.

This recipe is called Topinka's Macaroni Salad. When I googled it, the powers that be Google said that it was a restaurant in Detroit. So, in honor of my late Grandmother and the late restaurant here is the recipe.

I did change this recipe a little bit. I added shredded carrots. I did this for one reason. My husband Robert's favorite macaroni salad in the entire world is his mother's macaroni salad. He won't even taste any other macaroni salad. I don't know if this will work yet, but the carrot might make it appear to look more like his mom's macaroni salad- so he might actually try it, right?? I guess we will have to test this theory out later. :) I also took out the pimentos. I don't really like pimentos. I have listed them in the recipe below, but I did not use them.

If I had to categorize this macaroni salad and say how it is different from other macaroni salads, I would say that it is that it has Dijon mustard in it. The Dijon gives it a little kick. It is really creamy and has that sound that only creamy macaroni salad can make when you stir it up. You know what I'm talking about. I hope you all enjoy!

Topinka's Macaroni Salad

1 12 Oz Package of Macaroni
1 Green Pepper
1 Small Onion
1 Small Jar of Pimentos
1 Slice of American Cheese, sliced (more if desired)
3 Tbsp Mayo
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 Cup of Coffee Cream or Milk
Pinch of salt

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Clean Up Time: 10 Minutes

Makes 6 to 10 Servings

1. Cook and drain Macaroni

2. Add chopped Pepper, Onions, and Pimentos. Stir.

3. Stir in Mayo

4. Stir in Mustard and salt

5. Add Cream or Milk.

The more cream or milk, the creamier it will be.

6. (Not in the Original Recipe) I added shredded carrot

7. Chill for several hours. Add cheese before serving

I hope that you all really enjoy this. I really would love to hear what you all like to add to your macaroni salad to make it your own. I would like to add all of the different variations to this post and hopefully create a long list of how everyone personalizes their own salad. I hope that you all have an excellent day.

One Love,

Virginia

Here is a link to that song I was talking about, Girl I left Behind :)

Girl I Left Behind

Cheesy Biscuits - 1956

2010-11-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Cheesy Biscuits - 1956
Easy Cheesy Biscuits
A recipe over 50 years old can't be wrong

I love cheese biscuits. I have loved cheese biscuits every since I first had them at Red Lobster a long time ago. I would sit there and joyfully eat 3 or 4 biscuits before our meal ever came. These biscuits have the perfect consistency on the inside- light and fluffy yet at the same time spongy. The inside is nice and moist, and the outside of the biscuit has the perfect thickness of crust. The cheese flavor is just right so that you can clearly taste it, yet at the same time it is not overpowering.

I got this recipe out of this really cool "Betty Crocker's Bisquick Cook Book." The date on the book is 1956. The original recipe is actually for a Cheese Bread; however for my family I think that a biscuit will be a lot easier to eat than a piece of bread. Also, it was hard for me to imagine eating a loaf of cheese bread. I completely envisioned it as a biscuit because of all my fond memories of the infamous Red Lobster biscuits. I also chose to make this in a muffin pan because it was a lot easier and less prep and clean up time. (Does this count as conserving water??) Besides that I followed this recipe exactly as stated in this booklet.

I really hope that you enjoy this!

Cheese Bread Biscuits - 1956

1 Egg
1 1/2 Cup Milk
3 3/4 Cup Bisquick
3/4 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Baking Time: 20 minutes
Clean Up Time: 10 minutes

Makes one dozen biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Blend together: egg, milk, Bisquick, and Cheese

2. Pour 1/4 Cup of batter into greased muffin pan. Be careful not to overfill each slot,

as the biscuit will be twice the size of the batter.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until tops of the biscuit are golden brown.

Sprinkle the top with Cheddar Cheese.

There you have it! The cheese bread biscuit! If you would like to make the loaf bread style instead of a muffin/biscuit form, it is really easy. Instead of the muffin pan, use a 9 x 5 x 2 1/2" loaf pan. Bake one hour at the same temperature. The recipe says that if you are serving it cold to cut each slice thinly, but if you are serving it warm, to slice it 1/2" thick. The recipe also recommends to serve the bread warm.

This biscuit taste great the way it is. If I were to be adventurous with it, I would add maybe a 1/4 Cup of grated Parmesan cheese. I can also imagine using buttermilk, or a little bit of buttermilk instead of just regular milk. I think that with the parmesan cheese and a little buttermilk that it might taste pretty dead on with the Red Lobster biscuits. Also, by an awesome suggest from Debbie, most definately they have a little bit of garlic in them :).

I hope that you all enjoy this recipe.

One Love,

Virginia

The Best Home Made Macaroni and Cheese

2010-11-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

The Best Home Made Macaroni and Cheese
Don't believe it? I think you should try it!

I went into this recipe feeling really nervous about whether or not it would turn out. I have tried on numerous occasions to make a good mac and cheese with horrible results. Either the cheese would be really bland or the it would be too crispy or crunchy or runny or overdone- but this came out perfect. I am really impressed how amazing this recipe came out. This is honestly the best home made macaroni and cheese that I have ever tasted.

But honestly, the cheese completely coats the thickened macaroni noodles in it's bed of delicious creamy cheesy flavorful sauce. The consistency of the cheese sauce was perfect. The topping was baked to perfection and provided a wonderfully tasty yet slightly crunchy topping. I really could have sat there and ate the whole dish of macaroni and cheese, but I stopped myself. My mom actually gave me the warning today to try to stay away from all of the sweets that I post on here. LOL. I am glad that she is looking out for me.

My original recipe for tonight was going to be a vegetarian macaroni chili with fire roasted tomatoes and red beans. However, I sent my husband a text about dinner and he said that he had some Wendy's Chili for lunch today. Man, I don't understand. There is this 'strange' occurrence that happens every time I make chili that Rob already has had chili for lunch. He swears that he isn't ducking out on eating chili, but this is really a strange pattern. :)

Here is the recipe that I used for this Macaroni and Cheese

The Best Home Made Macaroni and Cheese

2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Dry mustard
2 1/2 Cups Milk
2 1/2 Cups of shredded Velveeta style cheese

8 Oz Macaroni (2 Cups)

1/4 Cup bread crumbs ( I used garlic seasoned bread crumbs)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Clean Up Time: 10 minutes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. In a sauce pan, melt butter

2. Once butter is melted, remove from heat. Blend in flour, salt, and mustard.

3. Add milk, constantly stir on medium heat until sauce thickens and is smooth

4. Add two cups of shredded cheese; heat until melted. Stir occasionally

5. Meanwhile cook macaroni as directed; drain.

6. Combine macaroni in cheese sauce mixture in a 2 Qt casserole. I combined it in the oven safe pan that I made the cheese sauce in. I try to be a one pan cook whenever possible. :)

7. Top with remaining 1/2 Cup of shredded cheese, bread crumbs, and paprika.

8. Bake at 375 degrees for 20- 25 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

Make 4- 6 servings

..And there you have it! Your very own home made macaroni and cheese. I made corn muffins and broccoli as sides. I think the comments on my hot dog post got me thinking about eating corn dogs.

I called my mom and told her all about my lovely blog readers and she mentioned that she had my grandmother's old Hungarian cook book. I'm very excited about this. I told her that I wanted it right away. That and I wanted that and a bunt pan. There is this really cool 'hidden sloppy joe' recipe that I want to make, but don't want to buy a bunt pan and just have it sit there forever and never get used.

I hope that you all enjoy this recipe.

One Love,

Virginia

Light N' Fruity Pie

2010-11-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Light and Fruity Pie
Thousands of combinations designed by you!
Rootie Tootie Sweet and Fruity
Move over jello mold, your getting put in a pie.

Check below for Alex's second blog debut!

This is a great desert that is easy to personalize depending on you and your family's taste. It very sweet and tasty and you can add any fruit you want. Well, any fruit except for pineapple. There is something in the pineapple that makes the jello not congeal. For this pie I chose cherry jello and mandarin oranges, our two favorite flavors. :) The graham cracker crust offsets the sweet filling perfectly to give you this nice and light balanced pie.

This is another recipe that you can substitute healthier options. You can use sugar free jello, low calorie or ''free" cool whip, and a reduced fat graham cracker crust. I used regular ingredients (except for a reduced fat crust) for this pie instead of the lower calorie options. By adding it up just the standard way, I would predict that each slice of pie is going to be around 175- 200 calories.

Light and Fruit Pie

1 Pkg of Jello, small
2/3 Cup Boiling water
2 Cups Ice
1 Tub Cool Whip
1 Prepared Graham cracker crust
1 8 oz can of fruit your choice, no pineapple please!

1. Dissolve Jello into 2/3 Cup of Boiling water

2. Add Ice to gelatin until it is thickened

Remove any remaining ice if there is any left after it has thickened

3. Using wire whisk, blend in cool whip.

Blend until smooth.

4. Fold in fruit. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chilling it will allow the filling to mound and fill into the pie better.

5. Pour into prepared Graham cracker crust. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat. Yum!

That's all there is to it. You have your very own personalized pie! Try different combinations of fruit and jello until you get exactly what you want. If you prefer to use fresh fruit instead, you can substitute 1 cup of fresh fruit, or 1 cup of frozen fruit. You can also mix and match fruits. The possibilities are virtually limitless. I think next time I might try some type of strawberry banana.

The whole process of making this pie was like a big cool science experiment, from the gelatin congealing, to adding cool whip, to it thickening in the refrigerator. My little helper had a lot of hands in making this one.

He even insisted in cleaning up afterwards. But, honestly, he loves playing in water. He wanted to help Mama 'wash the dishes' so I cleaned up all of the knifes and scissors and all the sharp things that he could get into, and let him play in the water. I took a little video of him washing the dishes below. He is such a little sweetheart.

I hope that you all have a blessed Wednesday, and a great end of the week.

One Love,

Virginia

Hot Dogs in a Blanket

2010-11-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hot Dogs in a Blanket
No hot dog buns- You're in luck!
Fun to make for your little helpers

This recipe really looked like too much fun to pass up. You can't really go wrong with little kids and hot dogs. This was a lot of fun to cook as well as to watch cooking. The dough raises up around the hot dogs and makes individual buns as it cooks- so much fun!

The bread is really good and sweet. It has a sweet taste similar to corn bread. The baked cheese in the hot dogs makes it taste like a cheesy corn dog. Yum!

I really hope that you enjoy this recipe.

Hot Dogs in a Blanket

6 Hot dogs
6 Strips of Cheddar cheese/ 1 Cup of Shredded cheddar
1 Cup Bisquick
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Tsp. Parsley
1 Egg

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Clean Up Time: 5 Minutes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Mix bisquick, milk, parsley, and one egg together

2. Spread batter in the bottom of a baking dish

3. Cut Hot dogs in half, but not all the way through. Put cheese slices in hot dogs.

4. Press hot dogs in the batter in the pan.

5. Bake 20 minutes or until bread is lightly brown. Dough will raise around hot dogs while it cooks.

6. Slice Hot dogs apart and enjoy!

It was really fun to create this easy cheesy meal. It was enjoyed by everyone.

One Love,

Virginia

Grandma's Secret Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-10-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Grandma's Secret Peanut Butter Cookies
Secret Recipes revealed Vol. 1

These were always my favorite cookies that my grandma made when I was growing up. I would beg my mom to make them all of the time. I have fond memories of my mother making them for play tea time with my dolls. Why am I releasing my grandma's 'secret recipe'? I guess it's because I would rather have everyone enjoy what I grew up enjoying.

The peanut butter cookie itself is very versatile, and there are a lot of different cookies you can make using this peanut cookie dough base. I've got some excellent ideas (in picture form) of things that you can do with this cookie dough. Or, if you like you can just eat the cookie the way it is.

I really wanted to get started making cookies because the holidays are coming up, and I wanted to get a head start for what I was going to make to give this year.

My little helper was taking his daily nap while I was making these, but I'm sure that he will love what he wakes up to!!

Grandma Cruden's Peanut Butter Cookies

1 Cup Creamy peanut butter
1 Cup Butter
3 Cups All- purpose flour
3/4 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 1/4 Tsp Vanilla

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 10 minutes
Clean Up Time: 5 minutes
Yields: 5 dozen cookies

Preheat Oven to 375 Degrees

1. Mix dry ingredients together: Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder

2. Cream together Peanut Butter and Butter

3. Mix in Brown Sugar. Beat in Eggs and Vanilla.

4. Slowly add dry ingredients to creamed mix.

5. Shape dough into 1" balls. Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes (mine took 10 minutes)

As I mentioned before there are a lot of different variations that you can do with this dough. This is what I did for this batch.

Variation 1: Roll dough into balls. Press top with fork two times so that it makes a tic- tac- toe mark on the top. You can either leave the cookies the way they are or sprinkle the top with cinnamon sprinkles or white sugar granules

End Product...

Variation 2: Indent top of cookie with thumb and fill with Jelly. This cookie may take a minute longer to bake.

End product...

Variation 3: Bake cookies and let cool. Melt 6 oz of Semi Sweet Chocolate with 1/3 cup Evaporated Milk and 2 cups Confection's Sugar. Dip cookie in chocolate and then in nuts.

(Sorry, pictures soon to come)

Also, for a little bit of a different flavor to your peanut butter cookie you can add just a little bit of cinnamon to the dough.

Be sure to catch my blog tomorrow! I making a awesomely fun kids meal. It will make you smile for sure. :)

I hope that you all really have fun baking this recipe. Let me know what you think!

One Love,

Virginia

Shepard's Pie

2010-10-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Shepard's Pie
A nice way to dress up your hamburger tonight

Oh man! Another comfort food recipe! What can I say? It's that time of the year where I just want to stay inside where it's nice and warm, and watch the rain pour over the autumn colored leaves. This recipe has a very rich flavor and is sure to keep you warm and full all evening!

It was quick and simple. The ingredients were very inexpensive, and the end product had a lot of servings- a whole pie worth of servings!!

Alex really wanted to help so I let him decorate the top after it was done. Check out the pictures at the end of the post for the finished Alexander masterpiece.

Shepard's Pie

2 Cups of Mashed Potatoes

1 Lb Ground Beef

2 Cans of vegetables- your choice

1 pkt of brown gravy

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Brown meat in pan.

2. Prepare packet of brown gravy as recommended.

3. Add vegetables and gravy to meat. Mix well.

4. Push mixture into pan.

5. Cover with Mashed Potatoes. If the mashed potatoes are more creamy rather than stiff, then they will spread over the hamburger mix better. Baked uncovered for 20- 25 minutes.

After it is baked- Enjoy. I was really nervous if my little man would eat this or not, so I put freshly shredded cheddar cheese on the top of it as soon as it came out of the oven. I also let him decorate it with his toys. He especially loved the toy part!

We had to really stick the little guy deep in the middle to get him to stand up. He would kind of start leaning, and little man would go ooohhhhh noooo mama!!

I hope you all enjoy!

One Love,

Virginia