Sunday night can be a bit stressful, looking at the week's calendar filled with a long to-do list, a fun weekend behind you and 5 days of business til the next break. I suffer from Sunday Night depression. Always have. The one thing that cheers me up? Treats! It's been a childhood tradition of smelling fresh baked cinnamon rolls or carmel corn or fresh berry pies on Sunday evenings. I miss home. Sniff, sniff. I miss having a personal chef & housekeeper aka: newly appreciated mom. My kids got a rotten draw for homemade goodness when they got me as a mom. But who says they can't have fun treats? Enter the white trash cook......
Here is my Sunday Night treat. Sorry kids, the homemade cinnamon rolls won't happen unless dad's feeling generous. The home made pies won't be baked unless you go to Grammy's house. My culinary skills are shameful, especially with all my training! Atleast I recognize my failures right?
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Sunday Night Pick Me UP
Are directions really necessary on this? Not sure, but in case you're kitchen skills are pathetic like mine here's how you make these babies.
Chocolate covered Cinnamon Bears:
Ingredients:
-1 Dolci Frutta container- microwave chocolate (I've melted my own chocolate but it never dries as good as this stuff, so I gave up)
-45 cinnamon bears (difficult to find in Texas- only found at Sportsmen Stores)
-tooth picks
-wax paper
Prepare the wax paper. Push the toothpicks into the bears slightly to make dipping easier. Prepare the Dolci Frutta as directed & dip the gummy bears. Wait til they dry completely to remove toothpicks. If you have any left overs (which you won't!) wrap them up and give to your white trash lovin' friends. They won't think less of you after trying these cinnamon bombs!
The world is a better place with cinnamon & chocolate as BFF's, don't ya think?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Lisa's Make-out Chicken Pot Pie
image found here:You read the title right. I can't tell you how many people want to make-out with this chicken pot pie. Warning: Do not eat this while dating! It's not very attractive to have bits of chicken and potato plastered on your face even if you served it over candle light and fine linens. But it's impossible to eat this pie while mainting some semblance that you're a mature adult! My friend Lisa (in good ol' Utah, woot woot!) gave this recipe to me years ago and every time I make one for a neighbor they become my new bff. That is, until I give them the recipe! Hmmm, maybe I should hold out longer and get some freebies or something before I hand over this reputation-slandering-oh-so-good recipe? Get ready to wow your friends and family, that is, if you're willing to share!
Lisa's Make-Out Chicken Pot Pie-
-4 chicken breasts -1 Cup chopped onion -1 Cup chopped celery
-1 Cup chopped carrots -1/3 Cup butter -1 Cup chopped poptatoes
-1/4 Cup flour -2 Cups chicken broth -1 Cup half & half
-1 tsp salt -1/4 tsp pepper -store bought pie crust or homemade
-frozen peas (optional)
UPDATE- Lisa told me she browns the bottom crust in oven for 2 min @ 400 degrees before adding the filling. Good idea! A lower fat version is to just have a top crust and no bottom crust. But who's kidding? I don't do low fat anything, just ask my cholesterol!
Boil chicken with water and chicken boullion (or use half chicken broth, half water) until chicken is done. In a large Saute pan, saute onions, celery, carrots and potatoes in butter for 10 min. Add flour and cook for one minute. Combine broth and half and half. Stir into vegetables and cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Add chicken and stir well. In a 2 quart dish or pie plate place bottom crust and pour the filling on top. Add the top crust and brush crust with half & half. Cook at 400 degrees for thirty minutes or until golden brown.
*hand over the pie to your favoritest people with one hand and hold a can of Mace in a defensive position in the other hand. There's no telling what will happen when you give them this chicken pot goodness!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes-They Don't Suck!
A couple of days ago I showing my husband "our blog," "our blog?" he said, "when was the last time you posted anything for your sisters to read?" He's right, it has been forever and when he whipped up this for breakfast this morning I knew it would be the perfect thing to share.
I’m not much of a breakfast person, coupled with the fact that I’d rather clean up the mess than cook so needless to say I don’t make breakfast. David on the other hand loves to cook and is always willing to experiment in the kitchen. Frankly, when I saw him pull out the griddle this morning less than an hour before we had to leave for church I was less than excited. If there’s one breakfast food I really could care less for its pancakes (and the mess that would be left until after church). Quickly I snuck into the pantry to grab a quick bowl of granola cereal so I could avoid eating pancakes.
When David started pulling out cream cheese and powdered sugar I started to think I it all wrong and the griddle was a mistake, but David assured me he was indeed making pancakes….cinnamon roll pancakes… just an idea he’d been thinking about trying.
I have to admit I was a little intrigued and the smell was certainly wonderful so I had to at least give them a try. The first words out of my mouth were “WOW, they don’t suck!” In fact they were TOTALLY worth the after church mess! The best part was they were so easy and just took a few extra ingredients so we were not late for church.
Here’s how to do it:
Your favorite pancake mix –we use the ol’ Costco standby Bisquick
Cinnamon Sugar mix –David’s concoction (1/4 cup Cinnamon; 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar; 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar- combined )
Standard Cream Cheese frosting recipe with a little extra milk so it spreads easier
David made the pancake batter per the directions and in small batches transferred enough batter for 4 pancakes to a smaller bowl then poured in some cinnamon sugar and very lightly folded it into the batter to try and get a swirling effect before adding it to the hot griddle. To avoid the hassle of transferring batter you could just mix cinnamon sugar into all the batter at once, but it will all get mixed together without the swirly effect. Cook like normal and then add your little bit of butter before drizzling a little frosting to the first layer, repeat until you have your hot stack of pancakes piled high and add a little extra frosting to the top. Enjoy!
Friday, November 5, 2010
White Chicken Chili
Yay! It's finally getting chilly in Texas! This is what I live for! The nice 70 degree days and the cold 50 degree nights. Pulling out my favorite sweaters and fuzzy socks. Wrapping up at night in my ultra soft robe. Yes it is finally fall. My favorite season. The other night I made my favorite soup that is loved by ALL my children. Very RARE (that I'm cooking AND my children love it)! Our family got this recipe from (practically our 4th sister) Alyson and we make it all the time. What makes it really fabulous is the tomato garnish- you simply MUST make it! My sis Renee hates tomatoes and guess what? She loves this garnish. It's the next best thing to Zac Efron. Just wait, you'll see!
Sorry this picture does NOT do it justice!
White Bean Chili-
*2-3 cans of white beans/ navy beans *1 large onion, diced finely
*36-48oz of chicken broth *7 oz can of diced green chiles
*2 tsp dried oregano *4 tsp cumin *1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (more or less)
*6 cloves of garlic, minced *1 Cup sour cream (no Reduced fat!)
*3 Cups shredded mont. jack cheese *4 Cups cooked & diced chicken
Directions: Combine beans, onions, garlic and broth and bring to a boil, turn down and simmer covered for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally. Add chicken, chiles and seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes. Take off heat, add sour cream and cheese and stir til melted. Add the tomato garnish for a real kick of flavor!
The most amazing, must have, Tomato Garnish:
*5 tomatoes off the vine or 8 roma tomatoes *cilantro chopped finely
*1/2 Cup sugar *1/4 Cup cider vinegar *juice from 1 lemon *1 tsp salt
*1 tsp paprika *2 tsp celery seed *1/3 Cup vegetable oil
Directions: In saucepan combine sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. In a jar of tupperware comvine lemon juice and seasonings. Add vinegar & oil. Shake to combine. Add just enough to coat the diced tomatoes. You'll probably have extra. Spoon onto your individual bowl of soup. And then invite me over!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Shortbread aka: The Jean Shrinker
Every spring I slip on some capri's and think, "Dang dryer! You shrunk my jeans again!" Well it's confession day. I'm going to admit, this shortbread has a special place in my heart & apparently in my waist too! Every Christmas my hubs makes his family's Scottish shortbread recipe and sometimes I'm nice enough to share. Sometimes I'm not! If you like shortbread, you'll LOVE this recipe. If you don't like shortbread- GOOD! More for me! WARNING: This recipe is for the patient bakers. I've got the patience of a 2 year old when I'm in the kitchen, so like most of my baked goods- I leave it to my hubs to perfect. Don't blame me when your pants don't fit after this!
Grandma's Scottish Shortbread:
-1 1/2 C cornstarch - 4 1/2 C Flour -3/4 C powdered sugar
-3/4 C sugar -1 1/2 lb butter -Raw sugar or sanding sugar for the top
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sift together cornstarch and flour. Cream butter and sugars and blend into the sifted mixture. Press into a 12x16 cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour until barely light brown. Immediately cut into pieces while hot but don't remove from pan! Then add sanding sugar to the top for looks and let it cool in cookie sheet. Don't remove until completely cool. Freezes well too, not that I ever have any left over!
Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Rich's (almost) famous chicken salad sandwiches
Have you ever had a chicken salad sandwich that pretty much just tastes like mayo with a side of tasteless chicken? Pretty nasty right? (nasty is a favorite word of mine, I just like saying it. nasty. nasty. nasty.) Well in my quest for the perfect chicken salad sandwich my hubs came up with this recipe. It has now been passed around to over 100 people and I'm hoping it will make him (well lets be honest, ME) rich & famous one day. Since he's already rich (his name is Rich- I'm not bragging peeps!), I guess I'll settle for just famous. Here is my favorite sandwich of all time- get ready for alot of ingredients folks, I promise it will be worth it!
Rich's Chicken Salad Sandwiches: Makes 16 sandwiches
*4-cooked & shredded chicken breasts *1 TBL worcestershire sauce
*1/2 tsp pepper *6 sticks of celery chopped finely
*1 TBL chalula pepper sauce or Tabasco sauce *1 tsp lime juice *1.5 TBL lemon juice *2TBL stone ground mustard (the good stuff) *2 Cups mayonnaise
*1 Cup shredded fresh parmesan *1 Cup toasted sliced almonds
*2tsp onion powder *1 tsp minced fresh tarragon
Combine everything but chicken & almonds. After you've mixed the ingredients slowly add the sauce to the chicken. You may have extra sauce so don't dump it all in. Just add as much as you like. Chill for an hour. Add almonds right before serving. Serve on a croissant or whole wheat bread & add some tomato & bacon and you've just created heaven! I want to eat the screen just looking at this picture! mmmmm- excuse me while I drool............and over use parenthesis.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Hot Hawaiian Ham Sandwiches
Sorry, night shot!Alright, so I originally got this recipe from my friend, Jessica, and she loves to make this for baby showers. When she served it at a baby shower, I think I ate 3 or 4. I totally love them. They're perfect because you make them ahead of time and with a wild toddler like mine, anything you can prepare in advance is great:) I made them when were home visiting and when my amazing chef/brother saw the ingredients, he looked somewhat distraught/curious. I think he thought it looked kind of disgusting, but I later caught him eating some of them! Just be prepared- it's a lot of butter- but sooo good!!
Hot Hawaiian Ham Sandwiches
1 dozen King Sweet Hawaiian Rolls
1 lb. thin-sliced ham
6 slices swiss or pepperjack cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
Cut all the rolls in half. Place ham and 1/2 slice of cheese on each roll. Pack the sandwiches into an 8x8 baking pan (it will be a TIGHT fit). Melt butter in microwave and mix in Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Carefully pour the butter mixture all over the top of the rolls. Sprinkle poppy seeds all over the top. Cover with foil and let refrigerate overnight or 6-8 hours. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
I like to eat this with a lot of vegetables to make me feel better about the fat content! Enjoy!!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Happy Texas Independence Day Ya'll
"You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas" --Davy Crockett
When we moved to Texas nearly twelve years ago our family decided to begin a new tradition. March 2 is Texas Independence day and we've embraced it in our own special way. This year was no exception, we made homemade chili, cornbread, complete with the highlighted Texas sheet cake we all love. This is a recipe my family has used for at least 30 years, it actually came from Quincey, WA back when I was young. Almost like a light brownie, this cake is amazing right out of the oven or, if there's any left, is perfect for breakfast (with a glass of milk...see, my mama taught me to eat right!).
Most of my friends know me as someone who doesn't cook, but YES, I did make the sample shown and yes, it does taste amazing. Go on, try it, this is a recipe you'll add to your permanent recipe box.
Texas Sheet Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cubes butter
- 1 cup water
- 4 Tbsp. cocoa
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. baking soda
In a large bowl or mixer put sugar, flour, and salt. In a heavy pan bring butter, water, and cocoa to a boil, remove from heat and add immediately to dry ingredients. Add sour cream. Add eggs and soda, mixing well. Batter will be very thin. Bake in a greased cookie sheet type pan with high sides (the cookie sheet pans from Costco work well). Bake at 375' for 20-25 minutes. Prepare frosting while cake is baking. You want the cake and frosting to be hot when it is applied.
Butter Nut Frosting
- 1 cup nuts (optional)
- 1 cup butter
- 1 box (160z) powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp. canned milk
- 4 Tbsp. cocoa
- 1 tsp vanilla
Boil milk, butter, and cocoa in a heavy pan until bubbly. Stir in nuts, sugar, and vanilla until smooth (your arm will get tired so inlist a friend or child if necessary). Spread over hot cake.
Now let the party begin- hope ya'll enjoy it!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I'm Addicted
They say the first step is to admit your addiction right? Unfortunately I still don’t think that will help me recover. A good friend got me started when, as part of my birthday present; she included a dozen of these sweet, chewy, pieces of heaven. I’d like to think I have some self control, but let’s face it; I can’t when it comes to this molasses cookie recipe.
David has encouraged my addiction by making triple batches and then rolling the cookie dough into balls and dipping them in sugar before slipping them in the freezer for a warm sweet treat in just 13 minutes anytime of the day. Whew, I got that off my chest. It feels good to share my addiction with someone else. Now The Pioneer Woman has made that possible. If you haven’t had a chance to check out her blog then you’re in for another treat. Stock full of recipes, photos, and stories, this is a one of a kind site.
The Cookie Link complete with a printable recipe card.
David has encouraged my addiction by making triple batches and then rolling the cookie dough into balls and dipping them in sugar before slipping them in the freezer for a warm sweet treat in just 13 minutes anytime of the day. Whew, I got that off my chest. It feels good to share my addiction with someone else. Now The Pioneer Woman has made that possible. If you haven’t had a chance to check out her blog then you’re in for another treat. Stock full of recipes, photos, and stories, this is a one of a kind site.
The Cookie Link complete with a printable recipe card.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Amazing Race
Alright, I admit it... I am a reality tv junkie. I love Survivor, Amazing Race, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and the Bachelor (sometimes, not this season). I was so excited for the Amazing Race season premiere last night that I thought I'd make us a special treat... Peanut Butter Popcorn! This stuff is seriously amazing-haha. AND it is so much easier to make than carmel corn.
Peanut Butter Popcorn
1 bag popped popcorn (I used kettle corn)
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
Just mix the sugar and corn syrup together and bring it to a boil. Let it boil about a minute until the sugar dissolves. Then stir in the vanilla and the peanut butter. Pour over the popped popcorn and mix it up. Be warned: this only makes enough for 2 at our house!
Monday, February 8, 2010
I'm no Bakerella
So my husband has a big Super Bowl party with all his buddies every year- he loves stinking up our house with the smell of 20 lbs. of ribs. Yuck. I'm not a big meat person. But he went to Dear John with me the night before, so I was still in a pretty good mood. Good enough to whip up these oreo footballs ala Bakerella. Hers looked amazing! Mine aren't so attractive, but they taste sooo good. She used chocolate almond bark to dip her footballs, the almond bark didn't work so well for me (let's face it, nothing really worked for me here) so I used chocolate chips and it tastes better than almond bark. I think I'll go eat the rest for breakfast!
Posts
