BEEF STROGANOF

  When I was a kid we would go out sometime in November to the tree farm to search out the perfect Christmas tree. We’d bundle up and trudge through the acres of trees searching for the best of the best. We’d weave in and out and all around those huge, beautiful smelling trees that …

View full post

STICKY & TANGY BBQ PORK CHOPS

STICKY & TANGY BBQ PORK CHOPS My mother is a killer in the kitchen, she could take anything from the fridge and cupboard and there would be a meal that was most generally asked for time and time again. Well, almost anything when we were kids she made a spaghetti that was god awful, so …

View full post

MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

I love comfort food, especially soup.  If there was soup at every meal, life would be perfect. My mom was the queen of soups, they were dad’s favorite meal and I swear she could literally take a rock and make a concoction of flavor that would rival any professional chef. Most of them were broth …

View full post

HAMBURGER POTATO CASSEROLE

It’s Christmas time again, trying to finish shopping, writing the Christmas letter and mailing out the cards, concerts, wrapping gifts, planning and shopping for Christmas dinner and getting as much prep work as possible done,….it’s exhausting just thinking about it all much less doing it. Gift wrapping was always one of my most hated projects. …

View full post
BEEF STROGANOFSTICKY & TANGY BBQ PORK CHOPSMANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDERHAMBURGER POTATO CASSEROLE

May 16

REFRESHING LEMON ICE CREAM

Categories:

4th of July, 5 Ingredients or Less, After School Snacks, Desserts, Ice Cream, The Whole Shebang, Uncategorized

by

I am an ice cream addict, but I’m also an ice cream purist. I hate junk in my ice cream and unfortunately 90% of it in the grocery stores has more stuff in it than that sweet, luscious frozen treat.

Being that we live in an RV because of my husbands work, space is limited. Even though I have a full size refrigerator/freezer, one of those big ice cream makers that you have to keep the container frozen, takes up a lot of space.

I found this amazing product…..Mr Freeze Thermal ICE CREAM MAKER. This little gem makes 1 1/2 pints of any kind of ice cream or sorbet in about 45 minutes.   It freezes as it churns so it does not need to be kept in the freezer. You can add anything you want from chips, cookie pieces, nuts and candy. You also have the option of soft serve, which is my preference or hard frozen.

CLICK ON THE AMAZON LINK IN THE RIGHT MARGIN TO GO DIRECTLY TO AMAZON TO ORDER.

Mr. Freeze EIM-700 Maxi-Matic 1.5 Pint Thermoelectric Ice Cream Maker, White

List Price: $125.99
Price: $104.64 Free Shipping for Prime Members
You Save: $21.35 (17%)
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
  • 1.5 pint capacity and thermoelectric cooling system allows for no need of a compressor, CFC, or Freon
  • Suitable for making ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, or sorbet and has Soft and Hard ice cream settings
  • No chemicals, alcohol, or salt needed
  • Includes transparent lid
  • Energy-saving 90 watts
  • Limited 1 year warranty

I love to use different flavors, I never know what kind of mood I’m in so I keep a huge variety of flavors on hand.  I get my extracts at OliveNation.com   https://www.olivenation.com/  and I have not found a single flavor I don’t like.

They offer free shipping on orders over $50 and they also have several different free samples that you can choose from to try out.

Olivenation

There are many different recipes for your ice cream base, and believe me I experimented, hey, I have to make sure that I am passing along as perfect a combination of ingredients as possible to you.  If I’m not going to eat it, why would you.

I found if you use heavy cream, there is too much butter fat and you wind up with an unpleasant coating in your mouth. I also discovered that if you use milk, it crystalizes and you get a grainy texture. The perfect mixture, to me, is one part whipping cream ( not the heavy ) and one part half and half.  This freezes well at either the soft serve or the hard stage.

If you want to make it sugar free, just substitute Splenda for the sugar.  I make Butter Pecan for Bobbie like this and he loves it.

This is one of  my favorites and I make it often. It’s refreshing and if you’d like you can add some white chips or some vanilla sandwich cookie pieces to it.

LEMON ICE CREAM:

 

1 cup whipping cream ( not heavy )

1 cup half and half

1/3 cup sugar ( more if desired )

1 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp lemon zest

Combine all ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pout into ice cream maker and set to desired hardness.

Serve with a lemon slice on top for a fresh, cool treat.

Go Ahead…. ” Just Try It! ”

This post has no tag

Apr 12

BUTTERNUT SQUASH w/HAM SOUP

Categories:

Diabetic, Lent, Original Recipes, Soups, The Whole Shebang

by

Typically BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP is pureed and has some type of cream  Sour, cream cheese, whipping cream and the like in it. My family likes a hearty chunky soup as opposed to a cream based one so that’s what I give them.

There’s no need to follow my ingredients, clean out the fridge, freezer and put in what your family likes. Use chicken or beef if you like. Prepare this differently each and every time you make it. Find out which ones are preferred and put those in your own personal recipe collection.

This particular version is perfect for the diabetic or for Lent, add potatoes or pasta for and even heartier meal. A sandwich or crusty bread on the side and dinner is served.

 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH w/HAM SOUP

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed into 3/4″ sized bites

1 medium onion, rough chopped

3 ribs celery, rough chopped

1 clove garlic smashed and minced

1 16 ounce package oriental stir fry vegetables

3/4 – 1 pound thick sliced ham, cut into 1/2″ cubes

2 tsp Accent

2 tsp vegetable bouillon base

2 bay leaves

3-4 kubabba’s ( whole allspice )

6-8 cups water

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot combine squash, onion, celery, garlic, bouillon, Accent, bay leaves, kubabba and water.

Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender.

Add ham and stir fry veggies and simmer until tender and heated through. Season to taste.

Go Ahead…. ” Just Try It! ”

 

 

This post has no tag

Apr 11

Apple Cobbler w/French Vanilla Ice Cream

Categories:

After School Snacks, Desserts, Ice Cream, The Whole Shebang, Uncategorized

by

We all have that fruit bowl sitting on the counter that has the apples that look a little lifeless. There is always one or two different kinds, Gala, Delicious, Jazz and the ever loved Granny Smith. Not enough of one to make anything with right? WRONG, who said you have to have one flavor of apple in a pie, crumble or cobbler.

You can take all of those apples and wonderful aroma of apples and cinnamon will permeate your kitchen in very short time. Top that warm, succulent apple mixture topped with the crunchy COBBLER topping with some homemade FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM and you will find yourself buying extra apples next time you buy fruit.

I use VANILLA SUGAR in this topping and the ice cream, you can find the recipe on the November 16, 2016 post for how to make this tasty variation. If you don’t have any, regular sugar works perfectly fine.

I get all my extracts, flavorings and baking supplies at Olivenation.com . Check them out for value and quality.

APPLE COBBLER W/FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM:

 

5-6 apples, any mixture of variety, peeled cored and rough sliced

3/4 cup vanilla sugar, plain sugar works just as well.

1 cup flour

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.

Place sliced apples in the baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine egg, sugar, flour and cinnamon and mix until it resembles a coarse crumble.

Sprinkle on top of apples and pour the melted butter all over the top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve with FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM

FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM

1 pint half & half

1 pint whipping cream (not heavy)

1/2 cup vanilla sugar

1 tsp FRENCH VANILLA extract.

Combine all ingredients until combined. If using an ice cream maker, follow manufacturer’s directions for freezing.

If not using a machine. Place in a freezer container and stir every 15 minutes until a bit more than soft serve texture. Serve as soft serve or continue in freezer until frozen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post has no tag

Apr 09

Raspberry Pretzel Torte

Categories:

After School Snacks, Christmas, Desserts, Easter, Family Recipes, Father's Day, Halloween, Holiday, Mother's Day, The Whole Shebang, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day

by

Our family always had Easter breakfast after church. Grandma would have ham, fresh rolls, polish sausage and of course the eggs that we kids had so eloquently designed and dyed. It was a very simple meal and the polish sausage was my favorite part of it. It was unfortunately also my cousin Andrea’s favorite as well. That kid could eat sausage until she burst. To this day I still tease her about leaving some for everyone else. Not that anyone ever missed out on any, but it wouldn’t be Easter if I didn’t give her a polish sausage jab or two.

Grandma also had sweets on the table, Danish, doughnuts, cookies and her RASPBERRY PRETZEL TORTE. This has always been one of my favorite deserts. The sweet Jell-O and salty pretzels create a unique flavor combination and texture.

It’s by no means a difficult dish to make, most of the “work” is being done during the chill time in the fridge. You can make this while the little ones are dying the eggs and making up the table decorations of Peep’s, jelly beans and chocolate covered marshmallow eggs.

RASPBERRY PRETZEL TORTE:

2- 3 ounce boxes raspberry Jell-O

2 cups boiling water

1- 12 ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed but NOT drained

1 cup pretzels broken into pieces

 

TOPPING:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

 

PRETZEL TOPPING:

1 stick butter

2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for final sprinkle

1 cup crushed pretzels.

Spray an 8 x 12 baking dish with Pam, combine Jell-O and boiling water in a large bowl, stirring until Jell-O is dissolved. Add thawed raspberries ( with juice ) and broken pretzel pieces and pour into prepared dish.

Refrigerate until set.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and vanilla until light and fluffy. Fold in thawed whipped topping. Spread over Jell-O layer and refrigerate 2 hours.

Melt 1 stick butter and stir in 3 tablespoons sugar.  Add crushed pretzels and stir well. Spread on a baking sheet and place in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes stirring half way through. Remove from oven and give an additional sprinkle of sugar.  Let Cool and sprinkle on top of torte when ready to serve.

Grandma’s recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar in the cream cheese and whipped topping layer, I find that a bit sweet, so I cut the sugar to 1/4 cup and it was just perfect. If you like it a little sweeter, make it your own and go as sweet as you like.

I can almost bet this will become a holiday favorite on your table and will be the dish you are asked to bring to pass at a pot luck.

Go Ahead…. ” Just Try It! “

This post has no tag

Apr 07

PEACH CREPES WITH BLACKBERRY SAUCE & BRANDY ICE CREAM

Categories:

After School Snacks, Desserts, Easter, Holiday, Ice Cream, Mother's Day, Original Recipes, The Whole Shebang, Valentine's Day

by

Here come’s Peter Cotton Tail, Hoppin’ down the Bunny trail, Hippity, Hoppity EASTER’S on it’s way!

Easter time, spring is in the air, little girls will have their bright, frilly yellow dresses and new bonnets, white anklets with the lace on them and patent leather shoes, white gloves and a smart pocketbook.  Little boys will have those adorable slacks with matching vests and bow ties and their hair will combed just perfect.

Then 10 minutes after church, the shoes will be scuffed, a glove will be missing, and knees will be grass stained while they crawl around hunting for eggs.

This sweet treat will look fresh and so pretty on your Easter table and it can all be made ahead of time. All you will have to do is a quick assemble.

PEACH CREPES W/BLACKBERRY SAUCE & BRANDY ICE CREAM:

1 10 ct package crepes

2 6 oz containers peach cream cheese

powdered sugar to taste

In a mixing bowl, beat peach cream cheese until light and fluffy, adding powdered sugar ( if desired ) to taste. Set aside.

BLACKBERRY SAUCE:

2 pints fresh blackberries

2-3 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 tablespoon water

In a medium saucepan, combine blackberries, water and 1 tablespoon sugar. Bring to a simmer and slowly cook until berries give up their juice and start to thicken. Add additional sugar if desired to taste. Set aside to cool.

BRANDY ICE CREAM:

1 pint whipping cream ( not heavy )

1 pint half and half

1/2 cup vanilla sugar

1 tsp brandy extract

In a large measuring pitcher, combine all ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. If using an ice cream machine, fill the freezer bowl, taking care to not overfill. Depending on the size of machine, several  batches may need to be done. Follow directions for freezing.

If not using a machine, pour mixture into a freezer container and place in freezer, stirring every 15 minutes until ice cream is at a soft serve texture, then let freeze completely.

ASSEMBLY:

On each crepe, spread 2-3 tablespoons of cream cheese and loosely roll. Top with blackberry sauce and Brandy ice cream. Serve with fresh slices of peaches and/or blackberries.

 

 

 

 

This post has no tag

Mar 24

LEMON BLUEBERRY PUDDING POKE CAKE

Categories:

4th of July, 5 Ingredients or Less, After School Snacks, Cakes, Christmas, Desserts, Easter, Father's Day, Halloween, Holiday, Mother's Day, Picnic Foods, Semi Homemade, Snacks, St Patrick's Day, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day

by

A friend gave me a recipe which included making my own blueberry sauce, pudding and whipped cream that sounded amazing, but I didn’t have the time to make all the ingredients, so why should I if I don’t have to.

I used pie filling, instant pudding mix and thawed whipped topping and I had a quick and wonderful  dessert that took almost no time at all and my taste testers have given it 5 stars.

As I was putting this together, I thought, there is no reason whatsoever that you couldn’t use any kind of cake and pie filling. Use Devils Food cake, Cherry Pie filling and vanilla or white chocolate pudding and you will have a Black Forest Pudding Cake, use raspberry pie filling with the lemon cake and you have a raspberry lemonade pudding cake, or wouldn’t a spice cake with apple pie filling and cream cheese pudding be a great combination.

It really doesn’t matter, use whatever you have in your pantry and create a masterpiece. This is going to be my go to for any gathering, picnic or just because I want something sweet and satisfying.

 

LEMON BLUEBERRY PUDDING POKE CAKE:

1 boxed lemon cake mix

1 3.9 oz box instant pudding

2 cups milk

1 15 oz blueberry pie filling

whipped topping thawed.

Preheat oven according to cake mix directions and prepare cake as directed. Allow cake to cool

In a medium bowl, combine milk and pudding mix and stir well, refrigerate 10 minutes to allow to set up a bit.

With the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in the cake and spread the pudding over, filling in the holes as best as possible. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set.

Spread  pie filling over pudding and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Top with thawed whipped topping or ice cream.

Go Ahead…. ” Just Try It! “

This post has no tag

Mar 17

CHOCOLATE WAFER CAKE

Categories:

15 Minute Meals, 5 Ingredients or Less, After School Snacks, Cakes, Desserts, Easter, Holiday, Semi Homemade, Throw Back Thursday

by

This throwback was one of my little brother’s favorite desserts. He would help mom make this after school and it would be ready to dig into by the time dinner was done.

He would have whipped cream from top to bottom and from one end of the kitchen to the other. How he managed to get the entire kitchen sticky with that cream is beyond anyone’s idea. Mom would set us up at the kitchen table or the island counter and then stand back, grit her teeth and get the mop water ready.

Mom would make fresh whipped cream but if you don’t have enough time or any on hand, thawed whipped topping works just as well. Just add in your vanilla or almond flavor and give it a good stir. Give the kids the cookies and some spatulas and let them create the original CHOCOLATE WAFER CAKE.

I generally have to bring my cookies back from Wisconsin, as it is hard to find them in a lot of the locations we are and even if they break, it’s not a big deal because it’s all slathered in the sweet, fluffy whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE WAFER CAKE:

1 package Nabisco Chocolate Wafers

2 cups whipped cream or thawed whipped topping

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Chocolate shavings

Spread 1 to 1 1/2 tbls of cream on top of a cookie and stack 4-6 high. Continue until cookies are used, reserving enough whipped topping to be able to frost the entire cake.

Lay stacks of cookies on their side; forming a log. Frost the entire cookie/cake, cover VERY LOOSELY with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours.

Sprinkle with chocolate shavings or sprinkles of your choice and cut on a diagonal.

If for some reason you have left overs, cover and refrigerate.

Go Ahead…. ” Just Try It! “

This post has no tag

Mar 17

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

Categories:

5 Ingredients or Less, Blue Plate Special, Main Dishes, Slow-cooker, Soups, St Patrick's Day

by

Saint Patrick’s Day is once again upon us. Little Leprechaun’s in green suits, rainbows with Pot’s O’ Gold at the end of them, green beer and CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE.

Of course no one says you can only have CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE on St. Patrick’s Day, in fact when I was a kid, the Blue Top restaurant in my hometown would have it every Monday. It was probably one of my favorite things there. That meat was always so tender and  the cabbage was cooked perfectly. I loved the potatoes, weird as it sounds, they used canned potatoes in theirs. There is something about those little taters in a can that gets me.

I keep a can in the pantry only for two dishes, one is the CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE , the other is to roll them in some Italian seasoned cracker crumbs and pan fry. They hold their texture perfectly.

Bobbie doesn’t care for those potatoes, so I made it with traditional reds. I first cook the brisket with some onion and the seasoning packet and when the meat is almost done, I like to pull it out and strain the broth to remove the seasonings, seeds and the “stuff” that comes from cooking the brisket.

Put this in a slow cooker before you go to work and finish it up when you get home, after of course, you pour yourself an ice cold, frosty mug of green beer.

 

CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE:

1 Corned Beef Brisket

2 onions, divided

1 medium head cabbage

3-4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2″ pieced

4-5 medium red potatoes, peeled and halved

water to cover brisket

Fresh ground black pepper

Place the brisket along with the seasoning packet and one of the onions roughly chopped in a slow cooker. Cover with water and cook on high 5-6 hours or on low 7-8 hours.

When meat is tender, carefully remove and set aside on a platter. Strain the cooking broth and return it to the cooker, discard stuff from strainer. Replace meat in the slow cooker.

Add the potatoes, carrots and the second onion, roughly chopped. Cut the cabbage in quarters and cut the core section out of each quarter, add to slow cooker.

Turn to high and let come to a boil and cook until vegetables are tender. Season with pepper and a bit of salt if needed. Generally the meat is salty enough.

Serve with some crusty bread or Irish Soda Bread and a fresh, crisp green salad.

Go Ahead…. ” Just Try It! “

This post has no tag

Mar 14

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD PUDDING

Categories:

After School Snacks, Desserts, Easter, Holiday, Mother's Day, Snacks

by

Your Easter Sunday Brunch table will get rave reviews if this CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD PUDDING is front and center of the dessert section.

It’s so quick and easy to put together and everything you need is more than likely in your pantry. Change it up a bit and use half chocolate and half white chips, or make it an “Elvis” bread pudding and use half chocolate and half peanut butter chips. Serve with flavored whipped cream for a beautiful finish.

KITCHY KITCHEN TIP: Use stale cake or glazed doughnuts, or any mixture of white bread.

 

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD PUDDING:

 

 

4 eggs ( I used 3 jumbo )

2 cups milk

1 cup sugar ( I used 2/3 cup )

1 tbl vanilla ( almond is also good )

4 cups French Bread Cubed

2 bananas, sliced

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( I used 3/4 cup )

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in bread, bananas and chocolate chips. Let rest 5 minutes for bread to soak up custard. Pour into prepared pan.

Line a roasting pan with a damp towel. Place loaf pan with bread and custard on towel inside the roasting pan and place on rack in oven. Fill roasting pan with SCALDING HOT water to reach about half way up the side of the loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until  a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let stand for 30 minutes to allow custard to set. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Take 10 minutes to prep and let it bake for an hour, couldn’t be simpler, so

Go Ahead….” Just Try It ”

 

This post has no tag

Feb 28

POTATO LEEK SOUP

Categories:

Chowders, Easter, Lent, Soups, Uncategorized

by

LEEKS are in the onion family, but much milder. If I am going to be using raw onion in anything, I prefer to use the leeks because of the mildness. They are a bit pricey, but one bunch, which usually consists of 3 LEEKS is more than enough a good size kettle of soup.

Cut the green part off of the LEEKS and slice the white part lengthwise. Thinly slice each half and put in a colander so you can give them a good rinse to get any dirt out from in between the leaves.

LEEKS make for a beautifully soft cream of potato soup. The flavor is not overpowering and paired with sandwich or a fresh, crisp green salad you have an amazing meal.

If you’d like; add some meat, ham or nice smoky bacon finely chopped will round it out completely

 

POTATO LEEK SOUP:

1 bunch ( 3 ) leeks, halved and thinly sliced

1 stick butter

2-3 tbl flour

32 ounces chicken broth

Additional water or broth if needed for thinning

1 tsp chicken base

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups + more if needed cream or milk

1 tsp Accent

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Trim off the green leaves of the leeks and discard. Slice the white part of leek lengthwise and slice each half into thin slices. Rinse well to remove any dirt in between the leaves.

In a large dutch oven or soup kettle melt the butter on medium low heat and add the sliced leeks. Saute’ until leeks are reduced by half the size and are very soft.

Sprinkle flour in and stir well to coat, let cook 2-3 minutes to allow flour to cook.

Add chicken broth, Accent  and potatoes, cook, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender.

Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.  Add cream or milk, adjusting the consistency to your liking. Season to taste

When ready to serve, slowly warm, DO NOT BOIL otherwise the cream will curdle.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese if desired.

Go Ahead…. ” Just Try It! “

This post has no tag

Older posts «

» Newer posts