Chicken & Black Bean Burritos

I made some chicken & black bean burritos today, they were sooo good!

Chicken & Black Bean Burritos

Filling Ingredients:

Cooked, shredded chicken

Black Beans

1 C cheese

2 cans Fiesta Corn 

1 can rotel

1 C sour cream

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp ground cumin

salt & pepper (to taste)

8 lg tortillas, burrito size

Sauce:

Enchilada sauce

1 C sour cream

Top with shredded cheese

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients.  

Take a burrito-size tortilla and scoop some of the filling down the midldle. Roll-up burrito-style and place in a pan.  ** If needed cut the burritos in half, they sometimes fit in the pan better. **

After all the burritos are in the pan, pour almost all the sauce on top, reserving about a cup.  Top with cheese and bake 350º for 25 minutes.  

When the burritos come out the oven add remaining sauce and top with some chopped cilantro.  Serve with mexican rice.  Serves 4-6

National Pumpkin Day

 It seems like every day is some type of "day".  Today, October 26th is National Pumpkin Day!  In honor of this special day, I whipped up some yummy Pumpkin Crescent Cups.  These are so easy to make!

Pumpkin Crescent Cups

Ingredients:

1 Can Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough sheet

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg cream cheese (divided)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp vanilla

3/4 c powdered sugar (divided)

1 tsp milk

Directions:

Preheat oven 375º 

Unroll crescent dough and with a round biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough.  Press rounds into small muffin tin, making sure sides are covered.  

Next mix the filling.

Filling:

1 cup pumpkin, 1/2 pkg cream cheese, spices, vanilla and 1/4 cup powdered sugar.  Mix well.

Fil the cups with the mixture.

Bake 375º for 12 minutes.  

Top with glaze.

Glaze:

1/4 c powdered sugar

1/2 pkg cream cheese

1 tsp milk

1/8 tsp vanilla

mix together and drizzle on top of the crescent cups. Serves 24

An Old Favorite

Growing up in Jacksonville, there was a favorite restaurant of ours that we would always take out-of-town guests to that were visiting.  It was called Beach Road Chicken Dinners.

Beach Road not only has the best fried chicken, they have the best side dishes as well.  My favorite side dish of all is their creamed peas.  At Beach Road, chicken dinners were served "family style", all the sides and biscuits you wanted.

I have not been to Beach Road Chicken in years, but I have not forgotten how good the peas were.  with lots of testing, I have re-created the yummy peas.

Creamed Peas

2 cans of sweet peas (undrained)

3 T butter

3 T flour

1/4 C cream

Salt & pepper 

1 tsp garlic power

1 tsp onion powder

Melt butter in skillet, add flour, whisking constantly, add cream and peas (undrained), keep stirring until sauce is thick, add all seasonings, making sure to season well with salt & pepper.  

- For a richer taste, drain peas, and replace with 1/2 cup of chicken broth.

Serve this side dish with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, pork chops or meatloaf.  Makes a great side dish!

First Chili of the Season

Made my first chili of the season today for our Sunday Dinner.

Chili & Grilled Cheese

The secret to this great chili is V8 Juice!  It's my dad's recipe.  I remember growing up and my dad making the best chili.  My dad died very unexpectedly and I never got his chili recipe.  I had to recreate it myself.  The one thing I always knew is that he used V8 juice.  

I also made some homemade grilled cheese sandwiches.  I used sliced sour dough bread bought from the bakery, spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on one side and thin coat of butter on the other.  I used a longhorn colby and muenster cheeses with some tavern ham. Grill with the buttered side down.  So good!

The full recipe can be found here

Breakfast Toast Cups

Breakfast Toast Cups

Our traditional Sunday morning breakfast is cinnamon rolls.  No, not homemade but these. (The only time I make homemade cinnamon rolls is Christmas morning), or when I feel like it. 

Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls

I have made them every Sunday for years.  Today I thought I would try a new recipe.  It's a Martha Stewart recipe, which I am usually not a fan because they tend to be somewhat lengthy and complicated, but this one seemed easy, and one that my kids would actually eat.  So,I thought I would give it a try!  So glad I did, everyone loved them.  

Breakfast Toast Cups

Preheat oven to 375º

Ingredients:

6 slices of bread, cut the crust off

6 slices of bacon

2T melted butter

6 Eggs

Salt & pepper

Directions:

Use a pastry bush and brush melted butter into each cup

Flatten out uncrusted bread with a rolling pin 

Press the bread into each muffin cup

Brush bread with any remaining butter

Fry bacon in a pan until almost done.

Place a strip of bacon down into each cup

Crack an egg on top of each piece of bacon

Top with a sprinkle of salt & pepper

Bake 375º for 20-25 minutes.  

Serve warm!

The original recipe can be found here!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

The other day I made the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made, even my kids agreed, and that says it all!

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, use the Toll House recipe on the back of the bag.  For years I did that and and was always disappointed in the outcome.

I have searched and tried many recipes the past few years and I finally found it.  

Tried and true recipe!

new york times chocolate chip cookies

Yield:  20 medium size cookies

Prep Time: 15 min + chill time

Cook Time: 15-18 min

Ingredients:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons  cake flour
1 2/3 cups  bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (like sea salt)
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks)
1 1/4 cups  packed light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons  granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 20oz Bag chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Directions:

1. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). I just scraped mine through a fine strainer/sieve since my sifter isn't all that great. Set aside.

2. Use an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugars- mixing until the mixture is very light, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low, add the dry ingredients and, mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Place the dough in an airtight container and refrigerate a minimum of 24 to 36 hours before baking (and up to 72 hours).

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.

4. I used a cookie scoop and had an overflowing scoop, about 3-4" cookies onto a baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Don't try to fit more on the sheet or you'll end up with cookies baking into each other. 

5. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the center is lighter and soft, 18 to 20 minutes (oven times vary). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a rack and let them cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

Here is the link to the original recipe.

The secret to these cookies is the make the dough 48 hours in advance, cover it and let it sit in the fridge.  On the day of baking, let it sit for an hour or so and then start baking.

Another tip I have is use parchment paper or baking mat.  The pan varies, I used a Pampered Chef baking stone on some batches and regular aluminum pans on some.  The stone may need a couple of more baking minutes, but keep a careful watch you don't want these overcooked.  

I made these medium-size,  I used a cookie scoop about 3-4" inch cookies.  Baking time varied from 15-18 minutes, every oven is different, so keep that in mind.  

Also let these cool on the baking sheet at least a good 10 minutes before moving them to cooking rack to cool.  

Chicken & Spinach Lasagna

White Cheese & Chicken Lasagna

Today I probably made the best meal I ever have.  My Tuesdays and Thursdays are normally very busy days for me, but today I was in the kitchen non-stop from 8am until 1pm.  I had two Chicken & Spinach recipes and I couldn't decide which to use.  I made one recipe last night and did not like it.  So I went with the other today.  WOW!  What a difference between the two, like day and night. I will not post the one I didn't like, but the one I did use for today's meal can be found here.

This recipe is definitely worth a try.  The original recipe called for ricotta, but I am not a fan, so I substituted it for cottage cheese.  This recipe has lots of freshness.  I used fresh garlic, baby spinach, onion, basil and parsley.  Northing from a can or jar in this recipe.  The homemade sauce is very easy to make as well.  

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October Menu

October Menu

1 - Chicken, Potatoes & Green Bean Dinner

3 - Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole w/Garlic Bread

8 - Chicken Spaghetti w/Salad

10 - Homemade Beef Stew w/Rice

15 - Chicken & Spinach Lasagna w/Salad

17 - Pork Chop and Potato Dinner

22 - Chicken White Chili w/cornbread

24 - Meatball Stroganoff w/Creamed Peas

29 - Chicken and Black Bean Burritos w/Yellow Rice

31 - Baked Chili Cheese Hotdogs w/Tater Tot Side Dish

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Apple Dumplings

Chocolate or Vanilla Sheet Cake

Decorated Sugar Cookies, fall assortment



**** CLICK HERE FOR RECIPES ****

Sunday Night Dinner - New Recipe

Sunday night dinners around here are pretty simple and easy.  I am trying to get everything ready for the week ahead and I like to keep it simple and easy.  This new recipe I tried was just that!

Spaghetti Stuffed Garlic Bread

I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course) and I surprisingly had all the ingredients, so I thought I would give it a try.  Use whatever cheese you have on hand.  The original recipe called for mozzarella cheese cut in cubes, but I had shredded and it worked fine.  While it turned out good, and everyone liked it, which is the most important thing.  There are a couple of changes I will do when I make this again.  

1.  I am going to give the dough a good sprinkling of garlic powder before I put the filling in.

2.  In the last few minutes of baking brush bread with some garlic butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  

Give it a try!  The original recipe can be found here.

Roast with Carrots, Potatoes & Onions

Made one of my husband's favorite meals tonight.  A simple roast with carrots, potatoes and onions.  So easy to prepare and fix and so yummy.  Makes you house smell wonderful!

The recipe is so easy.  Take a beef roast and add salt, pepper, garlic powder.  With a little oil in the pan, sear the meat really well on both sides.  Put your roast in pan and add cut potatoes, carrots and onions.  I like to add a gravy mix packet, a little water (1/4 cup), salt & pepper, 2 whole peeled garlic cloves and a few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.  Cover with foil and bake 300 for 4-5 hours.  

Sometimes I will change it up and add a Lipton Onion Soup mix packet or different herbs such as thyme and rosemary.  Honestly, you don't have to add anything but salt & pepper and it would still be good.

If you have left-overs from your roast, turn it into stew.  In a pot put your roast, 1 can of diced tomatoes, leftover carrots & potatoes and a can of peas.  2 cups of water and a brown gravy packet. Cook on simmer for a few hours and serve over rice.

On the rare occasion, I will even have stew left over.  I take that and make homemade vegetable soup. Just add more water and more veggies like green beans, corn, and whatever vegetables you need to use up.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for a couple of hours.  During the last 30 minutes add a handful of macaroni.  

Broccoli, Chicken & Rice Casserole

Made one of my daughter's favorite meals tonight.  Chicken with broccoli, cheese and rice.

What makes this so tasty is the buttery Ritz Cracker crumb topping.  I make this same recipe for our traditional Christmas dinner, but I leave out the chicken, rice & sour cream., its just "broccoli casserole".

This is the recipe I follow:

2-3 C cooked chicken
2 cups cooked rice
1 pkg frozen broccoli, boiled and drained.
2 C cheddar cheese (divided)
1 can cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup.
1/2 C mayo
1 egg
1/2 C finely chopped onion (optional)
1/4 sour cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Lowry's season salt to taste
1 "sleeve" of Ritz crackers crushed and mixed with 1 T melted butter

Mix all ingredients together except 1 C cheese and Ritz crackers.  Pour into a 9x13 prepared pan. Top with remaining 1 C cheese and Ritz cracker crumbs.  Bake 350 for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole

Every other Wednesday night I bring food to our mom's bible study at church on Wednesday nights.  I love to try to recipes on these nights because I have lots of taste-testers.  Tonight I tried a new recipe called "Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole".

To me, this tasted exactly like a stuffed bell pepper.  I normally do not put corn in my stuffed bell peppers, but it was good in this dish.

If you would like to make it, the recipe can be found here.

Chicken Alfredo

I had a request for Chicken Alfredo, so it was my first meal of September.

I used Pioneer Woman's recipe, but added a few touches of my own.  I added some garlic & herbed butter to the regular stick of butter. I also added a little sprinkle of garlic powder.

If you are on a low-fat diet, this is not for you!  But it is very tasty and it's ok to splurge every now and then!  Gotta enjoy life while you can. 

The recipe I used can be found here.

New Recipe Review - Easy Chicken Dinner

If you are on Pinterest, you probably have seen this recipe floating around.  It looked so simple and good, I just had to try it.

You can see on the chicken where
 my pats of butter were :)

I thought this recipe would be great to try on a Sunday.  After church we are usually famished.  We normally eat at home and we don't want to wait around to have something prepared.  This recipe  seemed like a good one to prepare before church, put in the oven, and program the oven to bake and when we got home dinner would be ready!  Boy was I right!  When I walked in, my house never smelled so good!  We couldn't wait to try it.

The chicken was very tender and moist. I used two forks to split the breasts apart.  The potatoes were perfectly cooked, as well as the green beans.  

The original recipe can be found here.

But in a nutshell here is the recipe.

Chicken, Green Beans & Potatoes

In a 9x13 dish place green beans on one side, chicken breasts down middle and cut up potatoes on the other side.

Top with pats of butter and a package of dry Italian seasoning.  Cover with foil and bake 1hr on 350.

Before

After

It's so easy!

This will be on the menu in October!

Basic Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients:

Sauce

Ground Beef (cooked & browned with chopped onion & garlic and pan deglazed with 1/4C red wine)
Tomato Sauce
Crushed Tomatoes
Sm. tomato paste & 1 can water
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Basil
Fresh Parsley
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp sugar
2T olive oil

Filling

1 container small curd cottage cheese
1 egg
salt & pepper
1 cup parmesan cheese
fresh parsley
1 clove garlic minced

1 Box lasagna noodles (par-boiled)
Grated mozzarella cheese


Instructions:

Prepare the sauce using the above ingredients, let simmer at least 4 hours,

When ready.  Bring to a raging boil a large pot of salted water.  Add uncooked lasagna noodles and boil for no more than 5-7 minutes.  You want these half way cooked.

While that's boiling, make your filling.

Dain noodles and you are ready to start layering your pan.

Layer in this order:

1.  Put 1/4 C of sauce on the bottom of a 9x12 pan.  Spoon around until bottom is covered.
2.  Put one layer of noodles (3 to 4 noodles depending on how wide your pan is).
3.  Spoon some sauce over noodles.
4.  Sprinkle cheese over the sauce.
5.  Add another layer of noodles
6.  Add sauce
7.  Add cottage cheese mixture
8.  Add Noodles
9.  Add Sauce
10.  Add cheese

Bake covered 35-45 minutes on 350
Bake uncovered 10 minutes
If you would like - broil on low 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and let set at least 15 minutes or longer before cutting into squares.

Basic Lasagna

Two Shall Become One! A New Enchilada Recipe

I have always had my favorite chicken enchilada recipe, but I just didn't care for the sauce, but the filling was to die for!  

I found a new recipe, where the filling seemed a little boring, but the sauce, oh my!

So I thought I would combine the two and I think I have found, what I think, is the perfect chicken enchiladas. This is the recipe I am going to use from now on.  

For the filling you will want to use this recipe from Paula Deen:

3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1 (8 oz) pkg. cheddar jack cheese, shredded
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
24 (6-inch) flour tortillas

For the Sauce use this recipe:


3 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Salsa Verde

2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Top with grated monterey jack and bake 425 for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!

For the spanish rice, I found this great recipe here:

Swedish Meatballs w/Egg Noodles

Chicken Lazone

This is one of those recipes that was floating around Pinterest.  So I thought I would put it on this month's menu and give it a try.

It was very easy to make.  It was good, but it was just so-so.  I am glad I tried it, but I probably won't put it on the menu again unless it's requested.

If you want to try it for yourself, the recipe can be found here.

My Kids' New Favorite Meal

Creamy Chicken Piccata

On the menu for tonight was "Creamy Chicken Piccata".  This is one of those recipes that I found on Pinterest and it looked so yummy, I knew I just had to try it and put it on the menu.  Needless to say, my meal was sold-out for tonight.  I prepared 5 of these + one for my family,

It turned out amazing and was fairly simple to prepare as well.  ALL my kids ate it.  Which pleasing 5 picky kids is very hard to do!  I was a little worried about the capers because I don't think they have ever had them, but no one complained.  They weren't that strong and they probably thought they were peas LOL!

I suggest that you give this recipe a try.  If you are too busy during the week try it on the weekend!

The recipe I used can be found here

Breakfast Casserole

My girls had a HUGE sleepover last night.  I figured the girls would be hungry, so in addition to the cereal, donuts and muffins, I decided to try a new recipe!  Having hungry teenagers is a great time to try a new recipe!

I had to laugh when all the girls (who were not asleep), gathered around to watch me prepare it.  I felt like I was on my own cooking show!  

The result was fantastic!  This recipe was so super easy and delicious.  

I found the recipe on Pinterest and it can be found by clicking here:

Recipe Review

Roasted Garlic Asiago Chicken & Potatoes

I love to try new recipes and I found a keeper!  Tonight I fixed this wonderful meal of roasted garlic asiago chicken & potatoes.  I found this recipe while browsing one day on Pinterest and I knew I must add it to the menu.  

I roasted 8 bulbs of garlic today and my house smelled incredible.  One interesting fact about this recipes is that all the ingredients I used are found around the perimeter of the grocery store.  I have always heard that you should shop the perimeter of the grocery store and not so much the aisles, and according to the Mayo Clinic, it's because it is healthier.  Who knows? but I did make that casual observation today and it made me feel a little bit better about eating this delicious dish. 

This recipe was quite easy to put together as well.  I pan grilled my chicken first and set it aside. Cooked my potatoes, added the chicken back in with the potatoes, along with the topping (best part), and baked again for 20 minutes on 400º.

The entire recipe can be found here.

Cookbook & Recipe Review

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

If you haven't heard of the "Pioneer Woman" well let me introduce you!  I discovered the Pioneer Woman while we were living in Naples, Italy back in 2006-2008.  Back in Italy, it was the good life, I had plenty of time to browse online and try new recipes, relax by the pool and enjoy my kids.  I had a housekeeper, a very small house and life was simple and good. I miss those days.  It was then I discovered her simple, delicious, "man pleasing" recipes that my whole family enjoyed.  The Pioneer Woman is not just a great cook, she is very funny and entertaining.  She refers to her husband as "Marlboro Man".

Some tried-and-true recipes that I suggest are:

The Malboro Man Sandwich

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever

Malboro Man's Second Favorite Sandwich 

Chicken Spaghetti

Pan Fried Ribeye Steak

Apple Dumplings

I could seriously go on and on.  Go check out her recipes and try some, you will not be disappointed!

The Pioneer Woman's real name is Ree Drummond, she is married with 4 children and lives out west on a ranch.   She now has her own cooking show on Food Network appropriately called "The Pioneer Woman".

This is a picture of Ree and her family

Photo shared from Food Network, Pioneer Woamn

She has a couple of cookbooks out now, the one above is her first.  I love her cookbooks because she goes into simple, but great detail in her recipes.  There are photos of every recipe and detailed photos with instructions.  It is a beautifully written and photographed cookbook.  That even tells stories, which I love!

Sample page from cookbook, showing detailed photos.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes, Pioneer Woman Recipe

The recipe that I chose from the cookbook to prepare is Twice-Baked Potatoes. I was making these anyway for a meal, so I thought I would just go with this.  These are very simple and easy to make and they taste delicious!  They can go with anything as well.  My whole family loves them.  The recipe can be found here.  

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Today I made a fresh strawberry cake for a customer.  This is one of my favorite cakes to make.  It's just so pretty and taste delicious!  I mostly go by Paula Deen's recipe but instead of using the frozen strawberries in syrup, I use fresh strawberries with a little sugar to make my own syrup.  

Peanut Butter Pie

This past week we had two very important holidays!  I bet you didn't know that January 23rd was National Pie Day and January 24th was National Peanut Butter Day!  Who knew we had such important holidays!  I am behind a few days so I thought I could combine the two and celebrate by making a Peanut Butter Pie!  This peanut butter pie has long been a favorite of mine. 

The History Behind the Recipe

Peanut Butter Pie Filling

As you know by now, I love the history behind things.  Well, there is a little history behind this pie.  Right outside my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida was a little town called Orange Park, Florida.  In Orange Park there was a little tea room that my grandma, my mother and I would regularly frequent.  It was called, "The Sisters Tea Room". The Sisters was ran by two sisters. Everything was made fresh and from scratch.  It was long known that their specialities were pies and chicken salad.  One just doesn't go to the "Sisters" without having a slice of pie! 

The Sisters put together a little cookbook and sold it.  Thank goodness someone had the sense to get me this as a wedding present back in the day and it has been cherished ever since.

Unfortunately, the Sisters Tea Room is no more.  It closed a few years back when the "sisters", Gwen and Bobbie Jo retired.  Another piece of history gone.  Fortunately a new restaurant bought all the rights to their recipes and opened a new restaurant using some of the Sisters recipes.  I have not had the chance to visit "Honey B's" the new restaurant, but I hope to next time I am back.

The Sisters Peanut Butter Pie was so good, Ronald Reagan even wrote a letter to the Sisters expressing his thanks for the wonderful pies!  Another variation of the peanut butter pie they made was the double trouble peanut butter pie which had a layer of chocolate!

Ronald Reagan's letter to one of the sisters.

Look at those peanut butter "crumbs" that is the best part of this pie!

Above is a picture of the pie I made for you today. The pie starts off as a pre-baked pie crust that has cooled.  Add a mixture of peanut butter & powdered sugar to make "peanut butter crumbs" and cover the entire bottom of the pie crust with these crumbs, saving about 2 T for the topping.

Next, make a basic homemade thick pudding mixture and cool.  Once cooled cover the peanut butter crumbs with this custard filling.

Mix some heavy whipping cream to make a whipped topping and carefully cover the pudding mixture, top with the remaining 2 T of peanut butter crumbs and you have yourself a wonderful tasty peanut butter pie!  For best results cool in fridge for an hour before slicing.

Bake a Pie Today!

Chicken & Noodle Soup

A cold day like today deserves warm soup!  The schools were cancelled today because of ice.  No better time than now to make a homemade batch of chicken & noodle soup with homemade bread.  I have 5 very picky children, two of them will not eat any soup what-so-ever out of a can, but they will gobble this down in a heartbeat!  They ALL love the noodles!

Chicken & Noodle Soup

When it comes to chicken noodle soup this is my "go-to" recipe.  I discovered this on Pinterest and have made it several times.  Like with every recipe I make I have a "secret special ingredient" or my own way of making it special.  My secret in this recipe is Reames Noodles!  These can be found in the frozen foods in the grocery store.  They are egg noodles and can be used for a variety of things, but the only time I really use them is when I make this soup.  Kroger has them for $1.89 a bag.  They take about 20 minutes to cook, or you can cook them longer and it is fine. If you would like to try the chicken & noodle soup recipe it can be found here.

Pork Chops & Rice

Pork Chops & Rice with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Tonight I tried a new recipe for my pork chops.  The only thing I would have done differently is use less chicken broth.  For this recipe I used about a cup and I should have cut it back to 1/2 cup, which I will do next time.

I have made a variation of this before using the old stand by (Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup), but this way is more healthy I'm sure!

I really like browning the meat in the skillet and finishing them off in the oven.  Just be careful not to over cook.  I used boneless chops for this meal and they are very lean and could easily get dried out if cooked too long.

The Recipe Can be found here

Classic Comfort Food

Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes

My favorite comfort food has to be meatloaf & mashed potatoes!  I love most any and every type of meatloaf.  My favorite meatloaf has onions and peppers in it.  Unfortunately I am the only one in my family that likes it that way.  So, I have to go to Cracker Barrel for that!

For my family, I use my mom's meatloaf recipe.  It's pretty basic, but so tasty.  It does not have any peppers or onions or any "stuff" as my children like to call it.  My favorite part of the meatloaf is the special ketchup glaze.  

If there are any leftovers, which around my house that is rare, I love a meatloaf sandwich for lunch the next day.  This recipe is great for that, because the meatloaf holds up so well for slicing.

My meatloaf recipe can be found here

iMom Food

Tonight iMom starts back at church!  I am so excited because we are beginning a new series called "Celebrating Parenting".   Since it's the first night, we have food and this is what I am bringing.  I have never made these dishes before.  I pinned them on Pinterest and put them on my "Recipes to Try" board.  I finally made them and I can't wait to try them tonight!  If they are good, they may be on the menu soon.

 Italian Chicken Casserole

Jalapeno Popper Dip served with Crackers

The recipes can be found here:

Italian Chicken Casserole

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Southern Shrimp & Grits

One of my favorite seafood meals is just plain ol' shrimp & grits.  I don't think you can find a more easier recipe than that.  There are so many recipes out there for shrimp & grits.  But I think I have found one I really like a lot.  

This recipe book was my mothers.  It looks like from the inside writing it was given to her by Dr. & Mrs. Johnson.  The inscription says, "Mary Jane, may you have fun trying new recipes".  It looks like my mom liked trying new recipes as much as I do!

I have taken a little here and a little there, but I think I have came up with the best shrimp & grits recipe, at least to my liking.  Give it a try!

The recipe for my shrimp & grits can be found here.

For this recipe, I used the Land O'Lakes Saute Express that I talked about in my previous post.  Instead of using 1T butter and 1 T olive oil, I just used a pat of the Saute Express Butter & Olive Oil butters.  It worked great!