Cake Batter Kibbles & Bits

Ingredients:

• 10 squares of white chocolate/vanilla Almond Bark
• 4 tablespoons shortening
• 5 cups Corn chex cereal
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cup cake mix
• 1 tablespoon rainbow sprinkles

Method

• Melt chocolate and shortening in microwave for around 1 minute. Stir. If it is not melted, continue nuking for 15 second intervals.
• Place chex in large bowl.
• Pour melted chocolate and shortening over the Corn chex. Stir gently until chex are covered in white chocolate.
• Pour sprinkles in bowl.
• Pour powdered sugar and cake mix in bowl.
• Gently mix until checks are coated in dry mix and are not sticking together.

Slow-Cooked Sweet & Tangy Chicken Wings

• 10-12 chicken wing drummettes
• 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• Dash pepper
• 1-1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• Dash red pepper flakes

• Sprinkle chicken wings with a dash of salt and pepper. Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to a greased slow cooker.
• Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, remaining salt, olive oil, and broth; pour over wings. Toss to coat.
• Cover and cook on low for 3-1/4 to 3-3/4 hours or until chicken juices run clear. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Bleu Cheese Vinagrette Salad

I need a fresh side (and also I want to learn to start making yummy salads), so I'm going to try this one out for dinner today!

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• 2 hearts romaine, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 pound blue cheese crumbles, in specialty cheese section of your market
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup croutons

Place lettuce in large bowl and cut/tear lettuce pieces to desired size.
Combine garlic, oregano, sugar, 1/2 of bleu cheese and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
Add oil to dressing in slow stream and mix to spread onto the leaves
Add the rest of the bleu cheese to the salad
Pour vinegar mixture over salad & add salt and pepper to taste

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Dr. Pepper Lemon Pepper Tangy Glazed Sirloin

Gonna grill out today, and here's what's on the menu!

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DR. PEPPER LEMON PEPPER TANGY GLAZED SIRLOIN


Ingredients for marinade

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup Dr. Pepper
• 1/4 cup A1 sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 minced garlic clove (or 1/4 teaspoon pre-prepared minced garlic)
• 1 to 2 pounds top sirloin steak
• Lemon pepper seasoning

Ingredients for glaze

• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (any kind you like!)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup A1 sauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses or dark corn syrup

Method

• Mix together marinade ingredients in a gallon-size plastic bag (NOT the lemon pepper, that's for later). Cut the steaks into 1 inch-wide strips (should be 4-6 strips per steak depending on how big the steak is)
• Place strips in marinade, mix around to coat, and allow to soak up the flavor in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight
• After marinading, remove steak from bag, throw away bag, and sprinkle the steaks with the lemon pepper seasoning
• Cook on the grill until desired doneness is attained (should be 8-12 minutes). Prepare the glaze.
• When steaks are a few minutes from being done, brush on the glaze and allow steaks to remain on grill to heat and caramelize the glaze.

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Honey Balsamic Chicken

I've got some chicken in my freezer that needs to be used before it's burned to death, so I'm trying my hand at a honey balsamic chicken recipe with my own spin...

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HONEY BALSAMIC CHICKEN

Ingredients for glaze
 
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (I used the kind infused with pomegranate)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)

Ingredients for chicken

2 chicken breasts (or 4 tenderloins)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Pinch of nutmeg

Method

1. Coat chicken with dry ingredients
2. Place chicken in a skillet at medium heat with a pat of butter for 4-7 minutes
3. Remove chicken from skillet and simmer the glaze in the skillet for 1-2 mintues
4. Place chicken pieces in skillet again, making sure to turn so that glaze coats them. Heat until cooked

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Cookies & Cream Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Henry's baby brother is going away into the army on Sunday, so we're having a casual party for him today. I thought I would make a cute bundt cake to thank him for his service to the wonderful USA!

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COOKIES & CREAM BUNDT CAKE WITH VANILLA GLAZE

Ingredients for Cake

•  1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick softened butter
• 2 whole eggs (room temp)
• 2 egg whites (room temp)
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 Oreos, crushed

Ingredients for Glaze

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup teaspoons light cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Method

1. Double grease and flour your bundt pan
2. Beat butter, eggs, egg whites, and granulated sugar in large bowl until well blended
3. Add milk and vanilla and mix well
4. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until smooth (about 2 minutes)
5. Fold in crushed oreos manually until they are dispersed throughout the batter
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
7. Place cake on wire rack over a cookie sheet and allow to cool completely
8. Melt butter for icing and add it to other ingredients for icing, mixing well until a loose, creamy icing has formed
9. Pour icing generously over cake 
10. After icing has hardened, remove cake from wire rack and place on a platter/cake dish. Garnish with Oreos

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Meat Loaf

Needed a use for some extra hamburger I had in my freezer and decided to try my hand at some meat loaf. I thought it turned out pretty well!

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MEAT LOAF


Ingredients for loaf:

• 1 1/2 pound hamburger
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon dried minced onions
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/2 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/2 tablespoon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce 
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/3 cup finely ground Stacy's Sea Salt pita chips (or other form of dried bread crumbs, crackers, crouton, etc)

Ingredients for sauce:

• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 1/3 tablespoon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Method

1. Line a casserole dish with aluminum foil (this is an important step for your sanity!)
2. Use a food processor to finely grind up your bread crumbs
3. Combine hamburger, egg, onions, milk, and the various other ingredients into a large bowl and stir together thoroughly using your hands
4. Place meat in casserole dish in a "loaf" shape--this is just an oblong shape roughly a foot long, 4 inche wide, and 4 inches deep
5. Mix together ingredients for sauce and pour on top of the loaf, spreading it around and allowing it to drip down the sides
6. Sprinkle just a little more brown sugar on the top
7. Place in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from oven, allow to "set" for 5-10 minutes, cut up like a loaf of bread and serve

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Beans & Weenies

Henry and I have just gotten married on May 19th (Yay!), but I'm having to cook a lot at home since we are on a tight budget with me being in school, etc. Needless to say, before getting married, I would say my forte in cooking was in the dessert/baking department, so it's pretty intimidating to have to make an acceptable-to-eat-for-dinner meal that will not leave us starving. Thus, I've been expanding my horizons to bigger and better things (that are still easy, fast, and stuff that I already have in my house). The first being...

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BEANS & WEENIES


Ingredients:

• 2 regular-sized cans of baked beans (any kind you like)
• 6-7 hot dogs
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 table spoons dried parsley flakes

Method:

1. Cut the hot dogs up into 1/2 inch pieces
2. Dump the 2 cans of baked beans in a pot, followed by the pieces of hot dogs
3. Add the other ingredients to the pot and stir together
4. Place covered on medium-high heat for 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Turn heat to low or medium-low to allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes

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The Best Traditional Chex Mix

qI love Chex mix (aka: Trash, Scrabble, Trail Mix, or anything else you want to call it). It is a perfect fall treat for the whole family, and its salty sinfulness is a great pre-game to the State Fair, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's calorie-fiestas. I pretty much use the recipe on the box, but increase the butter twofold and add some secrets of my own--

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 stick of butter (or more)

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/2 tablespoon honey (or more)

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 cups rice Chex cereal

2 1/2 cups corn Chex cereal

2 3/4 cups wheat cereal

1 cup mixed nuts (or peanuts, or cashews)

1 1/4 cup stick pretzels

1 1/2 cup Cheese-it's

How to:

Find two deep, rectangular pans to cook your mix--you will be halving the mix among these two pans. Preheat oven to 250.

Place pretzels, Cheese-it's, and nuts in each pan (remember, 1/2 of the above measurements in each pan). In a large bowl, mix together the Chex. In a microwaveable bowl, completely melt the butter. As soon as you remove it from microwave, pour honey in the butter (you can use more than listed, but just don't use too much because your mix will be sticky!). Then add salt, garlic and onion powders, and Worcestershire to butter and mix. Pour this mixture in the pan with the nuts, crackers, and pretzels. Then, pour the halves of the Chex into the pans. Gently turn over mix so that it is adequately mixed and so each piece is coated.

Place in oven for 15 minutes. Remove and stir. If, after the first 15 minutes, you feel that the mix is not coated enough, add 1/2 stick butter with a little more honey, Worscht, powders, and salt. Cook for another 45 minutes, removing every 15 minutes to stir.

Spread mix on paper towels until cooled. Then, enjoy.

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Cheese Bread

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cheese. In another large bowl, beat together egg, milk and oil. Stir the flour/cheese mixture into the egg mixture, stirring until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

Creamy Chicken and Noodles

This is an easy an quick recipe that's perfect for those times that you don't really have time to plan an elaborate meal. Just use frozen pre-cooked chicken (which I recommend always having in your freezer) and serve with some nice steamed or boiled veggies.

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Ingredients

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
• 3 cups medium egg noodles, cooked and drained
• Chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat the soup, milk, black pepper, cheese, chicken and noodles in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until the mixture is hot and bubbling, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with the parsley before serving.

Grape Pie

I bought some sour grapes recently--so sour that I have trouble eating them enjoyably--so I decided to find a recipe to use them. Of course, leave it to the southerner to make a healthy food into a really unhealthy food, right? So, here you go, the grape pie:

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CRUST:

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup Crisco shortening

1 egg

5 tbsp water (plus more to get right consistency)

1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

Thoroughly mix the flour, salt, and shortening in a large bowl. You can do this with a spatula. In a separate bowl, mix egg, vinegar, and water. Pour wet mixture into dry mixtur

e. Use hands to knead into a dough. The dough should be rather dry--I added a little bit more water to make it more cohesive.

Take approximately 1/2 of the dough and roll it out. Place your 9" pie pan over the dough that you have rolled out and approximate 1 to 1 1/2 more inches to add to the diameter. With a knife, cut the dough in a circle with an 11 inch diameter. Remove excess dough. This is the hardest part of the whole recipe: you can a) use a large spatula to loosen the dough from the cutting board and quickly convert it to the pie pan, or b) put your pie pan on top of the dough

, and quickly flip the whole thing over to let gravity pull the dough into the pie pan. If there are cracks in the dough, simply press them together.

For the top of the pie, make another 9" wide circle and use the spatula method. Or, do what I did, and give up completely--roll the dough out and use a small cookie cutter to make little circles and use them to cover the top of the filling in an artistic way.

FILLING:

3 cups green grapes

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1/3 cup flour mixed with water to make a loose paste

Chop up the majority of the grapes into relatively large chunks (that should look somewhat

mushy), leaving the a few of the smallest grapes whole. Place grapes in a sauce pan with water, sugar, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. When boiling, add the flour paste and stir. Let boil for approximately 5-7 minutes, while stirring constantly. Turn heat on low and examine mixture--it should be more thick and syrupy, and if there are any clumps of flour, remove them or try to break them up. Remove from heat and add butter and cinnamon; stir. Put back on low heat for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.

Pour filling into pie crust that you prepared earlier. Add dough to top of filling. Sprinkle granulated sugar over top of pie, and add a few tiny pats of butter in various p

laces over pie. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove foil after 25 minutes, and let cook for another 20-25 minutes.

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I have never made a pie crust from scratch before, and it was literally the hardest cooking-related thing I have ever done to try to get that dough into the pan. My kitchen was a mess. But the pie is delicious, and I think it turned out beautifully despite the crust disasters!

Layered chili dip

This is the easiest and yummies dip that is quick to make for impromptu parties or gatherings. Just buy your favorite corn chips and serve it up in less than 10 minutes! For being so easy, it's addictive, so beware!

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Ingredients:

1 block of cream cheese

1 can of beef chili or bean chili (I like meat, so I get the meat)

1 bag finely shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Spread the entire block of cream cheese at the bottom of a square baking dish. Then, empty the can of chili and spread it over the cream cheese. Empty and spread the bag of cheese over the top. Put dish in 300 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve warm.

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Cinnamon Pie

'Tis the season for making lots of food! And, with a developing love for all things cinnamon, I am going to try out making a cinnamon pie today!

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• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 (10 inch) unbaked pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the beaten egg, butter, and vanilla. Mix well and add the milk.
3. Pour mixture into an unbaked 10 inch pie crust (glass pie plate is best).
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Let cool and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

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The batter for this pie is extremely thin...I mean, we are talking straight liquid. Don't be alarmed, it will turn out fine. I even upped the flour and reduced the milk from the original recipe, and it was still very watery. The pie may even be jiggly when you take it out of the oven, but it will set. There will be three distinct layers of flavor and it will have a smooth, custardy texture.

It's an ugly pie, so think about serving it with ice cream or putting some Cool Whip on top! Yum!

Captain Crunch Chicken Tenders

I had some Captain Crunch coated chicken tenders at a Planet Hollywood and thought they were so amazing because they were sweet and salty and crunchy. I found the recipe online and definitely thought I should try to make them!

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2 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 lbs chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into tenders)
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Thaw chicken breasts, cut each breast into 3-4 slim pieces, and dry strips with a paper towel before dredging.

Coarsely grind or crush the cereal in gallon size bag and set aside. Beat the egg with milk in separate bowl and set aside. Stir together the flour, onion and garlic powders and black pepper and set aside.

Dip the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour. Move around to coat well, then shake off the excess flour. Dip coated tender quckly in the egg wash, coating well, then place all coated tenders in the bag of crushed cereal. Shake bag until all the tenders are coated.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet to 325 (or for a few minutes on low-medium heat). Drop coated chicken tenders carefully in the hot oil and cook until golden brown and fully cooked, 3 to 5 minutes depending on size.

_____________________________Pictured with a baked potato and green bean casserole. I heated the oil too high, so the coating began to burn before the chicken had cooked fully. They were very yummy though, maybe I'll get them perfect next time.

Wedding Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for coating
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
1 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks.

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Christmas Sugar Cookies

I make these every year. They are a mess and probably are way more trouble than they are worth, but it is a tradition!

You must let the dough sit in the refrigerator for a long time. It's annoying, but it will make your life so much easier.

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Prep:

2 sticks butter
2 small eggs or 1 large egg
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 or 3 cups flour
scant teaspoon salt
scant teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon pure vanilla

After cooked:

1 cup confectioner's sugar
milk or orange juice

Mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg(s) and mix again. Add vanilla, salt, and baking soda and mix again. Finally, carefully mix in flour until well blended and sticky dough results. Let dough sit in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Take dough out of fridge and use flour very generously to spread it 1/4 of an inch and cut it into desired cookie shapes. Place cookies on greased bake sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 heat.

Take cookies out and let cool on wax paper. Mix a little no pulp orange juice or milk with confectioners sugar until a thick, smooth, white mixture results. Spread over cookies and place festive sprinkles on wet icing. Let icing harden for an hour, then place cookies in tins, separated in layers by wax paper. Keep refrigerated or frozen.

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Parmesan Dip

My friend George made me this EASY EASY EASY dip because he knew I would love it...So I thought I would write it down...because it is really good, and also REALLY EASY.

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1 block of cream cheese
1 small cup sour cream
1/2 cup powdered Parmesan Cheese
Pinch garlic powder

Mix sour cream and cream cheese, fold in dry ingredients and mix until distributed evenly. Serve with Plain Ruffles Chips.

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Apple Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Looking at the recipes I have here so far, they are all sides or appetizers. I've got a few main dishes up my sleeves, but I thought I'd add one that I want to try over the holiday break.

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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/4 pound) fresh pork tenderloin
kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 Gala apple, cut into chunks
1/2 cup Riesling wine
1 cup apple jelly
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish large enough to hold the tenderloin without folding it.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the pork tenderloin on all sides. Remove the browned tenderloin to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle all sides of the meat with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Cook and stir the onion and apple in the same skillet over medium heat until the onion becomes soft, about 5 minutes, and pour in the Riesling wine. Scrape all the browned flavor bits off the bottom of the skillet and stir to help dissolve them into the wine. Bring to a boil, and pour the onion, apple, and wine mixture over the tenderloin.

Mix together the apple jelly and balsamic vinegar in a bowl until the mixture is smooth and without lumps. Spread the jelly mixture all over the pork.

Bake the loin in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees F, 30 to 45 minutes. Allow the tenderloin to rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and serve each slice with a spoonful of the apple-onion mixture.

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Spinach Pinwheels

I love puff pastry probably more than anything on this earth, and when I saw Paula Deen making some spinach pinwheels, I freaked out and knew I had to make them. I might end up substituting the gruyere cheese with parmesan, but we'll see...

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1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
1 (17 1/2-ounce) package puff pastry sheets

Drain spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, for 5 minutes. Stir together spinach, mushrooms and cheese; set aside.

Roll 1 pastry sheet into a 13 by 11-inch rectangle. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush 1/2 melted butter over pastry. Spread 1/2 spinach mixture over butter. Roll-up, jellyroll fashion, starting with the long side. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry sheet, butter, and spinach mixture. (Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days, if desired.) Cut rolls into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 heat, or until golden brown.

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