Balsamic Roasted Pork Chops

This recipe is so easy but so flavorful! I love the thick, tangy, robust, sauce! I think this recipe would also be perfect with chicken! I'll be trying it that way next time!

Cheesy Honey Mustard Chicken

Doesn't that title just make your mouth water? Simple ingredients with delicious results!

Candied Bread!

I never thought to 'candy' bread! But it's a great idea! It's a quick and delicious snack! The taste of this reminds me of the famous 'Auntie Anne's Pretzels'! I always get them when I go to the mall. I think I go to the mall just for that reason!

Firecrackers!

This is the kind of snack that you just can't stop eating! Especially if you love salty/sweet combinations! The little extra surprise in this treat is the slight spiciness from the Hot Fries and the cayenne pepper! Its just the perfect balance of sweet, salty and spicy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice

This is one of those rare recipes that makes you do a little happy dance when you taste it! I love that it's easy and made with simple ingredients, that most people have in their pantry everyday!

The Tequila Squeeze!

I've been having so much fun trying new drink recipes using Sauza Tequila. They are one of the sponsors this month in the Allrecipes.com Allstar Brand Ambassador Program. Forgive me for not having the proper shaped stemware for these drinks! I used martini glasses, wine glasses and a water goblet! Oh well, it still tastes the same no matter what kind of glass is used!

Easy Creamy Parmesan Basil Sauce

This recipe saved the day for me because my 19 year old daughter and her boyfriend needed something to eat for lunch! I was all out of leftovers and all the cold cuts were gone! Food shopping is on Friday, so the cupboards were getting bare!

One Pan Mexican Potato Casserole

 

I'm so thrilled at how delicious this potato side dish turned out! Besides the huge flavors...this was so easy and quick to make! I'm loving 'One Pot Wonders' these days because it's been a busy month so far...not much time for fancy cooking or difficult recipes! Everything is mixed together in one casserole dish, then you just pop it in the oven! Stir one time during baking...add the sauce and cheese...stir and continue baking until cheese melts! Done baking in 35 minutes!

One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice

This is a recipe I created for my assignment with the Allrecipes Allstar Program. This month one of our sponsors is Herdez. This sponsor generously sent all the Allstars this delicious package of their cooking sauces! Also included in the box was a microwave tortilla warmer! I can't wait to use that convenient kitchen gadget!

For this assignment we were asked to create a recipe using Herdez's new cooking sauces. I love Mexican food so this was such an easy task for me! I knew I wanted to make a hearty, stick to your ribs kind of meal! I think I achieved that in this 'one pot' recipe! My family loved my creation and I loved how easy it was to make! The chicken and rice cook together is the same pot! No need to pre-cook the rice! Less pots and pans to wash always makes me happy! I love to cook but I hate to do dishes! I'll be making a few more recipes using Herdez cooking sauces! The flavors are so fresh and bold, but not overly spicy!

 

One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice

        3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced into bite sized pieces

                   1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice

                   2 large cloves garlic, minced

                   1 medium sized onion, chopped

                   2 Tbls. olive oil

                   1 Tbls. butter

                   1 tsp. kosher salt

                   1/4 tsp. black pepper

                   2 tsp. chili powder

                   2 tsp. ground cumin

                   12 oz. jar Herdez® Tomatillo Verde Cooking Sauce

                   14.5 oz. can low sodium chicken broth

                   2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

                   1/2 cup sour cream

                   1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or cilantro

 

Directions

In a small bowl mix together salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Sprinkle this mixture over the sliced chicken breasts and toss to coat.
In a very large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add seasoned chicken pieces along with minced garlic and chopped onion. Saute while stirring until chicken is fairly browned and onions are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Then reduce heat to medium/low.
Add the uncooked rice to the chicken mixture and stir well. Cook for about 1-2 minutes. Then add the Herdez cooking sauce and the chicken broth. Stir well again and bring to a simmer. Then reduce heat to low, cover skillet and let simmer for 20 minutes.
                   Then uncover and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Top with sour cream and parsley or cilantro before serving.
Serve warm.   Serves 4             

 

 



 

Island Pork Chops with White Wine Cream Sauce

I just love creamy sauces and I just love unique ingredients! This recipe has all that and more! The original recipe called for a pork tenderloin but I just used thick, center cut, boneless pork chops.

 

S'MOreos!

Who would have thought you could make S'mores with Oreo cookies! It's actually a very good idea! But I decided to take it one step further and one step easier! Instead of using regular Oreo's and adding a piece of chocolate, I used chocolate covered Oreo cookies! They're called Oreo Fudge Cremes!  I know, I know...brillant, right?

I found the idea for the S'MOreos **HERE**

Asian Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yes, I tried another Asian style recipe! I know...I may need an intervention!

I loved the meatballs in this recipe! I was so tempted to add some salt and other seasonings, but after I tasted it, I thought it was perfect! No seasoning needed! These meatballs were so flavorful from the pork, toasted sesame seeds and green onions!

 These meatballs would also be perfect served alone as a cocktail meatball!

Sweet Taco Snack

I came up with this recipe because I wanted to use up some leftover flour tortillas...and I
was looking for something sweet to eat!  

This was perfect because it was fast and easy! I love the way all the ingredients melted together and was tucked inside the tortilla. But if your lucky like I was, the melted peanut butter will ooze out of the taco and drip down your hand! A taco just isn't a great taco if it's not messy!

Blackberry Balsamic Chicken Breasts

I love how easy and delicious this recipe turned out! The flavor is sweet and slightly tangy! And I just love to pair chicken with fresh thyme! I sliced the chicken breasts in half to make them a little thinner. This helped the chicken to cook quicker. This dish was done in less than 30 minutes!

Caramelized Cabbage!

I came across this recipe about 3 years ago on a cooking site called GroupRecipes. I tucked it away in a folder full of recipes that I wanted to try! Then the other day I found the folder and decided to finally try the recipe! I'm so glad I did because this was so very good!

Bacon Wrapped Pretzels!

When I first saw this recipe I said to myself, "How can this be bad?"...and you know what? It can't be bad...it's absolutely delicious! You just can't go wrong with bacon wrapped around a pretzel rod! And this is not just bacon! It's bacon coated with brown sugar, chili powder and cayenne pepper!

Dragon Noodles

I've been having so much fun trying unique Asian style recipes! When I came across this one, I knew I had to try it because the ingredients were very few and very simple! I found this recipe on a food blog called Budget Bytes. Cute name, right!

Got Leftover Ham?

If you're like me, you probably have leftover ham from Easter! I made a smoked ham butt and I saved the bone with about 1/2 lb of meat attached! This is my favorite ham & bean soup...or hambone soup, as I usually call it! I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. This recipe says to cook the soup for 8 hours but it was perfect after only 4 hours! I served it with homemade cornbread. A great hearty, filling soup!

Sausage Chips

If your looking for a new, unique snack or appetizer, try these sausage chips! They were so easy and just like potato chips, you
can't eat just one!

Apple Danish Roll-Ups

This is a quick easy dessert that tastes like it came from a fancy bakery! I've seen many recipes with apples rolled in store bought refrigerated crescent biscuits, but that wasn't good enough for me! Noooo, I had to tweak it and change it to make it into something different!

Chicken Scampi

I love a good shrimp scampi! My kids...not so much! They're just not a fan of shrimp! So I decided to switch the shrimp for chicken! It worked...they loved this! 

Five Minute Chocolate Mousse!

When I have a chocolate craving I want something fast! So having this simple recipe is a joy! I didn't think it was possible to make chocolate mousse that fast! But after trying this recipe I was happy to see that it can be done!

Tastee Apple Giveaway!

I have been a big fan of Tastee Gourmet Apples for a long time! I buy them whenever I see them in my local food stores! These apples are always so juicy and decadent! You may have seen me blog about them a few times in the past!

All Free Casserole Recipes Website

I was very honored recently to have 3 of my casserole recipes posted on the All Free Casserole Recipes website! That site has so many interesting categories such as...

Foodie Review - a section where the editors tell us about food products that they've tried.

Featured Foodie - a section where they highlight certain food bloggers.

Free eCookbooks - a section where you can look through all the free eBooks they offer.

Plus sections for giveaways and grocery coupons! And of course, many sections of different casseroles such as chicken, beef, vegetarian, dessert and even diet casseroles!

These are my 3 casserole recipes that they published on their site...



Corn Dog Casserole
Click title to see recipe

The Sloppy Shepard
Click title to see recipe







One Pan Baked Potato Casserole
Click title to see recipe



I love the well written recipe descriptions they added to each one of my recipes!

Go check out my recipes and tell me what you think!

For St. Patty's Day!



I'm not Irish but I made this corned beef and cabbage for dinner last St. Patty's Day in honor of the holiday! 'Corned Beef and Cabbage I' ...and I followed what this reviewer said...

 

Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2008

"I take the corned beef out and while the cabbage, carrots and pot's are cooking in the liquid, I put the brisket in the oven for 30 minutes with this sauce that I combine on the stove until smooth. 1/3 cup of brown sugar,2 tblsp of butter, tbsp of prepared yellow mustrad, 1/3 cup ketchup, 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. I combine these ingredients till smooth, then pour over the brisket while the veggies are cooking. 30 to 40 mins. at 350 will do it. Hope you like it, all of my friends who hate corned beef will only eat mine!" By Tracey
 

 I was so lost on which recipe to use because there are a million recipes for corned beef and cabbage! I decided to just pick the recipe with the most positive reviews! 
I made the right choice...we loved this!

This recipe worked out PERFECTLY!! Look at how that delicious sweet and tangy glaze just glistens on the corned beef! Thank you Tracey, for mentioning your sauce recipe in your review!

Unstuffed Greek Chicken Breasts

Oh how I love to make recipes as simple as possible! That's exactly what I did with this recipe! I'm not very good at stuffing things into pockets of meat! I can never get enough stuffing inside and the stuffing usually comes oozing out before it's done cooking! So why not just put the stuffing on top of the meat! Chicken meat, in this case! But I intend to do this with other meats also! And even with fish! I'm going on an 'unstuffed' recipe frenzy, so watch out!

Chocolate Cobbler!

This is some kind of wonderful...yes it is!  And this is what great songs are made of! I was happy dancing to that song as I was eating this perfectly fabulous chocolate dessert!

I'll try to put into words, what this tastes like! It is like a combination of a perfect cake brownie on a bed of the most splendidly light chocolate pudding! Some foodies have compared this recipe to a lava cake, but since I've never eaten a lava cake, I can't make that comparison! I just can't believe how delicious this turned out with so little effort and such simple ingredients! And what is even better is that it doesn't contain much butter and doesn't contain any eggs!

I even used low fat milk! So I would consider this a low fat dessert!

The Liebster Award!

 

I was recently honored to be nominated for this award from a fellow blogger named Summer at Mallow and Co. This award is to recognise the efforts of fairly new bloggers who fall into the category of having less than 3000 followers...that's what I found out when I researched this award on Google! I love Google! The Liebster award seems to be a very popular award in the blogging industry!

The word 'Liebster' is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.  All good stuff! And I'm so grateful that Summer would consider me or my blog to be any of those things!

This award doesn't come easy! There is a lot of work involved, but it's all fun work! Here are the rules for anyone who accepts this award...

* Tell 11 random facts about yourself
* Answer the 11 questions the nominator has asked you.
* Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 3000 followers) to pass
the award to and link them in your post.
*Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
*Go back to their page and tell them about the award.
*No tag backs.

 

Okay, here is a list of 11 random facts about myself...

1.) I don't like driving over bridges.
2.) I can't share food off my plate with anyone. Not even my own kids!
3.) I love garden fairy statues.
4.) I totally dislike the smell of wet dog, to the point where I lose my appetite!
5.) I do not like ANY sports except for boxing.
6.) I wish I had better handwriting.
7.)  I never saw the movie 'Titanic'...I know, I know, I really should watch it someday!
8.) A crab running sideways really freaks me out! And I live on an island, no less!
9.) I wish I knew how to knit! But it's just too boring to try to learn!
10.) I don't 'text' and I never will because it's so much easier to just talk!
11.) Now that I'm a blogger I wish I would have taken typing classes in school.


And here are the 11 questions from Summer...

1.) What are your hobbies or things you do in your spare time?
My hobbies are cooking and food photography.
2.) What is your biggest pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is clutter! I like to have things put away! I'm the total opposite of a hoarder!
3.) What's one of your favorite blogs of the moment?
'Made From Pinterest'...they test things that they find on Pinterest!
4.) Salty or Sweet?
I like a combo of the two! But if I had to pick one it would be 'sweet'...I have dessert every night!
5.) What is a goal you have for 2013?
To not sweat the small stuff!
6.) How many kids are in your family?
I have 3 older brothers and one younger sister.
7.) What is your dream job?
To get paid to test recipes!
8.) What is the hardest thing about blogging?
Using correct grammar and punctuations! Have you noticed that I just love exclamation marks!
9.) What is your favorite restaurant and why?
P.F. Chang's China Bistro because they make the best Mongolian Beef! And great cocktails too!
10.) What would your touchdown victory dance look like if you were in the NFL?
**See 'Random Fact List' above and read #5...but I'd pick the Chicken Dance!
11.) What's your favorite season and why?
Winter, because it's so much easier to get warm than it is too stay cool!

Thanks Summer! Great questions!

My list of 11 blogs that I would like to nominate for the Liebster Award are...

Arctic Garden Studio

Bake at Midnite

Smoked 'N Grilled
Oh Abby Day
No-Frills Recipes
Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom
Cookie Rookie
Hungry Couple
A Couple in the Kitchen
Chachi Joan
Made From Pinterest

My 11 questions for the above nominees are...

 

1.) What is your most popular recipe, among your family and friends, that you've created?

2.) How much time do you spend working on your blog each day?

3.) If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

4.) What's the furthest you've driven for a good meal?

5.) What is your favorite kitchen gadget?

6.) What do you do to relax?

7.) What is your favorite cooking show?

8.) Who is the biggest fan of your cooking?

9.) Who or what inspires you to cook?

10.) What is the most you've spent on a single ingredient and what was it?

11.) What is your favorite and most used spice? 



 
I hope the nominees, who accept this award, will be as honored as I am and have as much fun as I did, with their tasks!




 

 

 

 

 

Sausage and Brew

 

This is another recipe that I adapted from Allrecipes.com as part of my assignment as a brand ambassador. I found this recipe called Beef and Brew and tweaked it to work with Johnsonville smoked sausage. I mentioned this fun assignment yesterday in this post *here*. I used the same sausage to make the egg rolls in that post!

Smoked Sausage Egg Rolls

**Click Here For Recipe**

I thought I would try a unique spin on the average Chinese egg roll by using smoked sausage instead of ground pork! I was very happy with the results! These egg rolls are just as good as traditional egg rolls but are easier and less expensive to make! These are baked egg rolls, so they are healthier also!

Sweet Garlic Chicken

This recipe is so VERY easy and so tasty! And it only has 4 ingredients...well 6, if you count the salt & pepper! I love garlic and would put it on almost anything! But I never thought that combining garlic with brown sugar and olive oil could make such a flavorful recipe!

This chicken was so tender and juicy! This meal was done in less than an hour! It was sweet and savory...my two favorite flavors!

Island Dream Cocktail

 

My inspiration for this new cocktail creation came from this recipe *here*. I first saw the recipe on Pinterest. I was looking for a good way to use up a banana and some coconut milk. This seemed to be a great way to do that! I didn't have all the ingredients for that recipe, so I improvised! I was very happy with the results!

 

 This is a creamy and light drink that reminds me of the kind of cocktail you would have while on vacation in the tropics!

Ham and Bean Stew

I recently met a very talented food blogger with a real knack for taking amazing food photos! She's not a professional photographer but you would never know it by looking and her pictures! Her name is Judith Hannemann. Her food blog is called The Midnight Baker.

That's where I found this next recipe. This one stood out to me because I love smokey bean soups! But I never saw such an easy one with so few ingredients! So this is one I just had to try!

Cream Cheese Mints

I've been seeing lots of recipes for making your own mint candy! I love after dinner mints, so I decided to give it a try! The recipes looked so simple! I'm not much of a candy maker but it just looked so easy and tempting!

The recipe called for powdered sugar. I didn't have powdered sugar but a fellow food friend showed me this recipe on how to make your own powdered sugar. Yes, you can make your own powdered sugar from regular sugar! Just put the regular sugar in a blender with some cornstarch and blend away until it becomes powdered! Well, this didn't work for me...it just became slightly less graulated! I was getting the feeling that these cream cheese mints just weren't meant to be for me!

I decided to continue making the mints. So I creamed the butter, cream cheese and sugar together and added in the peppermint extract. I tasted the mixture and LOVED it. It tasted very similar to a 'York Peppermint Pattie' minus the chocolate coating! It was very grainy though because I didn't use powdered sugar. But I didn't care because it still tasted great! My hopes were restored!

Then you're suppose to shape the mint mixture into some sort of candy shape. I chose to make small discs. The mixture was very sticky, so this was tricky...I love rhymes! I placed the discs on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet sprinkled with sugar to help keep the mints from sticking. This worked great! I also dipped the tines of a fork in sugar to make impressions on each mint disc, just to add a little design.

Then these mints need to air dry for 2 hours. It was difficult to keep from eating all of them before they were done drying! I think next time I will freeze them and then dip them in melted chocolate! YUM!

 Here is how I made the mints!

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. cream cheese - softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbls. butter - softened

1/2 heaping tsp. peppermint extract

 

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl mix together cream cheese, butter and sugar.

Then add in peppermint extract.

Mix well.

If the mixture is too sticky add more powdered sugar.

Form into teaspoon sized balls and place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet dusted with sugar.

Dip the tines of a fork in sugar then press lightly into each mint ball.

Allow to air dry for 2 hours.

Makes about 8 dozen small mints.

 

This recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Pretzel Rolls!

I am such a HUGE soft pretzel fan! I just love the thin, crunchy, outer layer with the very soft and fluffy center!

Flower Hot Dogs!

I found this cute way of making and serving hot dogs on Pinterest...I think I may have mentioned that site a few dozen times! And I knew I was going to try it because how often do you come across a new way to prepare hot dogs? 

Reuben Dip!

When I think of a really tasty deli sandwich my mind always goes to a nice, thick, messy, dripping with dressing, Reuben sandwich! But I like my Reuben on white bread...

I know, I know! It should be on rye bread!

Seriously Scrumptious Drunken Pork Chops

 I have LOTS of pork chops in my freezer, as I mentioned in this post about a recent pork chop recipe that I tried...'Cornmeal Crusted Pork Chops'. So, of course I just had to try the 'Drunken Pork Chops'!

That title really says it all! This recipe was so easy and tasted so good! The sauce in this recipe had an Asian flare to it! I thought it would taste like BBQ sauce, but nooooo, it was so much better than that! It always amazes me how certain combinations of simple ingredients, can come together and make flavors that you would never expect! That's what keeps me compelled to try new recipes! It's like a delicious science experiment every time!

Handy Dandy Brandy Cocktail!

I love a good cocktail from time to time, but I don't have a large selection of liquors in my liquor cabinet! I'm not a big drinker, I guess!  I do like a good glass of wine with dinner...or while I'm cooking dinner! So I'll always have some sort of wine in the fridge!

When I do want a cocktail it's usually the fruity kind! I came up with this next one while looking through the liquor cabinet. It turned out really well! It's fruity but strong at the same time! If it's too strong for you just swirl the ice around in
the glass and them melt a bit.  

This is a simple cocktail with simple ingredients that you probably have handy...hence the name 'Handy Dandy Brandy Cocktail'...

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. brandy

1 oz. vodka

2 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice

1 oz. maraschino cherry juice

1 maraschino cherry

ice cubes

DIRECTIONS:

Fill a cocktail shaker half way with ice.

Add all ingredients except the cherry.

Shake, shake, shake and strain into a glass with ice cubes.

Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Remember what I said...if it's too strong for you, swirl the ice cubes around and let them melt a bit!

Sip and enjoy!