Archive for April, 2014
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Home, Nature, Photography, tagged Farm, Home, Kentucky, Nature, Photography on April 30, 2014|
Chocolate Chip Comfort Cookies
Posted in Cooking, tagged Bakerella, Baking, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Comfort Cookies, Chocolate Chips, Cookies on April 26, 2014| 7 Comments »
I needed to bake a treat for someone as a thank you gift, but couldn’t make my mind up on what I wanted to fix. You can never go wrong with one of Bakerella’s recipes, so I decided that these cookies were the perfect thing. Oh, my goodness…these are little pillows of chocolate heaven. The recipient loved them and so did I! Thank you, Bakerella!!!!
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
10 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips (The original recipe calls for dark, but I didn’t have any.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 cookie sheets. In a small bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk and set aside.
In another bowl, cream the butter, sugar and peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla; stir until combined.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Add the chips.
Roll the dough into about 1 1/4 inch balls. I used a cookie scoop to measure the dough and then rolled the scoop into a ball. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool before devouring!! This recipe made about 36 cookies.
Book Beginnings
Posted in Books, tagged Book Beginnings, Books, Cotton Malone, Rose City Reader, Steve Berry, The Jefferson Key on April 24, 2014| 6 Comments »
Please join me for Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader. There is always an eclectic list of books on the list sure to inspire you. My book today is the next Cotton Malone book by Steve Berry called “The Jefferson Key”.
PROLOGUE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
JANUARY 30, 1835
11:00AM
President Andrew Jackson faced the gun aimed at his chest. A strange sight but not altogether unfamiliar, not for a man who’d spent nearly his entire life fighting wars.
The first 6 Cotton Malone books were mostly set in Europe and Asia, but this one takes place right here in the good ol’ USA and it makes for a welcome change of pace. I loved the National Treasure movies and, if you enjoyed them, you will love this book. It really isn’t necessary to read them all in order (though it does help with the character development), so if you want to give these books a try, try this one!
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Nature, Photography, tagged Flowers, macro, Nature, Photography on April 23, 2014|
I love playing around with macro photography. The little details you catch with it just amaze me. It even makes an ordinary dandelion something extraordinary!
Enchilada Beef Dip
Posted in Cooking, tagged Add A Pinch, Dips, Easy Enchilada Beef Dip, Enchilada Sauce on April 19, 2014| 15 Comments »
People, let me tell you about this dish! I have made it so many times in the last few months and the last time I realized that I had not posted about it. That had to change because everyone else needs to know how tasty and easy this is.
It would be awesome at parties, but I fix it just for C & I for supper and then have the leftovers for lunches later. C LOVES it and always asks for seconds when I make it. The flavors are awesome and the gooey melted cheese is so so good. Try it and see!
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 tsp. minced garlic
1 can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese (I used the Fiesta blend.)
Corn chips or tortilla chips
Cook the ground beef in a medium skillet over medium heat until there is no pink left. Add the onion and minced garlic and cook for about 3 minutes or until the onion is soft. Sir in the sauce and the cheese. Cover the pan and allow the cheese to completely melt.
Serve with the chips of your choice. I found these Pringles tortilla chips and they were great! This makes a meal just by adding a big green salad on the side. Love it!! Thanks, Add A Pinch, for this recipe.
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Home, Nature, Pets, Pets/Animals, Photography, tagged Kentucky, Nature, Pets, Photography, Spring on April 16, 2014|
Beef & Cheese Sandwiches
Posted in Cooking, tagged A Southern Soul, Beef and Cheese Sandwiches, Sandwich, Slow Cooker Roast on April 12, 2014| 5 Comments »
This recipe is a leftover makeover starring last week’s slow cooker roast beef. It is also from Donya at A Southern Soul and it is a winner! I fixed these for lunch on a cold snowy day a few weeks ago and they hit the spot. These will definitely be made again and again.
3-4 cups leftover slow cooker roast
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 onion diced
salt & pepper to taste
4-6 hoagie rolls
4 tbsp. butter, divided
sliced provolone cheese
In a medium saucepan, add the roast beef and beef stock. Bring to a low simmer and continue to cook for approximately 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced.
Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a skillet and add the diced onion. Season with salt and pepper then cook the onions until they are golden and soft.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread a little butter on the inside of each hoagie roll then layer some of the beef, cooked onion and a slice of provolone cheese. Wrap each sandwich in aluminum foil. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!
Book Beginnings
Posted in Books, tagged Book Beginnings, Books, Elizabeth Wein, Rose City Reader, The Winter Prince on April 10, 2014|
Do you ever have a time when you want a new book to read, but you just don’t know what you want? I found this book during one of those searches. Any member of our local public library can use their library card number to access thousands of online books, both new and old. C & I both love to do this and I know I have had access to books that I wouldn’t have otherwise by doing this. There were a couple of books that I was interested in, but they weren’t available at the time.
While browsing, I found The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein. Here is the first line:
“He sat on the floor before the hearth with his knees against his chin, the flames at his back, and warily watched his father’s face.”
This is a story of King Arthur’s children and it actually a young adult novel. If you read my blog, you will know that I am a huge fan of historical fiction, but this wasn’t my favorite. It wasn’t a terrible book, but I got a little bored while reading it. AND, if it’s supposed to be a YA novel, there are some very adult themes in this book. Parents, take note that you may want to review this book first to make sure it is appropriate for your child.
Please join me at Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings.
Slow Cooker Roast
Posted in Cooking, tagged A Southern Soul, beef roast, Slow Cooker, Slow Cooker Roast on April 5, 2014| 3 Comments »
One of the great things about being a member of the Kentucky Food Bloggers Association and the Southern Food Bloggers Association is having contact with other wonderful bloggers. They are wonderful cooks and writers and I encourage you to visit their blogs as well.
A Southern Soul is a perfect example. Donya has some delicious recipes and her site is neat and easy to read. This slow cooker roast is going to lead into another recipe next week which may be even better than just the roast and the roast is wonderful.
2-3 lb. beef roast
1/2 large onion sliced
2 cups beef broth
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Let the roast come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Slice the onion and place in in the bottom of your slow cooker. Put the roast on top of the onions and season with salt, pepper, garlic & thyme.
Pour the broth around the sides of the roast. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
Picture Perfect Cooking 