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Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category

Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged , , on June 10, 2013|

Oh, hi!  Is it Monday already?  Wow, I guess it is so I had better get my weekly menu together.  Please join me and many others over at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday where you can find loads of meal ideas and inspiration. 

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and is looking forward to a successful week.  We did and are, especially since we are taking a little time off at the end of this week.  We will celebrate twelve years of marriage on Friday so we are going to get out and run around that day and hopefully just have some silly fun. 

Because of that, this week’s menu is a little short because I am not sure what we will be doing and that’s ok.  Everyone deserves a little free time.

Easy shredded pork BBQ and chips

Grilled hot dogs and oven baked fries (postponed from last week)

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven baked fries (2 nights)

Brown sugar meatloaf (new) with potatoes of some kind

Southern Plate’s Perfect Pecan Pie (I have had a pecan pie craving for a few weeks now.)

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Oreo Strawberry Pie

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on June 8, 2013| 7 Comments »

C and I both love strawberries and there has been a bumper crop this year.  I was cruising Pinterest one day and C even saw something on there that caught his eye.  It was a fresh strawberry pie and, for the life of me, I can’t find the link for it so please forgive me!  I don’t have the original source, but I tweaked it a little so I guess it is my recipe now.  If anyone recognizes the filling recipe, give me a shout out as to where it originated.  I hate not knowing. (Finally found it…it was from Hoosier Homemade.)

Anyway, one word of warning regarding the glaze…DO NOT leave it cooking on the stove unattended.  Stir it constantly or it will burn.  I learned this the hard way TWICE!

strawberrypie

1/3 package Oreo cookies, crushed

1/2 stick butter, melted

2 lbs. fresh strawberries

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

4 tbsp. cornstarch

4 tbsp. strawberry gelatin powder

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Crush the cookies in a food processor and mix with the melted butter.  Press the crumb mixture into a greased pie pan and refrigerate until chilled, about an hour.

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Pile those delicious strawberries in the crust and set aside.  In a small saucepan over medium-high heat combine the water, sugar and cornstarch.  Cook, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, until the mixture boils and becomes clear.  Remove from the heat and add the strawberry gelatin.  Stir to combine and pour over the strawberries.  Chill for an hour or two until the glaze is set.

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strawberrypie

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged , , on June 3, 2013|

Good morning and welcome to the first Monday of June!  What?!?!?!  Is it June already?  Wow, this year is just flying right by me and I wish I could slow it down just a little bit, don’t you?  Sorry I was MIA last Monday, but the holiday weekend through me off schedule a little bit as did working in the yard for hours and hours.  I really didn’t even want to think about cooking last week and I didn’t do a whole lot.

The next few weeks should be much better.  I took the time on Saturday to sit down and tentatively menu plan for the whole month so I could make a serious grocery list.  Hopefully, I will make it to the stores this week to re-stock our shelves.  I am listing several meals today, but one or two might not get made if I have to go grocery shopping after work.

Bubble-up pizza

Grilled steak burgers with oven fries

Pineapple grilled pork chops (new) with oven fries & salad

Grilled hot dogs with chips

Grilled tenderloin with butter roasted potatoes (Sensing a grilling theme this week?)

Pizza night

Double berry scones (New for this month’s dessert challenge)

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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Strawberry Freezer Jam

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , on June 1, 2013| 15 Comments »

C & I have a small strawberry patch that, in a good year, produces plenty for us to eat on and a few to freeze.  Last year was a terrible strawberry year so we had none left over in the freezer.  Thankfully, the same can’t be said for this season.  Our little plants are loaded down with berries and I am picking a good sized bowl every day.  Still, that wasn’t quite enough to please us so, in the last week, I have worked up 5 GALLONS of berries bought from a family friend.

I also have a new toy in my food arsenal that has been on my wish list for a while…a chest freezer! I am so happy with it.  I bought it on Lowes.com and they delivered it for free from my local store.  How easy is that?  Now I can freeze all sorts of things.

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Anyway, back to today’s recipe.  I made peach freezer jam last year so I had to make some strawberry this year.  The recipe is from Our Best Bites, but it seems to be just the basic freezer jam recipe that is very popular.  Here goes…

strawberryfreezerjam

2 cups crushed strawberries

4 cups granulated sugar

1 box Surejell

3/4 cup water

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Mash the strawberries and measure out two cups.  Mix the sugar in the berries and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

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During this time, mix the water and Surejell together in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and let cook for 1 minute.  Pour the Surejell into the berries and stir for 3 minutes.

Ladle the strawberries into sanitized jars leaving about 1/2 inch headspace and put on the tops.  Let these stand at room temperature for 24 hours and then refrigerate.  These will keep in the fridge for about a month or in the freezer for a whole year.  I have been loving this on a buttered bagel in the mornings.  It is so much better than anything you can buy at the store.

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strawberryfreezerjam

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , on May 25, 2013| 8 Comments »

Since I didn’t get to make any candy last Christmas, I decided that it didn’t have to be a holiday to make it.  Why not make fudge any old time of the year?  This recipe from Buns In My Oven that I found on Pinterest looked so yummy that I decided to try it. 

I usually like the classic fudges the best such as chocolate pecan and peanut butter, but I have to say that this one is right up there with them.  Of course, being chocolate-flavored helped a little! The only problem I had was that my chocolate chips wanted to melt a little in the warm mixture and Ms. Buns’ has perfect little chips in each piece.  Thankfully, it didn’t hurt the taste, just the appearance a little.

cccdfudge

For the cookie dough:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons half and half
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For the fudge:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter
pinch of salt
1/3 cup half and half
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

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Line an 8×8” baking dish with foil leaving a little overhang and spray with non-stick spray.

For the cookie cough: beat the butter and white sugar until they are light and fluffy which takes about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, salt and half & half and combine. Stir in the flour and set aside.

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Now make the fudge base:

Combine the brown sugar, butter, salt, and half and half in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat.  Warm and stir until the butter is melted and the brown sugar is dissolved. 

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Remove from the heat and slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Stir in the vanilla and then stir in the cookie dough.  Mix in the chips and spread it in the prepared baking pan. 

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Chill for at least 3 hours.  It was a little humid when I made mine so it took more time to set up.  Cut into small pieces and enjoy!

cccdfudge

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged , , on May 20, 2013|

Another week has passed so it is time for another weekly menu plan.  I don’t know about you, but the days just go by faster and faster.  Just think, next Monday is Memorial Day ALREADY!!  Why do pretty days seem to last half the time dreary days do? 

Speaking of dreary days, this weekend has been a little damp for us around here with scattered showers both days so we spent most of our time indoors taking it pretty easy for a change. Hopefully we will have some nice evenings this week to get out and enjoy. 

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven fries (2 nights)

Easy deep dish pizza casserole (new)

Shredded beef taco roast (didn’t get made a couple of weeks ago so it is still new.)

Pizza night

Cinnamon roll cake (new)

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.  Have a great week!

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Fruit Trifle

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , , on May 18, 2013| 23 Comments »

A little while ago, C’s family hosted a baby shower for his cousin and wife who now have a precious baby boy so, of course, I offered to bring a sweet treat.  I had been wanting to make this beautiful fruit trifle from Chef In Training and this was a great opportunity.

I love fruit and dip and this is just another pretty way of having that.  I kept the types of fruit pretty close to the original, but you could use any that you like.  It is a very versatile recipe

FruitTrifle

Strawberries

Green grapes

Red grapes

Pineapple chunks (fresh or canned)

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup sour cream

8 oz. crushed pineapple

1 3.25oz box instant banana cream pudding

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Layer fruit in a large bowl or trifle dish.

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Whisk the remaining ingredients together to form the topping.  Pour this mixture over the fruit and use a little leftover fruit to make a pretty design on the top.

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FruitTrifle

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged , , , on May 13, 2013|

Please join me and other menu planners at I’m An Organizing Junkie for today’s edition of Menu Plan Monday.  Welcome to the start of another week and I hope my work schedule is a little calmer than last week.  We had court three days and played catch-up the other two from those court days.  All of us at the office were beat on Friday afternoon and were ready for a weekend of R and R.

C & I made it to the grocery Friday night and to Lowe’s, where we purchased 3 more Compacta holly shrubs and a dwarf Alberta spruce tree to finish up the front retaining wall landscaping.  They were planted Saturday and we also installed 4 new landscape lights in the back garage flowerbed.  Now all of we have to do is get a load of landscape rock to finish up then we can start on some new project.  I don’t think we will ever call our house done because there is always something we want to do.

I am keeping this week’s menu pretty simple because I hope we get to get outside and enjoy our evenings.  Hope everyone has a great and blessed week!  See you next time!

Bubble up pizza

Grilled pork chops with oven fries

Sausage bake with salad

Slow cooker saucilious pork chops (new)

Take out pizza night

Honey bee cake (new)

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Brown Sugar Honey Glazed Ham

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , , on May 11, 2013| 8 Comments »

Because of some unfortunate circumstances, I was not able to cook as many dishes at Easter that I had planned.  In fact, I just cooked one: this tasty baked ham recipe that I saw on Trisha Yearwood’s show on the Food Network.  Her show is one of my favorites because all of her dishes are fairly simple with ingredients that you will find in any grocery store.

When I saw this recipe, I knew it would be a perfect holiday main dish and it didn’t disappoint.  I love using honey in recipes especially since my father-in-law and his first cousin have hives and process their own honey.  The little bees that made this honey buzz around in my own backyard.

bshgham

1 spiral sliced ham-Mine was approximately 10 pounds

1 cup honey

2 cups brown sugar

Adjust your oven racks to accommodate the ham and preheat to 350 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack on top of that. Spray both with non-stick spray.  You will want a large baking pan with sides to catch the extra basting liquid.

Place the ham on the rack and cover the ham with foil as well.  Place it in the oven and bake for half the estimated cooking time (about 20 minutes per pound).

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When you are close to the halfway mark, heat the honey and brown sugar in a medium pan until the sugar dissolves.

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  Pour this over the ham and continue to cook, basting occasionally with the juices.  Allow the ham to stand for a few minutes after it is done then slice and enjoy!

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bshgham

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged , , on May 6, 2013| 1 Comment »

Welcome to another rainy Monday here in our neck of the woods!  The last few days have been nothing but wet and dreary so we are ready for some sunshine anytime the weather wants to cooperate. It certainly has put our outdoor plans on hold, but I have used the time to take care of some housework and C & I spent Saturday in nearby Bowling Green using a few Christmas gift cards and doing a little shopping.  I used to love to shop all day, but now it just wears me out.  Is that a sign that I am getting old?  No? I didn’t think so either.  Ha!

I have a few new recipes to try this week, time permitting, so I hope they work out well.  Whenever the sun shines, I hope to be outside so some of those dishes may have to wait until later.

Italian sloppy Joes (new) with oven fries (Didn’t get made last week.)

Tacos with salad

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven fries

Salsa burgers (new) with chips

Shredded beef taco roast (new) with potatoes of some kind

Pizza night

Black/White cookies (new)

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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