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Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category

Have you visited Plain Chicken yet?  No, well, as soon as you are done here, get yourself on over to their place.  Their recipes are amazing and I have loved every one of them I have tried.  This is another success.  They call it One Pot Baked Ziti, but since I didn’t have any ziti noodles, mine is Baked Rotini instead.

I also used 2 dishes for mine since I was travelling with it so I guess that makes mine TWO Pots Baked Rotini.  No matter what you call it, it is still DELICIOUS!

One Pot Baked Rotini

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 tbsp. minced onion flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cups water

12 oz. rotini (or pasta of your choice)

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

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Cook the Italian sausage over medium heat in an oven safe pan until brown.  Drain off the fat.  Add the onion flakes and garlic.  Cook for about a minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.  Stir in the tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning.

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Add the water and pasta.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the skillet. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.

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Remove the skillet from the heat and add the ricotta cheese and cream.  Cook on low for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat again and add the mozzarella cheese.  Broil in the oven just until the cheese is melted.  This is awesome served with a big salad and garlic bread.

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One Pot Baked Rotini

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Well, folks, there is light at then end of the tunnel.  We have had warmer temperatures and sunshine finally in the last few days.  What a change from last Monday and Tuesday when we were being bombarded with this:

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I am so glad to see all of that mess gone!  I was so inspired by the warmer weather that I started a few seeds on Saturday.  Our breakfast table is now temporarily a gardening table.

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We have a couple of fun things going on this week so I am keeping the menu on the simple side.  Our local library is having a photography class one evening and I am excited about that.  Then the second annual Kentucky Green Living Fair is next weekend in Somerset and we can’t wait!  Last year’s fair was so much fun and informational so I expect this year will be even better.  If you are in the area, come and check it out.

I am including one new recipe to try if time permits.  Have a great week!

Chili/Vegetable soup (I have lots in the freezer that needs to be eaten.)

Southern Plate’s Deep Dish Pizza with fresh fruit

Tacos with salad

Panko Pork Chops (new) with oven baked fries and salad

Baked ziti with cheesy bread

Join me and so many other talented bloggers for Menu Plan Monday hosted by I’m An Organizing Junkie.

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Who doesn’t love a tender pork chop smothered in a tasty sauce?  No one that I know!  Real Mom Kitchen has found anyone either so she posted this delicious and simple recipe on her blog.  I can’t recommend this enough!

Fall Apart Pork Chops

6 bone-in pork chops

garlic salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Kroger honey BBQ sauce.)

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(I didn’t have garlic salt so I Just used garlic powder and salt separately.) Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and spray a 13×9” baking dish with non-stick spray. 

Season the chops on both sides with the salt, pepper & garlic powder.  Place the chops in the baking dish no more that 2 chops high.  Pour the sauce over the chops making sure all of them are covered in sauce.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  You will know that they are done because they will literally fall off the bone.  Yumm!!!

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Welcome to another Polar Vortex edition of Menu Plan Monday.  Yes, you read that right-another winter storm is rearing its ugly head.  In fact, I am writing this post on Sunday since I am not sure whether we will have electricity because there is a possibility of serious icing.  Ugh, spring can’t get here fast enough for me.

C & I did make the most of a pretty Saturday by heading down south to Nashville for a little fun and relaxation.  Lots of eating and shopping went on so check back on Thursday for all of the details.  The restaurant we tried was wonderful!

I get to have a root canal later this week (oh, joy) so this week’s menu is pretty simple and straight forward.  I do have a new sweet treat to try next weekend, but thankfully they are being given away as thank you gifts so I won’t be tempted to eat the whole pan. 

Hope it’s warm and dry where you are and I wish I was there too!

Chili/Spicy vegetable soup (I have both in the freezer.) with cheesy bread

Beef & cheese sandwiches (new) with oven fries

Sausage bake with salad and fruit

Pizza night

Salsa burgers with oven fries

Cheesy meatloaf minis (new) with curly fries

Raspberry brownies (new)

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

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I know the official start of spring is (finally) right around the corner, but I have one more soup recipe to share with y’all.  This is a delicious and easy slow cooker recipe from My Kitchen Addiction that I have made multiple times already.  This soup is easy to adapt to your favorite ingredients and flavors. Try it and I think you will love it as much as I do.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

32 oz. low sodium vegetable stock or broth

28 oz. diced tomatoes with juice

16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup small pasta (I used elbow.)

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In a skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil and add the chopped onion and minced garlic.  Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the onion/garlic mixture is soft and tender.  Transfer this to a slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients except the pasta.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup, add the pasta and cover.  Continue to cook on low until the pasta is cooked.  I served this with a side of cornbread and it made a wonderful meal.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

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Here we are on the last Monday in February and hopefully Spring is just right around the corner.  I am excited about the time change next weekend and gaining that extra hour of evening daylight.  It makes the time after work so much enjoyable to be able to get outside in the sunshine even for just a few minutes. 

Since I am trying to watch what I eat a little better, this past Saturday’s post will be the last dessert post for a little while.  I am concentrating on main dishes that are quick, easy, tasty and fairly healthy for the next few weeks.  Don’t worry though, I have too much of a sweet tooth to go too long with a treat.

On this same “healthy” line, I have a post in the works about a few apps and gadgets that I am using to keep track of my exercise and eating habits.  Most are free which is awesome and all are easy to use. 

Have a wonderful and blessed week!

Sloppy Joe bubble up (new) with fresh fruit

Pizza triangles (new) with salad

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven baked fries

Grilled hot dogs with oven baked fries

Pizza night

A Southern Soul’s Slow Cooker Roast (new) and butter roasted potatoes

Just wait ‘til you see what I do with the roast leftovers.  Thanks, A Southern Soul for the idea!

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

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I wanted to make something different for one of our Christmas dinners and I knew that several people there were cheesecake fans.  This was my first cheesecake so off to the internet I went in search for a recipe to try and found this one on Pinterest (of course) from Kraft. 

It ended up being a simple recipe and oh, so tasty.  C’s cousin’s little boy who is one and a half years old kept sneaking a bite while the adults were playing a game.  Needless to say, there wasn’t much left at the end of the night and that’s exactly how I like it.

Praline Cheesecake

66 Nilla wafers, divided

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

25 Kraft caramels

3 tbsp. milk

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Completely crush 50 of the Nilla wafers.  Mix the crushed cookies with 1/4 cup sugar and butter.  Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.  Stand the remaining wafers around the edge of the pan, pressing gently into the crust.

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Beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the sour cream and vanilla.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each until just blended.  Pour the batter over the crust.

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Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center is almost set.(I baked mine for 55 because my oven cooks a little slow and I was scared the center wasn’t done.)  Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake.  Cool before removing the outer ring of the pan.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.

When you are ready to serve the cake, microwave the caramels and milk on high for 1 minute or until caramels are completely melted.  It took about 1 1/2 minutes for mine.  Cool slightly then pour over the cheesecake and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

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Praline Cheesecake

This finishes up my Sweet Treat month here at Picture Perfect Cooking, but I am sure there will be plenty more to come in the future.

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Good morning, my dear readers!  We have survived another little winter “clipper” over the weekend and this week the temperatures are supposed to be in the fifties and sixties.  Yay!!!  Last Friday evening, our yard was full of robins and I took this as a sure sign that spring is on the way.  If it’s not, don’t tell me.  I like living in my little fantasy world when I can. 

Last week’s menu was a bust.  Do you ever have those weeks when you just don’t feel the best?  That was me last week.  I wasn’t sick and there really wasn’t anything bothering me, but I was tired all week so most of the cooking kind of went out the window.  Actually, it was more of in the window since I did hit the drive-thrus a couple of times.

This week should be better so much of last week’s menu has been postponed to this week.  Have a wonderful and blessed week! Oh, and Happy President’s Day!

Sliders with oven baked fries

Easy deep dish pizza with salad

Tacos with fresh fruit

Italian breaded pork chops (new) with butter roasted potatoes & salad

Spicy beef vegetable soup or chili

Crescent pizza triangles (new)

Southern slow steaks (new) with oven baked fries.

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

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How’s that for a recipe name?  Let me tell you, it is dead on because these cookies are chocked full of chocolate!  Bless you heart, Pioneer Woman, for coming up with this recipe that went straight to this chocoholic’s heart. These are amazing!!!  I really need to stop with the exclamation points, but these deserve all of them and more.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 whole eggs

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups white chocolate chips

(Get good quality white chocolate chips.  Kroger’s Private Selection chips are wonderful.)

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.  Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, scraping the sides once.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Mix in vanilla.

Sift the dry ingredients together then slowly add to the butter mixture.  Gently blend in the chips.

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Using a cookie scoop, dollop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the cookies are done, but still soft and chewy.  Let cool before snarfing them all down!  (Insert Cookie Monster noises here.  Nom, Nom, Nom!) Makes approximately 36 cookies.

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Pioneer Woman Chocolate Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Another month has flown right by and it is time for February’s dessert challenge hosted by The Lady Behind The Curtain.  This month’s ingredients are Coca Cola and cherries.  Hmmm..I had a little difficulty coming up with an idea, but this recipe hits the mark. I used one of my all-time favorite cake recipes and altered it to fit my needs.

The base of this recipe is the Coca Cola Fudge Cake that I wrote about back in 2011.  I left out the pecans and baked the cake in two 8 inch pans instead of a 9×13 inch dish.  This is a very dense fudgy cake and the glaze hardens just perfectly over the layers.

One little word of warning regarding the glaze:  Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring it over the cake or you will have a chocolate sauce river like I did.  I just kept spooning it over the cake until it started to set up, but some of the glaze was still lost off the cake plate. It was just a little bit sad.

Black Forest Coca Cola Cake Slice

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3 sticks unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, divided

1 1/2 cup Coca-cola, divided

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 can cherry pie filling

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8” baking pans.  Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.  Set aside.  In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 sticks of butter with 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 cup Coca-cola and 1/2 cup buttermilk.  Cook until it boils.

Add the boiled mixture to the flour mixture and combine.  Then add eggs and vanilla extract.  Pour the batter into the baking pans and cook for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes then remove and cool completely.

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In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 1 stick of butter with 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 1/2 cup Coca-cola. Let this come to a boil and then remove from heat. Beat in the 4 cups of powdered sugar.  Let the glaze cool for about 10 minutes or until thickened but still pourable.

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Place the first layer on a cake plate, pour about 1/3 of the glaze onto the layer and then pour half of a can of cherry pie filling.  Try to keep the cherry filling from running over the edge of the layer.  Place the second layer on top and pour the remaining glaze over the cake.  You may need to spoon the glaze from the cake plate back on to the cake if it is still too warm and liquid-y.  Let the glaze set until firm and enjoy!

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Black Forest Coca Cola Cake

Black Forest Coca Cola Cake Slice

 


Lady Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge

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