Cornbread

So, not so long ago (maybe a year), Benjamin took me on a nice date to a high class restaraunt here in Phoenix that rotates around the top of this tower while you dine.  AMAZING!  Not to mention the AMAZING waitress we had!  She was just a doll!  Worked hard and sought out ways to make our night more pleasant.  She just went the extra mile!  Such a neat place!  Anyway, while dining in this place, they served us Cornbread.  Not a huge fan of Cornbread myself, I offered my hubby my piece, but he MADE me try a bite at least.  Needless to say, he never got my piece! :)  It was AMAZING!  And I ate every last bite! :)  He teasingly asked our waitress if he could have just one more piece of cornbread and she obliged, and with it, she brought out a card that had the printed recipe!!!  The actual recipe this restaraunt uses!  Oh, were we happy! :)  I've made it a few times since we ate there and every time it's the same, incredibly addicting!  So, I'm sharing it now with you!

1 lb (4 sticks) butter
2 c sugar
2 c cornmeal
8 eggs
28 ounces cream corn (see recipe below)
3 c flour
2 T baking powder
2 T salt
6 oz cheddar cheese

Cream the butter, sugar and cornmeal. Add eggs one at a time -- mix until incorporated. Add cream corn (see recipe below) and mix until incorporated. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until incorporated. Add cheese, mix. Grease pans.  Preheat oven to 300. Bake about 1 hr until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

This recipe yeilds either 1 - 9x13; or 2 - 9x9; or 4 - large loaf pans. 

Note:  This can also be frozen UNBAKED, and baked the day of serving.  See pictures. 


Cream Corn

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 c heavy cream
1 t salt
2 T sugar
1/4 t pepper
2 Tbutter
1 c whole milk
2 T flour
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet over medium heat, combine the corn, cream, salt, sugar, pepper and butter. Whisk together the milk and flour, and stir into the corn mixture. Cook stirring over medium heat until the mixture is thickened, and corn is cooked through. Remove from heat, and stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted. Serve hot or use for recipe.

Crunchy Romaine Toss Salad

 The yummy homemade dressing!!!

 The crunchies you'll put on top!!!

 Fresh sliced strawberries!

The Salad!

Lettuce Salad:
1 head Romaine lettuce, washed and cut
1 lb strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
3 green onions
2 heads of brocoli

Crunchies:

2 pkg Ramen noodles, crushed
1 c slivered almonds
1/2 stick butter

Dressing:

1 c vegatable oil
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 c sugar
1 T soy sauce

Cut, wash and prepare lettuce and put in a large bowl.  Wash and cut brocoli into small bite size pieces.  Cut green onion and put over lettuce with the brocoli.  In a small saucepan, melt butter.  Add DRY broken up Ramen Noodles and almonds and saute until they are golden.  I would suggest a medium heat and watch closely stirring frequently.  These will burn quickly if they are not watched.  In another container (I use a Ziploc Twist and Lock) and mix together oil, red wine vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.  Cover with lid and shake until everything is well combined.  When ready to eat, serve lettuce bowl part onto your plate, top with strawberries, crunchies and the amount of dressing you desire!  Eat!  This is so light and so refreshing!  You will want seconds!  I DO NOT recommend putting EVERYTHING all together in one big bowl as once it's all combined it all must be eaten!  If you serve separately, you can use as leftovers!

Paul Specials

This recipe is one I will always remember from way back!  My mom used to work as a waitress at a small restaraunt where she grew up where these sandwiches were served!  Simple, yet there's something I can't explain about how good they are! :)  They just are! :)

1 package hamburger buns

1 lb pork sausage (I use my breakfast sausage recipe.), browned and drained

1 can pizza sauce

1 lb shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Toast your buns on broil in the oven watching very carefully!  They toast quickly when on broil.  Take them out of the oven and put a heap of cheese on the top bun and a spoonful of pizza sauce on the bottom bun.  Add a spoonful of your browned pork sausage on top of the sauce.  Throw back into your oven at 350 and bake until your cheese is melted.  Usually about 15 minutes.  If you like your cheese a little more crispy put it on broil at the very end for about a minute until it is golden!  This is a great meal for a larger group party.

Cherry Scones

I'm back!  So sorry for the LOOOOONG extended time between today and my last post.  Ahem.  I will try to do better!  The funny thing is that I have tons of recipes typed in posts ready to share, but haven't uploaded all my pictures yet, so they aren't getting posted too quickly!  Hard to find the time right now to do that!  Things get busier the older my kids get! :)  I thought it was the other way around. :)  Boy am I wrong!

So, I just got back from a visit to meet my new NEPHEW, Nolan Whitson, a few weeks ago!  Oh, and I got to see my sister and BIL.  :)  That was great too! :)  I'm smitten with that sweet baby boy, but that's not why you all are watching my blog for new recipes, so I guess this proud auntie will move along! :) 

Anyway, while I was out there, the Royal Wedding took place and Nolan just so happened to wake up at 3AM for a feeding, so what perfect timing to get up and watch the Royal Wedding!  Won't ever forget this morning.  My sister and I watched as we drank hot breves and ate................ready for it............these very Cherry Scones!  OH MY!  Let's just say I felt rather "royal" while eating and watching, so here's the recipe! :)  My sister is an AMAZING cook herself, and gave me a great stack of new recipes for me to try and she's given me permission to post them as I see fit!  She briefly mentioned she wanted to "featured" on the blog, so here's to you, sweet sister!!!  Love you!

 Dough just out of the mixer!

Roll the dough out on flour surface to 1/2" or so thick. (mine here was too thin! :()

 Cut into 8 triangles!

 Bake!  I put mine in for 12 minutes and these are too done! :( 

Would've taken out at 10 minutes had I been watching! :)

2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
6 T cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2" slices
1/2 c dried cherries
1/4 c sliced almonds
2 eggs
1/2 c whole milk
1/2 t almond extract


Preheat oven to 425. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt. Cut in the butter until mix resembles coarse meal. Mix in cherries & almonds.

In a separate bowl combine eggs, almond extract and milk. Stir into the flour mixture just until moist. (If sticky, add a little more flour.) Turn dough and make into a ball. Flatten to 1/2" thick. Cut into 8 wedges.

Brush tops w/ milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15 min.

NOTE:  These freeze VERY well, just pull them out frozen and place on your cookie sheet as little or as many as you need and bake.  May need a few extra minutes, but not much!  The morning of the royal wedding we pulled them from the freezer and they were baked a very short time later!

Apple Salad

Growing up, my family would travel about one weekend a month to my grandparents' farm near Ankeny, Iowa!  OH THE MEMORIES!  Our children are now buried about a mile from there, so it holds even more meaning!  Anyway, my granny made this apple salad many a time growing up, my mom also made this many a time growing up, but I can remember this being one of my grandpa's favorite salads!  Mine too!  The combination is going to seem "off" but I assure you it's a great salad with great flavors.  I do, however, caution you to make it shortly before you will serve, refrigerate until you do, and discard the leftovers.  It's a salad that needs to be eaten right away!

4 apples (I prefer Honeycrisp, but do NOT use Granny Smith)
2 bananas
1 1/2 c mini marshmallows
1 c Miracle Whip
4 T sugar (give or take)

Cube all the apples into a mixing bowl.  Slice all the bananas into that same bowl.  Put marshmallows on top.  In a small bowl, mix together the miracle whip and sugar until blended.  You want to make sure the "tang" in Miracle Whip is almost gone, a little is alright.  Once this is stirred, pour over the top of your cut fruit and marshmallows and stir until everything is well combined.  CHILL! 

GROUND BEEF 93/7 ZAYCON EVENT

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!  GO NOW!  Ground Beef Event is here in Mesa (AM) and Chandler (PM), Tuesday, April 26!!!!! 

40 lbs of ground beef for $2.89/lb.  Go to this link:

https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf10027

and sign up for your account, and order!  Here again, no telling how QUICKLY this event will sell out!!!!  Although I've not done their ground beef event, I've been SUPER EXCITED to try it as I've been SO PLEASED with their chicken events!  I don't think I'll be disappointed!

Here's the link again!  Hurry fast before it sells out!

https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf10027

Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread!  Reminds me of my childhood sometimes Sunday mornings when our good family friends would make it adn serve it fresh out of their oven!  Mmmmm!  Unbelievably yummy! :)  I have to be honest, having watched it be made, I hesitated making it as it looked like so much work.  I've simplified the process and had it in the oven in less than 30 minutes! 

Biscuits, here's so you know what to look for! :)

Cut one tube at a time.  Quarter each biscuit.

Once one tube is cut, throw them all into your sugar & cinnamon!

Layering them in the bundt pan!

Microwaving butter, brown sugar & KARO!

Pour over uncooked bread.

Bake!

Here is your end product!

4 Pillsbury tubes of biscuits
1 c sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 stick butter
1/2 c DARK brown sugar
2 T KARO syrup

In a gallon ziploc bag, combine the sugar and cinnamon.  One tube at a time, cube each biscuit into fours.  Throw that quartered tube into the sugar mix, seal bag and shake coating each piece individually.  Put sugared pieces into a greased bundt pan.  Do this with each of the other three tubes of biscuits until all pieces are covered in sugar and layered evenly in your bundt pan.  In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and Karo.  Microwave for 60-90 seconds until all ingredients can easily be incorporated.  Pour this over the top of your biscuits and put in the oven.  Bake @ 400 for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  Take a large plate or platter and immediately flip the monkey bread out.  The caramel sticky layer will drizzle down over the sides.  Enjoy!

BACON!!!

Okay, so who is with me!?  I HATE frying bacon!  I don't use that word very often, but on very few occassions I use that word quite honestly!  Frying bacon has NEVER been a fun thing for me.  I can't stand the MESS it makes when fried up in a pan on the stove, and how it cooks so unevenly in the pan.  Keeping the temperature a right level in the frying pan is something I never did learn the science of.  Microwave was the next best thing, but even then it was hot to handle the dish in which you had to remove from the microwave, the MESS it created in my microwave from the grease splattering as it popped even under the paper towel, draining the hot grease, etc.  You get my point!  This task in my kitchen got so frustrating I completely skipped making any bacon at all!  I boycotted it with all I had! :) 

Fast forward, my dear hubby LOVES bacon!  I couldn't continue to be a cruel wife, so when I figured out how to FINALLY cook bacon, it's a REGULAR thing in our home now! :)  And everyone is happy!  My kids will eat and eat and eat and EAT bacon now! :)

Here's the trick! Your problems have now been solved and you won't BELIEVE what a difference this makes! Take a cookie sheet jelly roll WITH SIDES. Put a piece of foil on the bottom of that cookie sheet. Take your pound of bacon and lay each piece flat one right next to each other. They can be touching just a little. Put your pan in a preheated oven at 400 degrees. Bake for about 30 minutes, less or more depending upon your bacon crispiness likings. Take out of the oven, and let sit for a few minutes. I then take a plate and put paper towels on it and take the bacon and let it "degrease." Flipping on each side.

Not only does your bacon LOOK appealing with not such an ugly deformation, but it's PERFECT for things like bacon to top on your hamburger to make your bacon cheesebureger OR bacon for your BLT's in the summer!  OH MY! 

Alright, so there you have it! :)  THAT EASY & THAT SIMPLE!  Now...........off to eat some bacon in  my fresh egg omelet from our chickens! :)  Top of the day to you! ;)

Asiago Cheese Bagels

Any Panera lovers!? :)  I used to be until I moved out to the southwest where they have NO PANERA!!!!!  I've come up with my own solution when I get that REALLY BAD CRAVING (which it's been most recent cause a friend of mine came out here to stay a few months and facebooked that she missed Panera, and was SHOCKED there wasn't one here. :))  You have already seen a few other posts about my Panera addiction and this is just another! :)  Enjoy!

Balls of dough before hole is poked in the center!

Holes have been made.  This is a tedious process with LOTS of stretching needed!

 Water almost ready to start boiling the bagels! You'll notice the holes in the center are almost closed!

 Boiling!

Topped with cheese after they've been boiled!

 Baked!

PERFECT MATCH!  Asiago Cheese bagel WARM & a Breve!

It can't get much better than this! :)

4 c flour
2 pkgs yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
3 Tsugar
1 Tsalt
1 T sugar
1 c shredded Asiago Cheese

Put yeast into your warm water and stir.  Let sit for a few minutes, it will start to foam.  Meanwhile, mix together your flour, sugar (3T) and salt.  Pour yeast mixture into your bowl and mix until everything is well blended and a dough ball forms.  I use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook, this is THE BEST way to do it if you have it.  Once you've mixed the dough and nothing is sticking to the sides (add little bits of flour if still sticking to the sides of bowl until it doesn't any longer), drop it onto the counter and hand knead for another 5 or so minutes.  Then let rest on the counter with a damp dish towel over the top.  Let it sit for about 20 minutes.  Take and divide the dough into 8 even sections.  Once that is divided take each ball of dough and knead so that the creases are in the bottom of the bagel when put onto a GREASED pan for their second raising.  Once all have been formed into smooth circles, stick your finger into the center of each piece of dough and stretch as much as possible.  This dough is stiff and will spring back, just keep restretching them.  Put the dish towel over the top of the pan and put into your oven with JUST THE LIGHT on.  Let them raise for another hour like that.  Remove and preheat your oven to 375.  While your oven is preheating, boil about a gallon of water with 1T sugar.  Boil bagels 7 minutes, flipping them ONCE at about 3 1/2 minutes.  Remove and let drain on a paper towel.  It will stick to the paper towel, but will also remove fairly easy.  I let them drain for only about one minute.  Top with shredded Asiago Cheese.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes.  Just WATCH CAREFULLY as every oven will vary.  Mine were definitely done at 30 minutes.  I don't care for mine super dark.  They are best eaten right out of the oven.  Just my own opinion! :)  Otherwise when through, make sure to put any leftovers (if there are any) in a Ziploc to keep them moist.  Toast the next morning and top with cream cheese! :)

Reeses Dream Pie

HUGE fan of Hershey's Reeses Peanut Butter Cups OR Reeses Pieces! :)  My mom introduced me to this recipe less than a year ago!  OH MY!  Get ready to brew your cup of coffee to go with it! :)

2/3 c peanut butter
1 c powdered sugar
1/4 c milk
1 t vanilla
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz tub cool whip
Reeses Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping
1 premade cookie crust (Oreo)

Cream cream cheese, vanilla and milk until it's not lumpy. Add the peanut butter and powdered sugar and again stir. Fold in the tub of cool whip to the cream cheese mixture. Put this into your prepared Oreo crust. Top with Magic Shell and freeze for 2 hours. Take it out about 30 minutes before serving. You can also simply refridgerate for several hours before and keep the remainder (if there is any :)) in the fridge.