Slow-Cooker Crab Meat Fondue

This is a favorite among just about all of us here at home.  Me because of my  un-denying love of cream cheese, which can go un-noticed by no one I am sure, and my husband and children for the finely shredded crab meat that is throughout it.  I can generally guarantee that if it swims, then they will eat it.  So, here we have a win-win for everyone. 

1 stick- 1/2 cup of real butter (softened)
1- 8oz. brick of cream cheese (softened)
2 T. of Worcestershire sauce
2 T. of snipped chives (I use dried)
1- 6oz. can of shredded crab meat (drained, but not squeezed dry)
2 T. of all-purpose flour

-In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt and whisk the first 4 ingredients together.  Once they are thoroughly combined, stir in the crab meat and then follow with the flour.  Transfer to a mini slow-cooker (mine is a Crock-Pot Little Dipper) or a warmed fondue pot, cover and plug in (these slow-cookers usually do not have a setting, but if it did it would be set on Warm or Low, whatever being the lowest setting would be).  Serve warm with assorted crackers or cubed French bread.  Serves 4-6.  Enjoy!

Tiramisu Trifle

And then She said to let there be light.  And before them, with angels singing in unison, shining like a beacon of fluffy liquor goodness, was this glass trifle of layered Tiramisu.  And they all wept through their smiles of joy.

1- 5.1oz. box of INSTANT vanilla pudding mix
6 cups of milk (divided)
1- 5.1oz. box of INSTANT chocolate pudding mix
1- 8oz. tub of mascarpone Italian sweet cream cheese (softened)
6 cups of cool whip (thawed)
1 standard-size dark chocolate candy bar (I used a Hershey's dark chocolate bar-minced)
1 cup of extra strong brewed coffee (I actually brewed mine and let it sit on the burner warming for about 2 hours before I used it-I wanted to make sure that it was super strong and stood out in the dessert)
5 T. of Malibu Coconut Rum (divided)
1- 12oz. package of ladyfingers or Italian biscuit cookies (I used Stella D'oro Margherite Cookies)
dash of un-sweetened cocoa powder

-  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vanilla pudding mix with 3 cups of the milk for about 2 minutes.  Then in another separate large mixing bowl, repeat that process with the chocolate pudding mix and the remaining 3 cups of milk.  Cover both bowls and chill for at least a 1/2 hour to set up properly.  Using a hand mixer on low, blend the mascarpone cheese into the vanilla pudding, making sure to thoroughly combine them, then follow in with 3 cups of the cool whip and blend well again; set aside.  Remove the beaters from your mixer and rinse and dry them well to return them back to the mixer.  Using the hand mixer on low again, blend the chocolate pudding with the remaining 3 cups of cool whip, then blend in 2 tablespoons of the coconut rum; set aside.  In a coffee cup, stir together the hot coffee (needs to be warm to take hold of the liquor) and the remaining 3 tablespoons of coconut rum.  Then dip the lady fingers 1 end at a time (working with them in batches of about 6.  you want to dip them as you layer them in-no pre-dipping-go quickly or else they will literally fall apart in about 2 seconds!) and lay them out in a single layer across the bottom of your glass trifle dish.  Next, spoon 1/3 of the vanilla pudding mixture over it (I do a big huge mountain right in the center, then slightly swirl the dish around on the counter to let it even out and kind of fall naturally to the edges).  Sprinkle a light layer of the minced dark chocolate over it.  Follow with a layer of 1/2 of the chocolate rum pudding mixture (again piling it in the center and swirling the dish to let it even out).  Then just repeat these layers again, ending with a third layer of lady fingers with the last layer on the very top being the vanilla pudding mixture.  Sprinkle it with a dusting of cocoa powder and the remainder of the minced dark chocolate.  Place wooden toothpicks in about half way all over the top, then cover with saran wrap (the toothpicks keep the saran wrap from sticking to the top of the trifle and ruining the presentation-makes sure to remove them prior to serving though).  Serves 6-8.  Enjoy!

Broccoli and Cheddar Stuffed Chicken Pockets

Talk about making a statement at dinner alright.  This deliciously gorgeous dish looks much more difficult than for which it really is.  It is a great simple way to combine the main part of the meal with the vegetable side.  Taking only about ten or so minutes to assemble, using only a few basic ingredients and baking for about the length of time it takes to whip up some homemade mashed potatoes.  And there you have, a five-star meal for a family on a budget in the nick of time.  Perfect. 

3 large chicken breasts (about 2 lbs. worth)
2 cups of fresh broccoli (chopped and steamed)
1 cup of shredded mild cheddar cheese
4 T. of grated Parmesan cheese
1 T. of real butter (diced into 6 pieces)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 recipe of my Mashed Potatoes

-Preheat your oven to 400*.  Grease a 9x13" baking dish well; set aside.  Using a non-porous cutting board (meaning not a wooden one) and a sharp serrated knife, cut each chicken breast in half width wise.  Then working in the center of the cut edge, carefully insert your knife and slowly cut open a pocket without cutting through the sides or the bottom; alternate stuffing it with a pinch of cheese and about 3 broccoli florets.  Lay the stuffed chicken pockets out in your greased baking dish, making sure they do not touch each other.  Sprinkle the tops with some Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Then place a dot of butter on top.  Bake at 400* for about 30 minutes, then increase your oven temperature up to 450* and bake for about 5-10 minutes more (watching carefully) or until the chicken is done and begins to slightly brown on top.  Serves 4-6.  Enjoy!

Pecan Bars

Here is a great way to feed your hankering for some pecan pie without all of the work.  These little goodies are fantastic for a couple of reasons.  First, because they are ridiculously simple and quick to make.  I think that I spend more time setting up for them rather than what little time I actually spend on making them.  Oh, and let's not be hasty and forget about the fact that there is little to no clean-up for them once they are done baking.  Just merely fold up the foil and toss it into the trash.  Second, because they make more than enough for everyone.  And if you do not need a large amount, you can easily cut this recipe in half without having to whip out your calculator.  Last but not least, third because they are a delicious crowd pleaser everywhere that I have ever taken them too.  And to be honest, I have been making these for going on maybe twelve years now.  That is a lot of Christmas parties filled with satisfied sticky fingered samplers.

2 packages of graham crackers (broke down into individual rectangles)
2 cups of real un-salted butter
2 cups of light brown sugar (packed)
2 cups of pecans (chopped-or smashed inside of a ziploc bag using your sons toy wooden hammer like I do)

-Preheat your oven to 350*.  Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil.  Line them with the graham crackers, one smack up next to the other (if you only fill a portion of the second baking sheet up with the remaining graham crackers-that's ok- just fold up the foil to create a make-shift wall to 'shorten' the pan like I do); set aside.  In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Stir in the brown sugar, slightly increase the heat to about high and bring it to a good strong boil, while constantly stirring it.  Boil for 2-3 minutes or just until it begins to caramelize and look all bubbly and frothy.  Then stir in the pecans.  Using a soup ladle, spoon this mixture over your graham cracker lined foil-covered baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove them from the oven and leave to stand and cool completely before cutting them to separate the individual rectangles.  Serves many.  Enjoy!

Butterscotch Blondies

I have a butterscotch lover in our home, that would be my husband Rich.  He absolutely loves anything and everything that is made with butterscotch.  And that leaves a slim window to work within, since there is not much at the market to pick from.  Basically you can get butterscotch pudding or butterscotch ice cream topping and that's about it for the selection.  So, this left me to get creative and find somewhere to put it in with my holiday baking for him.  Santa's gotta have his favorite cookies, right?  I have always seen the butterscotch chips in the baking isle, but never really knew what to do with them.  So, I figured that I would just throw something together that was simple, easy and right up his alley.  And these butterscotch blondie bars are just that.

14 T. of real un-salted butter (1 and 3/4 sticks)
1 cup of light brown sugar (packed)
1/3 cup of sugar
2 eggs (that have stood at room temperature for at least 20 minutes)
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
4 dashes of salt
1- 11oz. package of butterscotch chips

-Preheat your oven to 350*.  Grease a 9x13" baking dish; set aside.  Using an electric hand-mixer in a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together.  Once it is nice and creamy, beat in the eggs, one at a time.  In another small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and the salt.  Add this to the butter mixture in small batches, making sure to thoroughly combine it before the next addition.  Then just fold in the butterscotch chips, spread out in your greased baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.  Makes 30 bars.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Bark Crunch

Now this one here, this is my most favorite holiday time treat.  To me there is not too much that I can rank up any higher than some smooth semi-sweet chocolate that is peppered throughout with little bits of roasted peanuts and specks of salty pretzels.  Paired up with anyone of my personal favorite wines and I am somewhere past cloud 9, out further floating between 10 and 11 I think.

14- 1oz. squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/3 cup of roasted peanuts
1/2 cup of pretzel sticks

First and foremost, line a large baking sheet with waxed paper (the larger the pan-the thinner the bark); set aside. Technically you can use a double-boiler for this recipe, but since I have never owned or used one, this recipe will be wrote for those of us without one. Place a medium sauce pan, that is filled 1/3 of the way with water, over a medium-high flame on your stove top. Place a small sauce pan inside of it so that it floats in the water-not touching the bottom and has no water inside of it-the little saucepan. Place the chocolate squares into the dry, floating little saucepan. Using a wooden spoon, continue to constantly stir the chocolate as it begins to melt (you cannot save melted chocolate once it has begun to burn-it ruins all of it). Meanwhile, place a large handful of peanuts inside of a ziploc sandwich baggy; seal well. Making sure to work over a wooden cutting board, smash up the peanuts into small shards with a rubber mallet, meat tenderizer, un-opened canned good, rolling pin or like me with a toy wooden hammer from your kids room ;)  Repeat this process for the pretzels as well.  Once the chocolate has completely melted through, stir in the peanuts and pretzels. Quickly pour the mixture onto the center of your wax paper-lined baking sheet and spread it out evenly across the bottom of the pan. Place the entire pan into your fridge to set up and chill for about an hour. Once it is completely hard, you can remove it by lifting up on each side of the waxed paper. Using your hands, break it apart into palm-sized hunks and store in an air tight container. Serves 10. Enjoy!

Peppermint Chocolate Bark

My 5 year old daughter, Paige Leigh, is my sole inspiration on this delicious holiday treat.  She absolutely loves peppermint-almost to a point of it being borderline unhealthy.  And since I traditionally make chocolate bark for Christmas Day, I thought that not only would she completely adore this special little indulgence made especially just for her, but she would also love the simple process of making it together with me as well.  She is a born kitchen fairy just like her Momma.  As soon as the holiday season begins to roll in, she is on high alert at the store for the presence of the old-fashioned candy canes, packed neatly in their open-front red boxes.  The good old red and white striped, hooked stick of peppermint hard candy-that never quite make it for more than a few days on our tree.

1- 12oz. bag of Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 T. of canola oil
1 standard-sized peppermint candy cane

-First and foremost, line a large baking sheet with waxed paper (the larger the pan-the thinner the bark); set aside. Technically you can use a double-boiler for this recipe, but since I have never owned or used one, this recipe will be wrote for those of us without one.  Place a medium sauce pan, that is filled 1/3 of the way with water, over a medium-high flame on your stove top.  Place a small sauce pan inside of it so that it floats in the water-not touching the bottom and has no water inside of it-the little saucepan.  Pour the chocolate chips and canola oil into the dry, floating little saucepan.  Using a wooden spoon, continue to constantly stir the chocolate as it begins to melt (you cannot save melted chocolate once it has begun to burn-it ruins all of it).  Meanwhile, remove the wrapper from the candy cane and place the candy cane inside of a ziploc sandwich baggy; seal well.  Making sure to work over a wooden cutting board, smash up the candy cane into small shards with a rubber mallet, meat tenderizer, un-opened canned good, rolling pin or like me with a toy wooden hammer from your kids room ;)  Once the chocolate has completely melted through, stir in the crushed candy cane.  Quickly pour the mixture onto the center of your wax paper-lined baking sheet and spread it out evenly across the bottom of the pan.  Place the entire pan into your fridge to set up and chill for about an hour.  Once it is completely hard, you can remove it by lifting up on each side of the waxed paper.  Using your hands, break it apart into palm-sized hunks and store in an air tight container.  Serves 10.  Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Winter Spiced Red Wine

One of my most favorite holiday-time traditions is one that my husband, Rich, and I have created without even realizing it.  Every year at Christmas time we go wine tasting out west of us in Utica, IL and cap the night off with a gorgeous dinner at a gorgeous place, the Starved Rock Lodge.  This is our third year running with it now, and it really is something that we both enjoy- I because my palate has changed since having children and I am a professional wine taster now and he because it makes me happy.  Not to brag, but I do know my wine.  Over the years of road tripping together to one family destination or another, we have started stopping at wineries along the way to break up the car time.  And I love it.  And my husband loves it because I love it, well let's just say that I am much sweeter with each sip.  But, anyways, to make this long drawn out story a little quicker, I will get back on track here.  We always start off our Christmas Wine Run as I call it, with the stop at the August Hill Wine Bar right in the down town district of Utica- all 1, maybe, 2 blocks of it.  And this is where I learned of this.  They had a heated coffee pot of this spiced red wine going on the bar top.  And once the bartender stated that this was a free additional tasting that did not count in for the 6 you purchase, I was all in.  Out of the four of us that night, I was the first to sample it.  And I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it.  Since this was the first wine bar on our list, I was confident in my liking of it and was eager to create my own version by using a regular store-bought cider spice mixture rather than purchasing their own mixture for $8.00.  And boy oh boy am I ever hooked.  It is like Christmas in a cup to me.  And if your palate is as mine, it will be to you too.

1 bottle of your favorite red wine (I used Vignoles by August Hill Winery-it's a semi-sweet red)
1/2 of a wine bottle of water
1- 5.65oz. carton of Aspen Mulling Cider Spice (or any other brand cider spice mixture to use for spiced apple cider)

-Stir all ingredients together in your slow-cooker.  Set it to go low and slow.  Serve warm, once it has been heated through.  Serves as many as you allow ;)

Cheddar Stuffed-Horseradish Burger

This is one darn good burger.  It has a great smokey flavor that comes from the smoked sea salt, which I received as a gift and am enjoying it in and on everything that I am doing lately.  It is probably one of the key main ingredients in this recipe, because it just adds so much more flavor and depth to the burger that can only be otherwise given by using a smoker-which I do not have.  And let's not skip the revue of the thick oozing goodness of the cheddar cheese, which is stuffed inside the center and is merely waiting to escape with that first bite.  Who is not a fan of anything that is stuffed with cheese I ask?  Not many I suppose.  At least not anyone around this homestead.  Then last, but not least is my most favorite part.  The horseradish sauce.  Which is the icing on my cake for sure.

1/2 cup of sour cream
5 tsp. of horseradish
1 tsp. of Dijon mustard
1 1/2 lbs. of 80/20 ground chuck
1/2 tsp. of smoked sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
4 slices of deli-cut mild cheddar cheese (folded in 1/2, then in 1/2 again)
egg hamburger buns (found in your grocer's bakery)

-Preheat your grill to a high flame.  In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream, horseradish and the Dijon mustard, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  Then, in a large mixing bowl, using your hands, combine the ground chuck, smoked sea salt, cracked pepper and Worcestershire sauce well.  Split it into 8 equal sized hunks, shape them each into a smooth ball and then flatten them into thin large round patties.  Place a folded piece of cheese in the center of 4 of the patties, place the other 4 patties over them to create 4 double burgers then just pinch the edges together to seal in the cheese.  Toss them on the top rack of your grill for about 7 minutes on each side for a MW burger- DO NOT use the spatula to flatten them down while grilling-they may pop and you could lose your cheese! (I usually am a MR-M girl on my burgers, but have found when I stuff them with cheese that I do not like them to be too undercooked) Toss them on an egg bun with a heavy smear of my horseradish sauce and maybe a pickle or two.  Serves 4.  Enjoy!

Grilled Garlic-Lime Chicken

This is a fantastic way to do up some chicken.  I love how the outside grills up so nice from the little bit of extra virgin olive oil, it really helps create a beautiful coloring on the chicken.  It also helps sear in all the juices so that the chicken stays perfectly moist throughout the inside.  And lets not overlook the fact that this chicken is extremely versatile, it can be eaten alone with a potato, chopped up in a salad, as a sandwich, diced up for nachos or even a burrito.  The possibilities are endless and all up to you.  No matter what you do with it, it will stand out above the rest with it's delicious flavoring and proper cooking.  Two essentials when it comes to having some chicken for dinner.

zest and juice from 2 large limes
2 T. of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. of dried crushed basil
sea salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper
3 small garlic cloves (minced)
4 boneless/ skinless chicken breasts

-Preheat your grill to a medium-high heat.  Combine the lime zest, lime juice, e.v.o., basil, salt, pepper and garlic in a small bowl.  Brush both sides of the chicken with it and toss it onto the top rack of your grill.  Grill for about 10-15 minutes (depending on thickness-mine were super thick and I did 15 minutes), then flip and brush again with the lime oil.  Grill for another 15-20 minutes more, flipping and brushing with lime oil too.  Serves 4.  Enjoy!

Feta and Tomato Spaghetti

A lot of the times, my recipes stem from little sidetracks of inspirations.  It could be from an advertisement, a magazine cover, overhearing something that my family is watching on the television (you have to nail me down with something tasty and sweet for me to watch on my own free will) or like this one, just from the mere suggestion of a key ingredient.  And that would be the feta.  I had never heard of putting feta cheese in a hot pasta dish.  Don't get me wrong now, I love feta, but have only really had it in or alongside a Greek dish like a Greek Salad.  I love how some Greek restaurants place it along with some Greek olives as a garnish on their plates.  Give me a little drizzle of some Italian or Greek dressing on it and I am in heaven.  But, to put it in a pasta dinner, this was a first for me.  I had actually overheard the cashier at my local market (which I am a faithful shopper of) mention that she saw a recipe somewhere about doing just that, having pasta with feta cheese in it.  So, then I was interested.  Well, to put it bluntly, I was way more than interested, I could not get out of that dang store fast enough to get back to my kitchen table, to my lab top that is, and google up some recipe examples.  And that is just what I did.  For over an hour.  Then I looked at what ingredients that I had on hand here and went to town.  And this my friends, is where it lead.  To this amazingly different, and more than delicious dish.

5 T. of extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of grape tomatoes (sliced in half)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
dash of crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 T. of fresh basil (chopped)
2 T. of fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley (chopped)
1/4 cup of white wine  (the closest I had was white zinfandel and it was great in it surprisingly)
1 cup of chicken stock
1 lb. of spaghetti pasta (uncooked)
1 small tub of crumbled feta cheese

-Heat up your e.v.o. in a large deep saucepan over medium-high heat.  Once it is good and hot (you will smell the e.v.o. when it is), toss in your tomatoes with a healthy amount of salt, pepper and red pepper.  Saute for about a minute (while constantly stirring), then add in you garlic and fresh herbs.  Once you can smell the garlic (about 20-30 seconds or so) pour in the wine, stir in and scrap with your wooden spoon then add in your chicken stock.  Bring this to a good boil for and hold it for a couple minutes, then reduce the heat some and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, for your spaghetti, have a large stockpot of water heated to a rapid boil.  Add in about 1 T. of e.v.o., a dash of salt (this will flavor your pasta and keep it from sticking together), toss in your pasta and boil it for about 9-10 minutes for Au Dente.  Strain the pasta and fold it right into your simmering sauce along with the feta cheese.  Serves 4.  Enjoy!

Almond Joy Cookie Bars

There are a few reasons why I love to make these specific cookies.  One and foremost, is because of my new passion, toasted coconut.  I am in love with it.  And I want it all of the time, basically on everything sweet from here on out.  I would have to call it my taste of the season for now.  There is probably a white layered coconut cake coming soon out of this current shear obsession, but anyways back to this recipe.  Two and because I am an overly practical person, is the fact that it makes so many cookies, and because they are nice and thick, they go further.  What can I say, I'm a stretcher of just about anything, including and maybe most particularly food.  And third, because no one else in the house is as crazy about coconut as I currently am.  So, basically in other words, they are all mine.

2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. of salt
1 cup of real un-salted butter (melted)
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. of real vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. of almond extract
2 eggs (at room temperature)
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup of sliced almonds
2/3 cup of shredded baking coconut

-Preheat your oven to 350*.  In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and the salt; set to the side.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract and the eggs.  Working in small batches, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, making sure to completely combine each addition before adding in the next.  Then stir in the chocolate chips and the almonds.  Spread this out evenly in a greased 9x13" baking pan and sprinkle the top with the coconut shavings.  Bake for 25 minutes (making sure not to let the edges become too dark).  Let stand and cool completely before cutting.  Makes 30 or more cookie bars.  Enjoy!

Sweet Honey Kringla Cookies

There is nothing like the sweet simplicity of these delicious cookies.  They are based on the soft and sweet Norwegian Kringla cookie, and I think they are the best warm and fresh right out of the oven.  Give me a few of these and a nice cold glass of milk and I am one happy girl.  And I am quite certain that our Santa loves them just as much.  He loves that they make enough so that he can pocket some to have the following morning with his coffee.

1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 egg (at room temperature and beaten)
16 oz. of sour cream
5 T. of real un-salted butter (softened)
1 T. of honey
4 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking soda
1/4 tsp. of salt

1/8 tsp. of nutmeg

-Cream together the sugar, egg, sour cream, butter and the honey in a large mixing bowl.  Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir the flour mixture into the batter in small batches, thoroughly combining it before each new addition.  Seperate the dough in half and place it onto a large rectangular piece of saran wrap.  Wrap up each 'dough log' securely and place flat in your refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour (it is so sticky and has to firm up).  When you are ready to start making the cookies, go ahead and prep your area.  Moderately flour a small section on your clean countertop (about the size of a dinner plate).  Lightly grease your cookie sheet (I use a stoneware one for all of my cookies and biscuits); set to the side.  Remove only 1 'dough log' from the fridge at a time (so that way the 2nd one stays chilled while you prepare the first one).  Open up the saran wrap and take a small slice off of one edge, about a 1/4"-1/2" thickness.  Roll this dough slice out on the floured surface with a flattened palm to about twice it's length or so (you can make them as big or as little as you like).  Then just twist it into the shape of an infinity symbol or the number 8, pinch the loose ends in and place on your greased cookie sheet.  Bake each batch individually (they won't cook evenly if you have more than 1 pan in your oven at a time-I tried) at 350* for 12-15 minutes (you want to catch them and pull them out just before they start to brown).  Allow to cool slightly, then remove with a spatula to dry on a cookie rack completely before placing on a platter.  Makes somewhere between 6-8 dozen depending on the size of them.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pie

I am a huge fan of pumpkin pies, well frankly pumpkin anything, but especially pumpkin pies.  And I would have to say, without discrediting my love for pumpkin pies, that sweet potato pie may be just as good.  Definitely my runner up if I had to list them.  It really does look and taste very much like my all-time favorite.  And basically, it is spiced just about the same.  The only real taste difference, is that traditionally sweet potato pie is a smidgen less sweeter than it's twin the pumpkin pie.  Well, well, well traditionally speaking that is, until I got a hold of it.  No surprise there that I just had to sweeten it up some.  Like I always say, sweets for the sweet.


4-5 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1 cup of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. of ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. of ground allspice
a dash of salt
3 eggs (beaten)
1 pie shell from my Tonya's Special Pie Crust recipe:  http://tonya-justcooking.blogspot.com/2010/11/tonyas-special-pie-crust.html
a bit of milk and a pinch of sugar to garnish the pie crust with prior to baking

-Preheat your oven to 375*.  Boil the sweet potatoes with enough water to cover them in a large stockpot; covered with a lid for 30 minutes.  Strain well and transfer to a medium mixing bowl.  Mash well with a potato masher.  Then just mix in the sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and the eggs.  Pour this into your prepared pie crust that is in a 9 1/2" pie dish (I only use Pyrex for my pie dish's).  Crimp the excess pie crust around the top with your fingers, brush lightly with some milk and then lightly sprinkle it with sugar.  You will need to either use a pie crust cover if you have one, or if you don't like me, you can just make one.  Take a 10"x10" square of aluminum foil, fold it in half and then in half again.  Using your kitchen shears, cut a circle out of the center, so that when you open it up and place it flat over the pie, the edges are covered by the foil, but the center of the pie is open.  Bake it like this for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and finish baking for 10 minutes more.  Let stand to cool completely, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to cutting and serving (or else it will not be firm).  Serve with a dollop of cool whip or some vanilla bean ice cream.  Serves 8.  Enjoy!

Homemade Play Dough

What better way to spend a rainy day when you are little, than to spend it creatively playing with playdough?!  My children will sit for hours at the table making little cupcakes and cookies out of their playdough.  And being able to make the playdough, allows them to be involved as well.  This is a great recipe to engage your little one's in with you.  Let them get creative by chosing the koolaid packets to make all of their favorite colors.   






*Mix together:

-4 cups of flour
-2 cups of salt
-4 tsp. cream of tarter

... *Add:
-4 T. of oil (vegetable or canola)
-4 cups of water

Stir well, then cook over low-medium until lumpy and fairly dry.  Knead on table and store in a air tight container like tupperware or a large ziploc bag.  You can even add in food coloring, kool-aid packets or scented oils into the water before you add it in at the end :) Enjoy!

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

With the days being colder and  much shorter now, I begin my baked dinner season.  The best time of the year to bake dinner in your oven I think.  When you are craving comfort foods to warm you up from the inside out, that is what I call the baked dinner season.  I always make lasagna at least twice during the colder months. And this recipe here, is my most favorite way to have lasagna.  I love to use loads and loads of the very best cheeses heavily throughout it.  And I do think that the spinach and the mushrooms go perfectly inside and still keep it hearty without adding in any meat.  Only to be enhanced by a deeply rich red sauce, that brightens up your taste buds.   

2 T. of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a carton of whole white mushrooms (sliced and chopped)
1 large clove of garlic (minced)

sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

1- 26oz. jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Prego Traditional)

1- 14 1/2oz. can of sliced Italian stewed tomatoes (undrained)
1- 15oz. tub of whole milk riccota cheese
1 large egg
a rounded 1/4 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb. of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)

1 box of no-boil lasagna noodles (9 to be exact)

-Preheat your oven to 375*.  Warm up the e.v.o. in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Once the pan and oil are good and hot, toss in your mushrooms with a good sprinkling of the salt and pepper.  Saute for about 2 minutes, while continuely stirring, then add in the garlic.  Once you can begin to smell the garlic (about 20-30 sec's) slowly pour in the spaghetti sauce and the stewed tomatoes (use your wooden spoon to chop up the tomatoes in the pan).  Bring this to a good boil, then remove from heat and set to the side.   Now for the filling, in a medium mixing bowl, combine the riccota cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese and a handful of the shredded mozzarella.  Now you are ready to assemble the lasagna.  Start by spreading out about a 1/4 cup of the sauce (I kept the mushrooms and tomatoes from getting into my ladle-so it was a basically just a light layer of the sauce) down in the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish (this will keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan) and a light layer of the spinach right over that.  Next, lay 3 of the no-boil noodles width wise across and spread with a light layer of the filling.  Follow with a light layer of the sauce, another light layer of spinach and then a heavy handful of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Repeat these layers again two more times ending the top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.  So, in case I am explaining it incorrectly, my layers go, sauce, spinach, noodles, filling, sauce, spinach, mozzarella, noodles, filling, sauce, spinach, mozzarella, noodles, filling, sauce, spinach and last mozzarella.  Bake at 375* for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and begins to brown lightly.  Serves 6.  Enjoy!

Meatballs and Gravy

I love this dish for multiple reasons.  One because it's good, of course.  And two, maybe even more for the second, it is easy as can be.  I make my Homemade Meatballs recipe once or twice a year and freeze them in large freezer Ziploc bags.  Then whenever we want homemade meatballs, they are ready to be defrosted and warmed back up.  That way even a hectic busy day can end with a quick homemade meal.

1/2 of my homemade meatballs found in my Meatballs in Red Cream Sauce recipe (about 15-20, if they were frozen please defrost first) http://tonya-justcooking.blogspot.com/2011/01/meatballs-in-red-cream-sauce.html
3 T. of extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion (chopped)
3 small garlic cloves (minced)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1- 14 1/2oz. jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Prego Traditional-it's our favorite)
1- 6oz. can of tomato paste
1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
1 lb. of uncooked penne pasta

-Start a large stockpot for a boil for the pasta.  Meanwhile, heat up your e.v.o. in a large deep saucepan over medium-high heat.  Once it is good and hot, toss in the meatballs, onion, garlic and a healthy amount of salt and pepper.  Saute while stirring often until the onions are translucent, then add in the spaghetti sauce and bring it to a boil.  Once it is at a boil, stir in the tomato paste and the Italian seasoning.  Let this return to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover.  Now go back to your boiling stockpot, add in about 1 T. of e.v.o., a dash of salt (this will not only flavor your pasta, but also keep it from sticking together) and then your pasta.  Boil for 7-8 minutes for Au-Dente then strain.  Serve a couple of meatballs and 'gravy' over a bed of pasta.  Serves 4-6.  Enjoy!

Lemon Drop Amish Friendship Bread

Here is yet another amazing variation of my Amish Friendship Bread.  This is a throw-back to one of my most favorite childhood candies, the lemon drop.  And everything about this bread reminds me of them.  From the sugary outside to the sweet and fragrant flavor.  It is definetly a sweet blast from my past within each and every bite.  This may just be my favorite variation yet...


For the Starter:

2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups of warm water
1 package of dry yeast (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE WITH A RAPID RISE DRY YEAST-IT WILL EXPLODE!)


Directions for Starter:

Make your starter right in a large one gallon-size double zipper zip-lock bag. Just dump in all three ingredients, seal and mush very well. Do Not Refrigerate it at any point. Just leave the bag/ bags out on your kitchen counter so you do not forget about them and - NEVER- use a metal spoon or bowl at any time (use plastic or wooden).


Day 1: (Day after the date on the bag) Do nothing

Day 2: Mush the bag

Day 3: Mush the bag

Day 4: Mush the bag

Day 5: Mush the bag

Day 6: Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour and 1 cup milk right into the bag, reseal it and mush it all together.

Day 7: Mush the bag

Day 8: Mush the bag

Day 9: Mush the bag

Day 10: Follow the directions below



1. Pour the starter out of the bag into a non-metal bowl (remember you should be using a wooden or a plastic spoon too).

2. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of milk (I used 2%).

3. Using a 1 cup dry ingredient measuring cup, measure out 1 cup of the batter and place into another new 1 gallon-sized plastic double zip-lock bag; repeat 3 more times to end up with 4 new starters. You can hand them out with a copy of this recipe to family and friends or freeze them by placing them into another freezer zip-lock bag and into the freezer immediately (the yeast will stay active for up to 6 months-defrost on the counter and start off again on the schedule). Just make sure to keep one back for yourself so you can retreat your family with 2 more loaves of this amazing sweet bread in 10 days :)

4. Preheat your oven to 325*.

5. Then add the following ingredients into the bowl with the remaining batter:

3 eggs (at room temperature and beaten)
1 cup of canola oil
2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk (again I used 2%)
1/2 tsp. of real vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 large package of INSTANT lemon pudding mix
zest from 1 large lemon


6. Grease 2 loaf pans.

7. Sprinkle the inside of the pans with a nice coating of sugar.

8. Pour the batter equally into the 2 loaf pans.

9. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with a little more sugar.

10. Bake at 325* for about 1 hour. If you are using a dark pan, shorten the time to 50-55 minutes. Always check to see if they are done by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of each loaf. If it comes out dry then they are done. One starter makes 2 loaves and 4 starters. Enjoy!

German Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread

The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to making unique and delicious Amish Friendship Bread.  And this particular one here is absolutely decadent.  The chocolate bread is both moist and dense creating the perfect backdrop for the best part, the roasted coconut.  A true match made in heaven.


For the Starter:

2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups of warm water
1 package of dry yeast (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE WITH A RAPID RISE DRY YEAST-IT WILL EXPLODE!)


Directions for Starter:

Make your starter right in a large one gallon-size double zipper zip-lock bag. Just dump in all three ingredients, seal and mush very well. Do Not Refrigerate it at any point. Just leave the bag/ bags out on your kitchen counter so you do not forget about them and - NEVER- use a metal spoon or bowl at any time (use plastic or wooden).

Day 1: (Day after the date on the bag) Do nothing

Day 2: Mush the bag

Day 3: Mush the bag

Day 4: Mush the bag

Day 5: Mush the bag

Day 6: Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour and 1 cup milk right into the bag, reseal it and mush it all together.

Day 7: Mush the bag

Day 8: Mush the bag

Day 9: Mush the bag

Day 10: Follow the directions below


1. Pour the starter out of the bag into a non-metal bowl (remember you should be using a wooden or a plastic spoon too).

2. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of milk (I used 2%).

3. Using a 1 cup dry ingredient measuring cup, measure out 1 cup of the batter and place into another new 1 gallon-sized plastic double zip-lock bag; repeat 3 more times to end up with 4 new starters. You can hand them out with a copy of this recipe to family and friends or freeze them by placing them into another freezer zip-lock bag and into the freezer immediately (the yeast will stay active for up to 6 months-defrost on the counter and start off again on the schedule). Just make sure to keep one back for yourself so you can retreat your family with 2 more loaves of this amazing sweet bread in 10 days :)

4. Preheat your oven to 325*.

5. Then add the following ingredients into the bowl with the remaining batter:

3 eggs (at room temperature and beaten)
1 cup of canola oil
2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk (again I used 2%)
1/2 tsp. of real vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 large package of INSTANT chocolate pudding mix
 RESERVE for garnishing the pan and the top- about 1/2 of a cup of shredded coconut- give or take

6. Grease 2 loaf pans.

7. Sprinkle the inside of the pans with a nice coating of cinnamon and sugar and then some of the coconut.

8. Pour the batter equally into the 2 loaf pans.

9. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with more cinnamon and sugar and the remaining coconut.

10. Bake at 325* for about 1 hour. If you are using a dark pan, shorten the time to 50-55 minutes. Always check to see if they are done by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of each loaf. If it comes out dry then they are done. One starter makes 2 loaves and 4 starters. Enjoy!

Seasoned Pork Tenderloin with a Mushroom Gravy

My five year old daughter, Paige, is quite the little helper in my kitchen.  She wants to be involved in everything and anything that I am doing, especially with my cooking.  And a lot of the times, like if I am stove top cooking, she cannot help.  But, that is ok by her, she finds other ways to still be in the kitchen.  One of them is surveying the inventory in my cabinets and my pantry.  She likes to let me know what we are running low on or what else it is that we should get to make something that she is wanting and so on.  This particular morning of the day that I was to make this dish, I was still mentally torn in how I wanted to prepare and season it, she was inspecting the contents under my kitchen sink.  She is long since past the point of spraying windex in her eyes or drinking draino, so please don't be alarmed at this.  She basically just likes to try and read the labels.  But, she came across two grease jars, which are just old jam or pickle jars that I use to store my run-off grease from my cooking in.  Both of them are labeled for what they each are and kept to the back of the cabinet.  She held both of them up to me and asked with a disgusted scowl on her face what these were.  I then replied very nicely that one of them was for general grease and the other, the other one was bacon grease.  She then asked me why they were separated into two jars and why not just together.  I just smiled and said that the regular grease was just for the garbage can eventually, but that the bacon grease was saved for making magic.

1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin
McCormick's Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 T. of real butter (I use un-salted for everything since I bake so much-but salted is fine too here)
1 T. of bacon grease (if you don't have any, you could just use more butter)
1/2 carton of large whole white mushrooms (chopped)
1 small clove of garlic (minced)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
3-4 T. of all-purpose flour (depending on how thick you like it)
1 1/2-2 cups of water
1 recipe of my Mashed Potatoes
steamed corn

-Preheat your oven to 425*.  Line a 9x13" baking dish with aluminum foil (for mess free-or else you will be soaking forever).  Moderately season all sides of the pork tenderloin, toss it onto the lined baking dish and into your oven to roast for 35-45 minutes (the center should be 160* when it is done).  Meanwhile, on your stove top, you can start your gravy (I started it about 10 minutes or so before the pork tenderloin would be done).  Heat up a large saucepan on medium-high heat with your butter and bacon grease.  Once the oils and the pan is good and hot, toss in your mushrooms and the garlic with a light salt and peppering over them.  Saute for about 2-3 minutes while stirring often.  Stir in your flour to coat and cook on for a minute to 'brown' it.  Then just slowly pour in the water starting with just 1 1/2 cups.  Bring this to a boil while still constantly stirring, throw a light dash of more steak seasoning in with it; continue stirring and cooking until it has thickened up (you can either add in more water to thin it down or not).  Reduce the heat to low and cover the top with a lid.  Once the pork tenderloin is done, remove it from the oven and go ahead and slice it up (no standing time is necessary with this cut of meat).  Serve it with some mashed potatoes and corn with the gravy over everyone!  Serves 4.  Enjoy!

Dutch Coffee Cake

I made this coffee cake this morning as a super special treat for my family.  What better way to start your day than to wake up to the aroma of brewing coffee and a coffee cake that is just about to come out of the oven?  Sounds like heaven if you ask me.  And that was pretty much the way it seemed that it was to my smiling husband and my excited children.  And in return, I don't think that I could receive a greater reward for the start of my day. 

2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking powder
a dash of salt
1/2 cup of real un-salted butter (melted)
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp. of real vanilla extract
1 cup of milk
cinnamon and sugar for the garnish

-Preheat your oven to 350*.  Spray a small baking dish (of any shape-I used an irregular-sized medium rectangular ceramic baking dish) with a cooking spray; set aside.  In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and the salt.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and the sugar together until they are fluffy; add in the vanilla extract.  Starting with the flour mixture and ending with the flour mixture, alternate stirring in the flour mixture and the milk in small increments.  Pour this into your greased pan, sprinkle the top with some cinnamon and sugar and bake for 40 minutes (decrease the baking pan by 5 minutes if using any kind of a dark pan).  Let cool slightly before cutting.  Serves 6.  Enjoy!

Sauteed Pork Chops with a Brown Apple Gravy

What a beautiful fall dish this one is here.  This is one of my most favorite ways to have pork chops.  They are so tender and moist prepared like this.  I absolutely love the pairing of apples and pork.   I think that they go hand in hand.  And, I know what you are thinking, you are thinking  that the gravy would be too sweet with the apple juice in it, but it actually comes off more savory than sweet when you have cooked it down with the pork chops in it.  And there is no better way to serve it up than over some of my homemade mashed potatoes.  Good hearty food is what I was brought up on, as are my children as well.

4 thick center-cut bone-in pork chops (the bone gives more flavor)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1-2 T. of extra virgin olive oil
1 large golden delicious apple (or whatever apple you have that is sweet, peeled, cored and sliced)
2 packets of brown pork gravy mix by McCormick's
2 cups of apple juice or apple cider
1 recipe of my Mashed Potatoes

-Generously salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops.  Heat up the e.v.o. in a large deep saucepan over medium-high heat.  Once the oil and the pan are good and hot, toss in the pork chops making sure that each one is flat on the pan (if you do not have a large enough pan to do all 4 at once, you will have to do them in batches of 2-no biggie).  Saute' them on each side for about 4-5 minutes (you are looking for a nice dark golden brown-not burnt- crusting to appear on them).  And you really only want to flip them once.  Just before they are about done on the second side, add in the apples to lightly brown them up as well.  Meanwhile in a small bowl, stir together the pork gravy mix and the apple juice; pour it right over the chops and apples.  Bring the gravy to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes (the longer the better).  Serve with some of my Mashed Potatoes (see recipe).  Serves 4.  Enjoy! 

Mini 7up Bundt Cakes

What a wonderful treat these little cakes are.  My husband especially loves to have them with his coffee in the morning.   They are soft and dense inside with a light almost crumbly exterior almost like a crusting around the outside.  Sweet and bright would be the best way to describe their wonderful flavor.  And I think that gorgeous would best describe their appearance.  Great with coffee to ice cream at any time of the day.

1 1/2 cups of real un-salted butter (softened)
3 cups of sugar
5 eggs (that have stood at room temperature for at least 20 minutes)
2 tsp. of lemon extract
3 cups of all-purpose flour
6 oz. (1/2 of a can) of 7up soda
powdered sugar for garnish

-Preheat your oven to 350*.  Grease the inside and the flat top of a mini 6 bundt cake pan or a regular bundt pan more than generously-soak it- and set it to the side.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and the sugar until it is creamy.  Then mix in the eggs and the lemon extract well.  Then beginning with the flour and then ending with the flour, alternate adding in the flour and the 7up soda.  Then just pour the batter into your mini bundt cakes, filling them about 3/4's of the way up in each.  If you are using a standard-sized bundt cake pan, then just pour the entire amount of the batter into it.  Bake at 350* for 35-45 minutes, carefully watching at the end.  They are finished when they are a nice medium golden color around the edges.  Remove from the oven and let stand about 5-10 minutes to cool, then run a butter knife in along the inside wall of the pan to separate the cake from it.  Then, using pot holders for your hands, flip the pan over onto either a wooden cutting board or a towel-lined counter top (so you don't scratch it with the pan).  You may have to flip it over with a little force to pop it out.  Sometimes mine flips out on the first try, other times I have to go back and redo it with the butter knife and flip it again and then it will come out.  Garnish with a light sprinkling of powdered sugar as soon as they are flipped out, while they are still hot (so it will stick to the cake).  Makes either 6 mini bundt cakes or 1 large bundt cake.  Enjoy!

Homemade Apple-Stuffed Chicken Noodle Soup

What could be better than a hot steaming bowl of homemade chicken soup when you are sick?  Not much other than a cup of tea with honey if you ask me.  And, let me be the first to say that the very last thing on my list when I am down and out sick is to be in the kitchen cooking. Because, generally speaking on my own behalf, when I get sick, I get really sick.  But, this soup basically cooks itself.  Whether you do it in your slow-cooker (setting it to go Lo and slow for 6-8 hours) or doing it on the stove top, all you have to do is start it early in the day and let it go.  Then just kinda get it all together at the end just before dinner time.  Easy and so well worth the very little trouble it is to make it.  Not to mention the cost factor, which is almost as awesome as how delicious it is.  Since I always have the majority of the ingredients on hand in my home, it only cost me just under $12 to make.  Which is less than a dollar a bowl.  And that in itself, makes this recipe a keeper.  Back to the basics is the new in when you are feeding a family, sick or not, in this world today.

4 1/2 lb. whole chicken (anything larger wouldn't fit in my pot)
1 small Macintosh apple (or any other sweet and tart apple)
1/2 a bag of peeled baby carrots
4 stalks of celery (chopped)
1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of ground white pepper
1 small sprig of fresh rosemary (used whole so you can remove it before serving)
1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
6 cups of water
2 cups of chicken stock
1 large bag of wide egg noodles (un-cooked)
2 T. of fresh parsley (chopped)

-Rinse the inside and outside of your chicken (I left the neck bone inside of it for the extra flavor) and apple well with cold water.  Take the apple and shove it (no other way to really say it) as far inside of the chicken as it will go.  Place the apple stuffed chicken breast-side down in a large stockpot.  Add in the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary sprig, bay leaf and then the water (if you cannot fit all 6 cups in, then adjust amount to fit in your pot-this just means that you will have to add in more chicken stock later in the recipe once the whole chicken is removed and only the meat is added back in).  Bring this to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low.  Simmer covered for at least 2 hours or more (I actually let it go for over 5 hours and it was amazing).  After simmering it, using tongs, remove the chicken to a plate and let stand until cool enough to work with.  Remove the skin and discard.  Then just pull the meat off and toss it right back into your still simmering stock and veggies (you can keep the remnants and bones to use in future soups, by placing them in a Ziploc freezer bag and tossing it into the freezer).  Remove the rosemary sprig and the bay leaf now and discard them.  Pour in the chicken stock and bring it back up to a boil on medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, bring a separate large stockpot of water to a boil.  Once it reaches a rapid boil, add in about 1 T. of e.v.o. (to flavor and keep your pasta from sticking together) and the egg noodles.  Boil them for about 7 minutes for Au Dente', then strain them.  Stir in the fresh parsley to your soup and serve a few ladle fulls of the soup over a handful of pasta for each bowl.  Serves many (we had like 16 bowls out of it!).  Enjoy!

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries and Bananas

Here is a great simple way to make an amazing dessert that everyone will love and love to help make.  My daughter, Paige, loves to help in the kitchen, especially when we are making anything at all that has to do with chocolate.  And chocolate covered strawberries may be her most favorite thing above all to help with.  I have to laugh to myself every time when we finish, because in her haste to hide it from me, she leaves a trail of taste testing for me to see.  Usually smeared across her little tiny face :)


1 carton of fresh strawberries (with the leaf tops sliced off)
3 medium bananas (peeled and chopped)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tsp vegetable oil
a fist full of old saved popsicle sticks (you don't have to use them, it just makes them more
kid friendly' to use them)
and a dash of fun

-Combine chocolate chips and the oil in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes or just until chocolate stirs smoothly. Stick a popsicle stick into each piece of fruit and then dip each one into the melted chocolate and place them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Place sheets in freezer for 10 minutes. Store refrigerated or back in th freezer in a covered container. Makes a lot. Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Roasted Sweet Pepper Red Sauce over Meat-Filled Ravioli's

Sometimes I am just wanting to cook something in my slow-cooker just because.  Just because it is easy.  Just because it makes my house smell delicious.  And basically, just because the whole thing reminds me of my Mom.  She always used her slow-cooker in the fall and in the winter.  And you could always count on anything from chili to pot roast being in it.  Dinner was done right every single night.  And that is home to me. 

1 red sweet pepper (roasted-see my Roasting Sweet Peppers Recipe and then chopped)
1 green sweet pepper (roasted-see my Roasting Sweet Peppers Recipe and then chopped)
1- 26oz. jar of a basil flavored red sauce (I used Nannina Basil Tomato Pasta Sauce)
1- 14 1/2oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (un-drained)
1 bag of frozen meat-filled ravioli's
2 T. of fresh flat leaf Italian parsley (chopped)

-Place the first five ingredients into your slow-cooker, stir to combine and set to go Lo and slow all day or at least for 6-8 hours (as always with this, the longer the better).  Just before serving, start a large stockpot for a boil to prepare your ravioli's.  Once the water in the stockpot reaches a rolling boil, add in a dash of salt and about 1 T. or so of e.v.o. (this will flavor your pasta as well as keep them from sticking together).  Boil the ravioli according to the directions, strain and plate.  Serve with a few ladles of sauce over them and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.  Serves 4-6.  Enjoy!

Apple Orchard Pie

What sounds better at the end of a crisp fall day, then a nice hearty meal and a warm slice of apple pie?  The only thing that sounds better than that to me, would have to be a nice hearty meal with a warm slice of apple pie that is smothered in some vanilla bean ice cream.  And to top it off, would have to be the fact that not only is this pie here made with fresh picked apples, but fresh picked apples by my family.  And that, makes anything sound better to me.

1 pie shell from my recipe of Tonya's Special Pie Crust:  http://tonya-justcooking.blogspot.com/2010/11/tonyas-special-pie-crust.html  (balled, wrapped in saran wrap, then flattened into a hockey puck-shape and chilling for at least 20 minutes or longer in the fridge)

3 sweet Golden Delicious apples (cored and sliced thinly)
4 sweet and tart Macintosh apples (cored and sliced thinly)
1 T. of lemon juice (or juice from 1/2 of a fresh squeezed lemon)
1/2 cup + 1 T. of sugar
2 tsp. of ground cinnamon

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of light brown sugar (packed)

1/3 cup of real un-salted butter (melted)

-Preheat your oven to 400*.  Heavily flour a large circular area on your clean counter top.  Remove the chilled pie dough from the fridge, remove saran wrap, place in the center of the floured circle, lay the saran wrap (wet side down) flat out over the dough and begin rolling it (with a chilled wooden rolling pin-just toss it into your freezer for at least 10 minutes prior to using) out to about a 1/4" or so thickness.  With the saran wrap still stuck to it, lift up the edge and roll it back onto the rolling pin (to lift it safely up off the counter), then unroll it into your 9" glass pie dish (if you use a dark pan, decrease the baking time by 5-10 minutes-they cook faster).  You can then kind of use the saran wrap to lift it if it needs to be adjusted in the pan some; remove saran wrap.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the apples and the lemon juice.  In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the cinnamon; pour over apples and stir well to coat.  Pour the coated apple slices into your prepared pie shell.  In another small mixing bowl, stir together the flour and the brown sugar with a large fork; cut in the butter until it is crumbly.  Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the pie.  Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and place your finished pie on top of it (it will probably bubble over while baking-resulting in the smoke alarms going off uncontrollably if you skip this part.  Trust me, I should know.  Lesson learnt.)  Take a large square of aluminum foil (maybe 10"x10" or so) fold it in 1/2 and then in 1/2 again.  Using a pair of scissors, cut a curve of the center off, so that when unfolded it it a large square with a large open circle in the center.  Lay this over the top of your pie (you want the center of the pie exposed, but the edges covered) and leave it on while baking for the first 35 minutes (or else your crust will be overcooked by the time the pie is done).  The total baking time is about 45-50 minutes.  Remove it for the last 10-15 minutes to finish off the crust.  Let it stand and cool before cutting.  Serves 8.  Enjoy!

Scratch-Made Chicken Pot Pie

Growing up, these were a favorite amongst my family.  Pot pies that is.  And, frankly, we only had the banquet ones to go off of.  And that is so very sad.  Regardless though, we loved them and had them all the time for lunch on cold winter days.  My Mom would bake them off in the oven while us kids were out playing in the snow and I would always, always eat my crust first.  No one in my family actually ever made them by scratch, probably because they are a process alright.  But, oh they are so very much worth that process.  You cannot even imagine how delicious they are from scratch until you have had one.  Believe you me, because I, like the rest of my family, can now never go back to having them prepared any other way.

2 large boneless/ skinless chicken breasts (butterflied open)

2 T. of extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

1- 19oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables (mine had corn, carrots, peas and green beans)(steamed)

10 T. of real un-salted butter

1 large red onion (chopped)

3 1/2 cups of chicken stock

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1/3 cup of heavy cream

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1 cup of water

1 T. of lemon juice

1 pie shell from my recipe of Tonya's Special Pie Crust:  http://tonya-justcooking.blogspot.com/2010/11/tonyas-special-pie-crust.html   (shaped as a hockey puck, wrapped in saran wrap and chilling in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes-the longer the better)

-Preheat your oven to 375*.  Heat up the e.v.o. over a medium-high flame in a large deep saucepan.  Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken breasts and nicely brown each side in the saucepan for about 10 minutes or so (you want a dark golden/brown crusting to develop).  Once the chicken is done, plate it and set it aside to cool down (do not cut it up yet, or else all the juices will run out of it-let it cool first).  Lower your flame down to medium and toss your butter into the same pan that the chicken was in (doing it all in the same pan carries all the flavor left behind through the dish) and melt it down (do not burn your butter-that taste never goes away).  Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, bring the chicken stock to a boil and toss in the bouillon cubes (stir this occasionally).  Once the butter is melted, throw your onions in with a little more salt and pepper (to sweat them out).  Remember to stir them often.  When the onions are nice and softened and kind of bubbling up, stir in the flour to create the rue for the sauce.  Let this slightly cook onto the onions and become a ting brown, then pour in the enhanced chicken stock and stir it in well.  Bring this to a boil and then stir in the heavy cream.  Bring this to another boil and then stir in the water.  Then again, bring this again to a boil and stir in the lemon juice. Now go ahead and chop up your cooled chicken into nice bite-sized pieces and add it into your sauce along with the steamed veggies.  Stir well to combine.  Pour the entire contents into 2 separate 9" glass pie pans (if you use a dark pie pan decrease your baking time by 5-10 minutes-they cook things a little bit faster, but I do prefer my glass Pyrex ones over anything); set them aside.  Now it's time to take your pie dough out of the fridge.  Cover your counter top with about a 1/4 cup of flour spread out evenly in a circular shape about twice the size as the crust will be (what, like 18" then I guess).  Remove the saran wrap from the hockey puck shaped pie dough, cut it in 1/2 with a knife,  place 1 hunk in the center of your floured surface (set the other to the side to use next), take that same saran wrap that was around it and place it wet side down over the top of the dough (spread out, so that as you roll out your dough, it will be under the saran wrap-just a little trick to help it from sticking to your rolling pin that I like to do).  Using a wooden rolling pin, roll out your pie dough to a 1/4" thickness or so, lift it right up with the saran wrap (it will stick to it since it is so thin) and place it over the top of the first chicken filled pie pan.  Then repeat it all for the second pie crust (making sure to start back at a heavily floured surface).  They should both fit exactly over the tops without a crust edge-if you want a crust edge then you will need to use 2 pie shells from my recipe-I was trying to conserve).  Using your index finger, poke a hole in the center of each pie crust and using a sharp knife, create some slits for venting around the hole (you can even get fancy and use festive cookie cutters for the vent holes, just make sure to do it while it is still on the counter top).  Place each pot pie on a foil-lined baking sheet (because they will bubble up and over-my did and my smoke alarms were going off for about 15 minutes....all 8 of them!) and place them side by side on the center rack of your oven.  Bake for about 1 hour or until the crust is a nice golden color.  Remove from the oven and let them stand at least 10-15 minutes before cutting and eating.  Makes 2 pot pies and serves 6-8.  Enjoy!