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!