Cream Cheese Frosting

Generally speaking, that if something has cream cheese in it or on it, then I am probably making it.  It is my biggest weakness.  Cream cheese that is.  And if I can, I try to get away with frosting just about anything from cakes to breads with this perfectly sweet icing.  It is rich, sweet and because of the cream cheese, irresistibly delicious to me.


12 oz. of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup of real un-salted butter (softened)
2 tsp. of real vanilla extract
6 cups of powder sugar

-Mix together the cream cheese, butter and the vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  Using small 1 cup batches, stir in the powdered powdered sugar completely before the next addition.  Use this to frost 1 double layer cake, a batch of cupcakes or 1/2 of the recipe for a 9"x13" or a 9"x9" cake.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Banana Cake

This cake is basically a combination of three of my breakfast favorites.  I love bananas in my oatmeal and I am a firm believer that cream cheese makes everything better.  I tend to try and use it in, on and around everything that I can.  It has become one of my recipe weaknesses.  I absolutely love how thick and dense this exceptionally moist cake is.  A perfect match for bearing the load of the heavy sweet layer of cream cheese frosting over it's top.  All that you are missing is a very large glass of ice cold milk to be set.

1 1/4 cups of boiling water
1 cup of quick cooking oats
3 medium over-ripened bananas (mashed)
1 stick of real un-salted butter
1 tsp. of real vanilla extract
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs (at room temperature, then beaten)
1 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/2 a recipe of my Cream Cheese Frosting

-Preheat your oven to 350*.  Grease and flour a 9"x9" baking dish; set aside.  In a large mixing  bowl, stir together the boiling water and the oats.  Then add in the mashed bananas, butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar and the eggs.  Stir well.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Stir the flour mixture into the oatmeal mixture in small batches until it is thoroughly combined.  Pour the batter into your greased and floured baking dish and bake at 350* for 40-50 minutes or until an inserted wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Let it cool well before frosting it with 1/2 of a recipe of my Cream Cheese Frosting.  Serves 9.  Enjoy!

Mini Pattymelt Rye's

Talk about a blast from the past.  Or at least one from mine that is.  These were a constant 'snack dinner' in our household when I was a little girl.  They were usually reserved for making on a brisk fall day to munch on during the game.  These were the main part of why I watched football with my Dad back then.  Basically for the food.  Kinda not so far off from why I watch football with my husband now.  Basically still for the food, except it's even better now.  Mostly because I am easily enticed and have a hard time of not forever trying to out-do myself.  I prefer a vast array of fixings on Game Day.  And these are a great staple for that.  Everybody loves a good cheeseburger.  Especially when they are made by the cutest cook in the house, my 5 year old daughter, Paige Leigh.

1 lb. of 80/20 ground beef
1 jar of Cheese Wiz (yep)
1 loaf of mini light cocktail rye's (find by the deli at your local market)
1/2 of a large Vidalia sweet onion (halved and then sliced)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

1 T. of real un-salted butter

1 T. of real mayonnaise

1 tsp. of A.1. steak sauce

-Preheat your oven to a Low Broil and cover your baking sheets with aluminum foil (for a no mess clean up).  Mix together the ground beef and the cheese thoroughly in a large mixing bowl.  Spread a heaping spoonful on each of the slices of the rye bread (making sure to get it all the way to the edges-or else they tend to burn easily).  Line them up snugly on your foil-lined baking sheets and broil on low for about 10 minutes or until the begin to nicely brown.  Meanwhile, for the onion topping, over medium heat, saute the sliced onions in the butter with a good healthy amount of salt and pepper just until they are softened and become translucent.  Stir in the mayo and the A.1.; bring to a little boil while stirring well.  Top each of the cooling slices with a few onions as a garnish.  Makes an entire loaf perfectly.  Enjoy! 

Crumbled Blue Cheese and Tomato Topped Fillet Mignon

When I was a little girl, I dreaded having steak for dinner.  And when I say dreaded, I mean dreaded.  Like dragged my feet to the table with the most painful distraught expression smeared all over my face.  I thought that it was terrible.   It actually hurt my jaw to eat my Mom's steak back then.  I would have to say, that if I were to compare it to anything else in this world it would have to be a tire.  Yep, a rubber tire from a car.  My Mom would make it all the time and I usually ended up basically dousing it with ketchup and A.1. and then pretty much just pushing it around my plate, in hopes to appear as though I was making any kind of progress.  When you are as desperate as I was at those moments, you will try anything to fool your Mother.  I was a table camper.  And if this term is new to you, I was basically that kid.  That kid that did not like anything that you served.  I am proud to say that I spent many many evenings alone at the table with my unwanted dinner untouched in front of me.  I was passionate even then.  I would sit and sit and sit there not eating my steak until either it broke down from the plethergy of sauces that I had it nearly swimming in or until my Mom got so frustrated with me that she would send me to bed.  She told me during one of my steak strikes that they all liked it (meaning her, my Dad and my brother), so I should like it too.  I can remember looking clearly at her and stating that everyone has different taste buds and mine did not like steak.  Not at all.  It wasn't until I was waitressing my way through college at a steak house of all places that I actually tried 'steak'.  The establishment was very thorough on making sure that all of the wait staff could describe how everything was made, seasoned and how it tasted.  And every time they introduced something new to the menu, we all were made to try it.  And they always prepared it medium, which is pink and warm throughout the center.  This was sheerly appalling to me.  Never never never had I ever ate any red meat that was not cooked completely, basically served as rubber.  As we all lined up in the kitchen to each take a bite of their new Gorgonzola and tomato topped sirloin, my mind was racing 2-40.  I was so grossed out by the thought of eating 'raw beef' that I thought I would pass out before my turn.  Or at least that was what I was hoping for anyhow.  And then, it was my turn.  And darn the luck I had, my bite was directly from the center of the steak.  Go figure.  So as I stood there in front of it with my fork and knife in my hands, I looked over to the manager who was psycho Nazi style watching over us as we were all trying this new wonderful steak and I caved.  All of my fierce resistance fled and I leaned forward and cut a small piece from the center of the steak.  And I ate it.  I can still taste it now.  It was amazing.  Phenomenal actually.  Basically the very most best thing that I had ever eaten.  And from that day forward, I was hooked.  I will take any steak prepared anyway as long as it is not thoroughly cooked.  And I strongly believe that a properly cooked steak does not need any sauce.  It is an insult to the cook.  Sorry Mom. 

4- 6oz. cuts of fillet Mignon (or beef tenderloin is great this way too)
Worcestershire sauce
McCormick's Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning4 oz. of crumbled blue cheese

2-3 fresh Roma tomatoes (sliced lengthwise about 1/4"-1/2" thick)
4 oz. of crumbled blue cheese

-Preheat your grill with a medium-high flame.  Place your steaks flat on a platter and douse both sides well with the Worcestershire sauce and a nice healthy sprinkling of steak seasoning (making sure to again get both sides well).   Toss them up on the top rack of your grill for about 4-5 minutes on the first side (longer or shorter depending on the thickness of the cut, but we are going for a MR-M doneness), then flip and grill for about another 3-4 minutes on the second side; top with a layer of sliced tomatoes, covering that with a handful of blue cheese and then a little bit of salt and pepper on top.  Close the lid and grill until the cheese looks melty and your tomatoes look a little bit flame kissed.  Serves 4.  Enjoy!

My Take On a Coney Dog

Sometimes I make my Scratch-Made Chili so often that by the second or third day of having leftovers we become chili'd out.  Sad but true.  So, I try to find fun and different ways to get rid of the last lone bowl that is always left behind in the fridge.  Sometimes I freeze it, that way it is ready to be warmed up whenever Rich gets in from a cold morning, or let's just be honest here, a cold day of hunting.  And other times I use it for my Good Stuff Dip or for my interpretation of a Coney Dog.  And that's what we have here.  Basically it's a compile of all of my regular staples of my cooking that are leftover from previous meals from that week.  I am always whipping up a batch of my cole slaw to accompany my slow-cooker sandwiches that I am forever concocting and I always have my pantry stocked to the brim with my Jalapeno Dill Pickles.  So, when we have a little bit of leftover chili I always know what to do with it.  I keep a few packages of hot dogs and buns in the deep freeze at all times for this fun and impulsive dinner. 

8 all beef hot dogs (I used Ballpark this time)
1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups of my warmed Scratch-Made Chili (see recipe)
2 cups of my Homemade Cole Slaw recipe:  http://tonya-justcooking.blogspot.com/2011/03/homemade-cole-slaw.html
1/4 cup of red onion (diced)
8 of my Sliced Jalapeno Dill Pickles (see recipe)
1 package of sausage roll buns (they are nice and thick-hold up better with all the heavy fixing's)

-Bring a medium saucepan to a rapid boil; add in hot dogs.  Boil the hot dogs for about 5 minutes or until they start to 'plump up'.  Remove and place one in each bun and cover it with cheese.  Spoon on a heaping ladle of chili, a mountain of slaw, a sprinkling of onion and wedge a pickle in the side.  Serves 4-8.  Enjoy!

Ricotta Cheese and Fresh Blueberries Stuffed Pancakes

What a delicious treat these pancakes are.  They are soft and creamy from the ricotta cheese, almost savory from it.  And then there is the fresh, bright, sweet burst of the blueberries to accompany it.   They pair together here like Yin and Yang.  Both of them complimenting the lemon enhanced pancakes perfectly. 

2 cups of Bisquick
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 T. of sugar
1 cup of milk
2 T. of lemon juice
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup of fresh blueberries (rinsed/ dried)
less than 1/4 cup of fresh ricotta cheese
real un-salted butter and maple syrup (I use Lite syrup-it's slightly less sweet to balance the over-sweet pancakes that I am always making)

-In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients well.  Stir in the milk, lemon juice and eggs (batter will be slightly lumpy).  Let is sit while you preheat your griddle or frying pan to a medium heat and then grease it all over with butter.  Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, or a gravy ladle like me, pour on your pancakes.  Then dot with ricotta cheese bits (I just used the tip of a knife and my finger to put them on with) and a few blueberries.  Once the bottom of the pancake has begun to turn a nice golden brown, flip them over to brown the side with the cheese and berries (about 2-4 minutes on each side-every stove is different-keep a watch).  Serve with butter and maple syrup.  Serves 4.  Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Coca-Cola Pulled Pork Sandwich

There are basically two types of soda drinkers in this world.  One being Coke drinkers and the other being Pepsi drinkers.  Myself, I am a Coke drinker.  I absolutely love it.  I love the clean crisp flavor and the way it sparkles all the way down.  And I am pretty much certain that Pepsi could very well be subbed in for the Coke here, but I cannot say for sure.  Because I refuse to buy it, drink it or even cook with it.  Literally, I would take water over Pepsi any day of the week.  Sorry Dad (he's a Pepsi fan).  And to top off my already fueled love affair with this soda, I came across a Coca-Cola cook book one day at my Mom's house when I was younger.  I used to love to look and flip through them as I would eat my bowl of cereal or my Mom's honey pancakes in the mornings.  Some kids looked at toy magazines or teen magazines as they got older, me, I gazed at recipes.  Fitting I guess.  Well, anyways, I was awestruck by the idea that one could make anything from cake to meatloaf with a can of soda.  And that has always played around in the back of my mind as the years went by.  Then a few weeks ago it hit me.  Why not make a pulled pork, which I love and make all the time, with a can of Coke?  So I did.  And it was just as delicious as I was sure it would be.

3 lb. pork picnic roast (only because that's what I had in my deep freezer-you could use any pork roast)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 T. of bacon grease (I save my bacon drippings in an old pickle jar for cooking with)
1 Lg. vidalia sweet onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 can of Coca-Cola
1 jar of chili sauce
2 T. of light brown sugar (packed)
rolls
sliced Jalapeno Dill Pickles (see my recipe)

-In a large stockpot over high heat, brown your salt and peppered pork roast in the bacon grease for 3-5 minutes on each side or until you start to develop a nice dark brown (not burnt) crusting.  Once it is fully browned on all sides, remove from your pan and place in your slow-cooker.  Return to your pan and reduce the heat to medium-high.  Toss in your onions, garlic and a little bit more salt and pepper (to sweat them).  Saute' for a few minutes until the onions are softened.  Pour in the soda, chili sauce and the brown sugar.  Stir well while bringing it to a boil.  Then just pour over your roast that's in the slow-cooker and set it to go Slow and Low for 8-10 hours (as always in crockery cooking, the longer the better).  Once it is done, using 2 forks, shred and place on a bun with a pickle.  Serves 8-10.  Enjoy!