I Haven't Forgotten How to Cook!

No my kitchen is not finished!

I made this delicious breakfast on the campstove outdoors this morning.

We had pancakes with fresh blackberry sauce, bacon and hashbrowns.

We even ate outdoors.  It was wonderful!!!

I thought maybe I had forgotten how to cook after being "kitchenless" for over two months!

Recipe of the Week November 2, 2010

These three simple ingredients make these tasty delights...

CAKE BALLS!

Today I presented  a professional development session for some of the teachers at my school.  Knowing that such things can be painful for participants I decided to make some goodies to help their morning with me more bearable.   I received glowing responses from them (about the cake balls.)  Here is the easy recipe for those who requested it.

Cake Balls

Cake mix of your choice  (The ones I made for today were make with a devil's food cake mix)

1/2 can frosting

1 pack Almond bark ( I used the chocolate type)

Ingredients needed to bake the cake: eggs, water, oil

Bake cake as directed and let cool.  Crumble cake.  Add 1/2 can frosting.  This makes a gooey concoction.  Form into quarter size balls.  Place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes to harden a little.  Melt bark at directed on package and coat balls.  Place on wax paper.  Allow bark to harden and then enjoy.  They will keep several days in the refrigerator if they last that long!  The internet has some really cute versions if you want to fancy them up a bit.

Owl Cookies

Check out the adorable owl cookies at Oopsey Daisy.  I'm going to try them!
http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2010/09/owl-cookies.html

Two Ingredient Wonder

 

Take these two things...

And make these.

If you've never tried a fried roll then you don't know what good is!!!

Don's Perfect Summer Meal

Don was delighted when he got home from a hard day's work, then worked on the remodeling and was greeted by this meal.  Doesn't take much to make him happy.  He is so precious.


p.s. I haven't cooked much this summer...oooppps.  :)

But I'm doing better this week

Recipe of the Week - Carol's Corny Cornbread

If you are looking for the perfect compliment to go with your summer vegetables, this is the recipe for you.

Carol's Corny Cornbread

1 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned creamed corn

1/2 cup cooking oil

2 tsp. baking powder

Mix all ingredients well.  Pour into a very hot greased iron skillet that has been sprinkled lightly with cornmeal.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

7-Up Pound cake

3 sticks real butter

3 cups sugar

3 cups flour

5 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon flavoring

3/4 cup 7-Up

Cream butter and sugar well.

Add eggs, one at a time. Add flour and 7-Up alternately.

Bake at 300 degrees about 1 1/2 hours in a greased and floured bundt pan.

ENJOY!

Recipe of the Month

Jaime requested this soup recipe be put in writing so I decided to make it so that I could measure the ingredients.

Squash Soup

4 cups coarsely chopped yellow squash
1/2 onion chopped
1 can chicken broth (I use Swanson all natural no msq)
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup whole milk

Cook first 4 ingredients in  medium saucepan covered, medium heat until squash and onions are tender (about 20 minutes)  Cool then puree squash mixture in food processor.  Return to pan add milk Heat until warm but do not allow to boil.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

I have used this same recipe using fresh green beans instead of squash and it is delicious also.

Recipe of the Month

Well I have totally failed to post "Recipes of the Week" this summer. So this one will have to work for the month. I purchased frozen talapia fillets at Sam's so I was looking for a recipe that looked yummo and easy. The cool thing about the fillets is that they are individually packaged inside the pack so you can defrost just the number you want.

Almond-Crusted Talapia

1/4 cup whole natural almonds
2 tablespoons dry breadcumbs
1 teaspoon Emerril's Essence seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
2(6oz) talapia fillets

Place first 4 ingredients in a food proccessor: process for 45 seconds until finely ground Place crumb mixture in a shallow dish.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush mustard over both sides of fillets: dredge(coat) in crumb mixture. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Talk about fast...easy...and yummy! It is a great dish to cook when you don't feel like cooking!

Carol's Wednesday Creations

Today I felt creative when I got home from school. I used two of my favorite avenues: cooking and sewing. I made a tiny pair of felt shoes for Olivia...the first of many I'm sure. This was a easy fun project for a weeknight.

I cooked almond crusted talapia...it was yummo! Then I added sides of cheese grits, green beans and fresh strawberries.

Cooking Lunch: A Blogging Tribute to Wonderful Women

Even though the people that I'm dedicating this post to were not invited to lunch today...I love them both and thought about them as I prepared this noon time meal. The first dedication is to my sister Laney. I told her on Monday, when I surprised her at work to wish her a Happy Birthday, that I needed to stay home so that I wouldn't spend any money (and I could sew.) She even called me Tuesday to check and make sure I was home! The second dedication is to my cooking friend, Brandi. She loves to make meals without going to the grocery store...using what she has on hand. Laney and Brandi, I cooked lunch today for Don's family and I didn't have to go to the store...I didn't leave the house AND I used what I had on hand.
Menu was something like this: tomatoes stuffed with fresh shrimp salad dressed with mixed greens, havarti crescent rolls, and cream of green bean soup. Dessert was the fudge pie from the previous post. The best part about lunch was the sweet look on my hubby's face that said, "I'm so proud of you." PRICELESS

Recipe of the Week

Fudge Pie

If you need a pie in a hurry this is the one for you.

The one ingredient that you need to keep on hand for this quick and delicious pie is "Choco Bake."

This is how it is packaged. Sometimes it is hard to find so be on the look-out and buy a box when you find it.


Here is the recipe:

1 cup sugar

1 cup stick butter

2 eggs

1 package choco-bake (Not the whole box!)

2/3 cup flour

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter in a medium pan. Add sugar and mix well. Remove from heat and beat in eggs, choco-bake, flour and vanilla. Nuts are optional. Pour in a 9 inch pie pan, ungreased. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.


Great served with ice cream, coolwhip, or fresh berries.