“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.” ~ Mark Twain

February 18, 2014February 18, 2014Leave a comment

The grand finale of my Italian Valentine’s Week was a huge success!!

My husband said it was probably one of the best meals he has ever had.

It was good (if I do say so myself 🙂 )

It’s probably one of the most traditional Italian meals that also happens to be my husband’s favorite.

He loves Meatballs. He gets spaghetti with meatballs, cheese bread with meatballs, calzones with meatballs and pizza with meatballs.

So it makes perfect sense to……

Make meatballs.

Traditional Meatballs

(adapted from Paula Deen)

1½ pounds ground chuck
1 pound ground hot Italian sausage
¾ cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350˚

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire rack over baking sheet, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine ground chuck, sausage, panko, cheese, garlic, parsley, basil, and salt. Add beaten eggs, stirring gently to combine.

Shape into 2½-inch balls. Place on prepared rack, and bake for 30 minutes.

Makes around 24 meatballs. I froze half to pull out for an easy meal later.

Add to your favorite homemade or jarred spaghetti sauce.

-abp

“A hug is like a boomerang – you get it back right away.” ~ Bil Keane

February 13, 2014February 13, 2014Leave a comment

Here is day 2 of my Sweetheart’s Italian food inspired Valentine’s Day Week.
This one is so simple, I actually feel bad saying “it’s part of a special week menu” – but not too bad. 😉

Had it not been so simple he may have had only 2 special meals instead of 3 because Friday, I’m going all out!

Well, all out for my standards.
Anywho, here’s the scoop on the simplest meal ever.

Hug-Your-Hubby
Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 red potatoes, halved or quartered
1/2 bag small carrots
16 oz Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Add all ingredients to your crockpot, vegetables on the bottom. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove chicken to a bowl and shred. Remove vegetables to separate bowl. Take juice from crockpot and pour over the shredded chicken.

Add garlic bread and it’s perfect!

-abp

“A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years.” ~ Rupert Brooke

February 12, 2014Leave a comment

I love Valentine’s Day – the love, the candy, the colors. It’s just a fun but low key holiday. A time that you can be cheesy in love with your significant other or other family members.

My husband’s favorite type of food is Italian, so in honor of my sweetheart this Valentine’s Day week, I am making three Italian dinners. The first one being a very simple dish that on a plate doesn’t look so simple.

Would be a great 1st dinner you cook for a new love! 🙂

Sweetheart Tomato and Basil Chicken

(adapted from Menu Musings of an American Modern Mom)

1 lb fettuccine
4 chicken cutlets
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Dry Italian seasoning
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 pints of cherry tomatoes (halved and quartered)
2 Tablespoons minced garlic (I used the jarred kind to save time)
4 Tablespoons cold butter
¾ cup basil – divided (cut into ribbons)
Parmesan Cheese

Start water for fettuccine and heat up olive oil in large pan on medium/high heat.

Season both sides of chicken with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.

Brown chicken for 4-5 minutes on both sides.

Add in tomatoes, garlic, ½ cup basil and butter. Cook down for about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cover and keep warm until fettuccine is ready.

Serve chicken over pasta with sauce and top with remaining basil and Parmesan cheese.

Love on a plate!

-abp

“I was a sloppy kid, wanted to be just wild.” ~Etta James

February 4, 20141 Comment

Since I only made one appetizer for the Super Bowl, I had to make a meal to go with it.

I wanted to stick with the “Super Bowl” themed food but I didn’t feel like making wings and it’s just to cold out to grill burgers so I decided to make homemade Sloppy Joes.

These are so much better than the canned kind! It’s so good, I could eat it by itself with a spoon. I’m trying to come up with another way to use it besides in between two buns.

It’s super easy to make and can also be doubled for a crowd. I once did that and took to a tailgate party.

(I actually halved this because there was only 3 of us)

Homemade Sloppy Joes

(adapted from Chef In Training)

2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 ½ lbs. ground beef
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2/3 cup BBQ sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
8 to 10 hamburger buns

Brown meat and onions, drain.

Add tomato sauce and stir until meat is coated. Mix in remaining ingredients (minus buns).

Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook 4-5 minutes or until thickened.

Serve on toasted, buttered buns with a couple pickles.

-abp

“The Super Bowl is Americana at its most kitsch and fun.” ~ Sting

February 2, 2014February 3, 2014Leave a comment

I must admit – I’m not a huge pro football fan but I do like the Super Bowl and yes, it’s because of the commercials. I also usually like the excuse to have people over and/or make yummy appetizers because appetizers are my fav!

Also – I love Peyton Manning. So, this year I will be pulling for the Broncos.

No big party this year but that doesn’t mean I can’t make a yummy appetizer and this year’s appetizer will be a little thing called Cajun Crack.

Cajun Crack

2 cans of corn, drained
1 can of rotel, drained (mild)
½ red onion, chopped
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoon Tony’s Seasoning
Fritos

Drain corn and Rotel. Combine all ingredients. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Serve with Fritos.

The original recipe called to serve it chilled but you cook also cook it in a baking dish at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

And to be honest – I think next time that’s what I would do but if I kept it cold, I would use green onions instead of red onions.

Also, in the cold version, I might add chopped green pepper. Basically, this is a good base but it needs to be dressed up to your taste. 🙂

-abp

“We build statues out of snow, and weep to see them melt.” ~ Walter Scott

February 1, 2014October 1, 20142 Comments

Well, whadayaknow. It snowed!!!

Once my husband was home safe and sound – it was wonderful!!! A glorious, perfect fluffy, white snow that didn’t melt in 2 hours. Such a rare, rare occurrence.

Unfortunately, that snow brought a lot of heartache for many people an hour or so away. My heart goes out to those people and families who were stranded or separated from one another.

Since we were snowed in, I’m glad I had the items on hand to make the a new crock pot recipe I had been wanting to try.

And no, it did not need any milk or bread. 🙂

Mississippi Chuck Roast

(adapted from A Perfectly Lovely Ordinary Day)

1 chuck roast
1 stick of salted butter
1 package of dry ranch dressing
1 package of dry au jus gravy mix
5 pepperocini peppers (in a jar) – more if they are small, I used 8-9
1 teaspoon pepperocini pepper juice

Place roast in crock pot.

Cover with ranch dressing, then gravy mix.

Place stick of butter on top of roast, along with the peppers.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Shred with 2 forks in the crock pot. Serve with a slotted spoon to drain excess gravy.

This was beyond delicious! My husband said I need never make a different type roast again!

-abp

“The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.” ~ Blaise Pascal

January 31, 2014Leave a comment

I really love Valentine’s Day!

It’s a fun low pressure holiday that has great decorations and great goodies.

Pink, red and white go so well together!

I can still remember the excitement of making your white paper bag Valentine’s holder in elementary school and taking forever at the store trying to decide which box of cards you would be distributing.

A favorite of many were the cards that had the heart-shaped sucker attached. Remember those??

Because of my fondness for V-Day, I couldn’t wait until the 1st day of February to try a pink themed treat so I got a head start on this cold January day.

Strawberry Cake Cookies

(adapted from Taste and Tell)

1 strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º

Mix egg and oil together until well combined. Add in cake mix, then fold in white chocolate chips.

Scoop out 1 tablespoon sized balls of mix onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes around 2 dozen cookies.

I cannot stress how easy this was and they are so good! I will be experimenting with different flavors very soon!!

-abp

“Even in winter an isolated patch of snow has a special quality.” ~ Andy Goldsworthy

January 27, 2014Leave a comment

Bracing for the cold again. You know I really wouldn’t mind the cold if we could get a little snow with it every now and then.

The weird thing is – the beach might be getting snow!!!

How crazy is that? I’m used to the northern part of the state getting snow when we do not but the southern side?

Oh well. 51 days until spring.

One of my favorite things about spring is being able to eat outside at my favorite restaurants. One of those being a local Mexican restaurant – chips, salsa, cheese dip, margaritas, and fajitas all out on a covered patio.

Unfortunately, I do not have the sunny and 75 but I do have the fajitas.

Simple ones at that.

Simple Chicken Fajitas

1 lb chicken breast cutlets, cut into strips
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon seasoned salt (I used Lawry’s)
1 can Rotel (mild)
1 medium onion, cut into strips
½ red bell pepper, cut into strips
½ green red pepper, cut into strips

Mix together spices. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with spices, making sure to coat evenly.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown chicken on all sides.

Add in onion and peppers. Cook for 5-7 minutes.

Pour in rotel and cook on medium/high heat until liquid is cook down and onion and peppers are soft. (about 15-20 minutes)

Serve with warm tortillas and any of your favorite fajita toppings.

This fajitas were crazy good and crazy easy!

-abp

“The life so short, the crafts so long to learn.” ~ Geoffrey Chaucer

January 23, 20141 Comment

Pinterest is awesome.

For obvious reasons – I love all the food and recipes.

But then there are all the crazy good crafty things for your house, parties, gifts etc. – I can handle all the foodie things but I’m not real crafty.

So when I come across something I totally want that takes a crafty person – I turn to my friend Carmen.

An example being these wonderful wreaths for my front doors.

I found them.

She made them.

She has a super cute blog too – check it out.

Carmen Kelly {Gracious Southern Living}

-abp

“Summer is a promissory note signed in June, its long days spent and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January.” ~ Hal Borland

January 21, 2014Leave a comment

I’m over January. It’s my least favorite month of the year.

I’m sure most would agree with me on that.

It’s cold, there is the big let down after Christmas, college football is over, etc. There’s just not a whole lot to get excited about…..

On the other hand, I’m glad the down time has gotten me back in the kitchen!

Skillet Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

(adapted from Southern Living)

4 (6- to 8-oz.) bone-in pork rib chops (1 to 1 1/4 inches thick)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1 medium-size yellow onion, thinly sliced (root end intact)
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons bourbon
8 small fresh thyme sprigs

Preheat oven to 450°.

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Cook in hot oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from skillet.

Add apples and onion to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, 8-9 minutes or until browned. Remove from skillet.

Add broth to skillet, and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet. Whisk together cream and mustard; add to skillet, and cook, stirring constantly, 3-4 minutes or until bubbly.

Remove skillet from heat, and stir in bourbon. Add pork, turning to coat, and top with apples, onions, and thyme.
Bake at 450° for 15-17 minutes. Let stand in skillet 5 minutes before serving.

-abp