Food Friday

We were so excited when some our long time friends from Illinois called and said they were coming to town.  They had been to Fort Benning to see a precious grandson graduate and thought they might drop by Gainesville for a visit.  So last night they rolled into town (after surviving a little wrong turn in downtown Atlanta) and we were thrilled to get to spend the evening with them.  We took them to dinner at our favorite local restaurant, Poor Richards; for a ride around town (why do we have a chicken monument? thank goodness, D was there to give them the entire history of the chicken industry in Gainesville.  I'm pretty sure I learned something from that); and then to our house for dessert and coffee.  I had made the Coconut Cream Pound Cake earlier in the week because of the Pound Cake Challenge over on the CwC blog and had some left over but I felt like I needed something else.  Something yummy.  Something chocolate.  With cooked chocolate frosting.  So, that's what a did!  And it was pretty delicious. 

We had a great visit and we felt so blessed to be in the company of these friends of my parents for almost 60 years.  My sweet momma was thrilled to see them again!  She even had her hair done yesterday afternoon for the occasion (of course)!  She was stunning. 

So why not have some friends or family over you haven't seen in awhile and fix them some chocolate cake.  I feel sure both of those would be very good things.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 sticks of butter; divided
• 8 tablespoons cocoa, divided
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 box powdered sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Cake:

1. Grease a sheet cake pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Sift together 2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 cups sugar
3. Bring to a boil on stove top in medium saucepan:  2 sticks butter; 1 cup water and 4 tablespoons cocoa
4. Pour cocoa mixture over dry mixture and mix in eggs, buttermilk, soda, cinnamon and vanilla.
5. Mix thoroughly and put in greased sheet cake pan. 
6. Bake 20-25 minutes

Icing:

1. Heat 1 stick butter, 4 tablespoons cocoa, and 6 tablespoons milk on medium heat in a saucepan.  
2. Add anywhere from 1/2 to 1 box of powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency and 1 cup pecans.
3. Spread on cake while it's hot.

See, I told you it was a very good thing. 

Food Friday Reappears

Last week on the What's for Supper? segment we built a great meal for a special occasion, specifically Valentines Day.  This week on the segment we have talked about slow-cooker meals.  We are even giving away a 6-quart Crock Pot during the segment today!  Super fun, right?  I just love to give stuff away!  With two weeks of great recipes to choose from I can hardly decide which ones to share here but I'll try.
This Beef Tenderloin recipe is amazing.   You can easily adjust the basting ingredients based on your taste and diet restrictions but any way you go, it's delicious and oh so easy.  And don't forget the key to making any meat great is to let it rest after cooking and before slicing.  It really makes all the difference in world, in the world of meat anyway.
The Sweetheart Salad was devoured by my family.  I'm not a fan of cherries so next time I'm making it with strawberry pie filling.  It would work just as well. 
Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms - what can I say.  This is a staple at our house and pretty much the easiest and most delicious side dish you can  do.   Love this recipe.
Man, I thought I would just do a couple recipes but I can't stop.   I've got to include a slow cooker recipe because my slow cooker is probably my favorite kitchen appliance.  Well, it and my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  I just couldn't function in the kitchen without them.  Anyway, I'll just have to say, with no pride I promise, that the slow cooker recipes this week were great.  If you're interested in the recipes, you can go on the store website, www.jandjfoods.com and look them up.  Here was the line-up:  Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes (de-lish); Parmesan Honey Pork Roast (have mercy); Chicken Parmesan (another staple at our house); Triple Berry Cobbler (love a dessert in the slow cooker) and a new one that my family loved - Creamy Mushroom Chicken. 

Hope you enjoy!

Fabulous Beef Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1 (3 pound) beef tenderloin roast
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup melted butter
Garlic Pepper, to taste
Granulated garlic, to taste
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place roast into a shallow, glass baking dish. Pour soy sauce and melted butter over the tenderloin.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then turn the roast over, and continue cooking 35 to 40 minutes, basting occasionally until the internal temperature of the roast is at 140 degrees F for medium. Or, cook to your desired degree of doneness. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Sweetheart Salad

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 15 ¼ - ounce crushed pineapple, drained

1 21-ounce cherry pie filling

1 cup chopped pecans

1 8-ounce whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1.        Beat cream cheese until smooth, add powdered sugar.

2.       Fold in pineapple, cherry pie filling, pecans and whipped topping.

3.       Chill and serve.

Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered

2 teaspoons olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray.

2.        Place the asparagus and mushrooms in a bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil, then season with   salt and pepper; toss well.

3.        Lay the asparagus and mushrooms out on the prepared pan in an even layer.

4.       Roast in the preheated oven until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes.

Creamy Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

1 .7-ounce package Italian dry salad dressing mix

1 can condensed mushroom soup

½ cup chicken broth

1 8-ounce cream cheese (can use reduced fat/calorie)

2 8-ounce package fresh mushrooms, quartered

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Hot cooked rice or angel hair pasta

Directions:

1.        Melt butter in a saucepan and add Italian dressing packet.  Stir in soup, broth and cream cheese until it combines and cream cheese melts.

2.       Spray slow cooker with cooking spray or use a liner. Place mushrooms in the bottom of the slow cooker. 

3.       Place chicken on top of mushrooms and pour sauce on top of the chicken.

4.       Cook on low for 5 hours.

5.        Serve hot with rice or pasta.

There are Turnovers of Two Kinds

Let's see, since I posted yesterday I have really only done two things that are discussion worthy. That is if you don't count cleaning the house, doing the laundry and going to the grocery store, so this is pretty much the highlights.

1. Cooked some yummy things. This is a new recipe, Coconut Cream Pound Cake that I just saw yesterday in the new Paula Deen Christmas magazine and couldn't wait to try. My husband loves coconut and I thought it might be a good recipe to file away for later use during the holidays. Well, Paula doesn't usually disappoint but this is not a favorite of mine. D said it was good but bless his heart, I think he was thrilled just to have a warm, just-out-of-the-oven ending to our meal.

This is it - our dessert for tonight's supper of Jambalaya and the Turnovers below.

Aren't these adorable? Trick or Treat Turnovers. This week on the "What's for Supper?" segment I'll be featuring recipes that would be fun to fix for Halloween. All the recipes that are featured on the show are either ones I've made in the past or ones I make in my very own "test kitchen."

So these were great, getting rave reviews from the men in my family. So were 1 up and 1 down today for new recipes tried. Can you tell I'm watching baseball right now? :)

We are taking a break from football. This is what they have going: switching back and forth between two football games (Oklahoma vs. Mizzou and Alabama vs. Tennessee) with the occasional switch off to the SF and Phillies game, all the while these games are muted on the tv so that they can listen to the audio of the Georgia game. Plus they have that same Georgia game streaming the field position and commentary on the computer. Crazy. Apparently the Georgia game didn't make our cable providers schedule today.

2. Last night, D and I got all bundled up, took a picnic and some hot chocolate and headed up to the mountains for an outdoor concert with one of our favorite fellas, John Berry. It was a free concert thanks to the generosity of a local company who just wanted to give back to their community. How nice was that? We sat under the stars and full moon listening to those pure vocals of one very talented man. It was quite the enjoyable evening.

I apologize for the quality of this picture but it's the only one I got before my camera battery died. John looks like he's glowing . . .

Food Wednesday

Well, I'm feeling a little Food Friday guilt right now. Like I made a commitment and then didn't stay with it. I feel so bad . . . like I've let you down. But I can't live with regrets about yesterday. Am I over-dramatizing this? I tend to be just a little over-dramatic sometimes. However, the fact remains that there are food and recipes to be discussed. So, let's talk. Okay, I guess I'll do the talking.

First, let me just tell you about something I had last Friday that was the best thing I've put in my mouth in I really don't know when. I went to Mule Camp Market on the square and could not get to the food section fast enough. You know why? Funnel Cakes. Aww, yes. When was the last time you had a funnel cake? Oh, by the way, I asked that same question to my husband when I got home and you know what he said, "I don't remember ever having a funnel cake." WHAT? Excuse me? Never, ever had a funnel cake? Oh, the injustice of it all. Anyway, it was batter cooked in hot grease covered with powdered sugar. And it could not have been better if Martha Stewart herself had cooked it. I could have licked the paper plate it was served on.

Okay, I gave you the menu for G's birthday and all the fabulous dishes that came out of my kitchen over the weekend. I was in a groove I tell you . . . a groove. I think it's the change in seasons. It makes me want to nest. Do you know what I mean by that? I want to cook, sit by the fireplace (even though it's still too warm for a fire, I just sit by the fireplace and think about having a fire) with a beverage, surrounded by my loved ones, watch movies and football, and read. Oh the joy.

So, just in case you're feeling a little of the same, let me share a few recipes. This first one is Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder and it makes you just want to kiss your momma I promise. I honestly could hardly stop eating the roasted sweet potatoes before putting them in the soup. They alone were amazing - just sweet potatoes, drizzled in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and roasted in the oven. I plan on making them again just as a side dish for supper.

The second recipe is for Harvest Salad with Red Raspberry Dressing. This dressing is easy to make and has an excellent flavor. I usually don't make salad dressings but I think I'm going to start. It was so fresh and so much better than those out of the bottle.

So gather your family around the table tonight and bless them with some good food. I think you'll be glad you did.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely diced celery
1 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can creamed-style corn
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 white potato, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes into a 9x13 inch baking dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat the sweet potatoes in oil.
2. Roast until the sweet potatoes are golden and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally as they cook so the sweet potatoes cook evenly.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the celery and onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and dried thyme leaves; cook 1 minute more. Pour in the broth, half and half, corn, bay leaf, salt, and cubed white potato.
4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potato is tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
5. Once the potato is tender, remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the roasted sweet potatoes and chopped parsley. Return to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.


Harvest Salad with Red Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients for Salad:
1 bag fresh spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
2 large stalks of romaine lettuce, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
2 Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts, roasted
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup bacon bits
2 tomatoes, diced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
Ingredients for Dressing:
4 Tbsp. red raspberry jam
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven 5-7 minutes, just until nuts begin to brown.
2. In a large bowl, toss together spinach, romaine, pears, cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese, bacon bits, tomatoes and onion.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together jam, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
4. Pour dressing over the salad just before serving and toss to coat.

Looking for a Good Dessert?

Well, if I know anything about anything, it would be dessert. And did I ever make a great one for the family gathering Friday evening. Not to brag. But it was gooood. Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to take a picture of it. But, I did take a picture of the beautiful cake plate I took it in. This was a gift from a good friend a few years back and I sure have enjoyed it.



Anyway, back to my dessert story. Last week, I was making Sweet Potato Bread to take to Bible Study. Since I didn't have a clue about how many potatoes it would take to make 3 cups of mashed sweet potatoes, I baked about 14. And ended up with about 10 cups of mashed mixture left over. So, what to do with it? This is where destiny stepped in. I saw D's aunt in the meantime and these were her very words: "I've got to tell you about the best thing I have ever put in my mouth." You can imagine my suspense. Well it was A. sweet. potato. cheesecake. Yes siree.

So, I made it. And it has a caramel pecan topping. And it was all sorts of delicious. And because I love y'all so much, here is the link to the recipe on AllRecipes.com.

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=sweet%20potato%20cheesecake

Soup Swap 2009

The Monday night girls have hit upon a wonderful new tradition! Last week before Bible study, we inaugurated our very first Soup Swap! In case you might not be familiar with this phenomenon, please let me explain. Each of the girls brought a crock pot filled to the brim with their favorite soup as well as storage containers. I provided corn muffins, tortilla chips, drinks and dessert. Once everyone and their soup had arrived, we took a few minutes to sample each one. Let me just say . . . yum. The girls had truly outdone themselves. First, a choice had to be made as to which one would fill our bowl for that evening. But, no worries, everyone would leave with one container of all the soups. We now would have enough soup for a week’s worth of meals. How great is it to come home on a cool day to great homemade soup!

The following soups were represented: Chicken and Wild Rice, Vegetable, White Chicken Chili, Potato, traditional Chili, Beefy Minestrone, and Taco Soup. Each one very different from the rest but equally as tasty.

Soup Swap 2009 really could not have been more fun! Let me just tell you, it will definitely be repeated with this group. It is, dear ones, a great idea for your next girlfriend get together!

The Birthday Meal

When given the choice between going out to his favorite restaurant or having his momma cook for him for his birthday dinner, guess what that boy chose? Yep, some good home cookin from mom. I chose all of his favorites and it was a menu of southern comfort food if there ever was one.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf. I created this recipe combining my traditional recipe with inspiration from Paula Deen’s recipe. Her recipe calls for mayonnaise. In your meatloaf? Yuck. Needless to say, I didn’t add it. But to make up for the deficit in the calorie department, I topped it off with a few of those fried onion rings. Yum.
Party Potatoes. This takes your basic mashed potatoes and adds butter, sour cream, cream cheese – topped with bacon bits and shredded cheddar. E made these - amazing.
Macaroni and Cheese. Classic Southern Living recipe. The best.
Broccoli and Cheese Casserole. When I married D, I also married the cookbook from his family’s home church. Lucky me. There is absolutely nothing better than this church cookbook. I’ve used it so much, it is now held together by a giant binder clip. My children always request this dish.
Fresh-from-the-Grandparent’s-Garden Green Beans – oh, heavenly day, these are good. And were undoubtedly the healthiest thing we consumed.
Sister Schubert’s Yeast Rolls . That’s right, I let the Sister make these and she never lets me down. These can be found in your friendly local grocer’s frozen food aisle. Melt in your mouth.
Dessert. Well, my boy is not a dessert eater. A trait he did not receive from me. So he let me pick out the dessert. What did I choose? Yep, the Harvest Apple Pound Cake – topped off with 20 big candles!
As you can see, we consumed our fair share of fat grams and calories but it was worth every one of them. A most happy of birthdays.