Food Friday: BBQ Chicken Pizza Edition

A few days ago I went to lunch with a friend and she ordered BBQ Chicken Pizza.  It sounded so good and looked even better.   So I decided a couple of nights later, I would make a BBQ Chicken Pizza.  I've made them for years but with most dishes I make, I don't quite make things the same every time.  Exception:  baking, which is an exercise in precision.  Ingredients for cakes, pies, brownies, bars, etc. must be the same and they must be measured correctly. But aside from baking, I'm one of those "let's put this all together and see how it tastes" type people.  So, back to my pizza.  I know the basic recipe by heart but I wanted to switch things up a little.

One reason I'm putting this on the blog is because I want to remember what I did! It was pretty yummy.  The menfolk in my family agreed.   Sidenote:  I cook several chicken breasts in the slow cooker about once a week to use later for recipes.  So I already had the cooked chicken in the refrigerator. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients: 
1 refrigerated pizza crust ( I used Pillsbury)
4-5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Sea salt, to taste
1 onion, cut into thin slices
1 package fresh mushrooms, chopped with stems removed
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce ( I use Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet and Spicy), divided
1 cup sliced black olives
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese

 Directions:
1.  Layout pizza crust onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Brush the crust with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake according to package directions.
2.  In a medium skillet,  drizzle about 2 tablespoons olive oil and add onion and mushrooms.  Cook over medium heat just until vegetables begin to get soft.  Add tomatoes and cook about 5 more minutes, just until they begin to get soft.   
3.  In a medium bowl, combine chicken with 1 cup sauce.  Set aside.
4.  Once crust has cooked, spread 1/2 sauce almost to the edges.    Top with onion/mushroom/tomato mixture.  Sprinkle with olives and 1 cup Mozzarella cheese.  Top with chicken and BBQ sauce mixture, then remaining cup of Mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese.
5.  Put pizza back in oven just long enough for cheese to melt.

Enjoy!

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.

Food Friday, The Vendor Party and a Wild Thing

This girl is trying to get back on some sort of blog routine and I vaguely remember that Fridays were all about food around here. So, I thought we would talk food for a few minutes because it is after all, one of my favorite subjects.

What have you been cooking? Last Sunday evening, D and I hosted our small group from church at our house. So I had the pleasure of cooking supper for these fine folks and if you know me, there is nothing I enjoy more than having family and friends in my home for a get-together that involves food.

This was my menu: Easy but Elegant Pork Tenderloin; Cranberry Chutney; Sweet Potato Tart; Black-eyed Peas; Slaw; Corny Cornbread Muffins; and Fresh Apple Pound Cake with Caramel Icing. If Jesus asks me what I want to eat when I get to heaven, this will be my first choice. I think I've posted all these recipes on the blog before but if not, they are What's for Supper? recipes that can be found on the store website, http://www.jandjfoods.com/ if you're interested. All except the Sweet Potato Tart which I'll post very soon. It was to.die.for.

So last night, I had a hankering for some seafood but just couldn't decide what and how. Then I remembered a recipe for Baked Coconut Shrimp. I had all of the ingredients on hand with the exception of the shrimp so I ran by the store and picked up a pound of raw shrimp and two bunches of asparagus for roasting to accompany the shrimp. Came home and whipped that up quick as could be and D and I ate like little pigs. So today I'll share my Baked Coconut Shrimp recipe.

Baked Coconut Shrimp
Ingredients:
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
3 egg whites, beaten until foamy
Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Rinse and dry shrimp with paper towels. Mix cornstarch, salt, and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl; pour coconut flakes in a separate shallow bowl.
3. Working with one shrimp at a time, dredge it in the cornstarch mixture, then dip it in the egg white, and roll it in the coconut, making sure to coat the shrimp well. Place on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining shrimp.
4. Bake the shrimp until they are bright pink on the outside and the meat is no longer transparent in the center and the coconut is browned, 15 to 20 minutes, flipping the shrimp halfway through.


Okay, so if you remember a couple of weeks ago, we hosted J&J's Vendor Party at the farm. It was a blast! Here's a few photos from the evening:

God gave us this view from the deck.

D conquering the mechanical bull.




This is totally unrelated but I shared last week that I had ordered a pair of booties. Well, look who arrived at my door this week. And even better news, they are my birthday present from my momma. I was talking to her on the phone last week, sharing my joy about finding these beauties, when she said, "well, honey, I'll just get you those for your birthday. I always want to get you something that you really want and it sounds like you're pretty excited about these boots." Seriously, who wouldn't be excited about these?

Food Friday - 4th of July Edition!

You know, writing a blog and talking on the radio are a weird thing. Because you can't see your audience, you somehow think that no one is really reading or listening. Then you run into one of your friends and they say "okay, so why haven't you been posting on your blog more?" Or even weirder, someone you barely know who says "did you have a good time at the beach? I heard you say on the radio that you had been over the weekend." I'm not sure I'm really very comfortable with that but it's the nature of the business I guess. But when it comes to the blog, I really don't worry too much about putting myself out there because let's face it, there's about 20 of you sweethearts who read this on a regular basis. But I really do have to smile to know that there are those of you who have stuck by me through the random and ridiculous. So thank you to my little circle of blog friends. I'd give you a hug if I could.

That has absolutely nothing to do with food but before I get started on that do you realize that it is July 1st!! That this year is officially half over. I will say there are some things in my life that I'm thankful have came and gone but honestly, where does that time go? My children are 25 and 21 years old for goodness sake. I don't really think about my age until I think about theirs. So Happy Half 2011 to You!!

And that makes me think about something else. If you think I'm an over-obsessive party planner now, you should have been around when my children were little. Get this - we had "1/2 Birthday" parties! like at 6 months. 1 1/2, etc. Oh we had the traditional round number parties too but we (I) just added to all of that 1/2 s. So when E was 6 months old, we had a 1/2 of cake; and 1/2 of a candle; you get the picture. Okay, weird right? You'll be glad to know that I don't do that anymore not to say I don't think about it.

Well, I'll finally get to the point: food. One of my favorite subjects. All this week my recipes for the segment have been about building a great menu for the 4th of July. When preparing for this I stumbled upon one of the best recipes for roasted corn I've ever tasted. We've had it twice this week. We use the grill a lot in the summer and this is easy and awesome. The first night we had it with filet mignon steaks, shrimp and sauted zucchini, yellow squash and vidalia onions. Last night, we grilled chicken and I made a caprese salad to go along with it. Just thought I'd mention that to maybe spark a few menu ideas for you.

Parmesan Roasted Corn on the Cob
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
5 ears corn, husk and silk removed
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil grate.
2. Brush a thin layer of mayonnaise on each ear of corn. Sprinkle the corn with the Parmesan cheese, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Wrap each ear with non-stick aluminum foil (or spray foil with cooking spray) and place on the grill.
3. Grill, turning occasionally, until the kernels begin to brown, about 10 minutes.

Note: I forgot to get parmesan cheese and made it without it both times. Still delicious. The first time I just sprinkled the corn very lightly with the chili powder. The consensus was that the corn should be thoroughly covered with the chili powder. Good move. All of that to say, don't be afraid of the chili powder. It will be your friend in the end.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Food Friday

I'm having a conundrum today. Isn't that just the funniest word? To be honest, when I first had the thought of using that word I didn't have a clue how to spell it. And do you know how difficult it is to find a word when you don't know how to spell it?
Conundrum: anything that puzzles. Well, I'm puzzled and I really wanted to use that word. Wow - aren't you glad you stopped by today. :)

So, here's the conundrum. I can't decide if I should post the recipe for Summer Squash and Chicken Pasta or the Blackberry Slab Pie. See, I told you, it's a conundrum. So, I'll just post both. After all, I'm a week or ten behind posting on Food Friday. So here you go.

By the way, the Blackberry Slab Pie is in the newest edition of "Taste of the South" magazine. Love that magazine.

Summer Squash and Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti noodles
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 yellow summer squash
1 small zucchini
2 Roma tomatoes
3 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
Directions:
1. In medium saucepan, cook pasta noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cool water. Drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil once chilled.
2. Meanwhile, saute garlic in olive oil and red wine vinegar until garlic begins to golden (about 1-2 minutes). Add a few dashes of salt and pepper too.
3. Dice the yellow summer squash and the zucchini and add to the garlic mixture. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and sauté for 1 – 2 minutes.
5. Add vegetable mixture to the cooked pasta.
6. Chill the summer squash pasta salad for at least 2 hours in the fridge, if you wish to eat it chilled.
7. Grill chicken breasts over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the middle.
8. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and add to pasta mixture.
9. Serve chilled.

Blackberry Slab Pie
Ingredients:
1 package refrigerated pie crusts
8 cups fresh blackberries
¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
4 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 15 x 10 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 pie shell disk into an 18 x 13 inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, pressing into corners and allow dough to hang over the sides.
Refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine blackberries, ¾ cup sugar, flour and salt. Spread mixture over chilled pie shell.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining pie shell to a 16 x 13 inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick; drape over the filling. Fold edge of bottom shell over the top shell. Pinch edges to seal. Cut three diagonal slits across top of pie. Brush crust with cream and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 50 to 60 minutes.
6. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 3 hours before serving.

Food Friday - St. Patrick's Day Edition

Greetings, friends and neighbors! It's Friday - anyone else excited about that besides me? It's been a good week and I'm ready for a good weekend!

I'm a little distracted writing this post right now because I can't take my eyes off the television. As I type, I'm watching video footage of the tsunami hitting Japan as a result of an earthquake. This is incredible. They are predicting that the residual effects may hit Hawaii and the coast of California today. Prayers are with the people of Japan, Hawaii and California. Whew.

Next Thursday is St. Patrick's Day. So I've a two! recipes for your celebration. We don't celebrate this holiday in a big way at our house but I always take the opportunity to cook up some good food in honor of our Irish friends across the pond.

First, I've got the very traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage for you and then the second recipe, well, actually this is not necessarily Irish but it's green and it's minty and it's chocolate - so it works for me!

Corned Beef and Cabbage
What you need:
3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
10 small red potatoes
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges
What you do:
1. Rinse the corned beef under running water.
2. Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.
3. Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes.
4. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes. Then slice meat across the grain.
5. Place vegetables in a bowl and add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want.
6. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Mint Dessert
What you need:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) plus 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon mint extract
4 drops green food color
1 cup Hershey’s Chocolate Chips or Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
What You Do:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Place 1 cup (2 sticks) butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium (50%) 2 minutes or until melted. Stir in granulated sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; beat well. Add cocoa, flour and baking powder; beat until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.
4. Prepare Mint Cream Center by combining powdered sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, water, mint extract and food color. Beat until smooth. Spread evenly on brownies. Cover; refrigerate until cold.
5. Prepare Chocolate Glaze by placing remaining 6 tablespoons butter and chocolate chips in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium (50%) 1 minute or until mixture is smooth when stirred. Cool slightly; pour over chilled dessert. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
24 servings.

Have a great weekend!!

Food Friday - It's the Cat's Meow!

Let's just say that this recipe is the cat's meow. And because I love to store worthless information in my brain that takes the place of more worthwhile information, I just had to look up the saying "the cat's meow." The phrase "cat's meow" means it's just too good for words. (per Wikipedia which we all know has the correct answer for every question in the universe). Apparently, it originated in the 1920's with other cat-related sayings such as "cat's pajamas" and "cool cat." Aren't you glad you came by today?

So since this recipe is truly too good for words, I'll just leave it with you.

Peach Pound Cake

What you need:

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10 inch tube pan and coat with white sugar.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Reserve 1/4 cup of flour for later, and sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Use the reserved flour to coat the chopped peaches, then fold the floured peaches into the batter. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Food Friday

Does anyone have Spring Fever besides me? And you know, just about the time our daffodils and jonquils get to blooming, there will come a cold spell or snow (gasp) and dash our hopes for an early spring. I just hate when that happens.

So what's on your plate for this bee-u-ti-ful weekend we have ahead of us? I'm leaving this afternoon for a little girl time at the Beloved Retreat and oh my word, I can hardly contain my excitement. Except that I'll have to admit I'm a little stressed. Tomorrow night at the retreat is the Luau Event. Well, I don't know about you but I really don't have much in the tropical, luau-looking fashion department. Maybe I'll just throw on a lei and call it a day. But that's not gonna stand in my way of having a good time. Yay - for God and girl time!

I'll be back in time for church on Sunday; Employee Appreciation Lunch for the store after that; meeting with a bride at 3:00 and then off to Atlanta with my hubby, son and son's significant other for a continued Valentine's surprise! So, I probably won't talk to ya again till Monday. So in that case, I hope your weekend is restful and fun!

So, Food Friday. I'll have to admit. Those of you that know me well, know that I usually spend a good bit of time in the kitchen. Well, not this week. I have had something every night this week, with the exception of Monday when I cooked our Valentine's Day meal. So, while I have done alot of things this week, I haven't really cooked much. I made this recipe last weekend and we have eaten on it all week. We've eaten cold, right out of the refrigerator. We've eaten it warm. And we've eaten it with warm . . . with ice cream. Oooo . . . have you had Breyer's Carb Smart Ice Cream? It's great. Well, that's what I've heard. :)

So, today's recipe is Raspberry Buckle. I've heard this for years and wondered why it's called a buckle when honestly I think you could have just called it a cobbler. So I tried to find the reason for that and best I can tell, years ago they called what we call now a cobbler, a buckle because when cooked it looked like a sidewalk that had buckled. Interesting, huh? This recipe calls for raspberries but I used the frozen berry mix and it was delish. The mix has raspberries, blackberries and strawberries in it. So good.

Raspberry Buckle
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup low fat, soy or almond milk
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 10 oz. bags of frozen raspberries
2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk and butter and stir until well blended. Scrape into the prepared dish.
3. Sprinkle with raspberries and orange peel over the batter. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Food Friday - Valentine's Day Edition

I know some of you follow me on the What's for Supper segment and some of you don't. Don't worry - no condemnation here. But if you do, you've already heard this. I've been "building" our special Valentine's Day meal for our sweeties this week. My sweeties have already had this Valentine's Day meal as I test and tweak all recipes to our liking a week or so before they make their debut on the segment. So, I must tell you, I thought my boys would eat themselves silly when I put this meal in front of them. They loved it. And that just made me so happy because I love them so much. I happen to think that cooking a meal for your family is a good way of showing them how much you care about and love them. And when a certain someone says, "mom, I swear, this is the best thing you've ever cooked" every time he sits down to eat, I gotta admit, that just makes my heart sing. Oh yes it does. Or when my sweet husband says, "Thank you so much. I'm so glad I married you." (it must be true what they say about the way to a man's heart).

So, here is my Valentine's Day Menu!

Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon with Mushroom Wine Sauce: When I made this recipe for my family, I used feta cheese because we aren't big blue cheese fans. So you can definitely make it your own for your family. And let me just tell you that this Mushroom Wine Sauce was incredible. You could use "real" wine if you have it. I had a bottle of cooking wine that I had gotten at the store and it worked just fine. I'm sure fine wine connoisseurs would be appalled with that last statement. So if you are one, please no letters.

For our meal, we added steamed crab legs to the mix. The boys are huge fans so they grabbed themselves some at the store and had our seafood guys steam them. (If you're interested, this is a complementary service when you purchase the crab legs).

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes: D said you could have put this filling in a pie. Which is huge for him because if there is one thing that he knows something about, it is sweet potato pie. Trust me, these were good. Similar to regular twice baked potatoes, you bake them, then scoop out the insides, mix with some really good stuff, put back in the shells and bake again. Yum.

Green Bean Bundles: Fresh green beans, blanched; gathered in bundles of 7 or 8; wrapped in bacon then baked.

Strawberry Salad: This is a congealed salad using strawberries, bananas, pineapple, and pecans. It's red which makes it a good choice for a Valentine's Day meal. This is D's mom's recipe so it goes without saying that it's a good one.

And finally . . . for dessert . . . Warm Chocolate Truffle Cakes. These are individual cakes baked in ramekins. Full of chocolate goodness. Sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. They really will make you want to give somebody some sugar. I'm just sayin.

So! There you have it! If you are interested, all of these recipes are on the store website, http://www.jandjfoods.com/. Click on the What's for Supper square in the lower right hand corner. The Chocolate Truffle Cake recipe is today's recipe so it will come up when you click the tab. The others are in the archives. But I'll share one here. It's a hard decision but I think this one is the winner.

Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignons with Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium white onion, minced
6-8 whole mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup cooking wine (or a white wine)
4 filet mignon steaks (1 1/2 inch thick)
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Directions:
1. Put olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring constantly, until onions and mushrooms are tender. Stir in the beef broth, mix well; then stir in the cooking wine. Bring to a slow boil, and simmer until the liquid has mostly reduced. Set aside. This may also be made ahead of time, and reheated.
2. Cook steaks on the grill or grill pan to desired doneness.
3. Place steaks on a baking sheet. Stir together panko crumbs and blue cheese. Top each steak with a layer of this mixture.
4. Preheat the oven’s broiler. Place steaks under the preheated broiler until the cheese topping is browned and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with warm mushroom sauce.

Enjoy!!

Food Friday!

Since all I've talked about is hamburgers, onion rings and pie this week, you might find it ironic that the theme for the What's for Supper? segment has been Healthy Choices. But trust me you'll need them if you follow the HOP diet I've modeled for you. You know, I might be onto something. I can see it now on the infomercials: "Follow the HOP method for a diet of empty calories and high saturated fats! You'll be flabby and on high blood pressure medicine in no time!" Okay, maybe not.

Anywhoo, how about a recipe for Pecan Crusted Flounder? Or you could use tilapia or trout if you so desire.

Pecan Crusted Tilapia
Ingredients:
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
½ cup pecans, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound fish, flounder, 4 (4-ounce) fillets
Cooking spray
2 tablespoon mayonnaise, nonfat
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix together bread crumbs, pecans, Creole seasoning and salt.
3. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
4. Combine mayonnaise and lemon juice. Brush over top of fish.
5. Sprinkle fish evenly with crumb mixture and coat lightly with cooking spray.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Happy Food Friday!

Hello dear friends! I've got a little bit of "cabin fever" going as I've been on snow-restriction most of the week. I am going to attempt to get my car out of the garage in just a little bit for the first time since last Saturday. Our driveway is solid ice and uphill to the street so I'm not sure how it will go but by-golly and by-george, I'm gonna get out of here one way or another.

So what are your plans for the weekend? We have dinner plans TWO nights in a row. I know, aren't we the social butterflies you just knew we were? not. We're meeting some friends we haven't seen in almost a year for dinner tonight in Dahlonega. One couple has moved from our area and the others, well, time flies and we just haven't gotten together. Isn't that just sad? Life gets whirling so fast that pretty soon you realize that you have friends you haven't seen in forever. I just hate that.

I'm so excited to see all of these precious people I could just jump for joy. Except that I went back to the gym last night for the first time in like two months and trust me, there will be no jumping today. There will barely be walking today. I'm determined to live up to my goal of healthy choices and that includes that stupid gym (I'm sorry - I always told my children that stupid was a bad word and I'll stand by that except when used in reference to the gym). Once again, my sweet husband was my motivation because honestly if it had been up to me I would have stayed under my electric blanket last night. But he was feeling all energetic when he got home from work and gently insisted that I join him at the gym. Ahh. He practically bolts in the front door while I lag behind, careful not to fall on the ice, mind you, and begins his 6 mile run. 6 miles. Well, I was doing great until I hit about oh, mile 1 and then I thought I would die. But you know, I got to thinking about that. If you die at the gym, people will think you were this super in-shape person so there would be worse places to die, like at the Krispy Kreme.
Anyway, I was wheezing, gasping and stopping every 2 minutes to see if G had texted me about my instructions for fixing dinner (that's my story okay). Yes, so overall, it was a wonderful experience. I finally put in my miles and then I bolted for the door! Maybe someday I'll fall in love with the gym and exercising. A girl can dream.

So, Food Friday! I really wanted to put up my recipe for the Buckeye Brownies I have sitting on my counter. But given now what I've said about the gym, you might think I was a contradiction of sorts. I am.

So, how about a great Weight Watcher recipe I found? I am making this for my family Sunday night and I can hardly wait.

Spicy Shrimp and Lobster Linguine
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
1 lobster tail (about 1/2 pound)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 lb. linguine, cooked according to package directions; drain
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in very large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then add onions and garlic. Saute 10 minutes until golden. Add tomatoes, wine, oregano, crushed pepper, salt, sugar, and ground pepper; bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes until flavors are blended and sauce is slightly thickened.
3. Meanwhile, remove meat from lobster tail and cut it into 1/2-inch pieces. (To pry meat out, cut away soft undercover with scissors and ease away meat from shell with your fingers.) Add lobster and shrimp to sauce and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes until just opaque.
4. Toss pasta with sauce and sprinkle with parsley.
Yield: 6 servings; 7 points per serving

Happy Friday, Y'all!

Food Friday

Well, I barely made it but here I am at 10:00 making the Food Friday post. I feel like I've done a million different things to do. Women are so good at that, aren't we? A few of things I did today: I went to two planning meetings; did the radio show; shopped for shoes, a shirt, ties and a belt with my boy; went to a basketball game and on a dinner date with my husband. Oh, y'all, I've just got to tell you what a sweet man I'm married to. Tonight when he came in after work he walked right up to me and said "I'm taking you out tonight because it is a very special occasion. It is the 27th anniversary of our first date." Oh, my heart. He remembered.

This recipe is from the What's for Supper? segment for today. Today on the show we were discussing our new governor's inaugural and I said that his first action as governor of our state should be to declare this as the Official Dessert of Georgia. And by the way, if it comes that snow and ice storm on Monday that they are predicting and I don't get to go to Atlanta for the Inaugural Gala, I'm gonna be disappointed . . big time. I've even got a new "ballgown" to wear. And since I paid a whole $32 for it at the Belks it would be a HUGE loss not to wear it to this big shindig. By "ballgown" I'm talking about a dress that is only slightly dressier than something I would wear to church. Being the guru of fashion that I am officially unqualified to be, I can hardly wait to see what everyone is wearing to this thing. I'll give a full report next week. I may even sneak my camera out of my pocketbook. It will be like a bad episode of "What Not To Wear."

Okay, okay. Get to the point. It's late and I'm obviously rambling.

Pecan Pie Trifle
Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups whipping cream
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 2 lb. frozen pecan pie, thawed and cubed
Hot fudge ice cream topping, heated
Caramel ice cream topping, heated
Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese, whipping cream and vanilla in a large bowl at medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until smooth and firm. Set aside.
2. Fill the bottom of the trifle bowl with 1/3 pecan pie cubes. (If you are using mini-trifle bowls you will get about 5 servings. You can also use wine glasses for smaller servings).
3. Spread a layer of the ½ cream cheese mixture over pie cubes and drizzle with ½ hot fudge topping and ½ caramel sauce. Repeat layers. Top with pecan pie cubes.

Food Friday

Well, I thought I was done for today after the previous post but then I remembered that today is Friday. And I have a GREAT recipe. Make it today if you are starting your diet tomorrow because this is probably not going to be on the list of foods you can have.

So, here's the challenge: go now to your locally-owned grocery store, get all of the ingredients, make this immediately and eat til your hearts content. I have this cake in the refrigerator right now. I think I'll go have a piece. Yes, I know. You don't have to remind me it's only 9:20 in the morning.

Butterfinger Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge is a good one), plus eggs, water, and oil needed to prepare
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar caramel sauce (the ice cream topping)
1 8 oz container Cool Whip
3 full sized Butterfinger bars, crushed

Directions:
1. Prepare cake mix and bake as according to instructions on the box using a 9x13 pan.
2. Leave oven on. While cake is still hot, poke holes in it ( a wooden skewer works well). Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the hot cake. Let sit until most of the milk sinks into cake.
2. Heat caramel in microwave just until it is a good consistency for pouring. Pour evenly over cake. Turn oven off and then place the cake in the oven for about 5 minutes. Take out and place in refrigerator overnight.
3. When ready to serve, spread Cool Whip over the top of the cake and sprinkle with crushed Butterfingers.

Food Monday

I have no excuse. It's Monday and here's a great recipe.

I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it is amazing. Just be very careful not to overcook it. It is, after all, prime rib. If you don't have a meat thermometer, it's totally worth a couple of dollars to buy one. Better to spend there than to overcook a good (and pricey) cut of meat.

Christmas Dinner Standing Rib Roast

Ingredients:
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon pepper
1 ½ teaspoon garlic salt or powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 7 pound standing rib roast
Directions:
1. Rub olive oil over roast. Combine lemon pepper, garlic salt, rosemary and black pepper. Rub over roast.
2. Place roast, fat side up, in a large roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer.
3. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake, 20 minutes per pound.

Enjoy!

Food Friday - This May be Your Christmas Card

Earlier in the week, my good friend and I were discussing her husband's office Christmas party, which she is hosting in their home this evening. We were talking about what her menu might include and I told her about this great Buttermilk Coconut Pie recipe.
When her plate began to get full right before this party (which always seems to happen when you are hosting a party), I told her I would make her pies for her. So last night, I made the pies and hopefully, they will taste as good as they smelled in my kitchen. It was all I could do to keep my husband from sticking a fork right in the middle of one of them.
As yummy as they taste and as good as they smell, they just aren't anything special to look at. Not that every pie has to be a beauty queen but it's an added perk if they are. Anyway, I remembered these Martha Stewart cake stencils I had and wondered how they would look on a pie. Well, what do you think?

Here is the recipe and it is yummy!

Buttermilk Coconut Pie

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup grated coconut

1 deep dish pie shell or 2 regular pie shells

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat eggs until frothy; add butter, sugar and flour. Beat until smooth.

3. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice and nutmeg. pour into pie shell.

4. Bake at 40 to 45 minutes, or until center is firm.

Enjoy!

With all my Christmas card concerns this year, you may just have to consider this your formal greeting. If so, I'll add a photo of G to make the family complete.

These were taken at the GFIA Holiday Extravaganza in Atlanta last week.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!!

Food Friday - on Friday!

Well, look at me, why don't ya? Actually got a Food Friday on Friday and before 9:00 in the morning, no less!

This is the recipe I told y'all about on Tuesday - the Pork Tenderloin and Cranberry Chutney. I am telling you the truth when I say this is the best, most moist pork tenderloin I have ever had. And it was so easy.

Let me tell you a few things about the Cranberry Chutney. First, it's great as written, maybe a little sweet so I would suggest adding the sugar a little at a time and getting it just right for your own taste buds.
Second, if you don't have fresh cranberries, you can use two cans of whole berry cranberry sauce and omit the sugar. Works just fine.
Third, this recipe is great served as an appetizer - over a block of cream cheese with crackers.
Fourth, it's also a great gift. It doesn't have an extremely long shelf life so you would need to wrap it up pretty and give it quickly.

So there you go. Believe me, if you try this, you'll be thanking me.

Elegant and Easy Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Chutney
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
2 pounds Pork Tenderloin
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Rub olive oil over pork tenderloin. Then sprinkle with powders, salt and pepper.
3. Put bread crumbs in large resealable bag; add tenderloin and shake to coat.
4. Place pork on a foil-lined shallow cookie sheet. Press remaining bread crumbs into pork. Put a tent of foil over the top of cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil tent and cook an additional 15 minutes until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Let meat rest for 10 minutes then cut into ½ slices.
5. Serve with Cranberry Chutney
Cranberry Chutney
1 12 oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cups water
1 large granny smith apple; peeled, cored and chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until apple is tender and mixture thickens. Cool completely.
2. Store in the refrigerator.

Food Friday

I was just reading an article about how to be a successful blogger. Guess what Rule #1 is? Be consistent. Rule #2: Pick a topic and blog about that topic - i.e. cooking; parenting; fashion; crafting, etc. Well, what I have been successful at on this blog is not following rules 1 or 2. Oh well.
Therefore, Food Friday will probably continue to float somewhere around Friday and I will continue to write as a non-expert on a variety of topics. Basically, I'll just continue to do what I do best.

So, who's ready for Thanksgiving? I am totally geared up for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year! As soon as I close up this computer I'm going to the basement to pack up fall and unpack Christmas! Yay!! So ready for all things Christmas. Not to negate Thanksgiving but we don't celebrate Thanksgiving at my house so I can go ahead and get a jump start on the Christmas decorating. However, the inside and outside of my house will have a split personality until next weekend. For some reason, I am totally comfortable decorating the inside for Christmas before Thanksgiving but I just can't bring myself to do the outside. So to the outside world, we will still be all things fall but to the inside, we are all things Christmas!

I wanted to share a recipe that I will make about 10 times from now until Christmas Day. I'm asked to bring this salad to every family or friend get together that I attend. That's okay, it's easy, it can be made the day before (actually it's best to do that) and it is delicious!

**EDITED TO ADD: In the second paragraph, when I said we don't celebrate Thanksgiving at my house what I meant was, we go to D's paren'ts house for Thanksgiving; I do not host it. So . . . yes, we do believe in giving thanks and setting aside a day to do just that. Just to clarify.

Crunchy Cranberry Salad
Ingredients:
3 oz. pkg. strawberry gelatin
3 oz. pkg. raspberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen sliced strawberries, partially thawed
1 15 ¼ oz. can crushed pineapple, don’t drained
1 16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped pecans
Directions:
1. Dissolve gelatins in boiling water and let cool.
2. Add strawberries, pineapple, cranberry sauce, celery and pecans.
3. Spoon into a 12x8x2 pan or your favorite mold, sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Cover and chill until firm.
4. Unmold onto a lettuce-lined plate.
This recipe is best if prepared the day before serving.

Food Friday

Happy Friday! What have you been doing today? Well I've been b-u-s-y, thanks for asking. Next Thursday night is the annual Jingle Mingle on the downtown Square and since Wonderful Events now has an office inside Mainstreet Market, our little space has to be all dressed up and ready for Christmas by then. So . . . I've been to our local wholesale florist twice in the past two days along with trips to Big Lots (which has fabulous Christmas items by the way) and of course, the mecca of all things holiday, Hobby Lobby. I think I have accumulated all of my supplies for decorating the tree and accessorizing the wreaths. The wreath adorning is a new venture for me, by the way. I am a going to try my hand at wiring/hot gluing your average fir wreaths into something fabulous using ribbon, garland and ornaments. We'll see. I'm kinda a gene short in the crafting pool so this may turn out to be a total disaster. If so, I'm not too proud to admit my defeat and consult a crafting professional.

And speaking of crafting, E and I are getting together tomorrow afternoon for a little "Ornament Crafting Party." I've done extensive search on the internet and come up with two of the easiest ornament construction projects ever created. The age requirement on both: 6 and up. Yep, that's about my speed. E will probably fly by me and create an ornament masterpiece. Our men folk will occupy themselves with the Georgia/Auburn game and all will be well with the world. If Georgia wins that is . . .

Okay, to the issue at hand - Food Friday. All this week and until Thanksgiving, I'll be talking about recipes to make your Thanksgiving menu fabulous on the What's for Supper segment. Therefore, I have over a dozen recipes that are perfect for any menu but especially during the holidays. I decided to share this recipe in honor of D's mom. She was making this dish when I married into the family.

Baked Curried Fruit
Ingredients:
1 can (20 oz) chunk pineapple
1 can (20 oz) pear halves
1 can (20 oz) peach halves
10 maraschino cherries
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon curry powder - more or less to taste
Directions:
1. Drain fruit; cut up as desired.
2. Combine fruit and place in a 2 quart casserole.
3. Melt butter in a medium bowl. Stir in brown sugar and curry powder. Pour brown sugar mixture over fruit.
4. Cook for about 30 minutes in 350° oven.

Food Friday Sunday

Since I was gone on Friday to Barnsley Gardens, I didn't get a chance to post a Food Friday recipe. This is hands down my new favorite dessert. And let me just say that you don't have to be a huge fan of pumpkin to enjoy these. D is not a fan and he loved them! These bars would be a great Thanksgiving dessert in lieu of the more traditional pie. Happy eating!

Pumpkin Pie Bars
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
½ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cups (1 ½ sticks) cold butter
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butterscotch or chocolate chips for sprinkling on top
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line 13x9 inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Spray foil with cooking spray.
3. Mix flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar and brown sugar in medium bowl, cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and nuts.
4. Reserve 1 cup oat mixture; press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.
5. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and spice with mixer until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and butterscotch or chocolate chips.
6. Bake 25 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Use foil to transfer dessert from pan to wire rack; cool completely.
7. Cut into bars.