Recipe: Easter Krispie Treats

A great last minute recipe to make with kids .... they see
you in the kitchen and want to help.. and there isn't anything a kid can really
help with... let them make some Easter Krispie Treats with a older brother or
sister.. or even a grandparent... a few minutes on the stove .... and they're
out of the way and happy they helped.

TIPS

You can use marshmallows.. but I prefer using the

Baked Ham Guide

Baked Ham... a tradition for holiday meals and large family get togethers... and with Easter this coming weekend I thought it would be a good idea to post some links to some previous posts.

Here are links to my posts about Baked Ham.... The Buying Guide, Baking and Roasting Tips and some Glaze Recipes...

I hope you find them helpful.






A Guide to Buying Ham

Roasting and Baking Tips for

15 Fabulous Sides for a Holiday Meal

Looking for stress-free and easy sides that will not only look and taste great... they will impress your guests? 

Look no further... I have great recipes for you to consider adding to your menu.... many can be prepared ahead... so it let's you get out of the kitchen and so you can spend time with family and friends.







 


Duchess Potatoes  - so elegant and easy... and can be made ahead

Recipe: Chocolate Eclair in a Jar

Chocolate Eclair in a Jar........ OMG these are good! Close
your eyes and you think you're eating a chocolate eclair... I swear!

I love desserts in a jar... I have so many to post.. too
little time to write... so I thought I'd better get moving... after all... I need
to share these with you... they are absolutely wonderful.

I love the fact I can stack them in the fridge and dessert

Recipe: Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits... a Southern staple with so
many meals... buttery and light...

After being in the South for a few years I thought I would
venture into "the pride of the South" territory.... biscuits.  I admit my first try at them was okay not
stellar.  What some cooks make look easy
... clearly was not.   So much like pie
crust and some other bake goods.. it took a couple of

Easter Place Setting and Table Ideas

Fabulous ideas are not always expensive .... the idea above comes from Better Homes and Gardens... the colorful take-out containers are readily available at craft stores and discount stores... just place a jar inside and fill with flowers...


I love to make a table festive and fun… and I’m always looking for great ideas …

These adorable bunnies and chicks make a really cute place setting

Recipe: Blueberries and Cream Cake

Spring is in the air! 
...okay ... so maybe we wish Spring is were in the air... this
winter just will not end in most parts of the country... but there's no reason
why you can't pretend... after all... it is
officially spring.

This cake is perfect for a spring pick me up.....  It's not quite a cheesecake... not quite a
creamy cake.. it's in-between... I thought I'd give it a try.. and we

Recipe: Crock Pot Moroccan Sweet Potato and Beef Stew

Looking for another beef stew recipe?  Need a quick and healthy recipe? Well ... I
have a delicious one for you.  Moroccan
Sweet Potato and Beef Stew with a hint of heat and spice... is a perfect
alternative to the hum drum beef stew. 

No oil is necessary... no browning of the meat before
putting it in the crock pot... nope... just pop in the ingredients.. turn it to
low... and 8 hours

Recipe: Skinny Broccoli and Mushroom Fettuccini Alfredo

This quick and easy meal comes together in under 30
minutes...perfect for a weeknight!

How is this skinny? Make a light Alfredo Sauce!  Don't sauté the broccoli and the mushrooms...
microwave them...  you won't miss the fat
... trust me!

This recipe was adapted from Cooking Light.

TIPS

Use whatever pasta you prefer.. it really doesn't have to be
fettuccini.

Feel free to add more

Recipe: Bangers and Mash

Bangers and Mash is a well known English meal.... but few
people realize that it's a traditional meal for the Irish and the Germans.   Bangers are sausages... and the kind of
sausage you make depends on what you like... it can be breakfast sausage.. or
bratwurst... in my case.. we used "beer brats"... the white and mild
variety... similar to the "weisswursts" my mother cooked. 

How to cook

Recipe: Shamrock Rice Krispie Treats

Need a last minute idea for the kids on St. Patrick's
Day?  Look no further.. these adorable
green shamrock treats will be a hit!

Make it a family affair..... a fun activity they can help
with....

TIPS

If you don't have a shamrock cookie cutter... make regular
krispie treats ..just use the food coloring and make 'em green.

I like to use marshmallow fluff instead of marshmallows...
it

All About Crown Roast of Pork

Looking for more holiday meal ideas? Pork is a traditional meat for many holidays, Easter being the most popular. You see beautiful pictures of a Crown Roast of Pork in magazines, sometimes with those cute little paper chef hats on each bone (called paper frills) and think they’re complicated to make… but they aren’t. In fact, it is an excellent choice for both the experienced and the

How to Bake or Roast a Ham

So you've decided to make a ham for the holiday.... and you've read my post about Choosing the Perfect Ham... now for tips on baking and roasting the ham.... it really is easy... just a few things to remember...

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and that I helped ease the stress a bit!






Recipe: How to Bake or Roast a Ham

All you need to do:

Bake at a low oven temperature (325-350

How to Choose a Ham

Are you making a Ham for the holidays? Now is the time to start thinking about what kind of Ham to buy ...

So where to start?

A few years ago I came across an excellent ham buying guide from Cuisine at Home (Issue 50 April 2005)…. whenever I plan to make a ham.. I pull it out... it really helps me make decisions about the kind of ham I want and what to look for when buying it.

You can buy

Cooler Meat is Tougher Meat

Have you ever noticed that as your meat cools it gets tougher? Well, the cooler your steak or roasts are the tougher they will be. The reason for this is that the collagen in meat turns to a gelatin and begins to thicken as the meat cools.

In order to avoid the toughening of your meat you will want to serve your steak or other meats on a warmed plate or a metal plate. If it is a roast that you have made, after carving it place the rest of the roast in a warmer or put it back in the oven.

What to know how to marinade your meats? Visit >> Tips on How to Marinade Meats

||Smoked Salt||

Recipe: Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

This recipe for Crock Pot Corned Beef easy, easy, easy.. a
meal that makes itself... and delicious!
TIPS


There are two cuts for Corned Beef... flat cut and point
cut.   Flat cut is a lot leaner and
doesn't shrink as much during cooking. 
It tends to be more expensive. 
Some people have said they feel the point cut is more tender, but with
slow cooking I find the flat cut extremely tender.

Recipe: Blueberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake

I love baking with buttermilk it makes cakes so light and airy... and blueberries are wonderful with their bit of tartness...perfect in coffee cakes... a great way to start the day with a good cup of coffee.

This is slightly adapted from a recipe I have from a Gourmet June 2009 recipe for a Raspberry Buttermilk Cake.


TIPS

Don't omit the lemon zest.. it really compliments the blueberry

Recipe: Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I had a dilema about the name of this post... This is a re-post of my very first post from over 4 years ago.  The original post was Easy Crock Pot Pot Roast.  It wasn't until I decided to re-post it did I even realize how it sounded... all I could think of was ... A Crock Pot Pot Roast crocked in a crock pot... how many pot roasts do you think you can crock in a crock pot.... okay... okay...

Recipe: Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli is a traditional Italian "peasant"
dish meaning pasta and beans.   Pronounced
in the United States as "Pasta Fazool", the best description I can
give you is that it's a very thick soup... how thick it is.. depends on how you
like it.

It can be meatless or not, depending on how you want to make
it.  Recipes vary widely, some use sausage,
others use ground beef or still others

Some Great Recipes for St. Paddy's Day!

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here and it's time to plan for a great day of food and fun... and I'm here to help with the food part.

Did you know Corned Beef and Cabbage is not really a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal in Ireland??   So if you want a few other food ideas for celebrating the day... read on...

And besides what’s to say the whole meal will have to be “Irish” anyway.

This

Recipe: Open Face O'Brien Potato Omelet

This easy to make omelet combines delicious O'Brien Potatoes
with eggs and bacon and cheddar cheese.. now how can you beat that?

This slightly adapted recipe comes from the folks at
Ore-Ida.. the makers of frozen O'Brien Potatoes.


Read on for some helpful tips to help make your meal a success.

TIPS

I fell a tad guilty saying this.. the recipe does come from
Ore-Ida... but... I prefer

Recipe: Creamy Chicken and Vegetables

This recipe for Creamy Chicken and Vegetables is a
"Leftover" from my Super Easy Chicken and Dumplings.   As part of my series on Leftover Tips and
Recipes, this dish can be made with just about any leftover cooked chicken.

Don't have leftover cooked chicken?  No problem.... other alternatives can be
store bought rotisserie chicken or... if you are so inclined.. cook a chicken
breast or two

Leftover Tips and Ideas

I decided a while ago to add a new section to my blog and am finally getting around to adding it... one
that deals with Leftover Ideas...

Not everyone loves Leftovers.. we do..
honestly.. both Warren and I can eat a repeat meal of just about anything...
but... we also enjoy turning leftovers into a new meal altogether.

Turning a Leftover into a different meal really is an art...
one that

Tips on How to Marinade Meats

Every once in a while I like to marinade some of my meats and poultry. I'm going to share with you some hints and tips for marinading. If you've ever wondered why your meats turn brown really quickly when you are cooking or grilling them, it might be the marinade. You see marinades are for the most part highly acidic. The acidity in the marinades react with the muscle pigments of the meat causing it to brown quickly.

The acid in many marinades will reduce the ability of most meats to keep in moisture, so your meat may not be as moist as you thought it would be. However this lost in moisture is usually offset by the meat absorbing some of the marinade and also the flavor the marinade adds to your meats.

If you are marinading large pieces of meat, it should be done in a large plastic bag, like a Zip-Lock bag. It will require a lot less marinade if you do it this way. With smaller pieces of meat, you can marinade them in a glass dish. One thing you never want to do is marinade in a metal container. This is because the acid in the marinade will react with the metal giving your meat an off flavor.

Do not baste our meats with the marinade you soaked it in, always use fresh marinade. The reason is the marinade may get contaminated by bacterias from your meats. And finally always cover and refrigerate any meats that you are marinading.

Looking for more information on cooking meats? Visit >> Does Searing a Steak Really Seal in the Juices?

||How to Grill the Perfect Steak||

How to Keep Bacon from Splattering

Does your bacon splatter when you cooking it? Mine sure does. However there are things you can do to keep your bacon from splattering. Back a long time ago, there wasn't the problem of splattering bacon. That is because they cured it differently back then.

The old way was to cure the bacon slowly and using salts to dry it. The bacon then would not splatter when it was cooked. Today bacon is cured in brine which cures the bacon a lot more quickly. When the bacon is cooked this liquid from the brine gets released, which causes the fat to splatter more.

If you want to reduce the amount of splattering when cooking bacon, lower your heat settings. Another thing you can do to stop your bacon from splattering is to soak the bacon in ice water for 2 to 4 minutes, then dry it.

A couple other things you can do to keep your bacon from splattering is sprinkling a bit of flour on it before cooking. And if all else fails, use a splatter screen over your frying pan, those screens work wonders.

For more information on pork and purchasing pork visit >> What to Look for When Buying Pork

||Baby Back Ribs vs. Spare Ribs||

Potato Bacon and Tomato Frittata

Great anytime .... day or night.... Frittatas... are a quick
and easy fix for any meal.  A truly
terrific breakfast dish or an casual lunch or supper.... that's hearty and
satisfying. 

This recipe for Potato Bacon and Tomato Frittata starts in a
skillet and finishes in the oven.  While
it's baking in the oven... this all in one skillet meal frees the cook up to
handle setting the table,

Recipe: No-Bake Turtle Brownie Cheesecake

Who can resist a Turtle Brownie Cheesecake?... Answer: no
one.... Who can resist making a no-bake version?... Answer: not many cooks.

This easy to follow recipe is... in my opinion.... the closest
in texture and taste to a baked cheesecake. 
It is a combination of several recipes... and some inventiveness on my
part. 

I started out with the intention of trying Martha Stewart's
No-Bake