Pink Roses

grocery list...

Is it freezing cold at your house?  It is here.  Looking for something warm and easy to make this weekend?  Here it is!  I made this last weekend and it was SO good.  My sister, my daughter, and my friend Virginia, all made it for Super Bowl parties, and everyone that tried it was asking for the recipe.  We all hate to give away the secret because it's so easy, it's not really cooking.  It's just opening 7 cans! I mean, my daughter made it in a college dorm!  The original recipe was for a SOUP, and called for 2 or 3 chicken breasts.  We all make ours like a CHILI or stew and add 5 or 6 chicken breasts.  Then it's a meal all by itself.  Hope you like it!

Mexican Chicken Chili

To a crock pot add the following ingredients:

5 or 6 uncooked, boneless skinless chicken breasts (fresh or frozen)

and the 7 cans...

3 cans RoTel tomatoes (any flavor you like)

1 can Tomato sauce

1 can chopped green chilies

2 cans Black Beans

1 scoop of salsa

Cover and cook over low heat for several hours (3 or 4 depending on the heat of your crock pot) until chicken is cooked.  I usually cut my chicken breasts into thirds before cooking, to decrease cook time.  Your house will smell like heaven. Remove chicken from crock pot and place into a large bowl.  Cut or shred chicken into bite sized pieces and place chicken back into crock pot for another 15 minutes. 

Serve in bowls with crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl.  We like to top ours with shredded cheese, sour cream and avocado. 

*Variation:my sister used one can of Black Beans and one can of Corn, and she said it was delicious.

If you try it left me know...I'm making it again tomorrow!

easy turtles...

My friend Julie brought me a tin full of these "easy turtles" last week, and boy were they good!  Here's how you make them...you need: Mini Pretzel Twists, Rolo candies (chocolate and caramel), Pecan halves...that's it!

Arrange pretzels on a cookie sheet with one (unwrapped) Rolo candy on top of each pretzel.  Heat in a low oven (250 degrees) for just a few minutes (2 or 3) until the chocolate gets soft.  Remove from oven and immediately press a pecan half down onto the candy to smash it.  The caramel will run out of the bottom of the candy, but the pretzel keeps it all together.  Allow to cool until the chocolate and caramel set up again, and the turtles will maintain their shape.  She stores them in a tin with waxed paper between the layers. 

You can probably make them faster than I just typed this!

Bite sized and delicious...Enjoy!

Cookie Swap!

Today my friend Jessi Nagy is hosting a cookie swap over on her blog, Scrappy Jessi.  I think she has about 40 people posting recipes so check it out for some inspiration!

My contribution is not a cookie, but it is delicious and EASY...Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles.

here's what you need:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

(makes about 40 truffles)

12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter

4 Tablespoon butter/margarine

4 Tablespoons milk

Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring all the time, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Pour mixture into a bowl.  Cover and refrigerate at least      1 1/2 hours or until chocolate mixture is firm.

Shape chocolate into balls ( I use a small melon scoop).

Gently roll each ball into your choice of toppings. Our favorites are colored sprinkles, cocoa powder, and finely chopped nuts.

Place truffles onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate for 1 hour. (I put my  truffles into mini paper candy wrappers and skip the wax paper).

This recipe originally came from a kids cookbook I bought for my children years ago.  I've tried different recipes and this is by far the easiest.  A tin full of these makes a deliciously decadent gift.  Enjoy!

b-a-n-a-n-a-s...

You know what they say...when life gives you overly ripe bananas, make banana nut bread.  O.K., no one says that, but I had some ripe bananas this morning,  so I decided to make my moms Banana Nut Bread.  Now because I live in Georgia, I always use pecans- I think that's a law, but you could use walnuts.  I also used the small loaf pans, and it made 4 loaves of bread instead of 2 (more to share).   With the smaller pans I cut the cooking time to 35-40 minutes. I tried something new today...I put a handful of chocolate chips in 2 of the loaves...pretty darn delish, if I do say so myself!  I wrapped 3 of the loaves up to give away (and so I wouldn't eat them all)...And yes, today is the 18th, not 16th... Banana Chocolate Chip Pecan Bread...now that's what I'm talking about! Here's the original recipe...

Banana Nut Bread

Cream together:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

add:

3 mashed ripe bananas

1/4 cup cold water

add and mix well:

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1 cup chopped nuts

 

pour into greased pans...makes 2 loaves

Bake @ 350 for 1 hour

berry crunch...

Years ago I got a recipe from my MIL for a Peach Crunch.   The recipe calls for canned peaches, and I make it sometimes when fresh peaches are not in season.  It's super fast and yummy.  My favorite part of it, is the oatmeal/butter/brown sugar topping ...DELICIOUS!   Now, I just use the topping part of this recipe and make it with whatever fresh fruit is in season.  My brother loves it with apples.  Yesterday I made it with fresh blueberries and blackberries.  I washed the berries, and just sprinkled a little sugar on top and stirred them up, then added the topping. ( I didn't add the other ingredients with the berries, but I do with apples)  I always double the topping, because it's my kids favorite part too!  Don't forget the vanilla ice cream!  ENJOY!

Here's the original recipe:

Peach Crunch

2 (1 1/2 lb.) cans cling peaches

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 T lemon juice

topping

1 cup quick oats

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 tsp salt

Drain peach slices thoroughly, mix with cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice; turn into an 8 inch baking dish.  Combine oatmeal, butter, sugar and salt and mix until crumbly.  Sprinkle over peaches.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve warm with whipped cream . 

summer rhythm...

My kids and I are night owls.  All year we suffer with getting up early for school, and when summer finally comes, we get into our natural rhythm of staying up late and sleeping in.  Christopher has a curfew of midnight, so that means I am awake until he comes home, but then he wants me to "scoop :)", and I like to stay up and have time to visit with him.  He is working this summer as a camp counselor at a sports day camp, and the little kids LOVE him.  He has to be at work at 8:00am, so he is all kinds of grumpy in the morning.  He's off this week for the 4th of July, so he can finally sleep in. He and Elizabeth can play Guitar Hero until the wee hours...

So, I wanted to share this recipe with you...my friend Julie told me about it and said it was delicious.  When she told me the ingredients, I thought "yuck".  The next week I went to a party and she brought this dip... DELICIOUS!!!

So trust me...it's a good one...and EASY!

Roasted Corn Dip

3 cans shoepeg (white) corn ( about 10-12 oz size)

8 oz. cream cheese (I tried making it with light and it didn't taste as good-just use regular cream cheese)

1/2 stick butter or margarine

1/4 cup chopped jalapenos (can use more-mild to hot-all depends on your taste)

Drain corn and place in a baking dish.  Mix in chopped jalapenos.  Cut up cream cheese and butter and place on top of corn mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Corn will be roasted and cream cheese and butter will be melted.  Remove from oven and stir it all together.  (You could then put it in a decorative dish for serving if you want) Serve with Fritos Scoops.  This stays good even when it gets cold, but you could microwave to re-heat.

So easy!  I'll be making this for the 4th of July cookout...let me know if you try it!

EDIT: this is shoepeg corn...

recipes...

I come from a long line of amazing cooks.  My mom, both of my grandmother's, all of my Aunt's...seriously amazing cooks...southern cooks.  For most meals my grandmother's would never use a recipe, they didn't use things that said "serves 6".  They cooked huge pots of vegetables, made biscuits, and fried all the chicken they had.  There was always enough, even when company stopped by unexpectedly.  They taught me southern hospitality, and how to cook like this...

My grandmother on biscuits..."mix it all together with your hands until it feels right..."

My other Grandmother on how to make dumplings for chicken and dumplings..."then you add a little Crisco" when I pleaded with her to be more specific, she finally said..."about the size of an egg"

The only time they followed directions was when baking.   This is one of my prized possessions.  My paternal Grandmother's recipe box...

Almost everything has someone's name on it...Sully's Pralines, Ann's Pecan Pie, Lynn's Coconut Cake, Estele's Cake...all in my Grandmother's handwriting....priceless!

Well, I hardly ever use recipes either, and I'm not an amazing cook, I just cook. One recipe I do use is for my green bean casserole, my daughter's all time favorite. I'm cooking this for Easter dinner along with a brown sugar glazed ham and all the usual fare.  It's always a hit every time I cook it for people, so I thought I'd share it with you, with a warning... *This is not low fat or health conscious, but it is delicious...if your concerned about calories, eat less, or take a walk after dinner :).  I personally would skip dessert just to have seconds!

For my family, I use a 9x13 pan...and use...

6 cans green beans

1 large onion

1 pound bacon

10T sugar

10T vinegar

enough almonds to cover top

 

• I ALWAYS make it the day before, and let it marinate overnight...so much better that way.
• I cut my bacon before I cook it...Cut the whole pound into fourths, and cook it all at once. Don't cook the bacon too crisp, because it's going to cook some more in the oven .
• I scoop the bacon straight from the frying pan onto the green beans...no need to blot on paper towels...you'll be adding the drippings back into the dish at the end.
• serve with a slotted spoon  (eliminates calories)!
• It is fabulous left over, that's why I make a bunch...to go with ham sandwiches the next day. 

If you make it, let me know how you like it!

cookie swap...

My adorable friend Jessi Nagy is having a cookie swap today on her blog ScrappyJessi, and I really wanted to participate...and after asking my kids (and their friends) what their favorite cookie was, it was unanimous..."those peanut butter ones with the Hershey's kisses"

Now folks, in an effort to "keep it real", I'll tell you exactly how I make them, no secret ingredient omitted...

...busted. Semi-homemade! My mom makes her peanut butter cookies from scratch...and I swear, they taste the same as Pillsbury's.  At the holidays I always keep several packages of this cookie dough in the refrigerator. I love the convenience of being able to whip out a batch of cookies in 9 minutes, whenever kids stop by...they think I'm June Cleaver...don't tell them I'm not :)

Here's how you do it...

~I just make a little ball with the cookie dough and roll it in sugar...my kids like an equal chocolate/cookie ratio, and prefer a smaller cookie...I have no idea where they get that from...

place them on a cookie sheet...

bake @ 350 for 9 minutes

place Hershey's kiss in center of cookie...leave on the cookie sheet for another minute, so the kiss melts a little and will stay on the cookie when cooled (mine get eaten before they cool)

ENJOY!

Go visit Jessi's blog for some great cookie recipes...even ones made from (gasp) scratch!