Fry Cocktail

Last night I made french fries with supper.  Brandi got a little tupperware, filled it with ketchup, and stuck her fries in it.  She came over to me, and said:

"if shrimp can be a cocktail, so can french fries."  She's 8, and completely adorable!

Turtle Cheesecake

Not the best picture, but O...M...G!  The best cheesecake I have had.  Ever!  I was having lunch at a little "out of the way" place, and this was in their dessert case.  I had to have it.  And, the best part?  It was only $1.50!  I might just have to go back there for some more!

Applebee's Cheesecake Shooters

This was seriously the best little glass of cheesecake I have had in a while!  I have this friend, and we have been eating out for lunch quite a bit lately.  It seems like every restaurant we go to, we have cheesecake for dessert.  Wait until you see the one I had yesterday...I'll post that picture soon.  For now, drool over this little beauty!

My TiVo Would Be Full Of Cooking Shows

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TiVo. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love watching Food Network.  My favorite shows are the cooking competitions.  Iron Chef America and Chalenge are two of the shows I try hard not to miss.  I am excited about the new season of "The Next Iron Chef" that is starting soon.

I also love Top Chef, which is on Bravo.  This past week the new series, Top Chef Just Desserts started, and I liked it.  It will be interesting to see what kind of yummy goodness the chefs come up with. Of course, if the desserts look good (and easy!) enough, I might just have to try recreating them at home.  To do that, I am going to have to watch whichever episode a couple of times to get the recipe down.  This is where TiVo would come in handy.

I say "would" because I do not have one.  I want one.  Badly.  Not only can I catch up on all the Fall TV premeires if I had TiVo, but they have so many pretty cool features that I want to try out.  For instance, with TiVo Search and TiVo Collections, I can search for and watch past episodes of my favorite shows on Netflix, Amazon Videos On Demand, or Blockbuster On Demand.  They also have this thing called TiVo Premeire, which allows you to find past shows and movies that your favorite actors and actresses have been in.

I am also drooling over the Slide Remote.  This remote slides open to reveal a keyboard, which makes typing quicker, so you can find your favorite shows easier.  You can even Enter to Win a Slide remote in TiVo's 30 Slides in 30 Days Sweepstakes.  All you have to do is become a Facebook Fan or follow them on Twitter.

I want to win the slide so I can make sure I never miss an episode of Challenge, Iron Chef, and Top Chef.  Oh, and Survivor.  I do watch regular television, too.  Sometimes.

Smiley Cookie Giveaway!

I am hosting a giveaway for these super yummy Smiley Cookies on my main blog, My Kids Are My World.  You can win a box of 12 sugar cookies with cute little multi-colored smiley faces on them.  You can enter here.  Hurry, though, because Friday is the last day to enter!  Good luck!

Cheesecake

Last Friday, a friend of mine took me out to lunch.  It was her birthday, so she wanted to eat a Capri's (a local Italian restaurant).  We shared a fried ravioli appetizer, then I had a chicken Parmesan sub, and she had the baked spaghetti.  After we finished our meal, she told the waitress that it was her birthday, and she said that it is company policy to give the birthday girl free dessert.  We ordered cheesecake.  It was the thickest, richest, yummiest cheesecake I have had in a long time.

My Version Of Sloppy Joes

This is the easiest recipe in the world.  Ready?

Brown ground beef in a skillet.  Drain grease.  Add a jar of Newman's Own Pineapple Salsa. Stir.  Put on buns and enjoy.

My family loves this, and it is a great, easy meal for those nights that you don't have time to fuss in the kitchen.

Banana Crumb Muffins

For muffins:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 large bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/2 tsp cinnamon

For topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter

Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Spray muffins tins, or use cupcake liners.

In large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, beat together bananas, egg, sugar, and butter.  Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture, and stir just until combined.

Spoon into muffin pan (the recipe said 10 muffins, but I made 12 easily).

In a small bowl, mix together ingredients for topping.  I actually use my fingers to get it mixed together good.  Sprinkle over the top of the muffins.

Bake 18 minutes.

I only had enough butter to make the muffins, not the topping.  For the topping, I used a spread, and as you can see, it melted all over the place.  I am not sure if butter would have done the same thing.  Either way, these muffins were yummy.

Pigs In Blankets ~ My Way

Here's another simple ~ but time consuming ~ dinner idea.  I bought a package of little sausages, and cut them in half lengthwise.  I then made a batch of biscuits (I use Jiffy baking mix) and shaped them into little rectangles.  Kasi helped me do that.  Then I added either cheese sauce or bbq sauce to the biscuit mix and wrapped it around the sausage.  I baked then at 450 degree for about fifteen minutes, and they were delicious!  I preferred the bbq ones, and the few that I put bbq and cheese sauce on.  The plain cheese ones tasted bland to me.

They look good, don't they?

Top Droppers ~ August

It's that time again, where I thank the people who dropped here the most last month!

Slightly Sarcastic ~ Sarcasm, stories and lots of BS

Teen Suicide Talk ~  Teen Suicide and depression is such a huge problem in our society today. I'm trying to raise awareness and make resources available to anyone facing this huge dilemma.

 comatised ~ Dreaming in digital

Crimsonsparkle.net ~ The view from my window.

bethere2day ~ bethere2day is a personal blog about anything and everything, fun, humour, randomness and rants.

Start A New Business ~ all about business

Daily War News Blog ~ Daily War News Blog

Cooking Japanese Style ~ Here's my blog about Japanese Cooking, Recipes, and Japanese Foods. That I like to share with everyone.

I Luv Norfolk ~ Norfolk, VA, is the home of the world's largest Navy base, exciting restaurant and nightclub districts, nationally recognized museums, a zoo. There's always something fun to do.

My Small Business Blog ~ My Small Business Blog

Add Sweetness As A Side Dish

To me, there is nothing better than pineapple, hot off the grill.

Chili-ish

Here's my versions of chili with beans, and my family loves it.  I brown some extra lean ground beef in a pan, then add a can of Hunt's Chili Mix (I know...I cheat!) and a couple of cans of beans.  I think these were northern and pintos.  I serve with crackers, and they love it!  Simple to make, yet yummy.  It's my kind of meal. 

Egg Rolls - The Most Perfect Food

I could eat Chinese food every day of my life and die a happy woman.  There is such a variety, from chicken and broccoli to sesame chicken.  Egg rolls and spring rolls.  Fried wontons and dumplings.  Fried and white rice.  Sweet and sour chicken and ribs.  The list goes on and on...

A few weeks ago while at Jack In The Box, I ordered some egg rolls.  (I never knew they had such a wide variety of food...they even had tacos on the menu)  I asked the cashier for ranch dressing, and dipped my egg rolls in it.  It was yummy.  Now, I would never do this in a Chinese restaurant, though.  I wouldn't want to give a Chinese woman a heart attack.

And It Wasn't Even My Birthday!

This is what happens when you leave food unattended around my husband. 

I have recently discovered the yumminess of ordering burgers that come on sourdough bread.  This one was from Jack In The Box, and it was delicious! 

I wish I could eat these every single day, but I settle for once a month or so.

New York Cheesecake Donut From Krispy Kreme

Go ahead and drool...

Lamb Chops

My mom loves lamb chops.  I've never had them.  The other night I threw a couple on the grill for her, and I was kind of grossed out when the blood started pooling on the bones.  They did look and smell really good when they were done cooking, though.

London Broil On The Grill

First, I marinated the steak in this Parmesan Asiago dressing for a few hours. 

Then, I slapped it on the grill, on low, for about an hour.  (30 minutes on each side) 

It was delicious!  The marinade really gave the meat great flavor.  usually, I have to dip my steak in something, whether it be more dressing or bbq sauce, but this time, the meaT had enough flavor on it's own.

My New Favorite Snack

Have you guys tried these new almonds?  I actually found them on Facebook.  Someone posted a link to the Mr. Peanut fan page, and from there I was able to print $1.50 off coupons.  Walmart has these for about $2.50 a bag, so I was able to get them for $1.00 each.  (I had 2 coupons)  This was a few weeks ago. 

Wednesday before last, I was able to print off another 2 coupons, and this coming Wednesday, they will have more coupons to print out.  This isn't the only flavor, or nut for that matter.  I think they have cashews in these bags, too.  I can't remember all the flavors, and I am seriously too lazy to look them up, but I believe one of them is a chili lime.  And I think there is a pepper one.  Either way, you should definitely "like" Mr. Peanut on Facebook so you can get these coupons, too.  Trust me...if you like nuts, you'll love these!

Parmesan Chicken

This is my husband's favorite chicken that I make, and it is pretty simple.  I take a container of Parmesan cheese and add a bunch of stuff to it, like parsley, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper.  The other night, though, I only had half a container of cheese and no parsley, so I added a bunch of panko bread crumbs instead, and I have got to tell you, this chicken was just as good as the other.

I usually pound the chicken breasts pretty thin, and then coat them in egg before throwing them in the cheese mixture.  This time, I happened to find thin cut breasts at the store, so I used those.  (In the future, I will pound them a even thinner though)  Sometimes I will just bake them, but most of the time, I will fry them on my grill pan with a little olive oil.  Check out how yummy they look:

I try and make enough at one time for Junior to take some to work for a few days.  If he had his way, though, I would make these everyday.  He thinks he could live on them.  Yeah, they are that good, especially when you dip them in ranch dressing.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I have never made one of these before, but last weekend I was in charge of dessert for a dinner at my mom's house, and this is what Junior wanted.  (I made the cupcakes from the last post for me :))  I think it came out pretty good for my first attempt.  The cake mix came from a box, and Junior said it was a little dry, so next time I am going to try and find a completely homemade recipe to try.  Anyone have a good recipe they would like to share with me?

Caramel Frosted Devil's Food Cupcakes

Mix from a box and frosting from a can...but still delicious!  I had never noticed the caramel frosting before, so I had to try it.  They were good, but I'm not sure if I'll ever buy it again.  I am still a chocolate girl, and prefer plain ole chocolate fudge frosting.  It's a good thing I only bake when we have some type of occasion, because I have no will power at all.  Thankfully, most of the cupcakes were eaten at my mom's house, so there weren't any left to temp me.

Top Droppers ~ July

The following blogs dropped the most times last month:

Crimsonsparkle.net ~ The view from my window.

 

ecopunk ~ Self-reliance for an uncertain world - Make, Make-Do or Make-Do-Without - Anything but give bankers your hard-earned cash

 

 Cooking Japanese Style ~ Here's my blog about Japanese Cooking, Recipes, and Japanese Foods. That I like to share with everyone.

 

bethere2day ~  bethere2day is a personal blog about anything and everything, fun, humour, randomness and rants.

 

Shine Hair Care ~  Don't spend a dime for hair care guide until you read this! Includes sites related to hair care guide you can access from here!

 

Symbian Freeware ~  Free Symbian GPS, VoIP, text reader software, free themes and games

 

 my kids are my world ~ This is a blog about my life as a wife and mother of three kids, who are, obviously, my world.

 

comatised ~  Dreaming in digital

 

Vietnam travel blog ~  Vietnam travel blog

 

Doctors Best Choice for Your Health ~  Sharing information about healthy life style

 

Thanks to all who come by and drop!

Um, Yum!

Did you know that you can now buy one bag of candy that has Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (the minis), Rolos, and Hershey's Kisses in it?

Yeah, not a good idea.

Not a good idea at all.

Okay, it's a great idea!!!!!  Especially when you are in the mood to build a candy tower!

Check Out My New Pans!

  Aren't they pretty?  I was lucky enough to be approached by csnstores to do a review of these pans, and I absolutely love them.  They are the Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick 10" and 12" Omelet Combo Set, and you can buy them both for $49.95, with free shipping.  If you want, you can read my full review here.

My Version Of The McRib

If you are anything like me, you have those nights where you just don't feel like cooking a full meal.  This is especially true for me during the Summer.  Tonight I made a really simple sandwich supper.  I bought two boxes of Freezer Queen's Boneless Ribs in BBQ Sauce (I know they are not real ribs...they are made with pork and chicken), a pack of hoagie rolls, and some dill pickle chips.  (I love the vlassic ovals)  I just cooked the ribs in the oven for an hour with some fries, and then slapped them on the rolls. (the ribs, not the fries) It's so simple, and we all love them.

In Our Family, Holidays Mean Food!

Lots and lots of food!  These shots are of the "noshies"...I had my camera, but I had so much fun I forgot to take more pictures!  We grilled burgers and bbq covered smoked sausage (which was yummy!), and had a ton of side dishes.  Dessert was forgotten due to a trip to the ER, but we are headed to mom's again tomorrow, and I am going to make sure I get some of the strawberry shortcake she was going to serve yesterday!

Top Droppers ~ June

The following blogs have dropped on here the most frequently in June:

comatised ~  Dreaming in digital

Winesworld The Amateurs Wine Guide ~ WinesWorld is a friendly wine guide for amateurs, by amateurs.

 

Winesworld's blog  ~ Winesworld is a friendly wine guide for amateurs, by amateurs. We will blog about travel in Scandinavia, food & wine and other Scandinavian ways of doing things.

 

Symbian Freeware ~ Free Symbian GPS, VoIP, text reader software, free themes and games.

 

Political Tutor ~  Learn the Art and Science of Politics to Become a Politician.

 

Cooking Japanese Style ~  Here's my blog about Japanese Cooking, Recipes, and Japanese Foods. That I like to share with everyone.

 

bethere2day ~  bethere2day is a personal blog about anything and everything and whatever i or anyone feels they want to write about randomness if you like with some humour, oh and the odd rant.

 

URS-VANCOUVER ~  Its my personal blog and i am planning to bring more visitors to it to enhance the quality of the blog

 

the crazy suburban mom ~  dont judge me till you've gone a mile in my mini van

 

Thanks to all who stopped by in June!

Another Simple (And Healthy) Snack

I was in the grocery store this afternoon, and they had the most beautiful strawberries.  Of course I had to have some.  Yesterday, we got a couple of bags of bananas (our local grocery store takes all the single and really ripe bananas and bags them up, then sells them for $.99 a bag), so I planned on cutting up the strawberries, adding some sugar, letting them sit for a little while, and then adding some banana.

And that is exactly what I did.  It came out delicious!  The best thing was that the kids loved it too, and aside from the little bit of sugar on the strawberries, it was a pretty healthy snack.

Shucking

I am teaching her young...actually, she loves doing it, so who am I to stop her? lol!

On The Grill

Since you guys were such a great help with my cucumber/tomato/cheese dish, let me ask you for your opinion one more time.

How do you cook corn and potatoes on the grill?

As you can see, I just throw the whole potato on there, and cook it until a fork goes through it easily.  I wrap the corn in foil with salt, pepper, and butter.  When it comes off the grill, it is so tender and flavorful.

I have seen people husk it and then just throw it on the grill.  I was wondering if any of you do that, and if so, does the corn get tender?  How long do you cook it?

Enter To Win Ask Ms. Recipe's Cookbook!

 
 I love finding, and trying out, new recipes.  Now, don't let that statement fool you...there are a lot of things I won't eat, so a recipe must contain ingredients I already know I like for me to try it.  This makes finding recipes a little difficult, but it is so much fun to check out cookbooks.  In fact, I have a little collection of cookbooks that mean just as much to me as my regular books do.

Ask Ms. Recipe is giving away a copy of her e-cookbook, Ask Ms. Recipe: Simple Recipes That Make Cents.  Two of her lucky winners will win a copy, and I hope I am one of them.  I can not wait to find out what kind of delicious recipes that are lurking inside if I win.  Check out this post to enter for yourself!

I Took Your Advice

I listened to the majority of my lovely commenters, and added basil and balsamic vinegar to my tomato/cucumber/cheese combo. 

I actually had a basil & garlic seasoning, so that is what I added. 

It made such a delicious difference.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

A Fresh Side Dish

Tonight for supper, I wanted to make a side dish using tomatoes.  I had these beautiful cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and cucumbers.  I simply cut all three ingredients into the same sized pieces, and added salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

It was good, but I think I was missing something.  Maybe a splash of vinegar?  An herb of some sort? 

Any ideas?

How Often Do You Grocery Shop?

I do a big food shopping once a month, and just buy milk, eggs, and bread as we use them.  As you can see in the picture, right now my pantry is full.  It's overflowing, actually, because I couldn't even fit all the groceries in there.  My fridge and freezer look like this right now, too.

I have become somewhat of a price expert when I grocery shop.  Junior (my husband) and I go to four different stores, and buy their sales.  I never, ever pay full price for meat.  I only buy what is marked down, or if it is a really good sale.  For instance, my favorite meat is London Broil, but I hardly ever buy it, because it is expensive.  This month, a local store had it on sale, so I bought a couple.  Ground beef and chicken are easy to find on sale, so I always have those in my freezer as well.

I learned a long time ago from my mom to always watch the register as things ring up.  It seems like every time I shop, there are mistakes.  It's easier to have them fixed before paying than after, so I watch closely.

I recently started clipping coupons, and they do save some money, but I still find buying the store brand is usually cheaper.  Most things I am not too picky about, and there are even a few things I like better in the store brand. 

Not beans, though.  I am a stickler for Bush's.

Grilled Chicken ~ Kind Of

We were supposed to go to my mom's tonight to put the steps in the pool, and grill out.  I was bringing chicken that I had pounded out thin and rubbed with a mixture of sweet & smoky and applewood seasonings.  I had cucumbers sliced and marinating in Italian dressing and macaroni salad. 

Then a storm hit, complete with thunder and fierce lightening.  We couldn't work on the pool in that, so mom said to come tomorrow.  The chicken had to be cooked today, so I threw it on my indoor grill.

I love this thing!  It's a Wolfgang Puck Reversible Electric Grill/Griddle, and I use it all the time.  My mom gave it to me for Christmas two years ago (I can always count on her for the best gifts!).  The side you see, the grill side, is great for burgers.  I usually cook chicken on the griddle side when it's breaded, but since it was rubbed, I used the grill side.  The chicken came out perfect!  It was moist on the inside, and charred just right on the outside.  I think it's safe to say I will be using this side more often.

Zucchini Bread

1 2/3 cups flour
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup veg. oil (canola)
2 eggs, beaten
1/6 cup water
1 cup grated zucchini
½ tsp. vanilla
½ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar.

In separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini, and vanilla.

Mix wet into dry. Fold in nuts.
Bake in sprayed pan for 1 hour. (I baked the one in the glass pan for 1 hour 20 minutes)

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

This is one of those recipes that I found on a box of baking mix years ago, and I am sure it's still there.  However, I never wrote it down, so you are going to get my versions.

First, make the basic biscuit recipe, which is 3 cups mix to 1 cup milk.  Plop that down on a flowered surface and roll it out until it is a long, rectangle shape.  Spread butter (or spread) all around, and then sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  I don't know if there is a specific ratio, cause I just kind of wing it. :)  Once it's covered in the cinnamon and sugar mixture, roll it up into a log.  Cut it into disks (whatever thickness you want...although the bigger they are, the longer they have to cook, and this is when the outside burns and the inside is uncooked, so lean towards smaller disks) and place on a baking sheet.  During this transfer process, I usually lose some of the filling, so I use the leftover cinnamon mixture and pour in onto the top of the disk.  Then I pop them into the over, at 450 degrees, for about 10 minutes.

It's not necessary, but I make a glaze with powdered sugar and milk to drizzle over the top,  Again, I don't have a specific recipe, I just put a little milk in a bowl and add the sugar until it is nice and thick.  It melts when I put it on the cinnamon rolls, too, so they are a yummy mess of gooey deliciousness.

That's One Big Zucchini

We were at Junior's cousins house this afternoon, and she gave me these zucchini out of her garden.  I plan on making zucchini bread on Sunday.  I have a recipe that I have used in the past, and the bread comes out delicious. 

I am drooling a little just thinking about it.

Yummy Doesn't Have To Be Homemade

I bought these Nestle break and bake cookies the other day, but only because they were on sale.  These easy to bake cookies are pretty expensive to buy on a regular basis, at least for my budget, but when they are on sale cheap enough, I like to treat the kids.  Okay, and myself.  Chocolate chip cookies are my weakness.  Seriously, I could eat them until I feel sick.

Anyway, the ones I bought the other day had a chocolate center.  That's right, when I broke open a warm cookie, yummy, delicious melted chocolate oozed out.  Talk about good!  The only problem was that they were very, very rich, and I could only eat a couple.

Wait, that might have been a good thing. :)

Honey Chicken

 I was searching online for a different chicken recipe, and found this one for honey chicken on allrecipes.com.  I listed the ingredients for the marinade below:

* 3/4 cup orange juice
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika

The recipe says to bake the chicken, but I am going to grill the chicken as kabobs, with some zucchini and squash, or maybe tomatoes.  We'll see.  I am not going to food shop until next week, so for now I am just getting my list together.

Sausage Kabobs ~ Hit Or Miss?

They look good, don't they?  I had fun assembling the kabobs.  The recipe said to marinate for 3 hours, but I didn't.  I only marinated the sausage for about an hour, and I don't think that was long enough.  They had a hint of flavor, and they were so good!  I imagine they would have been better if marinated longer, which I will do next time.

I will not, however, grill another piece of cantaloupe.  I was very excited this morning when I cut the cantaloupe, because it was so sweet and delicious.  I really did think that grilling it would bring out the flavor.

I was wrong.  It gave it almost a bitter taste, and I really was not a fan of the texture of warm cantaloupe.  I don't think it was the marinade, because the pineapple was delicious. 

Overall, the sausage, pineapple, and marinade were yummy.  Next time, I'm leaving off the cantaloupe and marinating longer.

May's Top Droppers

Thank you to this month's top droppers!

comatised ~ Dreaming in digital

Crimsonsparkle.net ~  The view from my window.

my kids are my world ~ (giving myself a little link love :p )  This is a blog about my life as a wife and mother of three kids, who are, obviously, my world.

Space in Pictures ~  Pictures of the latest discoveries in space, space launch shuttle missions, and various Hubble pictures.

the crazy suburban mom ~  dont judge me till you've gone a mile in my mini van

Da Dude's BBQ Thought ~  Da Dude's BBQ Thought & other things. The thoughts and rantings of a Barbecue God Wanna be!

Ask Ms Recipe ~  A food blog like no other where I will answer your recipe questions and include your website with the answers.

People You Need Top Know ~  Behold the Woman! People You Need to Know is dedicated to promoting women in business via print, social media, events, business Expos, radio, etc. Join us in supporting WOMEN in business!

Winesworld The Amateurs Guide ~  WinesWorld is a friendly wine guide for amateurs, by amateurs

Scarborough Seashells ~  The life of a work at home mom: jewelry designing, crafting for fun, cooking, decorating my house and raising three boys