Been a very Long time!!

 So it has been almost three years since I blogged... wow! Time flies and boy do things change,   I think the biggest change was when Facebook became popular and everyone joined. We had actually been on there for a few years before the boom.     

  I joined Facebook in 2006, today I deactivated my account.  I do not know if I will re-activate it at this point I have no plans to.  Not too long ago I made a MeWe account and I still have this blog and my Moppy World blog so I think I will return to those.   

So here's to some changes in 2021. 

Bacon wrapped Garlic and Brown Sugar Slow Cooker Chicken

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken made with just six ingredients, you can set it in the morning in just minutes and have the perfect weeknight meal!

INGREDIENTS:
5 chicken breast
5 strips of bacon or more
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
DIRECTIONS:
Wrap Chicken in Bacon
Add the chicken, salt, pepper and garlic to the slow cooker.
Sprinkle on the brown sugar.
Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours

Dutch Baby

Thanks once again to Two Peas & Their Pod for another awesome recipe!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, divided
• Optional toppings: Kroger powdered sugar, whipped cream, Nutella, Private Selection Pure Maple Syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place a 10-inch cast iron or ovenproof skillet in the oven so it can get hot.
2. Meanwhile, add the eggs to a blender, and blend until frothy, about one minute. Add the milk, flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Blend until combined.
3. Remove the hot pan from the oven and add the butter. Return to the oven until the butter is melted. Carefully and quickly swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Pour the pancake batter into the center of the pan and add 1/2 cup of the raspberries. Place pan in hot oven.
4. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until the pancake is golden and puffy around the edges and the center looks set.
5. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioners’ sugar and top with the remaining fresh raspberries. Serve immediately with desired toppings.

Meat Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef 

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. onion powder

1 Tbsp. chopped onion

salt and pepper

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 small can tomato sauce – I used crushed tomatoes

1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls 

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet, brown meat over medium heat, with onion powder, chopped onion, salt, and pepper. When browned, add tomato sauce, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning.  Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles.  Place dough in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate in spoke pattern, with narrow tips overlapping rim of the plate. Press dough inside and bottom of the pan to form a crust and cover the pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese over dough in the pan. Spoon meat mixture evenly over cheese. Bring tips of dough over filling, to meet in center; do not overlap. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Whats for dinner??

Pistachio Mahi Mahi, Green beans, Rice and Quinoa, and Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Pomegranate.

Tortilla Pizza's

So last night we couldn't decide what we wanted for dinner. I had planned to make Chicken on salad's but that didn't sound good to the hubby so we decided to give Tortilla Pizza's a try. Here in St. Louis thin cracker-like crust is the thing and these pretty much fit the bill. I just used store-bought tortillas, jar pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

Trying something new....

So for Christmas, the Hubby got me an Express Pot. I love my crockpots, yes crockpots I have 6. Hoping the express becomes as loved as my crockpots. Going to try making an Apricot pork loin.

Wasn't bad but it also wasn't fall apart tender like if it had been cooked in the crockpot all day. It only took 40 minutes... heat up, brown it, come up to pressure and cook (25mins) then cooldown of 10 minutes. I will try it some more. Found the recipe here, http://www.shecookswithhelp.com/recipe/apricot-pork-loin-instant-pot-recipe/

Been awhile....

and Once again it is Peach and Blueberry Recipe that brings me here,

Peach Blueberry Pork tenderloin  

1 Pork tenderloin

3 Peaches

1  Cup Blueberries

½ cup Juice ( I used apple) (Plus 14cup to make sauce if you want it)

 2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar

 ½ Tbs. brown sugar ( If you want it sweeter add more)

  1 Tbs. Cinnamon (pumpkin pie spice would be awesome too!)

   Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tbs. Corn Starch if making a sauce with drippings.

Slice up peaches into wedges, Make slices along the top of the tenderloin and place a peach slice in each slice in the meat.  Place Tenderloin in the Crock pot and then put remaining peach slices around it. Dump in your blueberries.

Mix together juice, balsamic Vinegar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Pour this mixture over your meat and Peaches.

I cooked my on low for 5 hours.  Used a spatula with holes to move meat, peaches, and berries to serving plate. Then used drippings to make a sauce.

To make  Sauce:

Poured dripping into sauce pan bring to boil. In a lidded bowl add 1/4 cup apple juice and 2 Tbs. corn starch. Place lid on bowl and shake till no lumps remain.  Pour this mixture into boiling dripping sand stir until thickened, but not too thick. I like it a bit thicker than gravy. But remember it will also thicken as it cools.

I baked a pie!!

Used a Recipe from Food52.com....

Jean's Peach Blueberry Pie with Sour Cream

By Portia Hunt
Serves 8Sour cream crust:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 10 tablespoons butter

Peach and blueberry filling:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 egg yolks (save the whites for an omelet)
• 3 chopped peaches
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/3 cup sour cream

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Process crust ingredients in a food processor until it forms a ball.
3. Press dough into pie tin.
4. Bake crust at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then remove and reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
5. Whisk egg yolks together, then combine with sugar, flour, and sour cream.
6. Pour blueberries and peaches into pie crust, then pour egg mixture over them.
7. Cover the pie loosely with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes so that the filling sets.  (I baked mine longer than this checking ever 5 minutes till the custard sat, think it was an extra 25 mintures)

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Made these last night and they were pretty good.
http://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/baked-chicken-taquitos/

Been awhile!!!

Allot has happened since I last posted here I did not even realize it has been over a year! Of course, I've still been cooking just not trying a lot of new or different things. But yesterday I fulfilled a request from the Hubby and made a Maple Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie Recipe from the Whiskey Disk Blog.  It was a hit!

• 6 slices bacon

• 1½ cups pecans

• 2 shots bourbon (I used Jim Beam Black)

• ½ cup maple syrup

• ½ cup corn syrup

• 1 cup sugar

• 3 eggs, beaten

1 pie crust a bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, corn syrup and bourbon. Stir in the pecan-maple syrup mix and bacon pieces. Pour this mixture into a pie crust. Bake until the crust is golden, about one hour.

Maple Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry the bacon, then chop into small pieces and set aside. Cook the pecans and maple syrup in remaining bacon grease for about three minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat.

Banana Pecan Muffin w/ Maple Glaze

Balsamic Chicken

3 boneless, skinless Chicken Breast

1 can Red Gold diced tomatoes with Basil Garlic and Oregano

1 Medium onion thinly sliced 

2 tbsp chopped garlic ( i used the already done stuff from the jar)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dried Italian herbs 

Pour the oil in the bottom of crock pot, add Chicken breast.  Salt and pepper each Breast, put onion on top of chicken, add the garlic  and herbs on top of the onion. Pour in the vinegar and top with the tomatoes.

Cook on high for 4 hours.

I severed mine over angle hair pasta.

Green Tomato Raspberry Jam

So I had this tomato plant that was just going nuts growing all over the ground so yesterday morning I went out to stake it and tie it up. While doing that it lost allot of green tomatoes, I hated the ideal of just toss them so I put um a huge bowl and washed them up. Then I goggled things to make with green tomatoes. So today I made Green Tomato Raspberry Jam. I wasn't so sure about this when i got the ideal to try it, OK that said ... on several websites it said you could mince the green tomatoes up or put them in the food processor. I don't have a food processor so I minced them up. Started that out and  well it was not looking promising so I got out my blender and  used the puree setting and started a second batch. First batch turned into candied green tomatoes second batch turned out amazing!!  Well it hasn't cooled yet but warm it is so good! I could see myself making allot of this and trying different flavor's!

2 cups green tomatoes

2 cups white sugar

1 package raspberry gelatin (3oz)

 Combine tomatoes and sugar in a large saucepan and bring 

to a boil over  medium heat. 

Stir and cook  20 minutes. Add the gelatin, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

 Spoon into jars or, pour into freezer containers 

and refrigerate or freeze.

First batch- Didn't break down stayed chunky 

Personal note:
Just tried to sneak Charlie some of the new jam he didn't fall for it ... he like's these mini pancakes with blackberry jam. I made him six and then I stacked um well he must of been on to me because he opened each stack before he ate them. He looked at me and said "Your not gonna get me with that one" and "I'm not gonna fall for that trick"

Easter Dinner

Well this is the first Easter I did not make a Ham, I instead made us a prime rib! It was delicious! And Pretty Easy, I just rubbed it with Olive Oil , Salt, Pepper and a Little Steak Seasoning.  Then popped it into my Rotisserie for an hour and 20 minutes , let it rest for 30 minutes and yum!

Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Sorry forgot to take a picture..... But this was quick,  easy and yummy!!!




Ingredients 

1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables - I used Fresh  chopped carrots,  green beans, celery, and canned black beans
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 good sized)
8 tablespoons butter 
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice (I used garlic)

Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter in large frying pan.

Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown. I cooked it in my toaster over and it took about 20 mins


Thanks Simply Recipes poster Elise for sharing this recipe!!

makes  4 servings

Chocolate Chip Blueberry Peanut Butter Cookies

Thanks to Lauren Lilling, this is her recipe  it was posted on Fox News.  

Ingredients

• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 Cup salted creamy natural peanut butter
• 1/2 Cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 Large eggs
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 Cup fresh blueberries

Preparation

Step 1:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Step 2:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside.

Step 3:

Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined. Stir in blueberries and chocolate chips.

Step 4:

Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to place cookie dough balls (about 2 TB each) on prepared baking sheet. Note: the dough will be greasy, that is okay. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until cookies are brown around the edges.

Step 5:

Allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack before serving.

These are pretty good!!!

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 
  
• 2 salmon steaks
• 1 teaspoons dried dill weed
• 1 teaspoons lemon pepper
• salt to taste

Copycat Panera Bread Co. Broccoli Cheese Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half-and-half

2 cups chicken stock or bouillon

1/2 pound fresh broccoli (i chopped it up in to little bitty pieces) 

1 cup carrots, julienned (I grated it)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

PREPARATION:

Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). 

Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree (I did NOT puree it!). Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

Recipe from CDKitchen.com