BLT Soup

First off I dont know why I thought I could use easy bacon for a Paula Deen recipe but i gave it a try... One thing about this book is that I absolutely LOVE her soups!  I dont know why but today with all the cold and wind I needed a yummy, hearty soup. So I skipped all the steps with frying bacon so I didnt have bacon grease so I added more butter. I was supposed to julienne the lettuce... But John and I both werent sure what Julie-Ann really meant so I guesstamated and I think it worked!  And while I made the mayo/sour cream dressing, I dont think its really necessary for the soup... just a sweet, over-kill! Ohhh... and I loved the lil heat of the red pepper at the end each slurp!

Pineapple Cake

My tummy hurts from eating too much Paula Deen this morning... Its hard not to eat cake when u are cutting cake. I like this dessert. Very summery with the pineapple and run in it. I think it turned out way better than the chocolate pound cake I also made for today (I am leaving my wonderful job for a new experience!). Now off to serve both cakes to a buncha hungry greenhouse/garden center employees!

Chicken in Wine Sauce/Chocolate Pound Cake...

First off I totally forgot to take pictures this time... Too many other things going on I guess...

Chicken in Wine Sauce: Another quick dinner with chicken (can u see a trend? I like chicken!). I think it was wonderful and I served it over some white rice cause I debated rice or noodles and rice won out. First off I cooked it longer than said cause it reminded me of a recipe I made years ago and when I took it out and served it to my mom and siblings the chicken was still pink. I was then blamed for trying to kill everyone... Still havent heard the end of that one! Loved the layer of swiss cheese in the middle and had a lotta fun crushing the stuffing mix... Take all aggression out on dried bread!!!! I would eat this again, but over noodles... :)

Chocolate Pound Cake: First off I have to admit that I had no clue what a tube pan was... and I guess a lot of people dont cause when I typed tube pan into Google the second thing that popped up was What is a Tube pan???  Excellent! I ended up technically using a Angel Food Pan but since it was close enough only myself and my few blog readers will know the difference... I think it needs something more... I wanna add crushed bananas or chocolate chips or something... I think its not bad, but it wont make the top 10 best recipes in Kitchen Classics!

Finally: I did make a second dessert but since I havent tried it yet we will talk about it tomorrow... too late to wait for it to get cool...

Happy Cooking!!!!

'Carrot' Gooey Butter Cake

First off, I had no intention of making all the different flavors of Gooey Butter Cake... This one just kinda happened... I was craving sweets and started flipping though the amazing book that is Kitchen Classics and realized that there was nothing I could make with the ingredients on hand EXCEPT another version of Gooey Butter Cake.... It is good, but I think throwing carrots and nuts in the top and using a spiced carrot cake mix makes it somehow not as bad for u... and you lose some of the wonderful gooey messiness... Ohhh well, going to make a dessert on Thursday for leaving my job for a new one... And since Thursday is my day off, pondering a few recipes of awesomeness... Life is good!

Chicken Georgia/Mashed Potatoes with Sauteed Mushrooms/Baked Apples

3 Courses: All Paula.... Could life get any better??? Well, there were a few mishaps along the way...

Chicken Georgia will DEFINITELY be made again... While I was a little confused how shallots are found in the grocery store, and worried that they would taste like onions, that was all a minor misstep. I also slightly overcooked the chicken cause I have a deathly fear of undercooked chicken... I dont know why, but I do.  Finally I covered the chicken in 8 instead of 4 oz. of cheese, but I am a Wisconsin Girl and there is NO-O such thing as TOO much cheese... Looks pretty good!!!! And it was delicious and comforting... My mom and John thought they were a HUGE success!!!

Now first off I have to admit I have never made mashed potatoes by myself before. I had NO CLUE what a new potato was... I did warn u at the beginning of this blog that I am not a chef, far from it actually...  I also enjoyed this recipe because I was able to pick chives out of my garden. I have been growing chives for almost 10 years now and I rarely remember to use them/actually cook something where I need them! These were amazing to eat. I still have some leftovers in the fridge which will probably be a late dinner tonight...

 I know the picture really doesnt do it justice... but trust me, this mixture of all the goodness in there is beyond delectable!!!!

Baked Apples:
I believe as I fought to core apples with just a knife (and later also used a metal teaspoon) I first off decided that anyone who wanted to make this had to have no free time on their hands... Coring apples sucks!!! However, once u get passed that initial annoyance these were rather easy to make... I should have let the apples cook more than the hour and a half it said BUT I had no clue what they should look like so I figured they were done... This recipe I dont really need to make again... But it did taste like a warm caramel apple...

Happy Cooking Y'all!!!

Tomato Dill Soup/Creamy Cheddar Soup

Its is so-o soup weather... I decided to make two varieties last night. I was running very late from work and since Wednesday is usually tv night i was working on these between commercials... First off I must admit that both soups had a few 'issues' but still tasted amazing... I accidentally tossed the cheddar cheese for the Creamy Cheddar soup into the Tomato Soup... OOPS. And when I opened my bottle of 'white' wine to add to the Tomato Soup-- it was really a red... Grrrr... But Since it was only 1/2 a cup I figured why not???  =) The tomato soup was very clean tasting... and the Creamy Cheddar was rich and hearty....  With a Grilled Cheese Sandwich they were both what I was hoping for last night... And Mom ate up both of them... John ate just the Tomato, but did try both...

It may be a few days till I work on another creation... I have fresh raspberries in the house right now and thinking about a Chocolate gooey butter cake with fresh raspberries in it... Need to make a going away dessert for work!

Happy Cooking!

Gooey Butter Cake

Last night around 10pm I decided that I should attend my work party this evening... I panicked about what to make and I decided since I had previously bought everything for Gooey Butter Cake; why not?!?

First off I must warn u that the 1/2 of a bag of powdered sugar and the 2 sticks of butter made this a sweet, gooey mess... but so-o delicious... It to me was everything you want in comfort food... I made the plain Jane version but it was a HUGE success at the party... I dont want to even think about how many calories I consumed eating it though...

Confederate Bean Soup/The Lady's Cheesy Mac

First I must interject that today was a very 'off' day for me. 40 mile an hour winds at work all day kinda wiped all the happiness out of me. I just felt like I wanna curl up in a hole for a buncha hours and make it all go away.
Even stopping at the grocery store for the few ingredient I was missing was really tough...

The Confederate bean soup was just what i wanted.... I even have pictures which I can figure out how to enter into this blog u will get to see... For some odd reason the recipe only called for half of the smoked sausage but I tossed it all in... And I was scared of all that bacon grease in my soup so I kinda scooped a lot of it out... (Im sorry...) It was still fabulous and unlike anything I have ever tasted!

The Lady's Cheesy Mac: First off I need to mention that I am NOT a fan of Mac & Cheese... IDK why but everything from homemade stuff to the stuff in the blue box-they all just look blah to me... This was good, i think my mom was more impressed with it than I was... It was a nice creaminess... but unlike the amazing soup, IDK if I would create it again...

Barbecue Meatloaf

Was the best Meatloaf I have ever eaten... So rich and awesome... Complete with Potatoes and Brown Gravy and Fresh Green Beans from my Grandpa's garden.... :) I have an overflowing tummy!!!!

Was going to try one of those cream cheese brownies in a sundae but even the thought of food makes me wanna bust... or at least groan a lil... Tomorrow is another opening shift so still trying to decide what to tackle next...  After that I got quite a few closing shifts so it might be a week till I can attempt another wonderful dish!

Jessica and Paula... Day 1...

After recently purchasing Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics at my favorite Half-Priced Books... I reflected on how I wanted to taste almost every recipe it the book. Immediately my thoughts went the the movie Julie & Julia... and I thought well, What about Jessica & Paula... I hope Miss Deen doesnt get too upset cause I am bound to mess up a few things along the way...

Tonight I tackled two desserts, but kinda 3: Peanut Butter Bars and Cream Cheese Brownies. In order to made the brownies I first had to create Lady Brownies... So I am hoping this counts as 3... If not the brownies were worth making again... 

And how did it taste??? The PB Bars were a lil dry but I think I overcooked them a lil... I would eat them again but they dont look that exciting... The CC Brownies were so-o gooey and rich... I didnt want to wait for them to cool which may have made some of the gooeyness!!!  A girl with a rich giant brownie in her hand is a happy-happy woman!!!

3down, many more to go!!!!

Wish me luck and happy cooking ya'll!  (In the best southern accent a simple Midwestern girl can do!)