Cookbooks Galore!

I have TONS of cookbooks and love to collect them! I did a special post about them on my family blog today! Skip over and check it out!

Surrounded-by-Boys

Brown Mushroom Rice

Most of y'all are probably thinking "ewww..yuck" right now, but let me tell ya--this stuff is GOOD. And I don't mean GOOD, I mean lick the dish and spoon GOOD. My boys eat it up! And we won't talk about how much I eat.







Here's what you need to make this dish of heavenly goodness:

1 cup of white rice
1 stick of BUTTER (or margarine if you have to, but I'm tellin' ya, butter makes it better)
1 can of French Onion soup
1 can of Beef Consomme soup
1 small can of mushrooms (I drain the juice)

In an oven safe dish, pour in the rice. Then place the stick of butter on top of that. Pour the soups and mushrooms on top of that. DO NOT STIR IT. Cover and bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. It bakes up perfectly!



Enjoy!

~CB~

My "go to" Appetizer

Everyone has that "go to" recipe when they need something quick and easy or the "oh no I forgot I was supposed to take something to the party" moment.......

For me, this is my "go to" Appetizer recipe! It's so easy, and SO delicious! Here's what you need:

1 block of cream cheese - 8oz.
1 can of Chili with Beans (unless of course you don't want the beans)
1 bag of cheese. I use a lot. So you can choose your amount on this.



Directions.......
Turn on your oven to about 350 (ish). Put the block of cream cheese in a dish (oven-safe of course), and heat the cream cheese until it's spreadable. Like this:

Once you've got the cream cheese spread in the dish, pour the can of chili with (or without) beans on top of that.



Put it back in the oven to heat the chili through....you don't want it cold, trust me! (yuck)
Once that step is complete, sprinkle on the cheese, baby!

Once you've sprinkled on the desired amount of cheese, put it back in the oven to melt the cheese!!!

You'll have a glorious appetizer that you can serve with Tortilla chips!!

Yum-ola! and ENJOY!

~CB~

Southern Caviar

I first tried this at a friends house, several years ago--she served it as an appetizer and I looked at it and thought, oh mercy, what on earth am I about to eat? But it was so good! Thanks Jenny for introducing me to Southern Caviar! Jenny is the wife of our home-builder, Eric, who is part owner in Fabian Construction. They did a marvelous job on our house and we love it! No, this is not a paid advertisement for Fabian Construction, although......that might not be such a bad idea! ha!

Okay, back to the food.

I know you are going to look at the ingredients and say "well, I don't eat this or I don't eat that"..but trust me. Just try it. You'll like it. And let's face it. Everything tastes better with Fritos!

I am pretty certain Jenny-girl got this recipe from Paula Deen.....and I stole it from Jenny, so technically she's the thief, not me! HA!

Don't knock it til' you try it! Start with some of this.....


Southern Caviar:

Two (2) 15oz. cans black-eyed peas, drained
One (1) 15oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
One (1) 10oz. can Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 cups chopped red bell pepper (I don't use 2 cups and I don't use red, I use green)
1/2 cup chopped fresh jalapeno peppers (NO WAY! TOO HOT FOR ME!)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I use red, but you can use yellow)
One (1) 8oz. bottle Italian salad dressing (I use almost 16 oz and I use Zesty Italian)
One (1) 4-oz. jar chopped pimentos, drained (I don't use a whole jar)

Mix all of this together and stir gently. Keep in refrigerator and serve with corn chips. It will keep for up to 2 weeks (but it never lasts that long in my house).



And you'll end up with this.....face it girls. You might not like it, but it sure is pretty! And I'm all about "pretty" food!
Enjoy!

~CB~

Little Cheddar Loaves

Let it be said here and now that my kids LOVE these miniature versions of meatloaf with a twist! Each of my boys can eat at least one each!

Beef is, once again, what's for dinner in this house! Gotta love some BEEF.

I got this glorious recipe from my Aunt Patty (who is fighting breast cancer, so please say a prayer for her as you're cooking these glorious loaves of beef--and if you don't cook the beef, say a prayer for her then too!) : )

I have the recipe written down, and that's the one I'm going to give you, but--use your own measurements on certain items...if you like more onion, add them, if you hate onions, don't put 'em in. Okay, here goes.....

1.5 lbs of ground beef ('round these here parts, we prefer ground chuck)
3/4 cup oats (EW, YUCK--I DO NOT ADD THESE)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 T brown sugar
1 T prepared mustard
1/3 cup ketchup

Combine first 7 (or 6 if you don't like oats) in a large bowl, mix well.
Shape into 6 small loaves. Place in shallow baking pan.
Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl, mix well. Spread over tops of loaves. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
The finished product: (sorry for the blurry picture)

Cook's Notes: I use MUCH more cheese than 1/2 a cup! I probably use 1-1/2 cups of cheese, total. I use more onion that 1/4 cup. I do NOT use oats. You've got an egg as your binding agent--you don't need the oats. If you like a lot of "sauce" mix up more of the brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup.

Also, I have mini loaf pans that these work GREAT in--if you don't have mini loaf pans, then just shape them into mini-loaves and cook them all in one baking sheet.

THESE ARE DELICIOUS. ENJOY!!

~CB~

White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies

This recipe is a Paula Deen recipe that my mother-in-law makes occasionally. (that's where I stole it from!) We had these cookies last week at our Christmas Cookie exchange. They are super easy to make and DELICIOUS!

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHUNKIES

Here's what you'll need:

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP milk
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional)
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup candied cherries (like the ones you put in fruitcake)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Batter should be stiff.

In another bowl, combine nuts (optional), cherries, and white chocolate chips. Then add to batter, stirring only to blend. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 11-13 minutes.

ENJOY!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

One of my FAVORITE "fall" desserts is Pumpkin Sheet Cake. Listen girls (I do not like pumpkin pie, or anything pumpkin) but THIS cake--oh mercy on my soul!! It's delicious!! I make this for church dinners or Thanksgiving; Christmas or any time in-between! It's great!





Cake:
1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Frosting: (I double this)
1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
5 TBSP butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
3-4 tsp milk (I use evaporated milk)

In a mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add eggs, mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; add to pumpkin mixture; beat until well blended. Pour into greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins or until done. For frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until smooth. Gradually add sugar; mix well. Add milk for desired consistency. Frost cake and garnish with nuts (if desired).

ENJOY!!!!!

~CB~