Scalloped Potatoes & Hamburg Bake

September 5, 2016 By Leave a Comment




Potatoes and peas main

Scalloped Potatoes & Hamburg Bake

Listen, I’ll be honest with you, I am terrible at coming up with names for my recipes. I just call them as I see them. When I started this blog all I knew was that I could cook, I didn’t realize that there were so many different elements to blogging. Along with cooking I also had to learn photography & improve my semi non existing writing skills. So bare with me as I learn. I am currently reading a book by Anne Lamott called Bird By Bird. I will warn you there is some foul language in the book. I am not finished with the book yet but basically she is showing me how to break down my writing into one category at a time and quit the other voice’s in my head so I can deal with one voice at a time. In one particular part of the book she asks you to close your eyes and imagine all those voice in your head are mice. She then says to to put each mouse (voice) in a separate jar so you can sort through the voices one by one. I know that sounds confusing but it actually does help, a lot!

Ok, that’s enough about my writing skills. Lets talk about this Scalloped Potatoes & Hamburg Bake! So this recipe basically came to be out of pure laziness. My husband said he wanted a meatloaf and every time I think meatloaf I think scalloped potatoes as a side. In my mind they go together like Peanut butter and Jelly, like coffee and mornings, like me and burlap. You get it. I had everything ready to go, the potatoes laid out, hamburg thawed, oven preheated. But then I got lazy, really lazy. I thought, forget it. I wasn’t in the mood to make all that but now I was now craving scalloped potatoes and my husband still wanted something with ground beef. So I thought to myself, I know, I’ll just throw the ground beef in with the potatoes. Perfect, right? wrong. To feel good about myself as both a wife and a mother I knew I had to add a veggie. I thought about making a veggie on the side but that would mean another dirty dish and I just wasn’t having it. I found a bag of peas in the freezer tossed them in and called it a day.





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Aunt Marry’s Apple Dumplings

August 8, 2016 By 32 Comments




Aunt Mary's Apple Dumplings

Aunt Mary’s Apple Dumplings 

Everyone says Aunt Mary’s Apple Dumplings are the best. I would have to agree but I have a confession to make, I don’t really like apples. Or any fruit for that matter. No, I am the girl who peels off the delicious warm outer layer of the apple dumpling and devours it with a nice big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Some lucky soul next to me will get the “guts” or as you would probably call it, the apple, of my dumpling. If this were a perfect world I’d sit next to someone who didn’t like the warm flaky crust that has been drenched with a sticky butter and brown sugar sauce. They could have my apple and I could have  another serving of that warm flaky crust with sticky sauce. But this world is far from perfect and until then I will just have to deal…

In order for your apple dumpling making experience to be more enjoyable there are two things you are going to need.




  1. You are going to want a good apple corer. I didn’t have one and tried coring the apples with a knife and it was a mess, I don’t recommend doing it this way. Not to mention this was very dangerous, I cut myself twice while doing it this way. so learn from my mistake and buy an apple corer. I would actually recommend buying an all in one apple corer & peelers but I will leave a link to both.

Apple Corer & Peeler                                                    Apple Corer Only

                                                          

2. You are going to need some good baking apples. If you use a different type of apple they will not bake properly. Personally, I like using granny smith apples. They seem to bake very nice and everyone loves them.

Aunt Mary's Apple Dumplings - 2

 

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Baked Italian Hoagie Sandwiches

May 2, 2016 By Leave a Comment




Italian Sub

Baked Italian Hoagie Sandwiches

Make these Baked Italian Hoagie Sandwiches for your next family game night or party. Not only are they quick and easy to make but they are also delicious. I have been making these for awhile and they are always a huge hit!

Ingredients:

1  Loaf of Italian Bread

6-7 slices of Deli ham ( Thinly sliced)

8 slices of Hard Salami ( Thinly Sliced)

8 slices of provolone cheese

3-4 Tablespoons of butter

Mayo

Shredded lettuce ( 1 small bag)

1 tomato ( sliced)

1/2 onion ( sliced)

banana peppers ( optional)

Italian Dressing or Oil

Salt & Pepper

Garlic Powder

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice loaf of Italian bread in half but do not slice completely through. Spread the insides of the bread with butter and put on a cookie sheet buttered sides down. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until buttered sides are slightly toasted. Leaving the bread on the cookie sheet, flip the bread so buttered sides are facing up and add as much or as little mayo as you like. Then begin to evenly load the hoagie with ham, salami, and cheese ( in that order). Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Take it out of the oven and load it up with lettuce, tomato, onion, and banana peppers. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and drizzle with Italian dressing or oil. Cut into sandwich size pieces and serve.





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Uncle Chuck’s Chicken on the Grill

April 25, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Uncle Chuck's Chicken




Uncle Chuck’s Chicken on the Grill

When it comes to cooking on the Grill the struggle is REAL especially when it comes to meat. It seems I am either over-cooking it or undercooking it and, of course, you can’t serve under-cooked meat so it then goes back on the grill until I have achieved the polar opposite, a burnt slab of meat. So this year I have decided enough is enough and went to the pro, my brother. This guy can  seriously cook anything on the grill. His burgers alone are #drool worthy. So this year I am going to find out all of  his secrets starting with his Chicken on the Grill. In this particular recipe, my brother used chicken leg quarters but he has also used this method of cooking on legs & thighs and chicken breasts. The cooking times will vary depending on what cut of chicken you decide to use.

Uncle Chuck’s Chicken on the Grill  

Ingredients:

8-10 Chicken quarters

1 – stick Butter

2 (1/2) – 3 – Cups Vinegar

Garlic Powder to taste

salt & Pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Turn grill to high (or 500 degrees), once it reaches 500 degrees clean it off good with grill brush. Once the grill is cleaned turn the heat down to 350 degrees ( medium high). On the stovetop in a small/medium sized sauce pan, on medium heat, add butter, vinegar, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Cook till butter is melted, stirring occasionally. Once grill has reached the correct temperature of 350 degrees place raw chicken halves on the grill and baste them with vinegar & butter mixture. Close the lid to the grill and cook chicken for 1 to 1(1/2) hours or until chicken has reached a safe temperature of 170-F (77-C) degrees, basting every 15 minutes.




Filed Under: Holidays, Main Dish Tagged With: , ,

Make ahead Breakfast Burritos

April 11, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Breakfast Burrito

Make ahead Breakfast Burritos

Keeping some of these easy Make ahead Breakfast Burritos on hand will make your mornings extra enjoyable. I love knowing that I only have one mess to clean up from breakfast, for the ENTIRE week! And the mess is really not that bad. Usually, it consists of 1 electric skillet, a cutting board, a bowl, and of course, a few utensils. See, easy peasy, not even enough to fully load the dishwasher 😉 Paper plates also help to keep the mess minimal.

Now, I know I said these are Make ahead Breakfast Burritos, and they are, but my mom also had another great idea. She suggested that if I had overnight company I could make these up the night before, place them seam-side down in a greased cake pan, and bake them in the morning. I’m not sure what temperature these would have to cook at because I have never tried it. If you googled it I am sure you would find something on it. Gotta love google, right!?

* I saw many different methods of wrapping and freezing the burritos but I liked the one I used int this recipe the best. I can not find the website where I saw this, I might even have seen it on youtube. But I want all my readers to know that the recipe is my own but the freezer method is not. If I happen to come across it again I will be sure to link it. If you choose to make these burritos for yourself do some research on the different freezer methods, you may find something you like better. For example, I saw some people wrap them in foil. This would be a nice method if you chose not to use microwaves, you could probably take them straight out of the freezer and bake them in the oven with the foil still on. =)


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Cheesy Bacon Meatloaf

April 4, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Meatloaf 1

I wasn’t always a fan of meatloaf growing up if you ever had my mom’s meatloaf you would understand why. Don’t worry, I’m not saying this to be mean, it’s just the truth. If you ask her about her meatloaf she just laughs and says  “well, it’s usually hit or miss”. And if she says it’s a miss, then dominos is on the menu.  It has become the family joke- make whatever for supper mom just not a meatloaf! I do have to say that meatloaf is about the ONLY thing that woman can’t cook.. well.. and turkey, but that’s a whole different story. ha.

Enough about my mom’s meatloaf let’s talk about mine. This flavorful Meatloaf is loaded with chunks of bacon and globs of cheese. The meat is moist and the ends are crispy. Baked to perfection in the oven, this meatloaf is sure to be a family favorite.  Definitely not my Mamma’s meatloaf. 😉

Ingredients:

Meatloaf

2.25 pounds ground beef

1/2 pound of bacon (fried and crumbled.. you could do this the night before)

8 oz of shredded melting cheese ( I use Velveeta)

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. minced garlic ( you could always use garlic powder if you don’t have minced garlic)

1 tsp. Worcestershire

2 tsp. mustard

1/2 C. Ketchup

2 C. breadcrumbs ( I used seasoned)

3 eggs

Glaze: 

1 C. ketchup

1 tsp. Worcestershire

1 tsp. mustard

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Add all ingredients for the meatloaf to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to fold the ingredients into the ground beef ( this is going to get messy so you may want to take off your rings). Once all the ingredients are mixed into the meatloaf, place it into a greased 7 X 11 cake pan. I try to shape mine into an oval shape, then I take my hands and press the ends in some. Next, mix up your glaze. Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the meatloaf. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour, or until meatloaf is cooked the whole way threw ( a meat thermometer is a good tool to use here). As soon as meatloaf is finished call dibs on the end piece, it’s the best! 😉

*My four Ingredient Mac & Cheese is the perfect side dish for this Meatloaf!


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Ham Salad Sliders with Spicy Mustard Sauce

February 15, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ham Salad Sliders - Final

Ham Salad Sliders with Spicy Mustard Sauce

I served these ham salad sliders at our super bowl party along with some other recipes that came by special request including my Buckin’ Bronco Nachos. I always like serving my recipes to a small crowd to get their reaction before posting them to my website. And I am proud to say that these sliders got rave reviews!

While I was preparing the Sliders, I heard a few grumbles coming from the living room about the pickled eggs. I thought I would be nice and make a few without pickled eggs. Well, no surprise to me, the only ones left over were the ones without pickled eggs. If you are a little skeptical about the pickled eggs you should, at least, give it a try. I once heard Paula Deen say something like this ” The first time you make a recipe follow it exactly, the second time make it your own” I think Mrs. Deen has the right idea. So when you make them please, please, at least, try the pickled egg, do it for me and do it for Mrs.Deen. 😉

I like creating recipes that are quick and easy but pack a flavorful punch. These little sliders have it all! The sweetness from the pretzel rolls, savory ham salad, a tang from the pickled egg, and let’s not forget the spicy mustard sauce. They are seriously like little flavor bombs. When I made them I used a combo of both mini pretzel rolls and mini bagels, they pretzel rolls are better… way better. The bagels were good but they didn’t add the sweetness that the pretzel rolls offered. You could always do what I did and try both the mini pretzel rolls and mini bagels to see which you like best. I hope you enjoy. =)

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BBQ Ranch Hamburger Boats

February 8, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Hamburger Boats

BBQ Ranch Hamburger Boats 

 I often get asked the question,” how do you come up with your recipes? what inspires you?”  Today I am going to give you a small glimpse of how my mind works. It won’t be too scary, I promise. =p

If you remember, two weeks ago, I posted about inheriting my Nana’s cookbooks and recipe cards ( see Orange Chiffon cake, a recipe from 1948). In with her cookbooks was an old family circle magazine from the year 1966. While I was flipping through the pages, I remembered my Pap telling me that he was having hamburger boats a few nights back. With hamburger boats in the back of my mind, I came across a recipe for Ranch Breakfast Burgers. I don’t know if it was the ground beef and ketchup, or the word ranch, either way, my mind went straight to BBQ Ranch Hamburger Boats. And just like that a new recipe was born.. or should I say developed?

Now you are probably wondering why I have called them hamburg boats and not hamburger boats. Well, the answer is simple, that is just what my family has always called them.  I did google it and found that hamburger would have been the correct pronunciation BUT I edit some of my photo’s at my mother’s house. So until I get to her computer to fix my mistake ( if I remember) it will remain hamburg.

Now let’s talk hamburg(er) boats. If you have never had a hamburger boat you are missing out! They are so simple to make and loaded with flavor. Even better, you can personalize each one. My mom has made us hamburger boats for as long as I can remember. Normally they consist of hamburger, potatoes, onions, & carrots that are folded together in little foil packs that look like boats. I, of course, had to put a new spin on this old family favorite. I decided to load mine with BBQ sauce, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese. The result was mouthwatering! I hope you enjoy =)

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Taco Chili

October 19, 2015 By Leave a Comment

taco chili


Ingredients:

1 (64 oz) bottle of v8 juice

1 pound ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning ( I use mild)

1 (15.5 oz) can light kidney beans

1 (15.5 oz) can black beans

1 (15.5 oz) can corn

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 table spoon peanut butter – optional ( I know what you are thinking, peanut butter??!! Yes, peanut butter! My mom has always made her chili this way, and now, that’s how I do it too. The peanut butter just helps to thicken the chili . It also leaves this little hint of flavor that your guests can’t quit figure out, but makes them say, yum! )

Toppings- Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips, chives.

Directions-

Brown beef in a medium/large dutch oven over medium high heat. I like to season my beef with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder as it is cooking. Once the beef is browned, throw kidney beans, black beans, and corn in with the beef and cook for a few minutes until the beans and corn soften a little ( about 3-5 minutes). Turn heat down to medium/low and add v8 juice, taco seasoning, tomato paste and peanut butter, stir together. If the peanut butter scares you, just add a little more tomato paste to help thicken the chili, about 1/2 a tablespoon or so. Turn heat back up to medium high and bring chili to a boil, once chili starts to boil set heat on medium and let chili simmer for 30-45 minutes or until chili has thickened and beans are soft, stirring occasionally. Serve in a bowl and load it up with cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips and chives! yum!

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Hugy Grannies Flash Fried Chicken with a KICK

July 13, 2015 By 3 Comments

hoodgie Grannies chicken

Today I am spicing up an old family recipe. This recipe comes from my Hugy Granny, which is my Grams, great grams recipe. I am not sure how they came about the spelling of her name, but it is pronounced like HOOD – G then put it together, Hugy. Now, that is not her real name, but it is what everyone called her. From what I gather, she was a tiny woman, and the family called her little Granny. My gram was a toddler at the time, and when she tried to say little Granny, it came out Hugy Granny, and the name stuck. Now decades later, the name still stands.

I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t trying to fix something, and to me, this recipe needed some fixin’. The original recipe was just to dip the chicken in egg and flour then fry and bake. This was really good, but I wanted to kick it up a notch. I added some more spices to the flour and heated up with some cayenne pepper to give this chicken the kick it needed. This turned out to be one of the best chicken recipes I have ever tasted, and my family agreed. The crust was nice and crispy and the chicken was so juicy.  My family told me this recipe deserved a standing ovation, but I think everyone was too full to stand. Here is the recipe.. try it for yourself. =)

Ingredients:

4-6 pounds chicken thighs and legs

2 Cups Flour

1 tsp.  Salt

2 tsp. cayenne pepper ( If you do not like spicy, then you may want to omit the cayenne or cut it back to 1 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. parsley flakes

4-5 eggs

 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium sized mixing bowl, add flour, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, and parsley flakes; whisk well. In a separate bowl, crack 4-5 eggs; whisk well. Set both bowls aside. Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with cooking oil and set to medium-high heat. While waiting for the frying pan to heat,  begin to dip each piece of chicken in the egg and then into the flour, making sure to coat each piece well.  Place coated chicken into a hot skillet and cook on both sides until crust is brown. About 3-4 minutes, flipping only once, so the crust doesn’t slip off. Once the crust is brown, transfer chicken to a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

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