I love all things to do with cooking, and I have a feeling I’m a little late to this parchment paper game, but last month when we were visiting Ryan and family, we went every morning for breakfast at The Dixie Diner, a great little restaurant not far from their house and every morning I had a Jumbo Blueberry Muffin (don’t judge me) in a parchment paper liner like this one above.  I was intrigued, the muffin didn’t adhere to the paper like it does with a regular muffin liner and it was so darn cute.  It’s all about the presentation for this old(er) girl.

So I did a little research and it’s a pretty simple thing to do.  For jumbo muffins or cupcakes you need 6” parchment paper squares and for regular sized muffins or cupcakes you need 5” squares. Now you could cut your own, but seriously, who wants to do that when you can buy them precut already.

If you want the tulip effect like the one above, it does take a little work, but they look so good they are totally worth it.

It’s pretty simple really, just pleat the muffin around an overturned glass the same size as the muffin tin and then plop them in the tins.  I suppose you could just pleat them inside the tin itself, but this is much easier.

You can buy these liners, bleached or unbleached.  I’ll do easy links for you below.  AND since yours truly, who buys everything kitchen related just realized that I don’t have jumbo muffin tins, I’m going to remedy that today by ordering them.  Oh, I am a sucker for Amazon Prime, but aren’t we all.

So, here are the links, happy baking, and now your muffins will look just like the ones in the bake shops. 😋
 

The ones I ate were in these unbleached liners, which looked great.  Here’s the link for the 5” ones

And the 6” ones, are actually marketed to use as squares between hamburger patties, which brings up a whole other subject that I will address in another post.

Here’s the link for the 6” ones

And now for those jumbo muffin pans, Wilton sells them on Amazon for $11.99 Prime.  Here’s the click

What a great salad this is.  My friend Barb gave me this recipe and she thinks it’s far superior to any other Ramen Noodle Salad she’s ever had.  I agree, this is absolutely wonderful!

1 package Chicken Ramen Noodles

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 tsp. sesame oil

1/3 cup sugar (can substitute Splenda)

salt and pepper to taste

1 large head cabbage, chopped - I use a package of coleslaw mix

6 green onions, chopped

Melt butter, add seasoning mix from noodles.  Break up dry noodles and mix with sesame seeds and sliced almonds in skillet and brown.

Let cool.

Mix together soy sauce, oil, white vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, salt and pepper in pint Ball jar and shake to emulsify.  Stir crunchy mixture and sauce into chopped cabbage and onion 20-30 minutes before serving.  Let set at room temperature.

Notes:

I only stir the crunchy topping into the portion of the salad I’m using.  This coleslaw keeps well in the fridge and I store the crunchy topping separately in a sealed baggie with paper towel to absorb the moisture.  Then I pour the amount I need to serve.  If you mix it all together it gets soggy in the fridge.  

This stuff is Holy Grail, best BBQ sauce EVER!

1  cup ketchup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Worchestire Sauce

1 Tablespoon Rub

Simmer ingredients to marry flavors

Ryan uses Big Ron’s Original Rub, but any rub works...

Margaritas

This is our friend Charlie’s recipe and it’s excellent, these are the best margarita you will ever make!  The ladies in the famiily love this!

1 can limeade concentrate - 12 oz.

3/4 can triple sec

3/4 can tequila

2 caps roses lime juice

ice

Blend all to a slushy consistency - Enjoy!

Marti got this recipe from Hacienda’s bartender. It’s worth a mention but Charlie’s has to be better

1 can limeaide

2 cans lemonade

4 parts tequila

1 part triple sec

I was thrilled to find the perfect dupe for my very favorite Panera Black Bean Soup.  You can make an entire pot of soup for what one serving in a bread bowl would cost.  And its SO easy. 

Ingredients

1 Onion finely chopped

4-5 Cloves Garlic minced

2 Ribs Celery finely chopped

1/2 orange or red bell pepper

1/4 Cup Chicken Stock

3-3/4 Cups Chicken Stock (this is the remainder of the 32 oz. box)

2-1/4 Cups Water

2 Cups Black Beans dried

1 Can Rotel Tomatoes & Green Chiles 10oz

2 tsp Mexican Oregano, I didn’t have Mexican Oregano, I used 2 tsp. of Italian Oregano

2 tsp Chili Powder

2 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Pepper

Directions:

Finely chop onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper and add to Instant Pot.  Saute veggies using SAUTE MODE until they are limp, using 1/4 cup of broth to saute them instead of oil

Stir in Oregano, Chili Powder, Cumin, Salt, and Pepper.  Slowly add remaining 2 cups of broth and the 3-1/4 cups of water and stir well.

Rinse 2 cups of dried Black Beans, removing any debris, and add to pot.

Pour the Rotel Tomatoes into the CENTER of the soup and DO NOT STIR.  The Rotel Original gives this a little kick, not a lot just a touch, but if you don’t want the heat, use Rotel Mild

Attach lid, make sure vent is set to SEALING, and set timer for MANUAL MODE for 50 minutes.

Allow to naturally vent for10 minutes before CAREFULLY releasing whatever steam is left - I just make early in the day and let it set for awhile

Using a slotted spoon, remove 1 cup of the beans & veggies and set side.  Using a immersion blender (or regular blender) carefully blend the remaining soup until smooth.

Add the beans & veggies you set aside back in and stir well. 

Notes

Jan's Notes - these were AWESOME.  Next time  think I will use Vitamix instead of Immersion Blender to get smoother consistency.  I followed recipe exactly, used regular oregano, didn't have the mexican..  Fantastic Recipe - SO GOOD! 

Garnish with Salsa, Lime Wedges, or Green Chile Sour Cream if desired. 

This is so simple to make in an Instant Pot.  I have the new 8 qt. Plus size, even for two people it’s not too big.  They’ve been out of stock everywhere in this new version, but you can find the 8 qt. Duo on Amazon.  Same pot, the newer version just has a couple more settings.

Here’s the link if you’re interested, this 8 qt. is a better price than the plus.

Plastic wrap dispensers are, well indispensible.  Okay, it’s a play on words, but these things are just awesome.  I first saw them on Pioneer Woman and was impressed at how well they work.   And who doesn’t struggle with plastic wrap, sometimes I just totally give up because it always clings to the wrap instead of the bowl.  But this little gadget changes everything.  I sit what I’m wrapping beside the dispenser, pull out the wrap, attach it to the bowl and then use the cutter on the dispenser for a clean cut.  Works perfect every time.

This dispenser comes with 250 feet of plastic wrap, you can refill it with plastic wrap from the grocery store and it’s $15 from Amazon Prime.  It’s worth the $15 to just ease the frustration.

Here’s the link if you’re interested in it, too 

I’ll make it easier for you, here it is in action - different pattern, but this veggie one is cuter. 

 But I’m not finished yet, there is also a dispenser for Aluminum Foil.  This one comes with a 12x30 ft. roll of aluminum foil and it’s also refillable.  It has a magnetic closure, there is a video on Amazon’s site that you can watch.   I haven’t bought this yet, but I’m going to, today!

Here’s the link for the foil

You know how much I enjoy kitchen gadgets, and anything that’s a timesaver is worth the money.  This is a really good thing… ~ Jan

Who doesn’t save recipes from the Internet?  We all do it, I have a tons of bookmarks and a badzillion Pinterest boards and it’s a pain in the patootie to find something.  But recently I found a site called Copy Me That, and it’s fantastic.   If you’re on a desktop or laptop, you download a button that you add to the top of your browser and it’s so simple to use.  You can also use this on your mobile phone or your tablet.

First, you go to copymethat.com and create an account and make sure you sign in.  Then if you’re on a computer, you download the button, it’s a two spoons icon and drag it up on your browser, and you’re good to go.  When you find a recipe you want to save, just click on that button and you get a popup on the top right corner of your page that says Copy Me That, and there is a link to View Recipe.

When you click the link it takes you to your main page, and this is the important part, you want to Create a Tag.  In the picture above, my first recipe is Instant Pot Chicken and Rice, so I created three tags for this, Chicken, Grains and Instant Pot.  I clicked on the “Add Tag” bar and created those three tags.  You’re doing this, so that in the future, you can easily find recipes in a category you are looking for.  And once you create a tag, it’s always there, you just Click the Add Tag bar and you will see the ones you’ve already created or you can add new ones.  You can make your settings private or you can share with the public.  Mine is public, anybody can view it.

I’ve explained what I do, but the ladies in the video below will show you what to do.  This is fantastic, the best organizer I’ve found and it’s free. ~ Jan

I made this so often when the boys were little, lost the recipe and thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I just found it again.

We called it Hot Potato Salad, and made it exactly like this using Velveeta.  It was just SO good.

I was thrilled to find this recipe again and to add it here so I will always have it….

INGREDIENTS 

9 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced

1 cup mayonnaise

1 lb Velveeta cheese, diced

1 small onion, chopped

salt

pepper

1⁄2 lb bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1⁄2 cup green olives, sliced

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine potatoes, mayonnaise, cheese, and onion, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Put into greased 9x13 baking dish.

Top with bacon and olives.

Bake 1 hour.

Nutrition

• 9 medium  potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced
• 1 cup  mayonnaise
• 1 lb  Velveeta cheese, diced
• 1 small  onion, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• 1⁄2lb  bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 1⁄2cup  green olives, sliced

This recipe is wonderful.  It’s so good for you and it’s simple to make and even better the next day.  It’s a new staple in my kitchen.  It’s that good!

Makes 12 (1/2-cup) servings

4-6 cups peeled sweet potatoes, cut into small dice

Salt and pepper to taste

1.5 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red onion

2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 15 oz. can  black beans, drained well and rinsed

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoon jarred jalapeno slices

1. Preheat oven 425°F. Coat foil lined baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. On prepared pan, toss together sweet potatoes, salt and pepper and spray with cooking spray. Roast about 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are crisp and cool.

3.In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, corn, and black beans

4. In blender, puree lime juice, garlic, jalapeno and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.  I used an immersion blender for this step, so much easier

Toss all together, let marinate a few hours and serve

*Nutritional information per serving: Calories 113 Calories from fat 28% Fat 4g Saturated Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 99mg Carbohydrate 19g Dietary Fiber 3g Sugars 4g Protein 2g Dietary Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat

*Nutritional Information is approximate, always double check to be certain of calorie count