This recipe has been all over FaceBook.  The prep reminds me of Hammie Sammie’s, which were such a big hit last year.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups diced onion
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles, drained
12 slices cheddar cheese, and 12 Hawaiian dinner rolls

Glaze:

1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds 

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.

Brown beef, salt, pepper, cumin, mustard powder and paprika.  Add garlic at last so it doesn’t burn.  Then stir in drained Rotel Tomatoes

Place half of buns in the prepared pans, add the beef, then the cheese slices and top with other half of bun.

For glaze, mix all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Pour over buns and bake for 25 minutes uncovered.

INGREDIENTS

6 apples, cored and thinly sliced

1 c. chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips, melted

1/2 c. caramel sauce, warmed1/2 c. chopped pretzels

DIRECTIONS

On a large plate, arrange apple slices on top of one another.

Drizzle over melted chocolate and caramel sauce.

Top with pretzels.

This is my friend, Krista’s favorite way to make chicken, it’s a must try.  Works with any kind of meat!  

Enjoy ~ Jan

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce - La Choy

6 Tbs. ketchup 

1 Tbs. minced garlic

Cracked Pepper

Put above ingredients in plastic bag with chicken breasts, marinate all day in fridge, or overnight, turning frequently, then cook on the grill.

How easy is this!!!!

Adapted from David Leite, The New York Times

INGREDIENTS:2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds (about 3 1/2 cups) bittersweet chocolate disks or semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.  It is important to refrigerate for 36 hours before baking.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Heart be still, what’s not to love!

This recipe is from Sweet As a Cookie 

I’m reprinting it here, but be sure and check it out on her site as well.

This was absolutely delicious.  Okay, so my picture isn’t perfect, the patty-melt is in the front, the soup has been slurped up a bit.  But this is real life, not a photo shoot. :)

This was so simple, and it turned out perfect.  If you don’t have a Vitamix, I’m sure you could achieve same results in a regular blender and then heat on the stove.

2 cans of diced tomatoes (original recipe called for italian style with oregano, basil and garlic)  I didn’t have those, all I had was a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes, so that’s what I used, and added a bit of basil leaves and garlic powder.

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese 

A dash of sweetener (I used 3 drops of EZ-Sweetz) or sugar, about 1-2 teaspoons to cut the acidity.

I put all of this in the Vitamix and set it to soup, in 6 minutes, I had hot wonderful tomato soup.  It keeps well, leftovers are great!

Since I used the Vitamix I didn’t soften the cream cheese to room temp, I just put it in cold, but if you’re blending in a regular blender I would soften cream cheese first...

I think I’ll try this same recipe with broccoli or cauliflower and add some cheddar cheese along with the cream cheese.  Who would have thought soup could be so easy...

A must make in this blackberry loving household!

I make skillet apple and peach pie, I posted the recipe last year.   This morning, my friend, Angi, sent me this recipe from Facebook for Skillet Blackberry Pie.  I would gladly give credit, but I don’t know where this originated.  Here’s the recipe, oh my, my family is going to love this!

Skillet Blackberry Cobbler

Don't make this in anything but a big black skillet~it won't turn out the same!

Ingredients
1 box of 2 refrigerated pie crusts (I prefer Pillsbury)
2 (14-16 oz) bags frozen blackberries, unthawed
1 stick butter, melted
1⅓ cups sugar (for berries)
½ cup flour
¾ cup sugar (for crust)
½ stick butter, cut into small cubes
½ cup water

Instructions
1.Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Unroll one pie crust and place in bottom and up sides of 12 " cast iron skillet.
3.Pierce bottom and sides of crust with a fork.
4.Bake 7 minutes; remove from oven.
5.Increase oven temp to 400 degrees.
6.In a large bowl, mix melted butter, 1⅓ cups sugar, and flour.
7.Put berries in bowl with butter/sugar/flour mixture; toss until berries are covered and mixture is crumbly.
8.Gently pour berries into skillet; sprinkle water over berries.
9.Unroll second pie crust over top of berries, sealing at the edges of the skillet.
10.Scatter the small pieces of butter on top of the crust.
11.Sprinkle ¾ cups sugar on top of crust.
12.Cut tiny slits in top of pie crust.
13.Bake approximately 45 minutes or until bubbly at edges and beginning to brown on top.
14.(I highly recommend a pie shield to keep edges of crust from burning.)

Does anybody remember this blast from the past?  I’ve always been a foodie and back in the early 1970’s, Graham Kerr’s tv show “The Galloping Gourmet” started the trend, he was the first cooking show I ever watched.

He was this goofy English guy who cooked food that I would never make, but he did have great wooden kitchen spoons that he called “Spurtles.”  They even gave them away in cereal boxes, but I bought a set of them from an address he posted on his show. They’ve always been my favorite kitchen tools and they’re still going strong all these years later.

Pictured above is my collection, and yes I use that Bakelite Grease Jar.  I low carb, I always have bacon grease.  I’m going back to my roots, people, my mother always had a jar of bacon grease next to her stove, I bet yours did, too.

But back to the Spurtle.  I’ve picked up additional sets and individual pieces when they’ve been available on eBay through the years and now have quite a collection.  Some of them have holes in them, some are shorter, some are angled,one is a spatula,  but the traditional Spurtle is the one I use over and over again.  It’s the long one with a curved bottom and straight side.   They all have the GG Emblem burnt into the handles and they’re my treasures, I’ve used them daily since the 70’s.

If you do nothing else today, click and watch this video below, and if it doesn’t make you laugh until tears roll down your cheeks, something is seriously wrong with you.

Oh, The Galloping Gourmet, he was one of a kind, there were no retakes on this old television show, what you see is what you get.  Funniest thing I’ve seen in ages.

 And finally, if all this talk of spurtles is making you think you have missed out all of these years, you can still get one.  Not the original, but this guy on Etsy has copied the design and is selling them for $20.  

Here’s the click, I would so invest $20 in one of these if didn’t have my original collection.  What’s so good about them other than nostalgia?  They are just designed so well, they have a curved bottom that gets in the corners, a straight edge that cleanly stirs sides of pots.  Oh, just buy the damn thing, trust me it’s a good thing.  ~ Jan

I was making breakfast this morning, watching Trisha’s Southern Kitchen and her college age nephew and his friends were on the show.  She cooked for them and of course they were wolfing it down.

One of the guys said that in his family when someone makes something really good to eat, the rest of the family tells them to “take a bow.”  I like that, what a great family tradition and it shows appreciation.

However, even though LC was watching the show with me, he didn’t tell me to take a bow for his sausage, eggs and toast.  Hmmmm, so I’m thinking he’s either just taking breakfast for granted, or it wasn’t that good.  But I do think this is such a good idea, it’s those simple things, ladies.

Are you reading this LC? Hello!!!!!  

Men, Schmen!!!

I first posted this recipe back in 2007.  My elderly next door neighbor gave it to me and she's gone now but she was such a wonderful cook.  Pair this with some crusty fresh bread and a green salad and it’s just the best, ever!!!

So here it is again, if you make black-eyed peas for luck on New Years Day, this is a winner!

2 cans black-eyed peas, I drain and rinse for a more subtle flavor
2 cans italian stewed tomatoes  
1 lb. sweet italian sausage, with casing removed  or you can use 1 lb. of Polska kielbasa instead of Italian sausage
1 large onion  
2 tablespoons of italian seasoning  
1 teaspoon of oregano, if desired 

Small pasta, I like ditalini or Creamettes small shells

Brown onion and sausage, drain, crumble and dump all in a crockpot, simmer on high for 3-4 hours, meanwhile cook a cup or so of pasta, any small pasta will work and stir it in at the end.  

This is so good, and so easy….

Enjoy and Happy New Year