Dinnertime

     I should have titled this “We Eat This Way Too Often,” because we do…but it’s so good.  Allow me to introduce you to my little friend – Krystal Burger Casserole.

     This recipe is sooooo easy (would I tell you how to do anything more difficult?).  Let’s jump in.  If I could actually jump into this stuff I totally would. 

1.  Gather your stuff.  Let me break it down for you:
          2 cans of crescent rolls
          1 lb. of ground beef
          dehydrated onion
          American cheese (enough to cover at least half…or all if you want)
          dill pickles
          mustard
     Notice how I didn’t measure?  You don’t even have to.  That’s right! Toss those measuring spoons back into the drawer.

2.  Brown your ground beef.  While it’s working, toss in a palmful of dehydrated onion.  When it’s done cooking, drain.

3.  In the bottom of a casserole dish, roll out 1 of your cans of crescent rolls.

4.  Pour on your ground beef/onion mixture.  Then toss on your pickles (as many as you like…for me that’s about 258,521), do a big squiggle of mustard, and place your cheese slices.  I usually do half cheese and half not, but it’s totally up to you.

5.  Top all of that deliciousness with your other can of crescents.

6.  Bake according to the directions on the crescents.  Tip:  I usually leave mine in a little longer so that the crescents are fully done.

Note:  I care not one bit that this is an extremely ugly picture.  It was delicious, and I ate every bite.

     This masterpiece tastes just like a Krystal burger.  So, so good.  If you eat this and don’t love it, I’ll help you find a taste bud transplant doctor. 
     This is on our menu probably once a month.  It is so easy, and can be tossed together really quickly even if you’ve been working or busy all day.  Did I mention it tastes just like a Krystal burger?!  It does.  Cook.  Eat.  Thank me later.

15 Minutes to Domestic

     I Instagrammed a picture of my dinner the other night (I know; I’m one of those people.) and then posted a picture in my last post, and some sweet friend was kind enough to ask for the recipe.  Not to insult your intelligence or anything, but I made this recipe up, and if you can’t do it then you may not know how to work an oven.  Ready?

Pizza Puffs

Get ready for the easiest recipe you’ve ever seen.

Stuff you need:
Crescent rolls
Pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning

What to do:
1.  Preheat your oven to whatever is on the can of crescent rolls.

2.  Pop open the can and take every roll apart.

3.  On the fat part of each roll arrange 3-4 pepperonis (or whatever looks good to you…How fun would the mini ones be?!).

4.  On top of that arrange a little mountain of mozzarella cheese.

5.  Starting on the wide end, roll these up as you normally would.  You may have to fold in the ends (burrito-style) to keep the cheese from falling out everywhere.

6.  Lightly sprinkle with garlic powder and Italian seasoning and bake according to package instructions.

     Didn’t I tell you the truth?  So easy.  Dip in marinara sauce and enjoy!  From beginning to end this took maybe 15 minutes.  You could probably even brown some sausage, drain, and put that inside, but that would have ruined my fifteen minutes to domestic hashtag (and I didn’t have sausage…I had pepperoni and cheese).

     Aaaaaand now that I’ve stared at these, I’m starving.  I have no idea what I’m having tonight, but if I end up  making up another recipe, I’ll definitely share it with you!

That Cake…and That Dress

     About that posting more regularly…oh well, the best made plans…I do have wonderful recipe to share with you but no picture.  Bad breath is better than no breath…

   Y’all, this cake is good.  It’s sweet enough for dessert but not too sweet for breakfast (as if there’s such a thing though).  I love a bundt cake, and I’ve been wanting to make a hummingbird cake for a while now.  This one looked pretty simple and didn’t have anything too crazy going on.  I used this exact recipe from The Messy Baker Blog – perfect.

Ingredients

• Cake Batter
• 1½ cups chopped pecans, toasted and chopped
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 ripe bananas
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
• ¾ cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbs. unsalted butter, softened
• 1½ cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 Tbsp. milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour your bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle 1 cup of your chopped pecans into the bottom of your prepared bundt pan. Set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, mash the bananas (I find it easiest to use a potato masher). Whisk in the eggs. Whisk in the crushed pineapple, canola oil, and vanilla extract.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture in three batches, stirring after each addition. Pour the batter over the pecans; smooth with a rubber spatula.
6. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes; remove the cake from the pan and cool on a wire rack completely before glazing.

Glaze

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, add cream cheese and butter. Beat until smooth. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla extract. Slowly add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. You want the glaze thin enough to drizzle over the cake. When the glaze reaches drizzling consistency, it’s ready.
2. Drizzle the cooled cake with glaze and sprinkle with remaining toasted pecans. Serve.

     Beware.  This cake is very, very heavy but so good.  Be prepared to eat on it for about a week.  As an added bonus, the glaze would make a perfect fruit dip, and you’ll have plenty because it makes a ton! Enjoy.

     I can’t leave you without a picture, and since I don’t have one of the cake, I’ll show you what else our Easter entailed!

We had to do pictures inside because it was rainy and cold…bleh, but I think that fun dress more than makes up for the weather!

I Promised

     I know I promised you a recipe post, and now that I’ve had a minute to sit down, I’ve got it for you.  Before I get right to it though, let me just do a mini-recap of my weekend.  I had two belated 4th of July parties with my family on Saturday.  Translation: I spent all day floating in a pool and eating – a lot.  My sister, brother-in-law, and niece were here too, so there wasn’t as much sitting as a normal weekend…but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

     This is about as good as it gets on the picture front for this weekend.  I love my little point-and-shoot camera, but for capturing photos of a two-year-old it’s not always the greatest. 

     Now, onto the real reason for this post (as if that little cutie isn’t enough)…the recipe.

You will need:
1 can whole kernel corn
1 onion red (chopped)
1 bell pepper (chopped)
1 cup mayo
1 smallish bag of Chili Cheese Fritos

(I’m almost embarrassed to type instructions for this; it’s so easy.)

We doubled this recipe (sort of).

1.  Drain corn and mix with onion and bell pepper. If you double this recipe, I wouldn’t double the bell pepper or onion, and I might even use less onion because it tends to be a little much.

2.  Add mayonnaise.  We didn’t double this either, but we did use about a cup and a half.

3.  Chill overnight.

4.  Before serving add Fritos.  Just eyeball an amount you think looks good and mix well.

     I know it breaks every blog recipe post rule not to have a photo of the finished product, but by the time everyone got to my cousin’s house to eat it might have been dangerous to get in front of the food!  I know it sounds a little strange to use all of these together, but believe you me…it’s incredible.  This picture looks pretty mayonnaise-y, but the Fritos will soak some of that up so it’s more substantial.  I definitely suggest chopping the onion very finely and possibly using less than a whole, but other than that, you can pretty much just add however much you think looks good.  That’s my kind of recipe.

     In non-food related news, I get the scores of my final Praxis test tomorrow (because I refused to pay $30 to get them in advance).  I am so ready to put that little chapter of schooling behind me.  I wouldn’t call myself a bad test taker…but who enjoys it?  I hope your week is off to a wonderful start.  I have about 859 things to do, starting with meeting a potential wedding photographer tonight!  I’ll keep you posted.

Places I May Be Partying:

Shrimp and Grits

     First things first…how sad that I actually have a “shrimp and grits” tag on this blog…oh well.  You may remember that sometime last week I mentioned that we would be making shrimp and grits.  I’m here to share with you probably one of the most incredible things I’ve ever eaten.  This is not an understatement.  Just wait.

     Let me stop drooling for a minute and share the recipe!

     You will need:
          2 c. (ish) quick cook grits
          1/4 c. mayonnaise (we used Duke’s)
          bacon…a lot of it
          1/2 red onion diced
          1 lb. medium shrimp (shelled and deveined)
          1 (ish) tbsp. butter
          1 (ish) tbsp. lemon juice
          2 (ish) tbsp. hot sauce
          salt, pepper, and additional hot sauce to taste
         

     In a saucepan over medium hear, cook the bacon until crispy.  (Unless you already cut it, remove from heat and cut or crumble.)  Turn heat to medium-high, add onions and cook until they begin to soften.  Add shrimp and cook until they’re pink.  Stir in butter, lemon juice, and hot sauce.  Toss to coat the shrimp.

     In the meantime, cook the grits according to package instructions.  When fully cooked, stir in the mayonnaise.

     Divide the grits into bowls, spoon shrimp over the top, and dive in face first!

     Adapted from:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/shrimp-and-grits-recipe/index.html  

     So so so good!  I loved it for lots of reasons but especially because it was light.  I ate plenty and didn’t feel like I had just gorged myself.  It was nothing like the shrimp and grits dressing I shared awhile ago, but it still had so much flavor.  If you aren’t quite sure what you want for dinner…make this soon.
    

Places I May Be Partying:

Orange Cream Cake

The picture that started it all…

     

How could you not want to dive right in?  Let’s do that.
This cake is so simple (and delish)!

You will need:
1 box Duncan Hines Butter Golden Cake
3 eggs
1 stick butter
Orange juice (to replace the water called for on the box)
8 oz. sour cream
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1 can vanilla icing

     Combine all ingredients according to the directions on the box, using orange juice instead of water and adding the ingredients not indicated.  (Note: when the box tells you to mix for four minutes…actually do this.  Usually I get tired and stop once it’s all incorporated, but continuing to mix puts a lot of air into the batter and makes it very fluffy.)

That mixer is 25-years-old and still running like a dream.

     Pour into a well-greased bundt pan (we greased ours with Crisco) and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

     When the cake comes out of the oven it will have puffed up quite a bit; don’t get excited, it’s going to fall.  When it has cooled, turn it out onto a plate.  Before serving, heat regular old frosting from a can in the microwave and drizzle it over the cake.
Done and done!  The cake is super moist.  Honestly, it doesn’t have all that much of an orangey flavor, but it’s enough to give it a little kick.  The next time I make it I might put a few mandarin oranges in the batter and/or use them as garnish.
Enjoy!

     I love bundt cakes.  They’re adorable and so much easier to cut than regular cake.  This one was for my sister’s birthday, but it would be perfect just to have any old time.  I hope you love it!

Weekend Recap

     I know I said I would be back with lots of pictures, but I have to be honest…I got a little caught up in the weekend, and didn’t take very many…at all.  I do have a few little things to share with you!

     

     This cake was so good.   Seriously.  I’ll be back in a few days to share the recipe.  (A little preview?  It’s so easy!)

     Remember how I told you I was going yard-saleing?  Weeeellllllll, I found the absolute cutest little cabinet-end table-put wherever table-thing!

     

     This little gem was $10 at a church yard sale.  I have no idea where it will end up, but I couldn’t pass it up.  For a size frame of reference, its in the back of a Nissan Rogue.  There is a little place on the top where the finish is messed up, but I am really thinking I’ll refinish or paint it anyway – love!

     Finally, be sure to come back tomorrow for my product review (finally) of my fancy new GiGi New York purse and a special deal for all of you!  If you are a shopper or GiGi New York or all things fancy lover, you better hurry yourself right back here tomorrow.

     P.S. I still have a few spots for June sponsors left (shoot me an email for more information)!

Strawberry Season

     I don’t know all that much about crops and seasons, but I do know that it’s strawberry season.  I love strawberries (or as Della calls them “strawbabies”), and they are just delish right now!  

Aren’t they pretty?

     

     For our inaugural summer dessert, we (and by “we” I mean my daddy) made shortcake, and we topped it with strawberries and Cool Whip.  I’ll let you in on the deliciousness…

You will need
2 c. plain flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
(This can all be substituted for self-rising flower)
1/2 c. shortening
1 egg
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. milk

     Combine all ingredients.  Note: the dough will be very sticky (sometimes we’ll add a tablespoon of water at a time to thin it).  We form ours into balls so that it cooks more thoroughly.

Before.

     

     Bake in a preheated oven at 450 for 12 – 15 minutes.  Optional: Lift top after baking and add butter.

After.

     

     Top with strawberries (ours had been cut and covered in sugar and refrigerated so they were syrupy) and Cool Whip.

Yum.

     

     So good.  I’m thinking maybe someday when I’m good at planting and growing things…I might try my hand at strawberries.  Enjoy!  I’ll be back in a few days with what we had for dinner a few days ago.  Yum!

French Toast Casserole & I Know and I Don’t–No. 8

     The weekend is not quite over yet, but I wanted to go ahead and share the French toast casserole recipe with you.  Yum. Yum. Yum.
     You make the recipe the night before and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator, so it would be so easy to pop in the oven if you have company or just want a big breakfast without all the early morning work.

You will need:
1/4 c. butter melted
3/4 c. c. packed light brown sugar (we used dark)
1 loaf French bread (cut into 1 1/2 in. slices)
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. whole milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. pecans (chopped)
1/8 tsp. salt
(optional) maple syrup and/or powdered sugar for topping

1.  In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
2.  Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary.
3.  Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices.
4.  Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.
5.  Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4 – 12 hours. 
6.  In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least ten minutes as your preheat the oven.
7.  Bake casserole for 30 – 35 minutes.  If top starts browning too quickly, place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last ten minutes or so.  You want to cook it long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked, but don’t dry it out completely.
8.  Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving.  Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Sorry for the not so great cell phone picture – I forgot to bring my camera home!

So so so good!  Y’all are going to have to make it very soon!

Onto the 8th (WOW) I Know and I Don’t!

I know I shouldn’t overanalyze (and that I’ve probably said this already).
I don’t know why I do it aaalllllllll the time.

I know I forget a lot.
I don’t know how Keith forgot to pack shirts for this weekend…

I know I need a spring/summer purse.
I don’t know where else to look!

I know patience is a virtue.
I don’t know how people can do it.

I know prayer is powerful.
I don’t know why I don’t write that across my forehead every morning.
 

Allyson

Chicken with Mushrooms and Bacon

    I always do more cooking when I’m at home, you know…because I have a kitchen here.  A few days ago we decided to make a recipe that has been floating around our recipe box for a long time (that we’ve never even made) – chicken with mushrooms and bacon.  I love mushrooms and bacon, so right away I knew this was going to be perfect.
    So, without further ado…

You will need
    4 bacon slices cute into 1 in. pieces (we used 6)
    2 1/2 cups chopped onions
    1/2 lbs. mushrooms, thickly sliced (we used a whole pound)
    2 large garlic cloves, chopped
    1 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces (we used a few chicken breasts)
    1 c. dry red wine
    1 c. low-salt chicken broth
    1 tsp. dried oregano
    1 tsp. dried basil
    1 tsp. Italian seasoning

(Note: the recipe says to cook this in a Dutch oven; we just used a really big pan with tallish sides.)

1.  Cook bacon over medium-high heat until almost crisp.  Using a slotted spoon transfer the bacon to paper towels.
2.  Add onions, mushrooms, and garlic to the drippings in the pan.  Sauté until onions are tender and golden.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to bowl.
3.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Add to pot; sauté until brown.
4.  Return bacon and vegetables to pot, and add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and summer until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

5.   Using a large spoon, skim fat from the top of the sauce and serve.  (Note: we served ours over pasta – wow!)

    

    This was not a hard recipe at all!  I especially liked that it didn’t feel heavy; I guess because the sauce wasn’t creamy or tomatoey.  I hope you’re all having a wonderful week!  Happy cooking!

Allyson