ALL DAY MEATBALLS with CHERRY SAUCE or WHISKEY SOUR JELLY SAUCE

If you are anything like me, you have a drawer or even a box full of recipes from newspapers, magazines, old maiden aunts, grandmothers, friends and every potluck you ever went to and said I have to have that recipe! I originally started making this recipe (and posted it too) about 15 years ago. I haven’t made many changes since that initial time – it’s just that good!

While I usually keep the combination of ingredients, spices and seasonings somewhat intact, I do make changes to those recipes to make them more palatable to my family. So I always keep a list of likes, dislikes and allergies and am constantly altering recipes to fly by the seat of my pants.

These recipes have been floating around so long in the box that I have no idea where they actually originated, but one looks like a page from an old, and I mean OLD magazine and the other is handwritten. I have them stapled together with a note to combine them together.

I’m like that – whatever works for my family. I had a girlfriend in college who loved fashion but was on such a strict budget there wasn’t room for the things she eyed the most. I remember Julie borrowing a fancy designer dress from a Joann, a girlfriend of ours for an event and then later that night she took it apart, made a pattern and made her own dress before putting Joann’s dress back together. To my knowledge Joann never knew. Now I can’t do that with recipes literally, but I do do it in my mind while I’m reading the recipe(s) as if I’m eating a particularly tasty tidbit. Some days I feel like an archaeologist unearthing pieces to make a whole from.

This is one of our particularly favorites recipes from my archaeology days of recipe hunting. It’s also versatile in that you can easily change the sauce to whatever your tastebuds crave that day whether it’s one of the ones I have listed or one you make up to fit your family. Serve it with salad, in a pasta dish or even on a sandwich!

ALL DAY MEATBALLS
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup Panko read crumbs
1/2 cup WHOLE milk
1/4 cup powdered Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup garlic salt
FRESH ground tricolor pepper, to taste
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped fine
2 LARGE eggs

  • In a large bowl combine the quick cooking oats, milk, eggs, onion and garlic salt.
  • Crumble the beef over top and then mix in well.
  • Shape into 1-2 inch balls.
  • Place in slow cooker.
  • Pour sauce of choice over meatballs. If using my whiskey sour sauce, save sauce until serving.
  • Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until the meat is no longer pink.

CHERRY SAUCE
3 tablespoons QUALITY vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup tart cherry jam (or jam flavor of choice)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup jalapeno ketchup

  • Mix together the ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, jam and brown sugar

NOTE: Cherry, raspberry and apricot pineapple jams work extremely well with this recipe.

WHISKEY SOUR JELLY SAUCE
3 limes, juiced (6 tablespoons)
2 lemons, juiced (6 tablespoons)
1 orange, sliced, rind removed, each slice quartered
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup bourbon
3 ounces liquid pectin (1/2 of a foil pouch)
1/4 cup maraschino cherries, quartered

  • In a heavy saucepan stir together the lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, water and bourbon.
  • Bring to a FULL rolling boil, boiling hard for a full minute, stirring constantly.
  • Quickly stir in pectin.
  • Return to boil, boiling hard for a full minute more, stirring constantly.
  • Fold in oranges slices and cherry pieces.
  • Pour over meatballs before serving.

NOTE – Make a LARGE batch of sauce and use it for pretty gifts. Add an orange slice and maraschino cherry before ladle into sterilized jars. Water bath to seal.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 12 of 2022

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

I hope you are all doing better than I am this morning. The weather has been so unpredictable and I know that’s why I now have a sore throat and ear ache 🙁 It started Saturday afternoon as a sinus headache, but by the time I woke up Sunday it was full blown misery. I immediately started on Theraflu and Emergen-C along with a hot shower and felt better for awhile. I stayed in yesterday and will again today, but I think I caught it in time.

Saturday night’s low was 29° and tomorrow’s high is supposed to be 75° for a single day before it drops back into the 40’s for the rest of the week… no wonder I’m sick!

So today is a yoga pants day! 😀 And I’m not complaining about that.

Hot water and peach yogurt.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Despite not feeling well, I was able to get the laundry done and will do a deep clean on the kitchen and vacuum in a few days when I feel more energetic.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Fortunately I don’t need much until later in the week so won’t worry about any of this until I feel better. Honestly, I’m back to the point of trying to stay completely home. They have lifted the mask mandates here and I’ve heard they’re not even counting COVID cases because they don’t think it matters so I’m afraid that there might be an issue in the next couple weeks and am laying low to avoid it with being immunocompromised 🙁
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I have a list to accomplish, but will wait until my throat and voice are better.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m good through the end of the month, but am sorting through for some spring like recipes in April.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX This has been our channel of choice this past week as we are not basketball fans and March Madness has taken over. We watched the sweetest movie, Rescued by Ruby and the Adam Project with Ryan Reynolds – he’s so funny in a sarcastic way 😀 We also watched Against the Ice which was quite good and then we finished with The Good Cop starring Tony Danza, but are sorry it only made one season 🙁
  • CABLE Spring Baking Championships, Tournament of Champions, Junior Masterchef – I absolutely adore the kids! I have a couple Hallmark movies to finish catching up on and FIXER UPPER episodes

I’m reading Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel

Saturday before I started feeling poorly there was a small break in the rain that we thought was going to last longer so we took a drive, but the rain that had ended and turned to pure sunshine returned with a vengeance. I did get a few good shots though. We even found a few things we’d never seen before.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
CHICKEN AMASU
HAM and BROCCOLI BAKE
CHICKEN NEW ORLEANS
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
SHEET PAN CHEESY CHICKEN
PIMIENTO CHEESEBURGERS
BLACKENED ORANGE ROUGHY & BACON GREEN BEANS
DESSERT
GRASSHOPPER CHEESECAKE SQUARES

BAKED TOMATOES with PARMESAN BROCCOLI STUFFING

BAKED TOMATOES with PARMESAN BROCCOLI STUFFING Serves 4

4 LARGE tomatoes
2 cups minced broccoli florets
¼ cup FINELY shredded mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons FINELY minced onion
2 tablespoons chopped FRESH basil
Juice from 1 LARGE lemon
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Cut tomatoes in half crosswise.
  • Using a spoon, scoop out pulp.
  • Chop tomato pulp, place in medium bowl and add broccoli, cheeses, garlic, onion, basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
  • Arrange tomato halves, cut sides up, on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt then evenly fill with stuffing mixture.
  • Bake 15 minutes or until tomatoes are tender and heated through.

NOTES & HINTS:

  • Tomatoes can be assembled a day ahead, covered and stored on a baking sheet in refrigerator.
  • A grapefruit spoon with serrated edges works well for cleaning out the tomatoes from their pulp.

PORCUPINE MEATBALLS

PORCUPINE MEATBALLS 4-6 servings

This is a super simple weeknight meal – it can even be prepared in advance and be all the better for it as the flavors meld to make deep and rich sauce!

So why are they called “PORCUPINE”? As the meatballs bake in the incredible sauce and the rice bakes it plumps up and starts sticking out the sides just like porcupine quills. 😀

1 pound QUALITY 80/20 ground beef
1 LARGE egg, lightly beaten
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon chopped FRESH parsley
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
FRESH ground sea salt & black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons avocado oil
One 28-ounce can tomato puree
1/4 cup jalapeno ketchup

  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Use your hands to mix together the ground beef, egg, onion, rice, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, half the garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper in a large bowl until well combined.
  • Roll the meat mixture into 24 golf ball sized meatballs.
  • Heat the avocado oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat.
    Once shimmering, add the meatballs and cooking 1-2 minutes  on each side until lightly browned all over.
  • Reduce the heat to medium.
  • Whisk together the tomato puree, ketchup, remaining Italian seasoning, remaining garlic, FRESH ground sea salt and pepper to taste.
  • Stir into pan, simmering until the  sauce is WELL combined and meatballs are WELL coated.
  • Cover tightly and transfer to the oven.
  • Bake 45-60 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink, the rice is tender and poking out and the sauce has reduced slightly.
  • Garnish with more chopped parsley and serve.

PINEAPPLE PEACH BREAD PUDDING

PINEAPPLE PEACH BREAD PUDDING is a summer dessert that’s bursting with pineapple and peach flavor, but can be easily converted to just about any flavor you want for any time of the year! Small wild blueberries are a winter favorite. 

😀 You can serve it with or without caramel sauce and ice cream 😀

8 cups bread, cubed
3 LARGE eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup pineapple yogurt
1 cup WHOLE milk
2 cups Sugar
1 SMALL can pineapple, WELL drained
1 1/2 cups FRESH peaches, peeled, pitted and diced *(see note)
½ cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon QUALITY cinnamon

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl beat 3 eggs, add melted butter, yogurt and milk. Add 2 cups sugar slowly, stirring until it is dissolved. Add peaches and bread, mixing well.
  • Allow mixture to soak into bread 30 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, stir together 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.
  • Pour the bread mixture into 9×13 baking dish, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover loosely with buttered foil and Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the foil, sprinkle with the pecans and bake until the top is golden and the center is set, 20 to 25 minutes longer.

CARAMEL SAUCE
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar

  • In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar, bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to low, simmer until the sauce thickens, for about 5 minutes.
  • Pour over individual bread pudding servings.
  • Top with vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: You can use canned peaches or even frozen peaches. If using canned peaches be sure to drain them EXTRA well. If I use these I start the draining the night before and just cover them in the fridge over night. If using frozen, thaw them overnight and the drain well.

ZESTY CREAMED CHICKEN

There is almost no prep time for this recipe, it is so so versatile and the slow cooker actually does all the work! The whole family will be licking their plates when this creamy angel chicken recipe is on the menu. Serve it over a bed of angel hair pasta, mashed potatoes, biscuits, or rice. It’s one of our favorite weeknight recipes.

ZESTY CREAMED CHICKEN

1.5 pounds chicken breast, boneless and skinless
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cream of chicken soup** (see notes)
¾ cup chicken stock
¼ cup Philadelphia cream cheese
¼ cup butter
1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
Prepared pasta, jasmine rice or mashed potatoes for serving
chopped herbs, for garnish

  • Spray the inside of the crockpot with non stick cooking spray.
  • Add the chicken breasts in a single layer if possible.
  • Soften the butter and cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted enough to stir together smoothly.
  • Whisk in the undiluted cream of chicken soup, Italian dressing mix, minced garlic and chicken stock until well mixed.
  • Pour over the chicken breasts.
  • Turn chicken breast to coat in sauce.
  • Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
  • Shred chicken into sauce using 2 forks.
  • Serve the chicken over pasta, jasmine rice or mashed potatoes

NOTES**

  • Cream of just about any flavor (celery, nacho cheese, mushroom, etc…) works with this recipe.
  • You can substitute white wine for the chicken broth.
  • You can also substitute a flavored cream cheese.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY WITH MENU & RECIPE LINKS week 11 of 2022

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Did you remember to change your clocks? Changing the clocks (as much of a pain as it is) always makes me feel like spring has sprung. At least we’re an hour closer 😀 That said, I sure wish they’d stop. I don’t even care which time they pick – standard or daylight savings – just pick one and stay with it!!!!!

We had a BIG storm blow in on Saturday with wind so bad it literally pulled my yard stakes out of the barrels, had the wind chimes tangling and being more noisy than I have ever heard and the flag was blowing straight up! It’s supposed to be raining most of this week, but also be a tad bit warmer so that’s okay too. Day times should be in the high 40’s to low 50’s and night times are supposed to be in the high 30’s.

My prayers and thoughts are with Ukraine as I pray for a peaceful ending to this war. I also applaud all those that are able to help in any way they can.

Hot water and cherry yogurt this morning

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m in spring cleaning mode, but the weather just won’t cooperate! For now I’ll settle for getting the bedding and laundry done.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS These will wait until I head to town later in the week. Fortunately, I don’t need much. 😀
  • PROJECTS We’ve done several remodel rehab renovations and the one thing I can say is they are ALWAYS entities in and of their own! There are no two alike and they are ALL fraught with their own issues. But plumbing is by far always the worst part of each one. I wish this was because of a remodel. Fortunately, even as bad as this mess was we have a water alarm under the kitchen sink that went off. Otherwise it would have been 100% worse waking up to it this morning. The part that ALWAYS ticks me off is that the part that fails is usually an inexpensive part in the middle of a line. In this case it was the connector in the middle of the faucet sprayer hose. It had been fixed once before, but has always been the weak link in this model particularly according to the plumbing expert at Home Depot. 🙁
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m up to date through March and am starting to look to more spring like recipes for April. The Eagles asked me to make a fruity dessert for their end of the month brunch and I’ve been working up a new recipe for that. Peach Pineapple Pear Bread Pudding 😀 or maybe a Blueberry Cream Cheese – we’ll just have to see 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX We’re watching old Cheers reruns at night before sleep
  • PRIME 🙁 We finished Mrs. Maisel on Friday night. Even with only getting 2 episodes a week, the month went by quickly and now sadly we have to wait until December for the next season.
  • CABLE We’ve been watching old movies from the 50’s. I love seeing things from before I was born. This weekend we saw Rio Grande with John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan and Angie Dickinson

I just started RETURN TO SENDER by Jennifer Peel, a new to me author. While I just began it I thinking she is going to be a good change of pace for me.

I have to add this funny, because it’s so so true! I’m getting a 4th booming on my Christmas Cacti too 😀

The spring flowers are trying to make an appearance, but winter keeps rearing its ugly head too. I can’t wait for some consistent warmth and be able to plant some seeds and ground cover in the planter areas.

with the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
LEMON HERB BAKED SALMON
ZESTY ANGEL CHICKEN
SALISBURY STEAK, SCALLOPED POTATOES & GREEN BEANS
 MEATBALL  POTATO GRATIN
PASTEL AZTECA with SALSA VERDE
PORK CHOPS with TOMATOES
CHICKEN RAMEN IN SHOYU BROTH
DESSERT
GRANNY’S APPLE CRISP & PEACH BREAD PUDDING TEST RUN

  • BLONDE BEEF STEW
  • PORCUPINE MEATBALLS

CHICKEN with TARRAGON SAUCE

When I was searching my recipe file (a big old tote full of scraps) I found two other even older scraps of recipes (Chicken with Tarragon Sauce and Baked Tomatoes with Broccoli stuffing) that had been torn from old cookbooklets, one was even handwritten it was so old. They also begged me to make them. I often substitute thyme or flat leaf parsley for the tarragon or mix and match them based on what I have on hand.

CHICKEN with TARRAGON SAUCE 4 servings

This is comfort food at its finest – maybe serve it with homemade mashed potatoes and sautéed fresh green beans?

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5-6 ounces each)
1/4 cup flour, for dredging
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 shallot, chopped
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons minced FRESH tarragon
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

  • Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to 1/2 inch thickness.
  • Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
  • In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium heat.
  • Add chicken, searing 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
  • Add shallot to same pan, cooking and stirring over medium heat until tender.
  • Add lemon juice and sherry vinegar.
  • Add most of the tarragon.
  • Add cream, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Increase heat to medium high, simmering until slightly thickened.
  • Serve with chicken.
  • Sprinkle with remaining tarragon as garnish.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER with MENU PLAN & RECIPE LINKS WEEK 10 OF 2022

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Good morning. I hope you all had a great week and an even better weekend. For some reason this week flew by for me and I don’t feel like I got enough accomplished. I’m still struggling with adjusting my diet on a daily basis 🙁 and that seems to occupy way too much time, especially coupled with the seesaw of unequal and opposite reactions that accompany this new thing called daily life.

Between the pandemic, world events and life in general most days I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed. Unfortunately, I also know I’m not the only one and we’re all in this together, so I pray that they find a cure for this danged virus and some world peace thrown in for good measure would go a long way to curing ALL of OUR ails.

I am so saddened by what is happening in Ukraine. It is all so senseless and selfish of Putin to invade and destroy Ukraine.  So many lives have been lost. Even more hopes and dreams have been shattered. I keep praying things will turn around and turn around soon!  Prayers for Ukraine and its people.

The picture above is from Facebook, but I also ordered some digital art from Ukranian artists on ETSY in an effort to help somehow. I actually love these and will be printing them for framing.

I know gas prices are going up everywhere because of the price of oil and the the Ukranian/Russian war, but for us here our state ALSO added a 38¢ state tax effective January 1st of this year. Gas has gone from $3.46 at Christmas time to $4.49 yesterday. I’ve always tried to combine my errands to the least amount of trips to town and the least amount of gas used, but this now holds even truer!

We have mostly cloudy days in the 40’s with wind to look forward to before the rain begins towards the end of the week. I keep thinking spring is right around the corner, but then winter rears its ugly head yet again. It’s also another week of below freezing at night so hubby put the faucet covers back on.

I have some spray painting to do in order to spruce up some old hanging planters and patio furniture  that have peeling paint, but the weather is just not cooperating! I just need one, just one still and SUPER SUNNY afternoon above 50° to pull it off 🙁

I wish this could change a little bit, but yet the hot water and yogurt is tried and true 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I need to change and wash bedding in hopes of switching to “spring” types, but the weather is not holding out hopes for that as we have several nights this week below freezing still.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby has a couple appointments this week that I will tag along on to also run my errands. At the price of gas right now it just doesn’t make sense to make multiple separate trips.
  • PROJECTS I have a couple flannel shirts that are too large for me, but I love the colors of so am going to turn them into aprons based on this picture I found on pinterest.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m making the phone calls necessary to quit all recipe & menu services because they are just not enjoyed anymore as the recipes have become repetitive and the ingredients less reliable which may be a regional thing. I just used to enjoy them more 🙁 So it’s back to my trusty tote full of recipes 🙂

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX Sweet Magnolias, Virgin River
  • PRIME Mrs. Maisel
  • CABLE FLYING TIGERS with JOHN WAYNE, NASCAR, Walking Dead, Cooking shows ~ Tournament of Champions, Spring Baking, Alex VS America I’m excited to watch the new show next week where they cook along with Julia Child

Someone Like You: A Wild Widows Novel ~ Wild Widows Series Book 1 by Marie Force. This is a companion series to her First Family series (3 books to date) which is a companion series to her Fatal series (16 books to date) – I obviously like this author. I’ve been reading her for years and truly love her series format.

Carrie asked me a week or so ago about how I sketch before I paint. Here are a couple of sketches I did recently, but have yet paint. The one on the left is going to be a cute little bird on a fence post and the one on the right is going to be a lighthouse on a sandy shore. I just use a heavy gauge pencil to canvas. Paint will cover it as I go.

with the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
CHICKEN AMASU & SALAD
PORK LOIN with APPLE CREAM SAUCE with GLAZED CARROTS
BLONDE BEEF STEW
BLACKENED ORANGE ROUGHY & GREEN BEANS
SALISBURY STEAK, SCALLOPED POTATOES, GREEN BEANS & APPLE CRISP
CHICKEN PAPRIKA with MASHED POTATOES & GRAVY
PORCUPINE MEATBALLS & MASHED POTATOES with PAN BROWN GRAVY
DESSERT
BOLOS DE COCO (PORTUGUESE COCONUT CAKES)

  • SAMOA CHEESECAKE
  • CHICKEN with TARRAGON SAUCE
  • CALABRIAN CHILE TOMATO SAUCE

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP CARAMEL PUDDING COOKIES

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CHIP PUDDING COOKIES

Yields 2-3 dozen cookies – Do your own experimenting with pudding flavors and/or chip flavors!  Adapted from Life in the Loft House

1 cup salted butter softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 – 3.7 ounce box GODIVA instant caramel chocolate pudding mix
2 LARGE eggs
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
2 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 – 11 ounce package QUALITY milk chocolate chips

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Line baking sheets with parchment.
  • Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, or stand-mixer, combine the butter, sugars, pudding mix, eggs and vanilla.
  • Beat on medium speed until creamy and combined.
  • Gradually add in the flour and baking soda to the mixture, beating on low speed until just combined.
  • Stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Drop batter by tablespoons on un-greased cookie sheets.
  • Bake for only 9 to 10 minutes. They may not seemed fully baked, BUT THEY ARE! DO NOT OVER BAKE!
  • Remove from oven and let cookies rest and cool on the cookie sheets. There is no need to transfer them to wire racks, but be sure to cool them completely before putting them in the cookie jar.
  • Enjoy these delicious devils by dunking them in milk! ♥

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 + 1 tablespoons butter
1 Poblano pepper. stemmed, seeds removed and sliced
1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
¼ cup Cornstarch
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 +/- teaspoons Chipotle chile paste
¼ cup FRESH cilantro FINELY chopped
1 tablespoon QUALITY honey
Prepared white rice, mashed potatoes or pasta
2 tablespoons grated Cotija cheese

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, honey, 1 teaspoon of warm water, and as much of the chile paste as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be – set aside until needed.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon butter in non stick skillet.
  • Add onions and peppers, sautéing 3-5 minutes until soft and beginning to caramelize.
  • Season chicken pieces with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Coat chicken pieces with cornstarch, shaking off excess.
  • Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet.
  • When butter is melted add chicken pieces in a single layer cooking 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned on all sides.
  • Pour reserved sauce over chicken, stirring to coat well.
  • Garnish with Cotija cheese and cilantro. Cilantro is also good added to rice, pasta or potatoes.

ORANGE RASPBERRY BUTTER CAKE

ORANGE RASPBERRY BUTTER CAKE Yield 2 9inch layers, 12-16 serving(s)
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 LARGE eggs
3 LARGE egg yolks
1 tablespoon PURE vanilla
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup WHOLE milk
1/4 cup orange liqueur (raspberry liqueur or rum also work well)

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
  • In mixer bowl, on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar 4-5 minutes until fluffy.
  • Add eggs, then yolks, one a time, beating well after each, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
  • Beat in vanilla.
  • In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Mix in about a third of flour mixture into butter mixture.
  • Stir in half the milk and liqueur, just until blended.
  • Stir in another third of flour mixture,.
  • Add the remaining milk and liqueur and then the rest of the flour mixture.
  • Spread batter equally into the cake pans.
  • Bake 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Cool on racks in pans for 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto racks and remove pans.
  • Cool completely before frosting.

NOTE: This cake is good with or without frosting or glaze.