The perfect omelet!

It took me forever to master it but I finally did. Each and everytime. I found a site that can help you. I basically taught myself but since I don't have the patience nor time to show you step by step here are my pics and some instructions that will work just fine.

We had bacon, cheese and chive this morning. I made the mistake of thinking one 3 egg omelet would feed all 3 of the kids. Um no, try 2 three egg omelets! And they still wanted more. But big mama's kitchen is closed!



OH look, all the cheese is in this one bite..shame shame..


If only I had found this long ago, I might have shaved months off trying this bad boy!

http://www.pineapple-girl.com/omelet.htm

Homeade Spanish Rice..yes again..

A must have!!



http://sugardumplins.blogspot.com/2008/05/easy-peasy-spanish-rice.html

The BEST Egg Breaker on the Block!

She did wonderfully and so now I actually officially recruited her as my egg breaker lol

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I'm gonna serve this with fresh strawberries. MMMMmmmm.
On the way into the oven. I wasn't sure how much this would rise so I used a bundt pan and one loaf pan. I'm thinking 2 loaf pans would have worked. Once I get it out of the oven I will find out for sure if it was neccisary to have a bundt and loaf pan. Better safe than sorry!


Cream Cheese Pound Cake
3.5 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
Using a mixer, cream butter, cream cheesea nd sugar for about 6 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add vanilla and milk until combined.
Add flour mixture until completely combined.

Pour into two greased and floured 9 X 5 loaf pans.


Bake for about 60 minutes or until done.




I opted for a general powdered sugar glaze laced with apricot preserves!

Using left over roast juices to make my own brown gravy

We buy large amounts of brown gravy mix but there are times when I'm out and times when I have tons of liquid left from roasts and things.

So I usually just ladle it in a pan and then use a basic cornstarch slurry for it. I usually make 3 tbs cornstarge to 3 tbs cold water and mix. Then I add as much as I think the sauce needs. Remember once it reaches a boiling point, its thick.

What's for supper?

Oh thats right.. A classic that we have once a month.

To die for crock pot roast..
MMMMMmm.



Here's a tasty reminder..

http://sugardumplins.blogspot.com/2009/06/to-die-for-crockpot-roast.html

HERSHEY'S "RIDICULOUSLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake

This cake is to die for but its soo rich! You will have a DEFINATE LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH IT. You will hate how rich it is and that it makes you sick, but you will love how good it tastes!
Right out of the oven before the stupid stupid icing..
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HERSHEY'S "RIDICULOUSLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Squash Casserole

I usually use Paula Deen's recipe but I didn't have all the ingredients so I just decided to wing it. This is one of those receipes ( you know me, i rarely measure so when i write a recipe i estimate for you guys ) that I just tossed in.. So you may have to adjust the quantity. I apologize for this being such a rough estimate!

Before Oven


Easy Squash Casserole


2 large squash sliced thin
4 oz of velveeta, sliced in tiny cubes
4 tbs butter, cubed into tiny pieces or I ended up using country crock since I'm out of stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 small onion
1/3 cup or so italian dressing
salt, pepper

Spray 9x13 with pam. Layer thin slices of squash with onion, salt and pepper, dot with butter here and there, add tiny cubes of velveeta, drizzle with italian dressing and repeat layers. Drizzle milk over the top to make sure it has some standing in bottom of casserole.

Cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 20 to 30 mins. When its bubbly and the squash is tender.

Country Salsbury Steak

This is a great recipe and made 8 pretty decent sized patties. The rest I rolled into meatballs and put on a cookie sheet until frozen, then put in a ziplock to use for another meal idea (which is the salsbury steak meatballs, with brown gravy over egg noodles, when I do I will post. It's just an idea I have)




I make this often and its soooo good!
Country Salsbury Steak
1 lb. extra lean ground beef ( i use ground sirloin )
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onions
salt, pepper, and cumin to taste

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

MIX meat, stuffing mix, water, seasonings and onions until well blended. Shape into 8 patties.

BAKE 30 min. or until patties are done

MEANWHILE take store bought brown gravy mix and make to serve over patties.

Ez Pz Cheezy Goulash

Ez Pz Cheezy Goulash
1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion
2 cups water
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
salt, pepper, cumin, chilli powder, to taste
Half of a box of elbow macaroni
shredded cheddar

Directions
Saute the ground beef over medium-high heat, until no pink remains. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until they are tender. Add 2 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning. Stir well. Lower heat and place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 mins until the macaroni is tender ;)

Sprinkle shredded cheddar on top when serving. I also used scallions and sour cream on mine.

COOKIE CRAAAAZY!

I have 3 lil cookie monsters :)
Boy were they thrilled that I made 3 diff types. Even had some good friends come over and sample them.

Lets start with Peanut Butter Cookies


Jacey's PB Cookies
2 cups flour
1 cup butter flavored criso
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Mix. Roll into balls. Dip fork in powdered sugar and criss cross.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until just lightly browned.



Macaroonies










EZ PZ Macaroonies
1 14 oz bag of shredded coconut
3/4 c sugar
6 T flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 egg whites

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Drop by rounded spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Now onto the sinfully wonderful chocochip cookies


Choco Chippers
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup unsifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Ghiradelli MILK chocolate chips, 1 cup Ghiradelli semi sweet choco chips

Preheat oven to 375. Stir flour with baking soda and salt by whisking in a bowl; set aside. In large mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. I rotate the cookie sheet half way thru by setting the timer for 5 minutes. Rotate, then continue to bake.

Your basic French Toast

This is just a standard/basic recipe. I like the basics and it allows you to add or change anything you want! This one is standard and its just how my mom makes it so it brings back memories and that's the way I like it!

My kids eat this until they are sick.. On this day I didn't have any good bread like texas toast but it is still just as yummmy!



French Toast

8 slices bread of your choice, the thicker, the more it will soak up so you might need to add more eggs
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
In a shallow mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.
Quickly dip slices (do not soak) in egg mixture and cook until golden brown on both sides. I use a griddle.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with warm maple syrup.

Chicken ~N~ Dunklins

Thats what my Teegan calls them!



Jacey's Chicken N Dunklins

3-4 chicken breasts, skinless/boneless
1 box or 2 cans chicken stock
water
salt, pepper, dried parsley, oregano

Place chicken breasts in stock and add water enough to cover the chicken breasts, the pot will be about 1/2 to 3/4 full. Add seasonings.

Cook on medium/high heat until chicken is cooked thru. Maybe 20 mins?

While chicken is cooking make your dunklins (teegan calls them that), follow recipe below and set aside.


Remove chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.


Add back to boiling broth and pinch off little bite sized pieces of the dunlkins and drop them in.

Cook until bubbly and the whole pot is thick and not runny and all of the dunklins float to the top.

In my family we like extra dunklins so I make a double batch of them.


Dunklins
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsps canola oil
3/4 c. milk

Mix in bowl until soft dough forms. Then drop by spoonfulls into boiling broth.

Green Beef Tacorito's

Totally made up name but ya it works :)

It's basically like my green beef enchiladas with taco meat and beans but once you change the name, the kids totally dig it!










Green Beef Tacorito's

1 lb ground sirloin
6 tortillas
grated cheddar cheese
1/4 small onion
1/4 small green pepper
1 can fat free refried beans
Half of a jar of taco bell taco sauce
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 small can green chillis

Saute your ground beef and season as you'd like. I use chilli powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, black pepper and cumin. Add in your onion and bell pepper once your beef is almost cooked. Add in taco sauce and a splash or two of water to thin it out. Saute until combined.

Warm up tortillas to soften them up. Spread beans on the bottom of tortilla, sprinkle your meat in and add cheddar cheese. Repeat for all 6. You will have meat left over.

Combine left over meat, soup, green chillis and about 2 tbs water to thin out. Stir and pour over the 6 enchiladas.

Bake at 400 degrees until cheese is melted and dish is bubbly.

German Chocolate Cheesecake

Besides red velvet cake, German Chocolate is my husbands fav. Cheesecake is my fav so this combines the best of both worlds. My kids licked their plates..and um so did Kyle ;)

This is TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had it warm but I bet its even better cool!




German Chocolate Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla


FROSTING:
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
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DIRECTIONS
Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.
Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining batter or until a toothpick inserted near the center comeover top; spread to edge of pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for one hour until a toothpick comes out crumbly.




For frosting, combine sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks in a heavy saucepan. Cool and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

To DIE for crockpot roast

We eat this once a month. Then the next day I take the meat and veggies and make roast chimmichangas.





Ingredients
1 beef roast, I use Eye of Round
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package brown gravy mix, dry
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package dried Italian salad dressing mix
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package ranch dressing mix, dry
1 cup chicken stock, 1/2 cup water
1/2 small onion
1/2 small green bell pepper
4 small potatoes (or as many as you'd like)
equal amounts of baby carrots, not cut

Directions

Season beef roast with coarse black pepper and kosher salt and sear in a very hot pan on all sides.

Place beef roast in crock pot.

Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast.

Pour the stock and water around the roast.

Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Take out and slice, take extra juices (there will be a lot) and mix with a package of brown gravy mix on stove until thickened.

Geen Beans Italiano

My oldest would not eat green beans no matter what. My other 2 love them but she wouldn't. One day I drenched them with italian dressing (my girls love salad and love italian) and she tried them and loved them and kept coming back for more. So now she won't eat them any other way. It's become a tradition in our house.

In a rush we have canned green beans a lot. Sometimes fresh if I have time but we like ours super soft so we stick with canned alot.

I open 2 cans and pour in about 1/4 of a cup (lil more or less depending on how much you like) of Zesty Italian Dressing over the top.

Viola!

An easy way to jazz up a canned staple.

Pan Fries

Kyle greatly prefers these to mashed taters and so I thought I would do that as a special treat for him. Plus we had mashed taters last night.



Pan Fries

4 large raw Russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch thick)
1/2 of one large onion, or 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp or more of canola oil
Seasoned Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Dash of garlic powder

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a medium to large skillet on medium high heat until sizzling. Place a single layer of potato slices on the bottom of the pan. Add a light layer of sliced onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add another layer of potatoes, another layer of onion slices, sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Keep layering until you've used up your potatoes and onions

Lower the heat to medium and cover the pan. Let cook for about 10 minutes, until the potato layer at the bottom is nicely browned. You can move aside a little bit with a fork to see if the bottom edges are browned

Gently flip the potatoes over, a section of the pan at a time, so that the layer that was on the top is now on the bottom, and the browned potatoes are now on the top. Add another Tbsp of oil. The oil will help the browning. Cover and let cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the bottom layer is now browned

Once the bottom layer is browned, remove the lid of the pan and let continue to cook for 5 more minutes.

Serves 5

A TEXAS STAPLE for those non-texans out there :)

This is why the state of Texas is such a big state..tisk tisk!

I am amazed how many of my out of state friends have no clue what chicken fried steak is! Here it is guys and a disclaimer: IF YOU ARE ON A DIET LOOK NO FURTHER..JUST THE SIGHT OF THIS WILL MAKE YOUR BUTT BIGGER..TRUST ME..


Chicken Fried Steak
4 tenderized beef cutlets (known in supermarkets as "cube steak")
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
all-purpose flour
cooking oil or melted Crisco®
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


Even tho these cutlets are already tenderized I always put them in a ziplock bag and give em a hard bang with my metal meat tenderizer. Great way to relieve stress! I have also soaked mine in buttermilk ahead of time but it makes the steak fall apart if left too long. Plus this is faster.

Beat together the egg and milk with seasonings and set aside.

Dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip each cutlet in the egg/milk mixture, then back in the flour. Set cutlets aside on a piece of waxed paper.

Heat the cooking oil in skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. I learned years ago from a great chef, Sara Molten, that you take the end of a wooden spoon and put in the center of the oil and when bubbles come up from all sides your oil is ready.

Place each cutlet into the hot oil. Fry cutlets on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. When blood comes to the surface its time to turn. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 4 or 5 minutes until cutlets are done through. Drain cutlets on paper towels.


And it is against the law, section 1.1 made up, that if you do not serve this with white gravy you will be punished greatly..


Texas Cream Gravy
After the cutlets are removed from the pan, pour off all but about 2tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour in the hot oil. Stir with a wisk, quickly, to brown the flour. Cook for about 2 minutes to cook out the starch.

Gradually stir in 2 cups whole milk (yes whole milk so it will be rich and creamy, stirring constantly with the wisk mashing out any lumps. Lower heat, and gravy will begin to thicken. Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper (my husband likes lots) and seasoned salt to taste into gravy. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired thickness.

Sopapilla Cheesecake is THA BOMB!

This was wonderful. We had it warm but I can only imagine how it would be cold! The filling is sweet and creamy and the top is crunchy just like cinnamon toast! I didn't pay attention to the recipe when I bought it so I only had one can of crescent rolls and used an 8x8. And I also didn't roll them out. I pieced them together to form a single layer to make it more rugged. So do what you wish ;)
Either way the results will be the same and sure to wow you everytime!










Sopapilla Cheesecake
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth; set aside.
3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each sheet into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one sheet into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough, and brush with melted butter. Stir together 1/2 cup of sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cheesecake.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

This is good warm or cold.