The Power of Three (Ingredients)

Easy go-to recipes are superb for dinners and snacks. Three ingredient recipes have become a new trend to save time and money, especially since Thanksgiving is almost here. With all the planning and preparations of what and how to cook, invitations & not-so-happy to see in-laws ...its refreshing to find something simple & practical. It's like a culinary time out! Here are a handful of three ingredients recipes you can try tonight.

Nutella Browines
1 1/2 cup of Nutella
1/2 cup of self rising flour
2 eggs

Mix well until you have a smooth and creamy texture. Spread mixture in a non-stick or lightly greased 8x8 pan and bake for about 12-18 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Allow to cool and cut in squares.

Sweet & Savory: Southern Style

For the winter holidays, warm up your home with a Southern-style buffet for relaxed, informal entertaining. Consider having two buffets, one for appetizers and one for the main meal. Greet guests with a refreshing glass of champagne. Add a splash of pomegranate juice and pomegranate seeds for a more festive beverage. Create your dinner buffet with casseroles and Southern side dishes that can be made a day or two ahead and heated just before serving. Rather than large casseroles, bake two smaller portions of the same dish to make it easy for guests to serve themselves with no waiting. Those are just a few hints to bring flair and hospitality to enhance guest dining experience.

10 Appetizers Guest Will Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving appetizers doesn’t always have to be bland or skipped out on altogether.. There are many new delectable finger foods being created each year. I’ve listed 10 not so traditional  Thanksgiving pre-dinner snacks that I hope you’ll give at least one a whirl this holiday season. Who knows, maybe one of the following suggestions will end up making a holiday debut this year and become a hit with guest.
A muffin tin is the perfect tool for creating portion controlled appetizers that your guests can just grab and go. Not only does this make a great appetizer but it also keeps the issue of serving without a huge mess. You can make all kinds of ingredients in a muffin tin. Other optional ideas; quiche, mac'n cheese cups, baked sandwiches, tamales,cornbread chili bowls, or chicken pot pies. Your guests are sure to enjoy. 

Hearty BIG MAN Comfort Pie

When winter starts to roll in each year, nothing feels more cozy than a good meal to warm you up. Here are some easy comfort food recipes that sure to warm you heart and soul. Especially. for the man of the house. In my case, it's men. I have three half grown nephews who I like to feed from my mailbox because they eat any and everything that not nailed down. Anyway, that's a different story. Try them out and tell me what you think. And remember be creative. Don't be afraid to try new things. *wink*


Hearty beef pot pie is a great meal to serve on a cold day or any time you want something that really to fill hungry bellies. You can add extra zing to this recipe by adding 1 large chopped onion and mix in 1/3 cup of red wine with the gravy.

1 pound sirloin steak, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (14 oz.) can beef broth
3 large carrots, cubed
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 (9-inch) refrigerator pie crusts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan over medium high heat, brown the pieces of meat on all sides. Pour in enough water to almost cover the meat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer meat until it falls apart easily (about 2 to 3 hours). Place meat in a large bowl. Slightly shred the meat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the beef broth, carrots and potatoes. Cook over medium high heat until almost tender (about 15 to 20 minutes).
When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to a large mixing bowl and combine with the beef. Reserve the liquid in the saucepan. Mix the peas in with the vegetables and beef.
Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/3 cup of water and pour this into the reserved beef broth. Bring to a simmer while stirring constantly; reduce heat. Cook for 5 minutes.
Line a 9-inch pie plate with one of the pie shells following package directions. Spoon the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy on top. Cover with remaining pie crust.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Cooking Is An Edible Science

This may appear as a simple and basic knowledge blog covering measuring, but if you're not familiar with basic measuring techniques a miscalculation can mean disaster in the culinary world. Although you don't need a lab to prepare meals...properly measuring ingredients can be a bit scientific. Being Thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away I thought it would be helpful to cover the basic. There's also a video briefly covering "How to Measure Ingredients".

Here's a simple guide to help get you started:

1. Abbreviations for Measuring
Tsp. = teaspoon
Tbsp. = tablespoon, which equals 3 teaspoons
C = cup.

Tip: Get a set of measuring spoons. The set will usually have 1/4 tsp., 1/3 tsp., 1/2 tsp., 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon. 

Dry measure cups resemble small saucepans and can be leveled off with a knife or other straight-edged tool. They come in sets like the measuring spoons. Liquid measuring cups have ounce marking lines so you can measure however many ounces you need.

Tip: Some recipes require exact measurements. Its best to practice measuring to get a better understanding of what a recipe calls for. 

Friends with the Muenster on my Bread

Wine and cheese combinations can be tricky, especially when you’re trying to impress your guests. What’s a good pairing for a fall party? You have a favorite wine, but which cheese should you pick up to go with it. Rule of thumb...strong wines go with strong cheese and mild cheeses go with mild wine. Neither drink nor food must dominate. The flavor of each bite of cheese on your palette is replaced with a sip of the wine.


Wines that are acidic complement pungent cheese such as Chardonnay with Brie or a Savignon Blanc with goat cheese.A soft cheese like Camembert goes well with sweet wines like Vouvray or Chenin Blanc.And hard cheeses like Parmegiano, Romana or Regiano are wonderfully matched to full bodied red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Red Zinfandel and Red Bordeaux.Sweet wines like Vermouth , Port or Sherry may be combined with the a the well known, much loved cheddar cheese. If the cheddar is aged then its sharp taste compliments an equally tangy glass of Shiraz Cabernet.

Home Cook Factoy; Chicken Madeira

Here’s a fantastic secret recipe for one of our favorite places to eat, the Cheesecake Factory. Just about everything there is simply delicious but you should definitely try the Chicken Madeira. I had to find a recipe and make this at home. A video has been added to use as a guide. I'm a visual learner. So this may help.

Being a huge advocate of entertaining at home, I found its best to save a ton of cash by cooking a restaurant quality dish at home. Surprise your family and friends with this meal the next time you have guests. It’s quick and simple.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
8 asparagus spears
4 mozzarella cheese slices
Madeira Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
3 cups madeira wine
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

How to prepare;
1. Heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap then use a mallet to flatten the chicken to about 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.

2. Sauté the chicken fillets for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until the chicken has browned just a bit. Remove chicken fillets from the pan and wrap them together in foil to keep the fillets warm while you make the sauce. Don't clean the pan. You want all that cooked-on goodness to stay in the skillet to help make the sauce.

3. With the heat still on medium, add two tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for about two minutes. Add the madeira wine, beef stock, butter and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce has reduce to about 1/4 of its original volume. When the sauce is done it will have thickened and turned a dark brown color.

Family Board Meeting: Planning Healthy Meals

For many people, making healthy recipes may seem challenging and very time consuming...

But with some advance planning and some basic knowledge of nutrition, it is easy to create a week's worth of healthy meals that you and your family will love. The key to creating delicious and healthy meals for the family is planning ...and lot's of it!

Planning and budgeting ahead of time an entire week of healthy recipe meals is the best way to create dishes you can be proud of, while keeping cost and time commitment to a minimum.  So below are amazing tips you can use to make healthy meals all the time.

Healthy Recipe Tip #1
Using convenient appliances such as slow cookers and microwaves can be a huge time saver when planning and preparing meals.  There are many delicious and healthy recipes that can be started in the morning and left to cook all day in a crock pot or slow cooker.  These are great choices for working and busy families.

In addition, making the meals ahead of time on the weekend and heating them in the microwave is a great way to stretch both your food, budget, and your time.  There are many microwavable healthy meals you can make at home, and single serving microwave safe containers allow every member of the family to eat on their own schedule.

Shrimp-lify Dinner; Shrimp Done Three Ways

Few of my family members love. Most of the time it's fast food or grocer ready to eat shrimp. I wanted to try something different with fresher ingredients with a Caribbean flair.  Here are three shrimp recipes that your family may enjoy!

Coconut Beer Batter Fried Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa

2 eggs
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup beer
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
coconut oil
3 cups grated coconut

Seasoning mix:
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2-1/4 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1-1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Thoroughly combine the ingredients for the seasoning mix in a small bowl and set aside.

Mix 1-1/4 cups of the flour, 2 teaspoons of the seasoning mix, baking powder, eggs, and beer together in a bowl, breaking up all lumps until it is smooth.

Combine the remaining flour with 1-1/2 teaspoons of the seasoning mix and set aside. Place the coconut in a separate bowl.

Sprinkle both sides of the shrimps with the remaining seasoning mix. Then hold each shrimp by the tail, dredge in the flour mixture, shake off excess, dip in batter and allow excess to drip off. Coat each shrimp with the coconut and place on a baking sheet.

Heat deep fryer to 350°F. Drop each shrimp into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, approximately 1/2 to 1 minute on each side. Do not crowd the fryer. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Lay shrimp on large lettuce leaves and serve with Pineapple Salsa dip. Garnish with lemon, orange, or lime wedges.

Corner of Blessings & Gratefullness

It may be early, but Thanksgiving is the time of year to count your blessings. The problem is, most of us seem to get too caught up in cooking and decorating and rushing off to parties that sometimes we forget to stop and take a moment to slow down and enjoy the actual reason and meaning for the season. So what’s the reason for THIS season? Thankfulness! Here are some things that I’m giving thanks for along with a couple acts of kindness. 

Family is the leader among most of being thankful for. Nothing can replace family no matter how much we try, we just can't fill the void. Having lost my mother almost 2 years ago, I understand the true meaning behind "thankfulness". She always seemed to make a big fuss about family gathering. She didn't care if food was absent, your presence shouldn't be. She wanted my sister and I there, along with other invited family members. Her apartment would be filled with succulent aromas of turkey and dressing, fresh baked sweet potato pies, peach cobbler (her favorite) and other tasty dishes. We often make our own specialty dishes and bring them to have extras to help feed the masses. After bowing our heads giving thanks; we eat!  Full and near sleepy, we stroll down memory lane, poke fun at one another and share a tear or two. But, now that is a memory. Which I'm thankful for having. Mom made a lot of things possible, but not just during the holidays- she influenced our lives to be great at whatever we may do. Last year was hard. Its was our first year without her. Devastated and empty we refused to celebrate any holidays. So this year instead of feeling sorry for ourselves and wallow in self pity we're going to lift our eggnog filled glasses to give praise and thanks!