Snowball Cookies

Ingredients: 1 cup butter softened 1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup chpped pecans 1/4 tsp salt Directions: 1. Cream butter and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar together well for about 5 minutes. 2. Beat in vanilla. 3. Gradually add flour and salt to creamed mixture. 4. Stir in pecans. 5. Refrigerate dough for one hour. 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 7. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 8. Bake for 10 minutes. 9. Place 1 cup confectioners' sugar in small bowl and roll cookies in sugarto coat while still warm. This recipe makes 30-35 cookies.

Bacon and Spinach Quiche

Ingredients: 1 pie crust 6 eggs 1/2 cup half and half 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 pepper 1 cup cooked, chopped bacon 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 4 Tbsp chopped green onions 1 cup chopped fresh spinach Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 2. Place pie crust in 9 inch pie plate and crimp edges. 3. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, half and half, salt, and pepper. 4. Layer on top of pie crust - 1 cup bacon, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 cup spinach, 4 Tbsp green onions. 5. Pour egg mixture over these layers and sprinkle remaining cup of cheese on top. 6. Bake 40-45 minutes.

Chicken Fingers (Fried)

I don't make chicken fingers very often but when I do I bake them in the oven.  They are healthier and less messy that way.  Meat is scarce these days in the grocery store due to COVID-19, so when I found some chicken strips in the meat section I bought the two packs allowed and knew my kids would be excited about the chicken fingers.  My husband asked me to fry them in oil instead of bake them, so I did.  I looked up this recipe on Pinterest and chose it because the picture looked delicious and the blogger seemed to know what she was talking about.  They turned out exactly like she said they would and my husband said they tasted better than Zaxby's chicken fingers.  I doubled the recipe and my family ate on them for three days! 

Ingredients:

30-40 boneless, skinless chicken strips (2 packs of 15-20 each)

4 cups self-rising flour

2 Tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp seasoned salt

6 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp pepper

10 eggs

1/2 cup milk

canola oil for frying 

Directions:

1.  In a bowl, combine the eggs and milk and whisk until combined.

2.  In another bowl, mix the flour and spices well.

3.  Pour oil into a 6 qt. stockpot until halfway full.  Heat over MEDIUM high heat.  Oil is hot enough when you drop a pinch of four in it and it sizzles.

4.  When oil is hot, dip each chicken strip into the egg mixture and then the flour mixture twice.  Egg, flour, egg, flour.  Dipping them twice in both makes them extra crispy.

5.  Drop the chicken strips into the hot oil one by one making sure they don't touch and stick to one another.  You can cook about 5 at a time.  Drop them in and don't touch them for about 5 minutes. Use tongs to lift out of the oil when they are a nice golden brown and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up grease. You'll have to add more oil along the way.

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Chocolate Frosting

For my husband's birthday every year I ask him what kind of cake he would like me to make.  In years past he has requested pecan pie, ice-cream cake, german chocolate cake, caramel cake, etc.  For his last birthday he said he wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  We had recently been to a church get together and one of our friends who used to work at a bakery brought a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and it was the best we'd ever tasted so he said he specifically wanted that cake.  I asked her for the recipe and she graciously shared.  And the best part is it's pretty easy and so delicious!

Ingredients:

Devils' food cake (substitute butter instead of oil and milk instead of water, add extra egg for total of 4)

small chocolate pudding mix

Frosting:

3 sticks butter, room temp

4 cups powder sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

optional: mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Make cake according to directions on package making substitutions listed in ingredients list.

2.  For frosting, beat butter on medium speed until creamy (probably 3 minutes or so).

3.  Slowly incorporate sugar and cocoa on low speed.

4.  Add cream, vanilla, and salt.

5.  Mix on medium for 10 minutes and spread on cooled cake.

6.  Decorate with piping and mini chocolate chips if you'd like.

Cold Broccoli Salad

I have got to get better at my photography! :)  One of the problems is I am usually taking pictures in the evenings as I'm serving this food to my family, so the natural lighting is gone.  I like cold broccoli salads, but have never made one, so I looked up some recipes recently on Pinterest and this is what I came up with.

Ingredients:
5 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup craisins
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

For dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp white vinegar

Directions:
1.  Combine dressing ingredients in small bowl.
2.  Combine salad ingredients in large bowl and toss with dressing.
3.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Super easy and tasty!

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

This is an easy meal that my family enjoys.  I bake some sweet potatoes in the oven on a foil lined baking sheet at 375 degrees for about an hour and a half.  One of my favorite ways to cook the chicken is in a crock pot.  I put skinless, boneless chicken breast in a crockpot with about a cup of water.  I sprinkle salt and pepper on them and cook them 4 hours on high heat.  By that time they are very tender and break apart easily.  You can then mix your favorite BBQ sauce with the chicken.  On top of the open sweet potato I layer the BBQ chicken, shredded cheddar cheese, and green onions.  This week we ate these stuffed sweet potatoes with a side of fried okra fresh from our garden and some watermelon.

Fried Okra

We decided in the spring that we wanted a garden this year, and now almost 6 months later we are eating the fruits of our labor.  The okra is what is producing the best out of all that we planted, and we are loving it!  We aren't big on the gooey kind that you can stew with tomatoes.  We eat it fried every time and this is my favorite recipe to use.  It is so quick and easy.  At least once a week I go cut some okra out of our garden and immediately bring it into the kitchen to rinse it, cut it, and cook it.  Fresh okra is the best!  I literally pop these in my mouth like candy.  Here's a picture of our four year old (Camille) checking on our peppers.  The okra is the tall plant in the upper right corner of the picture.  The kids get so excited when we are eating food out of our garden.

Ingredients:

okra (about 10)

1 cup flour

1 cup white cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups milk

3/4 cup oil

Directions:

1.  Rinse okra and cut into 1 inch pieces, discarding ends.

2.  Heat oil in pan on stovetop on medium high heat.

3. Let okra pieces soak in a bowl of milk about 2 minutes.

4. Put okra pieces in flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper mixture and stir gently to coat. 

5.  Put coated okra pieces in hot oil and cook about 10 minutes or until slightly brown.

6.  Transfer to paper towel covered plate to soak up any excess oil and sprinkle with salt while still warm.

7.  Serve immediately.

And while you're at it, throw some cut up green tomatoes in the same milk and flour mixture and cook in the hot oil after the okra.