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.

Mini Cheesecakes with Cherries

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2- 8 oz packages of cream cheese at room temp
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
21 oz cherry pie filling

Directions:
1.  Place paper cupcake liners in muffin pan.
2.  In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tbsp sugar and melted butter and divide mixture evenly between muffin cups.
3.  Using the bottom of a spice jar wrapped with a paper towel, press crust mixture firmly into the bottom of each muffin cup.
4.  In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, and 1/2 tsp vanilla, and pour over crusts.
5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes.
6.  Allow to cool and then scoop out about 3 cherries to top each cheesecake.

Spicy Shrimp and Grits Casserole

Shrimp and grits is one of my favorite meals!  I make another shrimp and grits recipe that has spinach in it, but when I came across this recipe the fact that it was a casserole intrigued me.  I left out the jalapeño pepper because I'm not a huge fan of spicy dishes, and it was spicy enough without it.  I also substituted the gouda cheese with cheddar cheese.  You can make this ahead of time and pull it out of the refrigerator to cook when you're ready.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter

2 bunches of green onions, chopped (white and light green parts only)

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 10 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup quick cooking grits

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

24 0z large shrimp, cooked, deveined, peeled

2 large eggs, beaten

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

2.  Heat butter over medium heat and cook green onions and red bell pepper 4-5 minutes.

3.  Stir in garlic, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.

4.  Slowly stir in grits, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

5.  Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper.

6.  Stir in shrimp, bacon, egg, and 1/2 cup cheese.

7.  Pour in baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

8.  Bake 30-35 minutes, or until bubbly.

Peppermint Fudge Cake

Yes, this cake tastes as good as it looks!  Because I have a cooking business now, I wanted to find a special cake to have available for the holiday season.  When I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to try it.  I ended up making and selling about 10 in December, so it was a busy month!  Although it takes some time to make (I got it down to about 2 1/2 hours), it turns out beautiful and delicious.  I told everyone to keep it refrigerated until about 30 minutes prior to serving, per recommendations from original post, but I found that this made the cake taste dry and crumble when cutting.  The trick is to not over bake the cakes to dry them out, but not under bake them because they will crumble when inverting them out of the pan to layer them.  Also, because of the dark cake and white icing, it takes effort to not get cake crumbles mixed into the icing while smoothing the icing around.  Freezing the cake layers helps with this.  To crush the peppermint, I place unwrapped peppermints in a ziplock bag and hammer gently.  The fudge cake is so good I plan to use it for fudge cakes or cupcakes in the future.  The buttercream icing has peppermint extract for just the right amount of peppermint taste. And the chocolate ganache is easy, delicious, and impressive.

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate bar, broken in to pieces
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled

Icing:
2 cups unsalted butter, softened (yes, that's 4 sticks!)
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
6 to 8 cups confectioner's sugar
crushed candy canes (about 12)

Chocolate Ganache:
4 oz semisweet chocolate bar, broken in to pieces
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp light corn syrup


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees,
2.  Grease 3 round pans with Crisco and dust with flour.
3.  Melt the unsweetened chocolate in bowl in microwave and allow to cool.
4.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, dark cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir with whisk.
5.  Beat the butter and sugar on slow-med speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
6.  Beat in the vanilla.
7.  Beat in the melted chocolate.
8.  Beat in half of the flour mixture.
9.  Beat in the buttermilk and coffee.
10.  Beat in the rest of the flour mixture.
11.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
12.  Remove pans from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
13.  Invert one cake onto serving surface and place in freezer for 10 minutes.
14.  For the icing, beat the butter and peppermint extract in bowl until creamy.
15.  Beat in the confectioner's sugar 1 cup at a time for 5 minutes.  You must beat the whole 5 minutes for desired consistency.
16.  Remove bottom cake layer from freezer and spread icing over the top of it.
17.  Invert the second cake on top of first layer of icing and place in freezer for 10 minutes.
18.  After 10 minutes, remove unfinished cake from freezer and spread a layer of icing on top of the second layer of cake.
19.  Invert the third layer of cake on top of the second layer of icing and place in freezer for 10 minutes.
20.  After 10 minutes, remove unfinished cake and spread icing on top and sides until smooth.
21.  Press crushed candy canes halfway up all around the cake.
22.  Clean off excess icing and candy canes on serving dish.  (I use a wet paper towels for this.)
23.  For Ganache, melt semisweet chocolate, butter, and light corn syrup in microwave and allow to cool some where it's not hot, but still runny.
24.  Using a spoon, scoop chocolate mixture all over top of cake and allow to drizzle down sides.

I like mine best heated in the microwave.