Saturday, July 28, 2012

Green Beans Almondine


Green beans are an amazing vegetable. There are so many different things you can do with them and they'll taste great every time. From hot dishes to cold salads, the green bean is the most versatile of all beans.

One of the ways I like to cook them is to make Green Beans Almondine. It is, in my opinion, the absolutely most perfect side dish of all time. When you add butter, almonds and lemon juice to green beans, they are transformed into pure bliss in a pan.


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken in Cornbread Cups


The idea for this dish just literally popped into my head one day. I was just sitting there and I thought of pulled chicken and cornbread. And what's better than combining the two into one?

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Blueberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast


I always thought stuffed french toast would be hard to make so I never really attempted it. Well, the other morning, I thought I'd give it a go. Normally the toast comes from a thick slice of bread with a slit cut through the middle. I didn't have thick bread but I've never actually had stuffed french toast and I since had my heart set on it so I just knew I had to improvise.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Apple Butter Spice Cake with Apple Butter Buttercream Frosting


I made a new cake a couple weeks ago and I can't believe I haven't posted it yet! I guess I'll just say that it's because life keeps getting in the way. We've had a lot going on over here with vacation, being out of town, and setting up a pool...twice. I haven't been getting as much work done as I'd like and I certainly haven't been cooking as much or posting about it. But I'm making it a point to write about this cake tonight because I'm not only too tired to do anything else, but it's just so good that I have to write about it.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Melt In Your Mouth Quiche Lorraine


There are few foods in this world that are as good as quiche. I'm not sure what my fascination is, but it's here to stay. My dad used to make quiche quite a lot so I probably just love it because I was started on it early. It isn't something I have very often, so when I do make it, it has to be good. And I mean real good.


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Sun (Oven) - Dried Tomatoes

 

I had tomatoes in my fridge a little bit ago and they were almost past their prime. I hate throwing out food, especially tomatoes that can be expensive, so I decided to do my 'reusing' thing. Sun-dried tomatoes seemed like the perfect thing to do because there are so many ways to use them.


Monday, July 9, 2012

Watermelon Strawberry Fizz


I love watermelon but it's sometimes hard to get through an entire one in our house before we get sick of it. I usually end up throwing about a quarter of it away because it starts to get slimy and gross. Watermelon is great in so many ways but I usually just have it cubed up in a bowl and sprinkled with a little salt. (I know, I know...it sounds weird, but I first learned of this strange way to eat it years ago at my old job. A coworker sprinkled some salt on a slice after lunch one day and I must have made the funniest most disgusted face because all he did was laugh. Well, it took me a a couple weeks to work up the nerve to try it that way, but once I did I never looked back.)



Saturday, July 7, 2012

Homemade Sloppy Joes


I have no idea why, but I had a taste for Sloppy Joes a couple weeks ago. This has never happened before. I've never even liked Sloppy Joes! But, for some reason, I just needed to make them. Maybe it was because I ran into my husband's cousin's wife (my cousin-in-law?) at the grocery store a few weeks ago and she said the store's brand of Sloppy Joe mix was really good. Did that somehow make it's way into my subconscious and put the meat mixture into my brain's 'food idea' area?


Monday, July 2, 2012

Apple Pluot Tarts


Have you ever had a pluot? If not, you're missing out. It's this sweet fruit that is almost like a plum but with a little more bite to it. There are a few different varieties but they're all very similar so they can be used interchangeably.

I discovered them last year at the grocery store. I was walking in the produce section when the word 'dinosaur' caught my eye. It's not normally a word you'd see around fruit so I was intrigued. I headed over to the sign and saw a fruit that was green with pink speckles on it. Now, any fruit that has pink dots on it has to make you look twice, right? And it must taste good if it's that pretty, right?