Fried Apple Pies

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with delicious dishes, we certainly did. Thanksgiving night my husband's best friend came over with a special request, Fried Apple Pies. I had made this dessert one other time when experimenting with apple recipes for this past fall season. After searching for the perfect recipe to capture that fresh out the oven at an apple barn flavor I found the perfect one. It was very easy and of course by one of my favorite cooks, Paula Deen (I am Southern through and through).

What you will need:

• 5-6 Gala apples (Paula's recipe calls for McIntosh but I am partial to Gala)
• 1 tube of 8 flaky biscuits (I get Hungry Man's in the green tube they are the best to me and you can get the 10 biscuits tube but your pies will be just a bit smaller)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 tsp lemon

How to make it:

1. Add the butter to a large pan and melt.
2. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and cook over medium heat until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes. Prepare for your kitchen to smell divine!
   
3. Remove from the heat and cool.
4. While the filling is cooling roll the biscuits out on a floured surface, so they don't stick. Make it so each biscuit forms about 7 inch circle.
   
5. When filling is cool, place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling on 1/2 of each circle.
6. Brush the edges of the circle with water, you can use your finger.
7. Fold the circle over the filling to make a half-moon shapes. Seal by pressing the edges with the tines of a fork.
8. Heat a deep fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with oil to 350 degrees F.
9. Carefully add the pies to the oil, 1 at a time, and fry until golden brown, turning the pies about every 2 and 1/2 minutes for even browning. Each pie will cook for about 5 minutes total.
   
10. Drain on paper towels.
    
11. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.

If you love apple pies you will love this dish, give it a try and enjoy!
Happy Cooking!

Yummy Meatballs...

I absolutely love spaghetti and meatballs but I have never made meatballs before. So I pulled out Kraft Food and Family Magazine and found this great recipe it made enough for my pot of spaghetti and then I froze the other half for later.

What you need:

2 lb Ground Beef Chuck
2 Eggs
1 box Stove Top Chicken Stuffing
2/3 cups of Water

How to Make Them:

1. Preheat the oven at 425 degrees
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl
3. Form 1 inch balls, I used a tablespoon to measure them out, and place on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil
4. Bake for 20 minutes
5. The mix in with your favorite spaghetti sauce and noodles and serve!

Enjoy this dish and Happy Cooking!!!

Pumpkin Cookies with Icing

Fall is in full swing and October is the month of pumpkins. I have been trying to increase my baking skills and have developed a love for making cookies from scratch. I found this recipe online and it turned out really well. Pumpkin Cookies are the perfect Fall cookies.

What you need:

For the Cookies:
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
(You can also add nuts if you like-walnuts are a great addition)

For the Icing:
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. milk
2 cups confectioners sugar

How to Make them:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets
2. In a large bowl, mix together shortening, sugar. Mix in pumpkin, egg. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix on low speed till thoroughly combined
   
3. Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheets
4. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven
   
5. Cool cookies on wire racks
6. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute, or until slightly thickened. Cool slightly, then stir in the milk, and beat until smooth. Gradually stir in 2 cups confectioners' sugar until frosting has reached desired consistency (Note: Icing will thicken as it sits so just add a little bit of milk to thin it out
   
7. Spread icing on cooled cookies

Give this wonderful Fall treat a try and enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Mom's Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This week the weather has been in the 40's and 50's and I have been not feeling well so I decide to make a delicious comfort food for dinner. One of my favorite comfort foods is a loaded baked potato soup. It is absolutely perfect for cooler weather. This is my mom's recipe and I promise you will love it!

What You Will Need:
4 large baking potatoes
2/3 cups butter
2/3 cups all-purpose floor
6 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 green onions diced
1 jar Hormel bacon pieces
1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese
8 oz sour cream

How to Make it:

1. Bake the potatoes at 425 degrees for 40 minutes to an 1 hour
2. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan on low
3. Add flour slowly, cook for 1 minute, stirring often
4. Slowly add milk on cup at a time till it mixes thoroughly, stirring often
5. Add the core of the potatoes, salt, and pepper to the pan
6. Add 2 tablespoons of green onions
7. Add 1/2 cup of bacon pieces
8. Add 1 cup of cheese, mix thoroughly
9. Add sour cream, be sure it heats thoroughly, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently
10. Serve each bowl garnished with cheese, onions and bacon
    

Cozy up for a wonderful evening with a bowl of this great soup and enjoy!
Happy Cooking!

A Taste of the Coast: Shrimp Scampi

Sorry for the delay...Today's recipe is a delightful and easy dish: shrimp scampi. Our grocery store here had a buy one get one sale on frozen shrimp so we got them and I found this delightful recipe in my bride's cookbook. Take your taste buds to the coast and enjoy!

What you need:

1 lb of fresh or frozen medium shrimp

4 tbs minced garlic

2 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs chopped parsley fresh or dried

1/3 cup of butter

1/4 cup of dry white cooking wine

1 box of linguini

How to:

1. Devein and peel the shells off the shrimp
2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat
3. Cook garlic for 1 to 2 minutes
4. Add shrimp, wine, and lemon juice
5. Cook shrimp until they are pink and firm (about 1 to 2 minutes on each side)
6. Turn off heat and add salt, pepper, and parsley
7. Serve this dish on a bed of hot linguini noodles

Another delicious, quick, and easy meal!

Happy Cooking!

Cheddar Chicken and Potatoes...

Hey Y'all! Sorry it has been a while since I have posted things have been crazy! So today I want to give you a great new dish to add to your collection of recipes. Do you need a one dish meal, that is quick and easy on your budget then try this out! I am an avid reader of Kraft Food and Family Magazine and this recipe is from their Fall 09 issue. I made this Monday for lunch for Bob and I. It was fantastic!

Cheddar Chicken and Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

4 boneless chicken breasts (we used thawed chicken tenderloins)

1 lb bag of thawed diced (we used shredded) potatoes, onions and peppers

How to make it:

1. Cook your bacon in large nonstick skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes or until it is crispy.

2. Then remove bacon from skillet to a plate with paper towel on bottom for it to drain

3. Now add chicken to the skillet; cook 5 minutes on each side or until it is done.

4. Then remove chicken from skillet; cover with tin foil to keep warm.

5. Now crumble bacon and add it to skillet with potatoes; cook and stir for 5 minutes or until heated through.

6. Finally add chicken on top of the potatoes; top with cheese. Cover; cook for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

It is as yummy as it looks, and budget friendly! Enjoy this dish!

Happy Cooking!

Crockpot Roast

I do not know about ya'll but on Sundays, I love to have a big family meals but do not want to cook for 2 hours after church. Bob usually has to work on Sunday afternoons so there is not much time to really cook a big meal. So I decided it was time to dig out the crockpot. I searched all over for an easy recipe and I found one. The ingredient list is a budgeters dream.

Crockpot Roast

Ingredients:

Rump Roast

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

(if you roast is bigger than 5lbs then just use 2 cans of each soup)

That is it!

What do you do?

1. Pull out the crockpot, if your a newlywed like me unpack it from the box

2. Put the roast in the crockpot fat side up

3. Pour in the cans of soup

4. Set the crockpot on low and leave it for 8-10 hours

Bob and I are night owls so I just set the crockpot up the night before. So the next day after church we had a wonderful roast that was very tender and delicious gravy. I served it with leftover mashed potatoes, steamed green beans and creamed corn. It was wonderful! A great Sunday lunch. Give this dish a try!!

Happy Cooking!

Easy Cheesy Taco Pie

Hey y'all. I was on vacation for two weeks, but now I am happy to be home and back in my kitchen. This post is about a great easy meal to make. My husband loves tacos we have them atleast every two weeks. So I came across this recipe and thought I might make it as a substitute for one of his favorite dishes.

Easy Cheesy Taco Pie

What you need:

1 can of Crescent Rolls
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 8 oz. container of sour cream
1 8 oz. package of finely shredded mild Cheddar cheese
1 package taco seasoning (dry)
1/2 package water (use taco seasoning package)
1/2 bag crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Spray a 9 inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Line the pie plate with the Crescent Rolls, making sure to overlap, Fill any gaps and bring up to edge.
2. Sprinkle with half the tortilla chips. Brown and drain beef. Add Taco Seasoning and water. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Top crescent rolls and chips with meat mixture. Top with sour cream and shredded cheese and the remaining tortilla chips.
4. Bake in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes.
5. Then serve it with extra sour cream, salsa or salsa con queso and shredded lettuce, tomatoes or other toppings of your choice.

It is a yummy dish, that got my husbands stamp of approval. Plus it is fast for those nights when you need a quick easy meal!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

The Best Pizza You Have Ever Had!

We call this dish "THE" pizza in our house! We love it! It is buffalo chicken pizza. I am not a big fan of lots of red sauce so when one of my best friends introduced us to this it was a huge hit!! It is a must have quick and easy recipe! We always make 2 pizzas so we have leftovers plus it is just easier.

What You Will Need:
A bottle of your favorite Ranch Dressing (We use Kraft or Ken's)
A Package of blue cheese crumbles
Moore's Buffalo Sauce
2 cups cooked chicken-cut into small pieces (you can use fried or boiled- both ways are great)
2-Pizza crusts (we get the thin kind- found right by the pizza sauce)
1 bag of mozzarella cheese
1 bag of finely shredded cheddar cheese

Simple directions:
1. Put your chicken in the bowl and add buffalo sauce, follow the directions on the bottle for desired amount of heat, then mix together
2. Take your two crusts and put a liberal amount of ranch on each- be sure to cover the surface area of the pizza
3. Sprinkle a 1/2 bag of each cheese on to each pizza
4. Then add the chicken- sprinkle over the pizza 1/2 for each
5. Sprinkle 1/2 the carton of blue cheese for each pizza- this makes this dish!
6. Then place in the oven at 425 degrees for 8 minutes each or until cheese is melted

YOU ARE DONE NOW ENJOY!!

This dish is even better served with celery and root beer. Enjoy!!

Welcome to our home...

I thought I would share a few pictures for our first kitchen.

Looking in to the kitchen from the living room

My beautiful Vera Bradley :)

The Kitchen Aid mixer
Notice the cookbook-gotta love Paula Deen

Hope you enjoyed the peak into our humble kitchen.

Hot Chicken Salad

On of my favorites dishes is chicken salad. So when I saw this recipe in Paula Deen's cookbook, "Paula Deen and Friends:Living It Up Southern Style", I knew I had to try it. It was so easy to make and a great twist to a classic dish.

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked cubed chicken
1 and 1/2 cups diced celery
1/2 cup slivered almonds (I used what I had- Pecans- it was great too)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
2/3 cup crushed potato chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine the chicken, celery, almonds (or chopped pecans), salt, onion, pepper,lemon juice, mayo, and cheese.
3. Then place the mixture in the prepared baking dish.
4. Then place the crushed potato chips on top. (I was skeptical but it was great)
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly



This is a delicious, perfectly seasoned, crunchy, chicken salad. It makes a great quick and easy dinner. It is even great for leftovers the next day either cold on a sandwich or you can reheat it. So gives this recipe a try you wont be disappointed.

As my love for cooking grows...

I love being in my kitchen and I truly believe it is the heart of any home. So being a huge fan and lover of blogging, cooking, and photography I decided to start my very own cooking blog. My husband asked me the question the other day why do you take pictures of all the food you are cooking. Good question, I guess to document what I am making. My cooking experience is minimal and I am a newlywed so I am learning everyday. So far mostly what I have documented have been mishaps especially when it comes to baking. I am a little better a preparing dishes and for my husbands sake thank goodness. On this blog I will post about things what is going on in our kitchen like: great recipes I tried, new gadgets, and all the ups and downs that comes with my new found hobby. I am really excited about this blog I love being in the kitchen and learning new things. I hope you join me as a share my love for cooking and joy of learning.