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Maple Peanut Butter Cookies
Brogan and I decided to make some cookies this morning so I thought we’d try out a peanut butter cookie recipe from Pinterest. The recipe was for Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies, but I was low on honey. I decided to improvise and go with my go-to sweetener, maple syrup. So I subbed butter in place of shortening and maple syrup in place of honey and these cookies were delish! The maple really adds something great to the flavor, however it’s very subtle. Maple Peanut Butter Cookies 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1…
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Shrimp and Grits
I’m going to throw a warning out on this one – unless you don’t have kids or you have a babysitter, this is not a good weeknight meal. I regretted making this on a Tuesday immediately after I started – it’s a lot of chopping and shredding and a lot of moving parts all cooking at the same time. The kids destroyed the kitchen while I was making this one – they had snacks pulled out, Play-doh, pots and pans, tupperware, towels all over the place. It was a freaking wreck! And then I was so busy just trying to prepare the food (and fast to prevent any further destruction…
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Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Okay, okay, I know it’s not quite “soup weather” – it’s still in the mid-80’s here in Atlanta. However, it is September and Starbuck’s is serving Pumpkin Spice Latte’s… so, it’s getting close and I’m going to start making soup anyways! My first soup of the season is a Broccoli and Cheese Soup. It’s a little different than your standard B & C – it has a thinner broth and is loaded with veggies. This recipe was inspired from one I found on Pinterest, and I followed it pretty closely except that I added a lot more broccoli. I couldn’t get the boys to eat any (they’re not much for…
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(Almost) Cube Steak with Gravy
So I’ve actually never made cube steak… or if I have, it was so unmemorable that I have forgotten. But it’s one of those things that I have aspired to make well. So tonight I decided to give it a try. Only problem, I didn’t actually have “cubed steak” – but I did have ground beef; really, really awesome organic ground beef from Costco that is the best tasting ground beef I have ever, ever had, hands down. So I decided to improvise. I figured that if I made my ground beef into thin enough patties, and then treated it just like cube steak, it would work. Well, it did…
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Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
We love cookies at my house – especially Brogan. He loves to help make them, and he loves to help eat them even more. Double chocolate chip has recently become my favorite cookie, and so I’ve been trying different recipes in search of the perfect one – for me, this one is it! They are chocolaty and chewy and it is hard to eat just one. The perfect accompaniment to tall glass of milk. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Double Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter 2 cups sugar 2 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups flour 3/4 cup cocoa powder 1 tsp…
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Sausage and Peppers Spaghetti
This is one of my favorite pasta dishes! It’s not your typical spaghetti – it’s full of fresh veggies, made with sausage and I like mine with angel hair. This recipe makes a pretty large pot; plenty to feed a family and have leftovers too (I love leftovers!). It’s pretty easy to make and can be done in around 30 to 40 minutes. Me and the boys had this for dinner tonight, and after Brogan was done, he asked, “Can we have this again tomorrow?” Dinner win! Sausage and Peppers Spaghetti 1 lb angel hair pasta 1 lb Italian sausage (I use Publix Greenwise Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Sausage) 1 tbsp…
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My Go-to Marinade
After years of experimenting, trying store-bought sauces and making dozens of recipes, I’ve finally found my go-to marinade! It’s pretty simple – Dijon, maple syrup and garlic – and it goes great on pork tenderloin, chicken and salmon. I have long been a fan of Dijon in or on almost anything, but the maple syrup idea came from the Pinterest-famous Man Pleasing Chicken. Add some garlic and some salt and pepper, and voila! you’ve got some really good tasting meat! Dijon Maple Marinade 1/2 cup Dijon mustard 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 2 cloves garlic (or the equivalent in minced garlic) 1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp pepper Yes, I…
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Biscuits and Gravy
It probably comes as no surprise that I like biscuits and gravy. I really like it. My mom made it for me growing up, and I still make it the same way she did. This Southern masterpiece is the ultimate comfort food and can be enjoyed any time of day – we actually had it for dinner tonight (mostly because when I told Blake I planned to make it for breakfast tomorrow, he made an audible awe sound because he will be at work then). And so as some of you may know, my husband has a hard time telling me what he wants for dinner, so when I heard this, I…
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Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac and Cheese
Disclaimer: If you are on a diet or counting calories, I would stop reading now. It is indulgent. It’s in my top 5 favorite meals I’ve ever made. It’s that good. So I’ve been thinking all week about making some sort of Chicken Cordon Bleu dish – I had bought some ham and Swiss cheese this weekend, but just wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. And then this morning it hit me like a ton of bricks – make a chicken cordon bleu inspired mac and cheese! Yes please! I ended up staying home with a sick kid today, so the afternoon nap gave me the…
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Lobster Pasta with Tarragon Tomato Sauce
I took advantage of another Publix sale on lobster this weekend. So tonight when it was time to figure out what to make for dinner, I decided on a pasta dish for a couple of reasons… first, my time was limited – Blake was working late and Beckett was pretty grumpy, so dinner had to be 30 minutes or less. Secondly, the boys love pasta. So pasta it was. I took to the pantry and fridge for some inspiration, and come up with this recipe. I don’t use tarragon very often, as it has such a unique flavor, but branching out and trying it with this tomato-based sauce makes me…
