EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK LOBSTER ON THE LOOSE!

Oh, dinner tonight was sooooo much fun! Frenchie and I are cooking throught the 50 states. Maine is steamed lobster. YUMMMMMMM! But first, you have to be a murderer! I'm not kidding! I walked into Martin's and told the seafood guy "I'll take those 3 lobsters." Of course he talks to them the entire time... Puts them in a styrofoam container, where they are fighting and dancing... Everyone gives you advice and warnings, through the entire store! The cashier was afraid to turn them upside down to scan them. (honey, turning them upside down isn't going to hurt them, I am going home to drop them in a pot of boiling water!) I bring them home and open up the container, and they start moving! I start screaming! The kids are loving this! We put a little Black Eyed Peas on the stereo, and the lobsters start dancing to the beat. I call my friend and tell her she has got to come watch this! She is here within minutes. I drop them in the boiling water... Everyone is standing around taking pictures of this moment! 16 minutes later, they are ready to be shelled. This took forever and we had very little meat, but it was very worth it! We served it with some baguettes, spinach and strawberry salad, French butter and a few leftover crab cakes. YUM!!!! Here are some fun pics from our lobster experience. Yes, my son is wearing the antennaes on his head...

Wow!!!

Ever have company and the meal is soooo good that you all just stand around the serving plate and eat??? Last Thursday I made this amazing grilled chicken. As soon as it was pulled off the grill we all just stood around my chopping block and nibbled! The chicken was soooo easy too! Mix the marinade, marinate all day, grill and you are all done!!! Gotta love it! Course in my life you have to have more than just chicken... So we served Idaho stuffed baked potatoes and sauted zucchini. It was very good!
At the mention of the Idaho stuffed baked potatoes I am reminded that I haven't told you about Frenchie and I's new adventure. I know that I have told you she is a wonderful cook. She loves to read cookbooks just like me. She had a cookbook with 50 state recipes. We decided that we needed to cook all of them! (Can you tell that I am reading Julie & Julia?) So we are cooking our way through the states. So far we have done Idaho, Michigan (terrific cherry pie) and Iowa (very interesting corn casserole). Tomorrow night is Delaware! I'll tell you how that turns on tomorrow!
I am hoping that you will all try this chicken recipe! It is truly amazing! I first had it on vacation last summer. It was "Aunt" Mary's turn to cook and she made this with the Delmonico potatoes I blogged last week and fresh fruit skewers. Great meal! Very memorable and simple!
Summer Brown Sugar Citrus Marinated Chicken
6 chicken breasts (I am not a huge fan of breasts, so I used a mix of breasts and thighs)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 lemon, juice only
1 lime, juice only

1. Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour over chicken in baggie.
2. Marinate all day!
3. Grill until done!
To my BFF Laura, I know this is more than 3 ingredients, but it is sooooo worth it!!!!

Stuffed to the gills...

Alright, I feel like today has been an eating free-for-all! I wanted to introduce Frenchie to Shipshewana, Indiana... and you can't go to Shipshe without going to Das Essenhaus for a family style broasted chicken dinner with all the fixings! (at least I brought my pie home to eat later! I wasn't a total pig like the rest of them!) Then for dinner we had great leftovers from our lunch yesterday. Yesterday we went to Uptown Kitchen for lunch. I had a roasted mushroom (though I ordered a roasted marshmallow, it just wouldn't come out of my mouth right!) pizza. Frenchie had a quattro fromaggio pizza with pesto, and my son had a mushroom, parmesan and pepperoni pizza. My daughter was the odd man out, she had blueberry pancakes, huge sausages and then 2 slices of pizza... There was enough left over from that meal to feed my family of 5 for dinner tonight with lots still left over!!!!!!!! It was such a nice day to know that I could enjoy my 3 kids and not worry about coming home and cooking a meal!

I am posting a couple of pictures of some cakes that I have done recently! One was for my daughter's 7th birthday (bug themed) and the other is my hubby's 35th birthday yesterday! Hope you enjoy!

Easter fun!!!

Easter weekend was pretty fun! It was our last weekend before our "other house" went on the market, so there was lots to do. I also had a cookie order for our friend's new church. (Epic Church of Mishawaka is awesome!) So, Saturday I spent the day baking, cleaning and cooking... though I did take the time to get a pedicure. It felt great! In the afternoon a friend stopped by just as I was helping the kids get started on decorating eggs. I set them up on the kitchen table and headed downstairs to have a drink with the men. When I came back upstairs I found that the kids had managed to also decorate our kitchen table... I have tried everything I know, but I think we are permanently decorated for Easter! It's art work that we will have forever! Hahaha!
Sunday we were having some friends for Easter dinner. That included one of our friend's parents. It was great! Since losing my parents holidays are difficult, but my friends are doing a great job helping me with that!!!!! Our Easter dinner was a joint affair. My favorite kind of meal!!!! We had a Honeybaked Ham, Delmonico potatoes, deviled eggs, fresh asparagus with Frenchie's vinaigrette, veggie and fruit platter, green bean casserole and Sue's spaghetti salad. YUM!!! We also had a great bottle of wine from the Lemon Creek winery. The meal was followed up by fresh rhubarb pie and Frangelico Cream! I don't think I have ever been that full! The beautiful Spring day made everything taste all the better. After our meal we were able to go outside and watch the kids (and Run) play football! I think my daughter is ready for the Rockets! She is tough! It was a nice day!
Each thing that we had brings back to me wonderful memories of past meals in my life! Love that! I will share the Delmonico potato recipe. It is wonderful and I am hoping that Mary won't mind. She shared it with me on our South Carolina vacation this summer. What a great meal!
Delmonico Potatoes
9 medium potatoes
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar, grated
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
dash pepper
Boil potatoes until not quite done. Cool- peel and grate finely into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Heat cheese, mustard, salt, pepper, cream and milk until cheese melts. Pour over the potatoes. DO NOT STIR!!! Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour!
Happy Dyngus day to all of you! Tomorrow maybe I'll share our Dyngus Day meal with you!!!! Thanks for reading!

Lessons...

Lessons can be fun. Frenchie is teaching me plenty! There are so many that it is hard to decide which one I would like to share. I think I would like to share an evening that we had last week. This will get around to food, in a very roundabout way! Last Thursday night my son was competing in the school district's Spell Bowl. This was a huge honor and we were sooooo proud of him! He is so smart, but sometimes I have to wonder if spelling is his thing! HeeHee! His spelling partner was a very good friend of his who is an excellent speller. They were given 5 words, and the audience doesn't know which one of them misses which word. At the end of their 5 words I knew that one of them had missed the word "beet". I totally figured it was my son... but come to find out, he got them all right!!!!!! That's my boy!!!! Ok, I have bragged enough! Back to the subject. This night I had not really planned dinner. There were 2 crabcakes left over from the night before. So Frenchie and I put together a wonderful salad and she was going to eat the 2 crabcakes. Yum! Afterward she says to me... Do you want to learn how we eat cheese in France? "Ummmm... Do bears poop in the woods????" I want to learn everything about French foods! Especially if it has to do with cheese! So she takes a loaf of sourdough bread and slices 2 pieces... Asks me what kind of cheese I want to use.... and takes me on an incredible journey. She is doing hers with blue cheese and I am having camembert. I take the camembert and start to put it in the microwave to soften it a bit. She yells "what are you doing? NO!" She slices thin slivers and puts them on the bread. She spreads the blue cheese on her bread. Tells me that it is actually bad manners to spread it on the bread, but for our purposes, this is what she does. We then stand around the chopping block, eating our cheese. Loving it, eyes rolling into our heads, enjoying! I have 3 1/2 more months to learn sooooo much!!!! LOVE IT!

Ohhhhh MY!

Have you ever made one of those meals that makes you moan with delight??? Let me tell you about last night's dinner. I will start by saying, there was nothing healthy about it, but you occassionally have to have these types of meals. I found this recipe in the Deen Bros Good Cooking magazine and it was called Company Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta. It was a meal that had my daughter going to get a spoon to make sure that she got every last drop of the cream sauce... It was awesome!

Company Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups heavy whipping cream (I warned you!)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup fresh spinach (we'll talk about this later)
1 (16 oz) package penne pasta, cooked according to boxes directions and kept warm
1/2 cup shredded 6-cheese Italian blend cheese

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender. Stir in cream, wine, lemon juice and oregano; simmer for 8 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add shrimp, salt and red pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add spinach; cook for 1 minute.
2. In a large serving bowl, combine shrimp mixture and hot cooked pasta, tossing gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

We all loved this dish. It was pretty and tasted wonderful! I know that it calls for the spinach... I forgot to buy it, so we steamed some asparagus. Served the asparagus with Frenchie's wonderful vinegarette, but then cut up the leftovers and added them to the pasta. It was perfect!

I want to cry... but I may drink instead!

I am a procrastinator! There, I admit it! Hello, my name is Kate and I am a procrastinator... Being a procrastinator gets me in all sorts of trouble too. Here is a great example. Sunday we are having a 7th Birthday party for our daughter. Tomorrow I am having an all day crop at my house. Tonight I decided that I should start my daughter's bday cake... Of course that was after 8pm. So I am preheating the oven... My hubby walks into the kitchen and at the same time we both smell gas... Then hear a loud poof and we have a small (thankfully) explosion in the oven. This is the second time that this has happened with this oven. I am all for buying a new oven, but he says I need to get it fixed AGAIN. It isn't even 4 years old. I of course in the heat of the moment tell him "Fine, let them fix it again. But when it blows up for real and takes me with it, make sure and sue them!" I could just sit and cry.... So I just loaded my unbaked cakes (4 layers) into my van and sent them with my hubby to bake at his friend's house, while they drink in the driveway. I don't have high hopes for this turning out well. To anyone who knows my husband... you understand.

Happy baking and creating everyone!

Beef makes me HAPPY!!!!

I have told you that we are doing meatless dinners with Frenchie. It's really going pretty well. Our kids are easy eaters. They pretty much eat whatever we put in front of them... Though I will admit, last night Frenchie wasn't going to be here for dinner... We had Swedish Meatballs! They tasted sooooo good! Heehee! When she got home from her track dinner she eyed them wistfully. Only a week and a half to go, and she says she doesn't care if she sees another piece of fish for the rest of the year! Haha! I am enjoying discovering new types of fish that I like to eat, but I will admit that sometimes it makes me a little crabby. Today was a good day after having beef last night! LOL!
I am going to share the Swedish Meatball recipe. I have said before that I love recipes from loved ones... This one comes from my Dad's cousin, Sally. Just the thought of her and her family brings a smile to my face and makes it a happy dinner table! Enjoy!
Swedish Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs (yep, I use store bought)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 can beef consume (I use Campbell's)
2 T. flour
Combine first 7 ingredients and form into meatballs. Brown in fat (I use olive oil). In a small bowl, mix consume, 1 can cold water and flour. Add to meatballs. Simmer for 1 hour. Serve over egg noodles.
Family favorite! Very easy! Enjoy!

Birthday Bugs!

My daughter turned 7 recently! She isn't a girly girl and she loves bugs. Ladybugs are very near and dear to our hearts, so look what Frenchie and I created for her school Birthday treat! They were soooo easy and very cute! I love that her teacher allows fun Bday treats, rather than carrot sticks! Heehee! This coming weekend we will have the friend party and continue with our bug theme! I am going to have so much fun doing that cake!

Last night was Monday Night Michigan Matt night... and I made the worst fish! Grouper! YUCK! EEEWWWW! GAG!!!! Ok, I have that out of my system. I guess I should mention that at our dinner table you aren't allowed to say "yuck". You have the right to not like something, but you have to respect that someone else at the table likes it. Frenchie, my hubby and MNM Matt were able to eat the fish, but not me or the kids. (though the kids were able to choke down more than me!) The saving grace of this meal was the salad, Roasted beet and arugula salad with goat cheese and avocado. It was a salad that dreams are made of! Try it!

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

3 T. finely chopped shallots

1 T. honey

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 medium beets, peeled, and cut into 6 wedges

6 cups arugula

1/2 cup toast walnuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed

3 oz. goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a large piece of foil on a baking sheet. In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegar, shallots and honey to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In another medium bowl, toss the beets with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the foil lined baking sheet. Top with another piece of foil and crimp all sides to seal tightly. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork, 30-40 minutes. Uncover beets and continue to roast and carmelize about 25 minutes longer. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl toss the rest of the ingredients with enough dressing to coat. Arrange beets on each salad plate.

Yummo! I got this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, Giada's Family Dinners. It was a very memorable salad!!!!

Arty the artichoke!!!

I think that my favorite veggie is a steamed artichoke. Most people have never had the pleasure of meeting one, but it is a favorite around here. They do take a little tender loving care, but are so worth the work. First you have to be careful that you don't get poked by one of their little pokey things. (don't you love my technical terms?) Best to use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut off the tips, then put them in a couple of inches of water and with the lid on steam them for at least 40 minutes. You then peel off each little leaf and scrape your teeth along it to get the "meat". My kids like them dipped in mayo. Tonight I discovered artichokes dipped in Frenchie's vinagarette. I was in pure heaven!!!!! It was amazing!!!! Served with the artichokes we had Dover sole and couscous. The Dover sole I dredged in flour then pan fried in a little butter and lemon juice. After the sole was cooked through, I took it out of the pan. To the skillet I added more lemon juice and some dry vermouth and scraped all the goodness from the bottom of the pan. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I will say that the artichokes were the star of the dinner though. Yummo!

I know that I said we would be having soy products tonight, but I wasn't in the mood. So keep checking back, cause they will appear! Frenchie and I spent some time in the hot tub tonight, discussing all the goodies we will make once Lent is over. She doesn't eat meat or sugary things during Lent. I can't wait!!!!!!

Kitchen companions!

I loved this evening! Tonight we were having a veggie lasagna, store bought garlic bread and a tossed salad. Everything was pretty much ready to go when Frenchie got home from track practice, except the salad. I asked if she would help with that... Little did I know how great she would make it! First we scavenged for goodies to put in the salad. We found cukes, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, red pepper and blue cheese. Then she offered to make "her vinagarette dressing". YUM YUM YUM! I would have been happy to just eat salad. My daughter came in to help chop veggies and we all just enjoyed being in the kitchen together. I can't stress enough how much fun it is to have others in your kitchen and cook together. It doesn't matter if they are good cooks, or not. Kitchens are a place that pulls families together... I am a firm believer of this. Tonight I watched the bonding process happen! I love it!!!

Stay tuned for tomorrow night's dinner. We will be using a soy product! You'll be amazed!

Hmmmm...

Well... I tried a new recipe tonight. It was called Eli's Asian Salmon. There were very mixed reviews. I think what I will do is give you the recipe first and then talk about it.
I took this recipe from an episode of Barefoot Contessa.
Eli's Asian Salmon
2 1/4 lbs center cut fillet salmon, 1 1/2 inches thick
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T. oyster sauce
1 T. fish sauce
1 T. dark sesame oil
1 1/2 t. chili paste
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. fresh grated ginger
1 1/2 cups panko, japanese breadcrumbs

Line an 8 x 12" baking dish with foil. Place salmon in the pan.
In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients except salmon and panko. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over salmon. Sprinkle panko evenly over the salmon, then pour rest of the marinade over top, soaking the panko. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Roast 18-20 minutes to 120 degrees. Remove and wrap tightly with foil for 15 minutes.
I served this with fresh steamed green beans and roasted red potatoes.
It was good. My kids weren't crazy about the topping, but thought it was good once they scraped it off. I sort of agreed with them, I thought it to be a little strong... Frenchie and I discussed what could be done differently and I am sure that we will try it again.
Stay tuned for tomorrow, it will either be a soy based casserole or a veggie lasagna... Who knows! We'll see what feeling hits me tomorrow! Send me your favorite fish recipes!

A new journey!

Today my family begins a new journey! We have a foreign exchange daughter for the next 4 months. This is an amazing opportunity for our entire family, and something that we all have been looking forward to! She is 17, from France and loves to cook! What could be better? To top it off she is kind and fun!
To add to this experience, I have been given a challenge. Frenchie, (as I will refer to her... I hope she doesn't mind!) is not eating any meat during Lent. I am lucky, my family is not picky, so we have decided to follow this with her for the remaining days of Lent. Now I will admit that my little meat and potato son has asked if he can eat meat at school. Of course! So join me in this culinary adventure as I keep it fun and meatless. We will be eating plenty of fish, shellfish, beans, and soy products. I will share as much as possible. I am excited! Check back tomorrow!

A big pot of goodness!

Mmmmm... My house smells of simmering soup and baking bread! What could be better??? Did I mention that the sun is shining too???

A friend/co-worker of Scott's had surgery on Monday and we wanted to take him a meal. He is a food lover, so it was hard to decide what to take him... I finally decided on Minestrone and homemade Dilly Bread. I wish I could convey how good my house smells as these things are cooking. The recipe calls this soup "minestrone", but I'm not so sure that is what it is. I would say it is more of a beef, barley and bean soup... Whatever it is, it's YUMMY! Then don't even get me started on the Dilly Bread... It is soooooo good! I could easily eat the whole loaf! (but that would be bad for the diet) I have debated if these are recipes that I want to share, and I think it is time...

MINESTRONE

3/4 cup navy beans, I use canned

1/2 cup barley

3 lbs beef short ribs

2 medium onions, chopped

1/4 cup parsley

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp oregano and pepper

1 - 16 oz can tomatoes

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup chopped cabbage

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

In soup pot put beans, meat, onions, parsley, seasonings and 8 cups of water. Heat to boiling then lower heat and cook covered for 2 hours. Remove meat bones and cut up meat into small pieces. Add meat to soup with remaining ingredients. Cook covered for 45 minutes!

DILLY BREAD

1 package yeast

1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 cup cream style cottage cheese, heated to lukewarm

1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. instant minced onion

2 tsp. dry dill weed

1 egg

2 1/4 -2 1/2 cups flour

Soften yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes. Combine in a large bowl the cottage cheese, butter, sugar, salt and baking soda. Then add the onion, dill weed, egg, and softened yeast. Beat well to blend thoroughly. Add flour gradually, beating well after each addition.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (at least an hour, maybe more!) Stir down dough, turn into well greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Let rise in warm place until light, 30-40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Take out of casserole to cool! ENJOY!!!!!!!

Memory Lane.........

Today we are going to take a walk down my memory lane and end up with a favorite recipe...

I had to have been around my daughter's age, maybe 6 or 7 and I was at grandma's house. That right there could say it all. I loved going to grandma's and being with my cousins... There was lots of land to discover, woods and corn fields to play in, snipe hunting, a B B gun, good food and just plenty of joy. There were also apple and pear trees that brought us all together every fall. So many memories of those trees... but that is another story!
There was a day when grandma's neighbor and good friend showed up at the door with a Mason jar full of beautiful creamy soup. It was a small jar. I remember my grandma, mom and I are standing around that jar with spoons. It might be the best soup ever. We had to make Thelma go home and get us the recipe right then! It was Potato-Leek soup and it was wonderful. Creamy, without being heavy, savory, just the right amount of smooth and chunky... Every time I think of the soup, it takes me back to Grandma's kitchen and that moment. I hope for all of you, that you have something like this that can take you back to a place where there is joy and peace...
One last note, I have a sign in my kitchen that reads "Kitchens are made to bring families together". So true...

THELMA'S POTATO-LEEK SOUP
1/4 lb bacon, diced
3 leeks, white part only thinly sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups chicken broth
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
In a 5- quart dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown bacon lightly. Remove bacon and set aside. Add leeks, celery and onion. Saute for 10 minutes or until golden. Add broth and bacon. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and parsley and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Beat flour into milk and then stir into soup. Add salt and pepper, stirring over medium heat, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

One of my favorites!

This is an absolute favorite of mine. Anyone who has ever had a meal brought to them from me, has probably received this. Not only does it taste wonderful, it is also easy to make and freeze! Kids even love it! It is great paired with a green veggie and maybe some cranberry sauce...

The picture doesn't do it any justice!!!! Delicious!!!!!!!
Savory Chicken Crescents
1 can crescent rolls
3 oz. cream cheese, softened and divided
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup crushed seasoned croutons
1 tablespoon chopped onion
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend cream cheese and 2 T. butter until smooth. Add chicken, milk, salt, pepper and onions. Mix well. Separate can of crescent dough into 4 rectangles, pressing perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 cup meat mix onto center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners to top and twist slightly and seal tightly. Brush tops with reserved melted butter and sprinkle with croutons. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown. 20-25 minutes.

I promise you won't be disappointed!

Cooking Vacation...

Even people who love to cook occassionally need a break. This has been an odd 2 weeks. People who know us, know that my hubby works very odd hours. Last week and part of this week he is working evenings. It means I am with him all day and the kids don't see him at all! Ughhh! It also means that I cook things like hotdogs and mac and cheese. I will admit that last night we had scallops and shrimp, and while we enjoyed it, it wasn't anything real exciting.
So I promise that next week life is supposed to get back to normal! I will make some more wonderful meals and share them with you all! Anyone have any recipes that they want to share with me???? Keep cooking and sharing!!!!

Happy Fat Tuesday!!!!

It's been a while since I last posted anything. Somehow, weekends seem to get in my way... I cook all weekend, but don't seem to have time to blog. This weekend was special in many ways. Saturday was the 9th anniversary of my dad's death and Sunday was Valentine's Day.
Saturday was a rough day for me. Some years are easier than others... Cooking or baking usually has a calming effect on me, but this year I'm not sure that anything was going to help! I made my dad's favorite cake on Saturday just to celebrate him a bit. It is a chocolate cake with caramel icing! The richest thing on earth!!!!! This recipe comes from my paternal grandma and my cousin and I both love making it for special occassions.
You can use any box chocolate cake mix, just bake according to the instructions for a 13"x9" pan. After it is cooled quickly pour the icing over the cake in the pan. This is best made a day or two ahead...
Caramel Brown Sugar Icing
1/2 Cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
Melt butter in a skillet and add brown sugar and vanilla. Add milk and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add confectioners sugar and remove from heat. Mix all together then quickly ice cake. You just pour it over the whole cake and use a spatula to make sure all is covered.
If you like it rich, make sure you get a corner piece. They are my favorite!!!

The second event of the weekend was Valentine's Day. We had 13 school friends over to celebrate. There were crafts, running like crazed lunatics and tons of food. The girls quietly sat and made the crafts and the boys ran around like lunatics... It was wonderful! I forgot to take any pics of the food, but I can tell you that they really liked the fruit skewers and punch. There were cupcakes to eat and cupcakes to decorate, but I think they enjoyed the fruit more! I love it!
Happy Day to all!

Award winning meal!

I guess I should have know that I loved cooking at a very early age... The recipe that I am going to share with you today is an award winning recipe. I won the Brownie No Bake award way way back at the great age of 7! That was a year before my mom threatened to pay the judges to not let me win. It was the longest most boring contest!!!! Today though, I am happy to say that I have won awards for my cooking! HeeHee!

Anyway, Scott is working evenings this week, so meals are very simple. He does eat when he gets home in the early morning, so I have do have to fix something. Today the kids had a snow day, and we spent the afternoon sledding with good friends. Dinner was a simple but delicious affair. I got this recipe from my Auntie Gretch, her kids say I make it wrong... I say they make it wrong... We'll never know, but it is good anyway you make it!

Sidewalk Sandwiches

Pita bread

roast beef or italian roast beef, from the deli

Iceberg lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces

radishes, sliced thinly

green olives, sliced thinly

cream cheese, around 8 oz.

Italian salad dressing, I like to make my own with Good Seasonings Zesty... but you can do whatever you want.

I have not given you any real amounts because it depends on how many you are making.

In a medium bowl mix lettuce, radishes, green olives and salad dressing. Toss all together. Slice each whole pita bread in half. Spread one side of the pocket with cream cheese. Put a small layer of roast beef in each one and then fill with salad mixture. YUM!

I will say that my cousins chop everything including the roast beef and fill the pitas that way. I will give you permission to decide for yourself! LOL! I promise though that you will enjoy my way more! Hahaha!

When playing in the snow calls your name!

The snow is flying and if you didn't have to go out, you didn't! I love these kind of days. The kids did have school, but not too much homework. As soon as snack was over and homework was done we headed outside to play. 5 neighborhood kids came to play and everyone had a good time for a couple of hours! It was great! The moms and I were all amazed at the little things that kept all these kids busy for so long!!!
I was lucky that I had had dinner simmering all afternoon. A very simple dinner of Swiss Steak and mashed potatoes. Yummo!!!! Great dinner that uses things that most have in either their fridge or pantry. Try it, you'll like it!!!!
Swiss Steak

Round steak, thin cut. However much you need to feed your family!
3 Carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cans tomato soup
I use an electric skillet for this recipe, but you could easily put this in a dutch oven in a very low oven. Place steak in electric skillet, top with carrots, celery and onions. Then spread the tomato soup over the top and allow to simmer for several hours. Yum!!!!!
I serve this over mashed potatoes and my family loves it!!!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????

Sunday was Superbowl!!! I couldn't have cared less, but I did have some fun with the food. Our menu consisted of Buffalo Chicken Dip, Jalapeno Popper Dip, Football Sub, Wings, Polish Sausage Skewers, Veggie Tray, Cheesecake and Peanut Butter Kit Kat Cookies. Give me a Y- Give me a U- Give me an M! What's that spell??? YUM! I pulled out some old stand bys, new recipes from other's blogs and just new ones I found! They were all terrific and tonight we are loving the leftovers!

My daughter was a huge helper. She did the veggie tray and helped bake the cookies. The Peanut Butter Kit Kat cookies are a favorite of mine from a dear college friend. (Kim, I hope you are reading this and don't care that I am sharing!) I remember when she brought a batch to the dorm... I think I ate the whole bag!!!!

PEANUT BUTTER KIT KAT COOKIES

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

2 1/2 cups flour

approximately 6 Kit Kat bars, chopped

Cream together butter, sugars, eggs, peanut butter and baking soda. Add flour and baking soda and combine well. Stir in Kit Kats. Drop by spoonful on cookie sheet and flatten with fork dipped in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies are the bomb and you can't go wrong with them!!! Now I am also including some pics of our other fun items! Maybe I'll share the recipes later!!! Enjoy and get cookin'!!!!

A night on the town with the kiddos...

I know... 2 nights in a row I haven't let you in on what we are eating. What am I up to???? Hmmmm. Last night was a very simple dinner of cheddar brats, pasta salad and baked beans. Tonight, my brave friend and I are taking our 4 children out... We are outnumbered by 2... This will probably not end well. Our husbands are going out for a "guy's night". You know what I am talking about! Dinner, lots of beer and sports. UGH! I would rather take all the kids by myself! Haha!
Speaking of sports. Sunday there is some big football game on. I'm trying to remember what it is called... Oh yea, the Superbowl. Of course there is a party at the Sergeant's. Stay tuned for the fun menu that I am planning!

Ultimate comfort food

It's been cold outside... The snow is flying... and I love it!!! It's been a few days since I posted anything, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. It just means I've been busy doing other things! It was a fun weekend, filled with friends. Friday night we tried a new (to us) pizza place. Volcano's Pizza on the westside! It was very good. My son says that it is so good cause they put their toppings on top of the cheese. Saturday morning started with friends over for breakfast. The meal was a joint effort, and I love to cook with others! Dinner at Bonefish Grill! Yum!!!! (along with excellent apple martinis!!!!) Sunday night, we had friends over for a simple dinner of chicken fajitas, homemade guacamole, Chi Chi's corncake and mexican rice. One of my favorite meals, so good that we had the leftovers last night! So onward to Tuesday!!!

So, today I was in the mood for comfort food. Freezer was full of things to defrost and enjoy. I pulled out a pot roast, and decided to make beef and noodles. Very simple and loved by my whole family. I will share with you how I make mine. Feel free to make it as simple or difficult as you want!

Kate's Beef and Noodles

1 pot roast

3 big cans beef broth, I used canned. Feel free to make your own!

1 pound egg noodles, recipe to follow... feel free to use store bought!

Put pot roast in a dutch oven and pour 2 1/2 large cans beef broth over top, reserve remaining broth in fridge. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until fork tender and falling apart. This will take a couple of hours. Remove roast and let cool. Meanwhile cook noodles in the broth until tender. Shread meat with 2 forks and then add back into the noodles. If you need to thicken the mixture, and this is purely up to you. Mix in a cup some of the reserved broth with 1/4 cup flour. Slowly add to noodle mix, until you get your desired consistency. I serve this over mashed potatoes with a nice green salad. Yum!!!!!!!!

Egg noodles are actually very simple to make. If you get a chance do this, it will make a huge difference!

1 1/2 cups flour

dash salt

1 tablespoon cold butter, cut up

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

In a large bowl combine flour, salt and butter. Make a well in the center and add eggs and yolks. Mix all together with a pastry blender or 2 forks, until thoroughly mixed. Divide into 4 small balls. Roll out paper thin on a floured board. Roll up each sheet. Cut to desired width, unroll and let dry. When I make these I always make a double batch to have an extra batch to freeze. The whole process doesn't take longer than a 1/2 hour. So worth it!!!!

handwritten with love...

Recently I had someone stop by when I had a bunch of recipes spread out on my counter. He suggested that there was a better way for me to keep my recipes, like on a computer. My response was that I love to have my handwritten recipes. I have recipes in the handwriting of my mom, dad, grandparents all the way back to my great grandparents and not to mention friends. Cooking their recipes brings them close to me. It makes it personal and loving. They helped build my love for cooking and creating and help me to continue with it... and plan for an eventual business, maybe.

A few years ago I began the culinary arts program at Ivy Tech. I loved it. I took 3 classes that semester, 2 were online and 1 was a hands-on cooking class once a week. We got to bring home samples of what we made each week. My daughter would meet me at the door each week with a fork in her hand... My class was on Tuesday and on Wednesday my mom and I would make one of the recipes that I hadn't made in the class. It was amazing and some of my great memories. I haven't gone back, not sure that it would have the same magic... though maybe someday when I grow up.

I'm not giving any recipes today. I am going to give you some advice. Take it if you want! Most people have a recipe that is a family tradition, or something that everyone just loves... When you ask for the recipe they say "Oh, it's just a little of this, a little of that..." and it never gets written down. Make them write it down!!!! When they are gone, if it's not written down, that recipe is gone... and you will miss it! My family had a New Year's day tradition of snack foods. Most of them are the grossest things. My favorite, pickled pigs feet. Yep, you heard me... Pickled pigs feet. When I lost my mom, I lost that tradition... Make your loved ones write them down. Recipes are a part of who our families are, traditions that we need to carry on!
Enjoy!

Baking and creativity

Last night I wasn't in the mood to cook dinner. I'll admit that part of it was the kids and I had already done a good job destroying the kitchen when I should have been fixing dinner, but that is definitely worth it every now and then!

After Christmas our daughter had money to spend and was on the hunt for one of those big pans that makes a BIG cupcake. She bought it and has been after me to make it. Yesterday was the day. The two kids made a cake mix, great lesson on following directions. They had fun and were so creative! Makes a mom proud! C had many plans for her giant cupcake, but time was running out... so she iced it and put smiley faces all around the top. N on the other hand had a single layer cake. He put a thin layer of buttercream frosting and then thought that cookie crumbs would be good. He crushed Nutterbutters and sprinkled them on top. They both had fun with decorators bags and embellishing their cakes!

Scott got home just as they finished decorating and enjoyed sampling their homemade buttercream frosting! YUM!

It's Monday night again...

Yep! It's Monday night again, and that means Monday Night Michigan Matt is here... Which means I need to cook a lot of filling food to fill him up! I loved tonight's dinner. My son loved tonight's dinner, not too sure about my daughter or the men. Monday nights quite often leave me feeling like a maid. Matt comes in and he and Scott head to the basement. They only come upstairs to get more food. They do not speak to me. Not sure that they even really talk to each other much... It's odd!

Anyway, today I made a biscuit topped chicken stew. I have made it before and we really liked it, but I did tweak it a little bit. The original recipe is taken from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style. Love her recipes!!!

4-6 cups cooked chicken*, diced or shredded

5 cups chicken stock

2 chicken boullion cubes

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups chopped yellow onions

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 carrots, medium diced, blanched for 2 minutes

1 10-ounce package frozen peas

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced

1/4 cup half and half

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

*I want to begin by saying I am not a huge fan of chicken breasts... at least the boneless kind. For this recipe I used bone in chicken breast with the skin ON! Don't worry, I remove the skin after baking them, but baking them with it on helps keep some moisture and flavor! I follow Ina Garten's way of baking them. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put chicken breasts on the a cookie sheet with sides. Rub each breast with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Yum! Then take the skin off and discard and cut up! You will see the difference, I promise!

Heat the chicken stock and boullion cubes in a medium sized saucepan. In a dutch oven melt the 12 T. butter and add the onions. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the hot stock and cook for 1 minute more, stirring until thickened. Add 2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper, and the cream. Add the chicken, carrots, peas and parsley. Mix well. Place in a 13x9" pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed, until the mixture is crumbly and mixed well. Add the half and half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley.

Put the dough on a well floured counter and roll out with a rolling pin to 3/8" thick. Cut out 12 circles with a 2 1/2" round cutter.

Remove the stew from the oven and top with the biscuits. Brush the biscuits with the egg wash. Return it to the oven and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until the biscuits are browned and the stew is bubbly.

This can easily be made ahead of time. Refrigerate the stew and biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then add the biscuits and bake for another 25-30 minutes.

I served this with a simple cranberry sauce. If I were having "real" company I would have made a layered cranberry sauce. It was excellent and very pretty!

Leftover nights...

Yesterday morning we were trying to decide what we were going to do... Talked to some friends and decided that they would come over for dinner. I asked what they would like for dinner, and he said "Spaghetti, garlic bread and a good salad". She said that was too much, and I said "No, that is easy!" I am going to share with you my easy spaghetti sauce recipe. This is not the recipe that I use to make my magnificent lasagna... But it is very good and quick!!!! That's always a good thing!

Kate's Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. hamburger
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, broken up
1 small can can mushrooms, drained
1 large can tomato paste
red wine
1 bay leaf
salt
pepper, oregano
thyme

Brown hamburger with green pepper, onion and garlic. When fully browned, drain and put back into pot. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato paste. Then use can from tomato paste and add 1/2 can water and 1/2 can red wine. Add 1 bay leaf, salt, pepper, oregano and thyme to taste. Let simmer for half an hour or so... Remove bay leaves and serve with your favorite pasta.

Now when we have friends over I never know just who might actually show up... So I made store bought garlic bread and a Caesar salad. I did make homemade croutons for the salad! Yum!!!! Tonight friends are coming over for the leftovers and to watch some football game that I guess is playing... Haha! Enjoy!

Pot Of Soup...

What do you do when the grocery has potatoes on sale???? You make potato soup! This is a simple soup, that seems to please everyone! My hubby loves potatoes, my son bacon and my daughter loves cheese... I love a recipe that uses what most people have in their cupboard and fridge! I had planned on doing a corned beef, but a pedicure got in my way! Haha! So, if you love corned beef, come back tomorrow! I promise it won't disappoint you!

This potato soup is simple and can be changed to suit your tastes. All amounts are approximate.

3-4 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
3-4 stalks celery, sliced thin
1/2 small onion, diced
enough water just to cover

Cook above until potatoes are fork tender. Do not drain! Mash all together. Add the rest of the ingredients and serve warm. Serve with cheese, bacon, chives... Great for all!

16 oz. or more sour cream, light and fat free work well
1-2 cups milk
salt and pepper
rosemary, thyme or herbs of your choice...

This easily served my family of 4 with plenty for my hubby's lunches this week!

Lasagna Bake off!!!

Today I am getting ready for tomorrow! I am not sharing my recipe today, cause this is all about competition!!! LOL... We live in a great neighborhood. I am chairperson of the Rec committee and my hubby is on the Board of Directors for the neighborhood association. Control freaks, right??? We have neighborhood happy hours, holiday parties, cook offs and so on. It's all in good fun! Tomorrow I am in charge of the Lasagna Cook off. I am determined to win this one! So far we have had a chili cook off and a rib cook off. Neither of those are really my thing, but lasagna is a different story! All I will say is YUM YUM YUM! Sunday I'll let you know how it turns out.

I am also trying a new recipe that I took from someone else's blog. It is a Jalapeno Popper Dip! Sounds wonderful, and we'll see what Scott thinks of it tonight! If we love it, I will probably post the recipe tomorrow.

One last thing. I had an email from my cousin this morning telling me she was going to make my Bolognaise sauce this weekend. I had to warn her, I thought it was good... BUT my family was not as happy. It almost tasted dry. I did a little research and found recipes that added things like pancetta, carrots and celery. I almost think you shouldn't use a LEAN ground beef. I'm going to have to play with it, and see what I come up with! Enjoy your weekend, and cook something!

Finger Licking Good

Today I was supposed to be gone in the afternoon, when I would typically be fixing dinner. So, this morning I tossed some spare ribs in the crockpot and mixed in a bottle of barbecue sauce. Set it on low and let them cook all day. When my plans fell through for this afternoon, I decided to add some new potatoes and a tossed salad to our dinner rather than just canned veggies. The potatoes were a new "recipe" that we all loved!!! I thought that I was making a ton of ribs and we would have them for leftovers tomorrow night... Little did I know that my darling 6 year old would eat 7 ribs, sucking the bones clean! I guess I'll be figuring something else for tomorrow night! Anyway! This was a great, simple dinner that my family loved! We all need those every now and again!

Mustard baked new potatoes (neither of my kids love mustard, but they certainly loved these!)

2-3 lbs red new potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

1-2 onions, halved and then cut into slices

olive oil

2-3 Tablespoons whole grain mustard

kosher salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place potatoes and onions on a cookie sheet that has sides!!!!! (mine didn't have sides and I have a big mess in the bottom of my oven... not to mention the smoke that filled my house!) Drizzle maybe 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil over potatoes and onions. Mix in the whole grain mustard and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Toss all together. Bake at 425 degrees for about 1 hour. With a metal spatula stir or toss everything 2-3 times during the cooking time. I promise you will like this one!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Today I am so on the ball! Flank steak is thawed, in the fridge, marinating in wonderful flavors... Rice is cooked and cooling, ready for me to turn it into Mom's wonderful fried rice. Broccoli is in the fridge ready to be cleaned, and steamed... maybe a little cheese sauce on the side for my darling daughter. That was all this morning! Fast forward a few hours and I am putting away groceries. I open the fridge. The flank steak falls out of the fridge. Marinade is everywhere. Could there be any good news to this? Yep! It landed on the plastic wrap, so at least it's not covered in dog or cat fur!!!!! For the family, this can be salvaged. I quickly whip up a new marinade and figure it was just time for it to be turned! LOL! Now if I were having company or catering it would have gone in the trash (I PROMISE!), but for my immediate family the 5 second rule is in effect! WOOHOO!

Flank Steak Marinade

Flank steak is a tough piece of meat. It really needs to be marinated, and grilled. Now since I would have to shovel the deck to get to the grill, I will probably use the broiler. Not as great of a way, but much warmer and easier... and today I am into easy!

The amounts are up to you. I just use my eyeballs to judge, I will try and give you some estimates to the amounts.

1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons dry white wine, I use dry vermouth
couple of dashes of Worchestshire sauce
couple of dashes soy sauce
1 clove of garlic crushed

Mix all in a nonmetal pan that will fit the steak flat. Place steak in and then flip it over. Let it marinate for at least 4 hours (flipping 1/2 way through) or overnight. Grill or broil to desired doneness.

I will tell you that I was a kid who had to have all meat well done, and I really didn't like meat all that much. I have learned with my kids that they actually love steak when it is done to medium rare. Steak is safe this way. Hamburger is not! Try it! You might like it!!!

Mom's Fried Rice

However many servings of rice that you are serving. I like Uncle Ben's Converted Long-grain rice.
couple of pieces of bacon, diced
bunch of green onions, chopped
couple of carrots, grated
1-2 eggs, beaten
soy sauce to taste

Earlier in the day, cook the amount of rice you need. I do not use anything other than water to cook my rice. Chop green onions, and grate the carrots. Shortly before serving, in either a wok or large skillet, brown bacon. Remove bacon and reserve. Do not get rid of the bacon grease, use it to cook green onions and carrots until just tender. Push the veggies to the outside of the skillet or wok. Add the eggs and scramble, breaking them up into little pieces. Mix the veggies into the eggs, add the bacon back in and add the rice. Stir all together and let warm. Season to taste with soy sauce.

This has been a favorite recipe of my Mom's forever. It really is easy and just wonderful!!!!

Enjoy!

Monday nights...

Monday nights are interesting in our household. Scott and I have been married for over 11 years. When we live in town every Monday night brings a visitor, Monday Night Michigan Matt. Matt has been a friend to Scott forever. 11 years ago he came over on Monday nights to eat and watch wrestling. I like to think that they aren't watching wrestling anymore, but some Monday nights I do catch them watching it. The thing about Matt is, he eats A LOT! I'm not kidding, he eats in one sitting as much as my family of four eats in two nights. So Monday nights we serve a lot of pastas, soups, and things that make a lot!!! Tonight will be Spaghetti Bolognaise. Kind of a glorified spaghetti, with a little cream and not too much tomato. Yummy! Hopefully!!!! Matt always compliments me on the meals, and he will tell me that they are good, even when they are bad! Trust me, he has seen plenty of bad!!!

PASTA BOLOGNAISE

Serves 6-8 or a family of 4 and Matt! (hopefully)

2 large onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 bottle (750ml) dry red wine
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon italian herbs
1cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 pound spaghetti, cooked and drained
Parmesan, grated

Cook the onions in the olive oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat, until softened. Stir in the garlic, add the beef. Cook and stir to break up beef until browned. Add the wine and turn up the heat so that the wine bubbles continuously. Reduce by about half. Add tomato paste and stir. Cover and turn the heat down very low, and cook for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours. Stir from time to time, scraping the bottom to make sure that nothing sticks or burns. Right before serving stir in the cream and italian herbs. Taste, and then add the salt and pepper. Let simmer uncovered another 10 minutes. Taste again and stir in the parsley. Serve with pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan.

ENJOY!

Breakfast experiments!

When I married my hubby, I am pretty sure that he had never even made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! His mom hates mess... and found it easier to spoil her only son than to have him make a mess in her kitchen. I am a messy cook. That is not to say that my kitchen is dirty, but when I am cooking, things spill and get messy! That is part of the fun of cooking, baking and creating!

My kids love to go out to breakfast. Right now one of our favorite places to go is a pancake house that makes those BIG apple pancakes. They always split one with a side of ice cream. Then my daughter who really loves to eat, shares my mushroom omelet too! Our experiment this morning was to try and recreate their mushroom omelet... It wasn't perfect, but we are very close! We went with simplicity today, using canned mushrooms and canned soup. At the restaurant there is this delicious sauce with mushrooms, and a hint of sherry. Today we made it using cream of mushroom soup, a touch of sherry, milk and some cheddar cheese. I think when they are off to school this week, I will attempt to make a homemade sauce and see if it comes closer with some fresh mushrooms. It was fun and tasted pretty darn good! I'll let you know when it is up to par! Have fun experimenting!!!!

I love reading other people's blogs. I love to cook. Whenever I post on Facebook something new that I am cooking, people ask me questions... I thought maybe people would be interested in a blog that I could write about things that I cook, bake and create! Who knows! I will first warn you that I am one of the most computer illiterate people around. In fact, I am amazed that I have figured out this much! I hope to include photos, funny stories of the good and bad meals and great recipes! Due to the fact that I do some catering and sell some of my goodies, I will not be sharing all of my recipes. Now let's have some fun!!!!

I am a mom to 2 great kids aged 6 and 9! I was looking through a cookbook of Ina Garten's and found a recipe for homemade marshmallows. For a couple of months I kept thinking about it, but I kept buying the store bought ones... Finally, the other night, I thought, what the heck! Let's give it a try! OMG!!!!! They are amazing! Totally worth the work and almost burning up my loved Kitchenaid mixer! I'll start by giving you the recipe:

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick. This took mine about 15 minutes! Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

With a sieve, generously dust an 8 x 12 inch nonmetal baking dish with confectioners' sugar. Pour the marshmallow mix into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them with more confectioners' sugar.

This recipe is taken from Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook.

Alright, I know this recipe takes some time, but it is so worth it! We have eaten them plain, made simple kid s'mores in the microwave, and done a chocolate fondue with them! Tonight is sledding with great friends and you can bet that they will be added to our hot chocolate!