Very Festive Yuletide Cheese Log!

Hey there folks! With 9 days left until Christmas you're probably looking for ways to out do your party from last year. Sure, everyone loves your onion soup mix dip but lets give them something more this year. How about a soft goat cheese log wrapped in pistachio pieces and dried cranberries? Sound too complicated? Fear not! It's super easy and magically delicious. So sit back and relax because this is too easy.

You'll need:

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup salted pisachios

1- 4-6 oz goat cheese log

You will probably be able to find the goat cheese log in the fine cheese section of your grocery store. Sometimes they come in a 4 oz package and sometimes they come in a 6 oz package, however, either one will work. 

You'll need to run your pistachios and cranberries under a butcher knife to chop them up a little or in a food processor just a couple of pulses to get them at a coarse chop. Do not do them together or you will end up with pistachio mush. After you get them chopped and ready, place the cranberries and pistachios on a shallow plate and mix them up. Next, roll the cheese log in the pistachio and cranberry pieces. You'll want to let the cheese sit for a little so it gets soft because it is a crumbly cheese and it will fall apart when you try to roll it if it's too cold.

After that refridgerate until 30 minutes before your shindig and place it on a pretty plate and you're good to go! Your friends and family will love it and marvel at it's beauty. Enjoy!

Happy Eating!

Flightless French Onion Soup

Season's greetings everyone!

I'm taking a minute out of our busy schedule to do a quick, fast and yummy post. With all the hub-bub around the new TSA regulations I've found a way to give you fantastic French onion soup that you don't have to fly to France for. It's a great starter for any holiday feast and will keep you warm on these cold winter nights.

You'll need:

4 cups onions, thinly sliced

2 cans beef broth, I use Campbells

1/4 cup butter
1 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp white wine

Provolone

French bread

You'll need to take our your trusty Crock-Pot and fill it with the onions, beef broth and butter. Let this cook for 4 hours. After 4 hours add the white wine and let it cook for 2 more hours and serve immediately. For extra credit you can slice up some French bread and top it with provolone cheese. 

This is one of my favorite dishes and it's easy if you're on the go or need to prepare a quick and tasty starter soup. Enjoy and as always...

Happy Eating!

Quick Cold Day Chili!

Today, South Bend, IN got it's first full snow day! I had snow from the time I woke up to the time I started making this delicious post. Lucky for me, our little kitty Kaci is feeling better and I was able to write this and cook dinner. Now, just as a heads up because of the holidays and an impending Christmas cruise, posting will be sparse again. But I'll do my best to help you all get ready for the holiday festivities. Today we have quick and easy chili that will keep you warm even if your temperatures are low which they were because the high today was 23!

So you'll need--

1 lb ground beef, browned

2 14 oz cans dark red kidney beans

1 28 oz can stewed sliced tomatoes

1 1/2 cup onions, diced

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 package McCormick Chili seasoning.

1 1/2 cup water

Salt

Pepper

Now, I'm not claiming to be a chili master, heck, I probably won't be winning any chili cook-off's anytime soon. But I do know that there is no shame in using a remixed seasoning, especially if you're in a hurry. However, if you can make your own blend of seasonings then by all means, go ahead. Until I get to that point I'll just leave the mixing and blending to the pro's.

So in a large pot combine the browned beef, beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, seasoning and water and set on a medium- high for 15 minutes. Stirring ever so often to make sure nothing is getting stuck to the bottom. After your 15 mintues are up, set it to a low- medium and let it simmer for 30-45 minutes. This may cause the beans to split and will thicken up your chili considerably. But I'm not going to force you to have the chili my way so if you like your chili on the thinner side then you can add the beans in the last 10-15 mintues of the cooking process.

Happy Eating!

No post today!

Hey guys,

Sorry posting has been so sparse. I'm dealing with a sick animal and if it's anything like having a sick kid well then I really feel for all you parents out there. Sorry again.

Always,

Food Junkie

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hey everyone,

I know I've been MIA and for that I am sorry. In my defense, I was getting ready for the new addition to our household, a very sweet, very loving cat named Kaci. We rescued her from our local Humane Society and it was so worth it. And yes, I may have named her after my best friend but honestly if you met her you'd say her name fits perfectly.  There she is on her first day at her new home she is wearing a cone. So prepping for Kaci to get here paired with the Thanksgiving festivities have kept me from posting regularly. But fear not! I will be bringing you dinner on Monday as usual.

Enjoy your time with your families and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Also, keep a look out for upcoming contests and prizes like gift cards to Williams-Sonoma or Sur-La-Table. Thanks a bunch everyone!!!

Always, 

Food Junkie

Josie's Pumpkin Crunch!

We have exactly 7 days left until Thanksgiving! I'm so excited and I can't wait to go down to southern Indiana with my husband and his family. A lot of you might be taking dishes or desserts to a family members house this year. But why not make a splash with Mamaw Josie's Pumpkin Crunch? It's delicious, not anywhere near nutritious and isn't that what we want during the holidays? Oh sure, you could call me a bad person for making you cheat on that diet but come on, you know a bite won't kill you.... go on... just a nibble...

You'll need:

2 cups pumpkin
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz evaporated milk
4 eggs, beaten
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 1/2 sticks butter, sliced
1 1/2 cups pecans, finely chopped
Cool Whip or whipped cream


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and in a large bowl combine the first six ingredients and mix until there are no clumps or bumps. Next, grease a 9x13 cake pan and pour in the batter evenly and sprinkle the entire cake mix on top. Do not mix it in or anything but just sprinkle it on top. After that, sprinkle on the pecans and place pats of butter on top. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Take it out and let it cool. You can serve it warm or cooled off with Cool Whip or whipped cream.



This recipe was passed on to my mom from my sisters grandmother-in-law Mamaw Josie Carter and I had to share it with you all because it really is one of the best desserts I've ever had and is now a Thanksgiving staple for me and my family. Enjoy, gobble gobble and...









Happy Eating!

So-Long-Summer Shrimp Salad!

I'm back! And still not able to eat solid food (yay for me!) but my hubster is so he's got to eat and I've got to cook. Before I get into the dish for tonight I just want to give a big thank you to Ms. Kaci my trusty sidekick and second banana for sharing her wonderful Banoffee Pie with us and for checking on me even if she is 4 states away. You're the best Kaci and you flat out rock!!!! And to my sweet husband who took care of me and listened to my whining and whimpering until I felt well enough to not keep myself doped up on pain meds. I love you honey, thank you for being awesome and for your guest post it was delicious!

Now then, tomorrow there is a slight chance of snow in the forecast and I couldn't be more excited! So as a formal farewell to a sweltering summer I decided that a shrimp salad would be the best way to say goodbye. So here it is my so long summer shrimp salad, it's warm enough for winter but good enough to help you say goodbye.

You'll need:

1 lb. shrimp, raw and deveined
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
5 oz. baby arugula
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

In a large skillet eat the olive oil over medium high heat and roast the tomatoes until they start to blister. This should take about 2 minutes, next add the garlic until it's fragrant, about 30 seconds. You will want to stand back when the tomatoes roast as the little guys do tend to pop and sizzle a lot. And it hurts if you're in the crossfire.

Add the shrimp and cook it, stirring it often until the shrimp is almost opaque throughout. Add the arugula and season with salt and pepper and toss it until it's wilted. It will look like a lot of arugula when you put it in the skillet but trust me it WILL cook down.








Take it off the the heat and serve it immediately. You can serve it by itself like I did for my hubby tonight as I wasn't able to eat any of it or you can pair it with your favorite vegetables. It's easy, delicious and filling enough for the heartiest of appetites.











Happy Eating!

Guest Blog: Sidekick's Banoffee Pie

M is taking the day off, she is still recovering from dental work yesterday and is hopefully enjoying her pain pills.

I, her trusty sidekick.. will be your guest blogger for the evening (and she gave me free rein).

mwahaha....

It is fundraising season in C-city and as I am a sucker for kids selling sweets.. our house is full of sugar; tubs of cookie dough, fudge, krispe kreme. But I figure whats another sweet.

I discovered Banoffee pie the summer I spent in England.  It was wonderful. How could toffee and bananas not make a beautiful combination.

You only need 5 things:

• 2 cups canned sweetened condensed milk
• 1 - 9 inch pie crust
• 3 large bananas
• 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.

Pour condensed milk into pie plate and stir in a generous pinch of salt. Cover pie plate with foil and crimp foil tightly around rim. Put in a roasting pan, then add enough boiling-hot water to reach halfway up side of pie plate, making sure that foil is above water. 

Bake, refilling pan to halfway with water about every 40 minutes, until milk is thick and a deep golden caramel color, about 2 hours. Remove pie plate from water bath and transfer toffee to a bowl, then chill toffee, uncovered, until it is cold, about 1 hour.

While toffee is chilling, clean pie plate and bake piecrust in it according to package instructions. Cool piecrust completely in pan on a rack, about 20 minutes.

Spread toffee evenly in crust, and chill, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Cut bananas into 1/4-inch-thick slices and pile over toffee.

Beat cream with brown sugar in a clean bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks, then mound over top of pie.

Viola! Easy and delicious.

and as M would say....

                                                          Happy Eating!

Guest Post: Hubby's Mom's Mac & Cheese & Chicken

Hello again, everyone.  The wife is taking the day off to recuperate from some minor dental work, so I volunteered to write today's post.  When my brothers and I were young, our mom would make us a quick macaroni and cheese dish that was really good.  She later explained that she had made it for our dad while they were living on campus.  It was the trifecta of homemade college food - quick, cheap and really good.


I made this for myself while at school and after school too.  While making it today, the wife had her doubts about how it would taste.  I told her to take a bite and see.  The next thing she did was to take the bowl and say, "This is mine."  I hope you like it as much as she does!  Here's what you need:

1 box Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (original blue box)
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbs butter
1 can white chicken chunks (usually found by the canned tuna)
1 can cream of chicken soup

Heat 1 3/4 cups of water until just boiling, then empty into a microwave-safe bowl or dish (I prefer a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish).  Add the dry macaroni and microwave for 8-9 minutes, stirring every three minutes.  You'll know you're done when all the water is absorbed (this follows the original microwave recipe Kraft used to put on the blue box before Easy Mac came along.

Add the butter, milk and cheese powder from the box, just like you're making mac & cheese.  Stir thoroughly until all mixed.  The butter might not be completely melted but don't worry.







Now add the cream of chicken soup and chunk chicken.  Stir everything together until it's one monochromatic mess.  Stick it back in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.  Now stir it one last time and get all that goodness mixed together.  Serve in bowls and go to town!  This recipe will easily serve two people, three if you're careful.  It's also one of the best foods I've had reheated the next day, and is even good cold.

And as the wife says...


Happy Eating!

No Post Today!

iPhone cake made by Kaci!

Sorry Foodies and Junkettes! I'm out for the weekend. I'm going to spend the weekend enjoying food before a dental procedure then it's Jell-O and lukewarm soup for me for a few days. But don't fret! I'd never leave you hanging! Monday we are having a guest post by my wonderful hubster and Tuesday there will be another guest post by the amazing Kaci! You don't want to miss that folks because she's awesome. Enjoy your weekend!

Always,

Food Junkie

Happy Eating!

Gingerbread Mini Bundts with Lemon Sauce!

The holidays are almost here! With snow in the forecast next Friday, I'm chomping at the bit to put up my Christmas decorations! The hubby, however, has some stupid rule about waiting until the day after Thanksgiving. Now, as someone who's had a white Christmas and more snow than they care to deal with, I think it might be hard for him to get excited about decorating, so I don't think much of that rule. But one thing I do think a lot of are my mom's holiday treats. Oh man, if there was one thing my mom did best it was the holidays. I have memories of there being an abundance of popcorn balls, cookies, cakes and most of all this delicious lemon sauce she made to put over hot gingerbread. I'm sharing this with you because hopefully it will create fond memories for you and yours.

So here's what you'll need:

1 box Betty Crocker gingerbread mix
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice with seeds removed




Ok ok ok, I'll admit, I'm cheating. I'm using a mix for the gingerbread but I am not a great baker so, sorry to disappoint but a mix it is. And because we're using a mix be sure you have all the things you need on the back of the box for the mix. I used Betty Crocker and that called for 1 1/4 cups of water and one egg.

You'll need to mix your gingerbread ingredients in a bowl and pour them into a cupcake pan. We got a mini bundt pan for a wedding gift so I'm using that. It makes them really cute but if you want one you can sure get one at Target for a little over 10 dollars. Very cute and very worth it. After they are done let them cool off in the pan while you make your lemon sauce. This is very important that you follow every step correctly or you will end up with burned glue in the bottom of your sauce pan. Ready?

In a one quart pan over medium heat stir your sugar and cornstarch and gradually add your water stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and boils, boil and stir it for about 1 minute. Finally, remove it from heat and immediately add the butter, lemon juice and lemon peel keep stirring until it's all incorporated and smooth. Serve it warm or cool, either way it's still delicious.



















Happy Eating!

Chicken with Broccoli and Cheese, Please!

Today I woke up with the headache I had from last night but luckily the hubster had to be at work early and didn't let me get up to make him breakfast. So, I got to sleep in (yes!) and as a thank you to him for being so sweet I decided to make him a favorite dish of his for dinner. It takes a little more effort than we're used to but bear with me and stick to it because it's all worth it in the end.

You'll need:

2 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

3 cups diced, cooked chicken

1 16 oz bag frozen broccoli, thawed

1 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

3 cups long-grain white rice, prepared according to the package

2 cups cheddar cheese, sharp or mild, divided
2 tsp salt

As usual I prepare the boneless skinless chicken breasts with salt, pepper and olive oil (keep the oven set to 350 after the chicken is done.) While it's cooking, prepare the rice accordingly and dice your water chestnuts. Transfer both the chicken and chestnuts to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Sautee the onions in the 2 Tbsp butter and add them to the bowl along with the broccoli, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, rice and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and mix well. 

In a 13x9 dish spread the mixture in evenly and top with the remaining 1 cup of cheddar. Bake it for 25-30 minutes or until the casserole is nice and bubbly and the cheese is melted. This is one of my favorite dishes and I hope it'll be one of yours too! As always...

Happy Eating!

Nutty Amaretto Cake Balls!

Hey there all you Junkettes! Guess what? Yesterday we reached our 300th view! Wahooo!!! I couldn't be happier and so in honor of that I am celebrating with a nice twist on a new favorite, the cake ball. Oh, the cake ball... so little, so sweet, so succulent. My best friend Kaci introduced me to these and even helped my Hubster and I roll, coat and wrap 250 of these little beauties for our wedding. Our guests loved them and I know you will too!

You'll need:

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 can chocolate icing
1/4-1/2 cup amaretto liqueur
1/2 cup chopped or finely chopped nuts
2 packages candy coating or almond bark
Eggs*
Oil*
Water*



Preheat your oven to the temperature required for your cake mix, the eggs, oil and water are usually needed for every cake mix. But seeing as how every box is different I won't put specific measurements.
Prepare your batter as indicated on the back of the box, EXCEPT replace 1/4 a cup of water with 1/4 a cup of amaretto liqueur.

After it's all baked take it out of the oven and be sure it's thoroughly cooled all the way. Even if you have to refrigerate it overnight. You do not want to deal with the gloppy mess that is warm cake and icing. Next, crumble the cake into very fine pieces and almost resembles potting soil dirt. After it's good and crumbled add in the icing. I used one whole can of the chocolate icing to one box of cake mix.

You might have to get your hands dirty for this next part and don't be afraid to either! Mix the cake mix until it's sticky and you're able to mold it into balls. Using a tablespoon scoop out and shape into balls. Once they are all shaped and ready to go, put them in the freezer for 1 hour. so they can be nice and firm when you put them in the hot coating.

Finally, after they've cooled for the hour, melt your candy coating or almond bark and dip them one by one into the coating. Coating the top and all sides scoop them out and shake them from your spoon onto a nice piece of parchment paper and immediately toss a few pecans on top. Let them cool before you take them off the paper and remove any excess bark from the bottom of the ball.

Kaci does a way better job with these than I ever could. But they are fun to make and eat and even more fun to share! Thanks again to everyone for being the best fans ever! Here's to another 300 views!




Happy Eating!

Camille's Crockpot Chicken and Noodles!

My mother in law invited us over to her house for dinner a couple of weekends ago and on the menu was this dish my hubs was raving about. Chicken and noodles. The day came and I could smell it and it smelled amazing and when I saw it I was skeptical because I am a big texture person and if it doesn't look like it will feel good then I won't like it. I was worried. I honestly thought, "Oh no, what if I don't like it? I'll embarrass my husband!" Finally it was time to eat and I served myself a nice portion to start off with because I have a motto and as a food junkie it's one I have to live by and that is: Try everything once! I took a bite and it was phenomenal! I felt so bad for even considering it might not be good. And it's so super easy to make you'll be going back for seconds like me....and thirds...

You'll need:

3 Chicken Breasts
2 10.5 oz Cream of chicken soup
1 cup diced onions
3 Tbsp garlic
2 cups water
1 16 oz bag noodles (fettuccine or linguine)
1 cup chicken stock
Salt
Pepper


You'll also need your trusty Crockpot for this one! Put the chicken in the cockpot with the water soup, onions and garlic and cook for 6 hours until the chicken is almost falling apart. about 30 minutes before the 6 hours are up cook your noodles until they are al dente and drain them well. After the chicken has cooked 6 hours take it out and put it in a separate bowl and with a fork and tongs start to shred it until it's little threads of chicken. While the chicken is out of the crock pot add the noodles and chicken stock to the soup mixture and mix it well. If it's too thick add a little more chicken stock. You don't want it to be runny but you do want it to be loosened up enough that you're able to mix the chicken in without tearing any noodles. Finally, add the chicken and mix it well.

My Crockpot has a 'Keep Warm' feature but if nothing else just keep it covered on low until dinner time or you're ready to serve. The husband will swear by putting it over mashed potatoes but over or with doesn't matter as long as they're together. Also green beans go awesome with this dish too!











Happy Eating!

Snow Day Pot Roast and Creamy Meatloaf Appetizers!

Hey folks! Today is a great day for me! We are at our 250th page view! I'm so happy and thank you all so much for reading and taking interest in my mundane life! Also, South Bend, IN got their first snow of the year! Wahoooo!!! I love snow because I'm a Texas girl and snow is not something we see every winter so to get it in November is a real treat for me. However, in the process of actually waiting for the snow I was a bad wife and started the pot roast late. With the hubster home and hungry I went to the fridge to find something to tide him over. All I found was the left over meatloaf and a block of cream cheese we never used. I pulled them out, and found some Ritz crackers in the pantry and thus our creamy meatloaf appetizers were born.  So if you want to make those...

You'll need:

left over meatloaf
plain cream cheese
Ritz crackers


Warm up the meatloaf and spread the cream cheese on the cracker. Top it off with a little chunk of meatloaf and voila! It's fantastic in your mouth!

But if you're not brave enough to try the creamy meatloaf and want to skip right to the pot roast then break out the dutch oven and let's get started!

You'll need:

1 chuck roast between (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs)
1 lbs baby carrots
9-10 red potatoes
3 celery stalks
2 ears of corn, halved
1 onion
3 Tbsp garlic
1 10.5 oz can Campbells beef broth
Salt
Pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray down your dutch oven with a little nonstick spray and place the pot roast in there. Apply your salt and pepper as liberally as you'd like on both sides and add your garlic. I like to add a cup of diced onions and celery early to get more flavor into the pot roast. Next, add the beef broth and 2 cups of water.  Let it sit in the oven for 3 hours. While it's cooking, go ahead and utilize this time to half or quarter your potatoes. Unless they're small do not drop them in whole it will take longer to cook and the carrots will turn to mush by the time they're done.

Be sure to check it every hour to make sure it's not getting bone dry if it does add another cup of water. You'll want the water level to almost cover the pot roast at all times. After it's been in there 3 hours, add the corn, whole onion, carrots and potatoes in that order and let it roast for another  hour. The potatoes will be tender by that time.


After it's done, take it out and let it sit for about 5 mintues as it will be searing hot and then you won't be able to taste the awesomeness of the tender succulent pot roast. Serve it with some biscuits and you're set.


Happy Eating!