A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Pinterest Recipe: 1, 2, 3 Cobbler: Fruit, Cake Mix, Sprite...and that's it!

"Hi, My name is Glenna and I, too, am addicted to Pinterest."

I admit it.  I have a million (well, maybe not QUITE that many) pins of recipes and crafts that I will, I promise myself, someday cook, create, paint, plant, or read. 

I pinned this cobbler photo/recipe earlier this very afternoon and thought "I have all three of these things on hand, why not tonight?"  So, along with the spaghetti, homemade bread, and roasted garlic we had for dinner, we also have this lovely peach (or the original is berry) cobbler to enjoy for a little something sweet to end the night on.

I tracked this photo back to Jennifer's blog "Living a Changed Life", Be sure to check it out  and follow her amazingly inspirational weight loss journey. 

I followed the directions which are just as simple as the directions someone has written on the Pin itself:

Creamy Vegetable Soup for the Crock-pot/Slow Cooker

 I love soup. I particularly love cream soups, although I often feel guilty for eating them.  There's something ultimately wintery and comforting about soups with creamy heartiness that feels so good and yet so decadent.  But.  Using a trick I learned from a Pinterest recfpe for creamy chicken chili, creaminess doesn't have to equal loads of cream, flour, and butter. It's amazing what cream cheese can do in a slow cooker to transform a simple vegetable woup into a creamy feast on a cold winter's day.

Creamy Crock-pot/Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

Recipe by Glenna Anderson Muse

Ingredients:

• 4 medium Yukon Gold (or russets or red-skinned) potatoes
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 cup carrots, julienned
• I cup celery diced
• 1 mdium onion, diced
• 1 red or green sweet pepper, cut into strips
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 14.5 oz can Kidney, Pinto, or Navy Beans
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 15.5 oz can chicken broth
• 8 oz pkg light cream cheese
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

In heavy-bottomed skillet over mdium heat, saute garlic and onion in olive oil.  Add celery and pepper and saute for 3-3 minutes.  Add all  to crockpot along with rest of vegetables, beans, and spices.  Pour over chicken broth and lay cream cheese on top.  Cook on high for 2 hours and hten turn to low for 6-8 hours. Stir to mix cream cheese.

Makes 10 cups.

Nutrition per 1 cup serving:  Calories:    167;   Protein:    6.3;    Carbs:    16;    Fat:     6;       Fiber:     4.2;    Weight Watchers Points:      3

 

 

Jiffy Mix Cornbread Breakfast Egg Casserole

 

  Mmmmm....weeeknd breakfast casseroles.  They can range from the greasy to the sublime and I have to say this is one of my favorites.  Quick and easy to put together, I have have a few tricks to make it go even faster.

This little gem is an easy mix of breakfast sausage patties, hashbrowns, sweet bell pepper, onion, eggs...and cornbread! Yes, cornbread.  The best part about it is that you can pull the sausage and hashbrowns from the freezer and the cornbread doesn't have to be pre-baked so the whole thing can be prepped and in the oven in about 10 minutes.

It's a great combo of savory, sweet, eggy goodness perfect for a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning at home.  Makes 10-12 servings but our house, we love it so much, it's more like 4-6 servings!

Other great baked egg breakfasts:

Paula Deen's Artichoke Frittata: Sunday morning with the Nieces

Classic Quiche Lorraine for Breakfast

Scotch Eggs

Feb 12, 2013: Happy Fat Tuesday--Mardi Gras King's Cake

 This is my very very favorite King Cake recipe. I've made it for several years and it's always a huge hit. It's a great combination of buttery pastry, creamy fruit filling, and just enough sugar to be a dessert but not so sugary that it's overwhelming.

Good & Good For You: Ground Beef, Potato, & Veggie Chowder

 

There's something about cold, rainy nights that demand soup, isn't there?  Something warm and comforting on the inside to combat the dreariness of the outside.  This soup started out as a simple potato and milk soup but then Hubby Gene said "Can you put hamburger in it?" I thought "Why not?"  I knew I'd put lots of onion and celery in it, but on the heels of the ground beef addition, I also chopped fresh parsley, sweet red and green pepper, carrots, and fresh mushrooms so that our Yukon Gold simple potato soup became a very hearty and tasty ground beef, potato, and tons of veggies chowder, so yummy it's a pleasure to eat leftovers the rest of the weekend. 

 

 

Copycat: Better than Fig Newtons Fig Cookie Bars

 

We were craving something sweet this weekend, so rummaging through the pantry I found a jar of no-sugar-added fig jam from The Amish Country Store in Branson and said to myself "Self?  If I baked this wonderful jam over a shortbread crust, wouldn't that make for great home-made Fig Newtons?" 

It did!

The shortbread crust is a mix of cream cheese and butter, along with a mix of all-purpose flour and long cooking oatmeal.  The cream cheese and oatmeal make for a chewier crust, while the crumbled topping give a little extra crunch. Once the cream cheese and butter have softened, it's also a quick prep using only two bowls, one spatula, a mixer and a baking dish.

We tried to wait until they'd completely cooled but it was a lost cause. I can officially attest that they're yummy both still warm and cool and will store up to several days in covered container...if they last that long! 

Fudgey Fudge Brownies

I must confess. I am one of the few people on the planet who doesn't crave chocolate. Not only does that make me a weirdo, it must be genetic because my Auntie Miranda and my brother, Kenneth, aren't big chocolate fans either. I thought it was just the three of us against the world until the other night one of hte gals I work with, Lauren, admitted she doesn't like chocolate either.

But.  I like this chocolate brownie.  Does my previous confession sell this recipe?

Auntie Miranda is the one who figured it out.. We don't like milk chocolate but we all three (don't know about Lauren) occasionally do like to eat dark or semi-sweet chocolate.  Another plus for this recipe is that its chocolate flavor comes from chocolate chips, not cocoa. Nothing wrong with cocoa but it does make for a different taste.  The chips or bar chocolate make the difference for me.

Easy Peasy Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker for a Crowd

 When it comes to cooking for a crowd, the slow cooker or Crock-pot is my best friend and favorite kitchen appliance.  Nothing is easier to cook in as long as you plan ahead of time and have everything ready to go that morning.  Even better, many dishes can be made a day or two ahead of time so that when I'm entertaining I can finish up cooking the day of the party without spending all day long and all of my energy just cooking.  I've spent too many years being exhausted before company even got to my house to even enjoy them but years ago I figured out I could still cook nice home-made meals without making myself tired, cranky, and crazy.

This recipe for slow cooker pulled pork is great for a crowd of 12-16, depending on how hearty the appetites are, and it goes together in a snap, can be made ahead, and leaves one less thing to have to think about before company shows up. 

Easy Baked Custard with Caramel Sauce

 Baked Custard... one of my top comfort foods since I was a kid.  Baked custard is very similar to the caramel flan found in Mexican restaurants, although good caramel flan usually has a crunchy sugar coating on top rather than a caramel sauce topping.

This recipe is very quick and easy to put togetherr and makes for a great dessert warm or cold. 

Home-Made Buttermilk Herb (Ranch) Dressing

 I know that in some circles "ranch" dressing or dip is considered passe' but, to me, it ranks up there will all my favorite comfort foods like mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, chicken pot pie, and all the rest of the delicious, non-pretensious things that are so lovely and comforting to eat.  I do admit, though, that ranch dressing out a bottle from a grocer's shelf doesn't thrill me but making it home-made with fresh herbs is definitely the ticket! 

It's also much better for you.  Think about it.  Sure, it's a little more work to put the ingredients together but when you make it from scratch, including the mayo, you're talking about eating eggs, cold-pressed oil, buttermilk, dill, parsley, garlic, etc., all whole foods  not tons of chemicals and preservatives. That, and the fresh creamy herby taste make it worth every one of those 15 minute spent preparing it.