Some of my new favorites

I have been way behind on Blogging, but I am caught up on cooking and here are some new recipes I am loving right now:


Blueberry Muffins
Category: Baked Goods
Sub Category: Muffins
Source: Self – Gwyneth Paltrow

½ c butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
½ c whole milk
2 c flour
¾ c plus 1 t sugar, divided
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 ½ c blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line 12 muffin cups with liners.

2. Whisk butter, eggs and milk. Combine flour, ¾ c sugar, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Stir wet ingredients into dry. Fold in berries.

3. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle with remaining 1 t sugar. Bake 25-30 min until golden and a knife comes out clean.

Coconut Layer Cake
Category: Desserts
Sub Category: Cake
Source: More

3 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 c cake flour
1 ¼ c sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ t vanilla
2 ½ t baking powder
3/4 t salt
3 c shredded sweetened coconut
¾ c milk
1 lb box powdered sugar
2-4 T coconut milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two 9-in cake pans

2. Cream 1 ¼ sticks butter with the sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add 1 t vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, ¼ t salt and ½ c coconut. Add to mixer alternating with the milk just until combined. Do not over mix.

3. Divide batter among pans. Bake 25 min until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

4. Cream remaining 2 sticks of butter with powdered sugar, ½ t salt and ½ t vanilla until creamy. Gradually add enough coconut milk to reach spreadable consistency.

5. When cake is cool, spread 1/3 of the frosting on one layer all the way to edges and sprinkle with ½ c coconut. Top with other layer. Spread on 1/3 of the frosting and use the rest to cover the sides. Press 2 c coconut onto top and sides of cake.

Note: I don't do well with layer cakes, so I did this in a 9 x 13 pan and it worked great. I baked it an extra five minutes.

German Chocolate Cake
Category: Desserts
Sub Category: Cake
Source: Food and Wine

2 ½ c cake flour
1/8 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
¼ t salt
1 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs, separated
6 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Frosting
1 c pecans, coarsely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 lb confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ T cocoa
1 t vanilla
¼ c hot coffee
½ c packed sweetened shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 325. Prepare two 9-in cake pans. In small bowl, whisk flour w/cinnamon, nutmeg & salt. In a cup, stir buttermilk w/vanilla and baking soda until combined. In stand mixer, beat butter & sugar until fluffy. Add egg yolks; beat until incorporated; beat in chocolate. Beat in dry and wet ingredients in three alternating batches.

2. Transfer batter to a large bowl and wash out mixing bowl. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold beaten whites into batter until no streaks remain.

3. Divide batter b/w pans and bake 45-50 min, until toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.

4. Beat softened butter w/powdered sugar and cocoa until combined. Add vanilla & coffee; beat until fluffy. Fold in coconut and pecans. Frost layers and sides of cake.

Note: Don't make this if you are looking for style points. It is SO good, but it did not look very pretty. At first I thought it was because I have bad luck with layer cakes, but I tried it in a 9 x 13 and it still baked up weird. Again, it was very, very good, but not very pretty. I noticed that the magazine didn't have a picture, either, so I don't think it is just me.

Recipe Project

I have been working my way through the main dish recipes on Kelly's Blog. I have to say that I haven't been wowed by anything yet. I did do a remake on Kelly's Chicken Supreme. I turned it into a healthy casserole and it was really good. All three of us loved it and it was easy. I have to tweak it a little bit to get a better consistency, but I have high hopes. You can read about the original recipe here.

Here is the run down of the other recipes I have tried. Like I said, I have not been won over, but these have all been easy and inexpensive and probably things most kids would eat. That is likely the criteria in a lot of households, so these may work for you if you have similar standards.

Girl Scout Casserole - This was okay. My friend's 10 year old daughter was staying with us and she loved it - she took several servings home for her family. And Aaron enjoyed it, as well. My husband and I thought it was okay. It is definitely something kids will eat, but the top two layers are store bought biscuits and American Cheese slices. So I'm not sure if it's what you want your kids to eat. Being that the bottom layer is ground beef (no big servings of vegetables hidden in there) there just aren't a lot of redeeming qualities to this dish. If I did make it again I would make homemade drop biscuits and spread the dough on top of the casserole instead of using the store bought biscuits. The way this recipe comes out each serving has a big biscuit and a slice of cheese on top. I would probably also use shredded cheddar instead of American Slices.

Mexican Tortilla Stack - This recipe was posted by the same person who posted the Girl Scout Casserole. It was very underwhelming, but it was cheap and easy. There's nothing very healthy about it, but it's not horrible - it is beef, beans, cheese and tortillas. The only flavor comes from chili powder which I thought was a strange choice. It over powered the dish a bit. I cared very little for this and my husband thought it was okay, but dumping salsa on it helped tremendously.

Crescent Ring - Wow. This was posted as an entree and the recipe indicates that it serves 6. That means that each person is eating almost three store bought crescent rolls and three slices of bacon for dinner. That's just not dinner in the boring Allen household, so I made this as an appetizer for a group and turned it into 14 servings. It was popular, but I still wouldn't consider it an option for a meal.

Hawaiian Meatloaf - This was different. The recipe does indicate that this can be made into meat balls and I could see that as an appetizer at a party - a bit like Sweet and Sour Meatballs. But for dinner, it was a little strange. This is beef baked with pineapples and covered in a very sweet sauce. It was okay, but not something we would have again.

Pizza Bites - This is another one that seemed like an odd choice for an entree for me. It is basically pizza muffins. I made them for an appetizer for a group. They were alright, but no one asked for the recipe.

That's where I am so far. Hopefully soon I'll have some recipes I can recommend!

Smores Bars

YUM! I got this recipe from Jennifer's blog and she had gotten it from someone else's blog. It is SO good. I wasn't sure it would live up to my hopes, but it did.

Smores Cookie Bars
Category: Desserts
Sub Category:
Source: Jennifer Francis

½ c butter, room temperature
¼ c brown sugar
½ c sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 1/3 c flour
¾ c graham cracker crumbs
1 t baking powder
¼ t salt
2 king size Hershey’s bars
1 ½ c marshmallow crème

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-in square baking dish.

2. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at low speed until combined.

3. Divide dough in half and press half into an even layer in pan. Place chocolate bars over dough in single layer. Spread chocolate with marshmallow crème. Place remaining dough in single layer on top.

4. Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

My Husband's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband is a bit of a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur. This recipe has been his favorite for years. It is funny because it is from Cooking Light and for the longest time he did not believe me when I told him that. They're still cookies, but maybe they are a little better for you? I will say they don't have a ton of chocolate chips in them which is a plus for Jory but maybe not for everyone.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Category: Desserts
Sub Category:
Source: Cooking Light

2 ¼ c flour
1 t baking soda
¼ t salt
1 c packed brown sugar
¾ c sugar
½ c butter, softened
1 t vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
¾ c semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking Spray

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt, stirring with a whisk.

3. Combine sugars and butter in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg whites; beat one minute. Add flour mixture and chips; beat until blended.

4. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Coon on pans for two minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Chicken Lasagna

This is one of my most popular recipes and I always mean to take a picture of it because it is so pretty, but I always forget, so I am posting the recipe without it. I made it recently for a dinner party and had so many people ask for the recipe. One woman said it was the best thing she had eaten in a long time!


Chicken Spinach Lasagna Casserole
Category: Main Dishes
Sub Category: Chicken
Source: Redbook - Trisha Yearwood

1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2 c grated cheddar cheese
1/3 c chopped onion
1 T cornstarch
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1T soy sauce
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 c sour cream
1 (4 ½ oz) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1/3 c mayonnaise
6 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 c chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. In a large bowl, combine 1st 12 ingredients. Put a layer of noodles in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Spread half of the spinach mixture over noodles. Place another layer of noodles on top and cover with the remaining mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese, then pecans on top and bake for 1 hour.

Notes: 1. I use frozen chopped onions.

2. I have used canned chicken and couldn't tell the difference

3. I have used light sour cream and/or light mayo and couldn't tell the difference

Sweet Potato Cobbler

I made Jory Sweet Potato Cobbler last weekend. It is his favorite food in the world. That is not a lie. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I was going to make it!


Sweet Potato Cobbler
Category: Desserts
Sub Category:
Source: GSTSPQ

2 c boiled, peeled sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
1 stick butter
2 c water
2 c sugar
1 ½ c self-rising flour
½ c shortening
1/3 c milk
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg

1. Melt butter in 13x9 pan.

2. Heat water and sugar until sugar melts.

3. Make dough with next three ingredients. Roll into a ¼ in thick rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. Put sweet potatoes on dough, roll it up and pinch ends to seal. Slice roll into 15-20 pieces and put them in pan of butter.

5. Pour sugar syrup over pieces and bake 45 minutes at 350.


Notes: 1. This generally takes one very large sweet potato. I boil it for 5-10 minutes to make the skin easy to peel off and it a little easier to cut. Then I peel it, dice it and boil the chunck a little longer until they are tender.

2. The crust is a little hard to work with. I put about half of it in the pan, top it with the potatoes and then with the other half of the dough. Then I just mash it down real good. It bakes up fine.

The Recipe Project has begun

This is Chicken Breast Supreme. It is the first dish I tried as I am making my way through the hundreds of main dishes posted on Kelly's blog. This dish is from Kelly. The first four I am trying are her recipes then I will proceed through the posted contributions. This is chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and baked in a sour cream and mushroom sauce. I had actually decided before I even made it that it was not going to be a keeper. That was partially because it is really high in fat, but mostly because it required me to buy meat in a jar. I didn't even know you could buy such a thing and Kelly's helpful hint that it is found near the Spam did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. But as it was baking it smelled SO good. I thought I would reconsider.

Kelly suggested serving it over rice and I really liked the sauce in the rice. But when it came to the chicken I picked off the bacon and dried beef which took most of the sauce and I was just eating a chicken breast. Also, when we got done with the chicken there was SO much sauce left. And we didn't get that many meals out of the chicken.

VERDICT...I won't make this again, but I am going to try to make a slightly healthier version of the sauce and pour it over shredded chicken and rice and make a casserole out of it. Stay tuned for that. If you want the original recipe for Chicken Breast Supreme it is here.

King Ranch Chicken
I didn't take a picture of this one, but I should have because it looked really nice. I have been wanting a good King Ranch recipe. This one was different than what I'm used to because it had a soup base versus a sour cream base. Aaron loved it which was bonus, but it was a little bland for me.

VERDICT...This was fine...nothing wrong with it at all, but it didn't win me over and I'm still looking for a King Ranch Chicken recipe. If you want this one, it is here.

Poppyseed Chicken
This is another recipe I have been wanting a good version of. Kelly didn't say where this originated, but based on the two cups of sour cream and the stick of butter I am guessing Paula Deen! This was good, but it was a little runny to me and I wish it was a little more calorie conscious.

VERDICT...This was good, but I think I'm still in search of a Poppyseed Chicken recipe. If you want this one, it is here.

I will say that one of my favorite recipes came from Kelly's blog. It is Swiss Stuffing Chicken and I have blogged about it before. I think it actually did come for Paula Deen and it is good!