Blueberry-Peach Dump Cake

Did you think I died?  There's been a lot going on in life and it's only going to get more crazy from here but I'm back on the saddle... I think.  :)

I needed a quick dessert the other night and based on the ingredients I had I decided to go with a dump cake.  If I'm being honest it was less about the ingredients I had and more about being lazy and doing NO research on a dessert.  Dump cake has been around forever and I don't know where the recipe actually originated.  The Pioneer Woman did a post about dump cake so i'll link it back to her.

The best thing about Dump Cake is that it's super easy and you can use whatever you want.  I used blueberry and peaches because that's what I had.  I think blueberry with lemon cake mix would be delicious too.  Go crazy.

Blueberry-Peach Dump Cake:
(Pioneer Woman and the internets)

1 box yellow cake mix
1 can sliced peaches in juice
1 pint blueberries
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a baking dish mix the fruit together with the vanilla.  Top with the cake mix and dot with the stick of butter.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the fruit juices have started to bubble up around the crust.

Seriously.... that's the entire recipe.  It's delicious.  Next time you have to make something for desert in an hour pull this out of the recipe box.  It's easy and no one will know that it's cake mix from a box.

Red Beans and Rice

I love red beans and rice.  It's a comfort food to me and one of those dishes that are perfect to eat when it's raining or cold outside.  It's also a really hardy meal.  Now that school is back in session my daily commute has doubled, which means I have less time to cook dinner.  It's has made me look at different meals and different ways to prepare those meals. This has led me to the crock-pot.

I was really happy with how this meal came together.  I prepped all of my veggies the night before, put them in a storage container, and threw everything in the crock pot the next morning.  11 hours later I got home from work, threw my rice on the stove, and dinner was served!  If you're looking for an easy week night dinner try this out.  I also think this would freeze well.

Red Beans & Rice:(adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

Ingredients:
1 pound dried red beans (I used kidney beans)
7 cups water
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped (including leaves)
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon blackening seasoning
Salt to taste
Hot cooked rice

Directions:
Place all of the ingredients, except for the rice in a crock pot.  Cook on LOW for 10+ hours or on HIGH for 7 hours.

When ready to eat, serve over hot rice with cornbread.

This would also be great with sausage, which is traditional.

Breakfast Potatoes

My wonderful dog Bowzer woke me up at the crack of dawn on Saturday.  (Thank you sweet dog).  We went on a long walk, ran around the dog park, and came back up stairs to relax (or chase the cat around) until Mr. T got out of bed.

As we were watching our favorite tv shows I decided that it would be a nice surprise to make breakfast when Mr. T got out of bed.  After going through the pantry and vegetable bowl I decided on breakfast potatoes.  I took The Pioneer Woman's basic breakfast potato recipe and added a couple of more things to it.

Breakfast Potatoes:
(The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
4 whole (to 5) Large Red Potatoes
1 whole Onion, chopped
1 Bell Pepper, Diced
2 cloves of Garlic, diced
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Or Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 Teaspoon Paprika

Directions:

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover entirely with water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender. When they are ready, place the potatoes on a cutting board and dice them into 1-inch pieces.

In a large skillet heat oil and butter over medium-low heat. Put the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in the skillet and sauté until they start to turn brown.

Next, throw in the diced potatoes. Stir well and then slightly press/pack then. Now you will cook them without stirring for several minutes. You want the pan to be hot enough to crisp the potatoes but not hot enough to char them. Sprinkle a spoon full of flour over potatoes as they cook.

Cook for several minutes and then flip them with a spatula. Salt and Pepper them as they cook. Cook until desired brownness.

Crispy Lemon Tilapia

Tilapia was on sale this week. (It seems like I use that sentence a lot, oh well)  I was on a quest to try a different preparation of a household classic.

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and decided to give it a shot.  Most of the ingredients are all things that I keep in the house almost all of the time.














Crispy Lemon Tilapia:
(adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

Ingredients:
1 pound Tilapia Fillets
¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
⅛ teaspoons Black Pepper
3 Tablespoons Flour
1 Tablespoon Old Bay
1 whole Lemon, Zest And Juice
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley

Directions:

Lightly season both sides of the tilapia fillets with kosher salt and pepper to taste.  On a separate plate, mix the flour, seasoning and lemon zest.  Lightly dredge each tilapia fillet in the flour mixture, coating each side and pressing coating onto flesh so that it sticks.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Place the coated fish in the skillet and let it cook, for 2 minutes. Flip the fish and cook for 2 more minutes on the other side.

Remove the fish, squeeze the lemon juice over the fish. Serve immediately.

Pioneer Woman's Iced Coffee

I have a problem.  I love iced coffee like woah.

I've made it at home tons of times, and we made it twice daily when I worked in a restaurant but I've never made it like The Pioneer Woman does.  I always made it from a hot pot.  After hearing tons of raves about this version I decided to give it a shot.

I'm glad I did.  It tastes awesome and the entire pitcher cost me about $2.50.

Perfect Iced Coffee:
(Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

1 pound Ground Coffee (good, Rich Roast)
8 quarts Cold Water
Half-and-half (healthy Splash Per Serving)
Sweetened Condensed Milk (2-3 Tablespoons Per Serving)

Directions:

In a large container, mix ground coffee with water. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature eight hours or overnight.

Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a pitcher or other container. Pour coffee/water mixture through the strainer, allowing all liquid to run through. Discard grounds.

Place coffee liquid in the fridge and allow to cool. Use as needed.

To make iced coffee, pack a glass full of ice cubes. Fill glass 2/3 full with coffee liquid. Add healthy splash of half-and-half. Add 2-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (can use plain sugar instead) and stir to combine. Taste and adjust half-and-half and/or sweetened condensed milk as needed.

Sweet Corn Bread

I made BBQ Beef the other night and decided that it would be nice to have some cornbread to go with it.  I like sweet cornbread and since I was making it I decided to go with that!  (So there!)

In my quest to find some good cornbread recipes I ended up on the Tasty Kitchen website, which is run by the The Pioneer Woman.  This was easy to make and the only thing I had to buy was the can of creamed corn.  I call that a win.  Mr. T enjoyed it too (as you can see by the missing corner).

Sweet Cornbread:
(Tasty Kitchen- asweetpeachef)

Ingredients:
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
½ cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2-½ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 whole Egg
1 cup Milk
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
½ cup Creamed Corn


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt) in a large mixing bowl. In a separate, smaller mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients (egg, milk, oil and creamed corn). Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Be careful not to over-mix.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick or knife to the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

Mustard Chicken Tenders

I made Pioneer Woman's Ranch Style Chicken last week.  It was really good and really easy.  Well, we had some chicken tenders in the freezer without and idea of what to do with them.  I decided to take inspiration from PW's chicken and make some mustard chicken tenders.

Mustard Chicken Tenders: 

(inspired from Pioneer Woman's Ranch Style Chicken)

1 package of chicken tenders

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup country grainy mustard

juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

sprinkle of crushed red pepper

canola oil

In a bowl mix together the honey, mustard, lemon juice, paprika, garlic powder, and red pepper.  Spread the mixture over the chicken tenders and sit in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes.  (Use this time to work on your dinner sides)

In a skillet heat up some canola oil (1-2 tablespoons) until everything is really hot.  Add the chicken tenders and cook 1-2 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked through and brown on the outside.

Ranch Style Chicken

I've been wanting to make this dish for a while.  I love chicken and tend to get in a rut, like most of us I guess, when it comes to making it.  I thought that this was pretty easy to make, and would have been even easier if I had taken the chicken out of the freezer with enough time to properly defrost.  Oh well.

 

Ranch Style Chicken:
(Pioneer Woman)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Thick cut bacon

Bacon grease

½ cup Honey

½ cup Dijon or Country/Grainy Mustard

Juice from ½ a lemon

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt

Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Canola oil

Mix together 1/2 cup Dijon or country/grainy mustard with 1/2 cup honey. Add juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like things a little spicy.  Whisk it together until smooth.

Place one chicken breast between two sheets of waxed paper.  Place one chicken breast between two sheets of waxed paper.  With a mallet or a rolling pin lightly pound the chicken breast so that the thickness is uniform. It should be around 1/2 to 3/4″ thick.  Add all the chicken to the bowl with the marinade. You’ll want to cover this with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.

Fry up some bacon while the chicken is marinating.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon grease, and go ahead and clean out the skillet. Otherwise, it’ll get too smoky.

When you’re ready to prepare the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade into the sink. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of Canola Oil in the clean skillet over medium-high to high heat.  When the grease is sufficiently heated, add a batch of chicken to the skillet. Don’t overcrowd the skillet, just 3 pieces is usually enough.

Watch the chicken, and when it starts to get brown/black on one side flip it to the other side. Cook just until brown/blackish areas appear. Each side should cook for a maximum of 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Repeat with all the chicken breasts, then set them on a large baking sheet. Go ahead and throw the pan of chicken into the hot oven for about ten minutes to continue cooking. Then remove the pan from the oven and place a couple of pieces of bacon on each piece of chicken.

Next, grab some grated sharp cheddar and sprinkle it over the top as generously as you’d like.  Return the pan to the oven for an additional five minutes, or until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling.

Potatoes au Gratin

When you add cheese to potatoes (and why wouldn't you?) you end up with potatoes au gratin.  This recipe is amazing.  This dish has quickly made it to the top of the potato list.

Potatoes au Gratin:
(Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
4 whole Russet Potatoes, Scrubbed Clean
2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
1-½ cup Heavy Cream
½ cups Whole Milk
2 Tablespoons Flour
4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1 teaspoon Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated
8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled *optional

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a baking dish.
Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish.













Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes.  Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture.














Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving

Cubed Steak Sandwhich

I grew up eating cubed steak quite a bit.  My mom would always toss them in a little bit of flour, cook them in a cast-iron skillet, and serve them with rice and veggies.  I found this recipe from The Pioneer Woman and I decided to make it for my mom's workshop.  I tweaked it a little bit.

Cubed Steak Sandwich:
(adapted from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

1 whole Large (or 2 Small) Onions
1 container of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 sticks Butter
2 pounds (to 3 Pounds) Cube Steak
Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I used store brand, because I'm cheap)
½ cup (approximately) Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce, To Taste
4 whole French/deli Rolls

Instructions:

Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.

 

Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with seasoning salt.  

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. 

 

Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.

Add 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add cooked mushrooms and onions. Stir to combine.

Slice the deli rolls in half and toast in the oven. Place the meat, onions, and mushrooms on top of the rolls.  Make sure that you pour the gravy on top of the meat.  

These really are good.  Mr. T is looking forward to eating these again.  I feel like there would be a lot of ways to change this up depending on what your family likes.  I added the mushrooms but I also think bell peppers would make a good addition.

Someone try it out and let me know.

Macaroni and Cheese

I decided to go with macaroni and cheese for our 4th of July cookout.  I was going to make macaroni salad but frankly, I don't like cold macaroni salad.  Call me unsouthern, I don't care.

This is my first time making this version of macaroni and cheese.  I keep hearing from people that it's the best version that they have ever had.  I figured that if that many people say it's good that it must be worth a shot, so I made a test batch for my mom, aunt, grandma, and sister.

Macaroni and Cheese:
(adapted from Pioneer Woman)

4 cups of elbow macaroni
½ stick of regular, salted butter
4 tbls all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups whole milk

2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 egg

1 pound of cheese: This time I used White Cheddar and Swiss.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta but be sure to leave it a bit undercooked since it'll be going in the oven.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Set aside. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt 1/2 stick of butter.  Sprinkle in 4 tablespoons flour.

Whisk the mixture together over medium-low heat until totally combined, make sure it doesn't burn.  Then continue cooking for around 5 minutes, whisking constantly.  Pour in 2 1/2 cups whole milk.  Immediately dump in 2 heaping teaspoons of dry mustard.

Now, whisk the mixture together and cook for about 5 minutes. It will get extremely thick, almost like a cream gravy.

At that point, reduce the heat to low. Use a 1/4 cup measure to retrieve a small amount of the sauce.

Pour the small amount of sauce into the beaten egg slowly.  Begin whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Whisk until cooled.  Then dump the tempered egg into the pan. Whisk together until combined.

Now dump in all but about 1/2 cup of the grated cheese.  Stir together until it’s all melted and turn off the heat.

Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt. Add plenty of pepper.  Now just dump in the drained, not-fully-cooked macaroni. 

Pour into a baking dish, add more cheese on top, bake for 20-25 minutes.

I can't wait until I get to make this again.  Everyone at my house loved it. 

Here's my confession.  I used more than 1 pound of cheese.  I probably used a pound and a half.  I'm a little obsessed with cheese though.