Not in the Mood!

Ok guys get your mind out of the gutter! LOL I'm not talking about THAT! I haven't been in the mood much to cook. My husband has left to start his new job and I'm stuck here with 3 kids trying to sell this house! I feel like my kids don't appreciate when I take the time to cook a good meal, so I guess I'm in a cooking slump. My daughter does tell me that I'm a good "cooker" though. :)  Ok so I want to know what y'all would like me to cook? Name something that YOU would want to eat and then I will cook it and post the recipe with a picture of course! I need some motivation here guys. Help a sista out.

Sweet Thangs Give away time!

Hi everyone! I have a baking business that I own  and I occasionally do giveaways. This time the giveaway is for a pound of rocky road fudge! You have to be a fan of Sweet Thangs Confectionaries on facebook  to enter. I've made it easy for you in the blogging world. All you have to do is click on the sweet thangs link to the right and sign in and then your a fan!

So here is the rules for the next give away for a pound of the rocky road fudge: you must write on the Sweet Thangs wall not a comment on this post to be counted. Any Sweet Thangs fan can enter. Enter as many times as you want! If you win and don't live here I will mail you the fudge. The random number generator will pick a winner Sunday Nov. 7th! You have to post on the wall what your favorite candy bar is! So hurry become a fan and enter today!!

Nashville Bound!

 

So I talk about this site sometimes on here. This is where I go and post recipes and get some too. Well the other day I got a message from the "kitchen Crew" inviting me to come to Nashville because they are showcasing  my Cumin Pork Chops there for a lunch-in they are having. The lunch-in is for the winner of the salad contest that they recently had. I did not win the salad contest but they all love my Cumin Pork chops, which won a blue ribbon and was a feature on their site too! So my wonderful sister-in-law Susannah is going to come up and stay with the kids next week for a night so I can go to the lunch! I am very excited and I am also excited because I get to spend the night at Jaime and Chris Stanford's house and Jaime is going to come with me too! YAY! I can't wait! This will be a much needed break from the crazy kiddos.

Pumpkin Spice Truffles

The are so festive and cute! Impress your friends with these super easy truffles. My kids really enjoyed eating the ones that didn't turn out so great and dipping the pretzels in the left over chocolate.  Happy Fall Y'all!

1 box French Vanilla cake mix (or yellow or plain vanilla)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
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1 can cream cheese frosting
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chocolate candy melts or almond bark

Beat everything together (ending with the eggs) according to the package instructions and bake in a 13 X 9" pan. Make sure the cake is completely baked (no gooey middle) before removing from the oven. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Crumble the cake apart in a bowl and add most of the can of cream cheese. Using your fingers, mix together until the cake holds together when formed into a ball. Add more frosting of necessary. Roll into balls of about a 2 bite size. Or you can use a cookie scoop for a more uniform size. Then roll them to make them more rounded. This should make about 65. Place on cookie sheets lined with wax paper and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

When ready to dip, melt the candy melts (I used two bags of melts total) a 1/2 bag at a time following the directions on the package. If you are using the white almond bark, when it is all melted you can mix in the food coloring to make it orange. Stick the pretzel in the middle of the dough and then roll it in the chocolate from side to side till it is covered. Place on another sheet of wax paper. Refrigerate till ready to eat.



* TIP:  If the chocolate seems too thick you can add about 1/2 TBL of oil to thin it out, mix it in well.

Combine all ingredients (except icing & candy coating)  in a bowl, adding the eggs last!

I've turned into THAT old lady...

Yes that old lady! Maybe not physically yet but mentally. So as most of you may know I live out in the country. When I say country I mean you can go outside and hear cows mooing at night and a donkey hehawing too. I love it out here! I even have a beautiful view out my living room window. Now I have lived in this house for over 4 years and have never had a problem with noisy teenagers but lately I could seriously pull a Gran Terino on a particular one. He better watch out because I do own a gun and I know how to use it too! LOL So he lives at the very end of our neighborhood in a trailer behind his grandpa's house. I'm thinking he is maybe 19? He works with his grandpa at that auto repair place at the beginning of our neighborhood. I guess he has been saving up his repair shop pay checks and bought himself a really loud sub woofer. He has a friend that lives in my neighborhood and he thinks it is really cool to boom his base and drive around the neighborhood to pick his friend up. Now this happens several times a day and night. He wakes my kids up and I am so fed up with it. Last night I decided to call the police. Now I had to call twice because the first time they just didn't send anyone out here. I guess this wasn't a priority to them. I bet it would be if it was their kids not sleeping. So at 10pm last night they finally made their merry way here and told me that there is no noise ordinance out here and they really couldn't do anything about it. Of course by the time they got here he had stopped playing the music. At night you can hear him playing it at his house all the way to my house. It is THAT loud. The lady cop said that she actually knew the kid and said that his girl friend is pregnant and so he won't be doing it too much longer. Yeah right!
       Now let me back up a little bit. A couple of weeks ago when it first started I went down to where he parks his truck and was going to confront him in person to ask him kindly to turn down his music. By the time I got down there he was no where to be found. So I wrote him a nice note just asking him to have the courtesy to turn down his music while driving in the neighborhood. I have kids and yada yada yada. Well I thought that worked because I didn't hear it after that for a bit. I was thinking wow that worked I'm glad that he cares about other folks children. He had been driving around without a tag and as soon as he got one I guess he thought well they can't touch me now and now he plays it even louder. So now you can see why I called the cops out last night. And they were no help at all. So apparently people in town get to have peace and quiet but those in the country do not. I don't get that concept at all. The lady cop told me to talk to the grandpa because the kid listens to him. I told the cop why doesn't he tell him to turn it down. She said that he doesn't hear very well so I guess he doesn't hear it? Wow he must be deaf. That also explains why he couldn't hear my breaks squeaking when I brought him my car to fix. So today I am going to drive down there and have a chat with the old man. I hope it works. One of my main concerns it that when I'm selling my house that a potential buyer might hear that crap and not want to live here. Well wish this old lady luck! 
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Taco Soup with Hominy

This taste soooo good! It is perfectly seasoned and a nice change of pace from the traditional taco soup. I always cook it in my crock pot so that the flavors have time to marinate. Enjoy!

1 lb	ground chuck, cooked
1 1/2	envelopes of ranch seasoning. or if you buy it in bulk like me then about 5 tablespoons
1	envolope dry taco seasoning        (I  prefer mccormick)
3 can(s)	(12 oz) each rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 can(s)	pinto beans (undrained)
1 can(s)	black beans (undrained)
1 can(s)	hominey( you can use white or yellow) undrained
1 can(s)	corn (undrained)
1 can(s)	(14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1	onion, chopped
1 c	water

Brown meat in skillet.

While meat is cooking, chop the onion and open all the cans and pour the ingredients into slow cooker.

Drain the meat and place in slow cooker. Mix well. Cover and cook on low 4 hours.

*pair it with some tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream!

Grilled Carribean Jerk Wings

These aren't your mama's chicken wings! You will love the full flavors of these grilled jerk wings at your next Par-tay.. The jerk seasoning is very spicy so adjust the amount to your spice tolerance.

 

Sauce:

• 1 cup store bought mustard-based BBQ sauce
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple
• Salt and pepper
• 3 TBLS cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Store bought jerk seasoning
• 18-20 chicken wings (thawed)

Directions

Preheat grill to medium.
Prepare sauce by combining all ingredients together in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until heated through.
Rinse the wings. Rub jerk seasoning into chicken wings. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked through. Pour sauce over wings and serve.

We moving on up, to the south side.....in a deeeluxe apartment in the skyyyy....

Well ok we aren't moving to a deluxe apartment in the sky, but anytime I hear someone say that they are moving, that song from the Jefferson's pops in my head. I can't help myself but sing it. We are however moving further south!!! YAY! Josh got a job in Montgomery, AL working for the state at the department of revenue. I have lived there once before in my life. I was actually born there and lived there till I was one. I wouldn't say I was from there. But I do claim Alabama as my home state since I have lived in 3 different cities there growing up. Josh starts on Oct. 18th.  The kids and I will be staying here till the house sells. I pray that it will sell quickly. I am just so happy to know where the next chapter of our lives begin. Being closer to both of our families and the temple is a nice bonus too!

White Chili With Chicken

I love the fall, all the beautiful leaves changing, the cool air, football and of course all the warm yummy chilies  and soups. One night I posted on Facebook that I was making this chili for dinner as my status. I got so many request for the recipe that I felt that I should share it on here.

3 Tbls olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (15 oz) cans navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
3 to 4 cups diced chicken
1 (7oz) can diced green chilies
2 cups chicken broth, plus more for thinning if desired
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbls butter, softened
1 1/2 Tbls flour
3 to 4 TBL half and half or light cream . I usually just pour the half and half in till I'm satisfied
 Grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, pepper jack cheese is yummy too! ( optional)



1) Warm the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring often, for about 7 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin,oregano, and garlic and saute for another minute. Stir in the white beans, chicken, corn, green chilies,chicken broth, and salt. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and allow it to continue simmering, partially covered, for 10 minutes.

2) In a small bowl, blend together the butter and flour. Add the mixture to the chili and stir until it thickens, about a minute. Add more salt and pepper to taste. If you like, add more broth to thin the chili or more half and half to thicken it. Serve the chili hot, topped with cheese, crushed chips and sour cream if desired. serves6