Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day!

The weather has been really, really beautiful around here. Each morning I open the windows and a lovely cool breeze blows through the house and beckons us to play outside. 

How could we resist?

We get into all kinds of mischeif

 

and we have all kinds of fun!

This is the kind of weather that makes us want to bake bread together. Banana Bread is our favorite and this is our recipe:

3 or 4 bananas, mashed
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased and floured loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour.

Serve warm with a little butter and take it outside to play some more!

Chinese Salad

Hi there, folks! 

I wasn't able to finish my tasty Tuesday post yesterday, 

but this salad is so yummy that I must share it. 

It's super simple: Cabbage, green onions, almonds, Ramen noodles and sesame seeds.

My sister in law made it when our families got together for a cook-out last weekend and 

it was scrumptious!

I've already made it a couple times since she gave me the recipe (she got it from Paula Deen) and I just can't get enough. I even ate some for breakfast this morning (maybe that's going a bit too far?) 

Anyway, this is a fabulous recipe that goes with anything. 

Salad Ingredients

Finely chop a couple heads of Napa or Bok Choy cabbage

Yes, chop these too, and not just the white part! The green is also delicious. 

Crush up the Ramen noodles and roast them with the Almonds and Sesame seeds.

Dressing Ingredients

Beautiful!

Chinese Salad (Paula Deen)

Serves 12

2 heads Napa or Bok Choy cabbage

6 green onions

Two 3-oz packages ramen noodles with seasoning packets (I always get chicken flavor but she doesn't specify)

One 6-oz package slivered almonds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds 

1 cup vegetable oil 

1/2 cup sugar

6 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Chop the cabbage into bite-size pieces and slice the onions. Combine them in a large salad bowl. Crumble the noodles into a broiler pan, add the almonds and sesame seeds, and broil for 2 minutes, being careful not to scorch the sesame seeds. In a jar with a tight lid, combine the oil, sugar, vinegar, and salt with the contents of the seasoning packets. Cover the jar and shake to blend the dressing. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Try it. I know you'll love it!

Tasty Tuesday

Strawberry Cake

My daughter loves it because it's all pink! She says that it's "awicious" and I thought she might want it for her birthday but she asked for pink "Oreo Prize" instead! 

 Jello, white cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs, baking powder, strawberries, butter, confectioners sugar

dissolve Jello in hot water

blend the strawberries

Grease the pan- the kids love to help with this part!

dust the pan with flour and do a few other things...

put it in the oven for baby and me!

 Frost it!

Ingredients:
1 small pack strawberry jello

1/2 cup hot water
1 box white cake mix

1 cup oil
4 eggs

2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup thawed frozen strawberries (in the juice)


Frosting ingredients: 
another 1/2 cup frozen strawberries in the juice.
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 stick of butter.


Directions:

Dissolve Jello in the hot water. Blend strawberries in blender until smooth. Combine all the ingredients with jello. Beat 4 minutes. Grease and flour 13x9 pan or bundtpan. pour into pan and bake 35 mins in 350 degree oven.

For the frosting: soften butter. add 1 lb. of powered sugar and 1/2 cup frozen strawberries (also buzzed in the blender). mix 2 mins until frosting is smooth. Frost cake after it cools completely.

You are going to love this cake... it really is delicious!

Tasty Tuesday

Here is a simple Sweet Tea Marinade recipe for chicken. 

I found it in a Food & Wine magazine, the chef who created it is John Currence.

The tannins help tenderize the chicken while the sugar gives it a light cure.

the ingredients:

Worcestershire sauce, sweet tea, dried thyme, Tabasco and salt

Brew strong tea in a small pot

after the water comes to a boil, add a pinch of baking soda, if you like!

Pour all the ingredients in a resealable plastic bag.

Easy Peasy!

Ingredients:

3 cups ice tea

1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Tabasco

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon salt

Directions:

Place tea bag in small pot of water, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add pinch of baking soda to enhance the flavor. Remove tea bag and stir in sugar. Add enough water to make 3 cups of tea. In a resealable plastic bag, coat 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs with the sweet tea, Worcestershire, Tabasco, thyme and salt. Refrigerate overnight.
Rinse off the thyme before cooking.

This chicken is awesome because you can grill it, fry it... whatever you prefer. I think it tastes delicious grilled, sliced and served on a strawberry spinach salad with raspberry dressing!

When I made this for dinner yesterday,  I started out by pouring corn bread batter into a hot cast iron skillet (it turned out dry so next time I'm going to use The Pioneer Woman's recipe),
next I sprinkled the chicken with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper, then cooked it in a hot skillet with butter and olive oil till it was golden brown.

(I didn't take photos at this point because the kids were melting down and dinner needed to be on the table ASAP. Oh, and I have trouble multi tasking. Sorry!)

While the chicken was cooking, I made an onion gravy. If you like caramelized onions, read on!


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Directions:
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the thyme and sugar and cook until the onion is caramelized, 15 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until evaporated. Whisk in the chicken stock and dissolved cornstarch and bring to a boil, stirring, until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the gravy over the chicken and serve.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday

The Pioneer Woman is my inspiration. 

She's my hero. I love her frankness and her sense of humor.

And best of all, I love her cooking! It's so easy to try new recipes when I've seen photos of each step.
And then there is the fact that everything of hers turns out
delicious!

So I decided to follow her example and share a family recipe called Oreo Cookie Surprise- 

it's not at all complicated. And no, 

I could never be as accomplished as The Pioneer Woman.

Here's what you will need:

Reserve a few Oreos for your coffee and a few for your man, and you'll have just the right amount left over for your dessert.

 Place them in a plastic bag.

Crush them with a jar, rolling pin, or something like that. Release any lingering angst.

Melt the stick of butter in a medium bowl and stir in the crushed Oreos.

Press the Oreo crumbs into a 9x13 dish (oops! forgot to take a picture of that :)

Pour softened ice cream onto Oreo crust. Freeze for an hour.

 Spread warm chocolate sauce onto hardened ice cream and refreeze (save a little sauce for decorating). 

 Spread on the Cool Whip.

Spoon some chocolate into a small zip top bag and snip the corner.

Squeeze out some chocolate lines.

Drag a knife up and down to make a pretty pattern.

Freeze it one more time.

~enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 package Oreos

1/2 gallon softened Ice cream of your choice (my mom loves mint chocolate chip!)

1 jar hot fudge sauce

1 stick butter (melted)

1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip

Directions:

Crush Oreos and mix with melted butter. 

Pour crumb mixture into a 9x13 pan and pat down to make crust. 

Spread softened ice cream onto crust and freeze.

Spread on hot fudge sauce (reserve some for decorating the top) and refreeze.

Spread on Cool Whip.

Spoon some chocolate sauce into a small zip top bag and snip the corner,

Squeeze chocolate lines.

Drag sharp knife up and down through the chocolate to make a pattern.

Refreeze for a few hours to throughly chill.

Yummy!