Golden Rod Eggs

 

This recipe might be a little odd to some of you, but I like to think of it as unique. This has become an Easter brunch tradition in our house. I grew up on Golden Rod Eggs and can’t say that I was a huge fan of them when I was a kid. My parents made it a lot for dinner and when I was younger, but I wasn’t a fan of breakfast for dinner. I thought I was being cheated out of a real meal. Little did I know, breakfast for dinner is one of the best invention ever! My parents were way smarter than me and knew what they were doing. I love breakfast for dinner now! Golden Rod Eggs are a unique meal and I always thought my parents made it up. I had never found anyone else that had ever heard of such a thing. Sounded crazy to me.....until I met my husband. Apparently his mom used to make them growing up and it was one of his most favorite meals in the world. How could that be??? My parents didn’t really make it up to torture me with breakfast for dinner??? This was too much to handle. I couldn’t believe that another human being knew about Golden Rod Eggs. Hey, if you are out there reading this, and have heard of them, please post on this blog entry. Oh, and you aren’t my brother, sister, or Daddy. I know how you’ve heard of them.  I’d love to hear the story of how non-family members were introduced to Golden Rod Eggs. I still haven’t met anyone else who has heard of them. Maybe both of our families were “unique”. I’m sure you are dying to hear about this recipe, so let’s get started.....

 

Ingredients:

 

6-8 hard boiled eggs

1/2 stick of butter

3/4 cup milk

3-6 (plus) Tablespoons of flour

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

 

Boil eggs, peel, and gently separate the yolk from the white part. I always get my husband to help with the peeling. I hate it. It’s his way of contributing to the meal.

 

 

Dice the egg whites and finely grate the yolks.  It can prove to be a bit difficult to grate the yolks. Be gentle and use the finest grater you have. If you don’t want to go through the trouble, you can just mash them with a fork until they are broken into very small pieces.

 

 

In a saucepan, melt butter. After it is completely melted start adding the flour. I start with about 3 Tablespoons and add until I have a nice thick roux (or rue). See photo to judge how yours should look. I ended up using about 6 – 7 Tablespoons.

 

 

 

Now add the milk. Again, start with a little and add as you go. Pour in about 1/4 cup at a time, until all has been incorporate and you have a thick sauce.

 

 

 

Once the sauce has thickened, add the diced egg whites, salt and pepper. 

 

 

Now toast 6 – 8 slices of bread. This all depends on how much topping you like on each piece. We can only make 6 slices out of this recipe. Once bread is toasted, top with egg white mixture and top with grate yolks.

 

 

How does that look?? Pretty tasty! Now you have a sacred family recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy it too. Happy Easter!

Chicken Florentine Pasta

Who knew I’d be posting so many recipes that contained spinach?? If you ask my parents, they sure wouldn’t think it would be me. I was such a picky eater and never tried anything new. Now I love all veggies....once you cook them. Don’t try to serve me raw veggies. I’ll break out in a rash! ;-)  Now I love sautéed spinach, I especially love it wilted in pasta. Yum-my! Throw in some cooked tomatoes and then you’re in business. That is such a yummy combination! Look at that photo, how beautiful is that??

I just happened to be browsing my girlfriend, Ree’s (aka The Pioneer Woman), blog the other day and found this delicious recipe. It had all of my favorite ingredients....Pasta (#1), tomatoes, spinach and cheese. Ree used parmesan cheese, but I changed it up to feta because there is nothing better than pasta with tomatoes and feta. That perks up my taste buds! One of my all time favorites!

This is an easy dish to make, yet it is so full of flavor and so good for you too. Again, I shock myself when I post healthy recipes. I’m practically a licensed nutritionist and a chef.

Get ready for one of your new favorite recipes too....

Ingredients:

• 1 pound rotini (or you could use penne)
• 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3/4 cups Dry White Wine
• 3/4 cups Low-sodium Broth, More If Needed
• 1 bag Baby Spinach
• 2 cups Grape Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• Feta for garnish (or shaved parmesan)

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions in lightly salted water. Drain and set aside.

Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle on salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chunks in a single layer and do not stir for a minute or two in order to allow the chicken to brown on the first side. Turn the chicken and brown on the other side. Cook until done, then remove chicken from the skillet.

Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and quickly stir to avoid burning. After about 30 seconds, pour in wine and broth, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to bubble up, then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point.)

Add tomatoes and let cook a couple of minutes to soften.

At this point I like to smash the tomatoes with a fork a little so the juices are added to the sauce. Add spinach, chicken, and cooked pasta to the skillet. Toss to combine. The spinach will wilt as you toss everything. Turn heat off.

Help, I'm wilting......

Dish up in a nice giant bowl. This is so delicious, you’ll want to make sure you have a large enough bowl. If you have fresh basil, garnish with a few chopped leaves. I love feta cheese so I garnish with feta as well. Okay, it’s a little more than a garnish, it’s a heaping helping of feta. Toss the feta in the bowl, it mixes with the sauce and makes a delicious creamy sauce. If you don’t love feta, toss with parmesan shavings. No matter what, garnish with some type of cheese!

Now, do your best to just eat one serving....I lost on that! And I might have added more feta after I took this photo.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

As you have learned if you are a frequent visitor to my blog, I LOVE all things cinnamon. It is my absolute favorite spice. It’s good for you too! I’ve had this recipe pinned on my Pinterest for quite sometime, but just haven’t gotten around to making it. Well, we were sitting around this evening and my husband said he was craving something with cinnamon. Well  I jumped up with excitement! I have just the thing!! I looked up this recipe quickly and got to baking. This recipe is so super simple, you don’t really need a recipe. I’ll give you one anyway because I’m so nice. If you want a quick and easy recipe, you have come to the right place! We ate up this pan of cinnamon rolls in one sitting. I’m not even kidding! We are pigs and I’m not afraid to admit it. They are so yummy, you can't eat just one. Nothing better than cinnamon rolls hot out of the oven. Well, one thing is better.....topping them with icing!  Do you want a delicious and simple recipe?? Here you go:

Ingredients for rolls:

• 1 tube Refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1/4 c Granulated sugar
• 2 T cinnamon
• Softened butter to spread on dough

Icing:

• 1/2 c powdered sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 2-3 t milk (start with 2 T and see if you need more, I didn't)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Unroll crescent dough and separate. Spread with a thin layer of softened butter.

• Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

• Roll up dough as usual and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.



• I took it one step further and sprinkled the left over cinnamon and sugar mixture on top. You can't have too much cinnamon, right?
• Now of course you'll want to top them with the icing:
• Mix all ingredients together until it is your desired consistency. Use to drizzle over pastries or as a dipping icing. We did a little bit of both!

Drizzle the icing over these delicious treats and enjoy them while they are still warm. Yummy!

Beef Tenderloin

I’m so excited! I cooked my first beef tenderloin and it turned out delicious! Well, it was a bit of a struggle, but eventually it turned out perfect! There may have been a second degree burn issue and I might have pulled it out of the oven about 5 times to check it. See, I’m here to help you so you don’t have to make the mistakes I did. First rule of thumb, if you put a meat thermometer in the meat while it’s cooking, it WILL be hot and burn your skin! Do not attempt to remove without an oven mitt! That was my first mistake. Ouch, my thumb still hurts! Let’s not focus on that, let’s get back to the best piece of meat you will ever put in your mouth!

Every year at Christmastime, we go to FL to see my in-laws. Grandy always makes the best beef tenderloin EVER for Christmas Eve dinner. It melts in your mouth. I’m not even kidding, it is so delicious. I’ve wanted to make a tenderloin, but always see them in the store and think they are a little too pricey. Well, we finally pulled the trigger and bought one so we could taste the heavenly goodness at home.  I was so proud, after all the mishaps, it was the most delicious thing we’ve ever tasted! I think I heard the angels sing as we took our first bite. I’m happy to teach you how to make the best beef tenderloin you’ll ever taste too.

Ingredients:

One whole beef tenderloin (4-5 pounds) – we cut ours in half so we’ll have it again soon

olive oil

salt & pepper

poultry seasoning

4 Tablespoons of butter

Directions:

First of all, rinse and trim the extra fat off your loin. You’ll want to leave some fat because fat is just tasty. Use a sharp knife and cut as closely as you can to the meat. You could also ask the butcher to do this for you, but I did a little trimming of my own. My husband didn’t want too much removed.

He loves a little extra fat.....that’s why I married him. :-)

Coat the loin with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Now here comes the part that will sound strange, sprinkle poultry seasoning on both sides. Don’t ask me why, Grandy does it and hers was the best tasting tenderloin I’ve ever had.....until I made it myself! Just do it!

Now this is the part the Pioneer Woman taught me. I pick up stuff from all over and just combine it to make the best possible dish. Back to Ree, she says to sear it first in an iron skillet so I did! Pour a little olive oil in an iron skillet and get good and hot. When it’s hot, place the tenderloin in the frying pan to sear it. Throw a couple of tablespoons of butter into the skillet. Don’t put this in before you put the meat it, the pan will get too smoky. A minute or two later, when one side is starting to turn nice and brown, flip and repeat.

Place the tenderloin on an oven pan with a rack. Put several tablespoons of butter all over the meat (another suggestion by the Pioneer Woman). Stick the long needle of the thermometer lengthwise into the meat. Place it in a 450-degree oven until the temperature reaches just under 140 degrees, about 45 minutes to an hour. Stay near the oven and keep checking the meat thermometer to make sure it doesn’t overcook. Caution: thermometer WILL be hot!

Remove the loin from the oven when it reaches your desired temperature. Cover with foil and let meat stand ten minutes or so before slicing. Now slice and experience a little bit of heaven! No kidding, this is the best thing you’ll ever eat! Delish!

How beautiful does that look???

Wilted Spinach w/Tomatoes & Basil

 

I’m always looking for a quick side dish for weeknight meals. Cooking fresh is a plus so when my friend , Giada, taught me how to make wilted spinach with tomatoes that was perfect! Thank goodness girlfriends share recipes. What would I have done without my girlfriend? Thank you Giada! This recipe was quick and easy and full of flavor. I had no idea that I liked spinach so much until I actually started cooking it. Don't try to make me eat it raw though, that's not going to happen! If you haven’t given spinach a try, this is the dish to start with. Did I mention how quick and easy it was too?? I threw this together in minutes and it really adds to your weeknight meal. It makes it look like you put a lot of effort into perparing dinner, but you didn't really have to.......so fresh and flavorful too! Let’s get to it.....

 

Ingredients:

 

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 pound fresh spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt, black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. I didn't have shallots so I used a small onion. It was still delish!

Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, until aromatic. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.

In batches, add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and basil. Simmer 1 minute more and serve. I opted to grate some fresh Parmesan cheese. It only makes it better! Enjoy!

Tangy Tomato Beef Brisket

 

I’m so excited! I made something new again! I am loving my new love of cooking and trying out new things. Cooking is so much fun and even more fun to taste. Thanks again to the Pioneer Woman for making me curious about cooking a beef brisket. Again, I was browsing through my new cookbook and happened upon her Tangy Tomato Beef Brisket. It looked so yummy and sounded super easy. Two things that get my attention right away. I’ve eaten beef brisket, but never made one. I’m so happy I ventured out into the land of beef brisket. It’s a happy place....full of tender beef and a tangy tomato sauce. Yummy, what could be wrong with that?? I’ll tell you, nothing, absolutely nothing! Are you interested in learning how to make the easiest and most tasty beef brisket ever?? I’m happy to share my secrets with you. Let’s get started:

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 whole Beef Brisket, trimmed Of all fat (5 to 8 pounds). Since there’s just two of us, I used a 4 pound brisket.
• 1 bottle (24 Ounce) Ketchup Or Chili Sauce. Again, cut this in half for the smaller brisket 
• 1 package Onion Soup Mix

 

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Place the brisket in an oven-safe pan. Combine the ketchup and soup mix in a bowl, and then stir it around to mix. Pour in 1 cup water and stir to combine. (You can add more water if needed!). If you are using a smaller brisket, only use half the water. Also, use a little hot sauce with the ketchup mixture to give it a little extra kick.

Pour the sauce all over the brisket, and then flip the brisket over to coat the other side. Now just cover the pan with foil and roast in the oven for 6 to 7 hours (for a 5 to 8 pound brisket). For a 4 pound brisket, I cooked it 3 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven and test the brisket to make sure it's fork-tender.  Slice the brisket into thin strips, then return the beef to the sauce and keep it warm until you're ready to serve. This is looking so delicious. I wish I had a slice to eat now.

Doesn't that look delicious?? I'll tell you....it was delicious. So easy, so tasty, no reason not to try this recipe out. Thanks to my friend, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. She knows how to cook up some beef! And now I know how to cook up some beef brisket. It's a great day at the Stewart house.....says my husband. Maybe we should move to a ranch. Okay, I'll step back for a moment and just enjoy my brisket cooking skills. I hope you enjoy them too.

Cinnamon Muffins w/ Crumb Topping

One thing I love is cinnamon! It makes everything better. Toast, muffins, apple pie, or any apple, ok really anything! I could go on an on, but I think you get it. Yes, I love cinnamon. Luckily the hubby loves it almost as much as I do. If he didn't, I might be telling stories about the ex-husband. Just kidding. Love you bunches honey!

We are snowed in today so I needed something to do. Don't make fun of us. We live in the south and don't drive in the snow, even if it's just an inch or two. It's our reality and I'm fine with it. I bought a few bags of cinnamon chips over the holidays and have been dying to make something with them. I couldn't find a good recipe online, so I just thought I should try to alter my blueberry muffin recipe since it was so yummy. Well, I created another masterpiece! That's right, I'm bragging. These are some mighty fine muffins, especially hot out of the oven. Let's get to baking....

Ingredients for muffins:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt
2 cups cinnamon chips

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons cold butter

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the milk. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; add to creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in cinnamon chips.

The batter looks and tates yummy!

For topping, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. I like to grate the cold butter, it's easier to incorporate.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full or just grease your muffin tins with cooking spray. I went without cups this time and they were perfect. Sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful of the topping over each muffin.



After I spooned the topping on I sprinkled a little cinnamon on each. More couldn't hurt, right??



Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean. I cooked mine for about 22 minutes so start checking after 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.  If you can wait 5 minutes. I couldn't and burned the roof of my mouth a little....but it was worth it!

Apple Dumplings

Don't let my poor photography skills deter you, this is the perfect treat!

I was feeling like I needed to try a new dessert today so I got out my new cookbook that the hubby gave me for Christmas, The Pioneer Woman. Love it! Ree and I are such good friends, so I thought I should make something that she recommends. Well many things caught my eye, but I love me some apple pie and this apple dumpling recipe sounded de-licious! I love, love, love apple pie and all things baked with apples. If you are a reader of my blog, you know this about me. I was a little skeptical about one of her ingredients, but she said to use it, so I did. If I can cook with Mountain Dew, then you can too. Yes, you read that right, this apple dumpling recipe has Mountain Dew in it! Sounds crazy I know, but trust me, try this and you will thank me later. I can’t wait for you to try these little heavenly morsels and tell me how much you love them too. They are so delicious! David and I almost finished the whole pan in one night.....just the two of us. Don't judge us! You'll do the same. Okay, I’ll share mine and Ree’s recipe with you:
 

Ingredients:

• 2 whole Granny Smith Apples, peeled
• 2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 – 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• Cinnamon, To Taste
• 1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda (I used 8 ounces, because I was scared to use the whole can)

Directions:

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. 

Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. You want this mixture to be grainy so don't dissolve the sugar. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples.

 

Now here’s the crazy part.....Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Stop shaking your head and just do it! Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. You could serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top, but I'll take mine just straight up. But you might still want to spoon the extra sauce over the top. It is so delicious!

I'll be expecting your thank you notes in the mail!

Roasted Pecans

This is the best little salty snack or treat. If you've never had a roasted pecan, then you obviously don't live in the south! This is a staple for baby and bridal showers, a real southern church reception or any other family gathering. I love to make them around the holidays, but they are really great anytime. I need to make them more often. They are super quick and easy to make too. My parents have pecan trees all over their property and they pick many pounds each year. Pecans have gotten so expensive so I am very lucky that they share these little nuggets of gold with me! And these in the photo are Mayhan pecans, some of the biggest and best you'll ever taste. Perfect size for roasting!

I'll let you in on a little secret that my parents will kill me for......we like to call these Daddy's nuts. :-) So yes, we roast my Daddy's nuts. Yep, they are going to kill me. This is one way to find out if they are reading my blog....and actually, anyone else who reads it!

Back to making....okay, I won't say it again....roasted pecans. They are so easy, let's get started:

Start with as many raw, shelled, pecans as you'd like to cook. I made a small batch this time. I usually make about double this batch. Place the pecans in a baking dish and put many pats of butter on top. I used about 4 - 5 Tablespoons of butter on this one.

Place pan in a 350 degree oven. After the butter melts, about 10 minutes, begin to stir often. I stirred every 1-2 minutes. As you'll see from the picture below, the pecans begin to darken. You want all of the pecans to look like the few dark ones that are scattered throughout.

Keep checking and stirring. This probably takes 10-15 minutes to fully cook them, but they brown quickly so don't leave the kitchen.

Now, when they all look brown, pull them out of the oven and salt to taste, fairly liberally. It takes more salt than you think to coat them. You want to salt them while they are hot so that the salt sticks to the butter coating.

Now you can just eat them out of the pan, or serve in a lovely dish for your next party.

Delicious Dried Apples

Want to learn how to make a tasty and healthy snack? I can teach you how to make stuff that is full of butter and sugar AND I can teach you how to make a yummy and healthy snack. The best of both worlds! My mom used to eat dried apples for a snack back in the early Weight Watcher days. I wasn’t very crazy about her freeze dried packs of them, but they’ve gotten better today. I was browsing on Pinterest the other day and found a recipe for dried apples. Who knew they were so easy to make?? I’ve never thought about making them, but they are super easy. I whipped some up today and have almost eaten them all. I started with just two apples because I wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out. We went apple pickin' and I had some apples left and wanted to put them to good use. You can use any kind of apple. See just how easy they are.....

Ingredients:

2-5 thinly sliced, and cored apples

cinnamon

cooking spray

Directions:

If you have an apple corer, then this will be much easier. I don’t have one so I sliced the apple in half, cut the core out, and sliced the apple on it's side. If you core the apple, you can slice in thin apple rings. You want to make sure you slice the apple thinly.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay the apples on the sheet. I like cinnamon on my apples so I sprayed the apples with cooking spray and sprinkled with cinnamon. If you don't add cinnamon, just pop them into the oven just as they are.

Bake at 200 degrees for 2 – 3 hours. Turn apples over after one hour. Check them at 2 hours, if they aren’t crispy yet, cook a bit longer. I cooked mine for about 2.5 hours.

Now you’ve got a delicious and nutritious treat!