Anniversary Weekend and Steve's Favorites Grocery List

Hi everyone. This is a special weekend for Steve and I, we're celebrating our 2nd anniversary. I'm so excited, he's taking me out for dinner one night, and I'm going to be cooking up some of his favorite foods. Plus I do have a few surprises. I have to admit I've never made mushroom risotto, and its one of my favorites. So, this should be interesting. Hopefully I can perfect it, like I did my chicken and dumplings. By the way, I need to give you that recipe some time. They are my specialty, and talk about impressing your man.

Let's get to the grocery list:

Chicken Spaghetti
3 chicken breast
6 chicken thighs
1/2 stick of butter
Save your chicken broth, when you boil your chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 ounce mushrooms, sliced
3 celery sticks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoon olive oil
2.25 ounce sliced black olives
10 ounce Rotel
7 ounce spaghetti noodles
1 pound Velveeta, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Calf Liver and Veggies
1 package calf liver (4 slices) - I find it in the frozen section of the grocery store
1/2 onion, sliced
8 ounces of sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces frozen green beans
6 ounces frozen green peas
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup flour
4 strips bacon
1 1/2 teaspoon of Paula Deen's seasoning (garlic, salt, & pepper)
2 tablespoons olive oil

French Toast with a Twist
French bread
2 bananas
fresh strawberries
peanut butter
milk
egg
powdered sugar
cocoa
sugar
flour
butter

Steak and Mushroom Risotto
2 steaks
mushrooms
onion
butter
rice
dry white wine
chicken broth
Parmesan cheese
heavy cream
salt
white pepper

Brownie Surprise
1 box brownie mix
cream cheese
Eagle bran milk
maybe caramel sauce or Hersey syrup
egg
oil
(I haven't tried this recipe out, so you can try it with me)


You know I'll be adding some Robinism's in here about love and marriage.

Come back and help Steve and I  celebrate our anniversary weekend.

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!

Old Fashion Breakfast

There is nothing easier than cooking breakfast for dinner. Especially, when its been a long day at work, and you need some quick and easy.  I have to say I've added cheese grits, you can mix them up the night before.

On our way to Big Cedar, we stopped at Coursey's and picked up some smoked bacon. It's about fifteen minutes before you get to Harrison, AR. My oh my, was that the best bacon, I've ever had.

Coursey's Smoked Bacon

Old Fashion Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs, Cheese Grits, Biscuits and Gravy
Bacon
Eggs, fried
1 can biscuits, cooked as directed on can
3 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Grits
1 cup instant grits
16 ounce Velveeta cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream or milk

Do you remember the Kraft garlic cheese roll? Boy, do I wish they would put that back on the market. I had so many different recipes I used that for. But...I've come up with my own, check it out below.

Cook instant grits as directed on box. In microwave and oven safe dish, cube Velveeta cheese, and melt in microwave for 2 minutes. Add garlic, butter, milk and stir. Stir in grits, adding 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Or store in refrigerator, until the next night to cook.

Fry bacon.

After you have fried your bacon and eggs, pour grease in coffee cup. (Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil in pan). I like to save my bacon drippings, you can use it for so many things, when cooking. (You'll need this for my gumbo recipe coming up soon)

On medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir. Kind of like making a paste.

Stir in 2 cups milk, and stir until thicken. Stir in 1 tablespoon of salt and pepper.  I do not like lumpy gravy. It might take a little time, but don't rush it.

Talk about hitting the spot. I actually fell asleep watching Big Brother, after eating this. Yes, I'm addicted to reality TV. Steve makes fun of me all the time. ha!

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!

Robin's Cabbage Rolls

The first time I ever had cabbage rolls, I was in high school. I had spent the night with my friend Michelle Burr Newton, and her mother had made them. I fell in love with them immediately. I'm not for sure if this is how she cooked them, but I like a little crunch in my bite, so I've added a little this and little that to it.

Boy, did Michelle and I have some good times. Star City has a fire tower on the out skirt of town, we loved to go up there and climb it. One time, one of us lost our flip flop, and had to climb all the way down without a shoe. Nothing like growing up in a small town, you can always find something to do. Sounds terrible, but we even played hide-n-seek in the grave yard. We mostly hung out at "the stable" or "the pizza place" and played pool or the pinball machine. But, when we were old enough to drive, we just rode around, singing, talking, and laughing.

Cabbage Rolls
1 pound ground Italian sausage
1/2 chopped onion
1 box wild rice, cooked as directed on box
1 celery stick
1 cup carrots
1 small jar sliced water chestnuts, drained
8 cabbage leaves
14.5 ounce stewed tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Boil cabbage leaves until soft; then drain off water, and let cool. Cook rice and set to the side.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In food processor, add carrots; then onion, and celery, chop very fine.

In mixing bowl, mix sausage, vegetables, rice, water chestnuts, salt and pepper.

Put 3/4 cup of mixture in cabbage. When you place your mixture in the cabbage, fold each side in, then roll.
Repeat until all our rolled. Place in 9x13 casserole dish.

Pour stewed tomatoes on top, and then pour the beef broth in. Bake for one hour.

This is Southern Comfort Style for sure.

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!

Sausage and Wild Rice

This is Millie's mom's recipe. Millie and I go way back. She was my first neighbor as an adult. When Natalie was a toddler, she got into my lingerie drawer. Millie called to tell me, my child had strung out all my lingerie in my front yard. I don't know who else saw it, but I sure did go out there quickly to pick everything up. Millie and I have had some good times over the years. I'm sure I'll be sharing more stories later. The picture is of us, when we went to a Christmas function MTM.

Sausage & Wild Rice

1 lb. hot pork sausage

1 pkg. Long grain wild rice mix (Riceland or Uncle Ben’s)

1 rib celery diced small

2 oz diced pimentos

4 oz mushrooms sliced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream of mushroom

Brown sausage with celery and let drain well.

Cook rice according to package. After rice and sausage are done mix everything together and cook in 2 ½ quart casserole for 30 minutes at 325.

This is scrumptious! So easy and quick.  I'll be saving this one for sure. Thank you Millie for sharing it with us.

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!

Southern Comfort Meatloaf

There is nothing more southern comfort food than meatloaf. I'm serving it with mashed potatoes and lima beans. This is one of Steve's favorite meals. He even told me this is award winning meatloaf. I'll tell you the funny after the recipe.

Meatloaf:
1 pound ground hamburger
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
7 ounces tomato sauce
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
1 egg

Mix all together. 

You have to mix it with your hands, so all the ingredients mix together well.

Form it to a meatloaf, and add  it to your baking dish.

Sauce:
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

Mix all together and pour on top of meatloaf. Add 1/2  cup of water around the meatloaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Wait till you taste this, YUMMY!

We had this Sunday, then on Monday afternoon, the grocery store called to tell us the ground turkey was a recall; and to either bring it back for a refund or throw it away. A little too late, but neither of us got sick. So you can use 2 pounds of hamburger, until the recall is over. Something about mixing it with ground turkey, makes it more moist, even in my meatball recipes.

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!

Sunday Pot Roast

I love Sunday afternoons. Especially in the fall and winter, I catch myself cooking maybe three different meals. Cooking for me is relaxing and fun.

This is not your traditional Southern Pot Roast with carrots and potatoes. I had told myself a year ago, I was going to try a new vegetables. One that I found, and I love is parsnip. Its been around forever, but no one in my family ever cooked it. Its kind of like a white carrot, earthy with a nutty sweet taste. Lets get to cooking.

Sunday Pot Roast
2 1/2 pound shoulder roast
2 teaspoons kosher salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, chopped green and white parts
3 cups mushrooms
1-15.5 ounce beef broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-28 ounce crushed tomatoes
5-twigs fresh thyme
2-twigs fresh rosemary

In large pot, add one tablespoon of olive oil, and turn on medium heat. Pour all sliced vegetables in, and add beef broth.

Add 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Tie your fresh herbs together.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In large skillet add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and turn to medium heat. Rub in 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper, to each side of your roast.

Dredge roast in flour, and brown each side for 4 to 5 minutes, only turning once. Add to your dutch oven. I use a clay baking pot from Pampered Chef. Love it! Its also great for chicken recipes to.

Add 3 garlic cloves, minced, your vegetables, crushed tomatoes, and your herbs.

Cook covered for 2.5 hours. I guess you could say, this a sweet version of pot roast. I hope you enjoy. Come back for some more southern comfort, meatloaf tomorrow.

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!

Big Cedar Lodge Trip

Big Cedar Show and Tell

 

Scott and Kelly came over for dinner one night, One Skillet Shrimp. We got to talking about places we've never been, and came up with the idea of traveling to a different state, once a year. Our first trip was last weekend to Ridgedale, Missouri.

We went to  Big Cedar Lodge for the weekend. If you've never been, its a must. You will love it. They have four restaurants on sight, gift store, marina, spa, and so much more. Its right on Tablerock lake, and is a beautiful sight. Waterfalls every where. We stayed in a two bedroom log cabin. Wild stuffed animals everywhere and very rustic. They have added more pools, so now I think they are up to five pools and hot tubs. It ended up raining, so we never got to got to use them. But believe me, we had fun. Here's a few pictures.

Gift Shop

Here's a few pictures of our cabin.

Kelly has been my longest friend since I moved to Little Rock, AR. We stayed up way too late the first night talking and solving all the worlds problems. We laughed till we cried. I had a few Robinism's. I was telling her how I make my cornbread dressing and said, "I don't use that Jiffy Lube stuff. I use the real cornbread mix." We laughed so hard.  Its good for the soul to get away for a few days, with good friends and good laughs.

Kelly

Our new friend Fred, the skunk



He just hopped around. We even gave him bread, trying to get him to come closer for the picture. Thank goodness we didn't get sprayed.

Our turtle friends, Barney and Betty

The first night, we went to the Buzzard's Bar for dinner. One of my favorite things to eat there is their smoke trout. They were out. So, Steve and I split a meat lovers pizza, it was good. Cooked in a brick oven. Scott had plate full of chicken fried steak, and I mean it was as big as the plate. Kelly had the french dip, and it was to die for. Smoked meat, smoky cheese, on a hoggie roll, and the dipping sauce. I have to say, she had the favorite dish of the night.

Steve & Robin

Kelly & Scott

We had an awesome time. I was having so much fun, I forgot to take pictures of the food.

The next day, we woke up to a thunderstorm, but that didn't stop us. We decided to go into Branson, Missouri, hit the outlet mall, and eat at Joe's Crab Shack. I ended up, getting some bargains, and did a little Christmas shopping. I'm not a big shopper, but for some reason you can take me to an outlet mall, and I turn into a different person. Steve kept telling me I had ten more minutes, but then I would go into another store. hee hee

I have always wanted to eat at Joe's Crab Shack, one of my favorite foods is CRAB! It was a fun place to go and wait till you see the food pictures. Steve and I got the double order of Joe's Steam Bucket. Kelly had the Cajun Steam Bucket, and Scott wanted a hamburger. I'm a pro at cracking my crab legs and getting the meat out. Kelly showed us a few tricks of her own, on how to crack them. They gave us bibs and named each of us. Kelly - Crabby Diva, Me - Crabby Queen, and Steve - Crabby King. We got a kick out of that. The waitresses and waiters even did a line dance, they do it every hour. Our waitress told us that's how they keep them in shape.

I guess we need to get a map out, blind fold one of us,( like pin the tail on the donkey), pin the tail on the state, and figure out our next visit.

Tomorrow we're having Sunday Pot Roast, and trust me it's not just your average pot roast.

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!

Southern Comfort Grocery List

Next week we're going Southern Comfort style. These are some recipes you don't want to miss. Also, there will be show and tell about my trip to Big Cedar Lodge. Here's a little sneak preview picture. Can you guess where we ate?

Meatloaf
1 pound Angus ground hamburger (or 2 pounds hamburger - there has a been a recall on some brands of turkey)
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
1 egg　

Old Fashion Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs, Cheese Grits, Biscuits and Gravy
Bacon
Eggs, fried
1 can biscuits, cooked as directed on can
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper
1 cup instant grits
16 ounce Velveeta cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
　
Sausage & Wild Rice
1 lb. hot pork sausage
1 pkg. Long grain wild rice mix (Riceland or Uncle Ben’s)
1 rib celery diced small
2 oz diced pimentos
4 oz mushrooms sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom　

Sunday Pot Roast
2 1/2 pound shoulder roast
2 teaspoons kosher salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, chopped green and white parts
3 cups mushrooms
1-15.5 ounce beef broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-28 ounce crushed tomatoes
5-twigs fresh thyme
2-twigs fresh rosemary
　
Cabbage Rolls
cabbage
onion
1.5 pounds Italian ground sausage
1 box wild rice
carrots
pimento's
14.5 ounce stewed tomatoes
14.5 ounce beef broth
1 small can water chestnuts
brown sugar
salt and pepper

You have a lot to look forward to the month of October.

*Anniversary Weekend and Steve's Favorites (we're celebrating our 2nd anniversary) woo hoo!
*Tailgate Recipes Week
*Let's go New Orleans Style
*Harvest and Trick or Treat Week

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!　

Spinach Dip

Spinach Dip

1 small package chopped spinach, frozen
8 ounce cream cheese
10 ounce Rotel
2 cups Monterrey jack cheese
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 onion, chopped

Defrost spinach and drain. Melt cream cheese in large mixing bowl.

Mix all together. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

This is great for parties, or just to have around on Sunday afternoons watching football. I actually made it, to take on our trip to Big Cedar Lodge. I'll be posting pictures of our trip soon, so come back and check it out. Also, tomorrow is Southern Comfort Grocery List.

Be Sweet and Stay Sweet!