Oven Fried Chicken and Biscuits

This one comes from a good ole country cook who lives in Creal Springs, a tiny town here in southern Illinois. NORMA LINDSEY shared this delicious recipe in our COAL COUNTRY COOKIN' cookbook. She is the sister-in-law of one of my cousins and is known for her good southern-style cookin.

This is a simple recipe that is finger-licken good!

Try it and add it to your "comfort foods" file.

YOU WILL NEED:

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2- 3 lb. frying chicken, cut up
1 can biscuits
2 T. milk
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. garlic salt (or garlic powder if you'd rather)

Melt butter in 9x13" baking pan. Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a paper or plastic bag. Shake to blend. Add meat 2-3 pieces at a time. Shake to coat. Place meat, skin side down in butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn meat. Sprinkle with salt and bake 15 minutes more. Move meat to one end of pan. Dip biscuits one at a time in milk, then Parmesan/garlic salt mixture. Place at other end of pan. Bake 15-20 minutes longer.

Glazed Carrots

A delicious versatile side-dish that's perfect for a weeknight meal, or add it to your holiday dinner menu.

Only 4 ingredients- what could be more simple?

Another food I have a hard time eating in moderation. (So, sue me ;)

YOU WILL NEED:
1 (16 ounce) package baby carrots
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Place the carrots into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two.
Return the pot to the stove; reduce the heat to medium-low. Melt the butter in the pot. Stir in the honey and brown sugar; add the carrots and stir until evenly coated; cook another 5 minutes.

This makes a lot of juice, you may want to reduce the sauce just a bit, unless you're like me and know a good sauce when you taste one and choose just to savor the flavor!

St. Patty's Day Celebration

EVERYONE is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.
We celebrate in style every year-- as we proudly honor my husband's Irish heritage.

I decorate the house











*My soldier son could not be with us, but he had sketched this pic of an Irish boy years ago--I displayed it prominently and pretended he was here with us.



*My brother wrote to the Mayor of Dublin, Ireland and he wrote back!



Irish Music plays in the background.

We serve Irish food (and some green food just for fun)








My Irish brood loves to tell a good story....









This year, I wrote out an Irish blessing to each family member on their own personal placecard. I read them aloud and it was actually very touching (I didn't expect to tear up as I read them).

You can google IRISH BLESSINGS as I did and read or write a blessing for those you love...and then enjoy green eggs and ham, green pancakes for breakfast...green milk with cereal, or an authentic Irish menu for supper.

Whatever you choose to do to celebrate the day...make it memorable--bless those who have been placed in your life. Let them know they are loved, and valued. Then, you won't need luck---you will be blessed beyond measure!

Enjoy the holiday!

Lemon Cookies (from a cake mix)

I made a couple of batches of these sweet/tart crisp cookies for a presentation I am doing today on GOODWILL HUNTING at our Local Library.

* For those of you that don't know it...I am QUEEN of shopping for bargains at local thrift shops (like the GOODWILL) and today I am teaming up with an EXTREME Coupon Guru and we are offering a free presentation, sharing our money-saving tips that will help folks stretch a dollar so thin they could see through it!

So, We decided to serve refreshments, to also show how you can make a nice treat and not have to spend a lot of time or money in the kitchen. Rachel is making cupcakes (from cake mixes she paid pennies for) and I am offering these wonderful cookies from a cheap cake mix as well!

EASY and delicious and rather light tasting.

You will need:

* 1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
* 2 eggs
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon lemon extract
* 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, and lemon extract until well blended. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of confectioners' sugar. Roll them around until they're lightly covered. Once sugared, put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven.


YUM!

Are you ready for some football?

Super bowl Sunday is right around the corner....if you check out my sidebar, I have MANY delicious recipes just waiting to be served up at your SUPER BOWL PARTY.
Simply scroll down on the right, and click on the photo of the recipe you'd like to try.

Appetizers, soups, sandwiches, side dishes and desserts that will SCORE with hungry football lovers, regardless which team their rootin' for.

So check it out and enjoy the game!

Steak with Mushrooms

SO, my husband calls me from work and says, "Will you cook some steaks with some mushrooms, and I'd like some potatoes and something else really good to go with it, OK?"

So I did what any good wife who runs her own 24 hour family style restaurant from her humble kitchen does...I began cooking his dinner with a smile! :)

Really- I would prefer him to tell me what he wants, because last night I made one of my favorite dinners (kielbasa and sauerkraut) and he ate only one serving (a cook's nightmare!)

SO, if you want to whip up a weeknight steak dinner, here's a good one to try.

I love the crunchy topping on the mushrooms. Very tasty!




Ingredients

* 1 beef T-bone or Porterhouse steak, cut 1 inch thick
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs (I used Italian-seasoned)
* 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 1/4 teaspoons steak seasoning blend
* 8 ounces button mushrooms, cut into quarters (drain a can of mushrooms)
* 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions ( I used minced onion)

Directions

Melt 1 teaspoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat; stir in bread crumbs and cheese. Cook and stir 3 to 6 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from pan. Set aside.
Press 2 teaspoons steak seasoning evenly onto beef steak. Place steak on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil 15 to 20 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) to medium (160 degrees F) doneness, turning once.
Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 teaspoons butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onions and remaining 1/4 teaspoon steak seasoning; cook and stir 4 to 6 minutes or until mushrooms are just tender and lightly browned; keep warm.
Remove bone from steak; carve crosswise into slices. Serve with mushrooms. Sprinkle crumb mixture over mushrooms and steak.

*I served it with boiled potatoes, asparagus (recipe is on my sidebar) and a side salad.




Enjoy!

Mexican Braid

I had a CELEBRATING AT HOME party this week and the distributor brought this delicious entree that all my guests raved over! And what made it even better? I earned the gorgeous serving dish for FREE!!!!! (Along with about $200 dollars of other beautiful merchandise!)

I promised my guests I would get the recipe, and I'll share with you too!

And, seriously, if you want to place an order online,SHIPPED DIRECTLY TO YOUR HOME, you can do so . CLICK HERE

Whether or not you order, be sure to browse the catalog.....lots of GORGEOUS pieces!
Okay- so here's the recipe:

Three packs crescent rolls.
1 1/2 pounds of hamburger.
1 small can of diced tomatoes with green chillies.
and 2 cups finely shredded Mexican blend cheese.
1 pack of taco seasoning mix.

Brown hamburger and drain blend in taco mix and tomatoes mix thoroughly. Line hospitality tray with crescent rolls, small part of crescent lays over the sides of tray. Spread a layer of cheese on the bottom then add hamburger mixture over crescents then add remaining cheese on top. Crisscross the crescents over the top and bake for 20 to 25 min at 350 degrees. No need to preheat oven if using hospitality tray. Best served right out of oven with sour cream.
ENJOY!