Pumpkin Spice Mousse ( a repost)

What a yummy treat! Smooth and delicious with the perfect blend of pumpkin and cream. This is a simple to prepare dessert and helps with those "pumpkin-spiced everything" cravings.

This was also supposed to have pecans on top, but  apparently my grown sons must have found the HIDDEN bag, because there were none to be found. But it still tasted great and I went ahead and added the butter to the brown sugar sans the nuts just for more texture and it was awesome!



You will need:

1 cup cold milk
1 3.4 0z pkg. of Jell-O brand Pumpkin Spice Instant pudding and pie filling
*Beat together with whisk for 2 minutes.

1 cup thawed cool whip ( or whipped cream) + more for garnish
*Stir into the above mixture.

Spoon into 4 dessert dishes.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve:

Add

1 T. melted butter and 1/4 cup pecan pieces and
2 T. brown sugar. Mix well and sprinkle on top of the mousse. Add a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with a dash of brown sugar.

Serving from a  nice dessert dish or glass makes this simple treat seem special.



Enjoy!

Mom's Secret Recipe Meatloaf

I have told you in the past, ANYTIME I post a recipe from my Momma, you all should immediately stop what you are doing and print or write it out!

They are ALWAYS wonderful, mouth-watering recipes that are not too fussy.

The surprising secret in this recipe is SALSA- but it only adds to the moistness and offers some added flavor. It does NOT make it spicy or Mexican-flavored.

The topping is DELICIOUS! You'll want seconds. Possibly thirds. Your Momma will not have to tell you to clean your plate!


For this recipe, you will need:


2 eggs, beaten
1/2 of small jar of mild salsa
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
2 lbs. ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green pepper

Mix all together- put into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (uncovered). Bring out of the oven and put on topping and bake 15 min. more.

Topping
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. dried mustard


Best served with mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

"In the childhood memories of every good cook, there’s a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom." – Barbara Costikyan

Best Ever Cherry Tortilla "Cobbler"

Today I will be preparing this recipe for our local Morning News WSILTV 3 Station. I will be making the Apple version. YOU CAN WATCH IT HERE.
I have been making this dish (or one of the other varieties I'll mention later) for years- taking it to church socials, parties, neighborly gatherings, dinners or just for supper and I'm here to tell you that I've not taken it once to a gathering where my dish didn't return to me empty with nothing but recipe requests in it!

I'll make the cherry version for Valentine's Day, or Independence Day or Christmastime, and I'll make the apple version in the fall. I've also tried the peach, and I guess you could substitiute YOUR favorite pie filling (blueberry, strawberry, etc.)

It is very simple, just a few steps for assembly and you're on your way to making an absolutely delicious and surprisingly "from scratch" tasting "cobbler", but you will have cheated! Ssshhhh, you're secret's safe with me!

This recipe originally came to me from my cousin Angie who found it in her church cookbook when she lived in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

You will need:

1 pkg. flour tortillas (8-10)
small pkg. (4 oz.) cream cheese
2 cans Cherry Pie Filling (or flavor of your choice)
1 T. butter (for buttering baking dish)

Sauce:

1 1/2 sticks butter (do not substitiute-trust me)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. Almond extract ( *If using other fillings, vanilla extract would be used)

Butter bottom and sides of 13 x 9" naking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread cream cheese over tortilla.(Enough to cover, 1-2 T.)




Place about 3 T. of pie filling down center of each tortilla.


Roll up tortilla, enchilada style.

Place side by side in dish.


Add any remaining pie filling to the top of dish and set aside.





In a saucepan over med-high heat, bring butter, sugar, water and extract to a boil.
Remove from heat and pour over tortillas in dish.



Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool a few minutes before serving.

Serving suggestions:

*Serve warm with a scoop of French Vanilla Ice cream on top.
or
*Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
or
*Top with Cool Whip
You can serve hot,room temp. or cold from the fridge. It's ALL good!


*When I make the apple version, I sprinkle top with cinnamon-sugar mixture and sprinkle with nuts . After baking I drizzle with caramel Ice cream topping.


Go ahead-Give it a try with YOUR favorite pie filling or topping. If you do, be sure to come back and let me know and I'll add your link to the post!

A "JOHN DEERE" Baby Shower

I LOVE to cook, but there is one thing I almost love even more...throwing showers for friends and family!

Yesterday, I helped a friend with a shower for her daughter's childhood friend.

Kecia wanted a "John Deere" tractor themed shower. We stretched it a bit by making it a farm/country style John Deere theme.



First item on the list was the cake. We found a cake we like online, then sent the photo to my favorite cake maker, Dorothy Stone from West Frankfort. She replicated the look, but did an even better job! Half of the main layer was chocolate, the other half was lemon.

Next,we decided on the decor. Green and yellow with country touches. Green table cloths, with yellow runners. Scattered raffia. We used the decorated gifts for the games, as added centerpieces to each table. Plates were green, napkins were yellow and John Deere napkins. Forks were served from a green plastic pail that Gena added Tractor stickers to.




Diana had a great idea--Mason jars tied with raffia and ribbon and filled with assorted old-fashioned candies. Each jar was filled with something different. Guests enjoyed going from table to table filling their plates with their favorites.





Also, I added yellow cupcake liners that were filled with animal crackers.

Instead of punch, we opted for assorted sodas, bottled water and COUNTRY TIME lemonade served from a "farmish" galvanized bucket.



The food was simple. In addition to the cake, Diana made "haystacks" (Rice Krispie treats with a "B" for BRAXTYN, I made white chocolate covered pretzels with yellow and green sugar sprinkles,






assorted fruit/dip, veggies/dip, "It's a Boy" mints and assorted nuts.




When the guests arrived, the signed a "diaper", a keepsake for Kecia to remember the special day. The diaper was surrounded by John Deere Tractors.




Diana created an Adorable "DIAPER CAKE" which was made with PAMPERS and assorted baby accessories.




We played three games. The first was "Animals and their Babies Name game. This was much harder than it sounds. We listed 25 animal names, and guests filled in the baby names accordingly. However, several stumpers...including, OWL and Turtle. Do you have any idea what those babies are called?



Game number two was simple-- guests wrote the name JOHN DEERE vertically, then wrote a baby boy's name next to each letter than began with that letter (J-Joe, O-Oliver, etc.) The winner was the guest that chose the highest number of the same names Kecia chose.









The third game, yellow and green yarn and a pair of scissors were passed around to each guest. They chose a yarn and cut to the length they thought were fit around Kecia's growing belly. The winner was Delta whose yarn length was closest to Kecia's belly diameter (trust me- it wasn't much-- Kecia is due in 2 weeks and from the back you can't even tell she's with child!)



Door Prize was awarded to the guest who had a simple JOHN DEERE TRACTOR sticker on the bottom of her plate.

Kecia's childhood friend Gena, helped write down gifts/giver's so Kecia could thank her guests later on.



Some of the guests...






Now, we're all just waiting for this DEERE Baby's arrival.

*The shower was held in the Sam Mitchell Community Room. A room that a local lawyer has set aside for community members to use AT NO CHARGE! (I LOVE it when people decide to give back to their community!)

*For more Baby shower ideas, click here:
SHE'S ABOUT TO POP! Baby Shower

BABY BOY shower

Easy Homemade Ice cream Video (Kids version)

I found this simple way to make homemade ice cream on video- simple- but easier to understand while watching it being prepared as opposed to reading the instructions.

You don't even need an ice cream freezer, and kids can easily prepare this one themselves.

I think this would be a great idea for a kid's party (let each child make their own flavor), or something fun to do with the kids on a sweltering hot summer day (such as EVERY DAY here lately in southern Illinois!)

CLICK HERE to watch the short video and cool off!

Enjoy your summer.

An Organized Kitchen....HELP!

An organized kitchen once seemed but an elusive dream for me-- I have been called many things in my life, but "organized" has never been used to describe me.

Recently I had a kitchen fire, and after two months of kitchen renovations, I am finally beginning to see the light at the end of the Tuscan Tunnel (I am getting the Tuscan dream kitchen I've been dreaming of for many years!).

Since the kitchen is looking so very dreamy, I thought this would be a good time to get it organized properly. And maybe, just MAYBE, I will be inspired from my Italian roots to keep this gorgeous kitchen in proper working order. (Well, a girl can dream, anyway.)

Unless you are a creative, unorganized girl like me, you wouldn't understand how difficult the concept is. To even begin seems overwhelming, so I began my cyber hunt to give get me started.

If you are like me, I think I've found a wonderful starting part. A simple "how-to" that broke it all down for me and made sense of what is otherwise a mystery to me.

If you are one who is already very organized in the kitchen, go ahead and click on the link, then come back and add any of your favorite kitchen organization tips.

In a couple of weeks, I will post the before, during and after photos of the renovation. I think you'll like what you see, and hopefully it will inspire some dreaming for all of you.

So go ahead-- read the tips here, and add your own if you can.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. This book looks pretty good, too.

Italian Chicken Kabobs ( a repost)

I created this deliciously simple recipe using many of my favorite ingredients that I always have on hand. It was wonderful, and was devoured within minutes of calling my men to the table!

You would have thought my Irishmen were full blooded Italians!

You will need:

Chicken strips- cut into bite size pieces
red bell pepper
green bell pepper
small zucchini
I pkg. Italian seasoning mix
Bottle of Italian dressing (I used East Main Market's Creamy Italian)
(Reserve some for basting)


Sprinkle Italian seasoning on chicken and place in glass dish. Cover with Italian dressing. Marinate for at least one hour.

Cut vegetables into bite size pieces. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, then cover in dressing, marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Alternate chicken, and vegetables on skewers and grill over med. heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is no longer pink. Brush with remaining dressing and let cook for a few more minutes.

Serve with Roasted Garlic Alfredo Rissoto (or your favorite Italian rice recipe).
Garlic bread and an Italian salad are the perfect side dishes to this super easy meal.