A Cook's Quest

I don’t know about your house, but summers are BUSY around here! Lately I have been very dependent on my stand by recipes for dinners. Breakfast in the evenings has been occurring at least twice a week, and the easy options of sweet and spicy chicken tacos , spaghetti with  slow cooker marinara and bean and chicken burritos have been regulars. In between baseball practices, tournaments all weekend, work, and everyday life I just didn’t want to make new dinner recipes. Instead I made sweet treats, breads, and food that, while they are OK in moderation, probably wouldn’t do so great as dinner. It is time to start incorporating some healthy options for snacks, lunches and dinners. That is why I made these corn dog muffins. My kids LOVE corn dogs but I don’t love the deep fried, processed versions that I buy at the store. I have seen this idea floating around blog land for a while and decided to give it a try. My kids loved them and think it is even funnier to say they w...

As I have mentioned a time or two , peanut butter and chocolate are one of the combinations that everyone in my house loves.  Usually, barring any major baking catstrophes, if a recipe calls for these two ingredients it is sure to be a hit especially with my husband.  When I stumbled onto this recipe at The Farm Girl Recipes  I knew it was going into the Ice Cream Friday series.  This ice cream has a wonderfully smooth texture thanks to the creamy peanut butter and heavy cream.  It has the salty flavor one expects, but is balanced nicely with the sweetness from the sugar and the chocolate.  Oh, and I can't forget to mention the chunks of peanut butter cups throughout.   The only thing that could have made it better was a covering in hot fudge, but we didn't not have any.  So, my poor family suffered through and it all up without fudge and let me tell ya they were real troopers about it.  ENJOY! I'm linking up, go check so...

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month?  I sure didn't, but I'm so excited to find out because it makes the timing of this recipe perfecto, in fact I think I will use this National Ice Cream Month as the reason to post a new ice cream recipe every Friday for the rest of the month and maybe, just maybe, we will have ice cream for dinner as a sweet surprise. My family will be be so happy! I made this delicious ice cream last week with Br2.  She is my sidekick in the kitchen and has been requesting that we pull out the ice cream maker that Santa brought her (isn't he a smart guy to think of bringing her a real ice cream maker?), and make some delicious homemade ice cream.  Now that the temperatures have reached appropriate ice cream eating weather I couldn't say no.  Now, onto the ice cream.  If you like cheesecake and don't feel like heating up your kitchen, this is the dessert for you!  It is rich and sweet and creamy just l...

I don't think I can ever get tired of pasta with cream sauce.  Even on a hot summer day, I can devour a warm, saucy, creamy, cheesy, bowl of pasta.  It is comfort food for me and love trying different variations.  This recipe is ideal, I think anyway, because it can be made ahead and the end result is still the same--a delicious pasta nestled in cheesy cream sauce with bites of tender chicken, crisp broccoli and sweet tomatoes from my garden. Definitely go try this soon, and I would recommend doubling the recipe so you have one for the freezer too.  Enjoy! I'm linking this recipe go check out all the other great recipes people are posting! Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli, and  Mozzarella Recipe Source: Modified slightly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe *Note from Mel: See the asterisk below the recipe for make-ahead directions. Serves 6-8 Topping: 3/4 cup bread crumbs (store-bought or make your own) 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1...

Oh what can be better than a BBQ with great friends and family for the 4th of July?  Not much in book!  This year I decided to make stained glass jello for the 4th of July.  SO MUCH FUN!  My kiddos loved the look and it was really easy.  Also don't forget to try out some of the other recipes below that I found while I was looking through other sites! I'm linking this post, go check out all the other cool recipes! Stained Glass Jello Recipe Source: I have no idea, this stuff is all over the Internet! 4 small boxes (3 oz. each) of Jell-O or store brand "gelatin dessert" in different colors. (I used two boxes of raspberry and two boxes of blue berry flavor) 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (that Knox stuff) For each flavor, dissolve one box of jello in one cup of boiling water. Pour into a container and chill until firm.  Don't do anything with the sweetened condensed milk and unflavored g...