Birthday Fun!

 I can't believe my baby boy is 3 already! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. He always brings a smile to face with his quick wit and imagination. He makes me proud to be his mommy for sure! The last few months I've been asking what kind of birthday he wanted to have, and all he would say was he wanted a Ben 10 birthday. Well, I don't watch Ben 10, Jake watches Ben 10 with him. When I went online to try and find some ideas for his birthday everything seemed too old for his age group. So, finally I talked him into a baseball party! While home a few weeks ago I went to Party City and picked up all the necessary Braves supplies! We even all wore Braves shirts for the party. With the theme picked, food was easy. We grilled! Hot dogs, burgers, chips, veggies, fruits, cupcakes, and cake ball (courtesy of Nanny)! Today I'm sharing a great burger recipe and one for homemade funfetti cupcakes. The burgers come from Southern Living's, "Comfort Food", and they are some of the easiest ones I've seen. The cupcakes came from Pinterest and the website SweetPeasKitchen. These were way better than anything that could have ever come from a box. I even got lucky and found red,white, and blue jimmies at the commissary! 

 The Perfect Burger

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (75/25 or 25% fat)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper

6 (1 oz) Cheddar cheese slices

6 hamburger buns

Toppings of choice

Directions

Preheat grill to 350 to 400 degrees (medium-high). Gently combine beef, salt, and pepper. Shape into 6 (4-inch) 1-inch-thick patties. Using thumb and forefinger, lightly press middle of patties, pressing in but not completely through, creating an indentation in center of patties. Let stand at room temp for 30 minutes.

Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat 6-7 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in center. Top each burger with 1 cheese slice, and grill, covered with grill lid, 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. remove from grill, and let stand 5 minutes, Serve on hamburger buns with desired toppings.

Funfetti Cupcakes

 

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

 

1 cup buttermilk

4 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups cake flour, sifted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sprinkles, plus more for garnish

For the Buttercream Frosting:

20 tablespoons (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2½ cups Confectioners’ sugar

1/8 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In a 2-cup glass measure, combine milk, egg whites, and extracts and mix with fork until blended.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1½ minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer. Fold in sprinkles. Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups.

Bake 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer muffin pan to wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cool completely prior to frosting.

To make buttercream frosting, in standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Place frosting into a large decorators decorating bag fitted with the 1M decorating tip and approximately 1/4″ above cupcake top at a 90° angle to cupcake surface, pipe a spiral of icing, beginning at the outer edge and working inward. Sprinkle with remaining sprinkles.

Yields: 24 cupcakes or 1 two-layer cake

Prep Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes (includes cooling)

Bake Time: 22 minutes

 

 

It was great having friends and family here to help celebrate Wyatt's big day! Stay tuned for any amazing pecan pancake recipe!



Time to GRILL!

 With my parents here this weekend to help us celebrate Wyatt's birthday tomorrow, I thought we should do something on the grill for dinner. So, we fired it up threw on some steaks, potatoes, bread, and I made a hot bacon salad to go with it. The grill potatoes come from a recipe I found on Pinterest (my newest addiction) and the salad is something that I've always loved from a restaurant back home. If you live in the Northeast GA area you are probably familiar with Poor Richard's ( it's actually the place Jake took me to dinner for his senior prom). Growing up my parents use to go downstairs to the lounge for a hot bacon salad and an open faced prime rib sandwich. Nothing as a kid beat eating the leftovers for breakfast on a Sunday morning! Both of these I think will be Summer staples at our house.

 Hot Bacon Salad

Salad

Bag of baby spinach

pint of grape tomatoes

package of sliced mushrooms

half a thinly sliced red onion

Dressing

 

Ingredients

8 slices bacon

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white vinegar

 

Directions

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt, and slowly pour in water and vinegar, whisking constantly.

In a medium skillet, add the crumbled bacon and pour the vinegar mixture over it. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.

 

Grill Potatoes

Ingredients

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon minced chives

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Transfer to a double thickness of greased heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Dot with butter.

Fold foil around potato mixture and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 15-18 minutes on each side or until potatoes are tender.

  

Carefully open foil. Sprinkle the bacon cheeses over potato mixture. Grill 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

 Yield: 4-6 servings.

Come back for some great pics of Wyatt celebrating his 3rd birthday with homemade baseball cupcakes and some amazing burgers!!



Waffles Benedict

With Easter just around the corner, I thought I would share one of my favorite egg dishes! As I've mentioned before, my husband Jake serves in the Army. This means our family moves pretty often to say the least. It seems  like no matter where we've lived I've had a favorite breakfast/brunch spot that serves eggs benedict. When we lived in Savannah it was Clary's (made famous by the book/movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) and in Alaska it was Snow City (it's so good someone should make a book/movie about it). Clary's served it the traditional way with an English muffin and Snow City served it the Alaskan way with a crab cake instead of ham! This is also a twist on the classic dish, served over savory waffles with country salt cured ham. As much as I love this dish, I have to admit that this was the first time I tried the dish at home. For some reason poached eggs always scared me! I though they would just be too hard to make, but surprise, I think it was easier than scrambled eggs! This recipe comes from Southern Living's,"Comfort Food:A delicious Trip Down Memory Lane".



Don't judge me for only having a Scooby Doo waffle maker!

Waffles Benedict

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose baking mix ( like Bisquick or my homemade mix)
1 1/3 cups buttermilk (more if using homemade mix)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
9 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1 (0.9 oz) envelope hollandaise sauce mix
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon ( used the green parts of one green onion)
8 thin pancetta slices ( about 1/4 pound)

 

Directions

Stir together baking mix, next 3 ingredients, and 1 egg in a medium bowl until blended. Let the batter stand 5 minutes

Meanwhile, add water to a depth of 3 inches in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and maintain a light simmer. Add vinegar. Working in 2 batches, break remaining 8 eggs, and slip into water, 1 at a time, as close as possible to the surface. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes or to desired degree of doneness. Remove with a slotted spoon. Trim edges, if desired.

Cook batter in a preheated, lightly greased waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden.

Prepare hollandaise sauce according to package directions, adding lemon juice and tarragon.

For each serving, stack 2 waffles, and top with 2 pancetta slices, 2 poached eggs, and desired amount of hollandaise sauce.


I have a great post coming up about grilling and I'll be sharing a sweet surprise from Wyatt's 3rd birthday party!!

Grandpa

                                            

Sadly, last week we lost a very important person in our family, my grandpa, Charles Elbert (C.E.) Kanady. We were fortunate enough to have the support and love of many people from our community. If you're not from the South you may not be familiar with how people show love and support: with food! The church of one of my aunts was gracious enough to bring food to the funeral home for the viewing and our family's home church provided dinner on the grounds after the graveside service. It was there that I discovered this cake. I had never had an Iced Italian Cream Cake, and while this one was store bought, it was greatly appreciated because I didn't have to track someone down and ask what it was! When we returned home and I was going through my trusty Trisha Yearwood cookbook,"Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen", I found this recipe. It was just as delicious as the one I had previously tried. If you love coconut and cream cheese icing, this is for you!

 Iced Italian Cream Cake

 

Ingredients

2 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs, separated

1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sweetened coconut

 

Italian Cream Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

1 pound confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped nuts

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour 3 9-inch pans.

Sift the flour and soda together and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and shortening with the sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well between each addition. With he mixer on medium speed, add the flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with buttermilk. Add the vanilla, coconut, and nuts, and stir well to incorporate.

In a separate bowl with clean beaters, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, just until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes. Test for doneness by touching the top of the cake with finger. The cake is done if it bounces back up. Cool the layers on wire racks sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese with the butter on high speed until fluffy. Reduce the speed on medium and blend in the sugar and vanilla. Beat well until the frosting is smooth.

When the cake is completely cool, spread the frosting between the layers and on the sides and top of the cake. Sprinkle with the nuts.

The times I always saw my Grandpa the happiest was when our family was all together. I think he would have loved to see that we all came together for each other and shared what we loved the most about him!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I first fell in love with tuna noodle casserole when I worked at a CDC (Child Development Center) in Virginia. They had an older lady who ran the kitchen with an iron fist, and boy could she cook. In a world where most school lunches are merely heated up, she still believe that some dishes deserved to have some thought put into them. Tuna noodle casserole was definitely one of those dishes for her. This isn't her recipe, or even like most recipes that I see that include peas and a mix of mayo and cream of mushroom. This is one is more like a mac and cheese with tuna and veggies added in! Everyone at our house found this delish! It comes from," Southern Living Comfort Food".

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup chopped onion

1 (8 oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms

1/3 cup all purpose flour

3 cups milk

3 cups (12 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (12 oz) can solid white tuna in spring water, drained and flaked

1 (6oz.) can solid white tuna in spring water, drained and flaked

1 (12 oz) package egg noodles, cooked

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs

1/3 cup butter, melted

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms, and saute 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from skillet,

Whisk together flour and milk until smooth; add to skillet, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; add cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese is melted. Stir in tuna, noodles, and parsley; stir in sauteed vegetables, Spoon into a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake, covered, at 375 for 25 minutes. Stir together breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup melted butter; sprinkle over casserole, and bake, uncovered, 15 more minutes or until golden.

Wyatt turns 3 on Saturday so be on the look out for pics and a recipe for homemade funfetti cupcakes Via Pinterest!



Cheese Balls

Cheese Balls

One of the best things about the South is that cheese is King. We will literally put it in anything. In fact most places you go for a meat and 3 will include mac and cheese as a veggie! One of my favorite things with cheese is a cheese ball! This past weekend we had some friends over to grill and I wanted a dessert and appetizer that I could make ahead and didn't have to fuss over. These two cheese balls really fit the bill, and they were a big hit with our guest as well! As you can tell from the pics we really dug right in!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

This recipe came to me via my mom who received it from an old family friend. Apparently, it's making it's way around the baby shower circuit! I've made this before for a FRG ( Family Readiness Group for those who don't live the Army lifestyle) and it was a huge success!





 

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter softened (no substitutes)
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 TB brown sugar
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips; 1/4 cup reserved
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
Graham crackers or vanilla wafers

Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars, beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and
refrigerate for 2 hours. Place cream cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap: shape. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Before serving, roll cheese
ball in pecans and reserved chocolate chips. Serve with Graham crackers or vanilla wafers.

 Ranch Cheese Ball

This recipe comes from my tried and true Trisha Yearwood cookbook, "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen". I love it served with either Ritz crackers or those Townhouse Toppers. They seems to give the best cheese to cracker ratio! This recipe makes two large cheese balls, so I usually cut it in half.

Ingredients

1 4oz package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup buttermilk, well shaken

16 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the dressing mix, mayo, buttermilk, Cheddar, and cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Divide the mixture into two equal portions in two separate bowls. Cover the bowls and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes. When each portion is firm, use your hands to shape it into a ball. Place the nuts in a shallow bowl ( I use a cake pan) or on a piece of waxed paper. Roll each ball in the nuts to coat it on all sides.

 Last week my family said goodbye to a wonderful man, my Grandpa. Be on the look out for a blog about him and Church Lady Fried Chicken and Iced Italian Cream Cake! My mom recently purchased a new Southern Living cookbook for me and last night we tried the Tuna Noodle Casserole from it. That post is coming up as well!

Kitchen Christmas Tree

 One of my favorite memories of Christmas was the year my mom made an edible tree. Everything on it was homemade and something you could eat!. I remember her going all out with a gingerbread house and everything. It's amazing that it's things like that I remember about Christmas. I think that tree ranks up there with my all time favorites. This year I decided to do something similar at our house for the kids. I was lucky enough to have my mom come down for the weekend to help me put it all together. Everyone at our house is enjoying the fact that Nanny and Papa come pretty often!

I found my tree, tree skirt, and topper at Hobby Lobby. They are currently running a 50% off deal on all Christmas items. While home for Thanksgiving I was lucky enough to come across silver flatware for $1.25 at a local antique store. I wrapped some some ribbon around them and instant ornaments. I also placed cookie cutters, dried fruit, cinnamon applesauce ornaments, and cranberry garland. My house smells amazing right now!

 We did an orange for everyone in our family with cloves making their initial. Jake even did a tangerine for Mollie!

 I cut my applesauce cinnamon ornaments out of cookie cutters from every state we've lived in since we've been married. It was neat for the kids to have something from their birth state on our little tree!

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

1 Cup cinnamon (I bought a big container at the dollar store)

2 individual cups of applesauce

2 tablespoons of craft glue

Mix ingredients together. If the mixture looks and feels loose, add more cinnamon. Shape dough into a ball and sandwich between two sheets of wax paper. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. The thinner they are the less time it will take them to dry. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters and place on baking sheet. Bake in oven at 200 degrees for 2 hours, turning after the first hour to keep edges from curling. Depending on thickness, ornaments make take more or less than 2 hours. Just keep checking them.

Smelling these make my day every time I walk into my kitchen. Merry Christmas!