Fast, Easy and Delicious

 this recipe is not low fat!

what you will need for this recipe is:

1  2 qt sauce pan

1 8 x 8 or 9 x 8 deep baking dish

1 1/4 Cup of butter or (1 stick & 4 tbsp of butter)

1/4 tsp salt (if using salt free butter)

2 3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 Cup Dark Corn Syrup

1 tbsp cold water

2 tsp corn starch

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups of pecans

3/4 cup of self rising flour

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

in a bowl combine 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup self rising flour mix well and then slowly add 3/4 cup milk to make sure you have no lumps. when mixed set aside.

in sauce pan combine 1 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup dark corn syrup, 1/4 cup ( 4 tbsp) butter on low if using salt free butter add 1/4 tsp salt. combine 1 tbsp cold water and 2 tsp of corn starch in a small bowl and slowly add it other ingredients. bring to a boil then remove from heat and add vanilla and pecans.

cut up the stick of butter or 1/2 cup of  butter and place in baking dish. put dish in the oven to melt. once melted pour sugar flour mixture over the butter (do not mix together) once that is in then pour pecan mixture over that ( do not mix) then place in the oven and bake until golden brown.  the center will still seem to be liquid once it cools it will set up.

I love to serve with Vanilla bean ice cream.

this will feed about 6 or 8 people depending on the size of the servings. and if you love it like I do…it will feed 2.

All of the recipes in this entry have Apples in them…

Nutty Apple Dip

2 apples peeled and grated

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

8 oz dates ( you can also use rasins)

1 cup finley chopped pecans

In food processor mix all ingredients regfigerate until ready to serve…serve with graham crackers or ginger snaps.

Waldorf Salad

2 cups chopped celery

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups chopped tart apples

3/4 cup mayonnaise ( I like the olive oil mayo)

combine all ingredients and serve on lettuce leaf.

Pork Chops with Apples

6 Pork chops

3 or 4 apples cored and sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

brown cops on all sides in skillet. Place apple slices in buttered baking dish sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. top with chops. cover and bake at 425 degrees until pork chops are tender and cooked through.

and now desert

Carmel Apple Pie

2 sheets of Puff pastry Pre heat oven as directed on the package

1 can apple pie filling

1 jar carmel ice cream topping

in a baking dish line with one sheet of puff pastry and place in the oven until it starts to brown..pull out of the oven and top with pie filling. place second sheet on top and place back in the oven…bake until brown…when serving top with the carmel sauce. 

enjoy your dinner filled with apples

My mothre use to make this all the time. My grandmother called it spoon candy. I loved this desert and still do. I made this for my step children when they were young and I hope they make for their children some day.
this is great to have as a desert or for breakfast, one of those special breakfasts that parents have with their kids. no it’s not an every day food but my memories of eating this are special to me. I hope you make memories with your children.

you can serve this with Biscuts, Pound Cake, Puff Pastry, Cresent rolls…just about anything. I always liked it just by it’s self.

1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
6 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp butter

you can also make vanilla by leaving out the cocoa powder.

in a medium saucepan, stir sugar, cocoa and flour. stir in just enough milk to form a smooth paste. then stir in remaining milk, vanilla and butter. place on medium heat and cook until it thickens. stirring constantly.
serve immediately, my mother use to serve it with a small pat of butter on top.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!!

This is a great recipe to make when you need to take something fast and good to a party. I have been making these for years and I have never had to bring any home after the party. if you are making this for a small group this is the recipe to follow you will need to increase in order to make more for a larger group.

What you will need for this recipe:

Deep dish baking dish

1 can of Mountain Dew

1/4 cup Sugar

3 table spoons of Cinnamon

1 Granny Smith Apple cored, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven as directed on the crescent roll package, depending on how thick you sliced your apple you may need to redurce the heat a little and give the apple time to cook.

mix sugar and cinamon together. place apple slice in crescent roll and sprinkle with sugar and cinamon mixture. Roll up and place in the cooking pan. spray the cooking pan with non stick spray. when you have all of the apples rolled up sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar mixture. pour 1/2 a can of mountain dew into the pan and place in warmed oven. Bake until the crescent rolls and golden brown and the apple is tender. the mountain dew will also help to sweeten the apples and the dumplings.

this is a great thing to have for breakfast when you don’t have time to stop.

I start with

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 packet of Instant breakfast

1/2 cup frozen fruit

2 tbsp honey

1/4 cup oatmeal (raw)

2 tbsp chopped nuts

I put everything in the blender and blend it up. this gives me so much energy and I can drink it on my way out the door!

I get my fiber, protein, fruit and dairy in one place….and did I mention the taste is awsome!!!

This is a great Chili to make when you have a day off and you want that slow cooked taste.

3 lbs Ground turkey

3 cans Chili ready tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1 can red beans

1 can dark red kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 can ranch style beans with Jalapenos

1 can stewed tomatoes

1/4 cup minced onion or fresh onion chopped

2 small bell peppers chopped

3 tbsp garlic powder

Crushed red pepper to taste (depending on how hot you want it you can add more or less)

in the crock pot add the drained beans, then add the tomato one can at a time stirring after each can. then add seasonings, Bell pepper and onion. stir to combine all ingredients. add crushed red pepper and stir again. allow to cook for an hour or 2. when everything has warmed, taste to see if you need to add more garlic. after the chili has cooked for a couple more hours you may need to add the tomato sauce. you can add more or less of anything you like. If you like less meat you can cut the meat, by doing this however your chili will not be as thick unless you add more beans.

serve with Cheese, and crackers.

This chili freezes very well and can be heated in the microwave once thawed. we love to have frito pies, add chili, chips, sour cream and jalapenos. Yum!!!

if you prefer chili with no beans you could cut the beans as well. most people like beef in their chili but if you have not ever had Turkey Chili give it a try.

When you use the instant oatmeal you get such a large amount of sugars and chemicals you don’t realize your getting. I found a great alternative to the instant oatmeal raisin. my husband loves to have his raisin oatmeal every morning. to recreate a healthier version I do the following.

1/2 cup organic oatmeal

1/2 cup water

bring water to a boil and add oatmeal. turn off the heat  add raisins and cover and allow to cook. all water will be absorbed when ready. the raisins will be soft and plump after sitting on the hot water. add fresh ground cinnamon, Vanilla and walnuts or your favorite chopped nuts. because he likes it sweet, you can add Honey but I only add about 1/2 tablespoon of honey or less. he loves his oatmeal made this way. you can add different things to your oatmeal, if you like apples and cinnamon you can bake apples with honey and cinnamon then add to the oatmeal after it has cooked. 

serve with milk, or like I love mine. I like to Pour 4 oz of milk over my oatmeal and eat the milk will be warm. it is comforting and good for you.

I hope you enjoy this healthy alternative to instant oatmeal. sometimes we get to addicted to instant and fast and we think we have to sacrifice Healthy for Fast. this is not the case you can have both!!

This is a pudding that you have to cook. you can chose to leave the peanut butter out if you just want the chocolate pudding.

you will need the following

1 cup of sugar

1/2 stick of butter

3 tbsp corn starch

1 cup of milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tbsp cocoa powder

in a 2 qt sauce pan add butter and milk and warm, combine sugar and corn starch and cocoa then with a wire whisk slowly add the dry ingredints to the wet. continue to stir until the mixture starts to thicken. when the mixture coats the wire whisk then add the vanilla and the peanut butter. combine with a wooden spoon and stir until it thickens back up. serve warm or allow to cook and serve with cool whip.

this recipe can be changed if you would rather than vanilla pudding just leave out the peanut butter and cocoa and just add the vanilla.

if making vanilla pudding you can chose to grate a chocolate candy bar over the pudding and serve warm.

My mother use to make this for me when I was a kid. I use to love the Vanilla with a hershy bar on top of it. you can eat this on cold winter days and nights and you can eat it in the summer. this is great no matter the time of year!

This is a fast and easy side dish for any meal. it takes very little time to make and has only a few ingredients.

I made this tonight to go with salisbury steak, we also like to have it with Chicken and fish. something to make when your main dish may take most of your time.

what you will need are the following items.

2 cups of instant brown rice (you can use white if you prefer)

2 cups of water

1 tbsp beef, chicken or vegetable bullion depending on your main dish

minced onion

minced garlic

seasoning to taste (for the beef I used white pepper, red pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and creole seasoning)

when I make fish I like to add whatever I season the fish with, and the same with the chicken.

I also added 1/4 cup of sauteed bell pepper and onion

bring the water to a boil with all ingredients other than the rice, once water has come to a full boil add the rice, stir and remove from heat. cover and allow to cook through. when the rice has cooked fake with a knife and serve with your main dish. like I said it is fast and easy and you will not believe the taste that it brings to your meal. the brown rice is a healthy alternative to the white rice. When I sauteed my onions and bell peppers I used just a little bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you could also use sunflower oil.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with this recipe add anything and everything make this recipe your own!

as you can tell I love to bake everything. I try not to fry if I can avoid it. this recipe is one that my mother has made for years! several years ago my mother worked cooking one day a week for the Noel Senior Citizens. she would make them a meal that they would talk about for the rest of the week. she always made a salad, a main dish a bread and then desert. My mother’s family gave me my love for cooking and for food! I have my mother who puts so much love into ever dish she makes and then her brother my uncle Artie who is a great teacher. I will always remember the first dish he taught me to make…I will post that later. he is the singing chef and the reason my nephew wants to be a singing chef when he grows up. Food is our life and one reason why I do what I do with my Blog. I hope you enjoy my recipes as much as I do!

this was a popular item, they would request she make this for them at least once a month.

what you will need…

Deep dish baking sheet

2lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

1 box stuffing mix

Parmesan cheese

Italian Bread crumbs

olive oil mayo ( my mother would just use mayo)

non stick cooking spray or parchment paper

line pan with parchment paper…preheat oven to 425 degrees.

with a meat tenderizer pound chicken until it is thin enough that you can place a spoon of the bread crumbs inside. roll up the chicken then  brush with the mayo. combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese enough that would cover all of the chicken. once combined roll chicken in the mixture and place a tooth pick (soak in water until time to use) insert tooth pick in chicken to keep it closed place on baking sheet. repeat process until all chicken is on the pan. place in the oven and bake until chicken is done. the bread crumbs will turn a pretty golden brown and the mayo will keep the chicken from drying out.

this is great served with any side dish. we always have it with a great salad and a small baked potato or mashed potato. and do not forget the gravy!

Hunts makes a great jar gravy that is great to use if you just want to be finished with dinner. if you feel like making your own gravy you can use 1 to 2 cups of chicken broth. depending on how much gravy you would like to have. in a sauce pan combine 2 pats of butter and flour. stir until combined this will be very thick. then slowly whisk in the chicken broth. whisk until it starts to thicken and all the lumps are gone. when gravy coats the whisk and does not run off then it is ready to turn off. it will thicken a little more as it cools.

Please let me know if you are looking for a recipe or something to make. I am sure we have it on hand!

again, enjoy your dinner and look for my next recipe soon.