So, What Have You Been Cooking Lately?

I get asked that question a lot! As of late I haven't had much "reason" to cook in that it is official now...we are empty nesters! If I talk about it too much I'll start to cry so let's keep moving!

We had a nice long weekend at the beach for our Anniversary and needless to say we ate out a lot! My shorts are uncomfortable today so that proves it! 

Once we unpacked I did my usual grocery store run but I still didn't feel any inspiration....until I spotted the "home made" pizza dough in the bakery section! 

Kudos to whoever thought that up because it is truly delicious! 

I tried the multi grain dough for the first time and I am already craving it again! 
(oh wait...I get to have leftovers tonight!)

I hope you'll give this a try!
 Let me know what you think of it! 

I started the toppings by sautéing the mushrooms in a little bit of Olive Oil for just a minute or two!

Then I quickly added the baby spinach

I only stirred it around for a second because in no time at all it had shrunk to almost nothing!

I cut up the grilled chicken into bite size pieces

I spotted this new pizza sauce and decided to give it a try! It looked really good but I still wanted a splash of the real stuff so I mixed them. I did...I admit it!

If you will let the pizza dough sit out and come to room temperature it is MUCH easier to handle!

Here is the Artichoke sauce

Then I added the regular pizza sauce

Topped it with some parmesan cheese

I added the chicken and then the vegetables came next

I love sliced Roma tomatoes on a pizza!

The fresh mozzarella is one of my most favorite parts!

Then I topped it all off with the 6 Cheese Blend they make for pizzas

Baked it at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and then I turned the heat up to 400 degrees to finish it off! Mainly because I was hungry! 

Hope you Enjoy!

Mushroom, Spinach and Chicken Pizza

1 Multi Grain pizza crust

1-2 T Olive Oil 

1 jar of Reese Artichoke Pizza Sauce

1/4-1/2 Cup regular pizza sauce

2 grilled chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

( ours was marinated in greek spices)

1 Cup grated parmesan cheese-divided

1 small carton sliced fresh mushrooms, washed and drained

1 6oz. bag Baby Spinach, stems removed

4-5 Roma tomatoes, sliced thinly and drained on paper towels

Sliced fresh mozzarella cheese

Italian 6 Cheese Blend

red pepper flakes if desired

Place pizza dough on a greased pizza pan. Sauce the mushrooms for 2 minutes in the olive oil and then add the baby spinach. Stir until mixed in and remove from heat. Lay out on paper towels and squeeze out the excess liquid as best as you can. Top the prepared crust with desired sauces. Add 1/4 C of the parmesan cheese. Top with the grilled chicken, the spinach and mushroom mixture and the sliced tomatoes. Next tear of the mozzarella and distribute evenly and top with all of the Italian 6 cheese blend. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and then turn heat up to 400. Bake until done. Let sit for a minute before slicing. 

Bon Apetit! 

The First Recipe Of 2015!

Are you holding your breath? Are you?

 Cause you should be!

This is the best dessert I've had in a long, long, time!

 We are enjoying the best week between Christmas and New Years at the beach with most of our family. I'm truly thinking I might not be able to leave and return to normal! 

 Here is the dessert I made for us the other night.

I'm so glad this recipe will be my first for 2015! 

Enjoy!

I found this recipe from Pinterest and ultimately from the blog What's Cooking Love. 

 I can promise you it will be a family favorite!

Gingerbread Caramel Poke Cake

Ingredients

1 package Gingerbread Cake Mix

1/2 can Eagle Brand condensed milk

1/2 C warmed caramel ice cream topping

1/2 container cool whip or real whipped cream

crushed gingersnaps (optional)

Prepare:

1 package Gingerbread Cake mix prepared according to package directions in an 8 x 8 pan.

When completely cooled, poke several holes either with a straw or a skewer….like a lot of holes! Pour a half of one can of condensed milk over the cake and keep spooning the excess over the cake and making sure it fills the holes. 
Then pour 1/2-3/4 Cup warmed Caramel Topping over the cake as well. 
Continue to spoon the milk and the caramel over the cake until most of it has seeped in. 
Cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours. 
Top with Cool Whip or Whipped Cream. Serve and enjoy! Can top with crushed gingersnaps if desired!

I really hope you will give this cake a try! Every one us loved it!

I Finally Ate At Vicki's Lunch Van! (but then I had to cook dinner!)

So, for months I've been trying to figure out a way to get to try the Hamburger voted #1 in Alabama. Seriously…and even after eating our way through Destin and Seaside for the past few days I was on a mission! (I think I learned this trait early on…from my mother!) 

She is the queen of finding the best food anywhere at anytime!
by the way…it's not in a van anymore!

 But I'm serious, even after eating some of the best seafood, even after not sleeping for the past two nights thanks to a sinus infection and then the horrible storms that rolled through Sandestin around 3:00 am last night…even after knowing all that we had to do once we got back to Birmingham I secretly found the directions to this delectable hole in the wall kind of place! And boy, am I glad we did! It's actually in Montgomery and not very far off the interstate. Trust me on this one…it wasn't voted #1 for nothing! It was everything and then some! Jim loved it as much as I did…our only downfall was that we didn't split it! They are huge and we ended up only eating about half of it…it was still worth it though! And only $7.00 for the combo meal! Can you believe I'm even saying this? I seriously believe I missed my calling as a food critic! The kicker was when we got home and I had to go to the store to get groceries! Nothing even remotely sounded good since we were so full and I sat and stared at Pinterest hoping for inspiration! Then I remembered this yummy soup that I had made a long time ago! Thought I would share the recipe with you. 
This is the perfect go to meal when you want ease and a lot of leftovers.

 On top of that it was so wonderful to come home to chilly weather after being in hot, sunny Florida! 

Green Chili Potato Corn Chowder

8 Cups peeled, diced red potatoes
1 onion, diced
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
7-8 Cups chicken broth or stock
2-3 Cups white corn ( I used the frozen )
2 small cans diced, green chilies
1/2 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2-1 Tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Crystal hot sauce
1 package peppered gravy mix

2-3 Cups warm, 1% milk
6 ounces diced Velveeta cheese 
garnishes: shredded cheddar, green onions, hot sauce

Saute the onion in the butter until softened. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the diced potatoes and cook for 25 minutes covered. Add the corn, salt, pepper, thyme and green chilies. Let simmer for another 30 minutes, covered. Warm the milk and whisk in the gravy mix. Slowly add to the soup mixture. Let simmer another 10-20 minutes. Add the Velveeta and simmer until melted, stirring occasionally. Serve in bowls and let people top with toppings if desired. 
This is so yummy and completely satisfying served with corn bread or corn muffins. Let me know how you like it!

When It's Time To Leave The Beach….It's Time To Leave The Beach!

We said good-bye to the beach as well as the rich yet wonderful meals that we enjoyed…and yes, we certainly enjoyed them! 'Havana's' in Rosemary Beach, 'Bud And Alley's' as well as 'The Great Southern' in Seaside, 'Dewey Destin's' in Destin…you name it we enjoyed them to the fullest! 

But…when it was time to come home this lady was craving down home Southern cooking!

So, I made Squash Casserole!

("before" pic!)

 (Squash Casserole "after" pic!)

As well as my all time favorite Oven Barbecue Chicken with yellow rice! 

(All of the recipes are at the bottom of this post.)

And no Southern meal would be complete without homemade…well, almost homemade corn muffins! (love that Krusteaz brand!) However, I also did a post several years ago which you can see HERE for my grandmother's recipe for the most delicious corn muffins ever! 

With this meal I also served English Peas with it because…well, because I like them and I was tired at this point! 
I must say that I thought it was ironic that Holly chose to make this meal as well…or at least the Oven Barbecue Chicken…we truly do think alike! It's so easy and its really very healthy! 

Try it out and let me know what you think! 

So, until we meet again old faithful beach chair…I will be enjoying home cooked meals and exercising like crazy! I think that is a fair trade! I hope you will try at least one of these recipes. I am posting the chicken and the squash if you'd like to make them!
As always... I would love to know your thoughts!

Oven Barbecue Chicken

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 T ketshup
3 T vinegar
2 T lemon juice
3 T worchestershire sauce
1/2 C water
2 T melted butter
4 T sugar
1/2 t red pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. chili powder
tobasco suace to taste, garlic powder to taste
Place cleaned chicken breasts in an oven proof casserole dish. Mix all of the other ingredients together and pour over chicken, making sure sauce also gets under the chicken. Cover tightly with a lid or heavy foil. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 1/2- 2 hours. Serve over yellow or white rice. 
This is truly one of our families all time favorite dishes! Your house will smell amazing while it is cooking!

Squash Casserole

10 pieces of medium sized squash, rinsed and sliced 1/2" thick
1 small onion, diced
1/2 stick light butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 T sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
4-6 ozs. sour cream ( I use light)
3/4-1 C light mayo
1/2 C parmesan cheese
8 ozs. grated cheddar cheese
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers, crushed
1/4 stick melted butter
saute squash and onions with the butter. Season with salt, pepper and sugar before cooking. Drain squash well in a colander once it is tender…pushing out the excess water as best as possible. In a mixing bowl add the squash mixture with the mayo and sour cream, egg and cheeses. Place in a greased casserole dish. Top with crushed crackers mixed with the melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly!
I hope you love it like we do!

The Sweetest Thing's Sunday…Are Sometime's The Simplest!

For the past several days we have been at the beach….enjoying time together before Miller leaves for college…I wish we could just stay here…

 Enjoying the Sea…and enjoying my family…

 In fact, I wish I could just sit here and stare at the ocean! Instead of packing up my last child to head out into the world! But he will have fun and this is natural….

And so was getting away and enjoying each other's company for just a few days…It was simple, it was sweet! I wish the rest of our family could've been with us as well...

Guess that just means we will have to make another trip down to our home away from home….

 I love seeing the Wharf at this time of night….we will definitely return soon!

I think I may make this yummy Pina Colada Cake on Friday night as we all get together before we actually head down to the Plains of Auburn! It's very easy and incredibly good!

1 Box Yellow Cake mix, cooked according to package
 directions in a 9 x 13 pan.

When cool, poke holes in the cake and pour 1 can of Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut over the entire cake. Spread a large container of Cool Whip on top and sprinkle with about 1 C shredded coconut. Refrigerate at least overnight. It gets better with age!

Enjoy the rest of your sweet, sweet Sunday!