EASY Fruit Dip

This dip is so easy it doesn't even warrant a full post! This has been a winner every single time I make it. You can make it in advanced, top it with chopped nuts or chocolate chips or even spread it over a bagel! The only change I made was that I used 1/2 cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cups!

Original recipe can be found here: http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2010/10/68/3+Easy+Dip+Recipes--Pumpkin+Pie,+Caramel,+%26+Peanut+Butter

Take one package of softened cream cheese, 1/2-3/4 cup dark brown sugar (I have used light brown and it turned out fine) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I have also used maple extract). Blend until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or eat immediately!

That's it! LOLOL

Cook.Eat.Repeat.

The Friday Five

Oh how I love the holiday season! The decorating, getting together with family telling the same old family stories and the cooking!  The wonderful smells of the season always evokes the great childhood memories of road-tripping from Ohio to Clarksdale to love on family and friends I hadn't see all year and prepping the meal that the entire family would enjoy.  I LOVE the holidays!

So please do me a solid and tell me either five things you are thankful for or five things you will be cooking this Thanksgiving.

My menu includes:

1. Cornish hens - haven't decided how they will be prepared yet...fry them whole, roast them or smoke them *shrug* no clue!
2. Lobster mac and cheese - decadent!
3. Cornbread dressing
4. Real deal fried corn with bacon and ham and onions and peppers *swoon*
5. Bourbon Pecan Pie

Five of the things I am thankful for include:

1. Having supportive people in my life that I totally love and that totally love me
2. My daughters...they kinda rock
3. My life. It is in a good, happy place right now
4. Employment. I enjoy my job and the people I work with...that is rare! LOL I don't take that for granted!
5. God's grace and mercy. He knows the true blue T R-rah and loves me any ole way!

 Have a wonderful holiday...I am sure I will have the "itis" all holiday weekend! LOL



Kevin's Chicken Rhodini

So my BIL didn't actually cook this or even suggest that my sister prepare it.  He tasted it after she made it and named it...LOL.  He's special!  You can buzz on over to her site to find the basic technique and recipe NinahBee just scroll down to Monday!

These sauteed vegetables were so good I could have totally eaten them alone with a sprinkle of cheese.  It even gave me an idea for a grilled vegetable salad.

Chicken breasts pounded thin cook faster and usually you can get two filets out of one chicken breast.



My rolls of meat weren't as pretty as my sister's but they were delicious. LOL.  This was a great empty out the fridge recipe.  I filled my roulades with leftover caramelized onions, leftover roasted carrots, spinach, mushrooms and cheese.  The flour was seasoned with parsley flakes and paprika.

Coat the stuffed and rolled chicken breasts lightly in the seasoned flour. Sear just to add color then finish in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

They were very juicy and tasty.  The kid gobbled them right on up!  This was not quite the weeknight winner recipe I wanted because there are mutiple steps and rolling and pinning the chicken could be a challenge.  HOWEVER, it was bangin and the filling possibilities are endless! For sure will make this again! Thanks NinahBee!!!!

Cook.Eat.Repeat.

The Friday Five

Five Foods I Just Don't Like


Organ meats - I don't care how much iron liver will provide my anemic behind...you can keep it


Oysters - People swear by their deliciousness but all I see is snot on a shell (sorry for the visual)

Calamari - I tried it, I don't like it

Octopus - When alive it is not visually pleasing to look at so I definitely don't want it on my plate...lol

Genetically modified foods - If/When these foods become available...you will never hear me talking about trying them. I like knowing my animals had real heads; my fruits and vegetables grown the natural way not in a petri dish!

What are foods you just don't like?

Have a great weekend

Nothing Like It

A couple of weeks ago in passing, I mentioned to E how I would love a raised garden. I told him I would plant us some spinach and herbs and try my hand at peppers and maybe onions.  See this is all funny, and he had a good ole laugh because I can't grow ish.  Playa my hands are plant killers ya heard!  I have laid aloe vera and cacti to rest! LOLOL

Didn't matter.  He and my Babe think I can do anything. So Saturday, he is talking about this surprise. I'm not even much checking for him because I am preparing for one of my favorite people to come to town; preparing for a bad ass girls night in.  I'm cooking, cleaning, making sure everything is just so. Later for a surprise I have TONS of stuff to do before I pick Pam! LOL

So evening comes and he is the lone man amongst a bevy of loud, drinking, eating, laughing, singing women.  We were cutting up good!  He pulls me aside and walks me outside to the back of his truck.

"Babe and I are gonna paint this for you tomorrow."

"What is it" (It's good and dark outside)

Soooo very nonchalantly, "The raised garden you mention a few weeks ago"

"Awwwwwwwww"

"I figure, if your friends don't mind, they can sign their names or place encouraging words on the garden before they leave"

I am literally speechless...so I kissed and hugged him.

I mean this was just a great ending to a fabulous evening! There is NOTHING like having people who believe in you even when you doubt yourself, your skills, your dreams. 

I love the people I have chosen to surround me and I pray I am as supportive of their dreams as they are of mine!  Having a support system is soooo gangsta! I love my family and friends and framily.  They go so hard in the paint! If you haven't surrounded yourself with people who love and support you I suggest you change that expeditiously!!! Seriously, there is nothing like it!

I LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!

Roasted Balsamic Carrots

On Saturday we had a Girl’s Night In! One of my favorite people was in town and I had a chance to cook for her! Her only request was for me to bake her some Chocolate Kaluha Brownies (which can be found on this site!). Well, not only did I make her the brownies, but we had vanilla bean ice cream, passion fruit sorbet, laid-out roasted chickens, carrots with balsamic, fresh garlic spinach and pan fried potatoes! PLUS, wine and liquor and friends a plenty!



Great fun...my face is still sore from all of the laughter and smiling that went on. I’m going to have to do better about taking pictures when there is a get together at the house...everybody has pictures but me! LOL...if you are my FB ‘friend’ you’ve already seen all of the pictures!

On to this week’s recipe!

A well roasted vegetable can do no wrong in my world. A little salt, a little pepper and a bit of olive oil and I am yours! These roasted carrots were no different. A note about how I choose carrots: I never by bagged carrots. I always choose carrots with bright, green tops and a little dirt about the vegetable. In my mind it is fresher *shrug* I’m extra that way! LOL This shouldn’t even count as a recipe because it is so easy but here goes:

Roasted Balsamic Carrots

What you need:
1-2 Bunches of carrots peeled and cut on the diagonal about a half inch to an inch thick
½ teaspoon each salt and pepper (or to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

What to do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place carrots in a medium sized bowl
Add salt, pepper, olive oil. Stir to coat
Pour carrots onto foil lined cookie sheet
Roast for 15-20 minutes or until edges of carrots begin to slightly brown
Remove carrots from roasting pan and into a serving dish and drizzle with balsamic and gently toss to coat


That’s it. Seriously, that is all!

Cook.Eat.Repeat.