One of my favorite combinations is peanut butter and chocolate. When I was pregnant (many years ago) and trying not to be a huge balloon. I vividly remember going to CHMS’s musical and before finding a seat stopping by the snack bar and buying a Reese’s cup! I relished every bite taking an hour or more to eat the three peanut butter cups. Truthfully, that is the last time that I have purchased a triple cup of Reese’s. But, I have eaten many of the miniature ones since that night.
Monthly Archives: November 2010
Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate that are over the Top
Filed under Cookies
Cranberry Sauce
I really hate to admit that before now I have never made homemade cranberry sauce. I really don’t know why not. This is the easiest sauce to prepare. If you’ve never made it you should give it a try. Pick up a couple of bags of cranberries that are in season now and you need 15 minutes time and its done.
Filed under side dish
Chicken Parmesan and Anna’s Easy Tomato Sauce
I wrote this same post on December 3 of last year. All of my photos for the how to somehow got deleted by my editor ( that would be me). So please refer to the first post for the information about how great this recipe is and how easy it is to make. Continue reading
Washing Dishes and Knives While Making Paula Deen’s Szechaun Chicken
Making this Paula Deen dish my students learned many skills. Some of these skills I thought were just a given. You know like washing dishes and knife safety. Either I did not do such a hot job when we discussed these topics or in the excitement of preparing and eating such a delicious meal they did not rank up there with what was important. Anyway we all learned from our mistakes and I still have all of my fingers!
Pumpkin-Chai Cheesecake
The first time that I had pumpkin cheesecake was on the deck of AJ’s on Tybee Island. We were there for GI Joe’s weekend getaway with the National Guard. One of our most favorite places to eat is AJ’s. The food there is fabulous and the sunset is the most beautiful you would ever experience. And to top it off the cheesecake was heavenly. I was so disappointed when returning in December of that year that the chef that prepared the cheesecake had left and it was no longer available. It was a sad night.
Filed under Desserts
Cranberry-Apple Crisp
Usually side dishes that are on the sweet side do not interest me at all, but this particular one has passed my lips and made me a very happy person. I love it for the holiday season and have made it numerous times thanks to my sister-in-law who shared the recipe. The fresh cranberries make this a tart dish yet the apples and sugar tame down the cranberries. As I type the word tart it makes me smile. My students ask me all the time, “Why do use such large and unfamiliar words?” I really don’t think that I do. “What should I say instead of tart?” I asked. “Sour will work just fine.” They make me laugh!
Filed under holiday sidedish
Potato Soup
I love potatoes, bacon, and cheese. I love my slow cooker, too! Together this is one of my favorite soups. It literally fell in my mailbox in 1993. It was in one of those magazines they send to everyone. You know one of those that they want you to subscribe to for the rest of your life. And I fall for that kind of marketing every time especially when the recipes look so good! Since 1993 this magazine has grown in popularity, but for me the premiere issue brought to me the best and easiest potato soup ever. Dotty Egge from Minnesota submitted her recipe for No Fuss Potato Soup to Taste of Home and it has been served at my table literally hundreds of times. I love coming home from work and opening the door to the aroma of this soup, especially if it is a brisk day. It just hits the spot.
Filed under Slow Cooker, Soup
Meringue Cookies
In my recipe file are recipes that I used in my food’s classes in high school and college as well as some that I have asked for from students. I found this recipe in that file. I have never made it. I did make it out of necessity last week. I hate looking through all the recipes that are out there on the internet. There is something about the sheer numbers of recipes that just won’t let my brain function properly. I have this same problem when I am shopping. I don’t do well at sales where you have to go through rack after rack of clothes. Big warehouse shopping is not my thing either. The fewer choices I have the better I am at making a choice. Just try googling meringue cookies and see what you get! It is a massive number of recipes, so after hours of trying to choose what I thought was the best one I gave up! And I’m glad I did because this one is good! Meringue can be tricky to make. For the novice cook inexperience can lead to frustration. After my students had such a hard time making their meringue a week ago I set out to try to make it easier to understand. I also wrote a guest post for Dinner and Dreams entitled “How to Make Meringue for Puddings and Pies“. Check it out for the low down on meringue. Continue reading
Filed under Cookies
Jambalaya – Made Easy
The next two months will be crunch time for almost everyone. The holidays are hectic. Recipes like this Jambalaya will make your life easier. This is a no brainer. It takes very little cooking skills and I love it because it goes straight to the oven. Which means that you can address holiday cards, call your mom, wrap gifts, do laundry or just sit for an hour and read! Sounds good doesn’t it?
Filed under Main dish
Scrambling Eggs with the Douglas County Teacher of the Year Mike Bedosky
At the beginning of the year I asked my students which teachers they would like to see come to our classroom and prepare a dish. Coach Bedosky was mentioned first. I was not surprised at all. Mike Bedosky is a history teacher at Alexander High School. He has his Master’s degree and is currently working on his doctorate hopefully to be finished in 2012. When I questioned him about preparing a dish for us he did not hesitate saying, “Sure I would love to!” Mike is no stranger to my classroom. He comes quite frequently at the invitation of my students. They love him! I encourage students to invite teachers to have breakfast, lunch, or whatever we are preparing at the time. We treat our classroom as if it were a fancy restaurant. With the preparation of the meal out-of-the-way carrying on table conversation with adults can sometimes be a little difficult for teens. Coach Bedosky is the perfect role model for students. When he is our guest he has the entire table at ease and engaging in conversation. I can tell that he is thrilled to be invited and truly enjoys this time with his students. And think about it, how many times does a student get to sit down and enjoy a meal with their favorite teacher? And it is a perfect time for students to see teachers in a different light. Even before Mike was chosen as Douglas County teacher of the year I knew that he was a great teacher. He has the respect of the students as well as fellow teachers and his love for teaching shows even out of the classroom. I am so proud that he is an Alexander Cougar. Congratulations Coach! Now to the cooking-
Filed under Other
The Teacher Cooks 