May 2013 ~ Colie's Kitchen

May 31, 2013

Cream Cheese Corn

When I first tried this (right out of the pan) I wasn’t a big fan it really didn’t have any flavor to me. I decided to add a little garlic powder to it which seemed to do the trick. Once the red peppers and the garlic mixed in with the cream cheese it actually had a nice different flavor that was subtle but great.

This is not something I would make too often because of the calories in the cream cheese but it’s something that would make a nice side dish with any meal.

Ingredients:

1 pound of corn ( fresh or thawed)
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 Tablespoon of butter
3 oz of cream cheese ( low fat)
Red Pepper Flakes (as desired)
Salt/Pepper (as desired)

Directions:

In a medium saucepan combine corn, butter, pepers and cream cheese.
When it is heated through and cream cheese is melted season with salts and pepper.

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Breaded Parmesan Ranch Chicken

This recipe was delicious! We all absolutely loved it. In truth I could have eaten another piece that’s how good it was. I never had a clue that corn flakes could taste so good.

The only problem I had with this recipe was getting the breading to stay on. When I tried to turn over the chicken the breading on one side came off, then when I took it out of the pan the remaining breading came off. Ugh! That’s the best part. I truly loved this recipe. We all gobbled it down fast! Love it! I can’t wait to make it again. The next time I make this recipe I will try lining the pan with parchment paper.

Ingredients:

3-4 Boneless Chicken Breast
1 cup Corn Flakes (Crushed)
1 cup Shredded Parmesan
½ tbsp. garlic powder
3-5 tbsps. butter (melted)
1 packet of Ranch Dressing Mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Place corn flakes in a zip bag and give me a few rolls with the rolling pin to break them up a bit.
Mix together Corn Flakes, Parmesan and Ranch packet.
Dip the chicken in the melted butter then in the corn flake mixture and place into baking dish.
Pour the remaining butter on top and bake for 35-50 minutes. I personally didn’t have any butter left over. The cooking time with vary depending on how thick your chicken is.
This should be cooked uncovered.

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Mushroom Canapes

I really wanted to love this recipe but I wasn’t a fan. At first the mixture tasted just like mayo, but once the onions softened up the mayo flavor turned into a nice onion flavor. All in all I didn’t find this recipe to be anything special. My family on the other hand really liked it and enjoyed having it with dinner. I suppose it’s just a personal choice.

I think this recipe has potential but it’s just finding a good combination of all the ingredients to make it work. Honestly I think it could have used a lot roasted garlic and leaving out the mushrooms. Honestly the mushrooms added nothing to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2-ounces canned mushroom pieces and stems, drained
1/2 of a 2.8-ounce can french-fried onion rings
1 loaf (8-ounce) party rye or pumpernickel bread

Directions:

In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, Parmesan, mushrooms, and onion rings.
Spread on lightly toasted party rye or pumpernickel.
Place the canapes on a baking sheet and broil until the topping is bubbly.

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Microwave Coffee Mug Brownie

Oh this recipe is sooo good! It’s easy and it’s great to make because you eat it, and it’s gone. When you are trying not to over eat on goodies the last thing you want to have hanging around is a big pan of brownies. This is great because you can make it when you want it, then you eat it! It’s also great because it’s a personal size, fresh, and you can add anything you want to make it even better.

I would suggest microwaving it one minute then letting it sit a minute or two before you decide to microwave it longer or it will dry out and be terrible (take it from me). There are so many things you could add to your brownie to make it personal and delicious, caramels, coconut, chocolate or peanut butter chips… the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:

4 TBS flour
4 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS unsweetened Cocoa
2 TBS vegetable oil
2 TBS milk
Pinch of salt
Chocolate Chips/nuts

Directions:

Put dry ingredients in mug and stir.
Add water and oil and mix well you can also add chocolate chips and nuts if you desire.
Microwave 1 minute or until your reach your desired doneness. Let it sit for a few seconds before you decide to microwave longer. The longer you microwave it the dryer it can become.
This will be super-hot! I know it will be hard but let it cool down a bit before you eat.

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Baked Pork Chops with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This recipe is very good. No, actually it’s fantastic! It’s so full of flavor and juicy, but rich oh so rich! I am not a huge pork fan but I decided to give it a try anyway, and loved it. I think the next time I make it I will try it with chicken. I have no doubt this will be incredible with chicken.

Although there are more steps to this recipe than I prefer it makes a wonderful Sunday dinner meal. It certainly not something I would make during the week. I like quick and easy during the week and although it’s not hard it’s not quick!

I highly recommend this recipe to anyone looking to make an impressive meal that makes a great impression. This is certainly a restaurant quality meal. I served this recipe along with Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole.

Ingredients:

6-8 boneless pork chops
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups Italian style breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 8oz can mushroom stems and pieces
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup white wine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste.
Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl.
Dip pork chops in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned.
Transfer the chops to a 9 x 13 baking dish, and cover with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, water and white wine in a medium bowl.
After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture.
Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

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Southern Sweet Tea

As a southern girl I have grown up on sweet tea. I know a lot of people have grown up on hot tea but not down here. Here it’s all sweet tea. I love sweet tea. I love it better than soda and anyone who knows me knows that’s saying a lot.

When I found this recipe I was so excited because I forgot how important the baking soda is for sweet tea. It’s important because it keeps the tea fresh and crisp and adds a nice flavor to the tea. If you have never had a glass of good sweet tea let me highly recommend you giving this a try.

Ingredients:

5 Family size tea bags
4 cups boiling water
12 cups cool water
1 1/2 - 2 cups sugar.
1/4 teaspoon - Baking Soda (this IS the SECRET Ingredient!!)

Directions:

Sprinkle baking soda into a plastic or glass pitcher
Add Tea bags to the pitcher/baking soda,
Pour Boiling water over tea bags,
Cover and allow to steep for 15 minutes.
Remove and toss out Tea Bags,
Add Sugar and Stir until completely dissolved.
Add Cool Water.
Refrigerate until cold and ready to drink.
Serve over ice,

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Peanut Butter Yogurt Fruit Dip

Personal Size

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. plain fat free organic yogurt
1 tbsp. PB2
Stevia

Directions:

Add the yogurt and PB2 together and add stevia as you desire and mix well.
Eat with fruit like apple slices, or grapes.

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Pink Panties

This is one of my favorite adult drinks. It’s very easy to make and if you like lemonade you will like this drink. It’s delicious and has a nice kick. It’s one of those drinks that you don’t taste the alcohol so I suggest taking it easy because it will hit you before you know it. No one wants to catch you in your pink panties! Ha!

Serves up to 6

Ingredients:

1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
12 fluid ounces whip cream vodka (I use Pinnacle)
1 cup cool whip
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup crushed ice

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, the add to glasses.

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Classic Pina Colada

This is such a great recipe! Delicious!! I used the concoction maker to make this recipe and it came out great. I can’t tell you how much ice and water to use because it will depend on the consistency for you but if you add it as you need it you will have a great pina colada.

A funny question I got from my neighbor once we made these was.... why aren't they white? Pina Coladas are white! When I get them in a restaurant they are always white.

Her question made me laugh! These won't be white because they are made with fresh ingredients not chemicals. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 (12-ounce) can coconut milk (not water)
2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
2 cups cubed fresh pineapple (Frozen)
2 1/2 cups ice cubes (More or less as needed
Water as needed
1 cup blanco/white rum
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons honey (more if needed)

Directions:

Combine coconut milk, coconut flakes, pineapple, rum, honey and pineapple juice, and water as needed (For consistency) and blend!

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Strawberries and Coconut Cream

Ingredients:

½ can coconut milk (chilled overnight)
12 ounces quartered strawberries
6 tbsp. sweetened coconut flakes
Stevia (as needed)

Directions:

Chill coconut milk overnight.
Washer, remove tops, and quarter strawberries and set aside.
To a mixer or using a hand mixer add ½ can of coconut milk and mix until it thickens up.
Once it thickens fold in stevia (assuming your strawberries are not sweet) and strawberries and coconut.
Dish out and sprinkle with coconut.

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(Not So...) Wordless Wednesday: Entero Somewhere Elso

I found humor in this picture because this would be most people I know trying to communicate with someone who doesn't speak English. Ha! I don't think this is going to help anyone, but I thought it was funny that someone would even bother to write this lol. I have known plenty of people who didn't speak English very well but I certainly don't think this would have gotten them any closer to where they needed to be. Don't you think the area being blocked off by board would have done just as good of a job? Ha! Silly people!

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Cowpoke Casserole

I found two recipes that had the same similar concept and similar ingredients but they were both completely different. I loved the idea of both of them so I took what I liked about each recipe and combined them together. What came of the two was an incredible recipe that my entire family loved.

The recipe calls for a 9x13 pan which is normally way too much food for us and always means a ton of leftovers. I debated half-ing the recipe but then I thought it would became a pain with too many half cans to worry with. I decided to make the entire recipe, and thank goodness I did. By the time dinner was over there was about 1/8^th of the pan left over. I was stunned, but yes it was that good!

We all loved this recipe and I can easily see it being on our menu again and again. It’s easy, dirt cheap and delicious!

Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground beef
4 tbsp. dry minced onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 can Rotel (I used mild) do not drain
Tater tots - 32 oz. (leave frozen)
Cheddar cheese – 2 cups

Directions:

Brown ground beef then drain the grease off (Before you add the spices)
Add diced onions, cumin, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are soft.
Add, soup and Rotel tomatoes, then mix together well
In the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan add bag of tatar tots in one single layer you may not need the entire bag, then top with 1 cup of the cheese.
Then on top of the tots and cheese add burger mixture then top with remaining cheese
Place in a 350F oven for 30 -45 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

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The Painkiller .... The Official Drink of the British Virgin Islands

I have often found myself in pain the last few weeks trying to get through finals without have a meltdown or a nervous breakdown. One way to kill the pain of dealing with the drama was to try this amazing drink. Appropriately named by the way…

Although I only had one because I didn’t have time to be inebriated this drink is really delicious.

It’s easy to make with no blender needed. Just place all the ingredients in a glass or shaker … shake and done! Excellent, and no doubt with enough of them a pain killer… at least until the next day. According to the recipe this is a serving for one to two. I personally think it’s a serving for only one!

Ingredients:

2 oz. Rum (White or Blanco)
4 oz. pineapple juice (I used fresh, but pre-packed would be sweeter)
1 oz. cream of coconut
1 oz. orange juice (I used fresh, but pre-packed would be sweeter)
Grated fresh nutmeg

Directions:

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice add first four ingredients and stir. Pour into cocktail glasses and top with grated nutmeg.

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Chocolate Butter Chess Cake

I have been wanting to try a butter cake recipe for a while now. Tonight in celebration of our finals being over I made a chocolate butter cake. OK So it’s not the real deal because the real deal calls for a yellow cake and I didn’t have one on hand nor did I have any desire to head out and get one. The weather is nasty anyway … no thank you!

I did have a chocolate fudge boxed cake mix so I decided to try it instead of a yellow cake. I mean …. Hello! … It’s chocolate …how could it be anything but fantastic?

This is a very easy recipe to make. If you are having guests over and you need something quick and easy this recipe should hit the spot. You don’t need to have a lot of ingredients on hand nor does it take a ton of time to make. It makes a great presentation and tastes fantastic. What more can you ask for?

I read many places online that people have mixed feelings on this recipe because it's very sweet. If you don't like anything super sweet then this recipe is NOT for you. We all loved it but I have to admit one pieces is my limit because it's so sweet. It may not be as sweet if you use yellow cake in place of chocolate.