TEA TIME!

Off to Tea

My friend Bobbi asked me yesterday..Do you want to take the girls for tea? Why not..tea is fun!

I love going to the Tea Rooms around town. When I asked my daughter if she wanted to go..my son also begged to go. Hmmm? Why not I thought. Bobbi had a good experience with The Hyde Park Tea Cottage.
Its a very cute old little Bungalow Style house that was very popular in Old Tampa. We were greeted with the hostess opening the door for us. And showed us to our room.

The Whimsical Room is where we were sat. It was very quaint and geared towards the little ones. They were served "tea" (Hawaiian Punch) in real china. They just ate it up. My little one was feeling a bit off today so she wasn't really into it..maybe its just her age. My son on the other hand thought it was great! On their 3 tiered serving tray was an assortment of the cutest little foods. The owner had made up little Strawberries in the shape of a mouse, they were just darling. Of course my kids didn't eat anything. Come one it wasn't hot dogs or french fries!

All of the "adult food" was delish! We were served the most wonderful potato soup! And the egg salad sandwich on the croissant was yummo.

The owner came in often to check on us. And she even tried to get the kiddos to act like proper ladies and gentlemen...HA! As I almost spit my drink out of my mouth! I probably should have sent my kids to etiquette school before going to tea!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a wonderful time at tea and it has inspired me to make some sort of scones. So be on the look out for those!

Pretty Please with a CHERRY on top...

I made a decision what to do with that big bowl of cherries....

Cherry Ricotta Muffins:
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Adjust rack in the middle of the oven. Line 12 muffin pans with paper liners or spray with a non stick spray.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk the ricotta cheese and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and cooled melted butter, mixing well. Set aside.
In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Add the ricotta mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined and then fold in the chopped cherries. to avoid tough muffins DO NOT over mix.
Divide the batter amongst the 12 muffin cups using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.
Place in the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. (The baking time will be a little longer is using frozen cherries.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Thank you all for your great ideas for my lack of cherry inspiration! I found this recipe at
Joy of Baking. It is such a great site. Check it out if you haven't already.
As you can see from the last photo..there was a major tragic ending. Everything was going great. I pitted my cherries in no time with my kick ass cherry pitter. I swear it goes through cherries in no time and there is virtually no mess. Mixed up my batter. Which was great raw. I am a HUGE raw batter fan! Thanks to my mom who always let me lick the bowl and beaters! I would probably be perfectly happy not eating the finished product, just the batter. I am completely surprised I have never gotten salmonella poisoning over the years. Back to the story...Pulled out some paper liners. Scooped the batter into the cups and put them in the oven.
The timer went off and my toothpick tester came out clean. For some reason they didn't brown on top, but they still looked yummy. Then they had their little photo shoot.
Well here comes the sob story.. I picked up my first muffin,,started to peel the muffin cup off..and the paper was actually FUSED to the muffin. Now I am not talking about a little stickage here. Half of the muffin was completely stuck. I thought to myself..hmm that sucks..I went to the next one...SAME THING...so just picture this, we all remember that scene in the classic movie, Mommy Dearest from 1981...when Joan Crawford was screaming at her daughter Christina.."NO MORE WIRE HANGERS" while ripping all of her clothes out of her closet!
Well , that was the scene in my kitchen.. I was ripping off all of the paper liners in a rage yelling "NO MORE PAPER LINERS"! Oh I was pissed. What could have happened? I looked at the package of liners. They were some no name brand. So that is what I am going to blame it on! I did have 3 foil liners that I used, and all 3 muffins came out perfectly!
Don't let my horror story discourage you from baking these! They are wonderful. They are not you ordinary sweet muffin. They are only slightly sweet, nice and creamy from the Ricotta and really moist from the cherries. Just wonderful flavor. Next time "NO MORE PAPER LINERS", I will just grease he muffin pans and go that route!

Sad sad sad photo!

My version of Chicken Cordon Bleu(sort of)

I really wish I had some sort of speck of memory in my cranium. However I don't. But if I did I would remember when and where I had my first and only(until now) experience with Chicken Cordon Bleu. I just remember the greasy out side that was sort of fried, the chewy swiss cheese and the fibrous ham in the middle. Oh how nasty it was! I have not had it in many many years! I hear that the taste buds change every 7 years. Now if that is true, I have no clue. I wanted to give it another shot. But there was a major problem..I cant stand swiss. Thus I had to do some changing. So below is my take on Chicken Cordon Bleu. I think you will like it even if you do enjoy the original dish.

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

6 slices Munster cheese
6 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup Pinot Grigio

1 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Butterfly or pound the chicken breasts so they are thin. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll the chicken, and tie it with kitchen string.. Mix the flour,paprika, garlic powder and onion powder in a pie dish, and coat the chicken pieces.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown chicken on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Lower heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
Cut and remove the kitchen twine, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Whisk the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken.

***sorry about the crazy spacing in the ingredients..Blogger has a mind of its own,,,oh and it soooo pisses me off. Anyone have a solution to the phantom spacing?

I knew those 100 Calorie Packs were good for something!

Holding icecream...thats what they are good for!

I saw this cute little idea in Womans Day. My kids were in the pool while I was flipping through the pages of Woman Day and saw these. I thought to myself..hmm, I know I have 50 million of those 100 Calorie Packs in the house(good for the kids on the road or in the mall)..and I know I have ice cream! It took 2 seconds to put them together. I dont feel the need to write down the recipe..truly because there isnt one. Just get one of your favorite snack packs out, get your favorite ice cream out..scoop and assemble. Its as easy as that kids! No cooking skills required!

My first "Marbled" Cake

As you can tell from the last photo, this was my first attempt at a "Marbled" cake. Looks more like a half and half cake to me! It lacks those beautiful swirls you see in the professional cakes. Well I guess I will just have to practice some more! No complaints here! I got this recipe from the wonderful and informative site Baking Bites.
The outside of the cake isn't so fancy..just looks like a brown boring brown bundt cake. But when you slice into it is is so deliciously moist. The banana flavor stands out. Then you bite into the chocolate portion of the cake it is just perfectly chocolaty!
To be honest with you, I really was hesitant to make this cake. I wasn't so sure about the banana and chocolate in a cake. Why? Who knows. Together they naturally go together! Maybe because I am not a big chocolate cake fan. But I was willing to give it the old college try. And I was sooooooo NOT disappointed! And neither will you if you make this YUMMY cake! Thanks Baking Bites !!

Marbled Banana Bundt Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 12-cup bundt pan (12-inch diameter).In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mix and stir to combine. Add in the sour cream, followed by the remaining flour mixture.Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter into a small bowl and stir in cocoa powder.Pour 2/3 of the plain batter into the prepared bundt pan, top with cocoa batter and spoon the rest of the plain batter on top. Run a knife through the batter gently to swirl.Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.Serve plain, or dusted with powdered sugar.
Serves 12-16.

Fresh Coconut? Oh hell no..not from me!

My darling son and I took a trip to the Super Target the other day. While walking thorough the produce section, he got bright eyed and bushy tailed when he saw the odd looking coconut fruit.
I said, "We can get one if you want." He was all excited and grabbed the biggest one he could find and carried it around the store. We got home and it was only then I realized that I had never opened a coconut..shouldn't be that hard right? I looked towards Google for the answer! Google knows all! I found a video on You Tube and it looked sooooo simple. However I did wait until my husband got home in case I needed any reinforcement! I got all of necessary tools. I went with the pounding method. It wasn't that bad to actually crack it open. It just basically just split into 2 pieces. However now comes the difficult part. Trying to get the meat out is another story. The only tool I did not have was a bendable knife such as a grapefruit knife. So I had to break up this little bastard into tiny little pieces so I would be able to cut out the meat. 30 minutes went by and it look like I was all done. But NOOOOOO, I looked over to my right and the whole other half of the coconut was laying there! Oh my God, you have to be kidding me I udder. My husband thought I cut myself on the knife(which I do often). I thought someone was playing a trick on me and put more coconut on the counter. Nope..I had only completed 1/2 of my task. I was in complete shock, I had been diligently working for a half of an hour and I was only 1/2 done. Oh this sucks. Ok...now you can quote me on this...I will NEVER buy and disassemble another freaking coconut ever again as long as I live! I will leave it to the masters at the coconut processing plants! Now it just sits in the freezer awaiting its fate!!!



Below is that sneaky other half of the coconut!

A big bowl of cherries..and no inspiration!

I think my brain is completely gone. My laptop has been progressively acting up over the last few months. So today I went to Best Buy to purchase a new computer. I used their service to transfer all of my existing files from my old pile of junk to my new(probably to be outdated in 2 day) computer. I get a call from the "Geek Squad". "Ah, Leslie, we are unable to retrieve any of your files from your hard drive."--Sweating begins--. "Miss your hard drive is completely shot and it is freezing up every time we try to transfer anything over. " --More sweating--. I reluctantly sent my husband to pick up the new computer..I did this to protect myself from going into the store and experiencing public humiliation by crying in public.
I did not realize the scope of them not being able to transfer anything onto my new computer. This means...all contacts lost..i-tunes gone..photos gone--whipping a tear--..all documents gone.all favorites on line..everything is gone gone gone! So to get to the moral of the story, I needed to release some stress. I had a big bowl of cherries in the fridge. I took my cherry pitter out and started pitting away. Not thinking(ya know, because remember my brain is gone), I don't have any good cherry recipes. I don't want to make a boring old cherry pie. So I am turning to my fellow foodies for advice. What should I make with all of these beautiful cherries?

Watch out for the squirting blueberries!

These are little pieces of heaven with some blueberries thrown in! I know for me, sometimes I am in the mood for something sweet, but not too sweet. These fit the bill. Before I made them I just thought that they would be your average sugary cheesecake treat. Well, much to my surprise they were much the opposite! The actual "cheesecake" is not sweet at all. Just a very mild creamy taste. Now when you bite into the blueberries, they give it a lovely fresh taste. When my sister took her first bite into these..I heard a "POP" and blueberry juice went flying over 3 feet away..onto her stove and in her grout( I have yet to ask if she got the stain out of the grout). Well my favorite part was the crust..oh the crust. It was nutty and buttery with flakes of coconut throughout! My , my , my was it ever yummy! I have had this recipe for a while,,but I really didnt feel like taking a second mortage on my house to buy the blueberries! $5 for a little tiny package..are you freakin kidding me??? I waiting until my sister went blueberry picking.....U-Pick fruits is the WAY TO GO! Thanks Erika!







WIll you just take a look at this crust in the making! YUM YUM

COCONUT-BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup finely crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. brandy or milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cup blueberries
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. For crust, in a small saucepan heat butter over medium heat until the color of light brownsugar. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. In medium bowl stir together graham crackers, flour, coconut, pecans, and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir in butter until combined. Evenly press on bottom of prepared pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and 2/3 cup sugar on medium until combined. Add eggs, brandy, and vanilla. Beat until combined. Pour over hot crust. Sprinkle with blueberries.
5. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until center appears set. Cool in pan on rack. Cover and refrigerate. Cut into bars. Store, covered, in refrigerator. Makes about 32 bars.

I discovered this in Better Homes and Gardens

Southern Comfort.

You have to say this recipe with a southern twang...

HAM STEAK WITH CREAMY CHEESE GRITS

For the Grits:

1 1/4 cups Whole Milk

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1/4 tsp dried thyme

3/4 cup quick grits

1 to 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

In 2 qt. saucepan, combine milk, broth, pepper and thyme; heat to boiling over high heat. Slowly whisk grits into liquid. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in cheese!

For the Ham:

1 ham steak about 1 1/4 pounds

Brown Sugar about 4 Tbsp

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Pat ham dry with paper towels. Coat both sides of ham with brown sugar; add to skillet. Cook ham 5 minutes or until heated through and glazed turning once.

And voila, you have a down home Southern Comfort Food!

I have had this recipe for soooooo long. This is one of the things I started cooking out on my own. And this is well apparent by the simplicity of the meal. But it is oh so good!

Simply DELICIOUS!(with a slight confession at the end)

Super Simple, Super Quick, Super Yumm

I was looking through my endless piles of recipes for another chicken recipe. I found this one tucked behind another recipe. I must have stolen it out of Better Homes and Gardens
probably from the dentist office or something(are you even supposed to do that???)Its from the October 2007 issue...Turkey Spinach Toss. I went to Publix to pick up some odds and end..but they were all out of turkey..I guess they are saving up for Thanksgiving! So using chicken was the next best thing.

SPINACH CHICKEN or Turkey TOSS

2 8-oz. chicken breast tenderloins, halved horizontally
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
2 oz. thinly sliced deli ham, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup orange juice
2 9- to 10-oz. pkgs. fresh spinach
1 orange, cut into wedges (optional..they only add to the dish as a garnish)
Directions
1. Season turkey with 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In very large skillet heat butter over medium-high heat; add turkey. Cook 12 minutes or until no longer pink (170F); turn once.
2. Remove turkey from skillet. Slice into strips; cover and keep warm. Add ham to skillet; cook and stir 1 minute or until heated and starting to crisp. With slotted spoon remove ham from skillet. Add juice; bring to boiling.
3. Add spinach, half at a time, to skillet; cook 1 minute or until just wilted. Add orange wedges with second batch of spinach. Using tongs, remove from skillet; divide among plates. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with turkey and ham. Drizzle with remaining juices from skillet. If desired, Makes 4 servings.

My professional in home taste tester(oh yeah I can afford one of those..but believe me its expensive :) ) was very pleased with this 20 minute meal. As he said, "I don't like spinach, but this is good, I think its the orange juice that makes it, almost like a salad dressing."
The chicken was really flavorful despite only being seasoned with salt and pepper. Next time I will cook the ham a bit longer to make it extra crispy. This recipe is a keeper.
Also I have a confession..so I looked in the freezer for veggies and all I had was corn...well we just had corn the other night. Knowing my kids wouldn't even touch their forks to the spinach, I had to do my duties as a parent and put a veggi on their plates. So I did the unthinkable, I went into the pantry and blindly grabbed a can(oh my God..did I just say can) of green beans. Yes I am ashamed! They must have been in their from last Hurricane season. So I reluctantly stuck them in the microwave. I slathered them in butter in all hopes to cover the horrid aluminum flavor, and spooned them on the kids plates. When Aidan ate one he said, and I quote, "ehh, these green beans are gross." I can not tell you the joy that came over me knowing he hated the nasty ass canned green beans! I apologize to the canned vegetable people out there. But I was raised on fresh/frozen veggies, so the thought of canned vegetable's just leave a bad taste in my mouth..an aluminum taste that is!!!!

Now you know you can't resist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gaze your eyes upon these little suckers. I know you ladies experiencing "that time of the month" cant keep your eyes off them! Snap out of it! Just snap out of it! These are the perfect little remedy for any sort of PMS symptom. And men, we all know you sympathize with us women greatly during our rough time of the month...so be extra special and mix up a batch of these PMS cure all's for your lady! They are a nice twist on an old classic..The Peanut Butter Kiss Cookie. The little boost of peanut butter that the Reese's cup gives off is just perfect. And it also adds a tiny bit of saltiness! Just perfect. The cookie itself is perfectly moist and chewy! These disappear as fast as you can make them! Sooooo watch out!
Oh yeah..and I just dare you to try to make these cookies without eating 3 or 4 Reese's Cups.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
Shape into 40 balls and place each into an greased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

***** VERY IMPORTANT***** Unwrap the Reese's Cups and freeze them 1/2 hour before baking. If not, you will have a melted blob of mess on your cookie!

*****TIPS***** I used my small Pampered Chef scooper and flattened it on the side of the bowl so all of the cookies are exactly the same size and cooking time is even.

You might have to run around the edges of the cookie in the pan with a paring knife to loosen them to get them out without loosing them to the dreaded pan monster!

Thanks to Buchko on All Recipes for the idea.

The Italians are rolling over in their graves!

I obviously have NO Italian blood in my family...and this will be very apparent in my Spaghetti recipe! If a true blooded Italian( or even an Italian twice removed) tasted my Spaghetti they would probably spew it across the room. Goodness, I am really talking up my food aren't I? Makes you want to get off the computer and make it doesn't it?

No really, I think, and anyone else who has tasted it has really enjoyed my Spaghetti and Meatballs. It is just a Hodge Podge of ingredients. It is just my go to recipe that I make when I have some ground beef to use up. It is super easy. I just throw all the goods in the crock pot in the morning and it brews up by the time I get home from my daily travels! Feel free to omit or add anything. And I am always up for suggestions on how to make better Italian Spaghetti.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2 Lb ground beef(Organic)

3 links Hot Italian Sausage

1 15 oz Can Tomato Sauce

1 29 oz Can tomato Sauce

1 12 oz Can Tomoto paste

3/4 bottle beer(not light beer)

A few shakes Crystal Hot Sauce

1 Onion Chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 orange pepper(If I have one on hand)

1 jar(14 oz) Ragu Pizza Sauce(homestyle)**

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 Beef bouillon cube

4 Bay leaves

1 Lb Spaghetti noodles( cooked acording to package directions)

**I know, you are thinking, why in the hell do I put Pizza Sauce in my Spaghetti sauce??.well the answer is simple..I don't know! I had some in the fridge left over from making pizza and just dumped it in the sauce. Hey, it gave it a nice flavor. But if you left it out, I am sure you wouldn't miss it!

Brown ground beef and drain. Brown sausage on all sides. Place all ingredients is crock pot and simmer on high for 4 hours

MEATBALLS

1 lb ground beef

2 Large eggs lightly beaten

1 lb ground pork

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup panko crumbs

Kosher salt

1/4 cup whole milk

Pepper

1 Onion finely chopped

Olive oil

1/2 stick butter softened

Soak bread crumbs in milk while you mix the other ingredients. Put beef and pork into large bowl. Add onion, butter, eggs and parsley, season well with salt and pepper. Put the soaked bread crumbs into bowl and mix all ingredients together. Form the mixture into balls the size of a ping pong ball. Heat about 1/2 inch olive oil over medium heat. Fry meatballs until they are browned on all sides and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Put meatballs in sauce with about 1 hour of cooking to go.

And there you have it..my non Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs. Like my header at the top..nothing Fancy Schmancy!

Pucker Up to some Lemons!

I love Lemons! The tart, mouth puckering flavor is the epitome of summer. And here in Tampa it is surely feeling like the hot and humid summer I have been dreading.

I had some extra lemons that I wasn't planning on using in any of my dinners for the week. Sooooo.baking was the only option!

I have made these Lemon Blossoms from Paula Deen before and they were explained to me like "a taste explosion in my mouth." I was in a bit of a rush today, and didn't really feeling like searching for another lemon recipe, so I went with these again.

However, something happened and the first batch stuck to the pan! What in the world????

I sprayed the pans with Pam..but the damn things still wouldn't come out. So if you make these, be careful...with the next batch I still had to use a paring knife to loosen the little suckers so they wouldn't fall victim as well.

LEMON BLOSSOMS

18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix

3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix

4 large eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.
With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

These are "one bite" little cakes! Two if you have a really small mouth! The glaze is wonderfully lemony and sweet! These are a must bake if you are having a NON CHOCOLATE sweet tooth!

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

Again..while aimlessly browsing in the food blog world on night I can across a recipe for Cheesecake Cookies at http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com/2006/01/chewy-cheesecake-cookies.html. I made a few to see if I liked them. They were(like the banana cookies I made before) very cake like. They did have a hint of cheesecake flavor..just a bit of tang from the cream cheese. Like always , my husband was hovering over my shoulder and said, "Why dont you spread some jelly on the top?" My instant response was, in a smart tone..."Do you want to bake them!?" Very well knowing I would NEVER let him attempt baking in fear the house would catch on fire!
So with my next batch, prior to baking them, I put a dab of Strawberry jam on top on swirled it around with a toothpick. That little addition from my hubby made these little cakey cookies extra special! I sent them to the office the next day. We had a power outage..and miraculously when the lights came on..all the cookies were gone! Hmmmm..funny how that happens!

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
½ cup cream cheese, soft

½ cup butter, soft

1 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

1 cup flour

Jam(what ever flavor you fancy)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese. Gradually beat in sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and salt.Whisk together baking powder and flour in a small bowl and, mixing by hand or at low speed, add to cream cheese mixture.Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes, until the bottom edge just barely turns brown.Makes about 3 dozen.

What to do with those unattractive bananas???!!

To throw them out or bake??....that is the question! And with the price of bananas these days, I couldn't bear to toss them in the garbage!
My husband said the other day..is there such thing as a Banana Cookie? Well I know I have never baked one, nor have I ever tasted one. So let the search begin!

I love banana bread, and I think I have pretty much perfected that one, so I needed another banana outlet! The winner was inspired by Banana Bread Cookies off of All recipes.com

I cant really call these cookies. I would have to say these are more like a Muffin Top....a thin muffin top. They are moist and delicate with a ever so slight crisp if you let the edges get brown.

Banana Bread Muffin Top Cookies

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 banana, peeled and mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Powdered Sugar if desired

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Line baking sheets with parchment paper
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract, and banana. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; blend thoroughly into the butter mixture to make batter. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature on cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

These were such a hot item in my house..every time I turned around my almost 3 year old was eating a new one! They must be good because it seems like the only cookies she really likes are the free sugar cookies with the sprinkles on top from Publix( which she calls "Sprinkler Cookies").

The moral to the story....if you have 2 brown ugly bananas...don't throw them out..bake these delectable little muffiny toppy cookie treats!

Chocolate Minty Goodness

Don't you just adore Chocolate and mint together? The two paired together always remind me of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies(which I could eat the whole box in one sitting..preferably frozen!)

So if you are PMS'ing or you are just in the mood for some soft chocolate cookies with a mint twist these are just for you and they are simple super easy to make!

PMS CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp peppermint extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups (or so) Mint Baking Chips...I used Andes
1 - Preheat oven to 350 F.

2- In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, peppermint and vanilla until fluffy.

3- Combine the flour, cocoa, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in the mint chips.

4 - Drop the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

5 - Bake 8 to 10 minutes, just until the tops set. Don't over bake, as this will make your cookies hard and dry.

Remove the sheet from the oven, allow the cookies to rest on the sheets for 1-2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.

Moist and Soft!

Adapted from Cookie Baker Lynn

Oh those YUMMY Deen Brothers

While we were in the ATL..we also got to gaze at Jamie and Bobby Deen! They were there with Paula for the cooking show. We had great seats right off the stairs to the stage. So needless to say we got to see everyone waiting to go on stage. After Bobby got off stage I asked him if I could take a picture with him..and even though his body guard was trying to whisk him away, he was kind enough to pose with me(he has a goofy face on because he was in mid word asking me where he should look for the picture).

When the boys were on stage they were so funny with each other. It was like they were in a room together just being brothers. They were so candid! I loved it!

After that show I got lucky again and snuck in line to Bobby and Jamie's book signing!

Let me tell you they are some GOOD LOOKING men! And that southern accent is the cherry on top!

Paula Deen...the real deal!

Soooooo, This weekend I did a little hob knobing. My sister and I took our mom to Atlanta to the Metropolitan Cooking show featuring Paula Deen her husband Michael and her ADORABLE 2 boys for her birthday! We had a blast! On Saturday we had a VIP lunch and book signing with Paula. Her and Michael sat directly 5 feet in front of us, so we got to see all the sights and hear all of the conversations. She is honestly soooo sweet and genuine! She is the type of person who you would want to be your mother! Much to her "handlers" dislike, she wanted to take photos with anyone who asked, sign more than one book like they told her to and spend time speaking with everyone individually. She is so likable even her body guard calls her MeeMa. He said she is like his mom and he cant call her Paula( and he called Michael PeePa) How cute is that? We had a wonderful time at the lunch and Paulas generosity made me love her even more!

Mom, me, Erika, Michael and Paula