Pastahhh!

I love pasta....any kind of pasta. Pasta is a stable in my house. I love pasta with red sauces, pasta with whites sauces, pasta with chicken, pasta with beef, pasta with seafood, pasta cooked in broth, pasta stuffed with cheese, baked pasta, pasta salads....any kind of pasta. Pasta, pasta, pasta...Love it!
Thanks to Our Best Bites for my new favorite easy pasta recipe. It is definitely a keeper.

Chicken Bacon Alfredo Casserole

8 oz. penne

1 (16oz) jar Alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli's Alfredo Sauce)

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

8 stripes bacon, cooked, chopped

1 (14oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, chopped

½ cup green onions, chopped

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided

Salt and pepper to taste

1.Prepare penne according to package directions.

2.Drain and place penne back into the pot.

3.Add Alfredo sauce and all the remaining ingredients and only ½ cup mozzarella cheese.

4.Transfer mixture into 9 X 9 greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

5.Cover with aluminum foil and bake 350° for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy...

South Carolina Winter

January is slipping by rapidly. It is already January 16. This time last year we were dealing with snow in the deep south....

 

 

 

 

This year the winter has gone from temps in the 60s to the 20s back to the 60s. Crazy! No flakes insight. Only snowmen in insight are these...

 

And only winter wear insight are these...

 

 

 

 

But this hasn't stopped me from trying a new cake recipe. What I love about this recipe is that it makes a small 7 inch bundt cake with mucho chocolate deliciousness. The small bundt size is just the right size for two. One of the unique ingredients for this cake is cola. 

Cola sheets cakes have been around as long as I can remember. They have been taken to many family reunions, church potluck suppers and neighbors.They are baked in 9 X 13 pans with chocolate icing topped with pecans. 

This cake is different in that it is a pound cake and the pecans are added to the batter.Very rich and delicious on a somewhat cool SC winter evening.

Chocolate Cola Pound Cake

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup cola

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated well. Stir in vanilla.

2. Combine flour, coca, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternating with sour cream and cola. Beat until just combined. Fold in pecans.

3. Coat 7 inch bundt pan with cooking spray and flour. Bake 350 for 50 minutes or until done. Cool and drizzle with icing.

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1 tablespoon cocoa

2 to 3 tablespoons cola

1. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter and cocoa. Stir in enough cola to achieve desired consistency for drizzling over the cake.

 Enjoy....

Just Add a Little Alcohol

This year I finally did something I have wanted to do for a long time. Amazing how simple this was. Even more amazing is what I have missed out on for so many years.

A few weeks before Christmas I purchased a few paperwhite bulbs,

planted them in a container, added a little water and in a matter of a few weeks...instant gratification.

Tiny white flowers and a wonderful fragrance.

Since planting the paperwhites, I have read there can be one problem with forcing these flowers in containers. They tend to grow quite tall and become top heavy. According to researchers in the Flowerbulb Research Program at Cornell University, there is a simple but an unusual solution to this top heavy problem: Alcohol. Yes, alcohol. Either hard liquor or rubbing alcohol will do. Both seems to work well in stunting their growth but not altering the flowers.
Why they thought of giving their paperwhites a shot of vodka, tequila, whiskey, I don’t know. Oh, and apparently wine and beer contains too much sugar to work. These babies enjoy the hard stuff. Wish I had read this earlier. 

You Say Brookies, I Say Delicous!

Over Christmas break, I have been "reading" my favorite genre of literature. Cookbooks, recipes books, or what my grandmother would say receipt books. Cookbooks can be considered literature, right? If not, they should be. One can find very creative works between the covers of these books. 

After spending some time reading Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook by Dede Lahman and Neil Kleinberg, I had to try one of the cookie recipes. The authors called these chunky chocolate cookies a cross between brownies and cookies or Brookies.  Clever name, isn't it? I guess they could be called Crownies, too :)

I'm betting these would go great with a cup of joe. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I don't drink coffee, but it has what seems to go well with coffee.  I know a tall, cold glass of milk works nicely with these babies.  Mmmm, Mmmm, good!

Brookies

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

2 eggs

¾ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1. Melt oil, butter and 1 cup of chocolate together in microwave.

2. In separate bowl whisk together eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Fold melted chocolate into egg mixture.

3. In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture.

4. Fold in remaining chocolate chunks.

5. Scoop out tablespoon size balls of dough and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350⁰

 


Enjoy....

Most Wonderful Time of The Year

This has been a wonderful Christmas for me and my family. 

Nothing says Christmas more than spending time with family and friends,

and traveling to Philadelphia to spend Christmas with our favorite doctors. 

Unlike last year, there wasn't twelve inches of snow. No snow at all. In fact the weather was wonderful.

We attended the performance of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, visited the Longwood Gardens to see the Christmas lights, prepared and consumed some wonderful and amazing meals,

and ate way too much of the Christmas goodies like these babies....

Lemon Truffles
2 cups white vanilla chips
10 oz lemon curd
3 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1 cup powdered sugar
Optional: chopped pecans and toasted coconut

1. In  a microwave, melt vanilla chips until smooth. Stir in lemon curd, vanilla wafer crumbs, and powdered sugar. Chill until firm enough to handle.
2. Roll into 1/2 inch balls. Roll either in chopped pecans or toasted coconut. Chill until firm.

It was indeed a wonderful, wonderful time. Thank you, Lord for all these blessings!

Enjoy...