Easiest PB fudge EVER!!!!

I saw this recipe on FB and it truly is the EASIEST fudge recipe I've ever made :) It's also DELICIOUS!

So, get you a saucepan and put 2 c sugar and 1/2 c milk in there. Stir. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 1/2 minutes while stirring. Remove from heat. Add 3/4 c peanut butter and a tsp of vanilla. That's it!!

I used natural PB (don't know if that makes a difference). Also, I poured mine into an 8x8 square pan and it's a little thin. I will try a smaller dish or double the recipe next time.

Dad will LOVE this!

Cookie in a cup

I love this. The only way to keep a sweet tooth under control.

1 Tb. butter, melted
1 Tb. white sugar
1 Tb. brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup flour
2 Tb. choc. chips
1 mug

Mix all ingredients together in a mug. Microwave 60 seconds.

Ritzy Chicken

Another favorite for pot-luck, fellowship meals at church :)

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 oz sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 sleeve Ritz crackers (sometimes, I use more)
Poppy seeds
Butter

Prep:
Boil chicken breasts until fully done. Shred. (You can also use a Rotisserie chicken shredded -- gives it a little extra flavor)
Crumble crackers into small pieces.
Melt half a stick of butter in microwave.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix sour cream, cream of chicken, and shredded chicken together.  Pour in pan and spread out. Top with Ritz crackers. Pour butter evenly over top of crackers. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Hot Dog Bun Pie (Mawmaw's)

This was another of my favorite desserts to eat at Mawmaw's. She'd probably get me if she knew I was posting this :) It's a great way to use up those leftover hot dog buns (since you always have to buy more than is needed due to the fact that there are 10 wieners in a pack and only 8 buns).

Ingredients:
1 c sugar
2 1/2 c milk
3 eggs
1 stick melted butter
4 buns
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in 9x13" pan. Layer with buns. Combine sugar, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Pour over buns.

You have a choice of what to sprinkle over the top. I like to sprinkle 1/2 c raisins. Mawmaw sometimes used 1 c coconut and 1 c nuts.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes.

Chocolate Oatmeal

I'm sure most of you have heard of no-bake cookies. Well, in my family, we never could wait for the cookies to harden. We would just spoon that stuff right out of the pot and eat it warm. We call it chocolate oatmeal :)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 c milk
3 c oatmeal (sometimes more, sometimes less -- depends if you like more sauce or more oats)

Melt butter in saucepan. Add sugar, cocoa, and milk. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add oatmeal slowly (until you have the consistency you like -- I like mine with a lot of chocolate sauce and a little oats *chocolate grin*). Pour into bowl and eat with a spoon. Especially delicious on a cool, rainy night paired with a glass of milk.

Mawmaw's Peach Cobbler

My Mawmaw is the type of lady that can always whip up a delicious dessert at the drop of a hat. Anytime a guest showed up, she had something yummy to serve them. This was one of those types of desserts.

Ingredients:

1 c sugar

1 c self-rising flour

1 c milk

1 lg can peaches

1 stick butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place stick of butter in 9x13 pan and place in oven to let melt. Mix sugar, flour, and milk together. Once butter is melted, add flour mixture to pan. Dump can of peaches on top.

Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Now, Mom uses two small cans of peaches and drains the juice off of one of them. It just makes it a little less runny. I like the juicy runniness :)

Poppyseed Cake (my favorite)

As a child I decided that this was my favorite dessert and it remains at the very top of my list today. I even want this cake for my birthday each year! When Logan goes into the field, I bake away my loneliness. This cake gets baked a lot (and I can eat half of one by myself *don't tell*)!

Ingredients:
1 box butter (yellow) cake mix
1/2 c white sugar
1 c oil
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream
1/4 c poppy seeds (a small McCormick container is 1/4 c)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease Bundt pan and coat with light layer of granulated sugar.
Mix sugar, oil, and sour cream into cake mix. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in poppy seeds.
Pour in sugared Bundt pan.
Bake for 1 hr. (sometimes I have to cover the top of mine with foil for the last ten minutes to keep it from burning)

YuMmY yUmMy YuMmY yUmMy YuMmY!!

Pizza Dough

Logan and I make homemade pizza at least twice a month. We have so much fun creating! EVERY TIME, I have to text Mom and ask for the recipe :)

Ingredients:

2 packets active dry yeast (there's one that has a pizza on the front of it -- that's the one we use, although I'm not sure it makes a difference)

2T sugar

1/4c oil

2t salt

4c all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

First, pour 1 1/2 c WARM water into a large bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Stir slightly. Let stand for 5 minutes. The yeast kind of foams on the top. Next, whisk sugar, oil, and salt into the yeast mixture. Then add the flour and stir until a sticky dough forms.

Move dough to an oiled bowl (we use a large pot). Brush the top of the dough with oil. Cover bowl (Mom uses a towel, we use the pot lid) and set in a warm, draft-free place until dough has doubled. This takes about an hour. Logan and I turn our oven on warm and leave the dough to rise in there. 

After dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently kneed a couple of times. Separate into two "wads". Set one aside. Roll one of the dough balls out onto a slightly floured pizza stone. Add toppings. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes (I think our oven cooks fast so check yours after 15 min.)

Butterfinger Ice Cream Sandwich Cake (Logan's Favorite)

Mawmaw gave me this recipe a long time ago. I found it this past spring and made it for Logan. He dubbed it his new favorite dessert.

Ingredients:
Enough ice cream sandwiches to cover a 9x13 pan (I think I bought a twelve pack)
Cool Whip (the small tub)
Chocolate syrup (the kind you put in chocolate milk :) )
Butterfinger candy bar (crushed or chopped)

This is easy -- check it out.

Line 9x13 pan with ice cream sandwiches. Spread cool whip over top. Pour as much chocolate syrup as you desire over the top. Sprinkle Butterfinger pieces over top.

Freeze.

Eat.

Enjoy :)

Shrimp Salad (Mimaw's)

My mom's side of the family likes to spice things up around the holidays. Instead of just traditional turkey, ham, dressing, and cranberry sauce, there are always other delicious morsels passed around. My Mimaw usually makes this shrimp salad for us to eat while we wait for the rest of the food to be cooked.

Ingredients (for pasta):
17.6oz (or thereabout) pkg. Bowtie pasta (prepare as directed. Let cool.
1 1/2c chopped celery
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 c chopped bell pepper
1/2c chopped cilantro
2# boiled, peeled shrimp (I like to use the tiny ones)
grape tomatoes (optional garnish)

Also, (for dressing)
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c ketchup
1 1/2t horseradish
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic salt
1 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1/4 t red pepper
1/2 small lime (juice)

Mix pasta, chopped vegetables, and shrimp together.
Mix dressing ingredients together.
Pour dressing over pasta/shrimp. Stir to coat.
Garnish with grape tomatoes.

I made this for a beach party that my husband's RAS had last month. They loved it :)

Chocolate Gravy/Mayonnaise Biscuits

One of my favorite memories is going to my Mawmaw's house in the summers and eating her chocolate gravy. Now, it is one of my favorite things to cook for breakfast.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c milk (whole or 2% work best)
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
3 heaping T cocoa
1 c sugar

Get ready to stand by the stove for a while :)

Whisk all dry ingredients together until smooth. Put in pan. Add "some" (probably around 1/2 c) milk and stir smooth.

Now, turn stove eye on med-high. Slowly add remaining milk while whisking. STIR CONSTANTLY.

Heat until the gravy is smooth. It will be just starting to boil. Serves 4-6

I like to serve them with Mayonnaise biscuits (only because I haven't mastered Mawmaw's delicious skillet biscuits). Simply stir 3c self-rising flour, 1 1/2c milk, and 3T mayonnaise together. Spoon into greased muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for about 18 minutes.

Grape Salad

A go-to recipe for fellowship meals and group gatherings, this is one of our favorites :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb red seedless grapes
1 1/2 lb green seedless grapes
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar
Heath toffee bits (find them with the chocolate chips at the grocery store)

To make:
Pick all grapes off of stems, rinse, and let dry.
Combine sour cream, brown sugar, white sugar, and cream cheese with electric mixer.
Stir in grapes.
Top with toffee pieces.

Hint: It's even better the next day :)

Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Pancake Muffins

I just made these for Logan. He ate 8 of them!! I thought about you making them for the boys while they are home.

Makes 8
Ingredients:

• 2/3 c pancake mix
• 1/3 c skim milk (I used almond milk)
• 2 T skim milk (or almond milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 slices American cheese
• 1 T oil (or applesauce)
• 2T syrup

Here we go...

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

(2) Cook bacon until crispy and chop (I used scissors and cut them into little rectangles).

(3) Scramble eggs and 2 T milk in a mug.

(4) In a seperate bowl, combine pancake mix, 1/3c milk, 2T syrup, and 1T oil. Add 2T scrambled egg mixture to pancake mix and blend with a fork until smooth. 

(5) Cook remaining scrambled eggs, mix in bacon.

(6) Spray muffin pans (or use baking cups).

(7) Add 1/2 T pancake mix to muffin cups, spoon egg/bacon mix evenly in cups, tear cheese into four squares each and add one square to each cup. Top with remaining pancake mix (about 1T each).

(8) Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden (they don't get brown).

If the boys want, they can dip them in syrup but Logan said they were sweet enough without. 

Lentil Soup (From the kitchen of my BMW)

I tend to adopt Mommas everywhere that I go (since my own wonderful Mom is always miles and miles away). At this base, I've found my very own BMW (Beautiful Mexican Woman). She says she's my BMW (Big Mexican Woman) but I changed it. She's teaching me to cook genuine Mexican cuisine. She says since I am a beginner I have to start small. So, tonight I accomplished an AMAZING dish of lentil soup. She says I've graduated to the next level :)

Mom, you've gotta try it. Easy and scrumptious!!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lentils
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 lg tomato
• 4 strips bacon
• 1/4 onion
• 3-4 Tbs powdered chicken bouillon
• cilantro

So, here's what you do...

(1) Gently simmer lentils in large pot for 1 hour.

(2) Cut bacon strips into three or four smaller pieces and fry (not too crispy).

(3) Blend tomato and garlic in blender. 

(4) Chop onion.

(5) Once bacon is done, add tomato mixture and onion. Simmer for five minutes on med.

(6) Add bouillon to lentils. Stir.

(7) Add bacon mixture to lentils. Stir.

(8) Crack eggs into lentil pot. Let cook on med-low for 20 minutes. DO NOT STIR.

(9) Chop cilantro and add. Stir. 

(10) Prepare your taste buds! Serve (make sure everyone gets an egg) :)

How It All Got Started

She married a preacher. I married a U.S. Navy Corpsman. In case you don't know what that means, we move... a lot. So despite our wishes of being able to cook together in her kitchen or mine, we have to rely on technology to get us through our daily culinary adventures. The problem we run into... seems like every time we need a family-favorite recipe, neither one of us can find it! So, to prevent that problem I'm starting a blog -- "Mom and Me" (yes, I know that it is grammatically incorrect, but the alliteration just makes it sound so much more fun!). All of those recipes we love in one place out in digi-land so that (hopefully) we can always find them.

                                        This is me :)                                   This is mom :)
Let the fun begin!