It's My Life

I grew up in  a family with really good cooks; my momma, both of my grandmothers, my aunts, even my daddy. Their food may not have been the healthiest but it was always yummy!   Growing up my Momma made homemade bread every single week. I can still recall her large ceramic crock barely containing the white sticky dough expanding as it rose. I half expected it to explode all over the house like a balloon would do if pushed passed its capacity.  Momma would always cover the dough with a dishtowel and often the bread rose so far that there was a gap between the towel and the top of the crock. Occasionally as Momma prepared the dough for the oven, she would pinch off small pieces and fry it for us. It was my favorite!  When she called us into the house to present the fried bread, my brother and I knew we were in for a treat! She fried those small pieces of dough in butter and served it with jam or honey. Every single bite  was a mouthful of buttery soft bre...

I have Disney on the brain! I could blame it on the fact that we just returned from our latest Disney vacation with six of our friends. But the truth is, I almost always have Disney on the brain! One of my Disney Dreams is to spend a night in Cinderella's castle. It is my understanding you can't rent the  room but Disney will grant an overnight stay to contest winners. Upon the heels of our Disney vacation and first time we have ever attended Mickey's Not So Spooky Halloween party, Disney announced a contest and guess what the grand prize is? YES, a stay in Cinderella's castle!! I had two inspirations for this cheese ball. First, I was inspired by all the Mickey shaped food we ate on our vacation. Second, I was inspired by the t-shirts my friend Angie and I made for our vacation crew to wear on the day we attended the Mickey's Not So Spooky Halloween Party. Cheese Ball 16 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon ...

My MIL (Mother-in-law) called us New Year's Morning and inquires if I would be willing to help her make homemade tamales. I figured taking down the old Christmas Trees could wait and we agree to head over. This is my first real tamale lesson. When we arrive, she was elbow deep in Masa. (Gringo translation: Masa = Dough.) Nana told me the Masa should be the consistency of frosting. She was not sure if we ever got to that point.  I could not tell the difference! My next job was to prepare the hojas. (Gringo translation: corn leaves.) We soaked them in water and removed any hairs that might have been stuck to the hojas.   Nana had made the mole and the pork the day before. So with finished Masa and clean hojas, we were ready to begin assembling the tamale.  I learned you want an even thin layer of masa on the smooth side of the hojas. If you put it on the rough side of the hojas the tamale will stick to the hojas after cooking. I preferred to use ...

My coworker had a birthday last week. {It was one of those monumental birthday's that shouldn't be overlooked!} We had a celebration in her honor at work. I made a quiche and a salad.  The salad was a simple winter salad with homemade dressing. The dressing was probably the easiest thing to make and it was so yummy! I may never purchase salad dressing again. Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup lemon juice 2 teaspoons diced onion 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1 Tablespoon Poppy Seeds In a blender, add the sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard, and salt. Process until well blended. While blender is on, slowly add the oil in a constant stream. Add the poppy seeds and process just a few seconds longer. I tossed this dressing with some romaine lettuce, Swiss cheese, a diced apple, diced pear, some dried cranberries, and a few cashews. It was the absolute yummiest! The dressing has just enough citrus to make it t...

Hello. My name is Pamela. I am addicted to anything tropical.  In my quest to be healthier, I am trying to give up buttercream for other options. Pineapple has come close.  We had a family gathering this past weekend. Normally, I would have whipped up some yummy cupcakes but I decided on something a little healthier.  Pineapple Coconut Sorbet! I never knew making sorbet was so easy.  The ingredients to this dessert are simple. The process is simple. You just need to allow yourself enough time for the freezing. Pineapple Coconut Sorbet 1 fresh ripe Pineapple 1/3 cup Sugar 1/2 cup of Lite Coconut Milk, chilled 2 Tablespoons of Lime Juice Flaked Coconut (optional) Start by cutting the pineapple in half. Trim the pineapple. I did not use the core. Cut the pineapple into small pieces. Add the pineapple pieces and sugar to your food processor. NOTE: the riper your pineapple, the less sugar you use. My pineapple was pretty ripe so I on...

This week at work we are honoring the lady who holds us all together. Our Administrative Assistant, The General.  No, that is not her real name. Her name aside. I am so thankful for her. She is a super hard worker. She is funny. Sometimes sarcastic. Always giving. She loves chocolate. Boy, does she love chocolate! In her honor, I whipped up these cupcakes to take to her. Thank you, General, for all of your hard work! To make these cupcakes: One Chocolate Cake Box Mix Eggs and Oil as directed by the Box. 2 packages of Oreo Cookies 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened 1 cup of Crisco Vegetable Shortening 6 cups of Powdered Sugar 2 Tablespoons of Milk 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract I want to first say, I tried out Reynolds new cupcake liners. I found these at Wal Mart and they promised to not turn black in the oven. I am so loving the way they look! Make the cake mix as the box describes. Before you put the batter in the cupcake liner, put an Oreo...

My husband went fishing this weekend, which left me no time to catch a last minute movie, I focused on preparing for the Oscars. I had a few friends over to have dinner and watch the 84th Academy Awards.  Tracy made these chocolate dipped strawberries. They were worthy of the red carpet, so she named them, Red Carpet Berries. After that, we had 9 food dishes inspired by the Best Picture Nominations.  Baked Brie en Croute: From the movie, Midnight in Paris. Tracy actually made two: one raspberry and one apricot. Super yummy and way easy!  Blue Hawaiian Punch: From the movie, The Descendants. The punch needed to be non-alcoholic for two reasons: 1) the BFF is pregnant, and 2) everyone was driving home afterwards. I will tell you all this punch was amazing and I look forward to the summer day when I can add some Malibu Rum to it and sip away! Wanna make it too? Here is the recipe: 2 packages of any blue Kool-Aid 2 Cups of Sugar 2 Quar...

Even though we were on the phone at the time, I know my best friend rolled her eyes at me when I told her I drug home nearly 10 pounds of apples from Oregon. She is practical. I am emotional. She would never lug fruit home when you can buy fruit here. I did not have the heart to tell her there were other things in my bag besides apples. My confession:  I also brought home those yellow beets and red carrots in the above photograph. I can't easily get those vegetables at my local market. I decided to cook them while they were still at their peek. It is a cold rainy day here. So I thought what a better day than today to roast some veggies.  I roast veggies a lot. Mostly root veggies like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, garlic and onions.  Tonight I roasted those red carrots and the beets. Growing up, I hated beets. I thought they were the yuckiest thing on the earth and totally tasted like dirt. A few years ago I was having a work lunch with a friend and she had yellow...

I do. I eat cookie dough batter. There I said it. I have to make extra cookie dough to allot for the amount I eat while baking. Somewhere in the back of my head, I always tell myself, "this is not safe for pitty sakes there are raw eggs in here!" But I eat it. Then,  Making Memories with Your Kids posted a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip a while back and I noticed it does not have eggs in it. I have been itching to make it. So last night was the perfect excuse to whip up a batch. Last night was a bit crazy. The Short Chic started dance lessons. Her Nana and Papa came home from visiting North Carolina. Her Nana left this morning for Mexico and my absolute favorite TV show was on last night, Sons of Anarchy.  Knowing we would have people stopping by and dropping in to partake in those events, I made the family a treat. Can I tell you how yummy it is! The joy of this recipe, you can eat this cookie dough dip without worry of consuming raw eggs! Of course you s...

They say a way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The same maybe true for us girls too. We gals like to eat. We love tasty food. And we love a man who knows his way around the kitchen. One of the most wonderful things my man brought to our relationship...Chilaquiles   (pronunciation: chill-a-keel-es). As I am thinking back, I will tell you all the day after we brought the Short Chic home from the hospital my husband made this for me for breakfast. There maybe many other "fancy" ways to make chilaquiles. But our way is simple and easy. And oh so yummy! For us, making this dish always starts with leftover chips and salsa from a Mexican restaurant. Why, because we think they have the best tortilla chips! They just work better for this dish than store purchased chips. Step 1: Gather your supplies You will need tortilla chips (again, I recommend restaurant chips), salsa, oil, onion, and cheese. Step 2: Chop Onions. I love onions. My husband...