Blueberry Cobbler

I'm back! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. For those who don't know, we just had our third child! Now that we've adjusted to life with our new addition, I'm finally able to get back to my blog. So, here's my favorite dessert! And it's so easy to make :)

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh blueberries

1+1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup (1 stick) melted butter

1 cup self-rising flour

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Rinse blueberries and place in a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar. In a separate bowl mix butter, remaining 1 cup sugar, and flour to make a pastry. Spread over blueberries. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

And there it is. A super easy, incredibly delicious dessert! Enjoy :)

Fried Okra

It's still a bit early for home grown okra, but you this is a fantastic recipe to have :) I've included the traditional directions for pan frying and the directions for deep frying. I prefer deep frying b/c it's a little bit less labor intensive. It also frees me up to do something else while the okra is frying. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• okra, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 pint buttermilk
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• peanut oil

Directions

In a small bowl, soak okra in egg and buttermilk mixture for 5 to 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Preheat oil to 350°F. Dredge okra in the cornmeal mixture, coating evenly. Carefully place okra in hot oil; stir continuously. Reduce heat to medium when okra first starts to brown, and cook until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Tip: An easier way to cook this is in a deep fryer. Heat oil to 350°F. Coat the okra in the cornmeal mixture. Put okra in fryer and cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Chicken Noodle Cassarole

This is a quick and easy dish. I love taking this to potluck (and it usually goes pretty quickly).

1 (16 oz.) container of sour cream
2 (10 1/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
4 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 (16 oz.) package wide egg noodles, cooked
salt and pepper
2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
1 stick butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix the sour cream and soup. Add the diced chicken and cooked noodles. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Place in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Top with the Ritz crackers and butter. Cook for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

P.S. I sometime add steamed broccoli for a little variety. Feel free to add any other veggies that peak your taste buds :)

Chicken and Dressing Cassarole

This is a yummy cassarole that is perfect for potluck. It's a bit labor intensive, but well worth the effort.

1 whole chicken

½ c. (1 stick) butter

1 med. onion, chopped

1 (7 oz.) package dry dressing mix

1 (10 ¾ oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10 ¾ oz.) can cream of celery soup 

Boil the chicken and set aside to cool, reserving the broth. Remove the chicken from the bones. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. In a large skillet on med. heat melt the butter. Sauté the onion in the butter. Stir in the dressing mix. In a bowl combine the cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and 1 c. of the reserved chicken broth. In a 3 quart casserole dish layer the ingredients in the following order: chicken, dressing mix, soup mixture, chicken, dressing mix, soup mixture. Top with the remaining dressing mix. Bake for 35 minutes.

Praline Pie

A special thanks to my mom (Trish Matthews) for sharing this recipe. It makes for an uber delicious dessert. Trust me, you can't have just one piece :)

Filling

2 graham cracker crusts

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

8 oz. Cool-Whip

1 can sweetened condensed milk

¼ c. lemon juice

Topping

1 bag coconut

1 pkg. sliced almonds

¼ c. butter

1 bottle caramel topping

In a large bowl blend on med. speed cream cheese and milk. Mix well. Add lemon and Cool-Whip. Mix. Pour into crusts.

Melt butter in med. sauce pan. Add coconut and almonds. Stir constantly until coconut browns. Spread over pie. Drizzle caramel on top. Freeze until ready to serve.

Deviled Eggs

Here's a traditional southern favorite. And as any good southern cook will tell you, it's all about the presentation. A good southern cook will have multiple deviled egg serving plates (at least one for each major holiday). While these are basic, there are several possible ways to make them. Here's my personal favorite. Enjoy...

7 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish (optional)

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Salt and pepper, for taste

Paprika, for garnishing (optional)

Halve 7 eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a small bowl.

Mash yolks with a fork and stir in mayonnaise, pickle relish, and mustard. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Fill egg whites evenly with yolk mixture. Garnish with paprika. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

P.S. You can also garnish these with sweet gherkin pickles or pimentos. Also, if you want fancy looking eggs you can pipe the filling into the whites.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Icing

These are a bit time consuming, but SOOOOOO worth the effort :)

DOUGH

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray

FILLING

• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

GLAZE

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

CRUST

• Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.
• Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

FILLING

• Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.
• Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).
• Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

GLAZE

• Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.