Our newest addition... again with the pets!

If you know anything about me you know I'm a SUCKER for animals. And this little guy is no exception. He was headed to the pound and I just had to have him. He is a 10 year old "Shorkie" Shitzu and Yorkie mix named Grizzly. He is just like a little old man because he likes things his way and.... well.... he smells like one. His breath anyway. But we adore him and He adores me. Mostly me and just tolerates the others. He is a self esteem builder for sure. :) So here's to another of my endless parade of pets.

Stuffed Zucchini... so good

Stuffed Zucchini

1 ½ lbs zucchini squash

1 ½ cups soft bread crumbs

½ cup grated cheese

¼ tspn salt

1/8 tspn pepper

2 eggs, beaten

2 Tbspn minced parsley

2 Tbspns butter

¼ cup grated cheese for top

Wash, cut off ends, and cook in 1 inch boiling water with 1 tspn salt in covered kettle about 5-7 minutes. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Carefully remove center of squash from shells. Chop squash and mix with other ingredients except butter and 1/4^th cup grated cheese. Pile mixture into zucchini shells. Dot with 2 Tbspns butter and sprinkle with ¼ cup grated cheese. Put on a baking pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

A few tasty dishes in a super busy week.

Tuna Noodle Casserole.... Something I've always thought was a bit white trash. I know, so rude. :) Cody love it though so I found a recipe I thought I'd give a try. I added some veggies in it to make me feel a bit better about it and to make the flavor more interesting. All in all I'd keep this recipe because it is cheap, easy, and actually quite tasty.
Next was what I was really excited about: Chocolate Banana Cream Trifle. Yum Yum! When I first saw this recipe I was intimidated because it was so long. But it was really easy. The only hard thing was getting it to look like the pretty picture (not the one above!) Oh this was a good recipe and it would impress company for sure! So these are going into my stash!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

8oz cooked noodles

1 can tuna fish

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

2/3 cup milk

(optional cooked vegetables)

Buttered bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients together except bread crumbs. Place in casserole dish. Top with Bread Crumbs. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Chocolate Banana Cream Truffle

18 whole graham crackers

¾ cup chocolate morsels

1 12oz container whipped topping

1 ¾ oz box vanilla instant pudding

1 cup milk

4 large bananas, peeled

2 Tbspn lemon juice

Chop graham crackers; set aside. For ganache, place chocolate morsels and 1 ½ cup whipped topping into a small bowl. Microwave on high until melted and smooth, stirring every 15 seconds.

Combine pudding mix and milk in separate bowl; whisk until thickened. Fold in remaining whipped topping. Slice bananas, sprinkle with lemon juice and toss gently. Set aside 10-12 slices for garnish.

To assemble trifle, place half the graham cracker crumbs over bottom of trifle bowl. Place half the bananas on crackers and top with one third of the gananche. Spread half of the pudding filling over ganache. Repeat layer. Decorate with remaining ganache and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Arrange reserved banana slices around edges.

Peach Cobbler... so good

Tonight I invited my sister, her fiancee and my youngest brother over for dinner. We started with Turkey (or chicken) stuffing casserole which is in the Ballard Family Cookbook. Ceaser Salad and Parmesan Pillows, which are delicious Parmesan rolls (also in the Ballard Cookbook).
If you want those recipes, let me know. But the one I'm adding to my book that I don't yet have is for my brother Mark's Peach Cobbler. Oh boy is this easy and DELICIOUS! I'm not one who likes cooked fruit, but I really love this. Here is the recipe:

Mark’s Peach Cobbler

2 small cans of peaches (or 1 quart)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick butter

Put peaches in an 8x14 pan with most of the juice. Pour cake mix on top. Pat down until smooth. Cut butter into thin layers and put on top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Serves 6-10.

Seafood Dinner.... its a keeper!

Last night I had some crab meat that I needed to use so I just created a fast Crab Alfredo pasta. So easy. Just the noodles, meat, sauce, and some veggies. It was tasty, but not a recipe. I wanted to try this other recipe for Maryland crab cakes I found. And guess what? It was lovely! They had a great flavor and weren't as hard as I thought they'd be. So here is the recipe which I will be adding to my favorites list!

Maryland Crab Cakes

1 6oz pkg crab meat

2 egg whites

2 Tbspn green onion finely chopped

2 Tbspn mayonnaise

1 Tbspn parsley, snipped

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

2 tsp fresh chopped thyme or ½ tsp. dried crushed thyme

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ cup fine seasoned bread crumbs (reserve ¼ cup)

¼ cup cornmeal

2 Tbspn olive oil

Lemon Wedges

Thaw crab if frozen; drain. In a bowl, combine egg whites, green onion, mayonnaise, parsley, mustard, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and ¼ cup bread crumbs. Stir in crab; mix well. Shape into 4-5 patties about ¾ inch thick. Combine the remaining bread crumbs and cornmeal mixture. Dip each side of crab cakes in mixture. Fry crab cakes in oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden and heated through. Add additional oil if necessary. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

A recipe a day keeps the clutter away!

If you are anything like me, you like to cook. But only when it is delicious and appreciated by all. Which is why lately I haven't cooked anything exciting. :) But I've decided to consolidate my recipe collection by going through my books and index cards and filtering out the not so great ones.

What am I going to do? Well let me tell you. Every day that I feasibly can, I will make one of my recipes in my collection. After it is consumed we will decide if it is worthy of going into my FAMILY RECIPE FAVORITES list I will be compiling. And then I will post about it. Including a recipe if it is one we liked. So get ready for my cooking adventure!

4th of July

Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! We relaxed with a few family friends and then lit off a LARGE amount of now legal fireworks! The kids played with sparklers, well.... until Hyrum burned his hand and had to get some medical attention. I'd like to say that I had told my beloved husband several times that I didn't want them to hold them and that sparklers were the #1 cause of injuries when it comes to fireworks. But hey... anyone surprised that he didn't listen? Men.... I tell ya! And at one point in the day Adelaide had a cute fourth of July skirt on but that only lasted as long as her dry diaper... aka not long.