The best corn EVER

I love corn on the cob....I mean to say I LOVE a good piece of corn on the cob.  Sadly, corn on the cob is kind of like peaches to me....sometimes they are out of this world, you want to eat them until you burst.  Then there are those that you take a bite of and say "ehhh" and live in your disappointment while you remember the "best peach you ever ate".....or is that just me?!  I digress!  Back to corn!  This little recipe (or trick) makes corn live up to it's full potential....fresh corn, frozen corn, and even the corn that may not be quite in season yet.  Something about the lactic acid doing something on the molecular level with the sugar in the kernels.  I am talking JUICY, SWEET, make you want to eat it till you burst corn!  Seriously, try it!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 ears corn, husks and silk removed
• water
• 1 cup milk (try to use whole milk)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 stick butter

Fill a large pot half-full with water, making sure all corn will fit in and be covered with water.  DO NOT SALT THE WATER!  I repeat, salting the water draws out the moisture of the corn kernal and makes it bitter!
Add the milk, sugar, and butter.  Bring to a boil, add in corn cobs.  Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes, or just until tender.  Try not to overcook it or it will become tough and have the appearance of the stuff you find in bird seed!
Remove from water and serve with butter and salt to taste.

This recipe has been liked up at:
Eat at Home
This Chick Cooks
Tidy Mom

Simply Sweet Home

A-MAZING Salsa

For being quite the salsa connoisseur, I have only made salsa 3 times in my life. The first time, I made a chunky Pico de Gallo that was quite yummy. The second time, was MUSHROOM SALSA...and that was spectacular. The third time, I made the recipe I am going to share with you today. It has such crazy-good flavor and is so silly simple to make, I cannot imagine why you would ever buy the stuff in the jar again! It is a hybrid between the Pioneer Woman version and a Copy-Cat version of Chili's salsa. ENJOY!


Ingredients:

• 1 can whole tomatoes WITH juice, 28 ounces
• 2 cans Rotel WITH juice(diced tomatoes with green chilies), 10 ounces each
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 whole jalapeno chopped. Depending on your heat preference is how much seeds and ribs to remove. If you like it hotter, leave in more seeds/ribs. I removed all seeds and ribs and it was plenty spicy for my family.
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Using a food processor or blender (if you do use a blender, you may have to make it in batches then combine one in bowl) place onion, garlic and jalapeno and pulse until minced. Add tomatoes, Rotel, garlic salt, sugar, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro and pulse until ingredients are well blended, but not pureed. Place in bowl and set in fridge allowing all ingredients to meld together and make friends for at least an hour. You know the drill, the longer it sets, the better it will be!

Cookie With Many Names....

Synchronicity is a funny thing. This week, I received a request for these cookies that are on my annual Christmas Cookie platter. The very next day, Tina (the Mom in Mommy's Kitchen) had her version posted on Face Book. I am taking it as a sign to get this deliciousness shared with you. I loved, loved, LOVED these cookies as a child and was so happy to find the recipe as an adult. They are my family's favorite cookie hands down. One Christmas SEVERAL years ago, we gave homemade goodie baskets as gifts. I used a small cookie scoop to make these cookies and they turned out round and truffle sized. My then 8 year old son said they looked like reindeer poop, so the name has stuck. Many of my friends from the 'Burg grew up with these served in a bar form in our Winnie the Pooh cafeteria and lovingly called them Cow Pie's. Do I see a theme here?! Whether you call them No Bake's, Chewy Fudgey Treats, Reindeer Poop, or Cow Pie's, they are sure to bring a smile to your face!

• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• ½ cup milk
• 1/3 cup powdered cocoa, I use Hershey's Cocoa
• 2/3 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
• 3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place piece of wax paper or foil on tray, cookie sheet, our counter. Combine sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa in medium saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a rolling boil.
Remove from heat, cool 1 minute.
Add peanut butter and vanilla, stir quickly until peanut butter is smooth.  Add oats and stir to throughly combine. Quickly drop mixture by spoonful onto waxed paper or foil. Cool completely.





Recipe Source: Hershey's Best Loved Recipes

Spaghetti a la Philly

Because I have a sick wee one, I am keeping this post short and easy, just like this recipe.  This recipe has been floating around the blog-o-sphere for a bit, and I finally decided to give it a go.  Super simple and fast, this creamy pasta dish is a nice change-up and the whole family loved it! 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce, I  like both Tader Joe's and Sunflower Market's Garlic Basil
• 4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.)  Cream Cheese, cubed
• 2 Tbsp.  Grated Parmesan Cheese

 
Cook spaghetti as directed on package.
Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Return meat to skillet. Stir in sauce and cream cheese; cook on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until sauce is well blended and heated through, stirring frequently.
Drain spaghetti. Add to sauce; mix lightly. Place on platter; top with Parmesan.
 
 
Recipe Source:  Kraft Foods/Love My Philly

Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken

I saw this recipe over at A Year of Slow Cooking.  I love, love, LOVE making meals in my Crockpot!  I feel so accomplished when I have my dinner taken care of at 10:00 in the morning.  When I saw this recipe and the rave reviews it received, I knew I wanted to try it.  This is one of those recipes you will just need to trust me on.  The taste is somewhat Teriyaki-ish and let me just say,  the sauce is killer!  ***update...I found that I like it better when you make the stir fry veggies seperately instead of adding them to the crockpot.  Also, if you have have a family divided (half like it spicy and the other half does not), take out some of the broth and mix in some Sriracha sauce and serve that to those who like it spicy!
Ingredients:

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or 6 boneless, skinless breast halves (I used the thighs because I think it stays WAY juicier in the Crockpot)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (please, don't use diet.   When the chemicals in diet soda are exposed to heat, they do some pretty scary stuff)
• 2/3 cup vinegar (I used regular white, but the original recipe used White Wine)
• 3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic (I used those handy dandy frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe's)
• 2 TBSP soy sauce (I found I needed a splash or two more at the end.  Taste it and see if you need more when it is done cooking)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Use a 4 quart Crockpot for this recipe. 
Plop the chicken into your crockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble!
Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Serve over a bowl of white rice with a ladle full of the broth.  As I said, the broth is A-MAZING! 

A couple of notes:
~Don't put this together the night before.  The vinegar will marinate your chicken, bleck!
~Change it up by adding some veggies....stir-fry, carrots, broccoli, strips of peppers and onions, etc.
~If you want the sweet/spicy thing, add some red pepper flake or Sriracha.

This recipe is linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck
Eat at Home
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home

Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad

This is one of those dishes that remind me of Grandma's.  Not a particular Grandma, but Grandmas in general.  Every time I make this salad for anyone but my family, I always hear "My Grandma used to make this!" but interestingly enough, they never made it for themselves.  So, here is the super simple recipe for this cool, refreshing salad.  ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 3 English Cucumbers, thinly sliced.  You could use regular, but I prefer the taste of the English Cucumbers 
• ½ cup onion, thinly sliced (optional, which I optioned out of)
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup mayonnaise, not to be confused with Miracle Whip
• 1 TBSP dried Dill

Place sliced cucumbers in a serving bowl.  In a separate bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, combine vinegar with sugar and salt.  Stir briskly to combine.  Add mayo, again stirring to incorporate with vinegar mixture until smooth.  Add Dill, stir some more, and viola!  Pour over sliced cucumbers, toss to combine and let sit in fridge for a few minutes to allow flavors meld and make friends.

This recipe is linked up at:
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck
Eat at Home

Pig Pickin' Poke Cake

One of our favorite summer desserts is poke cake.   MMMM....light, cool cake topped with whipped cream and Mandarin Oranges.   A while back, I was looking through various food blogs, cook books, and websites (you know, getting my fix) and I kept seeing the same cake, though it had a lot of different names.  Pig Pickin' Cake, Summer Lovin' Cake, Summer Pickin' Cake, Pig Lovin' Cake...haha, just making sure you were paying attention ;)  I thought I would try this cake and see how the family ranked it against the poke cake.  The cake was good and everyone enjoyed it, though we all loved the refreahsing lightness of the poke cake more.  Later that week, my Hubby Love and I were watching some old episodes of Southpark.  In this particular episode, the boys were trying to cross elephant and pig DNA, think above mentioned Pig Lovin' reference.  Then inspiration came...yet again proving inspiration came come from anywhere!  While the boys were not able to get the pig and elephant DNA to splice, we were able to take our favorite parts from both cakes and splice them together marvelously!  In honor of Cartman's pig "Fluffy", we named it Pig Pickin' Poke Cake because you know I would probably get some nasty emails if I named it Pig Lovin' Poke Cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 box white cake mix (18.25 ounce)
• 3 eggs
• 3 cans mandarin oranges (11 ounces)
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1 box orange jello (3.4 ounces)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 container Cool Whip (8 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 9"x13" cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.
To make the cake, combine butter, oil, cake mix, eggs, lemon extract, and 1 can mandarin oranges WITH juice.  Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 24-27 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately poke holes all over cake with the end of a wooden spoon or skewer.  Set aside.
Stir together 1 cup BOILING water and orange jello, stirring until completely dissolved.  Pour slowly and evenly over cake, allowing it to soak in the holes.
Place cake in refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving.  When ready to serve, drain remaining 2 cans of Mandarin Oranges.  Spread Cool Whip evenly over cake and top with oranges.  Slice and ENJOY!



This recipe is being linked to:
Tidy Mom's I'm Lovin' It
Simply Sweet Home Friday Favorites
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck

Mango Mojito

There is a restaurant south of Denver that introduced me to my favorite drink. La Sandia makes, in my mind, the perfect Mango Mojito. It doesn't make a normal mojito and just substitutes Mango Rum for regular Rum, nor does it use Mango syrup to achieve the Mango taste of a Mango Mojito. Since I have moved across the country, I can't call my friend Amanda and go to La Sandia for this Mangolicious yummy, so I have been forced to figure this one out on my own. Good news Amanda, and everyone else who likes Mango Mojitos, I think I did it! It is thick with sweet Mango puree, crisp taste of mint and lime, with a hint of bubbly.


Ingredients for 1 drink:
• 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks, slightly defrosted
• 1/8 cup good quality light rum
• 1/2" thick round slice of lime, cut in half
• 4 mint leaves
• 1 TBSP superfine sugar or simple syrup *
• 1/8 cup-1/4 cup club soda

In a cocktail shaker or glass, muddle together the lime, mint leaves, and fine sugar or simple syrup. To achieve this, I used the handle of my potato masher, and squashed everything together, making sure to get the lime juice out of the slice and bruise the mint leaves. Set aside.
In a blender, blend together the slightly defrosted mango chunks and rum until combined. If you would like a few chunks of mango, don't blend completely.
Empty the rum mango puree into cocktail shaker with the muddled mixture. Starting with 1/8 cup club soda, add to mango mixture, stir with a spoon to combine.
Fill a short glass with ice and pour mixture over it, adding an additional 1/8 cup club soda if desired.
Grab a friend, some guacamole, and enjoy this fabulous drink with some good laughs!

* You can buy superfine sugar or you can make it. To make superfine sugar, simply place 1 cup regular sugar into a small food processor and process until very fine in appearance. To make simple syrup, take bring 1cup sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool. Bottle it up and keep in fridge for future use.


This recipe is being linked to:
Tidy Mom's I'm Lovin' It
Simply Sweet Home's Friday Favorites