Plastic wrap dispensers are, well indispensible.  Okay, it’s a play on words, but these things are just awesome.  I first saw them on Pioneer Woman and was impressed at how well they work.   And who doesn’t struggle with plastic wrap, sometimes I just totally give up because it always clings to the wrap instead of the bowl.  But this little gadget changes everything.  I sit what I’m wrapping beside the dispenser, pull out the wrap, attach it to the bowl and then use the cutter on the dispenser for a clean cut.  Works perfect every time.

This dispenser comes with 250 feet of plastic wrap, you can refill it with plastic wrap from the grocery store and it’s $15 from Amazon Prime.  It’s worth the $15 to just ease the frustration.

Here’s the link if you’re interested in it, too 

I’ll make it easier for you, here it is in action - different pattern, but this veggie one is cuter. 

 But I’m not finished yet, there is also a dispenser for Aluminum Foil.  This one comes with a 12x30 ft. roll of aluminum foil and it’s also refillable.  It has a magnetic closure, there is a video on Amazon’s site that you can watch.   I haven’t bought this yet, but I’m going to, today!

Here’s the link for the foil

You know how much I enjoy kitchen gadgets, and anything that’s a timesaver is worth the money.  This is a really good thing… ~ Jan

Who doesn’t save recipes from the Internet?  We all do it, I have a tons of bookmarks and a badzillion Pinterest boards and it’s a pain in the patootie to find something.  But recently I found a site called Copy Me That, and it’s fantastic.   If you’re on a desktop or laptop, you download a button that you add to the top of your browser and it’s so simple to use.  You can also use this on your mobile phone or your tablet.

First, you go to copymethat.com and create an account and make sure you sign in.  Then if you’re on a computer, you download the button, it’s a two spoons icon and drag it up on your browser, and you’re good to go.  When you find a recipe you want to save, just click on that button and you get a popup on the top right corner of your page that says Copy Me That, and there is a link to View Recipe.

When you click the link it takes you to your main page, and this is the important part, you want to Create a Tag.  In the picture above, my first recipe is Instant Pot Chicken and Rice, so I created three tags for this, Chicken, Grains and Instant Pot.  I clicked on the “Add Tag” bar and created those three tags.  You’re doing this, so that in the future, you can easily find recipes in a category you are looking for.  And once you create a tag, it’s always there, you just Click the Add Tag bar and you will see the ones you’ve already created or you can add new ones.  You can make your settings private or you can share with the public.  Mine is public, anybody can view it.

I’ve explained what I do, but the ladies in the video below will show you what to do.  This is fantastic, the best organizer I’ve found and it’s free. ~ Jan

I made this so often when the boys were little, lost the recipe and thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I just found it again.

We called it Hot Potato Salad, and made it exactly like this using Velveeta.  It was just SO good.

I was thrilled to find this recipe again and to add it here so I will always have it….

INGREDIENTS 

9 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced

1 cup mayonnaise

1 lb Velveeta cheese, diced

1 small onion, chopped

salt

pepper

1⁄2 lb bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1⁄2 cup green olives, sliced

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine potatoes, mayonnaise, cheese, and onion, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Put into greased 9x13 baking dish.

Top with bacon and olives.

Bake 1 hour.

Nutrition

• 9 medium  potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced
• 1 cup  mayonnaise
• 1 lb  Velveeta cheese, diced
• 1 small  onion, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• 1⁄2lb  bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 1⁄2cup  green olives, sliced

This recipe is wonderful.  It’s so good for you and it’s simple to make and even better the next day.  It’s a new staple in my kitchen.  It’s that good!

Makes 12 (1/2-cup) servings

4-6 cups peeled sweet potatoes, cut into small dice

Salt and pepper to taste

1.5 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red onion

2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 15 oz. can  black beans, drained well and rinsed

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoon jarred jalapeno slices

1. Preheat oven 425°F. Coat foil lined baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. On prepared pan, toss together sweet potatoes, salt and pepper and spray with cooking spray. Roast about 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are crisp and cool.

3.In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, corn, and black beans

4. In blender, puree lime juice, garlic, jalapeno and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.  I used an immersion blender for this step, so much easier

Toss all together, let marinate a few hours and serve

*Nutritional information per serving: Calories 113 Calories from fat 28% Fat 4g Saturated Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 99mg Carbohydrate 19g Dietary Fiber 3g Sugars 4g Protein 2g Dietary Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat

*Nutritional Information is approximate, always double check to be certain of calorie count

It wasn't until after I was grown that I realized not everyone ate pickles with their chili.  It was a staple at our house, and looking back, it was probably mother using what she had.  We always had sweet pickles and dill pickles with chili, no peanut butter sandwiches, no cornbread, just pickles and crackers and always in the fall apple pie.

I loved it then, and I love it now.  I make really good chili, you want to know how I do it?  Okay, here goes...

First of all, I’m a slow cooker kinda girl, it’s easy, you set it and forget it.  But if you don’t use a slow cooker, I’m a fan of putting it in a big pot, adding the lid and baking it in the oven.  You don’t have to watch it or stir it to make sure it doesn’t stick like you do if you cook it on top of the stove, I’m all about easy in my old(er) age.

2 lbs. ground chuck browned with a large chopped onion, two onions if yours aren’t really big, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 can of Brooks Chili Mix with Beans

Thought you might like a picture, so you can see what it looks like.  If you can’t find this, just substitute a couple of cans of chili beans with sauce 

Now back to the recipe...

1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
2 or 3 cans of light red kidney beans, drained
sometimes I use 2 cans of light red kidney beans and 1 can of chili beans with sauce, I don’t drain the chili beans with sauce
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons of sugar to cut the acidity
1 dry packet of chili seasoning mix - I like Brooks best, it’s hard to find, but any dry mix will do 

Brown the ground beef and onions, stir into chili mixture and cook on high in your slow for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  If you bake it in the oven, cook it at 350-375 degrees for an hour.

If you like more heat, add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to the ground beef as you are browning it.  Then taste it after it cooks to see if you need additional chili powder.

The Hoosier way of eating chili is to stir in macaroni.  I don’t do this at first but a day or so later, I cook jumbo elbow macaroni, put it in the bowls and ladle chili over it like I did in the picture above.  I never chili mac as a kid, it’s strictly an Indiana thing, but it is good.

Mother didn’t make her chili like this, she just used hamburger, onions, a quart of her home canned tomatoes and added cans of chili beans.  Hers wasn’t highly seasoned, but the pickles took it over the top.

Oh, the pickles - the best pickles EVER, EVER, EVER are these - 

Oh my, I can’t say enough about Famous Dave’s Signature Spicy Pickle Chips.  They are absolutely wonderful, just the right combo of sweet and hot, they are YUMMY!  We buy these at Costo in big jars, I add them to so many things. tuna salad, macaroni salad and sandwiches and they are gone before our next trip back.  Amazing pickles, if you’ve never tried them, look for them in your market, they are delicious!  If you can’t find them, of course Amazon has them, Amazon has everything... 

This recipe from Stella Parks sounds too good to be true.  It’s pie crust like we’ve never made it before, but this lady knows what she’s doing and this looks like it just might be a winner.

I haven’t tried this yet, but it intrigues me.

Read about it here, it just might intrigue you, too.  ~ Jan

Oh my, there are no words, this was indescribably delightful.  We had it for Easter this year, I tweaked Betty Crocker’s original recipe and it was a huge hit.  It tastes just like a lemon drop.  It’s so moist, but not a heavy cake, it’s very lemony and tart, just the perfect spring dessert.

Here’s my version, I added pudding to the cake mix, extra lemon juice to the poke part of the recipe and used two cans of lemon frosting, with zest on the top.  The two cans of frosting worked so well, it wasn’t too much, but you had enough to spread without having to spread it thinly.

This one is a winner, winner, chicken dinner for sure!  You can all thank me later for the recipe.  ~ Jan

Oh, you sweet talker, Betty Crocker  XXo

1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ lemon cake mix
1 box instant Jello Lemon Pudding
 4 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil

1 cup powdered sugar, I sift this so it’s smooth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)

2 containers Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy lemon frosting

Lemon drop candies, crushed, if desired - I didn’t use the lemon drop candies, I zested Lemon Rind on top of cake instead

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Line two 9" pans with foil, letting foil hang 2 inches over 2 opposite sides of pans. Grease or spray bottoms and sides of foil.

Make cake batter as directed above, using Pudding, eggs, water and oil.  Pour into pans. Bake 25 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice. Poke top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork or you can use the handle of a small wooden spoon, wiping fork or spoon handle occasionally to reduce sticking. Drizzle and spread lemon mixture over top of cake. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Remove cakes from pans by lifting with foil; peel away foil.

On serving plate, place 1 cake, rounded side down; trim if necessary so layer rests flat. Spread with half of frosting. Top with second cake, rounded side up. Frost top of cake with remaining frosting. Garnish with lemon drop candies. Store covered.

Ingredients:

1 pkg White Cake Mix, plus ingredients to prepare

1 pkg Lemon Cake Mix

½ cup Sour Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Lemon, juiced

1 cup Whipping Cream

1 pkg Mascarpone Cheese

1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp Melted Real Butter

Directions:

Prepare the white cake according to the directions on the box, adding the sour cream and vanilla. Bake in a 10 inch round baking pan and cool the cake completely.

For the lemon cream filling, whip cream until stiff peaks form, then fold in the mascarpone, sifted powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest of half the lemon.  For the crumb topping, combine 3/4 cup of the lemon cake mix with the melted butter to make a crumb topping. To assemble the cake, cut the white cake in half to spread the lemon cream filling between the two layers of white cake. Frost the top of the cake with a thin layer of cream filling and sprinkle the crumb topping.

Helpful Tips:

 The secret is the mascarpone cheese.

A little lemon zest always makes things better :)

NUTRITION:

544 calories, 34 grams fat, 55 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein per serving.

This recipe has been all over FaceBook.  The prep reminds me of Hammie Sammie’s, which were such a big hit last year.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups diced onion
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles, drained
12 slices cheddar cheese, and 12 Hawaiian dinner rolls

Glaze:

1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds 

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.

Brown beef, salt, pepper, cumin, mustard powder and paprika.  Add garlic at last so it doesn’t burn.  Then stir in drained Rotel Tomatoes

Place half of buns in the prepared pans, add the beef, then the cheese slices and top with other half of bun.

For glaze, mix all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Pour over buns and bake for 25 minutes uncovered.

INGREDIENTS

6 apples, cored and thinly sliced

1 c. chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips, melted

1/2 c. caramel sauce, warmed1/2 c. chopped pretzels

DIRECTIONS

On a large plate, arrange apple slices on top of one another.

Drizzle over melted chocolate and caramel sauce.

Top with pretzels.

This is my friend, Krista’s favorite way to make chicken, it’s a must try.  Works with any kind of meat!  

Enjoy ~ Jan

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce - La Choy

6 Tbs. ketchup 

1 Tbs. minced garlic

Cracked Pepper

Put above ingredients in plastic bag with chicken breasts, marinate all day in fridge, or overnight, turning frequently, then cook on the grill.

How easy is this!!!!

Adapted from David Leite, The New York Times

INGREDIENTS:2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds (about 3 1/2 cups) bittersweet chocolate disks or semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.  It is important to refrigerate for 36 hours before baking.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Heart be still, what’s not to love!

This recipe is from Sweet As a Cookie 

I’m reprinting it here, but be sure and check it out on her site as well.

This was absolutely delicious.  Okay, so my picture isn’t perfect, the patty-melt is in the front, the soup has been slurped up a bit.  But this is real life, not a photo shoot. :)

This was so simple, and it turned out perfect.  If you don’t have a Vitamix, I’m sure you could achieve same results in a regular blender and then heat on the stove.

2 cans of diced tomatoes (original recipe called for italian style with oregano, basil and garlic)  I didn’t have those, all I had was a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes, so that’s what I used, and added a bit of basil leaves and garlic powder.

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese 

A dash of sweetener (I used 3 drops of EZ-Sweetz) or sugar, about 1-2 teaspoons to cut the acidity.

I put all of this in the Vitamix and set it to soup, in 6 minutes, I had hot wonderful tomato soup.  It keeps well, leftovers are great!

Since I used the Vitamix I didn’t soften the cream cheese to room temp, I just put it in cold, but if you’re blending in a regular blender I would soften cream cheese first...

I think I’ll try this same recipe with broccoli or cauliflower and add some cheddar cheese along with the cream cheese.  Who would have thought soup could be so easy...

A must make in this blackberry loving household!

I make skillet apple and peach pie, I posted the recipe last year.   This morning, my friend, Angi, sent me this recipe from Facebook for Skillet Blackberry Pie.  I would gladly give credit, but I don’t know where this originated.  Here’s the recipe, oh my, my family is going to love this!

Skillet Blackberry Cobbler

Don't make this in anything but a big black skillet~it won't turn out the same!

Ingredients
1 box of 2 refrigerated pie crusts (I prefer Pillsbury)
2 (14-16 oz) bags frozen blackberries, unthawed
1 stick butter, melted
1⅓ cups sugar (for berries)
½ cup flour
¾ cup sugar (for crust)
½ stick butter, cut into small cubes
½ cup water

Instructions
1.Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Unroll one pie crust and place in bottom and up sides of 12 " cast iron skillet.
3.Pierce bottom and sides of crust with a fork.
4.Bake 7 minutes; remove from oven.
5.Increase oven temp to 400 degrees.
6.In a large bowl, mix melted butter, 1⅓ cups sugar, and flour.
7.Put berries in bowl with butter/sugar/flour mixture; toss until berries are covered and mixture is crumbly.
8.Gently pour berries into skillet; sprinkle water over berries.
9.Unroll second pie crust over top of berries, sealing at the edges of the skillet.
10.Scatter the small pieces of butter on top of the crust.
11.Sprinkle ¾ cups sugar on top of crust.
12.Cut tiny slits in top of pie crust.
13.Bake approximately 45 minutes or until bubbly at edges and beginning to brown on top.
14.(I highly recommend a pie shield to keep edges of crust from burning.)

Does anybody remember this blast from the past?  I’ve always been a foodie and back in the early 1970’s, Graham Kerr’s tv show “The Galloping Gourmet” started the trend, he was the first cooking show I ever watched.

He was this goofy English guy who cooked food that I would never make, but he did have great wooden kitchen spoons that he called “Spurtles.”  They even gave them away in cereal boxes, but I bought a set of them from an address he posted on his show. They’ve always been my favorite kitchen tools and they’re still going strong all these years later.

Pictured above is my collection, and yes I use that Bakelite Grease Jar.  I low carb, I always have bacon grease.  I’m going back to my roots, people, my mother always had a jar of bacon grease next to her stove, I bet yours did, too.

But back to the Spurtle.  I’ve picked up additional sets and individual pieces when they’ve been available on eBay through the years and now have quite a collection.  Some of them have holes in them, some are shorter, some are angled,one is a spatula,  but the traditional Spurtle is the one I use over and over again.  It’s the long one with a curved bottom and straight side.   They all have the GG Emblem burnt into the handles and they’re my treasures, I’ve used them daily since the 70’s.

If you do nothing else today, click and watch this video below, and if it doesn’t make you laugh until tears roll down your cheeks, something is seriously wrong with you.

Oh, The Galloping Gourmet, he was one of a kind, there were no retakes on this old television show, what you see is what you get.  Funniest thing I’ve seen in ages.

 And finally, if all this talk of spurtles is making you think you have missed out all of these years, you can still get one.  Not the original, but this guy on Etsy has copied the design and is selling them for $20.  

Here’s the click, I would so invest $20 in one of these if didn’t have my original collection.  What’s so good about them other than nostalgia?  They are just designed so well, they have a curved bottom that gets in the corners, a straight edge that cleanly stirs sides of pots.  Oh, just buy the damn thing, trust me it’s a good thing.  ~ Jan

I was making breakfast this morning, watching Trisha’s Southern Kitchen and her college age nephew and his friends were on the show.  She cooked for them and of course they were wolfing it down.

One of the guys said that in his family when someone makes something really good to eat, the rest of the family tells them to “take a bow.”  I like that, what a great family tradition and it shows appreciation.

However, even though LC was watching the show with me, he didn’t tell me to take a bow for his sausage, eggs and toast.  Hmmmm, so I’m thinking he’s either just taking breakfast for granted, or it wasn’t that good.  But I do think this is such a good idea, it’s those simple things, ladies.

Are you reading this LC? Hello!!!!!  

Men, Schmen!!!