Chicken, Pasta and Alfredo...

Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 box of linguine or other pasta

Cook noodles, and set aside. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, cream, white pepper, and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir often. Add the Parmesan cheese and simmer sauce for 8-10 minutes or until sauce has thickended and is smooth. When sauce has thickened, add the Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth. Stir frequently! You can either place pasta on serving plates and spoon sauce over pasta, or I just added it all to the sauce to warm back up and evenly distribute the sauce. Serves: 4-6

Italian Grilled Chicken

Chicken breasts
Zesty Italian Salad Dressing
Juice of a medium lemon

I clean my chicken breasts, and pour enough Zesty Italian dressing to cover it all. Let it marinade in the fridge for as long as I want it. Then in the last 30 minutes, add your lemon juice to the marinade. Then grill it up!!!

*This is how I cook my chicken for fajitas, minus the lemon!! Yummm, the best!!! I thought the lemon would be a nice touch with the pasta - and it was!!!

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce...

Not too long ago I was contacted by Al Malekovic, who represents a small company called Country Bob's Inc. He said he'd like to send me, Tara, and Cindy two bottles of their All Purpose Sauce each, to try and then to do a review on them. Here's some history on the product first...



The sauce is named after it’s creator Country Bob Edson. Country Bob perfected his sauce recipe in 1968. After giving his sauce away to friends and family for years, he started selling it in 1977. The company describes the results as overwhelming. Country Bob’s Sauce was an instant hit! The company says that people who try the sauce become lifelong users. After we tried the sauce - we couldn't agree more!!! It's even wonderful straight out of the bottle!!!

We first used the sauce on Brats that we put on the grill! They were so awesome! I'm just sad we didn't get a photo of that. (We were too busy gobbling them up!)

Now for the next recipe...

Country Bob's Baked Beans

2 cans pork and beans
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs. Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce (or may substitute Spicy)
3 Tbs. dark syrup
1 small onion

Mix all ingredients in a 2 qt. casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Serves: 4-6


The Baked Beans were a little too sweet for my tastes, but that had nothing to do with the sauce! In fact, once on my plate I needed to pour a little more sauce over my beans to take away from the sweet. I would definitely use this sauce in baked beans again - I might just look for another recipe that has less sugar.

In case you didn't figure it out yet - we highly recommend Country Bob's!!! We are using this sauce again this weekend on some burgers!!! I can't wait!!! This sauce really is wonderful!!! You have to give it a try! Here's their website if you need to find a store location where they sell it, or if you just want to know about their other products they sell! Check out who their CEO is - I love Country Bob's even more!!!

I love La Madeleine`s

La Madelieine's is one of my favorite places to eat. I never go without getting their Strawberries Romanoff! I love it so much that I found a copy-cat version years ago and I've been making it at home ever since. Here's their website to find a location near you! I hope you all have a Blessed Easter today!!!

Strawberries Romanoff

1 cup strawberries, hulled and rinsed
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon brandy

Just before serving, rinse berries and trim stems with a paring knife. Mix remaining ingredients and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes.

Mmm, Mmm, Mmmmm.....

We made a Beef Tenderloin for Christmas dinner, and had a lot of port wine left over. No1Here was about to pour the rest out before I stopped him. I convinced him I could find a really good recipe to use up the rest. And boy did I ever!!! If you make this recipe you'll feel like you've died and gone to Heaven!!! It's that good!!! I originally found it on AllRecipes but modified it to fit our tastes!!! Man, this is truly wonderful!!! It's also very quick and easy but everyone will think you've been slaving in the kitchen all day. Let me know if you give it a try, you won't be sorry...

Portobello Mushroom Sauce

1/4 cup butter
8 oz. portobello mushrooms, diced
1 1/2 cups port wine
2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms; cook and stir until tender. Stir in the wine, bring to a good rolling boil and let the liquid reduce by 1/2. Stir in cream, bring back to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Keep stirring until the sauce becomes a thick gravy. Stir in the basil just before serving.

*Port wine is very strong and pretty sweet. If you have correctly reduced by 1/2 there should be no sweetness to this - only a very rich flavor!!!

*You can serve this over pasta or over steak!!!

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Turkey leftover??

Tonight I made Turkey enchiladas and they were awesome! So, if you have any turkey leftover from Thanksgiving this is the recipe for you!!

I used this recipe for the enchilada sauce: Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce

**the only thing I changed was the amount of chili powder...because my family doesn't like spicy stuff I cut the amount in half. And, I didn't have their brand of chili powder but it worked out just fine.

So, here's the recipe....soooo simple but sooo divine!!
*Ten minute enchilada sauce
*8 corn tortillas
*turkey meat, chopped, about 2 cups
*shredded cheddar cheese

After I chopped my turkey meat I put it in a bowl and added a little bit of the enchilada sauce to make it a little moist. Next, I heated my corn tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds in some wet paper towels. So, I filled a tortilla with a spoonful of the turkey and topped with a little cheese then placed it seam side down in a glass dish. Continue until all the meat is gone then pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the filled tortillas and top with more cheese. Heat in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. And chow down!! Promise you won't be disappointed!

** I'd like to know if you have any good recipes for leftover Thanksgiving turkey as well!!

Texas Red Gold...

Have you ever seen this bottle in your local grocery store? If not, they also sell it in gourmet shops and online! This Chipotle Sauce is a Big-Time favorite down here in Texas!!! One way we all love to eat it is over a block of cream cheese and we use crackers to dig in with. This appetizer is always found at baby showers, bunko, or any other reason we all gather together. If you're interested in trying other recipes with this bottle of goodness - go to www.roastedraspberry.com


My Sister-in-Law has very picky eaters in her house and she says they all LOVE this recipe! Thanks Kim for sharing it with us! I can't wait to try it!!!! yummmm....

Raspberry Chipotle Glazed Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloin
4 Tbs. Cajun rub
1/2 Cup of raspberry chipotle sauce
2 Tbs. of grapeseed oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season pork tenderloin with Cajun rub. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. During the last ten minutes, add the glaze on top of the tenderloin. Enjoy!

*** My Sister-in-law found that they like to use the thinner chops, instead of the tenderloin, because they hold the flavor the best. They get the large family pack. Since they are so thin, they tend to eat more! If you choose to use this same method - then bake the same but take out after 20 minutes!

prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6

We ate at...

the other night and it was the BOMB!!! OMGosh, it was soooo good!!!! I had the Stuffed Sopapilla filled with Fajita Steak meat, beans, and cheese. It was topped with their Ranchero sauce!!! Now I can't quit thinking about that Ranchero sauce!! I've been searching all over the web trying to find a copycat recipe. If you have found it - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE send it to me!!!! I promise I'll love you forever!!! ;) The only one I could find today was from Sustenance...


Ranchero Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups vegetable broth
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces tomato paste (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Melt the butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the next 6 ingredients and sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and tomato sauce and cook until sauce starts to thicken, stirring frequently. Taste and season the sauce with salt. If you prefer a more "tomato-y" sauce, stir in the 4 ounces of tomato paste (1/2 a small can). Cook for about 15 more minutes. If the sauce is too thick, you may add a little bit of water to thin it out. Stir in cilantro.




If any of you have eaten at Chuy's, you know they are famous for their Jalapeno Ranch dip that they serve with their tortilla chips. Here's a recipe I found for that from the Lubbock online newspaper...

JALAPENO LIME SAUCE

(Yield: 31/2 to 4 cups)

3 cups commercial Ranch dressing

1/4 cup roasted green chilies

1/4 cup pickled or marinated jalapeno chilies

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 bunch fresh cilantro

1/2 Roma tomato, diced

1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Chill and use as a salad dressing or dip for tortilla chips.