Irish Chicken and Dumplings

When it comes to Dumplings, there are several different types of dumplings you can insert into your soup.  There is the biscuit type of dumpling or there is the pasta dough version.  I've had both and they are both very good.  I was always under the impression that Dumplings were very difficult and time consuming.  I stumbled across this recipe and decided to give it a try.  It's very easy and an excellent source of comfort food.  One of my favorite meals to make in the winter are soups and stews.  This definately fits the bill.  I hope you will try this yummy recipe because you won't be disappointed.  My kids definately love this too!

Recipe:

Irish Chicken and Dumplings

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

One of our favorite meals has always been meatloaf.  I was afraid to make this for a long time after I married my husband because he went on about how his Mom's meatloaf was the best.  I was determined to find a middle ground.  I finally tried a recipe a couple years ago and he was pleased with it.  Ever since, I've played with different recipes.  Last night I tried a new recipe and it was both sweet and savory!  My husband said it was definately a repeat!  Enjoy

Brown Sugar Meatloaf Recipe:

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Crock-Pot Wassail

Growing up, my mother always made a special hot drink at Christmas. It is also mentioned in some iconic Christmas Carols as well. Wassail.  We have all heard it but has everyone tried it?  This year, I wanted to try a new recipe for my favorite holiday drink. I followed the recipe but instead of Apple Juice, I substituted it for Apple Cider.  It gave it a more holiday flavor! What's nice about this hot drink, is that you can keep it kid friendly or make it into an adult drink by adding Rum.  My Sister-In-Law tried it for the first time this year and drank several cups.  What's nice is, you can keep it in the crock-pot till it's all gone.  This morning, I had some leftover juice I used to make this and decided to add it to the left over Wassail I still had in my crock-pot.  This would be a great drink to make for a New Years Party as well!  Enjoy!

Recipe:

Crock-Pot Wassail

Leftover Prime Rib Stroganoff

Sometimes I choose recipes out of necessity.  I had leftover Prime Rib from Christmas Dinner and hunted down a recipe that would allow me to use my leftovers.  This recipe was actually very easy compared to your traditional Beef Stroganoff!  It was very creamy and went well with Egg Noodles.  The only thing I would change would be to add more of a beef flavor.  It just lacked that pronounced  "beef" flavor and that is the only way I can describe what was missing.  It was a kid pleaser too.  Both of my kids wolfed it down! 

Here is the recipe:

Prime Rib Stroganoff

Christmas Breakfast

Every year for Christmas since I can remember, we always had a big breakfast.  My Mom and I would be in the kitchen for a couple days before Christmas baking coffee cakes, cookies and pies for Christmas day.  It's no surprise that when I had a family of my own, I carried on the same tradition.  This year I tried some new recipes for Breakfast.  One of my favorite chefs is Ree Drummond from Pioneer Women series on Food Network.  I have all of her cookbooks and I watch all her shows.  I enjoy her cooking style, colorful cookbooks with pictures of every step of the cooking process and her family friendly attitude.  I tried two of her breakfast dishes this year.

The first dish I tried was her Baked French Toast.

It looks really good right?  It was very good and easy to make.  Sometime when you make breakfast foods, they can be very sweet.  This had a good balance of sweet and flavor.  This recipe was very easy to make.  Per her recommendation, I made it the night before and let it soak up the egg and cream mixture over night and then baked it on Christmas morning while everyone was opening up Christmas gifts.  There are some dishes that are just as good the second day and this is one of them.

The link for the recipe follows:

Baked French Toast 

The second dish I tried for Christmas breakfast was French Breakfast Puffs. 

Look at the outside coating.  These puffs were easy to make.  My 6 year old daughter helped me make the muffins and I did the Butter and Sugar coating because she had moved onto another recipe of her own.  She likes to pretend she is making a dish.  She will go through the pantry and pull a bunch of ingredients out and play with them.  The muffins for this dish weren't as sweet like your typical muffins however the outside made up for it ten fold.  While I enjoy sweets, the outside sugar coating was a little much for my personal liking however my children LOVED them a lot.  The muffins were nice and moist and the outside left a mess on your fingers.  It was a great muffin however just a little too sweet for my liking!  

The link for the recipe follows:

French Breakfast Puffs

Let's Try Something New Together

I wanted to start a new blog where I post new recipes and reviews.  It's no secret that I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes.  This year I want to try as many new recipes and give feedback so others can find something that works for them.  I have 2 children and a husband who like to eat!  I'm always using them as my testing subjects.  They are great food critics too!  It is hard to find food sometimes that children will eat.  There have been times where the kids don't like what I've made, so I ask that they try it and if they don't like it, to simply let it be.  My husband isn't real picky.  You put food in front of him and he will eat it.  However he will let me know if he likes it enough for a repeat or if he is just eating it to be polite.  I hope you will share in this food journey with me and that my feedback on recipes will be helpful to you the reader.  I will pull my recipes from online sources and cookbooks.  Happy Cooking!