Our Favorite Cole Slaw

We have made this recipe a couple of times for different events. The last time, was on Christmas Eve Eve, when we made the Crockpot Red Beans and Rice. It made a perfect side dish.

It is adapted from Bobby Flay's version. Basically, I just dont shred my own cabbage/carrots. I buy the bag from the grocery store. And I dont know what spanish onions are that he calls for, so I use green onions. :)

Our Favorite Cole Slaw

What You Need:

• 1 bag cole slaw mix (by the salads in your grocery store)
  
• 3/4 cup best-quality mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons grated Spanish onion (if you know what that is, or I use green onions)
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons celery salt
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

What You Do:

Combine the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery salt, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, and then add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine and taste for seasoning; add more salt, pepper, or sugar if desired.

Red Velvet Trifle

Well.. I would like to say that every new recipe I try, turns out JUST as I am planning. But that would be lying, if I did say that. This is a PERFECT example.

My husband, LOVES red velvet cake. And I figured that the color would make for a very festive and fun dessert. So I found a recipe for a red velvet bundt cake with cinnamon cream cheese glaze. I wasnt going to do the cinnamon cream cheese glave, I was going to do a peppermint cream cheese icing (I was going to put peppermint extract in a can of cream cheese icing=easy). I tend to lean towards bundt cakes, because they are easy and pretty. You put them in ONE pan and turn it over and voila, you have a cake. No stacking and icing 3 layers. Easy.

I have made bundt cakes OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER again.. I never have problems. Well.. of course, I had problems. Half of the bundt cake was stuck in the pan. UGH. I had to do some quick thinking, and decided that I could use my pretty trifle dish.. and maybe it would look like I PLANNED to make a trifle dish. :)

I decided I would toast some coconut. And do some layering... red velvet cake, drizzle of cream cheese icing, cool whip and toasted coconut. Pretty. And YUM! I am going to give you the recipe for the red velvet cake I made.. but obviously, you could make it even more easily and CHEAPER and just buy the boxed red velvet cake mix.

Red Velvet Trifle

What You Need (for the cake):
CAKE:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ounce red food coloring (use 2 ounces if you desire a deeper red color)

What You Do (for the cake):

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray bundt cake pan generously with cooking spray; then dust lightly with flour. (if you are turning into a trifle, i seriously think you can use any type of pan and adjust your cooking time)

2. With an electric mixer, blend butter and sugar in a large bowl; set aside.

3. Sift together flour and salt; set aside.

4. Mix the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda and vinegar in a separate bowl.

5. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture. Mix well after each addition.

6. In a small bowl, mix red food coloring and cocoa powder; add to the cake batter and mix just until combined.

7. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Baking time will vary based on the size of your pan.

8. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before turning bundt pan over onto rack to remove from the pan.

Additional Things You Need for the Trifle:
toasted coconut (put coconut in pan over medium heat until browned)
can of cream cheese icing (microwaved so it is more liquidy)
cool whip

What You Do:
Cube the cooled cake
Layer cake, drizzle of cream cheese icing, cool whip and coconut.
I was able to make 3 layers in my trifle dish.

PRETTY and YUMMY
cool whip

Nutella and Sea Salt Fudge

I dont know if I have ever mentioned this on the blog before.. but anything sweet with salt.. speaks my love language. Seriously. Chocolate with salt. Caramel with salt. YES. PLEASE.

And then a new discovery (I know its not actually new), and love= nutella.

Combine those yummy things.. and I knew this recipe had to be delicious. And I was right. Add to that, it was super duper easy... thats my kind of recipe.


Nutella and Sea Salt Fudge

What You Need:

• 1 Tablespoon Butter, For Greasing Pan
• 1 can (14 Oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 8 ounces, weight High-quality Bittersweet (60%) Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut Spread), Room Temperature
• 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces
• ½ teaspoons (approximately) Sea Salt

What You Do:

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with butter. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overlap on the sides.

In a medium glass or stainless steel bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, bittersweet chocolate chips, Nutella, and butter.

Form a double-boiler by setting the bowl over a medium pot of gently simmering water. The water level should be low enough that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is smooth, 5 to 7 minutes.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, spread the top smooth with a spatula, and sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate until the fudge is firm, at least 2 hours.

Once the fudge is chilled, run a knife under hot water, dry it off, and run it around the edges of the pan to loosen the fudge. Using the overhanging parchment paper, lift the fudge out. Peel off the parchment paper. Cut the fudge into 3/4-inch squares. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil.

Baked Tex Mex Pimento Cheese Dip

Another recipe, I made for Christmas Eve.... SO good. Thanks again, Pinterest for another yummy recipe.

Now, I know the name of this dip can turn some people off. Some people HATE pimento cheese. I think its the color. And people judge before actually trying. I LOVE it. It reminds me of my Memaw. She would buy pimento cheese from the grocery store, add alittle mayo and garlic. Oh. My. Gosh. SO good. SO good. So when I found this recipe, I knew we had to try it.

But it has NO pimentos. So its really not pimento cheese dip.. but regardless it is DE.LI.COUS!

Baked Tex-Mex Pimiento Cheese
inspired by Southern Living, January 2011

What You Need:

• 1/2cup mayonnaise
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature (reduced fat is fine)
• 3/4 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed, chopped finely
• 8 oz extra sharp cheddar, grated (about 2 cups)
• 8 oz Pepperjack cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup minced scallion (2-3 scallions)
• 1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• tortilla chips, for serving

What You Do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dip, reserving 1 tablespoon of each cheese for topping. Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon. Adjust seasonings if necessary, and spoon mixture into the baking dish.

Top with the reserved cheese and bake 20-25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Garnish with additional cilantro, and serve with tortilla chips.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

On Christmas Eve at my parents house, we had heavy appetizers before we went to church.

This is one dish that I brought. So so so yummy.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

What You Need:

24 good hawaiian dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
mayonaise

Poppy seed sauce (you probably could half this...I had plenty extra)
1 Tablespoon poppyseeds- I forgot to add this.. so its totally unnecessary.
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

What You Do:
Spread mayo onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

I am SO behind with recipes that we have tried and loved. I keep this food blog, mainly for my benefit so that when I am needing ideas for our family dinners, I can look back and see recipes that were successful.

I know that a few other people check this blog for ideas too, so I have been wanting to add pictures of the recipes that I try, and have had good intentions, but the next few that I add will not have any pictures.

We tried SO many new recipes over the holidays and the last thing on my mind was taking pictures of the food we were eating. But trust me, all of these were yuuuuuuumy!

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice (Southern Living)

What You Need:

• 1 pound dried red beans
• 7 cups water
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 pound andouille sausage, sliced- we just used the sausage that comes in the links...
• 3 tablespoons Creole seasoning
• Hot cooked rice
• Garnish: sliced green onions

What You Do:

1. Place first 8 ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker.
2. Cook, covered, at HIGH 7 hours or until beans are tender. Serve with hot cooked rice. Garnish, if desired.

Southern Living