Sticky Buns

My friend Carianne Herrick gave me a recipe for an overnight Sticky Bun.  This recipe is made with Rhodes frozen dinner rolls.  What could be easier than that?  There is a secret ingredient that makes these rolls just a little bit different.  It took me about 5 minutes to put the whole thing together.  Friday morning I got up early, popped them into the oven for 25 minutes and then sent them off to work with TJ.  He told me lastnight that everyone loved them!!  Thanks for a super easy recipe Carianne!  I know I will be using this when I have company in town!

Rum Cake

YEAH!!  I am finally over that nasty cold............thanks again for the chicken soup girls.  I really think that those soups were the cure!

Now, here is a new recipe.  Today I made an unbelievably yummy Rum Cake from Nancy Grinwald Sellman.  This cake may not be the prettiest thing out there, but I will vouch for the fact that it is VERY moist and VERY tasty and EXTREMELY easy to make!  Tom took a sliver of it, turned around got a plate and took a hug piece.  YUM.....YUM....YUM!  You all will really like this one when the book comes out.

 I must say, I had a very difficult time photographing this so that it would look as tasty as it is.  It has chopped pecans on the top and a rum glaze going down the sides.  Shortly before the cake is done you make a rum glaze on the stove.  When the cake comes out of the oven, pour the glaze over it while it is still in the bundt pan.  After 30 minutes take the cake and invert it onto a plate.  It didn't want to come out at first and then all of a sudden it fell onto the plate!  LOL 

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soups

I really do have the very best friends in the world.  Yesterday, two different friends brought me homemade Chicken Noodle Soup!  I don't have their recipes.......yet.........but I will!  I couldn't taste anything yesterday, but my family told me they both tasted awesome.  I can tell you that the textures of the soups were very similar!  LOL

Chris Roach had very large chunky vegetables in hers along with shredded chicken.  I absolutely loved the huge chunks of carrots.  She sent her noodles in a separate bag so they wouldn't get soggy.

Chris Czuczman had smaller chunks of vegetables, but huge chunks of chicken.  Her noodles were also in a separate bag.  All I know is it must have worked, today I can finally taste!  (Maybe it was also the Vicks nasal stuff and the Hall's drops!) 

Thanks for making me feel so much better girls!

UPDATE and Bobby Flay's New Mexican Soft Tacos

Sorry I have not been on for a few days.  We went away to Syracuse, New York to watch Marquette University play Syracuse University.  We were hoping for a win for Marquette, but it wasn't in the cards.  They lost by 4 points.  Unfortunately for me, I developed a cold while I was away and I can't taste a thing.  THEREFORE, I will not be cooking any recipes until I can taste again!  LOL!  I do have a web address for you though.  Natalie Czuczman made this dinner for Trevor while she was home from school.  I had to make it the next day, my house smelled soooooo good!  It really is YUMMY! 

New Mexican-Style Soft Tacos with Hacked Chicken and Salsa Verde

Just click the link below if you want to make them!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/new-mexican-style-soft-tacos-with-hacked-chicken-and-salsa-verde-recipe/index.html

French Beans with Creme Fraiche

Yum, Yum, YUM!  These were so easy to prepare and gave the beans just a little extra flavor.  This is a cold bean salad made with fresh beans and cherry tomatoes.  It is supposed to have fresh basil, but I couldn't find any so I just used dried basil.  I can't wait to try this again in the summer when there is an abundance of fresh basil.....I know it will have a totally different flavor. 

The dressing is made from shallots, fresh basil, creme fraiche, honey and salt.  If you have never had creme fraich, you can usually find it with the dairy products or in the cheese department.  It comes in a little bottle and is a pasteurized cream product.

You finish off this dish with some toasted pine nuts. 

Marinated Lamb Chops

Hey, I learned something new today thanks to Nancy Sellman!  She sent me this recipe for lamb chops and they specifically asked for "Frenched Lamb Chops".  I googled it...........don't you just love the internet..............and there was an actual video on how to french lamb chops.  Luckily the chops I bought already came that way..........WHO KNEW!  Basically frenching the lamb chops is taking the meat off of the top to expose the bone...........it looks very pretty! 

When we are out in a restaurant, Tom will order rack of lamb.  I go for the seafood or chicken.  I am not a lamb person, but my husband is. I can take it or leave it. I had bought this tiny rack of lamb for $16.00. It had 8 little chops in it. I was determined to give it a try.  I knew my husband would eat it!  Nancy sent it to me, she liked it so maybe I will!  The rule in my house is, "You at least have to try it.  If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."  I tried it and..................I LIKED IT!  I actually ate two!  Tom is eating his third as I write!  Thanks Nancy for sending me something new to try.  I have NEVER made lamb and my husband couldn't have been more thrilled.  I will probably make this again sometime...........maybe for Tom's birthday!

Corn Casserole

Today is all about comfort food!  Kim Carlson sent me a recipe for Corn Casserole.  Easy to make and really delicous.  (Once we figured out the proper amount of butter to add!)  Are all of you related to Julia Child or do you have stock in your local butter company?  LOL, anyway, the family loved this.  Thanks Kim!  (Did you finish getting your water on your ice rink in your backyard?  Tell you husband thanks for being the middle man in my recipe prepartaion today!)

Chicken Stuffed Shells

I got this recipe from my neighbor Margie Linton.   These are jumbo shells stuffed with a chicken and Stove Top stuffing mixture.  Not too many ingredients, therefore extremely easy to prepare.  It did take an hour to cook in the oven in a 9 x 13 pan, but it was well worth the wait.  Tom says Margie can make this for him anytime...........or I can!

Turkey Ring!!!

I finally have a minute to myself.........literally a minute!  I have to go to a fundraiser.  Here is the picture of the turkey ring I promised you.  My friend Patti Jankowski makes this and it is so easy and VERY TASTY!  It is a great thing of a party or just to do with leftover Thanksgiving turkey!

Turkey Ring .... tomorrow

Sorry I have not been on the last two days..........life kind of got in the way, nothing big, just daily stuff and scrapbooking!  I did make a Turkey Ring that was really wonderful.  I will write more about it and post the picture sometime tomorrow...........I AM SCRAPBOOKING ALL DAY TODAY!!!!  Have to run.  See you tomorrow!

Caramel Puff Corn

You are in for a treat today...........and I mean A TREAT!  This extremely easy recipe came from my sister Karen Sommerfeld.  It is so easy and soooooo tasty!

I actually made this late last night.  TJ came home from work and tasted it.   Today, he took most of it to work today and it didn't take long for it to disappear.  This would be great at a party or to take on a rode trip. (Don't look at the calories!   Just say to yourself............THIS TASTES SOOOOO GOOD!)

Herb Spahgetti

Scott Reeves sent this one, and it was another hit in the Burke household!  This recipe uses a lot of butter........did I say a lot?.....I meant A LOT!  I ended up doubling the mushrooms, chives, garlic, celery, basil, and green onions.  I did not add more butter, I didn't think it needed it.  It tasted delicious just the way it was.  You get to sprinkle on parmesan cheese............as much as you want!  Don't you just love when you get to do that?

I love the flavor of mushrooms and am highly addicted to truffle oil.  I did add some truffle oil to it to boost the flavor of the mushrooms.  Truffle oil is about $7.00 or $8.00 for a very small bottle, however, it lasts forever.  You really don't need to add much to add the flavor.  A couple of drops goes a long way!  I was first introduced to Truffle oil at a Wolfgang Puck cooking class in Orlando.  The teacher had us try a mushroom ravioli and then we added just a drop of truffle oil.  What a difference in the mushroom flavor.  It was amazing!

Mussels in Black Bean Sauce

This was a first for me.  I love clams........oysters..........and even mussels........HOWEVER, I have never cooked them!  LOL  It was a piece of cake to make this recipe.  I was a little worried, but my fears melted away when I dusted off my steamer and dropped those little babies in!  They opened right up!  The recipe called for garlic, but did not give me a measurement...........so I just threw in a clove.  I wasn't sure I would find the black bean sauce that this recipe called for, but after a little searching in the Asian section of my market I found it.  It was quite a find.  I could see using this in a lot of different Asian recipes.  I also had a hard time finding a fresh red chili pepper, so I just used a dried Japanese red pepper.  (Watch out for those babies, they are hot!)   Lesia's recipe for Mussels in Black Bean Sause was a success.  Tom, Tanner and I loved this. 

The recipe didn't have me serve it over anything.  I suppose you could just eat them as is, but we ate them over noodles.

Karen's Placek

Placek was the recipe for today.  It was given to me by my friend Karen Harris.  This bread is very sweet and a Polish tradition around here..... I just love tradition.  She told me to cook it about 45 to 60 minutes, but it took the whole 60 minutes.  I probably could have cooked it just a little bit longer.....only because....... I REALLY need a NEW OVEN!  My oven tends to have a mind of it's own sometimes!  It did cook and it was DELICIOUS!  Thanks Karen!

Maidrites

I picked this recipe up from Dorothy Cranston.........my sister-in-laws mother.  We had stopped by their farm house in Iowa and she graciously made us lunch at the drop of a hat.  One of the things she servcd were these Maidrites.  They are very similar to a Sloppy Joe and extremely easy to make at a moments notice.  When the cookbook comes out, I think this will be one that is used quite often!!!  For now you will just have to enjoy the picture!

Ukrainian Christmas Dinner Finale!

Well, all I can say is I might have to make this a tradition in my family.  There is so much cooking involved for this 12 course meal, but it is WELL worth it.  The first thing we made was Mushroom Filling..............it goes a long way and is absolutely DELICIOUS.  You could bath in it!  LOL  This was the base for quite a few things we made.  It was the filling for the Vushka "Little ear dumplings", added to the Pisni Holubtsi (Meatless Cabbage Rolls), added to the Borscht (Beet Soup) and was also made into a gravy which could be used on just about everything!  We even tried it on crackers!  We also made varenyky (potato dumplings)...YUM!

                                                      

      We did a lot of chopping!

This is the mushroom mixture cooked down.

                                 
                                 These are the Vushka (Mushroom Dumplings).

     Natalka and Trevor helped make the Varenyky!

More chopping for the Borscht!

  Time out for Natalka and Trevor to make a few snowmen.

                  The Borscht with the Vushka.

  This is the Pisni Holubtsi (Meatless Cabbage roll) with a side of varenyky (Potato filled dumplings) and the mushroom gravy that is to die for!  We also added a little sour cream and some sauted onions.

Ukrainian Christmas Dinner

You are all in for a treat when you get to make and taste today's recipes!  I am at my friend Chris Czuczman's. We are celebrating Ukrainian Christmas!  Traditionally this is a twelve course meal........course one for us was a glass of wine!!!  LOL, We even had Chris's daughter Natalka and my son Trevor help out making the vushka and varenyky!  For those of you who don't know Ukrainian, they are little mushroom or potato filled dumplings..........YUMMY!  When I get home I will write more about this and the other things we made as well as post some photos! Can't wait for dinner.....................

Orgas Mac and Cheese

I have decided to make another cookbook. The first one I made was an actual scrapbooked cookbook for my side of the family. There was a page for each person, pictures of them and their recipe along with a photo of the finished product. The second book was for Tom's side of the family and had a few pictures of people, but consisted mostly of the submitted recipe and a picture of the finished product.

My newest cookbook is going to have all the recipes from my sisters and friends. I already have a few recipes and today I made the first one! Scott sent me a recipe for Famous Orgas Mac and Cheese........also known as Heart Attack Mac! All I can say is that it was DELICIOUS! How could it not be with all that cheese and butter. Well, after I make a full recovery and am released from the hospital, I will make another recipe and let YOU know all about it! (Just kidding about the hospital thing....................I survived eating it JUST FINE!)