The Supermom Chef

My dad is a huge cherry dessert fan. Every time I think of him eating a cherry dessert, I am reminded of a hilarious story my mom once shared with me. She was pregnant with my big brother and had been put on bed rest due to hypertension. It was my parent’s first anniversary and although she was on bed rest, she really wanted to make my dad something special. So she decided she’d make one of his favorites, cherry pie. After dinner, he had a slice and then later on that night he decided he wanted another slice, went in the kitchen to fix it, and a mouse was sitting there eating the pie straight out of the dish. Can you imagine? All that work and risking going into labor only to have a little mouse ruin it all for you? I am sure she was furious at the time, but hearing the story now always make me laugh.

This isn’t a cherry pie, but I can promise you that it’s every bit as delicious. And it’s just about one of the simplest desserts you could ever make. I like to make this at family gatherings, just for my dad because I know how much he loves cherry desserts.

Yep, you’ll only need a few things. I’m a simple girl like that.

Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour the can of cherry pie filling over the bottom of the dish. It probably won’t be enough to cover the entire bottom of the dish…just keep moving. Trust me here. It’s gonna be delicious! Then spread the pineapple over the top of the cherries. And don’t you even THINK about draining that pineapple. The juice adds to the flavor and moistness of the dessert!

Now sprinkle the cake mix over the fruit. You’re probably gonna be thinking, “That Mandy girl is crazy! This dish is gonna be way too dry!” But again…trust me! Then cut the butter into small pieces and put the chunks on top of the cake mix. Sprinkle the nuts all over the entire dish.

Now bake that baby at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with a big scoop of ice cream, if you like it that way.

You know you want some…

Now somebody come on over to my house and help me eat this yummy treat! I am the only one in my house that eats cherries and I DO NOT need to eat the entire dish myself.

Lazy Man’s Cherry Cobbler

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple

1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling

1 butter recipe or yellow cake mix

1 1/2 stick butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pie filling in the bottom of the dish; top with the crushed pineapple (undrained). Sprinkle the cake mix over the fruit. Cube butter into small pieces and place evenly on the top of the cake mix; top with chopped pecans. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

Not many people nowadays are lucky enough to meet their great grandparents but I was. Actually, if I remember right I knew four of mine and treasured each and every second I had with them. I remember them so fondly, in such loving ways. Well this recipe reminds me of one of them…my great grandfather. He was such a kind, sweet old man. He was a carpenter and had the most amazing shop. I remember going over to visit him, and always sharing a ginger ale with him. And he always let us play with his old lawn mower, the kind with open blades that was completely manual and spun around in circles as you pushed it. He was a doll, and this was one of his favorite desserts. I can still see him sitting in the beautiful antebellum type house that I grew up in, right in the center of small town Mississippi, waiting for his slice of dessert pizza.

So it turns out my hubby likes this dessert too, and since Valentine’s was last week I decided to make him one. Aren’t I sweet? I like to use kiwi, strawberries, and blueberries on my dessert pizza to make it extra colorful, but since this was for him (picky eater) and it was Valentine’s I stuck to just raspberries and strawberries. I think it turned out pretty cute, considering how fast I threw it all together. I think my hubby enjoyed his Valentine treat as much as I enjoy spending every day with him, my high school sweetheart. Awww!!!

You’ll need these items (and the fruit you choose to use). Keep grimy little kid fingers away from the cookie dough or they’ll eat it all before you can cook it! Okay, okay you caught me! I ate a good bit myself!

Shape the cookie dough (store bought – GASP!!!) into the pan. I would normally either use a round pizza stone, or simply a flat rectangle stone but shaped this particular “pizza” into a heart for my Valentine. Keep in mind that the cookie will expand and rise as it cooks so make it smaller than you’d like it once it finishes cooking.

Mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. You’ll have to use your imagination for this step because, like I said, I was pressed for time making this and forgot to take the dang photo for you. It’s not rocket science though to mix it, so I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Spread it across the cooled cookie, and top accordingly with washed and sliced fruit. Excuse the awful photo please…have I mentioned I was short on time when I was making this?

You can even tell yourself this is good for you. After all, it’s topped with fruit, right?

Fruit Pizza

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 package refrigerated cookie dough

Spread cookie dough on desired pan (baking sheet, baking stone, or pizza pan will work well). Cook according to package directions. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Spread on cooked & cooled sugar cookie. Top with fruit for garnish; keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

My husband is EXTREMELY picky when it comes to his salsa. At every Mexican restaurant we go to, he has some complaint about their salsa. It’s either too chunky, has too many onions, isn’t salty enough, etc. Well for Christmas last year I bought myself a food processor. Hard to believe that as much as I cook I’ve never had a food processor, isn’t it? Well, since I finally got one I could finally make Matt some salsa that he (hopefully) would like. Let me just tell you that not only does he love this salsa, but he loves it so much that he gets grumpy if there isn’t any in the refrigerator when he wants some. It’s THAT good! And the best part about it is that it makes a whole lot, and you can make it as chunky or thin as you like it! I know a lot of you have been waiting on this particular recipe for a while now, so without holding out on you any longer, here it is!

Restaurant Style Salsa

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes with juice

2 (10 oz) cans Rotel

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole jalapeno, quartered & sliced thin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup cilantro (or more to taste)

juice of one whole lime

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

Recipe from: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/restaurant-style-salsa/

Raise your hand if you are the type of cook that likes to just throw a couple of items in a pot, turn the button to on, and walk away knowing you’ll come back to a delicious, home cooked meal? ME ME ME! Don’t get me wrong, I am one of those people that absolutely LOVES to cook too, but some days I just don’t feel up to it. Those are the days that I go back to this staple in my cookbook. Every single time I make this delicious pork, the kids stand beside me begging for samples as I’m shredding the pork. It’s THAT good! This would be the perfect meal to drop in the crock pot, go to work, and come home to knowing your whole family will love it! I can’t even begin to describe how tender it is, you just have to try it for yourself to be sure.

Yep, only need three little items. Trying to go low-cal these days? Substituting diet drinks work just as well!

Pour the BBQ sauce and soft drink into a medium-sized crock pot or slow cooker.

Whisk ’em together for a second or two to combine.

Cut the netting off the pork, and drop it right into the mixture. Turn over once, so that it’s all coated.

Set that slow cooker to “HIGH” and go do your thing (whatever that may be) for 8 hours. Come back home to this delicious stuff!

When you go to take the pork out, it’s so tender it basically shreds itself. Or you can help it along by using a fork like I did above. Toast some buns, and serve as sandwiches if that’s what you like. We do!

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

1 (3-4 lb.) pork shoulder roast

1 (18 oz) bottle Barbecue sauce

1 (12 oz) can cola flavored soft drink

In a medium sized slow cooker, add barbecue sauce and soft drink. Whisk together until well combined. Add pork, turning to coat all over with barbecue sauce. Cover and cook on HIGH 8 hours or until meat is tender and shreds easily. Serve on warmed hamburger buns, if desired.

Note: It seems like the barbecue flavor tends to cook out of the sauce by the end of the eight hours, so I usually remove the pork, serve on buns, and top with fresh barbecue sauce from the bottle.

Quite a catchy name, don’t ya think? I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t enjoy a good pork tenderloin. It’s one of the easiest meats in this world to cook, after all. It’s cooks quickly, and is just so tender and juicy. And to top it off, it’s not all that expensive. It’s a little pricier than most cuts of pork, but if you compare it to other meats it’s not bad at all. I like to buy mine in bulk (packages of four) at Sam’s, take those babies home, separate and vaccum seal them, then throw them in the freezer. I can feed my family of five off of just one tenderloin. And they LOVE pork! Everyone wins!

This recipe comes from a long-time friend named Brandon, from back in my home town. He grew up in my sister’s grade in the very small school that we all went to, so everyone knew everyone. I am not sure if his talent for the culinary world was so prominent back then, but it seems now that it is! He has shared several recipes with me and all of them are exceptional! And I love any person that’s willing to share recipes! My family thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to having more recipes from Brandon (hint, hint!) to share with all of you.

Now, before you go complaining, I realize this recipe may LOOK very intricate, but trust me it’s not. It comes together very quickly and is not difficult at all. I just made sure to take pictures of every step so that you all could follow along easily. Trust me, just make it…you won’t be sorry!

We start with these

Take out your pork tenderloin and clean that baby up, cut off that silverskin and cut off any visible fat.

Butterfly the tenderloin by cutting midway through the pork tenderloin, from the side. I’m sure there’s a more technical way to explain this, but being just a home cook you’ll have to go by my not-so-easy-to-understand-directions. You’ll end up with something like this.

Top the tenderloin with a piece of plastic wrap, and use a meat mallat to flatten out the pork. You want the pork to end up about the size of a sheet of notebook paper, and about 1/2″ thick.

Sprinkle the pork generously with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Top with a layer of the proscuitto

Followed by a layer of the parmesan cheese (use the real, good stuff…not that sprinkly stuff out of a can)

Roll up, jelly-roll fashion; brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle the outside with salt and more freshly ground black pepper.

Secure with butcher’s twine by wrapping around the pork at about 1″ intervals. I didn’t have any twine on hand, and me being the cheapo that I am wasn’t gonna go buy some just for this so I just secured mine with toothpicks.

In a stainless steel skillet (don’t use nonstick; you want a good sear), sear the pork tenderloin.

Make sure to turn the pork occassionally, you want to give all sides a really good sear. That holds the juices IN the pork, rather than allowing them flow out.

Now pop that little piggy in the oven, and bake at 350 degrees F. I added a little chicken broth to my pan, but that wasn’t directed by Brandon. It’s all in how you like to do things!

Bake until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F.

Now we’re gonna make a pan sauce using these ingredients. If you don’t have these, it’s completely okay! The pork (in my opinon) was absolutely delicious without the pan sauce. But if you DO have the ingredients, the sauce is delicious so give it a try!

Remove the pork to a plate or serving platter, and return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Pour about 1/2 cup of the chicken broth into the pan, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spoon. You want to pick up all those little bits stuck to the pan, that’s where the flavor is! Add a tablespoon or two of butter, and allow that to melt. Then add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream. Allow to simmer for a short while until thickened somewhat.

Return the pork to the pan and allow to sit in the sauce until ready to cut and serve.

And here’s of photo of the pork, showing all of the yummy goodness rolled up inside!

Double P Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin

1 small package prosciutto

1 small chunk fresh parmesan cheese

salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup chicken broth (or stock)

1-2 tablespoons butter

olive oil, for brushing pork

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a very sharp knife, clean pork by removing silver skin and cutting away visible fat; butterfly the tenderloin. Top the tenderloin with a small piece of plastic wrap and, using a meat mallat, flatten the pork to about 1/2″ thick. Sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper. Top the flattened pork with a layer of prosciutto, followed by a layer of parmesan cheese chunks. Roll up jelly-roll fashion and secure using butcher’s twine around tenderloin at about 1″ intervals. In a large stainless steel skillet (do not use non-stick as you will not get a good sear) over medium-high heat, sear the pork tenderloin on all sides. Place the seared pork in the oven and bake until the internal temperature reaches 150 F. Remove the pork from the skillet and place on a plate or platter; cover with foil. Using the same skillet over medium-high heat, pour the chicken broth into the pan, scraping the bottom to remove the bits stuck on the bottom (this is called “deglazing” the pan), add the butter and cream. Simmer for a short while, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly. Return the pork to the pan and keep warm until ready to serve.

I am probably the world’s BIGGEST chocolate chip cookie fan on the planet. I could literally live off of them, and I go into withdrawals if I go longer than a couple days without one. Due to this serious addiction of mine, I’m always making fresh cookies (from scratch, of course) to ease the cravings and sharing my yummy goodies with everyone. Well, recently my mom was diagnosed with a disease that gets worse if you eat chocolate…OHMYGOODNESS I would die! But being the sweet, lovely, perfect, adoring daughter that I am *wink, wink* I came up with this recipe and made her some yummy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies to eat while I was eat my traditional chocolate chip ones. Yep, I did say I made her “white chocolate cookies”, but before you want to think I’m just being hateful, you should know that the white chocolate is actually okay to eat because white chocolate, believe it or not, isn’t actually chocolate at all. That’s right! So she can eat all of these that she wants and not have to worry about all those awful dizzy spells! She loved them and I’m sure that you will too!

Yada, yada, yada…you know the drill! Get out your ingredients people and fire up your ovens!

Melt the butter, and allow to cool slightly. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and both sugars until smooth.

Blend in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Be sure to stop every so often and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, careful not to spray the entire kitchen with flour. Remove the mixing bowl and stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips by hand.

If you absolutely, positively cannot stand it, you can bake your cookies at this point. But by refrigerating the dough, you’ll allow your dough time to firm up some and therefore they won’t spread as much while baking. Either way you go, they’re gonna be delicious though! I bake mine on parchment paper lined baking sheets until they look ALMOST done.

Then I take them out and allow them to sit on the baking sheet for about 3-4 minutes to finish baking. Remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 (12 oz) bag white chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt butter and allow to cool. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together butter and both sugars until smooth. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla until well combined. Be sure to stop and scrape the sides often so that all ingredients are mixed well. Gradually add the dry ingredients until the mixture is completely mixed and smooth. Remove bowl from mixer, and by hand, stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until they are distributed throughout the entire dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet with a cookie or ice cream scoop and bake until ALMOST done. Remove from oven and allow to rest on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm or room temperature.

This recipe is yet another that is somewhat of a mixture of several recipes that I liked, but I kicked them up another level by adding my own twists. This is probably one of my absolutely FAVORITE dips of all time. No traditional Mexican layered dip comes close to the flavor that you get out of this yummy recipe. And what better time to post this delicious treat than at the Super Bowl? If any recipe fits my criteria for being Super Bowl-friendly, this is it! I’ll be making this dip on Sunday for our family that is coming over to watch the game. Will you?

Oh, and yet again I only have a final photograph instead of progressive photos. I made this dip at rush-hour when I was also preparing dinner as well, and with three kids up under my feet. I ended up with so few photos that I decided it would be silly to just post the couple of photos I had so this is what you’re stuck with for today. I promise to do better next time!

Don’t you wanna taste of this cheese goodness?

Layered Tex-Mex Dip

1 (16 oz) can refried beans

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (freshly grated is best)

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

1 Roma tomato, seeded & chopped

2 green onions, sliced (green parts only)

snipped fresh Cilantro, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a spatula, spread refried beans over the bottom of a medium-sized baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, taco seasoning, and lime juice. Spread evenly on top of beans. Top with a layer of olives, tomatoes, and green onions. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with freshly snipped Cilantro and serve warm with tortilla chips.

Recipe adapted from two Pampered Chef recipes, Touchdown Taco Dip and Chili Verde Dip

OHMYGOODNESS! If you love the ever-popular peanut butter/chocolate combo as much as I do, then these little bars of heaven are for you. I found this recipe one day while at my moms house. When I’m over there I usually pull out some of her old cookbooks and go through them while we chat. When I saw the list of ingredients on this recipe, I knew right away we’d BOTH be in love (she harbors my same love for the popular combo). I adapted this recipe quite a bit to suit our particular tastes from what I believe was a Southern Living recipe originally, although I can’t be sure. Either way, just know that this is one of those recipes you’ll want to bookmark, because you’re going to be coming back to it over and over and over and over, well…you get the point!

Here’s most of my favorite foods on this earth

Start by melting the butter in a large, microwave safe dish. While that’s melting, crush the cookies. Mix the two together well.

Press the cookie mixture into a 9×13″ baking dish that has been lined with aluminum foil (trust me, it’ll make it easier to get them out). Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

While that’s cooking, chop up your candy into small pieces. Here are my Butterfingers!

Mix together all of the candy pieces, semi-sweet chips, and roasted peanuts.

Pour over the crust and spread evenly. In the same bowl you used for the candy (why wash three dishes when you only have to wash one?), mix together the sweetened condensed milk (yum), vanilla, and peanut butter. Try to act like an adult and NOT indulge in this delicious, heavenly milky mixture spoon by spoon like I did. Pour over the candy pieces and spread evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees until the top is crusty and golden, usually about 20-25 minutes.

Oh yeah baby!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Paradise Bars

1 (16 oz) package Nutter Butter cookies, crushed

1 stick butter, melted

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, your choice)

14  pack-a-snack size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped

6 fun size Butterfinger candy bars, chopped

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large microwavable bowl, melt butter. Add crushed Nutter Butter cookies; mix together well and spread into a foil-lined 9×13″ baking dish. Bake for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together chopped candies, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and peanuts. Spread evenly over baked crust. In a medium bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla. Pour over the candy and crust evenly. Bake until the crust is crusty and golden, about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool, remove from pan by lifting foil, and cut into squares.

We all know the big game is coming up this weekend, so I thought another dip recipe would be most appropriate for today’s post. Recipes for Jalapeno Popper Dip are floating all over the internet right now, but I have never found a recipe that suits my taste just right. So I put together all of the things that I liked about each recipe and came up with my own version of this ever-so-popular dip. What better time of year to make this dip than for the superbowl? Everyone loves jalapeno poppers but they are such a pain to make so this is my version of an easier, but still delicious substitute.

Last year was the best Super Bowl ever, in my opinion. My husband has been a Saint’s fan since back in the day when they were awful. He even had season tickets at one point, so seeing his team go so far and do so well was wonderful! This year is such a let-down because none of our favorite teams made it to the big game, but I know we’ll still be watching. I’ll be serving this dip, what ’bout you?

Oh, and I don’t have progressive photos of this recipe because I made it for my daughter’s birthday party this past weekend and was in such a hurry that I only have a final photo. Forgive me please.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

6 slices bacon

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 jalapeno poppers, seeded & chopped (or more, if you like)

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice bacon into small pieces, and saute over medium-high heat until crispy. Place on paper towels to drain and cool. Meanwhile, using one tablespoon of the remaining bacon grease, saute bell pepper and jalapeno pepper until tender. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, 1 cup Cheddar cheese, bacon, and peppers. Spread into a small baking dish. Top with the remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake until hot and bubbly; serve with corn chips.

Ohmygosh! This is one of my all-time favorite things to take to a gathering of friends. Everyone devours this dip, and I always leave with an empty bowl. The freshness of this salad is unbelievable, and on top of all that, it’s healthy too! This would be the perfect thing to take to a Super Bowl party! You can also double this recipe and serve it as a salad on the side of burritos or tacos. When my mom first made this salsa (this is her recipe), I was so sceptical of how it would taste since there was no oil in it, but I was blown away with the taste I got. It also lasts a long time in the fridge too, so you can eat on it for a while. Okay, I’ll shut up now, as long as you’ll promise me that you’ll make it soon!

You need these few ingredients:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, easy peasy!

Store in the fridge until ready to serve. (Sorry about the change in lighting…I made the salsa last night and took the above photo then, but took the following two photos today.)

Corn & Black Bean Salsa (or Salad)

1 (15.5 oz) can whole kernal corn, drained

1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed

2 plum tomatoes, seed & chopped (I leave these out)

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & chopped (leave the seeds in if you like yours spicier)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients; cover and chill until ready to serve. Great served as a salad or with tortilla chips for dipping.