The Supermom Chef

This dip is one of the easiest, most delicious dips I’ve had in a long time. It’s as simple as mixing together two things, spreading it in a dish, and sprinkling things over the top. As Ina would say, “How easy is that?” I first tasted this dip at our family reunion back in May, and have thought about it ever since. Once I decided to write this blog, I knew this recipe had to be featured on it. My cousin, Melanie, was kind enough to share her recipe with me so that I could then share it with all of you. The recipe didn’t call for it, but I added the green onions myself since I like my potatoes with the onions. Add any other items you’d normally eat on a potato, and it’s sure to be delicious. I know you’ll treasure this recipe from here on out just like I plan to. Enjoy!

A few of my favorite things:

In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and Ranch dressing mix.

Spread the mixture into the bottom of a serving dish. The size doesn’t really matter here…just whatever you have available. Sprinkle the mixture with the shredded cheese, bacon, and green onions. And it’s just that easy…it’s ready already!!!

I like to serve my dip with corn chips, but you can use whatever you prefer.

Loaded Potato Dip

1 (16 oz) container sour cream (light works fine)

1 envelope dry Ranch dressing mix

6 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

6 green onions, sliced thinly

8 ounces grated Cheddar cheese

In a small bowl, mix together sour cream and Ranch dressing mix. Spread into the bottom of your preferred serving dish. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese, bacon, and green onions. Serve with your choice of dippers.

I am a die-hard seafood lover, especially shrimp. I just can’t get enough of it! It almost killed me when I was pregnant and could only eat fish/seafood once a week. I would ask my doctor every single week if I could please have more seafood, praying he’d change his mind, but he never did. This pasta is one of those delicious meals that is so sinfully delicious it’ll make you feel guilty. The recipe made its way to me through my aunt, Doris Ann who got the recipe from a mutual friend. My cousin, Mary Brooke (Doris Ann’s daughter) would babysit for this friend of ours and would always rave about how delicious her seafood pasta was so I was anxious to try it. Boy am I glad that I finally got that chance during the holidays when Doris Ann had us over for dinner. I’ve changed it up slightly to suit our family’s taste, so you feel free to do the same. It’s fantastic so without holding out on you any longer, here’s the recipe!

Yummy stuff that you need

Cook the pasta of your choice. The original recipe calls for linguine, but our family prefers bowtie pasta (farfalle). Whatever floats your boat! When done, drain and keep warm. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook constantly, about two minutes. Add green onions, garlic, onion, bell pepper, and celery. Saute five minutes, or until tender.

Add bullion cube (crumbled), cream, shrimp, Rotel (I chop mine up so that there are no big chunks), creole seasoning, parsley, pepper, salt, and pasta. Stir all to combine well.

Serve with some crusty French bread, add a salad and you have a full meal that’s sure to be devoured quickly!

You’re craving shrimp pasta now, aren’t you? 😉

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

1 (12 oz) package pasta, choose the shape that you prefer

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 chicken bullion cube

2 pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked

1 can Rotel

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 teaspoons creole seasoning

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cook pasta, drain and keep warm. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook constantly, about two minutes. Add green onions, onion, garlic, bell pepper, and celery. Saute five minutes or until tender. Add bullion cube, cream, shrimp, Rotel, creole seasoning, parsley, pepper, salt, and cooked pasta. Stir all to combine well. Serve hot with fresh crusty French bread and a salad.

Lord help me, I am rendered completely weak when it comes to resisting these little treats. I bought the ingredients to make them back during the holidays, but with all that was going on somehow I forgot to actually follow through. So when I remembered I had all the stuff I just couldn’t help but make them. Forget the new year’s diet and I promise you won’t be sorry…you’ll enjoy every crumb of this gooey, delicious recipe. THAT is a promise!

Grab these items (Generic brands work great for this! I buy whatever is on sale that week.)

Mix together one egg, cake mix, and margarine. You can choose to do it the hard way, by hand, but I’m lazy and once again used my stand mixer.

Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish.

Now mix together your cream cheese, vanilla, remaining eggs, and powdered sugar. Yep, you guessed it, I was lazy again! My mixer worked great for this task too! The white chunks you see in the mixture are from not allowing my cream cheese to soften long enough. I couldn’t wait, I had to have these babies! It’s okay though, they still tasted the same and looked beautiful once they were cooked.

Pour on top of the crust mixture in the 9×13″ dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and set. Allow to cool before cutting into squares. If you happen to know of a way to make the task of cutting these cleaner, please let me know because I have never been able to do it neatly. Never stopped me from making them though!

Chess Squares

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 box butter recipe yellow cake mix

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar

1 stick margarine, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together one egg, cake mix, and margarine until crumbly. Spread onto a greased 9×13″ baking dish (glass, aluminum, whatever you have). Mix together cream cheese, 3 eggs, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and set. Allow to cool before cutting into small squares.

Do you ever have one of those days when you are in the grocery store, standing in the middle of the aisle and unable to think of anything at all to fix for dinner? This rarely happens to me because once a week I make a menu for my family and we pretty much stick to it throughout the week, but I do occasionally have those days. When that happens, the first thing that always pops into my head is these sandwiches. They are delicious, and there aren’t many things out there that are quicker to fix. Plus most of the items are things you already keep in your cupboard so you won’t be standing in the aisle even longer trying to think of what it is that you need to fix them. Just grab some hoagie buns, deli sliced roast beef, swiss cheese slices, and a packet of au jus mix and you’ll most likely have everything else at home.

You know the drill, this is what you need

Heat a large (NOT non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat. Place small amounts of the roast beef at a time in the skillet, and heat until warm. Notice in this photo how shiny the silver skillet is. I’ll explain why you want to pay attention to this later.

Once the meat in the pan is warm, remove to a plate and keep warm by covering it with foil. Continue cooking the roast beef in batches until done. I took this photo as I was fixing to remove the last of the roast beef from the pan. Notice how dark the skillet is now? All of those dark brown bits left on the bottom of the skillet are going to add so much flavor to your sauce!

Mix up your au jus mix according to the package directions and pour into the pan, loosening the bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as you go. Stir in the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, pepper, and garlic salt (if using). Allow the beef to simmer in the mixture for about 10 minutes.

Split your hoagie buns in half, and stack the roast beef inside. Top with one slice of swiss cheese. I usually cut each slice of cheese down the middle so that it fits better on the bun. Place in a preheated 425 degree (F) oven and allow to bake until the cheese is hot and bubbly and the buns are toasted. Obviously, this photo was taken as I was putting the buns into the oven not taking them out. I forgot to take a photo after I removed them. Sorry! You can also see in this photo that I just placed our buns on top of our tater tots (hey, even Supermom uses frozen food sometimes!) so that I didn’t have to mess up another dish.

Once heated, dress as you’d like and serve hot with the au jus for dipping. Trust me, you need the dip…it totally makes this sandwich!!!

French Dip Sandwiches

1 pound deli sliced roast beef

1 packet au jus mix (we prefer McCormick)

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

pinch of garlic salt (you can leave this out, if you’d like)

hoagie buns

sliced Swiss cheese

Place a large (not non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat. Place roast beef (in small batches) in the pan, allowing each slice to heat until hot. Remove to a plate covered in foil to allow the roast beef to stay warm while you cook the remaining beef. Prepare the au jus mix according to package directions. Pour the au  jus mix into the skillet, stirring with a spoon to loosen the brown bits stuck on the bottom. Stir in the garlic salt (if using), worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and pepper. Return the roast beef to the skillet and allow to simmer for a short while, about 10 minutes. Split hoagie buns and top with roast beef and a slice of Swiss cheese. Bake (open faced) in a 425 degree (F) oven until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Dress as desired; serve hot with the au jus for dipping.

As the mother of three children, I try to introduce as many different and healthy meals into my kid’s diet as possible. But no matter what I try, they’ll never like anything at all quite like they do fried chicken tenders. We don’t eat out anymore much (only once in the last two months), but when we did we would always ask the kids where they’d like to go. I’m not really sure why we ever bothered because no matter where they choose, they always chose the same items off the menu…chicken strips. So I guess my point is that every mom needs a handy, standby recipe for good ole kid-pleasin’ chicken strips. This one can be yours now!

You probably already have these items on hand.

 I usually like to use chicken tenders, but sent my sister to the store to pick the chicken up for this recipe. She said the tenders looked yuck at the store so she chose breasts instead and we just cut them into small pieces.

Heat your oil appropriately. I use a deep fryer that has settings on the side of it, and just set mine to the chicken setting. According to my fryer, the oil should be somewhere around 356 degrees F. Pay no attention to the setting I had it on for this photo…I cooked french fries (recipe to come later) to go along with the strips and had already changed the setting by the time I remembered to photograph the fryer. 

Pour about 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper into a small, shallow dish. In another dish about the same size, pour your milk and egg. Mix until well combined. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper…we forgot this step and you could tell. The chicken didn’t have enough flavor. Start by dunking the chicken into the flour mixture, making sure to cover the chicken entirely. Then dip the chicken into the wet mixture, followed by another dunk in the flour mixture.

Place on a plate or dish until your oil has risen to the appropriate temperature.

Drop individually into the hot oil, careful not to overcrowd the oil. Trust me, you don’t want to put too many in there at one time. That’s a recipe for disaster (and nasty chicken).

Give the basket (if you are using a fryer) a shake every few minutes so that the tenders don’t stick. Remove from the hot oil (being extremely careful…hot oil burns BAD!) and place onto a plate that is double lined with paper towels. This will help to drain off some of the excess oil/grease. If you’d like you can check the temperature of the tenders with a meat thermometer, but I’m and old fashioned kind of girl. I just use the old “floats when it’s done” test.

Serve hot to lots of hungry little kids…then you will be proclaimed the “Best chef in the whole wide world!” Or at least that’s what my kids say! I like to eat mine the grown-up way, served along side some Comeback Dressing for dipping. One of life’s little pleasures of being a Southerner!

Classic Fried Chicken Tenders

1 pound chicken tenders

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

additional salt & pepper, for sprinkling

Heat oil to about 356 degrees F. Meanwhile, place flour, salt, and pepper in a small shallow dish. Mix well to combine. In another small, shallow dish place milk and eggs. Mix this well to combine. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken pieces. Dip chicken into the flour mixture, immediately into the wet mixture, followed by another dip into the flour mixture. Place on a platter until your oil rises to the appropriate temperature. Drop chicken tenders/pieces individually into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd your pan or fryer. Allow to cook until the chicken floats in the hot oil. If you’d like, you can use a meat thermometer to test the chicken to ensure it’s cooked through fully. Remove from oil and allow to rest a few minutes on a double paper towel-lined plate, allowing the excess oil to drain off. Serve hot with preferred dipping sauce.

Hamburger meat, as we call it here in the South (elsewhere you probably call it ground beef) is a staple on the weekly dinner menu. It’s easy to find, inexpensive, and cooks quickly. There are a gazillion different things to do with it, and this is one of my favorites. No matter how many times I ask Matt (my hubby) what he wants for dinner, he always answers tacos. I think he has Mexican blood, actually, because he eats Mexican food more than he eats American. So yesterday as I was heading to the store for our weekly groceries, I asked the all important question of what he wants and he once again answered “tacos!” When he got home from work, I whipped up some homemade salsa (I’ll share that recipe later, it’s to die for!), made some nachos for him and the kids to munch on, and I hit the kitchen making tacos. Here’s our family recipe. It’s just as easy as adding a few things in a pot and letting it cook!

You’ll need these items

Chop the onion, and throw that along with the hamburger meat into a large pot (or Dutch oven). Brown the meat, while breaking it into smaller pieces.

Once brown, drain the beef of the excess fat and return to the pan. Add the corn, lime juice, taco seasoning, garlic, water, and Southwestern seasoning. Cook on medium-high, uncovered until the liquid is cooked out.

Serve with tortillas for burritos, or taco shells. Top however you like…some suggestions are lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, shredded cheese, and salsa.

I bet you want tacos now, don’t you???

Taco Meat My Way!

1 pound ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning (I use nothing but Old El Paso…it has the most flavor)*

1 cup frozen corn kernals

1 tablespoon Pampered Chef Southwest seasoning**

Juice of 1/2 a lime

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup water

Brown ground beef and onion in a large stockpot until cooked through, breaking it up as you go. Drain off the excess fat and return to the pan. Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid is cooked out. Serve in taco shells or in tortillas.

*If you are using the large package of taco seasoning, as shown in the photo above, use 1/4 cup of the seasoning mix.

**You can leave this out if you don’t have it, but trust me…you should have it! I use it on everything and I’m not just saying that because I sell it!

Where would you find people throwing some fatty ingredients like mayonnaise and sour cream on top of cornbread, and calling it a salad? In the good ole South, of course! If you make this get ready to eat one of the most delicious “salads” you’ve ever tasted! It’s full of flavor and yummy goodness. This is the perfect dish to take to a pot luck or family gathering as it’s got stuff in it that most everyone likes. Try it for your family today and let me know what you think!

I also want to ask those of you that are regularly reading the blog to please let me know by posting a comment every once in a while. I’ve been doing this blog on a trial basis, and am now realizing that it’s going to be a lot of work. I am more than willing and actually happy to continue doing the work and posting as long as I know that people are reading, but if no one is finding it useful there is no sense in continuing. So just be sure to let me know if you’re finding it useful. Thanks so much!

Okay, now on to the recipe…here’s what you’ll need

Start by mixing the cornbread mix according to package directions. Bake as directed, and allow to cool. Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, and Ranch dressing packet together well. Set aside.

Crumble the cooled cornbread into the bottom of a bowl, baking dish, or whatever you’d like to use.

Layer the corn, pinto beans, tomatoes, and cheese (not pictured here) in order on top of the cornbread layer.

Top with the mayonnaise/sour cream mixture. Store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Mmmmmmmmmm….good!!!

Cornbread Salad

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 packet Ranch dressing mix (NOT the dip mix)

1 can whole kernal corn, drained

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 tomato, chopped

2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 packet Mexican cornbread mix

Mix and bake cornbread mix according to package directions. Set aside and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and dressing mix. Crumble the cornbread into a bowl or serving dish (a baking dish will work well). Top with layers of each: corn, pinto beans, tomatoes, and cheese. Spread the mayonnaise/sour cream over the top evenly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: You can also use any other vegetables that you’d like in this recipe. Some that I’ve tried and liked are bacon, green onions, and olives.

Most recipes you’ll find on this site are very easy, relatively quick, and usually inexpensive. This recipe is one of the exceptions, but I just had to share it with you. When I saw this recipe on another blog, I just knew I had to try it. Matt (my hubby) is a HUGE fan of the salty/sweet treats, so I  knew he would love these as soon as I laid eyes on them. And I was right! I was so worried that with all of the extra ingredients I had to buy (these items aren’t normally on my regular grocery list, and some of them can’t even be found in the regular grocery store), and with all of the extra steps I just knew I’d mess it up. But thankfully I was wrong. These were much easier than I thought they’d be, and even more delicious than I’d imagined. If you are debating on making these, I urge you to do so because you won’t be sorry…even with the added expense and trouble of making them.

You’ll need these items

Start by lining an 8×8″ baking dish with parchment paper that has been rubbed lightly with butter. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, butter, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, pods, and fleur de sel.  Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the corn syrup, water, and sugar. Heat over medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved. I could tell that my sugar had dissolved by rubbing the back of a spatula on the bottom of the pan. If I could still see sugar crystals, the sugar had not dissolved yet. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture is a light golden caramel color. I actually was so busy watching the color of the mixture so closely that I forgot to photograph it as it came to the caramel color. Sorry!

Remove the vanilla bean from the cream mixture. Slowly add the cream mixture to the caramel mixture, stirring continuously. Watching the candy thermometer closely, bring the mixture to 248 degrees. In this photo, mine is not quite to that point yet.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and allow to sit for 30 minutes before sprinkling with additional fleur de sel. (I forgot to take a photo of that step too…what a dodo!)

Allow to completely cool in the pan before using a pizza cutter to slice. I wrapped mine individually in small pieces of waxed paper so they wouldn’t stick together. What a perfect Christmas gift to give to someone special!

Vanilla Bean Caramels with Fleur de Sel

1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise and scraped
1 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
Line the bottom and sides of an 8″ square baking dish with parchment paper.  Lightly butter the parchment. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, butter, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, pods, and fleur de sel.  Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water.  Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.  Boil, without stirring but gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture is a light golden caramel color. Remove the vanilla bean pods from the cream mixture and carefully stir the cream mixture into the caramel – the mixture will bubble up, so pour slowly and stir constantly.  Continue simmering the mixture until it registers 248 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Immediately remove from the heat and pour into the prepared pan.  Let cool for 30 minutes, then sprinkle lightly with additional fleur de sel.  Continue to let sit until completely set and cooled.  Cut into 1″ pieces and wrap each piece individually in a small piece of waxed paper.

Recipe from: http://annies-eats.com/2010/12/13/vanilla-bean-caramels/

I know that I’ve said this for every single treat I’ve posted this week, and this one is no exception. These are absolutely, positively delicious! Oreos, YUM! Cream cheese, YUM! Chocolate, YUM! How could you not love these delicious little balls of yummy goodiness? I am so excited about sharing this recipe with you because it’s one my true favorites. Make up a batch today and let your kids help…they will love being in the kitchen with you! And who cares if they don’t look perfect?

Oh, and I can’t remember the name of the person that shared this recipe with my sister, but I do know that it was one of her clients. Whoever it is that shared it, I’m glad they did because I love these little babies!

Just three items this time

Again here, you can either go the easy route and use a stand mixer to do the hard work for you or you can mix the cream cheese and Oreo crumbles together yourself. I’ve cooked so much lately that it’s a no brainer…I take the easy way out! You’ll end up with a mixture that looks something like this.

Roll this mixture into small balls (about 3/4″). Don’t get grossed out here. They don’t look good at this point, but I promise you that they are!

Refrigerate them at this point, so that they can harden somewhat. I probably refrigerated mine for about one hour or so. Then melt your chocolate, dip each ball and return to the sheet pan and refrigerate again until hardened.

Oreo Truffles

1 (16 oz) package Oreo sandwich cookies

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 package chocolate flavored almond bark or candy melts

Line a sheet pan with waxed paper. Crush Oreo cookies using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer. Mix together Oreos and cream cheese until well combined. Roll into 3/4″ balls and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for one hour. Melt chocolate according to package directions. Roll each ball in the chocolate and return to sheet pan. Refrigerate until chocolate has hardened. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Are you starting to get the picture here? I’m somewhat obsessed with peanut butter…can you tell? I think it’s one of the finest things on this earth! And something about this time of year makes me want to eat it in every single dessert or sweet that I make. I promise after this week the peanut butter recipes will cease for a while…well, at least for a day or two. Tonight while making these my mom called to chat a few minutes and asked me what I was making. When I told her she said we’d made them before, but after tasting them I’m pretty darn sure I’ve never had these before. I am beyond excited about how easy and delicious they are! This is the perfect Christmas candy for anyone on your holiday list!

Just a few items that you most likely already have on hand

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter and 1 stick margarine until blended. You can see I’m using my mixer. My kitchen philosophy is to never do by manual labor what a mixer can do for you.

Gradually stir in sugar.

Shape mixture into 3/4″ balls. Place the balls on the waxed paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and remaining margarine over low heat. Once melted, dip the balls into the chocolate and place back on the baking sheet. Refrigerate until the chocolate has time to harden.

I just couldn’t help myself…I had to have a bite!

Peanut Butter Balls

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup margarine, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 (6 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)

Line baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper; set aside. In a mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment, combine peanut butter and 1/2 cup margarine until completely blended. Slowly add sugar. Shape mixture into 1″ balls and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt chocolate and remaining margarine over low heat. Dip the balls into the chocolate and return to the waxed paper. Refrigerate for one hour, or until the chocolate has hardened. Store in the refrigerator.