I make these often, because they are very quick and easy to make, and are very good. The original recipe is found here, at the cookiesandcups.com website. Check it out, as these are supposed to resemble White Castle hamburgers, with the addition of sauteed, diced onions. I do not add those. Sometimes, I cut the recipe in half using one pound ground beef, depending on how many people I'm serving, but if I do decide to use two pounds of ground beef, I put extra filling on each slider bun, with a little extra filling at the end. I will write out the recipe the way I make it, because there are things I don't add, just out of preference. In the picture below, I used mini hamburger sliders, but I usually use King's Hawaiian buns.
The Sugar Queen
A collection of old family treasures passed down through the years, and new-found favorites
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Cheeseburger Sliders
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Moist Banana Bread
I've had this banana bread twice now at work, but it was made by someone else, so I was not able to get photos of it. It is very good, and went over very well both times. The recipe can be found here on Natasha's Kitchen website. She posts delicious recipes, so check out her website if you haven't done so yet. I've made several of her recipes, all with great success.
Applesauce Snack Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
I have a weakness for cooking magazines, cooking blogs and websites. I love when the weather turns cooler in the fall, so I can start to bake. I haven't made this recipe yet, but it sure sounds delicious and reminiscent of iced applesauce bars I used to make when I was in my early 20s. I found this recipe in the November 2024 issue of Southern Living Best Fall Recipes, but it can also be found on their website, here. See Note and link below for an alternative frosting.
Beef Noodle Casserole
This is another recipe I found in the magazine Delish Comfort Food. The recipe can be found on their website, here. I have not tried this recipe yet, but it looks awfully good.
Blueberry French Toast Casserole
French Toast is one of my favorite breakfast foods, and it is very easy to make it for a small crowd. It's simply put together in a 9 x 13" baking dish that is refrigerated for several hours or overnight, and then baked in the oven. I typically use almost an entire 1-pound loaf of French bread, and then make a custard. Sometimes I add fruit, other times, I don't.
There are many versions of this sort of dish that can be found online. This one has intrigued me, since you lightly toast the cubed bread before adding your custard, I assume to prevent the bread from getting soggy once it's baked. I have not tried this particular recipe yet, but am posting it here so that I remember to try it in the future. I found this recipe in the Delish Comfort Food magazine, but it can be found here on their website.
Photo courtesy of Delish . com
Serves 8
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
Monday, September 16, 2024
One Pan Tortellini with Sausage
You can find this quick and easy one-pan recipe here at Salt & Lavender website. It comes together quickly and is delicious. You can use sausage links that you slice up, or use ground sausage, either mild or hot sausage, whatever suits your preference.
Chicken Noodle Casserole
I recently came upon this recipe from allrecipes.com. It's a simple, comfort-food type of recipe that is good as is, or can be zhuzhed up by adding additional seasonings and/or vegetables. I've made this a couple of times now. The second time around, I did not have cream of mushroom soup, so I used two cans of cream of chicken soup. I personally like it better with the cream of mushroom because it gives it a more complex flavor; but either way, it is very good. You can use a rotisserie chicken, or poach chicken yourself using this recipe from Inspired Taste.
6 ounces egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup butter
1 cup roughly chopped buttery round crackers, such as Ritz
Using your favorite recipe for poaching chicken, cook the chicken and after cooling slightly, cut the chicken up. You can strain the broth and cook the egg noodles in the broth, or just cook in salted water.
In a large bowl, combine both cans of soup, sour cream, and season with salt and pepper. If you would like a little thinner consistency, add a little milk. Both times, I added a little milk. Stir until well combined. Gently stir in the cooked chicken and cooked egg noodles. Spread into a greased 9x13" or two-quart baking dish.
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan and set aside. In a Ziplock plastic bag, roughly crush the crackers and add to the butter. You can either roughly crush the crackers, or finely crush. Stir gently, and spread over the chicken-noodle mixture. Sprinkle with parsley.
Note: I double the topping, since I really like the crunch.
Bake 350 degrees, for 30-40 minutes, until heated through, is bubbly, and topping is golden browned.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Puffed Caramel Corn
I'm sure everyone has seen the recipe for caramel corn using Old Dutch Puff Popcorn ... It's even better when you use the Chester's Butter Puffcorn. The recipe is basically the same, but I think it has better flavor.
Ingredients
1 cup salted butter
Updated Easy Chicken Tacos
You can find my original post for these tacos here. These are delicious, and a favorite of my family. Keep a dish of chopped chipotle chilies with the sauce on the side to add to your own tacos, to amp up the smoky spice. I start with a rotisserie chicken, so they are made very quickly. I usually make one and a half to two times the sauce mixture that I allow to reduce by half. You want the sauce to be nice and thick, so that it coats the chicken well. You can serve this with lime cilantro rice, and fresh Pico de Gallo (Recipe below). The recipe for the rice can be found on my blog, here.
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 cup orange juice (not frozen concentrate)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (See note below)
1 1/2 pounds of shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken
salt and pepper, to taste
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
Friday, January 12, 2024
Crockpot Italian Chicken
I got this recipe from a friend at work. I've made it numerous times, and have loved it every time. The cream cheese gives the gravy a very creamy texture, and the Italian Dressing mix, gives it loads of flavor. You can serve this over any kind of noodles - I like to use egg noodles; or you can serve it over rice. The recipe can be found at the Easy Chicken Recipes website.
Ingredients
1 (10.5-oz) can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup
1(8-oz) package cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken broth
Directions
(Luke's) Taco Dip
I got this recipe from a coworker many, many years ago. It has just a few simple ingredients and was always a hit everywhere I took it. It was an absolute favorite of my son, Luke. Before he died, I made it for him often; so everytime I see this recipe, I think of him.
Basic Vanilla Refrigerator Cookies (with variations)
My mom made dozens and dozens of cookies of all varieties, every year at Christmas. We would start early in the morning, and bake all day long. Us kids would give her a "helping hand"; but we were young and very may well have gotten underfoot, more than actually being any sort of help to her. She was a very good and patient mother though, and allowed us to help her make these dozens and dozens of cookies, every year. I thoroughly enjoyed it, because it meant spending time with her, and it was something I looked forward to, a great deal.
A "Refrigerator cookie", or "Ice Box cookie" as they are also known by, is a simple cookie dough that is typically rolled into a log, wrapped in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerated for a set amount of time. To bake, the cookie dough roll is cut into slices and baked on a cookie sheet. This is what sets them apart from "Drop Cookies", which is cookie dough that is scooped out of the bowl by a teaspoon or a cookie scoop, and dropped onto the baking sheet.
This particular recipe is a basic cookie dough that you can then choose to add different ingredients to flavor them. What I remember making most often, are the Spice Cookies. We would press in several red hot cinnamon candies, on top of the sliced dough, to amp up the flavor. I loved these cookies when I was a kid. This recipe brings back a lot of memories, and I can't wait to try it again.
Basic Cookies
1/2 cup granulated sugar
(John's) Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
My son John, loves soft chocolate chip cookies; but I personally prefer them more chewy-crisp. He found this recipe online on the cooking blog Cakes by Courtney, made them and fell in love with them. They are very good, so bookmark this page. If you prefer the ingredients to be listed by weight, she does so on her blog.
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
Snickers Bars
I found this recipe in one of those old church cookbooks, but I haven't made them in years. There is a note written on it stating that while they are a lot of work, it is well worth it because they are that good.
First Layer
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
Monday, December 25, 2023
Tomato-Basil Soup
If you think you don't like tomato soup, try this recipe. It is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients; and very comforting on a cold winter day. I found this on Natasha's Kitchen. I've made it many times, and it is delicious. I've made some modifications to suit my tastes, so click on the link above to see the original recipe.
Ingredients
Minestrone Soup
I haven't always liked Minestrone Soup, but I guess when I've tried it, it was a canned soup. Making it from scratch is a game changer. I found this recipe here on the Love and Lemons blog. Minestrone soup is typically a vegetarian soup, but I add a can of Swanson's low-sodium chicken broth because otherwise, there is not a whole lot of broth, once you add all the vegetables and broth. You can add more vegetable broth, beef or chicken broth, or leave it as is. Try to keep all your vegetables cut up about the same size.
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
Chicken and Rice Soup
This is a delicious soup recipe that I found on iamhomesteader.com. It is comfort food at its best. I've made it several times, and is always a hit. I've made a few modifications to suit my tastes, but you can find the original recipe in the link above. The recipe calls for a rotisserie chicken, but you can make your own poached chicken. If I'm able to use that shortcut, I will.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Lime Cilantro Rice
I made this for the first time recently when I made Chicken Fajitas. It is very good. I used basmati rice, which is very different from long grain rice; but you can use either one. This recipe was found here on this site. Simply Recipes Cilantro Lime Rice This rice can be served with Asian or Mexican dishes.
1 1/2 cups basmati rice, or other long-grain white rice
Chicken Fajitas
This recipe comes from Taste of Home. I have made it numerous times now, and they are so tasty, and always are well-liked by all who have tried them. I make a few minor changes, and often add a little more of each seasoning called for. Use fresh lemon juice in the marinade, and serve with fresh lime slices.
Chicken and Marinade
2 tablespoons canola oil