Letting my inner Betty out

In case you hadn't heard, yesterday was Betty Crocker's 90th birthday. I'd say the lady has aged fairly well.

(Image from the Betty Crocker website)

While I'd love to make the trip to Golden Valley to thank her for the dozens and dozens of her brownies I've had over the years, that just isn't going to happen. So, instead, tomorrow I'm going to let my inner Betty out and try a couple of recipes from the Betty Crocker website.

I'll be trying Rolled Italian Meatloaf and Broccoli with Sweet Red Pepper and Garlic. Well, I'll do my own variation of those recipes anyway. You know I can't NOT make adjustments. If we're lucky I'll have another blog post about the results on Friday. Which will herald the comeback of "Foodie Fridays"!

I sure hope these turn out delicious as they look!

Pork Diane with Baked Sweet Potatoes

There's been some life changing health news this week in the ATC household. Don't worry, nobody's dying and nobody's pregnant, BUT we are going to be making some changes in the ATC kitchen. Those changes mean we'll be trying new foods/recipes and making adjustments to some old favorites.

This week we tried out a couple new recipes and you all get a front row seat to see how we liked them. That's right this week you get TWO recipes for the price of one. Which means I better get started on sharing the directions.

Honey Mustard Barbecue Chicken

We have a special treat this week! We have a guest chef! And it's THEHUSBAND!! That's right, give it up for TheHusband!

At least once a week TheHusband takes over in the kitchen and whips up something delicious. It's usually some form of chicken and his Honey Mustard Barbecue chicken is one of my favorites.

I have to tell you, this is a recipe he's been using since before we met and was the first meal he cooked for me. I also have to be honest and tell you that his chicken is so tasty that I don't even like to make chicken anymore because my pales in comparison. I hope you enjoy his recipe as much as I do!

Macaroon Nests

This week I tried to think back to my childhood to see if I could come up with a "traditional" family recipe for Easter, but to tell the truth I couldn't think of a single one. Really, the only Easter tradition that I could think of from when I was growing up was that we would get up WELL before the Easter Bunny could have possible been done making his rounds so we could get to church in time to help make and serve the Sunrise Breakfast.

Ahhh, such fond memories of watching my older brothers mopping the floor of the church basement. But that was before the new church, that didn't have a basement, was built. But, I digress. Since I couldn't think of a traditional family recipe I decided to try a twist on an old favorite.

Review: The Cheesecake Factory

Earlier this week was my mother-in-law's birthday (Happy Birthday, Mother-in-Law!) and to celebrate we met her for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. TheHusband and I had never been there before, but we've been wanting to try it and TheMother-in-Law likes it so it gave us a great reason to go (Thanks for having a birthday Mother-in-Law).

Breakfast Sandwich

I've been craving something different for breakfast recently because my standard oatmeal or fiber one bar have been getting kind of boring. And then my Rise 'n Shine post yesterday made me think of breakfast sandwiches from McD's. (weird I know). Well, I need something with a little more staying power than the ones from the fast food place (even though I LOVE that fast food place - it's evil I know, but we can't help what we love) so I made my own at home.

Sucking it up, er, out!

Vacuum Sealer

I love my vacuum sealer, and not just because TheHusband got it for me as a gift. (Yes, it was on the pre-approved list of "appliances" I would be thrilled to get. He learned his lesson the hard way.)

Tripleberry Crisp

The recent return to "winter" weather has left me feeling miserable, both physically and mentally, and I've been craving something to help lift my spirits. But, however much I'd love me some triple chocolate cake, it would just leave me feeling worse in the end. So I decided to make this yummy dessert that cured my "feeling sorry for myself" sweet tooth, but didn't leave me feeling even sorrier for myself (for caving into the mood induced craving).

Grilled Shrimp with Buttered Noodles & Broccoli

So if you saw my Facebook posts last weekend, you know that I tried cooking with shrimp for the first time ever. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about this. TheHusband loves seafood, but I don't really care for it all that much. Fortunately, Red Lobster makes an excellent steak (and those yummy cheddar bay biscuits) or he would never get any! I do like shrimp though, and I didn't want to screw this recipe up and end up not liking shrimp too!

Turkey Chili

While it does seem to finally be warming up here in Minnesota, it's still cool enough to make and enjoy this version of one of my favorite comfort foods. I remember my mom making chili a lot when I was growing up. Probably because you can sure stretch your food dollar with this meal, and with seven kids she really needed to stretch that dollar far. Plus, it's a super simple meal that doesn't take much time to prepare and is super satisfying.

This isn't exactly her recipe though.  Honestly, how can you compete with Mom's chili when it has her special ingredient of a mother's love? You can however copy the basics and add your own special twist. This is my version.

Serving it up in style!

Stainless steel buffet server

Although we don't get to do it as often as we would like, my husband and I like to entertain. And I LOVE to cook for our guests. Only sometimes it's hard to make sure the food stays warm, especially if you are serving "finger" foods.

So a few years ago, as a Christmas present to myself (and because it was on sale), I bought one of these fancy stainless steel buffet servers. I L.O.V.E it! It works so great at keeping the food warm and moist. You can use it with the three pan inserts or take the top section off and just use the flat surface (great if you have a tray of hors d'oeuvres you want to keep warm). Plus with the adjustable temperature, you just can't go wrong.

I'm a Gadget Girl!

That's right, I'm a gadget girl. I love technology in just about all its forms. I find it fascinating how things work  (or don't) and am constantly amazed at the brain power of those individuals who not only have the ideas for these things, but then actually figure out how to make them happen. I mean how many people thought "Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could put my dirty dishes in a box and have them come out clean."? And then, how many people actually sat down and figured out how to make that happen? That's serious brain power.

Jello Cake

This past week brought the birthday of a good friend and coworker. To help her celebrate the auspicious occasion, I decided to make her a Jello Cake (and it didn't have anything to do with the fact that she basically said "if you guys love me, you'll make me something yummy for my b-day" - nope, nothing to do with that what so ever). So, yeah, I know, jello cake, it sounds weird (especially if you're not from the mid-west), but it's something I knew she liked, and something I personally love so if there were leftovers there wasn't a problem! You can make so many different variations of this, but I made a white/strawberry cake.

Tator Tot Hotdish

So while perusing some of my favorite blogs I came across a post about tator tot hotdish. Now this is a dish that I L.O.V.E, but have never made. That's right, NEVER. So i figured if The Mothership's Galley can serve up some of this not so healthy fare, then I could too! So I was off to the internet in search of recipes, but couldn't really find any that seemed to suit my tastes, so I took the original recipe from The Mothership's Galley and made a few changes (which is something I love about hotdishes/casseroles - you can easily adjust them to suit your tastes or needs).