Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

This month I participated in the Foodie Pen Pal! First of all, if you have no idea what this is head over to The Lean Green Bean. Lindsay heads this up and it is awesome!  I sent a package to Anika at Dogs, Dishes and Decor. Megan at Delightfull Dash was my pen pal that sent me a package. We are actually "neighbors" in way, we live in the same metro area just on way opposite sides! It's been fun to talk to her about all things DC.  And then I got my package in the mail, check out these goodies:

Are you drooling?  So what is all of that. Well there was a cheddar garlic biscuit mix, soft pretzel mix, veggie dip mix, chesapeake bay seafood seasoning, tailgating pasta, a jar of cookie butter, 2 peanutty dark chocolate kashi bars and 2 apple banana fruit wraps, beef jerky strips (for our dog) and a monster truck. She also sent several pamplets and magazines from the places she got our items! So cool! 

I don't even know where to being. We are saving the pretzel mix and the tailgate pasta for football season. Isn't the pasta the cutest?  A went nutty over the shapes and keeps begging us to cook it, I really want to save it though. He might wear me down before football season if he keeps it up! Haha. 

We are headed to the beach in a few weeks and I am saving the veggie dip and biscuit mix to take on vacation with us. The kashi bars and fruit strips were stolen by Gray and they are gone!  And the cookie butter, ohhhh the cookie butter! I have some plans for it soon so be on the look out!  We keep meaning to get some crabs too so we can use the chesapeake bay seasoning, there is a man that sells crabs on the side of the road not too far from us, I just keep forgetting when I am making our menu plan.  Plus I have never cooked crab before. Eek! That should be an adventure.   And how sweet was Megan to include something for Rivers (our dog) and that little monster truck for A.  He loves monster trucks and was so excited for his treat!  We have spent many days rolling that truck over his hot wheel cars ;) 

Thank you again, Megan! We love everything!!!!! 

Mrs. Kathy's Hot Dog Chili

Mrs. Kathy is one of my parents good friends and her hot dog chili is my absolute favorite.  Whenever we make hot dogs, I throw together this chili.

1 lb Ground Beef
1 Can Condensed Tomato Soup
2 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp Mustard
1-2 Tsp Chili Powder
1 /2 Cup Chopped Onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef and drain off the grease. Add the condensed tomato soup, ketchup, mustard, chili powder, onion, and salt and pepper.  Let cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve on hot dogs right away. 

Cheesy Lime Chicken

This yummy little recipe was found over that Mommy Hates Cooking. We both really enjoyed this meal.  It's going to be a great addition to the rotation.


3-4 Chicken Breasts
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Paprika
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp Dill Weed
1/2 Lime
 Swiss Cheese Slices

Heat oven to 425.  In a bowl mix together the flour, salt, paprika, pepper and dill.  Coat the chicken in the flour mixture and place on a wire rack or in a pan. Squeeze lime juice evenly over each chicken breasts.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and top each chicken breasts with a slice of swiss cheese. Place back in the oven for an additional 10 to 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Top with another squeeze of lime juice and serve. 

Ranch Roasted Potatoes

When I saw this recipe I just knew that I wanted to try it. It took me a while to get to it but I am so glad that I did. There is nothing like Roasted Potatoes, no matter how you season them they are amazing.  We loved the ranch seasoning on these.  They were a great addition to our bbq sandwiches but I can only imagine that they would be good with just about anything!  This recipe was slightly adapted from LaaLoosh.

10 to 15 red potatoes (washed and cut into quarters)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 packet ranch mix
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 425.  Coat the potatoes with olive oil then mix in the ranch seasoning and salt. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray (line with foil if you would like) then spread the potatoes out evenly.  Bake for 15 minutes then turn the potatoes and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more. 

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin

I think this is one of my new favorite ways to cook pork tenderloin. I adapted this recipe from Momma Hen's Kitchen.

1 pork tenderloin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
 2 -3 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt

Heat oven to 350. Combine the black pepper, cumin, chili powder, cajun seasoning, brown sugar and garlic salt.  Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Rub the pork tenderloin with the mixture. Sear the pork tenderloin on each side for 3 to 4 minutes.  Place in the oven and cook for 25 more minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. 

Creamy Cheesy Chicken Crescent Bundles

I'm sure you are all totally shocked by this recipe, chicken and crescent rolls? no way! ha. Anyways I heavily adapted this recipe from Simply You and Me.  And it was just as delicious as I thought it would be!

1 can Crescent Rolls
1 Chicken Breast (cooked and shredded)
4 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
1/4 cup Onion (diced)
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Milk

Heat oven to 350. Grease a casserole dish.  Mix together chicken, cream cheese, onion, 1/2 cup cheddar, garlic powder and season with salt and pepper.  Fill each crescent with a scoop of the mixture and wrap it up. Place in the casserole dish.  Top them with extra shredded cheddar if desired. In a sauce pan heat the chicken soup and milk, once it is warm add the shredded cheddar and mix until it is melted. Pour over the top of the crescent bundles. Bake for 30 minutes.

Parmesan Lemon Brown Rice

I have such a hard time coming up with new side dishes. We love steamed veggies and they are so healthy and easy that we usually just do that.  I was really excited to try this recipe though.  I made it one night when my mom was in town and we all loved it! And it was EASY. This is one of those recipes that will really impress your guests without a lot of effort. I adapted it from Momma Hen's Kitchen.

1 1/2 cups instant brown rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried basil
half of a lemon
1/8 tsp black pepper

Cook the brown rice in the chicken broth, follow the directions on the box just replace water with broth. Once the rice is cooked stir in the Parmesan cheese, parsley, basil, black pepper and the juice from half a lemon. Serve right away. 

Pimento Cheese, Fried Green Tomato and Bacon Sandwich

There is this restaurant back home called Pawley's Front Porch.  It's good. So good in fact, that they have been on the Triple D (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives).  It's a burger place but I always get this sandwich. Ugh, it's soooo good. I have to say my version was delicious but Pawley's has me beat with their Jalapeno Bacon and Cheddar Jalapeno Bread (which they don't always have).  Nevertheless this sandwich is the aw-some.

Fried Green Tomatoes (you just need 1 or 2 per sandwich depending on how big they are)
Pimento Cheese (I used Zoe's pimento cheese because Gray hates mayo and their's doesn't have it or if it does, it has very little)
Bacon
Bread

Toast your bread.  Spread a nice layer of pimento cheese on the bread, top with fried green tomatoes and 4 strips of bacon.  Put in the oven for 1 or 2 minutes to the pimento cheese gets nice and melted. Eat right away.


This recipe was featured on Eat At Home Cooks Ingredient Spotlight for Tomatoes.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I grew up in the South. Actually, I lived in the South until a few months ago. Some might say I still live in the South but I promise you that I don't.  If you can't get sweet tea everywhere then it's not the South. That brings us to Fried Green Tomatoes, I grew up with these bad boys. And I adore them. I had never made them until the other night though.  After being very homesick last week, I needed some South back in my life so a special sandwich (which is coming tomorrow) was put on the menu and I needed to fry up some of these bad boys. I read about 5 different recipes and ended up making this up myself.

2 Green Tomatoes (sliced into half inch circles)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
canola oil
salt

After slicing the tomatoes lay them on a paper towel and let them sit for several minutes. Heat oil over medium heat.  Season the tomatoes with salt. In one bowl place the flour and cajun seasoning, in a separate bowl place the milk and the egg, and in the last bowl place the cornmeal. Mix the flour and cajun seasoning together. Beat the egg and milk together.   Dip the tomato in the flour, then the egg mixture then the cornmeal.  Once the oil has heated to the desired temperature place the tomatoes in oil. Fry on each side for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown.  When they are done, place on a paper towel to drain.



This recipe was featured on Eat At Home Cooks Ingredient Spotlight for Tomatoes.

Three Cheese Baked Tortellini

Looking at this picture is making me crave this all over again. There is no doubt about it, we love tortellini in this family.  Add some spinach and a good sauce and we are set to go! This recipe is adapted from Amy's Cooking Adventures.

1 (9oz) package whole wheat three cheese tortellini
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup homemade or jarred pasta sauce
4 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (divided)
1/4 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350. Bring water to a boil.  Cook pasta as directed. Meanwhile in a pot, combine the pasta sauce, cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese and milk.  Cook until everything is melted and smooth.  Add the spinach and mix in. Once the pasta is done cooking add to the sauce, stir to coat and pour into a baking dish.  Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan cheese.  Bake for 15 to 25 minutes.