Lemon Bundt Cake with Glaze

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage (I used Sprite)
Zest from one lemon
Juice from the zested lemon
Splash of lemon extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray bundt pan with Pam Baking Spray (this is different than the usual one you would use, this has flour in it).

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, pudding mix, and oil. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the lemon-lime soda, add lemon zest and lemon extract. Mix.

Pour batter into bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool if you can... or eat a piece right away like Jerome and I did.

For glaze combine the juice from lemon and powdered sugar. If the consistency is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add lemon juice (bottled or from another lemon, or even Sprite).

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
3 good handfuls of wide egg noodles
water to boil egg noodles in

chicken broth and water - the more chicken broth the less water needed (this is your soup stock - make as much as you want...if you have more water than chicken broth add some chicken bouillon cubes.)
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3/4 bag of baby carrots, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, cubed

Boil water for egg noodles in large stock pot. Wait until water gets to a hard boil, add egg noodles. While noodles are boiling chop other ingredients. Once noodles are just about done to your liking, drain noodles and rinse in cool water and set aside.

In same stock pot add chicken broth, water (bouillon cubes if mostly water), celery, onion, carrots and peas. Let this mixture come to a boil. Let simmer for 15 minuets. Check carrots to see if they are to the hardness that you like. Continue simmering if they are not to your liking.

Once carrots are to your liking, add chicken and noodles into soup mixture. Let this come to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve up with saltine crackers or in our case a specialty bread.

Valentine's Day Dinner - T Bone Steaks

Ingredients:
T Bone Steak
Worcestershire sauce - depends on how strong you like it
Garlic Salt - few dashes on each side of the T Bone
Salt and Pepper - few dashes on each side of the T Bone
1 Tbsp. Italian Salad Dressing

Jerome was in charge of cooking the steaks on the grill. He tossed them into a bowl with the Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, salt and pepper and Italian salad dressing.

He gave them a good coating on both sides and let them sit until about 15 minuets before we were going to sit down to eat. If there was room in the fridge they would have gone in there but he used too large of a bowl.

He fired up the grill and once it was warm in our below zero weather he tossed the steaks on the grill. After two minutes, he flipped the steak over to brown the other side for two more minutes. Once both sides have browned, he turned the heat down to let them finish cooking.


Generally it should take 7-8 minutes to cook to medium rare... and if you know me... mine is always well done.


After they are cooked to your perfect coloring, bring them inside and let them rest for 5 minuets or while you finish up with your salad. This will let all the juices stay inside of the meat. If you cut it right away then all those wonderful juices just ooze out of your steak...

Don't forget to top with your mushrooms and add some A1 if you need it!

Valentine's Day Dinner - Sauted Mushrooms

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 4oz. can of sliced mushrooms
1/2 can of Beef broth
1 Tbsp. Heavy Cream or substitute with 1 Tbsp. Milk and 1/2 additional Tbsp. Butter

Melt two Tbsp of butter in pan and allow the butter to foam. Place mushrooms in the butter and saute on medium heat until mushrooms give off moisture.

Once most of the moisture has boiled off, add 7oz. of beef broth to the pan and allow the broth to reduce.
When the broth has reduced to the point where it coats the back of a spoon, add cream or substitution. While stirring, let the cream reduce the sauce until it coats a spoon again.

Remove from heat and serve.

Valentine's Day Dinner - Crab Legs

Ingredients:
Water
Crab Legs
Dash of Kosher Salt

Dipping: Melted Butter

Crab legs are so easy to make... In a large stock pot ad a bit of water - an inch or so. Add a dash of salt and let it come to a boil. Once the water has been boiling hard (lots and lots and lots of bubbles and steam) toss in your frozen crab legs.

While you have your crab legs boiling in the pot, take two tablespoons of butter and microwave it to melt in a microwave safe dish. After 4-5 minuets your crab legs are going to start smelling... ohhh the aroma! That's when you know they are done. Pull them out of the pot and get to cracking and dippin.

OPTIONAL: if you have a fresh lemon, squeeze a little of the juice in with your melted butter for an even better taste.

Valentine's Day Dinner - Baked Potato

Ingredients:
Baked Potato
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt

Toppings: Butter, Shredded Cheese, Crumbled Bacon, Sour Cream

Have you ever had a baked potato at a restaurant and wondered how they made them? Here's how... thanks to the internet!

Clean potato, scrubbing exterior clean of dirt. Pour olive oil into palm of hand and rub on potato. Sprinkle salt around exterior, it will stick because of the oil. Bake at 400 degrees in oven for one hour.

Cut potato the long length leaving the ends in tack. Make a smaller slit the short length in the middle and push ends toward the center. This will open your potato nice and wide to accommodate all your toppings.

Valentine's Day Dinner - Dinner Salad

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Carrots
Tomato
Green Pepper
Red Onion
2 strips of cooked bacon
Colby Cheese

Chop all ingredients into bite size pieces. Layer. Delish!


OPTIONAL: Croutons and/or sunflower seeds would have been nice, but we didn't have either on hand.

Cute idea

I was in Cub just before the Super Bowl and saw this sammie just sitting there. So... I pulled out my camera phone and snapped a pick of it so I would be sure to remember it for next time.

Crockpot - Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:
5-6 or 3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved
1 can pineapple slices, drained
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
3 Tblsp cornstarch
3 Tblsp brown sugar, packed
1 envelope stir-fry chicken seasoning blend
1/4 cup chicken broth


Combine all ingredients, except the chicken in the crock pot. Stir well. Add the chicken and stir well to coat. Cover and cook on preferred setting: Low - 6 to 8 hours; High - 3 hours.



My suggestions: I added a little soy sauce to mine and Jerome just added salt and pepper to his. It didn't have a ton of flavor to it until adding them. I would make it again - less liquid though... especially pineapple and oranges.

Simple & Creamy Tortellini Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cloves of garlic

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed
1 package shrimp - remove tails

1 cup frozen peas

3/4 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend or Parmesan and Mozzarella
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes

6 slices Bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled


Pour broth and water into large saucepan (I used our wok); stir. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Add tortellini. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Add garlic and simmer 8 to 9 min. or until tortellini is tender. (Do not drain.) Meanwhile cook bacon in microwave.

Add cream cheese, shrimp and peas; stir. Heat 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted, stirring occasionally.

Stir in shredded cheese, tomatoes and bacon.

See the original recipe from the Kraft magazine here.

The sauce was kinda soupy. Not sure if I would have cooked it longer if it would have thickened. It was still very good... especially with garlic bread.