Lane Cake, an Epic Fail

I am not sure how I feel about today. I spent hours and I do mean a long time making a cake that I will dub and EPIC FAIL! Oh my goodness! This cake is so foul I do not know how anyone can eat it. There must have been a typo or something with the writing of this recipe and if there was not one, I do not know how anyone can eat it. I spit it out so fast and even the hubs couldn't get his bite down. Yuck!

A couple of days ago I received a cookbook that I ordered over a week ago. It is called United Cakes of America, and it was written by, Warren Brown. I am still excited I got this book. I can't wait to try other recipes and hopefully they will taste better than this one. I plan on making all of the cakes of all fifty states. I am sure some will be hits and some will be misses. Hopefully more good than bad. This cake was BAD. I did however love his version of the Seven Minute Frosting. It is delicious. The cake.....not so much.

I started with Alabama. I am sure you probably guessed it as well. The cake of Alabama in this book is know as the Lane Cake.

It was invented in the late 1800's by a woman named, Emma Rylander Lane of Clayton, Alabama. She won first prize for her cake. The people at the fair must have been booze hounds. There is another cake listed for Alabama in Mr. Warren's book, the Silver Cake. It is type of bundt cake. I do not have a bundt pan and the other cake is supposedly famous and a symbol of "genuine hospitality" so I decided to make it. If someone gave this to me, I would think they did not like me. There is way too much whisky in this recipe. It calls for 1 whole cup of whisky. My hubby, who is a whisky drinker, said it was too strong. Like I mentioned earlier, I spit it out. I think maybe 1/4 c of booze would have been plenty.

I may try this cake again with either less whisky or no whisky. I don't know because it has a few things I am not crazy about. Coconut and raisins are among them. I also think it was really dense. The author warns the baker that it is best to use a scale to weigh your flour. I do not have one, I better purchase one before I make the next cake. I think by scooping out the flour and leveling it may have packed more in the measuring cup than needed. This probably made the cake dense and I think the batter was too thick. When I went to pour it into 3 cake pans, the batter did not make it to the middle of the pans like the recipe said it would. It did not rise when it baked either. This still may be do to the amount of flour or I may have over beaten the egg whites. I don't know. I have learned a couple of things with making this cake. Weigh flour, do not over beat whites, and if you think there is too much alcohol written in the recipe, do not add it all.

I am not going to include the recipe of this cake in this blog today. If you would like it, e-mail me and I will give it to you. I will however include the recipe for the seven minute frosting as I found that to be delicious. I definitely will make it again. But not for kids because it also includes alcohol.

Seven Minute Frosting
adapted from Warren Brown

Ingredients
1 1/4 c superfine granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp amaretto
1 tsp rum

Directions
Bring water to simmer in a large pan that you can set a mixing bowl over it. Combine the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in mixing bowl over water. Beat with handheld mixer beginning on low and increasing to high. It should form stiff peaks around seven minutes. Add vanilla, rum, and amaretto. Use it immediately.

I really liked this frosting and will use it again. I still don't know if I want to give the cake another try. I am a little sad my cake was not delicious but then again they can't all be hits. I hope your day is going better than mine:)

Oven Poached Salmon

Okay, so first off we did not make it golfing this morning. It was way too hot! We are going to have to wait until it cools off a little bit. I heard in a few weeks it may be back down to the low 100's. lol:) We still spent a nice day together. Me and the hubby had breakfast and went to Sportsman's in order to price all the things we need for our camping and fishing trip we are going on at the end of the week. Not too bad. I hope we catch some fish at the lake. I love to fish. My dad taught me how when I was little and I have loved it ever since, but I have not been very often. I hope this trip will be better than the last one. Have I mentioned this is only the second time I have been camping. I am looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. I was worried about not having any facilities to use on the trip. The hubby told me not to worry about it. The hubby also explained how the outdoor toilet worked. Yuck! I am sure it will be fine. However, we cannot have a campfire this weekend do to dry conditions. There have been enough wildfires going on this year so far, I would not want to be the cause of another one. With this being said, we are going to have to cook all of our food on a propane stove. I will let you know how it goes.

I already mentioned how hot it was today, so it goes without saying I did not have the urge to stay in a hot kitchen and cook. I did cook anyway. I thought that salmon sounded good for dinner. I have been seeing lots of advertisements for it lately. To me it sounded better than eating something heavy for dinner. I prepared it the way my mom taught me and it was delicious. I also made mashed potatoes again but with havarti cheese this time. So much better. I do not think I will ever acquire the taste for bleu cheese. Only time will tell. I will however give it one more try before I call it a quits.

Back to the salmon. I prepared it very simply. I baked it in the oven and poached it in white wine. So good! I served it with potatoes and steamed broccoli. I got a thumbs up from the hubby. Usually when I cook seafood he asks where the meat is but he was satisfied with his dinner.

Oven Poached Salmon
Ingredients
1 1lb salmon
2/3 c of white wine
2 T chives (I forgot to buy scallions)
2 T tarragon ( I like it better with dill but I was experimenting. It was still good.)
2 T butter ( cut into 4 pats)
1 lemon (cut into round slices)
salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Place salmon in 9x13 baking dish. Top it with salt, pepper, tarragon, lemon, and butter.

Pour the wine around the fish and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake about 20 minutes or until reaches desired doneness. Enjoy:)

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Yum! I hope the first day of the week was great:)

Sunday but not so funday

I just want to say that I had a blast last night. I got my new tattoo by this amazing artist Mike. I love it and it only hurt a little. lol:) Maybe just a little more than little but sooo worth it. I can't wait until I get my next one. I already have an idea of what I am going to get and I am going to go back to him. I also love my bestie's tattoo. It is amazing! Such detail and I am a little jealous of it. Like I said it is beautiful. I still love mine though.

I had a long day at work but I got to see one of my old coworkers who is expecting her first baby boy in about 6 weeks. She still looks amazing. I did not have time to cook anything today because I worked all day but I did have my favorite salad from Paradise Bakery. It is called the Poppyseed Chicken Salad. I love all of the fresh fruit they put in it. Delicious!

Tomorrow me and the hubby are going golfing. Should be good times! I love spending time with him. I can't wait to drive the cart but I can wait for the 115F temperature that was forecasted for tomorrow. Yeech! So hot. It's only supposed to get hotter this week and we are planning on leaving on a camping trip at the end of the week. I hope it is not that hot where we are going.

I hope you have had a great weekend~! Mine has been awesome. I will talk to you guys soon but for now----Good night. 6am comes super fast when you are tired:)

Chicken wings and Tattoos

I am so excited today! Why you ask? Well, not only do I not have to work, I get to spend time with my friends, but I also am getting a new tattoo. Hooray! I know some people are not into getting inked but I have been planning and waiting patiently for my new piece forever. When it is finished and healed I will post a picture of it.

One of my besties' sister came up with the idea of having a tattoo party. They hired an artist to come to their house and everyone that wants to have one done just needs to bring a picture of what they want done. I will let mine be a surprise. Hee hee! I can't wait until tonight. Even the hubby is getting one. If all goes well we will be hosting our own party.

What food do you think will be appropriate for this evenings festivities? I am thinking wings. I love wings and I will use any excuse to eat them. While watching my favorite channel, Food Network, Claire Robinson, made wings on her show and I decided to try her way. I did not use her sauce but I did use her cooking method and my favorite bbq sauce. They came out beautifully and I think this may now be my go to method for cooking wings. I love that they are not fried but broiled in the oven instead. I think my friends will like them as well.

Just look at these beauties. Don't they make you want to sink your teeth into some as well?

I also love they are not breaded and they are juicy from being broiled. It was so easy to make them. No stress and hardly any mess. :)

Broiled Chicken Wings

Ingredients
4 lbs of wings
3 T of vegetable oil
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
garlic salt
your favorite sauce for basting

Directions
 Set oven to broil. Coat the outside of the wings with the vegetable oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper. Put the wings on top baking sheet with a rack.

 Broil for 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked almost all the way through. Take the wings out of the oven and baste with your favorite sauce. Put back in the oven for 10 minutes. Repeat. Add more sauce for basting but flip over the wings so all sides are coated.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.Enjoy!

I hope you are having a great weekend and are doing something fun:)

Not your regular boring salad

Lately, I have been trying to expand my horizons and taste buds. I figured I should at least try everything at least once or at least consider trying it. With that being said I have never liked bleu cheese. That goes for dressing, crumbles, and its many different forms and flavors. I always see many recipes that feature this cheese and sometimes feel a little sad that I do not like it. My husband said maybe we should try and see if it would taste good in mashed potatoes. I thought about it long and hard and decided today would be the day. I would try it again and see if I liked it this time. I tried a milder form of the cheese and hoped it would make a difference to my taste buds. All I can say is....I still don't like it. Yuck! It didn't taste disgustingly bad but it did taste weird. Maybe it is an acquired taste. Sometime in the future I may give it one more try but for now, I am just trying to get the taste out of my mouth.

I did however make a salad that was delicious and refreshing. It included black beans, lentils other vegetables and herbs. It definitely was full of flavor and made up for the funky mashed potatoes. In fact I had a larger portion because of them. I have been seeing a lot of my fellow bloggers create and post their versions of yummy summer salads. I decided I could do it as well. It was a break from traditional pasta salad or mixed green salads. I will be making more this summer as the heat and temperatures soar. It may even become too hot for me to cook in the kitchen. (we shall see)  It has been in the 100's lately and summer has only just begun.  Yikes!

I digress. Back to this yummy salad.

It was simple, easy, and delicious. Even the picky hubby liked it. Yeah!

Black bean and Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can lentils
1/2 c corn
2 stalks of celery diced
1/2 c onion diced (I used vidalia onion)
1/2 cucumber seeded and diced
1 carrot diced
1 lemon
2 T of tarragon
3 T olive oil
2 tsp celery salt
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Rinse black beans and lentils and place in medium sized bowl. Add celery, corn, celery, onion, cucumber, and carrots. Chop up tarragon and add it to the vegetables. Add the juice of one lemon, 3 T olive oil, celery salt, salt and pepper. Mix it all together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the flavors can meld together.

Give this simple salad a try. I promise you will not be sorry. :)
I hope everyone is having a great day.

I've got some sticky fingers:)

Do you ever just want to be a child for a little while again? Maybe for a day, hour, or maybe just 10 minutes? No responsibilities, worries, or cares in the world. I sometimes wish I could go back for just a little while but then I think......I like my life now. I like not being told what to do every minute of the day. I like making my own decisions. I like dressing myself, staying up late, and being able to use the stove and oven without supervision. lol. :) Back to the present. Today is almost my most favorite day of the week. GIRL'S DAY. Hooray!!

I decided to make something that I ran across a while ago and thought looked yummy. It also looked like something I would have chosen for a sweet snack as a child. It is called Sticky Fingers Bars and the recipe is from the Pastry Queen, Rebecca Rathers. I came across it on another bloggers website, Smells Like Home. It's an awesome website. If you get a chance, you should check it out.

Any hoo, when I looked at this dessert I became nostalgic for the good ole days. You know before you had a care in the world. This dessert has a few steps and takes a little bit of time to make but it is soooo worth it. It is on the sweet side so be warned. I like it sweet so it is not a problem for me. I figured the girl's would like it too! If you get some time on your hands and want to make something that reminds you of childhood, give this a try.

Sticky Finger Bars
Rebecca Rathers, Pastry Queen

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
4 (2.07 oz) Snickers bars

For the filling:
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Corn Syrup or light corn syrup
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1 cup smooth peanut butter (creamy or natural works)
1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

To make the crust:Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving several inches hanging over the short ends of the pan.  Grease the foil with butter or cooking spray.

Use a mixer fitted with the paddle and blend sugar, butter, and vanilla extract until creamy.

Add the flour and peanuts and mix on medium speed until just incorporated.

Press into the bottom of the pre-greased pan and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Let it cool for 10 minutes. Cut up the snickers into 1/4 inch pieces and spread on the bottom of the pan.

Make the filling. Whisk together, eggs, butter, salt, vanilla and until combined.

Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for 25-30 minutes. It should not jiggle when finished. (This is important. Mined jiggled a wee bit and it kind of messed up the top when I spread the peanut butter. It is hidden under the peanut butter) Cool for 20 - 30 minutes.

Spread the peanut butter in an even layer and add the chopped peanuts.

 Melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Drizzle over the top and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Grab foil edges and pull out of the pan. Cut into bars. Will keep if well wrapped for 5 days at room temperature or freeze for up to 3 weeks.
Enjoy!

I hope you are having a great day!

It's a reese pieces day:)

Hello all! I know I have been MIA for the past few days but what can I say life can get kind of hectic sometimes. I know sometimes I have way too many things I need to attend to but not enough time in the day to take care of them. On top of that I have been a little under the weather. Something wicked was going around these parts. I am glad I am almost over it. :) How has everyone's weekend been? Filled with fun and relaxation I hope.

Yesterday was Father's Day! To all the dads out there keep doing what you are doing. My dad is one of the most important people in my life. He taught me how to count, tie my shoes, fish, and read. He taught me many other things but we do not have enough time and I do not want to bore you with everything. I attribute him with many things such as learning how to take the good with the bad and if you have a dream follow it. Never give up and do not let anyone tell you that you can't do something. I know some of these sound cliche but they are true. He also taught me it is important to have a good work ethic and to be passionate about life. When it comes down to it we all make our own choices whether they are good or bad we have to live with them. I love my dad so much and am thankful to have him in my life. Love you Dad!!!

Today has been a great day with the hubby. We really didn't do much but veg out in the house and clean a little. We also caught up on the rental movies. We are a little bit out of the know right now. Life...what can I say except sometimes it gets in the way. I have been craving something sweet and good in the cookie form. I did not want chocolate chip but thought that reese's pieces would be perfect. I saw it on one of our fellow bloggers web site and thought they looked terrific in cookies. I tried out a new cookie recipe and let's just say....I was not disappointed:) They were good and delicious. Chewy, gooey, goodness.

Am I tempting you yet???

Here is the recipe for when you catch the craving...

Reese's Pieces Cookies
adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

2 c of All purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c unsalted butter melted
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 T vanilla extract
1 egg plus 1 yolk
1 1/2 c reese's pieces

Directions
Sift Flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside. Cream melted butter and both sugars together in a bowl.

Add vanilla and egg and yolk and mix until combined. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

 Do not over mix. Stir in pieces. Refrigerate dough for about 2 hours or until firm. This will prevent spreading.
Preheat oven to 325F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. When oven is ready portion the cookie dough to 1/4 c portions and drop about 2-3 inches apart.

 I did 6 per sheet and got about 18 cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes or until edges were brown. The cookies will look almost set but they will firm up when they cool all the way.

Like I said. Delicious:) I hope you give these a try. I hope you are having a great day!

Hump Day Chicken Salad Wrap

Do you ever wake up in the morning and all you can think about is food? I know it happens to me more often than not. I think know sometimes I go to bed and dream about what I am going to make for lunch or dinner the next day. What can I say? I am a little obsessed with food and dreaming of ways to prepare it. I sometimes find my mind wandering towards what could be the perfect meal. Today, the wandering led me to a chicken salad wrap.

If you know me well, then you know chicken is not one of my favorite proteins. I do make exceptions sometimes. I have been known to indulge in a little barbecue drumstick from time to time. I can say if I do eat the bird I always go for the dark meat. I find it to have the most flavor and moisture. I think I drooled a little just thinking about it.

The other day I roasted a chicken and it was delicious but I had a lot leftover. I decided the perfect way to use the leftovers would be in a chicken salad but not on bread but in my favorite spinach wrap. I can tell you it hit the spot and satisfied my hunger. I did not even feel guilty because it was so good.

Chicken Salad Wrap

Ingredients

1 lb of diced chicken white and dark meat
6 oz of plain Greek yogurt
1 cucumber seeded and diced
1 stalk celery diced
1/2 onion diced
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
your favorite tortilla to wrap it in

Directions combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended. You may need to add more Greek yogurt depending on how moist you want your mix.

 Let it sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerator until the flavors meld together.
Wrap in your favorite tortilla.

Add cheese and lettuce if desired. Enjoy

This is definitely easy and delicious. Next time you have a want or desire for something filling for lunch give this a try. You will not regret it. I hope you are having a great day!

It's only Tuesday:(

I swear I feel like it takes a long time to reach the weekend and my days off. The work days seem to bleed into one blur of yuck. I am ready to have fun:) I wish we were going on vacation already, but alas it will be one more month until good times. In the meantime I am going to have to find a little cheer that will turn my frown upside down.

Hmmmmmmmm. Let me think about it. How about....wait for it......Chocolate muffins?
How does that sound? I believe I am heading in the right direction. If I imagine hard enough I can picture myself relaxing somewhere peaceful with no work in sight. Yeah!!!!

Just look  at these beauties.

Don't they look out of this world?

I just got a little happy and am closer to finding my zen place. Hmmmm. Much better. If you have been feeling a little down in the dumps or a little bit out of sorts and want a break from it all, I believe you will feel much better after tasting one of these. :)

Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

3/4 c of sugar

1/4 c dutch process cocoa

2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c vegetable oil

1/2 c almond milk

1 egg

Directions

preheat oven to 400F. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add egg, milk, and oil to flour mixture. Stir until combine. Divide evenly into 8 pre-greased muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

I promise they will help you find your zen place:)

Yum!

They made the hubby happy too! I hope everyone is having a good day!

Yeah! I finally got my cow:)

I feel like I have been waiting for ever for the arrival of my 1/2 cow. I have been dreaming and anticipating  the ways I would cook it when it finally arrived. I had heard that the meat was delicious and it tasted nothing like the beef you buy in the grocery store. Let me tell you.....it is true. I cooked the T-bone steaks that were cut from the cow. Yum!!! Very tender and melt in your mouth good:) There was not a lot of fat on these beauties. I don't think I will ever be the same after trying this meat. Yes, it is that good. I may never buy my beef from the grocery store again.

Look how gorgeous this meat is.

I prepared it simply. I just sprinkled the meat with steak seasoning and the hubby grilled it to a beautiful rare. Soooooo goood. I can't wait to try the ground beef in a hamburger. I bet it will be just as tasty. I don't even think I want to share my meat with anyone but hoard it like a miser for myself. Hee hee! Okay, I won't go that far. I may share a little bit. If my friends and family are nice. lol:)

I had an awesome day with the hubby. We saw the new X-men movie. Loveeeed It! I recommend it if you liked the other X-men movies. Next we went to Barnes and Noble and wandered around as well as picked up a few books. Finally, we finished the night with these beauties. Couldn't ask for a better day! I hope you had a wonderful Monday:)

My first award:)

It has been a super long weekend of work and just a wee bit of fun. Mainly work. I feel like I have been working non-stop lately. Oh well, got to fund the fun some how. I have my eye on a few little goodies I think will be happy with me. Hee hee! You know...shoes, cookbooks, new toys for the kitchen. The usual stuff. How has your weekend been? Me, I am tired and a little out of sorts. When I don't get my cook on I start to go through withdrawals and also feel a little unbalanced. Not to fret. Hopefully, I will recharge my batteries this week and get to make lots of yummy food.

Good news! The meat from the cow I won has been processed and my hubby picked it up today. I cannot wait to try it:) It should be good eats. I hope it lives up to the hype. I will let you know all about it of course. Tomorrow, I see steaks in my future.

To say I haven't cooked at all these past few days would be a little bit of an exaggeration. I did make a delicious roast chicken. It tasted so good I feel like I should share the recipe with you guys. It made a wonderful week night dinner. I think later I will make the leftover chicken into chicken salad. Don't worry. I will share it with you but for now lets get back to the chicken. I think I have started a love affair with Herbs de Provence. I think they are delicious and good on not only chicken but pork as well.

Roast Chicken

Ingredients
4 lb chicken
olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 T of Herbs de Provence
salt and pepper

Directions
preheat oven to 400F
Clean chicken and save the bones and innards to make stock later. Rub the outside and inside of chicken with olive oil. Gently loosen skin and rub garlic and herbs under skin as well as inside the cavity and on the outside of the bird.

 Sprinkle salt and pepper on the outside as well as in the cavity. Bake for about an hour or until juices run clear. Enjoy it with your favorite vegetables.
I made mine with red potatoes. I added them after 20 minutes and cooked them for about 40 minutes. They were delicious!

On to brighter news. I have received my first blogger awards. I am so excited! Thank you so much Kristy from MyLittleSpace at     www.kristygourmet.blogspot.com :)
I want to say thank you again:) I am really grateful for this honor. I hope everyone is having a great day:)

Yummmmmmmmmmmmm. Cookies

Everyone who knows me knows that I have the biggest sweet tooth. I will pick sweet over savory any day, anytime, or any way. I looooove me some sugar, so when I woke up this morning craving something delicious I knew just what to make. Peanut Butter Cookies. Hooray!

I have not had these sweet treats in quite a while. In fact, I am always on the lookout for what I will someday consider the perfect cookie recipe. Today, I decided to make the recipe from Alice Medrich's book, Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt in Your Mouth Cookies
I was not disappointed. The cookies were melt in your mouth delicious. Just ask my little taste tester doggie, Tank. He stole one when I was out of the room. Little stinker! The key to these cookies is to refrigerate the dough before you bake them and to also let them cool and set before you eat them. Otherwise they tend to crumble if you try and eat them straight out of the oven. Don't judge me. Sometimes I am a little impatient. Hee hee!

One thing is for sure, these cookies have put a smile on my face. So far this recipe is one of the best cookie recipes for Peanut Butter Cookies but I still would like to find one that will make a chewy cookie not just a melt in your mouth one. Or maybe a chewy, melt in your mouth one. Hmmmm. I may have to try and experiment in the kitchen. Challenge accepted!

Anyway, please give this recipe a try if you waking up craving something sweet and delicious as well. I hope everyone is having a good day!

Peanut Butter Cookies
from Alice Medrich

Ingredients
1 1/2 c of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp sea salt
8 T of unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c natural chunky peanut butter

Directions
Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and mix with a whisk or a fork.
In a large bowl mix the butter with the sugars and blend for about a minute with a mixer until smooth and creamy but not fluffy.

Add the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix until well blended. Add the flour mixture and stir until evenly incorporated. Wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or if possible over night.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Scoop slight level tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Set about 2 inches apart.

Press them down slightly with a fork and make a criss- cross pattern.

Bake 12-16 minutes until lightly colored on top and golden brown on bottom. Make sure to rotate the cookie sheets half way through to ensure even baking. 

Cool cookies completely before stacking and storing. Enjoy! They will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

My favorite day of the week!

I know most people do not like Wednesday aka Hump Day but not me. I love it because this is also known as girl's day. My friends and I get together for lunch and dish about what is going on in our lives. I know... it's an excuse to eat, drink, and be merry:) It's the little things in life that make it all worth while. Hee Hee!

I have been working so much lately that I have not been able to cook. That all changed last night. I have been wanting to try and make stuffed shells. I see them all the time and they look delicious. I was not sorry that I did. The hubby liked them as well and ate about six of them. I stuffed them with sausage and  cheese filling. Yum!

They were easier to make than I thought they would be and tasted even better.

Stuffed Shells with Sausage

Ingredients
Large Pasta Shells cooked according to the package and set aside
1 lb of  Italian Sausage
1 lb of ricotta cheese
1 lb of shredded cheese (I used a combination of colby jack and white cheddar
1/2 c of Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup of spinach
2 eggs
 at least 4 c of marinara (I made my own), more if desired

Directions
Preheat oven to 375, spray bottom of casserole pan. In a medium bowl mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup of shredded cheese, 1/2 c of Parmesan cheese, spinach, 2 eggs. Set aside. Cook sausage until done. I used the big sausage links and cut them into small pieces and pan cooked them until done. Then I picked up a shell and put 2 pieces of sausage inside and them stuffed them with a couple of tablespoons of cheese mixture.

Top the shells with the sauce and then the rest of the shredded cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes. And enjoy:)

I hope everyone is having a great week so far. I have girl's day to prepare for. Talk to y'all later.