Baked Sweet Potato Goodness!

It's fall, y'all! Sweet potatoes are back in season (just like pumpkin EVERYTHING)! You can get sweet potatoes year round, but I find that fall and winter are the 2 seasons that I enjoy using sweet potatoes the most.  We make baked sweet potatoes, yams, sweet potato casserole, sweet potato fluff, sweet potato cake, sweet potato fries... you catchin' my drift yet?

My favorite go-to sweet and simple dinner combination is grilled chicken and a baked sweet potato.  You can dress them however you like, but here in the South we like to make that sweet potato even sweeter.  It's just the right combination of sweet and savory. :)

Ingredients (for 4 people):
4 sweet potatoes, washed
dark brown sugar
butter
Karo syrup

First you wanna pre-heat that oven to 400 degrees and let it start getting nice and warm.  Take the sweet potatoes and wrap them up in their own tin foil pouches (you don't have to do this, but I find that it makes the potato so much softer) and set them to the side.  Once the oven is pre-heated, stick them babies in the oven and set your timer for 1 hour (you may need a little longer depending on the SIZE of the sweet potatoes; check them every now and then if they are). 

Once they're out of the oven, let them cool a few minutes and then dress them how you like 'em.  I put about a teaspoon of butter on top and let it melt, then sprinkle brown sugar and drizzle the Karo over top of everything. Let the sweet potatoes sit in the juices for a few minutes before eating.

Yum yum! :)

Enjoy!

THE MOST AMAZING MEATLOAF ON THIS SIDE OF THE SUN!

Okay, so I came across this recipe for a "glazed meatloaf" about a year ago when I wanted to try and mimic my mom's meatloaf... but, the recipe just sounded too dang good to alter.  Since then, it has become a staple in my cooking regimen because it's just so darn tasty! (C'mon, who doesn't like a good meatloaf?!)

I made it tonight and we chowed down before I even thought to take pictures... silly me. But, I did get a picture from the website I used last year for the recipe :) (AllRecipes).  This is pretty much what mine looked like :

So, hang tight... cause you're about to witness the most amazing meatloaf recipe on this side of the sun!

Ingredients

Glaze:
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup brown sugar (or light brown sugar, your choice)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp ground mustard

Loaf:
2 lbs ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp beef bouillon granules
3 slices bread, broken up (I used wheat bread)
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used an entire small onion, chopped... what can I say? We LOVE onions! It yielded about 1/2 cup)

1- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2- In a small mixing bowl, make your glaze. Whisk together the lemon juice, brown sugar, ketchup, and ground mustard).  Set aside.
3- In a larger mixing bowl, combine your loaf ingredients. The best loaves came out when I did something just a little differently: whisk the beef bouillon granules into the beaten egg before combining with the rest of the meat mixture. After all of the ingredients are combined, add in 1/3 of the ketchup mix and combine well.
4- Pack the loaf into your loaf pan and pop in the oven for an hour.  After the timer goes off, glaze the meatloaf with the rest of the ketchup mixture and let it bake for another 10 min.  Let it cool for at least 10 minutes and then serve!

TIP: For a more moist meatloaf (moister?) you can add 1/3 cup lemon juice to the loaf ingredients like the original recipe says to do... but it's moist without it! All in your preference, I guess! :)


Well... all I can say at this point is, "you're welcome". :D

Southern Breakfast Quiche

Mama has a Sunday School breakfast tomorrow at her church and, of course, she waits until the last minute to figure out something to bake'n'take! (Love you, Mama!) So, I did some searching and found a tried and true recipe from an old church cookbook for a breakfast quiche... and like any good daughter would do, I cooked it FOR her. :) Okay, okay... maybe I just like to cook.

Well, I think I hit the jackpot with this one, guys!  I just might be making this a lot in the near future. It's so easy!

This recipe makes 2 nice-sized quiches (in 8 in. cake pans).  You can use a pie-crust if you like that sort-of thing, but I just like the filling. It turned out quite nicely!

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts (optional)

7 eggs

4 c milk

1 small onion, chopped

1 c swiss cheese, shredded

1 c colby cheese, shredded

1 c chopped ham (I used black forest ham!)

parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Saute your onion and ham until tender while the oven is heating up.  Mix the eggs, milk, and shredded cheese in a large mixing bowl and then pour over the ham mixture. 

Pour into cake pans as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if you'd like a topping and then pop them in the oven.

Bake the quiches for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes (or until the eggs are cooked and the top in browned a bit).

Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving to ensure cohesion. Serve and enjoy! :)

Have something you'd like me to try? Comment below!

Quick'n'Crispy Fried Pickle Spears

If you're like me, you love quick and CRUNCHY fried pickles with as little mess as possible.  Who doesn't love pickles, honestly?  From tailgates to late-night snacks, fried pickles are a hit!  If you've never had them... look no more!  

You've found your new addiction! Don't believe me? Just wait until you try these babies.

I've been experimenting with different recipes and different ways to make fried pickles and I stumbled upon my own recipe (using whatever I had in the kitchen, hah)!  I don't know why I've never heard of anyone doing it this way before.  People, if you want crunchy zesty pickles... you've come to the right place!

So, the first thing you need to do... like with all recipes... is to make sure you have all of the ingredients.  No one likes to start a recipe and figure out they don't have everything they need. That's just no fun!

Ingredients I used: (You can use variations if you'd like to... but these turned out amazing!) 

oil for frying

1 pkg Kraft Bake'n'Shake Extra Crispy

Vlasic Zesty Dill spears

1 c all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, beaten in a small bowl

ranch for dipping

These ingredients should make about 10 large-sized spears!

Directions:

First thing you need to do is start heating up your oil because it could take a little while to get to the right frying temperature.  I set mine on medium and let it heat up while I did everything else. :) Set out your ingredients: spread your flour out on a plate, use small bowl for the beaten eggs, and pour the packet of extra crispy Bake'n'Shake in its convenient shaking bag. 

First, blot your pickle spears on a paper towel to drain excess juices.  Cover your spears in unseasoned flour (trust me, you don't need any!), then dip them into the egg mixture, and place in the Bake'n'Shake bag.  After you've done this to all of your spears, give it a nice shake! Have fun with it (like frying chicken with Minnie in the Help).  Then set 4 or 5 in the oil at once (depending on the size of your skillet, you can do more).  Keep turning them until both sides are golden brown.

Once they're browned to your liking, take them out with a pair of tongs and set them on a paper-towel to drain the excess oil (I put my paper towel on a plate to avoid a mess).  After you've let them sit for 5 minutes, they're ready to serve!  Serve with ranch dressing and a tall glass of sweet southern iced tea and you're sure to be a hit!

How do you make YOUR fried pickles? 

Why, oh why?

Good evening, everyone! Ashley here, for your entertainment pleasure.  

I've decided to start a blog specifically for the testing of products, recipes, websites, etc. I'll be giving reviews, detailed instructions, and most importantly... my own advice!  With that being said, this will be a blog of my own opinions, nothing more. If you have a better way of doing things or have suggestions for me in any department, please don't hesitate to shoot me an e-mail.  I want nothing more than to just get my thoughts out there... and what better way than to do it on the Internet where thousands of strangers can all swap ideas?  Exactly. There isn't a better one. ;)

If you have any ideas or want something reviewed, let me know and I'll do my best to get it done for you. 

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