Crockpot Chili - Entertaining Made Easy

We live in such a world of convenience now that even when I make my crock-pot chili for guest they are impressed with the "home cooking". I love this recipe because it is easy to put together, easy to remember, easy to serve and easy to clean up. Hum...maybe I should call it easy chili? Enjoy!

Crock-pot Chili

Brown 1 pd of ground beef or turkey, drain and through into a crock-pot. Add one diced green pepper and one diced onion. Add one can of beans, rinsed (I like Kidney, my husband likes pinto). Add one can diced tomatoes and one can of tomato sauce (15 oz). Add 1/2 to 1 bottle of beer and chili pepper to taste. Stir everything together and let it cook on high for at least 4 hours.

Peach Cobbler - End of Summer Tradition

Fruit seasons seem so strange to me. It is kind of like a tropical storm. You wait and prepare yourself for it, then when it finally arrives it pours. After it is all done you are left with the messy remains and not wanting to see any more. Right now I am waiting for my tropical storm named peaches. I know I can buy them in the store or even pick my own, but this queen of laziness is waiting for them to be deliver to me. I have two acquaintances that have peach trees and I know when the season hits they will bring in buckets full into the office. Like a vulture, I will be there to scoop them up. My favorite things to do with them are making peach smoothies (frozen peaches, milk and protein powder blended up) and of course peach cobbler. I am usually more of a "crisp" kind of gal when it comes to dressing up fruit, but peaches just seem to go better with the cake like texture of a cobbler. This along with sweet corn makes a great tradition for an end of summer meal. Enjoy!

Bake Sale Blonde Brownies

As I might have mentioned before, Baker Babe tends to put on a few pounds when in the kitchen. So when an opportunity comes along where I can bake but then give everything away, I jump at the chance. This week I baked up some items for a Bake Sale to benefit The Keep Sound Minds organization. It is a story that touched my heart when I first heard about it and a way to turn something truly tragic into a positive change for all. I had to come up with a few items that would keep well and would want to be gobbled up by all. I ended up making a batch of these Blonde Brownies. They are easy to make and are a perfect combination of a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie. I also made up a batch of the Blueberry-Lemon Bread and some awesome Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting. Enjoy!

Blonde Brownies

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package semisweet chocolate chunks

Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl with electronic mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add combined flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until well blended. Stir in chocolate chunks. Spread evenly into greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan and let cool. Cut into squares.

Millionaires Cake - A jackpot recipe

Another visit to relatives this weekend means another chance to steal family recipes. This one comes from my mother-in-law and it is always one of my favorite things to eat when we visit. It is a very moist cake that seems to just melt in your mouth. It is the one of the main reasons I always end up rolling home from my Italian in-laws. Of course I am sure the meatballs, pasta and bread do not help either. Make this cake the next time your relatives come over and I guarantee they will think you are worth a million bucks. Enjoy!

Millionaires Cake

1 - 9 oz yellow cake mix (Like Jiffy)
2 cups milk
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 package vanilla instant pudding
1 large can crushed pineapple (drained)
8oz carton of whipped topping
Optional: chopped nuts, cut up cherries or shredded coconut for topping

Mix cake mix as directed and place in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. In the mean time, combine 2 cups milk gradually to 8 oz softened cream cheese. Add 1 package vanilla instant pudding. Beat until quite stiff. Put this on the cooled cake. Then, combine 1 large can drained crushed pineapple with ½ carton of the whipped topping. Put this on top of pudding mix on cake. Cover with layer of remaining cool whip. Sprinkle nuts, cut up cherries or shredded coconut over topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Stuffed Tomatoes - Making the most of your Veggies

Baker Babe is taking a night off. Enjoy the Guest Blog!

Living in remarkably good growing region that is western Michigan, my husband and I try to hit up our local farmer's market every two weeks or so and get the freshest fruit and veggies we can. I've gotten some excellent raspberries, blueberries (which I used to make Blueberry-lemon bread) peppers and garlic. This week, we were excited to find that tomatoes were in season. Now, I'm not a big tomato fan. Growing up, the only tomatoes I had were pureed in store bought spaghetti sauce. My husband on the other hand is a big fan of tomatoes. Sometimes I think that he would bite into them like an apple if I let him. (Correction: I just consulted with him and he has.) One of the few ways that I truly enjoy tomatoes is if they are stuffed and baked in the oven. Which is what I did last night. I followed this recipe that I found in my Everyday Italian cookbook. I've made it before and it's really enjoyable in that you get the flavor from the fresh herbs. You can always change it up and add cooked onions or ground meat or peppers or mushrooms, but you want to make sure that the tomatoes are fresh and ripe, since that's the main flavor. Bon Appetit!

Corn Cakes - A new twist for this season

Now that corn season is in full swing in New England, my family eats it at least two times a week. Although I look forward to eating it every time and we have been switching it up when it comes to cooking methods (boiling, grilling, over the campfire), sometimes you still crave something just a little different. That is where corn cakes come in. This recipe has long been a tradition in my family and I have wonderful memories of my grandmother cooking up a batch for us each summer. Rumor has it that the men in the family only put up with the women because they could cook these. Because it is an old recipe that has been passed along family members and never actually written down, the measurements for the ingredients may need to be tweaked slightly based on how much corn you have. Enjoy and start your own family tradition!

Corn Cakes

12 ears of sweet corn

1 egg
2-3 Tablespoons flour

Salt & pepper to taste

With a sharp knife, cut down the ears of corn going in the middle of each row of kernels. Then use the back of the knife to scrape across the kernels placing all the inside juice and substance in a bowl. Add the egg and flour, getting it to a batter consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Drop in batter to form small 3 inch cakes and cook until brown on both sides. Drain cakes on paper towels. Repeat until batter is used up.

Chicken Squares - A family classic, ripped off from Pillsbury

This week I am featuring a family classic that I grew up with "Chicken Squares". Unlike the ham balls I recently wrote about my family really did like these. It is an excellent way to use up your leftover chicken. Which is exactly what I am doing this week except I am stretching the imagination a little and using leftover pork. The recipe was a Pillsbury Bake Off Winner in 1974 so you know that it was been around for quite some time. So we may have stolen the recipe from Pillsbury, but the gravy is a family original. A can of cream of chicken soup, mixed with 1/2 can of water or milk and heated until warm. It doesn't get much simpler then that. Enjoy!

Jack Daniels Baking - Options Galore!

I think by now everyone knows that I like to bake with booze. I recently found myself faced with an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniels that I wanted to use up. I knew that I had seen recipes using Jack Daniels in cakes before so I turned to the Internet for inspiration. I never realized Jack was so popular. I found recipes for cobbler, pie, cornbread and truffles. I even found a whole cookbook dedicated to this ingredient. So I decided I need to take some time and look over my options. At least I know this ingredient won't go bad. I just have to worry that I may get so overwhelmed with options that I will decide that it will be way easier just to pour myself a few drinks.