WHAT FUN!

Well, this party is FUN! So far, I have new friends, new blogs to read, and new readers to my blog! How exciting to be fully immersing myself into the blogosphere like never before! I no longer feel like I'm standing in the doorway of the party trying to work up the nerve to go in. I have been ushered in and welcomed and I'm having a ball now! :)

My mind is reeling with intelligent/thoughtful/fun things to write. Hmmm...too bad I'm coming up blank. :)

I thought that I would talk about something that I love...the culinary arts. I'm no professional. I dabble a bit here and there. I cook. I bake. I mainly create. I love to try new things...to throw things together and see what comes of it...to make a feast for the tummy AND the eyes. On a previous post I wrote about my love in my "B's" alphabet soup post. I just really miss the days of K Tri-C with my cousin (referenced in that post). You can just be so brave when you have 4 hands instead of 2. I love to make something that tempts the tastebuds and makes your mouth water. I love to create a masterpiece with garnishes and sauces. If I didn't have a husband, daughter, and son-in-the-oven, I would really, really want to go on Hell's Kitchen. I'm sure that any of you who have seen Hell's Kitchen think that I'm a lunatic and the rest of you are wondering what on earth Hell's Kitchen is. Let's just say it is a boot camp for people that love to cook...who want to learn...who want to be subjected to torture. :) Basically, Chef Ramsey, while being a complete jerk and potty-mouth, teaches, inspires, and encourages (in his own little way) aspiring chefs in a competition with a tremendous grand prize...your very own restaurant of your stylings, your menu planning, your directing. Do I think that I could ever win...no. Do I think that the learning would be invaluable? Absolutely! I would just love to go and learn and be there.

A lot of what I make is nothing fancy, so I don't want to give off the impression that I do gourmet meals every night. FAR FROM THE TRUTH! I wish that I had a gourmet kitchen and gourmet time to make gourmet meals every night, but, uh...this is reality, NOT reality TV! However, I do strive to make nice meals with yummy food for my husband and myself. As for my daughter...I just hope she'll eat SOMETHING! So, I thought that I would share some of my crowd pleasers. I'm not sure of a better way to do this, so if anyone wants to share the secret with me of how you can do little linky thingies where you click to go to the recipes, please share. A few of them will be that way, because they are from Taste of Home. The others, will just have to be written out recipes. Hope you enjoy!

Garlic Apple Pork Roast

Anyone-will-like-it cauliflower: I'm serious with this one...I haven't had ONE person try this that didn't like it...even people who HATED cauliflower and I had to practically force-feed them. Try it, you'll like it! :) Oh, and you can do it with other veggies, too, like asparagus!
Preheat oven to 375. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets...they don't have to be the same sizes. Place in a 9x13 casserole dish in an even layer. Drizzle the entire dish with olive oil. You don't have to hit every piece and don't drench it...just a nice drizzly coat. Sprinkle coarse salt/sea salt over entire dish...again, just a nice sprinkling. :) Bake for 45 minutes or until pieces are browning. It's okay for some to be getting dark brown and some light brown. I actually prefer the darker pieces. ENJOY!

Cake Mix Cookies: This is SIMPLE and oh-so-yummy! I love the diversity it provides! Make ice cream sandwiches or sandwich frosting between the cookies! Make them with chocolate and then put PB in the middle! The possibilites are LIMITLESS!!! My favorite are cherry chip and strawberry.
1 cake mix of ANY flavor
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
Mix all together. Roll into balls and place 2 in. apart on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 min. at 350. You don't want them to brown, really. Take them out for sure by 10 minutes and let them rest. They'll set up.

I had 2 more that I wanted to link to on Taste of Home, but the site is just not working at the moment and I'm tired of waiting! :) If I can manage to get to the recipes, I'll link to them in a later post.

There are just a few recipes for today. I hope you enjoy them! Let me know if you try any and what you think of them! For now, everyone have a fabulous day and come back to the party when you get the chance!