Chocolate Ganache

3/4 cup real whipping cream
8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan, bring whipping cream to a boil.  Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until blended. 
Serve chocolate ganache with an assortment of dippers, such as fresh strawberries, pretzel sticks, pound cake chunks, marshmallows, apple slices, or other fresh fruit.  Great for parties!  [...]

Seven Layer Salad 
In a 9 x 13 dish place the following: 

1 head chopped iceberg lettuce (1st layer) 

Combine:

½ cup chopped celery (2nd layer)
½ cup chopped green pepper (2nd layer)
½ cup chopped green onion (2nd layer) 
1 package frozen green peas, thawed (3th layer) 
¾ cup sour cream mixed with ¾ cup mayonnaise (4th layer) 
1 Tablespoon sugar (5th layer) 
1 [...]

Fried Chicken Tenders
You will need:

2 pounds fresh chicken tenders
Salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 ½ cups plain flour
1 ½ cups Ritz cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon celery salt
2 teaspoons Lowry’s seasoned salt
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons Cajun spice
2 teaspoons garlic salt
Vegetable Oil for frying

Fried chicken is better when made from fresh, not frozen chicken. Remove fresh [...]

Stromboli
It’s almost time to ring in a new year. I don’t know about you, but we’ve all had our fill of the traditional dishes like turkey and dressing, ham, rolls, heavy casseroles, and numerous desserts that now hang on our hips and thighs. We will be hosting a New Year’s Eve party at our home [...]

Country Breakfast Pie 
1 deep dish pie crust – unbaked 
Place the following in unbaked pie crust

1 pound pork sausage – crumbled, browned, and drained

¼ cup chopped green pepper

¼ cup chopped red pepper

¼ cup chopped onion

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup light cream 

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and [...]

Can you believe Christmas is almost here?  It sure has come fast this year – faster than I can ever recall.  There are too many things I will have to leave undone this year.  The Christmas dishes are still in the attic.  I never got around to cutting fresh cedar and magnoia greens to decorate [...]

Festive Cranberry Pineapple Salad 
Over the years, I’ve sampled numerous cranberry salads.  Some were too tart.  Some were too sweet.  But this one is just right.  Sweet meets tangy for the perfect duo – and the crunch adds a nice pizzazz too.  Oh, did I mention it is pretty?? Did I also mention EASY?? 

20 oz can [...]

Fall and winter bring a change of menu at our house.  As the chilly wind blows in from the north, a pot of soup is often simmering on the stove – its aroma promising to warm us from the inside out. 

Ann’s Taco Soup 

2 lbs ground beef
1 chopped onion 
2 cans mild Rotel tomatoes
3 cans drained kidney [...]

Organic Pumpkin Bread (Wheat and Gluten Free)
Don’t be afraid to vary the kind of flour used in some recipes. This is my mother’s original pumpkin bread recipe, which I traditionally make around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since I am trying to reduce inflammation in my body – I am eliminating wheat from my diet. The original [...]

Fruit Dip Fluff
I love this dip because it works for most holidays and seasons. Many of our Christmas Eve’s are low key around here. I usually make trays of goodies the whole family can munch on throughout the day. Usually there’s a fire going too. But don’t limit this dip just [...]