Someone’s in the kitchen with Deidre

Alfredo sauce

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My hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Fortunately, from time to time, he doesn’t mind indulging in a little pasta. One of my favorites is fettucini chicken alfredo. Thanks to the sauce, my hubby really likes it as well. I received this recipe from a co-worker in Tampa, Florida. I was amazed at how easy it is. (you can also substitute sharp cheddar cheese for the parmesan and make a yummy cheese sauce for things like broccoli.)

Fettucini alfredo with garlic bread

Fettucini alfredo with garlic bread

Ingredients:

  • 2 T. butter
  • 2 T. flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (or Italian cheese blend)
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • garlic salt to taste

Melt butter over low heat. Blend in flour and salt. Add milk all at once. Whisk constantly until thickened. Add parmesan and stir until melted. Add garlic to taste. (If mixture is too thick, add a little milk until desired consistency is achieved.)

We serve this over fettucini noodles and grilled chicken (I use Italian seasoning on the chicken.) Of course, don’t forget the garlic bread! Buon Appetito!

 

 

Cookies are dessert.

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For his Father’s Day dessert, my hubby wanted chocolate chip cookies. His favorite recipe is one I have had for years. Let’s face it. Chocolate chip cookie recipes are like meatloaf recipes. Everybody has one, and everybody thinks theirs is the best. Difference is, people actually like chocolate chip cookies.

When I was a girl growing up at Vandament Avenue Baptist Church in Yukon, Oklahoma, we had a sweet little old lady member named Blanche James. She lived in a little house in Yukon and she quilted like a dream. She was very crafty and made me handmade items when I was younger. My mom was able to get Blanche’s chocolate chip cookie recipe before she passed away (Mrs. Blanche passed away, not my mom), and it is the recipe I use over and over. The card it is written on is wrinkled, taped up, stained, and the one card we won’t lose. It is usually taped inside the cabinet door. Mrs. Blanche has been gone for years now, but I always think of her when I make these cookies, and it makes me smile.

Ingredients:

  • 1 c. shortening (or 3/4 c. butter)
  • 1 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/4 c. flour
  • 1 t. soda
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 pkg. chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet)
  • 1 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Cream together the shortening and sugars. Add eggs to creamed mixture and mix in vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture slowly. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. (I use a small Pampered Chef scoop.) Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies. (The recipe might make 6 dozen if you don’t eat a bunch of the cookie dough.)

A plate of comfort food. Chocolate chip cookies. I can't eat just one.

A plate of comfort food. Chocolate chip cookies. I can’t eat just one.

I sometimes make up the dough and keep it in the fridge. That way hubby can have fresh baked cookies each night. Yummers!

Father’s Day dinner

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I’m behind, I know. Just think of me being really early for next year. Of course, this isn’t necessarily Father’s Day Only specific.

Hubby's plate of stroganoff with a side of garlic bread.

Hubby’s plate of stroganoff with a side of garlic bread.

One of my husband’s favorite meals is beef stroganoff. I got the recipe from my mom, but it has evolved over the years. Her original recipe was round steak, cooked, and a container of sour cream. I started adding cream of mushroom soup and like it better that way.

Ingredients:

  • 2 T. oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 lbs round steak, cut into cubes
  • 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 1 small can sliced mushrooms (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • Wide egg noodles, cooked

Heat garlic in oil over low heat, until tender. Add round steak, turn heat to medium and cook until done. Do not drain. Add soup, sour cream, and mushrooms (if desired). Heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over egg noodles.

We usually also have garlic toast with it and sometimes a side salad. It’s nothing fancy, and it is really simple, but we think it is yummy. Enjoy!

 

Ooey Gooey Gotcha Day Breakfast

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My mom was a great cook. I say “was” because she just doesn’t cook much anymore. According to her, by the time you are almost 80, standing in the kitchen loses its appeal.

One of my favorite recipes of my mom’s is her Monkey Bread. Holy cow!! I know this is what manna must have tasted like. It was usually saved for special occasions. We had this on Gotcha Day yesterday, and there’s no better special occasion than that!

Ingredients:

  • 24 frozen dinner rolls (I use Rhodes rolls)
  • 1 c. packed brown sugar
  • 1 box (3 oz) cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix (NOT instant)
  • 1/4 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • 1/2 c. pecans, chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 c. butter, melted
I use my Pampered Chef stone bundt pan. If you use a regular bundt pan, grease and flour it first.

I use my Pampered Chef stone bundt pan. If you use a regular bundt pan, grease and flour it first.

Place frozen rolls around sides and bottom of the bundt pan. Mix brown sugar and pudding mix together and sprinkle over rolls. Mix granulated sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over brown sugar mixture. Spread pecans over all this and pour melted butter over all.

First layer: brown sugar and pudding mix

First layer: brown sugar and pudding mix

Second layer: Add sugar and cinnamon mixture

Second layer: Add sugar and cinnamon mixture

Ready to sit overnight.

Final layer: Add pecans, if using, and melted butter. Ready to sit overnight.

Place uncovered on counter top over night. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 30 minutes. (You will want to put a cookie sheet underneath on a lower rack while the monkey bread cooks. The sugar mixture will sometimes bubble up and leak over the sides.) Let it sit in the pan 10-15 minutes before turning it over onto a large plate.

I really like waking up to this sight. Overflowing rolls smothered in sweet goodness.

I really like waking up to this sight. Overflowing rolls smothered in sweet goodness.

You'll need to find a plate bigger than the bundt pan. Otherwise, all the good stuff falls off the plate.

You’ll need to find a plate bigger than the bundt pan. Otherwise, all the good stuff falls off the plate.

Ready for the big reveal.

Ready for the big reveal.

Here it is. Manna from heaven. It doesn't look like this for long. Maybe I should have added a picture of an empty plate.

Here it is. Manna from heaven. It doesn’t look like this for long. Maybe I should have added a picture of an empty plate.

I love pecans in this, but my husband isn’t nuts over them (Nuts! Get it?!?!) so I leave them out. I’m submissive that way. 🙂 Happy Eating!