I'll be Home for Christmas

The Christmas season is by FAR my favorite time of the year. Between the wonderful music, time with family, and the AMAZING food. With just under 24 hours until Christmas morning, my house is full of Christmas time decorations and we are starting to make some yummy Christmas time cookies and candies...and what ever else we decide.


I hope you have a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Phileep

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These pictures are not very good because they were taken with my phone but they are a Philly Cheese steak Sandwich and some homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries (like cherry cordials).

The Philly Cheese steak is just a store bought package of Philly Cheese steak (Always Save I think). I seasoned the meat with some Cavender's Seasoning and topped it all with some sweated onions. The bread is just a foot long wheat loaf from Sam's Club. This is a very easy and tasty meal for any of the year.

Chocolate Covered Cherries are very sweet but very good.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

2lb PLUS Powdered Sugar

1 Stick Butter

1 can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 jars Maraschino Cherries, stemmed and drained

Mix butter, milk, and vanilla together till well blended. Add powdered sugar gradually until all is incorporated. Transfer mix onto board covered in powdered sugar and knead in more and more powdered sugar until mix is not sticky. Pinch off about a teaspoon of sugar mixture and insert cherry and roll into a ball. Refrigerate for a hour. Melt 24 ounces (2 regular bags) of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 square paraffin wax in a double boiler. Dip cherries i chocolate with toothpick and let harden. Sugar mix will melt as it gets warmer.

The cherries are very sugary but are great.

Thats Da Best Dang Quesidillla I've Ever Had

The last time my church had a food fellowship after services, I tried a square of what looked like a quesidilla but inside tasted like chicken enchiladas....so for dinner tonight, I tried my version referring to an enchilada recipe I have. The best thing was it was what I had on hand all mixed together and was Delicious.

Quick and Easy Quesidilla Enchiladas

Left over Rotisserie Chicken (2 Cups was about 2 legs and 1/2 a breast)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Mexi-Corn
Cheese (I used Cheddar)
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Tortillas

I cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces and then mixed all together until creamy. Scoop mixture onto 1 tortilla on a plate and microwave for about 50 seconds to heat and melt cheese. Top with 1 more tortilla and more cheese and brown under broiler until cheese has melted and edges are starting to brown (P.S. it is very easy to burn food in broiler so be careful and don't sit down). After cheese has melted, I topped mine with some salsa and sour cream... it was reallly good!

Soul Food is what You Make It

When someone says soul food the first thing I think of is an older black lady making some grrrreeeattt food, a big smile on her face, and humming an ol' gospel song. But that ain't no where close to what it actually is. Soul food should be what makes you feel good inside. Maybe something really easy to make that brings up old memories of your family and loved ones but its not something that is had reguraly. What I would call soul food would be something out of my granny's kitchen. I love mashed potatoes, homemaid maccaroni and cheese, and sweet green beans but, hey as long and my grandma makes it, I know its good! My mom just made some roast with potatoes and carrots that hit the spot. Soul food ain't just something out of the deep south but its right out of the kitchen in your heart.

Time Truley Flys...

I swear my oven doesn't cook anything until I sit down in the living room away from the kitchen. I could stand watching eagerly for ever and nothing happen but as soon as my butt hits a chair ...its burnt

The school year is back into full swing and it seems like the days are flying by. My calendar is filling up quickly with the numerous activities that I'm involved in and free time is becoming a thing of the past. On the 10th I have 3 MAJOR events taking place. I have been working on a 150+ PowerPoint slide show to show in front of my entire school, all-region jazz band tryouts, and a church association choir performance that I am already starting to stress over. I haven't had much time recently to cook anything but I have found my favorite way to make smores, one of my new favorite after school snacks:

Phileep's Microwave Smores

Take graham crackers and cover with chocolate chips of your choice. Top each
square of graham cracker with one marshmallow.
Place plate in microwave and heat until marshmallows expand [WARNING: DON'T LET
MARSHMALLOWS EXPLODE IN YOUR MICROWAVE!!!]
Once marshmallows have expanded, take out of microwave and top with clean cracker.
By this time the chocolate is just melted enough to make a wonderfully delicious mess :-]

Stepping Up to Your Fears

Today I gave a speech to 350+ people. While it was a fairly nerve racking thing, there's really nothing to it. Walking up to the podium I was bracing myself to trip, but I didn't, giving the speech I was prepared to say something stupid, but I didn't, and I was sure that I would give my speech, get home, and see that my pants had a humongous hole in the back showing off my underwear or an offensive drawing on the back of my suit jacket... but none of that happened. Despite the fact that I was giving a speech in front of numerous people, whats the difference in cooking a new meal that may have a challenging task within it? There really is no difference in spinning sugar for the first time and giving a speech in front of thousands. So why do both of those tasks scare us? I'm not sure. Is it the people staring? Possibly the hot oven? What about the microphone that is extremely hard to talk in? Why not try something hard and challenge our bodies and our minds.

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're
supposed to help you discover who you are."

~Bernice Johnson Reagon

Just Keep Swimming

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swim-ming swim-ming swim-ming, what do we do but swim, swim, swim, swim.

Since Dory didn't cook in Finding Nemo it doesn't really fit my blog but I love that song and think it has some really good points to it that can relate to cooking.

Numerous times when I try making up recipes, trying new ones, or just tweaking favorites...things go terribly wrong. But the important thing to remember is that you can always try again. Dory and Marlin kept swimming and eventually found Nemo. Keep cooking and you will eventually find your very own Nemo (or favorite recipe).

The other day I thought it would be good to add some butterscotch chips and chocolate chips in the middle of a brownie mix I made but lets just say I went a little overboard... They tasted more like fudge than brownies.
So the next night I tried a new recipe called scotcheroos witch compared to my brownie disaster, was amazing!!!
Here's the recipe:

Scotcheroos
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Corn Syrup
3/4 Cup Peanut Butter
6 Cups Special K or Total

Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and cereal. Mix then spread into a 9 x 13 pan and let cool.

Optional: Melt 1 cup milk chocolate chips and 1 cup butterscotch chips and spread over top as a frosting

Lost in Translation

Sometimes I don't realize what is lost in translation. When different ingredients are thrown into one melting pot you can lose the different distinct flavors each one has to offer. Missing the little twang of each ingredient could be one bite of your meal or it could mean missing something that could change your life. When you don't take time to listen or take just a little bit of interest in a subject or a person's different culture you can miss a flavor that could change your life.

On the other hand, shouldn't other ingredients take interest into the flavors that are already in the pot? Some ingredients dive right in and could overpower the dish while others or most don't care at all. When new things come into the pot on the stove that's on medium heat, why should they get to come in get to move the temperature up to high?

I think there should be a happy medium. Both of the ingredients should give up a little bit of something if it can compliment the other a little better and not take over the other's life. A dash of this or sprinkle of that could make a dish something that you will never forget.