4th of July Cake

This was sooo yummy! Maybe it isn't the prettiest thing you have ever seen...but hey...I tried:-) It was goooood though!

I made my pound cake in a bigger pan instead of a bunt pan....and put whip cream and berries on top...that's it:-)

http://simplyum.blogspot.com/2011/06/pound-cake.html

Potato Salad Red Hot and Blue style:-)

Have you ever had the potato salad at Red Hot & Blue?? It's the BEST...and I made it for our 4th cookout...it was soooo good! This will definitely be the potato salad recipe I use in the future.

4 lbs Red Bliss potatoes

4 large eggs

1/2 cup finely chopped green onion top

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

1 3/4 teaspoons celery seeds

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

Steam the potatoes for approximately 45 minutes (you can boil them, but they tend to be slightly mushier in the end result). Set aside to cool enough to handle. Boil your eggs, then do the same. When cool enough, peel the eggs ONLY (do NOT peel the potatoes -- the skin gives it part of it's unique texture and taste).

In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Chop the potatoes and eggs into bite-size pieces and add to bowl. Mix GENTLY -- you want salad, not mush -- until blended.

Serve at room temp for up to 2 hours after making -- refridgerate leftovers. It tastes best when room temp, but is delicious cold too -- so if you are making this in advance, it's fine to chill it.

This is really some of the best potato salad I have ever put in my mouth....sorry for the bad picture:-( I was in a hurry...will take a better picture next time I make it:-)

Cream Corn

I have never made cream corn before but I LOVE it! We had a bunch of fresh corn so I figured I would try it out and see how it turned out. It was really good...creamy...flavorful....and yes...BAD FOR YOU!

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn
Salt and Pepper
bell pepper chopped
1-2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 stick butter

Directions:
Clean corn...boil for about 20 minutes...let cool.
Cut corn off cob into a sauce pan...and make sure you scrape the corn to get the juices too. Bring to med heat...add chopped bell peppers, 1/2 butter and pepper. Stir fry for about 10 minutes until you can smell the corn starting to caramelize. Reduce heat to low and add cream. Stir togehter and let cook for about 30 more minutes....ENJOY!!!! OMG...enjoy:-)

Pound Cake

Ok...so I am not that great at baking....every once in a while something turns out ok....that's why I am SOOOO proud of myself. I figured I could make a pound cake without messing it up...and I did! It's DELICIOUS!!!!

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup veg shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
With a mixer, cream together the better and shortening. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Mix in vanilla. Pout into a greased and floured bunt pan and bake for 1 hour, until toothpick comes out clean.

YUMMMMMM!

Garlic Fried Chicken

My step daughter Haley is with us for a month this summer. She is a SUPER picky eater and I am trying to find things that she likes. I know she is a chicken and potatoes kind of girl...so I thought I would try this recipe out and see what she thought. She LOVED it! She ate more food then I have seen her eat in a LONG time!!! YAY!!

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts (cut into strips)
garlic powder
pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
garlic and herb bread crumbs
veg oil

Directions:
mix eggs and milk in bowl
put bread crumbs in separate bowl and put some pepper and garlic powder in them (as much as you want...I probably used a teaspoon of each...maybe a little more)
roll chicken around in egg mixture then roll around in bread crumbs
Fry chicken in med heat (veg oil) for about 10-15 minutes or until chicken is done.

Serve with mash potatoes/gravy and a veggie:-)

YUM!!!

Grilled Corn

This is by far the best corn I have ever put in my mouth! My friend Shanda made it at a cookout once and I have been wanting to make it ever since:-) It's so easy...and REALLY good!

5-6 ears of corn..cleaned
butter
salt and pepper
green onions


put a dab of butter on each ear of corn and wrap it in foil. Put on top rack of med high grill, and close. Cook for about 45 minutes...turning corn a few times. Pull corn off the grill..let cool for a few minutes. Unwrap corn and cut off cobb into bowl. Add a handful of chopped green onions...pepper and a little butter..serve immediately. YUM!!!!

Simple Brisket

This was another version of a Brisket that I wanted to try...it was easy and DELICIOUS!!! Really really tender...juicy...and tasty! I want to smoke a brisket at some point in my life...but until I get a smoker...I am stuck with an oven:-)

7 lb untrimmed brisket
salt
pepper
garlic seasoning

Sprinkle generous portions of seasonings all over brisket...rub it in well. Let brisket sit out long enough to get to room temp.

Put in a roasting pan and in a 350 oven uncovered for 1 hour.

Add 2 cans of beef broth to pan, cover brisket tight with foil. Reduce oven to 300 and cook for an additional 4-5 hours until meat is fork tender.

Easy as pie!!!