Jolene's Recipe Journal

My husband is very picky about his steak and my son has sensory issues coupled with a bad steak experience from a few years ago.    So I searched through Pinterest and assessed my possibilities.  I've gotten Jake to eat chicken, pork and eggplant all by breading and baking/frying, so I mulled over the idea of country fried steak, but I am terrible at making gravy.   My friend Sue suggested steak fingers, and a quick google found me these on Allrecipes. On their own, they are a little bit bland, I'd definitely amp them up with something next time, but for a trial run with Jake, they were perfect. I used round steak with the outer fat trimmed off, beaten with a meat mallet, then sliced it thin and across the grain.   Didn't take long at all for them to brown up and cook through.    Jake had his dipped in honey, and I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce.     Success!   He even ...

These were on the menu for Superbowl, but I ended up having so much other food I scrapped them.   My son and I threw them together last night and we really enjoyed them.  I only did a few hot dogs worth, and the rest as plain muffins.     Big hit with the kid, he ate half a dozen.  I had mine with some specialty mustard I ordered from Stonewall kitchen, and would have liked them with a spicy ketchup too.  I found the recipe on the Iowagirleats blog via Foodgawker   :) Mini Corn Dog Muffins Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 all-beef hot dogs -- cut into 1' bites (8 to 10) Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl, and whisk to combine. Add eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add buttermilk and whisk to incorporat...

We're big football fans, but we're also big fans of football food. Sometimes I go with a theme, sometimes it's picnic style (my son's favorite), but always I have the same game plan-  make a lot of food that's good at room temp or easily reheatable so that I can sit and watch the game!      :) This week I stuck with some old favorites, pulled pork in the slowcooker (pork roast and bottle of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce on low 8 hours, shred, serve on rolls),  nachos (chips and cheese set up on plates so that plus cheese, crackers and fruit. I decided to treat myself to a few spicy dishes since there was plenty of options for the guys to eat.    Combed my to-try files and the first to go on the menu was Sweet and Spicy Jalapeno Poppers from Country Woman.    The chicken and bacon poppers use a mixture of brown sugar and Penzey's BBQ3000 spice mix, so I simply doubled it and dipped the jalapeno poppers first. I had to bake mine lon...

I was a little skeptical when I saw this recipe...  take a jelly sandwich, add deli meat and cheese and then dip and fry it up like french toast.   Oh-kay.    We're pretty much snowed in today and the guys wanted pork chops so I figured it was a good day to experiment with my own meal.    I didn't have raspberry jam, I used strawberry.   Not a huge Swiss cheese fan, so I used shredded mozzarella.    Next time I'd have some sliced on hand, would make it easier to flip the sandwich in the egg coating.      The flavors all meld together into something totally delicious.    Give it a try!     Monte Cristo Sandwiches Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 4 servings 1 large egg 3 large egg whites 1/4 cup low-fat milk 1 pinch ground nutmeg 8 teaspoons raspberry or strawberry jam 8 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread 4 thin slices roasted deli turkey -- (about 4 ounces) 4 thin sl...

I've been making this Lemon Chicken Rice Soup for over a decade and we love it now as much as we did the first time I made it.  It's a "semi-homemade" recipe that comes together quickly but tastes like you spent all day on it. I start with chicken breast tenderloins chopped into bite sized pieces.  You can use any cut you want, you just want about 1 1/2 pounds. I cook the chicken with a little olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper in a dutch oven until the chicken is no longer pink.   Next up is carrots.  You can use thinly sliced carrots but I like to run mine over the Microplane. They get distributed so much more evenly that way.  I then add a 32oz low sodium chicken broth and cream of chicken soup and stir well. I've admitted in the past, I cannot cook rice, so the Ben's Ready Rice are one of my culinary best friends. I love the Roast Chicken flavor for this! I microwave them for about 60 seconds before adding them into the pot.  Obviously the key to ...

We gave up traveling for Thanksgiving the year I was pregnant with Jake, Tim prefers Stovetop stuffing, jarred gravy and canned cranberry sauce, so basically I can go all out for desserts.    I let them each pick (Tiramisu for Tim and pumpkin pie for Jake, reviews to follow) and I wanted chocolate pie.    Mom's chocolate pie consisted of cook n serve pudding poured into a graham crust and then served with cool whip.     Carol mentioned she was making a chocolate pie, and told me that it was super easy to put together and that I'd never go back to pudding pie again.   She is absolutely right  :)     The flavor and consistency of this pie is wonderful, and though I made it in a graham crust this time, I would love it even more in a blind baked pastry crust.    As an homage to my mom, I did not put the plastic wrap on the surface, I actually like the "skin" that forms on the top...

I have a million potato recipes.   We like them all kinds of ways.   I've done potatoes on the grill before, but always in a packet or a grill pan.   I saw this recipe on TOH while poking around one day and put it straight on the to-try list.     There's a few steps involved, but overall if you've got things laid out it all comes together fast.   I didn't get out a ruler when I cut the excess off the potatoes, but I'm sure I left a little more than 1/4", so I microwaved mine the full 10 mins.    I browned the bacon while waiting for the potatoes to come out of the microwave.   The butter mixture comes together in just a few mins.   When I go out to eat, I will often get an appetizer as my meal...  This fits that bill perfectly.   The crisp skin and the fluffy potato, topped with melty cheese, crispy bacon, and a dollop of sour cream.    I did intend...

  Starting the week off with a winner!   I saw Carol's review of this and was so excited to give it a try.    I used her changes for the baking powder/soda, and omitted the nuts.    Keeping in mind my veggiephobes, I peeled the zucchini before I shredded it and it all but disappears in the finished bread.   I also cheated and tossed the cherries into the food processor and gave it a few pulses.     Lastly, I sprinkled the top with coarse sugar, Tim really likes the crunch it gives baked goods and so do I.  Couldn't locate my 8x4 pans, so had to use 9x5s.   It made 2 nice loaves.  Jake and Tim have already eaten half a loaf !   Thank you Carol and thanks to Susie Ann! Cherry Vanilla Zucchini Bread Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 2 eggs 1 c. canola or vegetable oil 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 c. gr...