Jolene's Recipe Journal

Meal planning used to be a no brainer for me.   Lately, changes to our schedules, weather, and general lack of inspiration have all been affecting my ability to plan.   My usual MO is to check out what I've got pinned or in my "On-Deck" folder, then I think about what I've got on hand, or if a trip to the store is needed.    Sometimes, I get my kick in the pants based on the "Food Holidays" calendar.    A glance at today showed it is National Lasagna Day.   I had this recipe pinned, and a quick check of the fridge showed I had all the ingredients on hand.    I knew I'd swap shredded mozzarella for the swiss.   I got sidetracked when I went to grab the chives, and ended up omitting them.   I added some Italian seasoning to the sauce, and I think next time it could use a little garlic somewhere along the way.    I doubled everything to get 6 rolls. I've made a few versions of...

About halfway through summer, and the guys have been getting bored with my usual hotdog/brat/kielbasa presentations.    I've had some Jack Daniels in the fridge for a while, so I decided to give Taste of Home's Bourbon Brat Skewers recipe a try.    My skewers have gone missing, so I knew that I'd be doing this as a skillet meal.   I also planned to serve it over rice, so I wanted the veggies smaller than 1".   Neither of them eat vegetables, and I don't do mushrooms.   I had yellow, orange and red bell peppers, so I cut half of each into large dice, as well as half an onion.  I upped the sugar slightly, to 4T, they like marinades on the sweeter side.    I used Johnsonville Beef Brats, which are fully cooked, and it made this meal super fast to cook.    Everything went into a ziptop bag and then the fridge for 1 hour. I heated a skillet to medium and then added the brats/veggies to it.  I k...

My husband doesn't like zucchini.  He tells me so all the time.   My son at one time also did not like zucchini.   Did I let this stop me from trying a variety of amazing zucchini recipes? Nope.   I just got sneaky with it.   I peel the zucchini and shred it on the smaller hole side of the grater.    A few years ago, my son caught me folding the zucchini into the batter of one of his favorite desserts , and he became my co-conspirator. My only change  to the recipe was to use Nestle Delightfuls Dark Morsels with Mint Filling.  I'd picked up a few bags and stashed them in the freezer.   They are rather large, and I think next time I'd chop them up a bit so they distribute better.      Jake said this is his new favorite, and Tim, the zucchini hater, had 2 slices.     I also love this recipe because it makes two 9x5 loaves.   We enjoy one right away, and I d...

It's blueberry time here in New Hampshire, one of my favorite times of the year.   It's also one of the hottest times of the year!  We've been on either side of 90 degrees for what seems like weeks now.   Usually I don't run the oven in the summer, but I had a large pile of zucchini and this recipe printed and calling to me.   I cranked the AC and got to work. I peeled my zucchini, just a family preference.   My berries were huge and heavy, and sunk to the bottom despite being tossed with the flour.  The recipe calls for a jelly roll pan, but I don't have one.  I baked mine in a 13x9 pan for 55 minutes.   I put on the glaze while it was still warm.   I let them cool completely, then cut them into squares.  I wrapped about half the batch individually in Glad Press and Seal.   I popped them into a ziptop bag and then into the freezer.   I love the tang of the buttermilk, and the combination of t...

My cake mix and Jello addictions are well documented.   I just can't resist a new fun flavor.   As a result, my pantry runneth over and I've been trying to clear them out.   I normally don't bake much when it's hot, but today I decided to crank the AC and churn out some goodies. I saved this recipe when I realized that I'd accumulated 4 strawberry cake mixes. The only change I made was to only dunk the tops, not the entire thing.   My son was eyeing them before the glaze was even set.    It makes a boatload, I got over 5 dozen using a Pampered Chef mini muffin pan and a 1 teaspoon cookie scoop.    I'm going to try freezing half the batch and see how they defrost, if they last that long. Thank you to Jaren and Julie for sharing the recipe!  Here are some other recipes that start with cake mixes that you might enjoy: Can't Leave Alone Bars   Apple Oatmeal Cookies Gram's Lemon Cupcakes   Stra...

While tidying up some of my kitchen equipment, I ran across my Pampered Chef Ice Cream Sandwich maker.     Since it was National Ice Cream day, I thought I'd whip together a fast, fun treat.    I polled the guys on whether they wanted cookies or brownies, and the winner was Chocolate Chip Cookies.     This time I cheated and used bagged Betty Crocker mix, but you definitely could use your favorite from-scratch recipe.    I mixed the cookies as directed, and portioned them out with a cookie scoop.     This ensured nice, consistent rounds that fit perfectly in the ice cream sandwich maker.   Once the cookies were cooled, I softened some vanilla ice cream in the microwave.    I layered in the first cookie, about 1/4c of ice cream and then topped it with the second cookie.   I flipped it over onto a cutting board, pressed the sandwich out and then quickly wrapped it in plastic wrap.    I popp...

Ah, summer.   Trips to the farm and long days by the pool.   Temps have been hovering around the 90s here in New England for a few days.  I went searching for side dishes that could be prepared ahead and wouldn't heat up the house a ton.  I found this recipe in Taste of Home's 2016 Grilling magazine.   So many great recipes to try!  I substituted rice wine vinegar for the white wine vinegar, it was what I had on hand.   Dried parsley for the fresh.   I found the vinaigrette a little tart, so I added about a teaspoon of honey.      It went perfectly with some grilled chicken.    Crunchy, bright and refreshing.   Thank you so much to Allison B for sharing the recipe!                          print recipe Fresh Green Bean Salad by reviewed by Jolene's Recipe Jou...

When life hands you melons, make salsa!  Wait, that's not how it goes.  We love watermelon.  I buy it, cut it up in chunks. stick it in the fridge and we snack on it.   I found this recipe on the Taste of Home site, and it sounded perfect for some holiday weekend snacking.  Change #1- I don't do cilantro.  I am in the "tastes like soap" camp.   I used parsley instead.   The other two changes were minor- yellow bell pepper for the red, and little baby cucumbers that I left the peels on.     Easy, delicious and a wonderful change from traditional salsa, thank you so much to Carolyn B for sharing the recipe!   Watermelon Salsa Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 2 cups seeded finely chopped watermelon 1/2 cup finely chopped peeled cucumber (used baby cucumbers, didn't peel) 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper (used yellow) 1 jalapeno pepper -- see...