Jolene's Recipe Journal

Brats are summer staple here and there are so many varieties now.   I tend to buy the links that are 6 to a pack and just need to be heated through because they make for a nice quick meal.   When I saw this recipe created by the Taste of Home Test Kitchen, I knew that I had to make some of that grilled corn relish. Unfortunately, grilling weather arrived and there wasn't any decent corn to be found, so I had to improvise and use frozen, which I defrosted.  I am not a fan of jarred roasted sweet peppers.  I bought a small red pepper and diced it about the same size as the corn.   I couldn't locate my grilling basket, so I had to do the corn and pepper mixture in a disposable 8x8 pan. I didn't get quite the char I was looking for on it that way, but I was fine with that, this time.  Instead of green onions, I used dried chives.  For us, these must be served on a New England style roll that's been slathered with butter and then gri...

  It's getting to be that time of year when most of my cooking is done outside.   The guys can get sick of the same old burgers and hot dogs pretty quickly, so I'm always looking for new ways to dress them up.   I pinned these Caesar Burgers while back, and waited patiently for the rain to stop so I could make them.    Didn't change a single thing for this one except the roll- I went with the classic sesame seed.   I loved the texture of the burger, the egg and crumb almost makes them "meatloaf-y", plus the cool crunch of the romaine and the creamy dressing.   These definitely will be a part of my regular burger rotation. Lots of great recipes being shared this week from my fellow Taste of Home Community Cook!  I think I'll have one of everything  :)   Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the post! Want to be a Taste of Home Community Cook? Check out the requirements and apply here !   ...

How can you go wrong with bacon and cheese?  You can't, not at my house!   There are just some recipes that you know will be a hit with your family, and this was one of those.  I had all of the ingredients on hand except the green onions, so I substituted dried chives.   As written, it's a stove top to oven meal, but I had my oven in use for dessert.   I used my countertop grill, and it cut the cooking time down because both sides of the chicken get cooked at the same time.  To melt the cheese, I held the lid partially closed.  Both guys had seconds, so that sends it directly to the family favorites file.  Thank you so much to Trisha K for sharing her recipe! On Tuesdays, I like to share what some of my other Taste of Home Community Cooks are making.   Shannon at Making the Most of Naptime made this amazing Rhubarb Berry Upside Down Cake , and I can't wait to give it a try! Bacon Cheddar Chicken Print With Image W...

There are so many great dishes associated with Derby Day, like Hot Browns and Mint Juleps, that I had a hard time deciding what to make.  I chose these Angel Biscuits because I love that you can pretty much eat them all day long.  Serve them up at brunch with butter and jam, add some sliced country ham for lunch, pair them alongside stew for dinner.   I've got a rocky history with yeast.   It never seems to produce the results that I want it to, and every year I claim, this is the year I conquer my yeast fears!   The weather has been all over the place in New England the last few weeks, 80 degrees one day, rainy and 50s the next.  Yesterday was one of the cold, rainy ones. I preheated my oven to 170 while I proofed the yeast and mixed the dough.   I turned off the oven and let the biscuits rise in there for about 2 hours.  At that point, I was cutting it close to dinner time (totally my fault, you can't rush yeast), so I start...

I've started this post about a dozen times.   This is my first Mother's Day without my mom, and I've been struggling a bit.   She was smart, creative and funny.  She made the most beautifully decorated cakes.   There was always food on the table, but she didn't love to cook the way I do. One of her "specialties" were chocolate chip cookies.  We teased her and called them Hockey puck cookies. Puffy, dense chocolate chip cookies that were practically too hard to eat, but were perfect dunked in a glass of cold milk.  I asked for the recipe and after years of badgering, she told me they were slice and bake Tollhouse from the refrigerated section that she over-baked.   :)   This is my version of her cookie-  I started with the Original Tollhouse Cookie recipe.  Instead of the light brown sugar, I used dark, added 1/4c more flour, and 1t baking powder.     Be sure to really let it mix awhile to let the gl...

  When life gives you leftover corn tortillas, make chips!  I know, that's not how the saying goes, but that's exactly what I thought when I moved the package of tortillas around the fridge for the 5th time.     I searched for an easy recipe, and up popped these Zippy Tortilla Chips. I loved the little bit of sweetness the brown sugar gave them, and the heat is easily to control.   They made a great snack with some chips, and some excellent nachos, which disappeared so fast, I couldn't even get pictures.   Thanks so much to Kim S for the recipe! Here are some other Cinco de Mayo inspired recipes you might enjoy: Mango and Peach Margarita from A Day in the Life on the Farm Cheese Enchiladas Rojas from Palatable Pastime Zippy Tortilla Chips from Jolene's Recipe Journal Quinoa and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers from The Chef Next Door Zippy Tortilla Chips Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 1/2...

Our forays into Mexican cuisine are pretty boring and Americanized- quesadillas, tacos, fried ice cream.   I searched through the Taste of Home site hoping to be inspired and boom, there it was- Churro French Toast.  Been on a big french toast kick lately. It's something we all love and makes a nice filling meal. The use of the pudding mix was interesting, and I'm always looking for ways to justify my pudding and gelatin collection.  The french toast cooked up so golden and beautiful, and then into the cinnamon sugar mix.  I searched high and low for the Dulce du Leche.  No luck.   People recommended the can of sweetened condensed milk in the crock pot method (The manufacturers strongly advise against that), or told me to reduce it on the stove.   In the end, my husband saved the day by bringing home a can of Eagle Caramel Flavored Sweetened Condensed milk.    It's probably bad that I now know such a thing exists,...