Jolene's Recipe Journal

March is here and for this month we are sharing some of our family favorite recipes. We have recipes for breakfast, dinner, sides and soups, as well as a few desserts that we hope your families enjoy as much as all of ours do. Keep reading to get ideas for your March menu planning. Just a reminder that our group of bloggers post a themed recipe round-up on the last day of each month to help you with meal ideas for the upcoming month! ~Breakfast~ Maple Apple Baked Oatmeal from Jolene's Recipe Journal Banana Blender Muffins from Kate's Recipe Box Granny's Zucchini Bread from Pies and Plots Apple Ring Pancakes from Savory Moments   ~Sides & Soups~ Creamy Horseradish Grilled Shrimp Deviled Eggs from Faith, Hope, Love, and Luck Slow Cooker Pepperoni Pizza Soup from Kate's Recipe Box Ham, Bean, & Rivel Soup from Savory Moments ~Main Dishes~ Broccoli Bacon Masher Pizza from Girl Gone Mom Cheeseburger S

  In my younger days, I thought I'd like to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras.  Now that I'm firmly in my adult years, I think that while I'd still like to visit, my goals would be centered much more around food than partying. Last year we got in the spirit with some beignets . This year I couldn't decide between a flavorful main dish or a decadent breakfast recipe, so I'll be sharing one today and one on Fat Tuesday.  But the indecision didn't stop there.  Taste of Home had two wonderful Cajun inspired chicken pasta dishes. I printed them both out, and decided to take bits and pieces from each. It was too cold to grill, so I sauteed the chicken in a skillet. I used onions, peppers, mushrooms and garlic. I omitted the canned tomatoes from one recipe in favor of fresh from the other. I used angel hair instead of penne, it's just my personal preference.  To keep it on the lighter side, I used half and half instead of heavy cream. I absolutely loved t

When life hands you bananas, make muffins!  Okay, that's not quite how the saying goes, but that's the case when it comes to my house.  No matter how many bananas I buy, the guys will always leave 2 to 3 of them on the counter until I have no choice but to freeze them or to bake something with them. I've got quite a stockpile of recipes, but these Caramel Banana Muffins from Katherine M. have been at the top of the list to try.  I added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to batter.  The original recipe called for baking in jumbo tins, yielding 6 muffins, which I don't own. I  baked them in regular muffin tins, they took about 23 minutes, and I got a dozen. For the icing, I used heavy cream instead of 2% milk, I had a smidge that I wanted to finish off.  It comes together very easily, but I did have a hard time finding a balance between cool enough to handle to pipe and not having the icing crack and break.   Next time I would just spread it on top.  #MuffinMonday is a group

  Two years ago, I couldn't start my day without coffee. Large iced, cream, sugar, caramel syrup.  I changed my way of eating, and that had to go.   I made it about 4 months, but I realized that wasn't sustainable long term, so I went looking for ways to work it back in.  This Honey Coffee recipe from the Taste of Home Kitchen is one of my favorites so far.  I used almond milk instead of regular milk, it works better with my plan right now. I used locally harvested honey, and freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon.  This will be great served over ice as well. Honey Coffee Print With Image Without Image Yield: 2 Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 2 cups hot strong brewed coffee 1/2 cup whole milk ( I used almond milk) 1/4 cup honey 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 dash ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions In a small saucepan, combine the coffee, milk, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook and stir until heated through, do not boil. Remove from th

I'm Italian, so this month's Improv Cooking Challenge should have been a no-brainer for me.  The first required ingredient was Italian Seasoning, which I buy in bulk because I go through it so fast.  The second, wine, was a little trickier.  I don't drink it, but I do keep a bottle of red and a bottle of white on hand for when recipes require it. One of my 2019 cooking resolutions has been trying to reduce my freezer and pantry stashes, and I'd accumulated a stockpile of turkey sausage links. A quick recipe search turned up several recipes, but this sausage marinara from Teresa K. also would help to clear out a box of pasta plus a few cans of tomatoes as well. Since I was using hot Italian turkey sausage, I reduced amount of hot sauce called for in the recipe.  I used 2 giant cloves of garlic, which would probably be closer to 4 normal sized cloves.  Other than that, I made the recipe as stated.  The hour simmer time seemed much longer than that, because I was starv