Snicker Doodle Cookies

I am so awful at this blogging thing because I don't post things as I make them. Shame on me. Anyways when I was looking for the cauliflower recipe I came across this Snicker Doodle recipe that I made about a month ago when we were going out on the lake with some friends. I wanted to make something that could stand up to the heat (no chocolate) and these sounded good. They were actually very good and moist. I know I've made and had these kind of cookies in the past and they were not as good as these. So here's another keeper...
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1710,146172-252203,00.html

Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

After writing my previous post of the Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese I realized this recipe isn't on my blog. This is how I've been making my cauliflower for the past few months because I think it is really good. It's definitely not for everyone because it has some strong seasonings and lots of flavor. Not a recipe for the kids well...not my kids. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/balsamic_parmesan_roasted_cauliflower.html It's kind of an italian side dish in my opinion and I like to serve it with some Italian seasoned oven roasted chicken and maybe some fettuccini alfredo but it would also make a great appetizer served with some toothpicks.

Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese

There are times I have to admit that I get into a rut and make the same meals every week. Same meats...same veggies...etc. I stocked up on produce over the weekend and had a head of cauliflower in there I was going to cut up and roast like I normally do but decided to look up some new recipes and came across this one... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-stella/cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-casserole-recipe/index.html I had all of the ingredients and I even had hopes the kids might even eat it. Well this was another winner all around. My daughter has become quite the picky eater when it comes to vegetables and she has total influence over her little brother so it is hard to get them both to eat veggies. I decided I wouldn't tell her what I made. I made up some turkey burget patties to go along with this and served it up on my daughter's plate. She says mmmm...what it it? I respond it is hamburgers and "cheesy peasy goodness". Of course her response was...what's in it? I told her it doesn't matter it is just "cheesy peasy goodness". Had I told her it was cauliflower she would have said it was disgusting. She proceeded to eat the entire plate of food and said it was great! Ha! This is a keeper!

Pear Crumb Coffee Cake

Every time I go to the grocery store with both kids in tow I go through the produce aisle to hopefully spark their interest in trying new things. If it were up to them they would live on blueberries, bananas, and melons. We typically buy a few of something my 4 yr old daughter says she has to have and then they sit and go bad in the fruit basket. So this was one of those occassions where I had 2 very ripe pears sitting in the basket waiting to be tossed and I decided to look up some recipes. Lucky for me I came across this recipe for Pear Crumb Coffee Cake http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,226,153180-234201,00.html because it is a definite keeper! I went by the recipe except I was nearly out of regular all purpose flour so I used cake flour. On the box of cake flour it says for every cup of regular flour a recipe calls for to add in 1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour. So I made that adjustment. Then for the crumble on top I used the remaining all purpose flour I had left on hand. I'm not sure if the cake flour made it better but it was delicious! The cake was fluffy and moist and the crumble on top was heavenly! Enjoy!

Paula Deen's Beef Stew and Cheesy Biscuits

Last week I was in the mood for some yummy Beef Stew so after doing some googling I came across Paula Deen's recipe http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/old_time_beef_stew/ and decided to make it. I'm thinking that I didn't "brown" the meat as I should have to develop the flavor because it didn't turn out as flavorful as I was hoping. When browning the meat it became more of a simmering the beef instead of actually developing color and flavor. So anyways the oil was probably not hot enough and I probably didn't get the sear on it as I should have. Lesson learned. Needless to say the stew was okay but lacked in flavor. Not something I would have expected from a Paula Deen recipe.

To accompany the stew I was looking for some sort of roll or biscuit to sop up all of the supposed to be yummy juices. So I made Paula Deen's Cheese Biscuit recipe http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/the_lady_and_sons_cheese_biscuits/ and OMG! These were SO delicious! They were exactly like the cheesy biscuits you get at Red Lobster. The perfect ratio of cheese to bread and the garlic butter brushed on top...yummy! The recipe says to use 1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder and I used 1/4 tsp. Next time I will use 1/2 tsp because I love garlic and thought a touch more would have been nice. So these are a must for anyone looking for a delicious biscuit!