Hey, Friends!  Sorry I haven't posted in a few days.  My sister and some friends went on vacation for a few days and I had been making big plans for some house cleaning while they were gone!  Before they left, though, I did make some goodies for their road trip to Tampa. 

These are some cheese balls I made, and some of them have olives, which is an idea I got from my friend, Gail.  This was the first time I made them and I probably overworked the dough a little bit in the food processor, so that's something to correct next time.  That can make your dough dry.  They were still pretty tasty, and everyone liked them!  You can click on the picture above of the pretty cheeseballs and thrift store platter for a recipe that  I copied.

The girls embarked on a cruise to Mexico and Grand Cayman, and I knew they would be indulging in lots of wonderful food!  I sent some apples their way as a healthy option, some citrus to cut through all that rich, indulgent food they were going to have.  I'm saying that with a big grin!

I didn't make the Apple Festival in Ellijay this year, but my friend, Jimmye, and I rode to Blue Ridge and Ellijay last week.  The picture above is of Mercier Farms and you can pick your own apples there.  It's really pretty in the Northwest Georgia mountains.  The leaves on the trees should be turning colors in a couple of weeks so I hope we make another trip to see the beautiful Fall colors!  I did pick up quite a bit of apples and I have great plans for them.  I will post those projects on here, you know I will.  The deep red Arkansas Black apples are for my friend, Howard, because he likes them and he introduced me to them last year.  The Granny Smith and Gala apples are for...well, it'll be a surprise.  Plus, I keep changing my mind!

These were easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal drop cookies!  A favorite!  I do have friends that do not like chocolate or peanut butter, and I overlook that.  You can make these without peanut butter if you want to and they're still delicious!  Click on the picture for the easy recipe!

This is a delicious pork roast I copied from my friend, Patricia.  (I did tell you that I've only been cooking for a little over two years, didn't I?  We didn't learn country cooking in culinary school.)  GMC, a little store in town that has the BEST meat, had their pork butts on sale for $1.29 a lb. so here it is!  My favorite part is the roasted vegetables. 

To make this simple and delicious pot roast, I actually used a ShurFine pot roast seasoning packet and a baking bag.  You mix the seasoning packet in a cup of water, pour it over the roast in the baking bag and add all the chopped carrots, celery, potatoes and onions. Before I added the veggies I let the roast marinate 30 minutes on each side before finishing it. Tie the bag at the end but make sure you make about three little 1/4 inch slits in the bag.  Bake at 350 degrees for about two and a half to three hours for a four lb. roast.  Pork should be cooked to 165 degrees, make sure you do that!

And now for the best part of Sis's vacation...my souvenirs from Mexico!!!

JJ picked up these things in Cozamel.  The pottery was actually made in Mexico City.  She knew I would love the bright yellow, and the staircase reminds me of a beautiful staircase in Savannah, Georgia, another one of my favorite places.  The pottery is on the baker's rack in the dining area so I can stare at it while I'm in the kitchen.  The bracelet is Mexican silver and it's gorgeous.  It also goes with most everything I own because most of my clothes are black.   And then to round everything out, Pure Vanilla from Mexico, a Jalapeno Salsa she got with the purchase of the pottery and vanilla, and a key chain with my name and ocean waves on it!  We're hopefully going back in the Spring, with me!  I really wanted her to bring home a Mexican chef, and she did meet one but had to leave him there.

I have to show you the latest pictures of beautiful Sawyer.  Here are the first family pictures of Sawyer, Lindsay and Ghee.  The top middle picture is Sawyer's five months picture.  Lindsay and I have been friends for many years and even worked and lived together for a while.  But really, we're family, and I'm so proud of all of them. Ghee and Lindsay are the sweetest, most hard working people, and Sawyer is a fighter, a real fighter, and at just a few months old.  They are beautiful, and I love them!

Until next Friends, Denise!  Dished With Love!

Hi, Friends!   I've been in the house a lot the last few days because it has been raining; however, on Saturday I helped a friend on his food truck, and it was raining and we were tailgating, and even though it was a little slow at first we picked up some great customers!  That was a fun, first time experience!

On those days that I was in the house trying to stay dry, I cooked up some regular cooler weather comfort food!  I hope you find something you like!

• Ground Turkey Chili - It's that time of year!


• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1-28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (my personal preference, and I cut them up, literally, with scizzors) 
• 1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1-15 ounce can kidney beans (with liquid)
• 1-15 ounce can pinto beans (with liquid)
• 1 large onion, medium dice
• 1 large green bell pepper, medium dice (I also diced a red one)
• 1 stalk of celery (I used celery seed due to no celery)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth (or water)

Put the ground turkey, bell peppers and onions in a dutch oven and cook until the turkey is browned; drain the fat off the turkey mixture and put it back into the dutch oven.  Add all of the other ingredients, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for two-three hours.

I doubled the recipe and froze half of it for another day.  I love easy freezer dinners!

Dinner's ready!

These are some of my favorite things!  If I had the money I would blow these pictures up and hang them in my house!  These are some more beautiful vegetables that my next door neighbors, Helen and Jay, gave me.  I have never seen a purple bell pepper before!  Beautiful!  Look at those  tomatoes and peppers on this breakfast dish!

 HONEY GARLIC CROCKPOT CHICKEN BREASTS

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ⅓ cup honey
• ½ cup ketchup 
• ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (dry, if it's all you have)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a slurry (dissolve in cold water)
  
• ½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• More chopped FRESH parsley for additional garnish (optional)


• Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker.  In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oregano and parsley.  Pour the honey mixture over the chicken and cover.  Cook on low 6-7 hours or on high 3-4 hours or until chicken is done.  Know your Crock Pot!  I have two (actually they are my sister's) and they cook at different temperatures.
  


• Place the chicken on a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm.  Place the sauce from the cooked chicken into a  small sauce pan on low-medium heat and add the balsamic vinegar and cornstarch slurry (do not add cornstarch before dissolving it first in cold water!).  Let the sauce reduce until it thickens to a nice, glossy consistency and pour it over the chicken. Cover with the sesame seeds and serve a beautiful and tasty plate of chicken!  We had green beans and macaroni and cheese with ours!  Two of the chicken breasts were left whole, two were pulled, in case you noticed the difference!
  

BLT Steak NYC Popovers

I can't tell you about these great popovers without telling you that I am a Chef Tyler Florence fan.  If you don't know who that is, he is the host of The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network, and he has other shows, and he is very good looking.  On one of the Food Network shows, Best Thing I Ever Ate, Chef Tyler picked these popovers as one of his favorites.  The steakhouse in New York that makes them gives out the recipes with the baskets of popovers in their restaurant, so I had to try them, and they're delicious.  

The recipe calls for a topping of Gruyere cheese.  SOMETIMES, I am a food purist, so I think I will like these better without the cheese.  However, these were easy and tasted great, my sister liked them a lot, and I can't wait to make them again for friends!  Click on the picture of the popovers for the recipe!

Here's the latest on Sawyer.  Here she is a few weeks after her open heart surgery, happy and healthy and smiling and beautiful!  She's going through a lot of therapy for a few more weeks so she hasn't been able to socialize.  I hope I'll be able to have lots more pictures of her soon!  She loves her Aunt Niecey, can't you tell?  

Friends, I hope you're enjoying the cooler weather.  Let's send up some prayers for our friends in South Carolina who got more than their share of the latest rain.

Stay safe, I hope you enjoyed the blog, and enjoy some easy, comfort food!  Until next time!

Dished With Love!  Denise