Cold Weather Has Finally Come To Georgia!

     This blog post could also be called "I Finally Had To Put On Long Pants!"  This weather is so crazy!  It's true what is said about weather in the South in January; it's warm one day, raining the next, and we're preparing for a blizzard the next!  The thing I don't like the most when we have severe weather (besides tornadoes, of which we have a lot), is the power going off. I prepared for that by buying Bojangles chicken and biscuits.  Those are good at any temperature! 

     Let me start by sharing my contribution to eating healthy.  These are black bean burgers, and guys, they are really good!  Click on the picture above for the recipe.  They're easy to make and inexpensive!  Sis and I had them with a couple of veggies, but I can't wait to try them as a cheeseburger!  I can't wait for home grown tomatoes!! 

     One of my favorite dishes, in cold weather or anytime, is this chicken and tomato soup.  Let me tell you why!  I shared with you previously how much I love shredded chicken for freezer cooking!  When I got ready for this soup I just pulled the shredded chicken out of the freezer (thus the frozen chicken) and popped it in the slow cooker with whole, peeled tomatoes that I cut up with my handy kitchen scissors.  I added a can of Rotel because I love the chile peppers, and it cooked on low for 5-6 hours.  Delicious!  Even better topped with diced avocado!  If you want to cook it on the stove just take it out of the freezer and defrost the chicken in the refrigerator, or in the microwave.  You can use the new great search feature I love so much at the top right of this page to find the shredded chicken recipe.  It's all so easy!

Pickled Red Onions!

     Aren't those red onions pretty?  I made these for a picnic at our friend Karen's lake lot last Summer and her husband Ronnie really liked them, so I made them again!  This time I preserved them by canning them and they will have a shelf life for a year.  Ronnie has already told me they will not last a year.  Click on the picture above for the recipe and methods for preparing these.  The only thing I did differently from the recipe is I used cilantro instead of bay leaves.  That's how I made the onions before because I saw Bobby Flay use cilantro, and I love cilantro.

     Random Pictures!  These are some beautiful items I just want to show off because I bought them in thrift stores.  I have a picture frame for a picture of Sawyer, and lots of planters for my herbs, and a beautiful glass pitcher for Sangria.  Yellow is my favorite color.  I'm sure I've mentioned that before!

Mini Lemon Pound Cakes!

     Speaking of yellow, or rather, lemons, these are some tasty "Mini Lemon Pound Cakes" I made for my Sis and her co-workers at Read, Martin & Slickman, CPA.  It's tax season and they are working some long, hard hours! 

     I did not make these from scratch, they are made from a combination of two recipes.  One is the Limoncello Pound Cake Mix I bought at Sam's, because I love Limoncello, a lemon liqueur.  The other is a regular cake mix recipe.  I added the eggs, vanilla pudding mix, and sour cream from that recipe, mixed it all up and put it in mini muffin pans.  If you look closely, the muffins are three different sizes because I have three different sizes of pans.  They also cooked at different times because of their sizes.  Just make sure your toothpick comes out clean!

     I used the glaze that came with the Limoncello Pound Cake Mix, but there is a glaze recipe attached to the recipe I'm going to show you.  Just click on the picture above for the link!  My sister asked me why I glazed them upside down.  So they would look like mini pound cakes! 

Baked Spaghetti!

     Here is a wonderfully "cozy" cold weather dish, made from one of the easiest most satisfying dishes, ever!  Spaghetti!  I knew how to cook spaghetti when I didn't know how to cook!  Pasta is not a great dish for those of us watching carbs, but I used Dreamfield pasta, which has low net carbs, and tastes like our favorite store bought pastas.  After we had spaghetti a couple of times, I took the leftovers, added parmesan cheese and an egg, a few crushed red peppers and extra garlic powder, covered it with foil, and baked it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Then top it with mushrooms and Mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Even though we did not have any major blizzards we did have wind and ice advisories to stay in the house, so we ate pretty good for a few days!

     Lastly, for now, here's an all-time favorite, Turkey Chili!  Hearty, delicious, nutritious, and perfect comfort food for cold weather!  Use the search feature and type in turkey chili for the recipe!  While you're add it, look up the jalapeno cornbread that is delicious with it!

     To close out, and to make you smile, here is a recent picture of Sawyer, being held by her daddy and smiling at her mother!  She's a heart breaker.  These are her pets, Callie and Chloe!

     I'll be doggie sitting and cat sitting for friends next week, and also getting ready for an annual Super Bowl party a week from Sunday!   I will be sharing pictures of my furry friends.  I'll also share the party goodies with you on my Dished With Love Facebook page.  I'll tell you now, they don't fit into the nutritious, healthy food category.  But hey, the Super Bowl comes but once a year!

     It's also the one time a year I'll pick a favorite NFL team!  I am very torn.  Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers is from College Park, Georgia, and he plays for a Southern team, but this is Peyton Manning's last year to play and I'd love to see him go out in a blaze of glory!  

     Stay warm, Friends, stay busy, love life, and dish with love!

     Denise!