Crusty Bread - PROVEN

I realize that hte vast majority of my blog posts involve food.  Well, that's simple to explain, really.  Since my life is so busy (who's isn't, right?) cooking and baking are things i would notmally be doing regardless of whether or not I was publishing a blog.  I figured it's still a great use of this myth busting/pin busting platform since so many things i see on Pinterest involve new recipes. I wonder how many of those recipes actually get tested?

Well, folks, I really try to test all of mine, and it's about time I shared this one with you!

Crusty Bread!!!!!

Ahh, gotta love it, fresh and hot from the oven to soak up your soup, juices from a roast, just to rip off and eat or any way you can imagine!!!

This recipe is awesome.  I have had to modify it here and there to get my dough consistency correct.  It should be sticky, not too thick and not runny in order to get the proper rise and baking result!

This does require a small cast iron dutch oven. My wonderful Mama purchased one for me on sale, I believe it was at Meijer!

The recipe calls for unbleached flour, which is what I buy anyway because...who wants their flour to be bleached?? It's right in with the regular flour and costs about the same!

I don't always let my bread rise for the recommended amount of time.   The recipe calls for 12-18 hours of rise time, but I usually don't make the dough in time in order to eat with dinner the following night, so I have to rush this process. I have let it rise for only 9-10 hours before and the results were the same.

ENJOY!!!

CAN YOU SAY DELICIOUS?!?!?

Chicken Quesadillas - PROVEN

Nick and I bought a lot of chicken breasts and we wanted to try a new recipe for Chicken Quesadillas I found on Pinterest.

http://pinterest.com/pin/43839796344518481/

Of course, I changed it up some to make it our own but I followed the basic principles outlined in the recipe.

Here are some changes I made:

We used boiled and shredded chicken instead of a rotisserie chicken.
We sautéed the chicken with taco seasoning
I used minced garlic from a jar instead of fresh garlic
I added sour cream mixed with hot sauce to the bottom shell before adding the cheese
I added more cheese to the quesadilla once the chicken was added
We used a quesadilla maker instead of a pan as they did in the recipe

They turned out great! They were filling and delicious and not all that unhealthy.....

Enjoy!

Reindeer Cupcakes - PROVEN

My good friend, Amanda Benn found this super cute recipe online and sent it to me.  From the first time I saw it I knew we would have to try it as soon as possible.

These reindeer cupcakes were very easy and really fun to make!!

We doubled the batch so we would each have 2 dozen to share with friends and family, or to devour ourselves!

Okay, hold on to your hats and get ready to laugh at me, but I have never made cupcakes before, ever.  Not that I recall anyway, I am sure I have watched and "helped" my mom when I was a child but not in my adult life. 

We used Sixlets for the Reindeer eyes

I was no expert on filling the cups, I got cake mix everywhere at which point Amanda took over for me.  I was just making too much of a mess!!

I recommend making sure that ALL the cupcakes are completely done cooking.  When it came time to frost them, there were about 8 (out of 48) that were crumbling and falling apart, so we decided just to eat those and not decorate them! DARN! :)

We used red peanut butter M&Ms for the noses!

 

I think that they turned out amazing!  It was an awesome time with my great friend, Amanda and we got these delicious and adorable treats!!

 



We liked them better as Rudolphs!

Frozen Yogurt Covered Fruits - PROVEN

Frozen Yogust Covered Fruit

This idea, pictures and approval came to me from my good friend Katherine Subu.  She saw this awesome idea on Pinterest and gave it a try.  She then suggested it for my blog and took all the following pictures.

She said the recipe calls for plain vanilla greek yogurt, but she substituted that for Vanilla Honey Greek yogurt which sounds amazing all by itself!

Any fresh fruit would work great in this recipe but Kat used blueberries she had on hand :)

Finished Product! (Wish I was in New Jersey right now!)

She said they are DELISH and should be tried and shared!  Spread the word people!

P.S. if you try a pin and want me to share your results, like I did here, feel free to email me at jdenig@yahoo.com.

Thanks for reading!

South Dakota Meat Loaf - PROVEN

This is yet another pin that I created on Pinterest found in my Taste of Home cookbook that we received as a wedding present.

Meat Loaf has always been a favorite of my husband's so I wanted to make him one that we could both enjoy since I wasn't too fond of it to begin with.  My mom didn't make it all that often, I don't think either one of my parent's were huge fans. 

I found this South Dakota Meat Loaf recipe and decided to give it a go.  This was about 5 years ago!!

Meat Loaf is sort of a love or hate food and I thought I hated it.  Not anymore!  This is a staple in our house and on our menu at least once a month.

The first time I made it I followed the directions exactly, now I use a little more Worcestershire sauce, a green pepper (if I have one) and basically more than double the recipe.  I usually make about a 3.5-4 lb meat loaf!!

Usually, I like to take after photos of my cooked meals, but we are usually so anxious to dig in I am having a hard time finding any!!  Enjoy :)

I don't know what about this recipe makes it "South Dakota-like" but I'll take it!

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular - PROVEN

Ok, another recipe I didn't originally find on Pinterest, but it's on there now because I put it there!  Found this one, yet again in Southern Living Magazine (have I said how much I adore that magazine??)

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular

Before I added the Gingersnaps

This recipe is over the top, out of this world fantastic!!!

Pecans needed are a bit pricey, but totally worth it.  I made this a couple years ago for the holidays and I probably should have made a few more because it was gone in minutes!!

It's creamy and rich, it's almost like a pumpkin cheesecake, but not really. You will have to try this one for yourself and with the holidays rapidly approaching I thought it would be a good time to share.

Topped off with Gingersnaps!

Enjoy, bookmark, pin or print this one, whatever you need to do to remember!  It's amazing!

Eggnog Pound Cake - PROVEN

Sorry that most of these posts so far are recipes but, I love to cook and a lot of my Pinterest experiments have a lot to do with cooking!  So here goes another one.

Eggnog Pound Cake

I originally found this in Southern Living Magazine (I know I live in Michigan, but this magazine is amazing)

I pinned on Pinterest because it is just SO DARN GOOD!!!  Wonderful flavor (even for those who aren't huge fans of the thick and creamy 'nog) it's moist and delicious every single time.  Perfect for the upcoming holidays and super easy, so I wanted to share!

Breakfast Muffins - PROVEN

Pinterest recipe for Breakfast Muffins looked interesting.  My husband had a pot-luck coming up at work so I decided to try these out since they say they can be eaten warm or room temperature.

I believe he ended up heating them in the microwave for better flavor but they went over good at the pot-luck!

Mixture with Peppers

Made Pepper and Jalapeno Breakfast Muffins

Mexican Stuffed Shells - PROVEN

Pinterest Recipe for Mexican Stuffed Shells

I loved this recipe.  It was kind of messy to make and it took longer than indicated but it was well worth it.  These little pockets of awesome-ness were delicious and fun to eat!

Before Baking (I used my Mom's Homemade Salsa and our Homemade Taco Sauce)

They're done!  I added much more cheese than indicated in the recipe!

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps - PROVEN

This recipe I found on Pinterest is Ahhhh-mazing! 

Nick loves my Chicken Enchiladas, they have been his favorite thing since I started making them a few years ago, now he says the Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps are his new favorite!

 

This is one to keep, people. Great tasting, simple and fairly inexpensive!

Of course, I change it up a little bit and I encourage you to do the same.  I almost always add, subtract or multiply recipies to make them fit my mold a little better.

Here are some of the changes I made:

• I used Spanish Rice instead of plain cooked rice (you can buy Spanish Rice in a can at Dollar General for $1)
• I love onion so I used a whole white or yellow onion instead of green onions
• I used bottle lime juice instead of a fresh lime
• I added a fresh jalapeno
• I used green and red pepper to add more color
• I didn't have Cumin so I omitted that item
• I added Chile Garlic seasoning made by Lawry's (I use this in a ton of recipies)
• Once they were done in the pan I added cheese to the top and put a lid on the pan to melt the cheese...yummmmm
• I added homemade Taco Sauce and Sour Cream to the top to serve

ENJOY this one is awesome.

I didn't have any extra cheese to melt on top, but it was still amazing