*The Ritz* Creamed Corn Recipe

I had this at church last week and it was so delicious. The friend who made it, used to work as a server at The Ritz Carlton and she brought a recipe card for every one in our group. I thought I'd put it on my blog for back up and to share with y'all!

Ingredients:
2 (20 oz) packages of frozen kernel corn
8 oz. (1/2 pint) whipping cream
8 oz. whole milk
1 tsp. salt
6 tsp. sugar
pinch of white pepper
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients (except butter & flour) into a pot and bring to boil for 5 mins.
2. Add flour and butter.
3. Pour into baking dish, sprinle with parmesan cheese.
4. Broil until brown.

Who Doesn't Like Broccoli?

My daughter, that's who! I never buy it because of this and secretly, because I'm not so much a fan, either. I mean, who craves broccoli? Anyway, I broke down and bought it because it's good for you and even though my kids eat a good amount of other veggies, broccoli is one of those super veggies that I feel they need to learn to like and we should eat more. While googleing "broccoli recipes that kids will enjoy", I came across this recipe and made it tonight. It was so good! Both our kids gobbled it down and asked for more. It is broccoli with cheddar cheese sauce. Doesn't sound too original and sure, you could just go to the store and buy Velveeta but this was so much better in taste and making it from scratch allows you to modify the recipe to your liking and also to make it a little healthier since you know all the ingredients. I also learned that by roasting the broccoli, it totally makes a difference in taste. The hubby and I thought the cheese sauce would make for an amazing fondue sauce too and couldn't get enough. I'll be hitting the gym tomorrow extra hard. :)

Ingredients
4 cups broccoli florets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss broccoli florets, olive oil and salt together. Spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes or just until color is vibrant.
2. Melt butter in skillet, and whisk flour. Add spices. Whisk well and cook for 2-3 minutes while constantly whisking. Add milk and bring to a boil while whisking. After it boils, let it thicken and turn burner off. Add cheese and whisk in to melt. Remove from burner or turn it off.
3. Spoon over broccoli before serving.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

100% without a doubt the best homemade macaroni and cheese recipe you will ever eat. The mix of cheeses give it a gourmet taste w/out taking away from the OG goodness of good ol' Mac and Cheese. This recipe has been tried and tested by some of the biggest food lover's I know. Another recipe from the kitchen of my bestie Elishia. I made it a couple times last winter and the entire family was happy. I normally only crave something like this when it's cold outside but I resurrected it for my step-dad's birthday since I'm pretty sure Mac and Cheese is one of his favorite foods ever. My sister-in-law made this recently for a friend's birthday also and served it with ribs. Great idea and great pairing! I think I'll make that combo next.

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
1/4 cup oil
1 stick of butter or margarine cut into pieces
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (or substitute 1/2 the Velveeta with a blend of grated sharp cheddar cheese, Jarlsberg and jalapeno cheese)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/16 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 egg
1 cup milk + a little more milk
1 (8oz.) bag shredded sharp Cheddar (2 cups)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
1. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water and 1/4 cup of oil. Bring to a boil. Cook macaroni in boiling water, approximately 9 minutes, until tender.
2. Slice butter and drop into crock pot. Turn crock pot on to melt butter while cooking pasta.
3. Drain macaroni, but do not rinse it. Place in slow cooker.
4. Add cubed Velveeta or grated cheese. Mix gently.
5. Mix egg, milk, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. If you like it spicy you can add 1/4 tsp. of Tabasco sauce to egg mixture. Pour over macaroni. Add additional milk if necessary, to come up to 1" from the top of the macaroni. Don't cover the macaroni with milk!
6. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over top of macaroni.
7. Sprinkle top of cheese with 1/4 cup of bread crumbs.
8. Cook 4 hours on Low or 2 hours on High.
9. 6-10 servings.

No Need to Roast these Cherry Tomatoes...

I have no idea what this recipe is called but the hubby and I crave it at least once or twice a week! It comes from the kitchen of my BFF Elishia. She recently taught me how to make them when I was visiting her. They are to-die for and healthy! A great low carb side dish that you can fill your plate up with. These are so easy and quick to make. They also taste great with a little bit of blue cheese sprinkled on top but you have to be careful not to put too much because it takes away from the flavor of the tomatoes and their simple ingredients. We've had them both ways and prefer them w/out the blue cheese.

Ingredients:

1 entire container of cherry or grape tomatoes (you can use either but I prefer grape tomatoes because they are smaller by about 1/2 inch and easier)

about 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of fresh, minced garlic

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (the amount here is preference so just eyeball it)

Directions:

In a medium pan, "infuse" the olive oil with garlic and red pepper. To do this you just let the olive oil heat up on low and then simmer with the garlic and red pepper flakes in it for about 10 minutes or so. Add your tomatoes and cook on medium-low for 15 minutes or until they are all popped. You can tell when they are ready by touching them with a fork to see if they are nice and soft.

As you can see, it's not a difficult recipe and you can really make it your own. Try it. You'll like it!

Cucumber Salad

Cucumber salad is a healthy side dish to make at home or bring to a pot-luck. It is more a summery dish but delicious any time!

Ingredients:

4-5 cucumbers

1 16oz. tub of light sour cream

3 tbsp. white vinegar

1tbsp. sugar

1 whole onion

Directions:

Peel and slice all cucumbers. Slice onion into rings. In a large salad bowl, mix cucumbers, onions and rest of ingredients and voila!