Balsamic Roasted Broccoli and Ranch Potato Salad

I've been in a huge cooking mood lately (and my checking account isn't happy with all the trips to Kroger I've been making). Anytime I get a new cookbook or pull out an old one, I always find myself flipping through until I get to the dessert section. I love to bake. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that about me though. I keep telling myself to work in the cooking department rather than the baking department for a while because man can't live off desserts alone, right? Or can they.....I suppose they can but maybe with a severe case of diabetes and major blood sugar problems. ANYWAYS I'm super bad at looking at food recipes in cookbooks and deciding if they'd be good or not so I just like playing with stuff and making my own recipes. Tonight I made a childhood favorite that mom still makes a lot, oven-bbq chicken. It's really easy. All you do is boil chicken until it's done, shred it, and mix in your favorite barbecue sauce. I haven't decided on my favorite recipe for bbq sauce so I just used Sweet Baby Rays. After you mix the sauce and shredded chicken, place it in a baking dish at about 400 degrees until the bbq caramelizes. It's yummy. But for my side dishes, I roasted broccoli and made a potato salad. Yall should try them. They're good ways to switch up your usual broccoli and potatoes.

I know I'm really bad about timing my food, but I promise I'll work on that!!

Balsamic Roasted Broccoli

(enough for 1 person. Easy to make for more than one though!)

4 oz. fresh broccoli

1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat to 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients in bowl. Place on cookie sheet and bake until tender.


Ranch Potato Salad

(enough for 2 people)

4 medium sized red potatoes, quartered

1 1/2 Tbsp. dry ranch dressing mix

3 Tbsp. mayo

1 t. prepared mustard

1 Tbsp. sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender when you poke them with a fork. Drain off all water and add the other ingredients. Combine well and serve!

Creamy Corn Dip

This stuff is amazing yall!! You've seriously got to try this. It's really easy too. I would suggest serving it with Fritos but I only had Ritz crackers in my pantry. Not bad but Fritos would definitely be perfect. I like using Neufchâtel cheese instead of cream cheese because it's a little bit healthier.

Creamy Corn Dip

Adapted from Taste of Home

1- 8 oz. package Neufchâtel cheese (or cream cheese)

2 Tbsp. sour cream

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. dried cilantro

2 (15 oz) cans of corn, drained

1 (10 oz.) can of Rotel, drained (I used original but if you like things spicy go for hot)

1 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese

Mix all ingredients together with electric mixer. Bake in small baking dish (9x9 or pie dish) at 350 degrees until bubbly. I think I baked it about 20 to 30 minutes but I forgot to time it....If you're feeling fancy serve it in a bread bowl!

Lemon Pineapple Sherbet

Adapted from Paula Deen's recipe

This sherbet is so delicious, you'd never think it is so easy to make!! Paula Deen calls for whole milk but I used 2% to make it a little healthier and it turned out perfect.

½ gallon (2 quarts) 2% milk

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with juice

2 cups granulated sugar

Juice of 3 medium-sized lemons

In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients well. If the lemon juice causes the milk to curdle, don't worry about it. It won't cause any problems. Pour into your electric (or hand-cracked if you're feeling crazy) ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. After it is finished, place in freezer for about 1 hour to harden before serving.

Taco Burgers

I've got a question for you. What do you do when you're craving a taco and hamburger at the same time?? Seems like a tough dilemma, huh? Well this happened to me today, so I decided to combine the two and make Taco Hamburgers! Since I was only cooking for myself, I only made two burgers (gotta have one leftover for later, right!?). The seasoning I mixed up makes about an 1/8 of a cup, and I used about a half of a tablespoon for each burger and used the rest for my black beans but you should have enough for 4 burgers. If not, it's super easy to double.

Taco Burgers

Makes 2 burgers, but easily doubled

For the seasoning:

1 + 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. chili powder

For the burgers:

1/2 lb. ground round

~1 Tbsp. of the seasoning

Hamburger buns of your choice (I used whole-wheat)

Toppings:

I used pepper-jack cheese with jalapenos and some salsa, but just go crazy with it! Here are some other ideas: sour cream, avacado (Britt's suggestion), guacamole, and lettuce.

Light up the grill. Mix the seasoning ingredients in small bowl. Shape the ground round into 2 hamburger patties, and use about 1/2 tablespoon of the taco seasoning per hamburger patty. Grill until the inside temperature reaches 160 degrees and juices run out clear. Top with whatever your heart desires, then eat up!

Lemon-Blueberry Bread

I'm going to be honest: I didn't like this bread right after I made it. Ina Garten calls for a lemon simple syrup and a lemon glaze to be poured over this already lemony bread. I was overwhelmed with lemon and very tempted to throw it away. I'm so glad I didn't though!! After this bread set out for a few hours, the syrup settled more evenly throughout the bread and it tastes amazing! I had to wrap it up and stick it in the freezer because I was eating it all!! I only had 2 eggs and the recipe calls for 3 so my loaf came out a little flat.

Just look at how moist this bread is!!!

For the Loaf:
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, rinsed (I used frozen and I didn't let them thaw because I didn't want my bread to turn blue from all the juice)

For the Lemon Syrup:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely. To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. The glaze will harden after about 15 minutes.

Accidental Chocolately Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

Yes, I know that's one mouthful of a title, but it's all relevant-I promise. A while back, I saw this recipe for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip and I've been dying to make it. I've been on antibiotics for an ear infection so I've been resting at my apartment hoping it'll speed up my recovery a little bit. (Will this allergy season ever go away!?) I couldn't think of a better time to be stuck inside because there was a HOUSE marathon on USA today. Definitely one of my favorite shows. I wish he and Cuddy would just get back together already! I don't like all the stupid stuff he's been doing since they broke up! Anyways besides watching HOUSE and doing a little late-spring cleaning, I've been in a huge cooking mood. I noticed all the brown sugar I have in the pantry and thought about making some chocolate chip cookies which made me then think about the chocolate chip cookie dough dip! The recipe says to melt the butter and brown sugar and then add the cream cheese and powdered sugar, followed by the chocolate chips. Well impatient me couldn't wait until it cooled down to add the chocolate chips so they all melted. That's where the "Accidental Chocolately" part comes from. And my newly found love for peanut butter came in handy too! Here's how I modified the original recipe:

Accidental Chocolately Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 8 oz. block cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided

2 Tbsp peanut butter (I used creamy)

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, cream cheese, peanut butter, 1/2 cup chocolate chips and powdered sugar and beat with handheld mixer. After it has cooled down, add the other half cup of the chocolate chips. Serve with Nilla Wafers, graham crackers, or just do what I did-eat it straight from the bowl with the biggest spoon in your kitchen! Don't forget to refrigerate leftovers-not that you'll have any :)

*P.S.- If whoever stole my patio furniture is reading this, I want it back ASAP!*

Fresh Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1 cup butter, cut in cubes

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350˚. Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl until blended, not creamed. Add flour and combine until you have a coarse crumb. Line a 9x13 dish with aluminum foil and lightly spray. Press the shortbread crumbs into the bottom of the dish and bake for 20 minutes.

3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

2 cups fresh raspberries

Spray the exposed aluminum foil with Pam. Spread jam over crust then sprinkle with fresh berries.

8 0z. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

Zest and juice from 1 medium size orange

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the above ingredients together and pour over raspberries. Spread so the mixture will be evenly distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes until set. Cool on counter for about an hour and then place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Lift aluminum foil out of dish and cut into squares.