Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1 c. water

1/2 c. oil

1/4 c. poppy seeds

1 sm. box instant vanilla pudding

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

3 tbsp. lemon juice

Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes. Cool 5 minutes then transfer to a serving plate. While still warm, drizzle with glaze.

Tip: An easy way to transfer your cake from the pan to a plate: Place the plate upside down over cake and then flip. Much easier this way!!!

Lime Tilapia

Butter cooking spray
4 (6 to 8-ounce) tilapia fillets
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 lime finely grated zest and juice

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with a nonstick butter spray.
Rinse fish and pat dry; place on the prepared baking sheet. Season each fillet with salt, cracked pepper, lime zest and lime juice. Add fish to the pan. Place a pat of butter on each fillet and cook in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes.

Almond Rice Pilaf

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (1/2 a medium onion)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
2 cups chicken broth (approx. 1 can)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley leaves (or 1-2 tbsp. dried flakes)

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and almonds. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the onion is softened and the almonds are golden, stirring occasionally. Add the rice; cook and stir for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the broth and add the salt and the pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and garnish with parsley.

courtesy of Paula Deen

Chocolate Crock Pot Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (opt.)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2cups hot water

1. Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix flour, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, the baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Stir in milk, oil and vanilla until smooth. Stir in nuts. Spread batter evenly in slow cooker.
2. Mix brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa in small bowl. Stir in hot water until smooth. Pour evenly over batter in slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on high heat setting 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Turn off slow cooker. Let cake stand uncovered 30 to 40 minutes to cool slightly before serving. Spoon warm cake into dessert dishes. Spoon sauce over top.

*This can be served with whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.

Whipping cream: 1 cup whipping cream whipped together with 2 tbsp. sugar.

Herb crusted pork tenderloin

This is my girlfriend, Paula Deen's recipe. It was VERY flavorful and yummy. Plus....

EASY, EASY, EASY!!!!

1 (4 pound) boneless pork loin
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 2 tsp. store bought pre-minced garlic)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried rosemary

-Preheat oven to 475*F
-Place the pork loin on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. With your fingers, massage the mixture onto the pork loin, covering all the meat.
-Roast the pork for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425*F and roast for an additional hour. -Test for doneness using a meat thermometer. When the internal temp. reaches 155 degrees F, remove from oven. Allow to sit for about 20 minutes, as it will continue to cook while it rests.

Important note: I checked my roast after cooking for 20 minutes on 475 and it was almost burnt on the outside. I would suggest cooking it on 350* for one hour- one and half hours. That way it will be nice and tender.
P.S. I also served gravy over the top of my tenderloin. I just used one of those gravy packets. It made it DELICIOUS!

Green Bean Casserole

I promise this taste better than it looks. When I saw the ingredients to this recipe I thought they were an interesting combination. But, since I have a lot of Rice Chex cereal in food storage, I thought I'd give it a go.... and whattaya know? It actually tasted pretty good!
For those who aren't big veggie lovers, this was a tastier way to go, and EASY!





3 cups Rice Chex cereal
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup milk
2 cans cut green beans, drained
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/8 tsp. pepper

-Heat oven to 350*F. In a large Ziploc bag, place cereal, cheese and butter. Seal bag and shake gently to coat evenly; set aside.
-In ungreased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, mix beans, soup and pepper. Top with cereal mixture.
-Bake about 20 minutes or until beans are hot and topping is light golden brown.

Creamy crock-pot chicken

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can milk

1/4 cube of butter (2 tbsp.)

8 oz. cream cheese

1 pkg. Italian dressing

6 chicken breasts (I use 3 and shred it towards the end of cooking)

White rice (We just use Minute Rice)

-Mix soup, milk, and dressing together

-Cut cream cheese into cubes, add with butter

-Add chicken (they can be frozen)

-Slow cook for 8 hours on low

-serve over rice

Variations/ Tips:

To make this a less-fat meal, use 98% fat free chicken soup, skim milk, omit the butter, and use fat free cream cheese. This still tastes great with these variations.

Better than "You-Know-What" Cake

This is a classic, that everyone HAS to have a recipe to. This is a sure-to-love, never-fail cake!!

1 box of chocolate cake mix prepared according to package directions (You can also use, Devils Food or German Chocolate)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use about half)

butterscotch ice cream topping

8 oz. cool whip

2-3 Skor or Heath bars, broken into little pieces

When cake is slightly warm, poke a bunch of holes into it using the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour canned milk into holes, filling about halfway. Then fill the rest of the way with butterscotch. Spread cool whip over top of cake, then sprinkle with candy bars.

Keep Refrigerated and enjoy!!

Chicken Enchiladas

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 small, white onion, sliced
1 tsp. salt
1 can cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
1 small can diced, mild green chiles
shredded cheese (Mexican or cheddar)
flour tortillas

Boil chicken together with onion and salt. After chicken is cooked, shred it and put in medium bowl. Mix green chiles in with chicken. In a separate bowl mix together cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Take 1/4 of the creamed mixture and add it to the chicken and combine.
Take 2-3 tbsp. of cream mixture and spread on the bottom of a 9x13 in. casserole dish. Add about 2 tbsp. of chicken mixture to the center of a tortilla and roll-up. Do this until all of your chicken is gone. It should give you 6-8 enchiladas. Spread your remaining cream mixture over the top of your enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese. I like to add halved olives onto the top of each enchilada, so I know where to cut after they're done cooking.

Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Steak Diane- YUM!

4 (3-oz.) filet mignon medallions (we used ribeyes)
Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 cup fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup beef broth (or half of a can)
1 tbsp. A-1 steak sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. chives, finely chopped

Season both sides of steak with Montreal seasoning. If you like your steaks medium-well, grill until medium. If you like your steaks cooked medium, cook until medium-rare, etc. (They'll cook more in the skillet)
While your steaks are grilling prepare the sauce by adding garlic, butter and mushrooms to a large skillet. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in steak sauce, cream, and beef broth. Stir thoroughly and bring sauce to a simmer.
When steaks are done grilling, add to skillet and let simmer in sauce for approximately 3-5 minutes. Add chives. Place steaks on warm plates and spoon sauce and mushrooms over steaks.

This is heavenly!!!

Emeril's Red Potatoes

3/4 pound small red potatoes, quartered

1 1/2- 2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp. butter

salt and pepper

green onion for garnish (optional)

In a saucepan cover unpeeled potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook just until tender- do not overcook or potatoes will be watery. Drain well, return to pan with potatoes to low heat and shake to dry. Mix in garlic, cream, butter and salt and pepper to taste. Mash together with potato masher until ingredients are combined but potatoes are still a little lumpy.

Augrotin Halibut

Halibut can be a little bit pricey. I buy my fillets frozen from Costco and half them.

You can also use another white fish such as Tilapia if you want to save on costs.

4 pieces of Halibut

half of a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Lemon pepper seasoning

1 cup mayo (or use plain yogurt to make eat lighter)

2 cup grated Swiss cheese

seasoned bread crumbs

Place halibut in a greased baking dish. Squeeze lemon over fish and then sprinkle seasonings on top. Mix mayo and Swiss cheese and place over fish. Sprinkle bread crumbs over fish until completely covered. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until done.

*This is a really easy recipe and a sure-to-be family favorite!

Oven Roasted Potatoes

6-8 small red potatoes

olive oil

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup

extra seasonings if desired

Chop potatoes into 1 inch pieces and place in 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil until lightly covered. (Approx. 1/4 cup) Sprinkle with soup packet and bake in a 425* preheated oven for about 25 minutes, stirring half way through cooking time.

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

12 oz. bag ready-to-eat baby carrots

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. grated orange peel (optional)

~In a saucepan heat 1 inch of water to boiling. Add the carrots. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 6-9 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.

~In 12-inch skillet, cook remaining ingredients over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly.

~Stir in carrots and reduce heat to low. Cook until carrots are glazed and hot; approximately 3 minutes.