Cheesy Baked Mash

About 10 years ago, I created this recipe for my daughter who was a picky eater.  I love this dish because it’s different from your typical mashed potatoes and is really easy to make.

6 Yukon Gold potatoes

½ teaspoon of salt
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoons of margarine
½ cup of grated cheddar cheese
¼ onion (blended or chopped fine)
1 cup of baby spinach
Cooking spray

 

Preheat oven on 350 degrees.  Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil on high (approx. 2 quarts) add salt to water.  Peel potatoes and cut into eighths. Add potatoes to boiling water and turn stove temperature down to medium. Cook for 10 to 15 minute. Using a steamer, steam spinach for 3 minutes.  To test whether the potatoes are cooked, take a fork and stick in a piece of the potato, if the fork goes in easy and potato breaks then it's cooked. Drain potatoes and put in a large bowl.  Add butter.  Using a fork, press potatoes to get out the lumps and mix in the butter.  Add milk, onions, cheese and spinach and blend with a mixer until smooth. Grease dish with cooking spray and pour mixture in 9x9 baking dish. Use fork to even the mixture and make a pattern.  Bake on 350 degrees for a total of 50 minutes until golden brown.

 

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

When my sister got married fifteen years ago, she decided to take cooking classes because she did not know how to cook.  When she was done with her classes, she invited the family over for dinner.  I was apprehensive in trying the food that she cooked, but everything looked and tasted delicious.  To top everything off, she served bread pudding with bourbon sauce for dessert.  The whole family was pleasantly amazed and I immediately got the recipe from her.  I now make this recipe for family get-togethers and mostly around the holidays.  This dessert by far is my favorite and I hope you will also enjoy it!

Ingredients for bread pudding

5 eggs

5 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 lbs. of butter (melted)

1 1/2 French bread

1 3/4 cups of sugar

1 quart (2 pints or 4 cups) of half & half

Chocolate chips (OPTIONAL)

Walnuts (OPTIONAL)

Ingredients for bourbon sauce

(1 pint) 2 cups of heavy whipping cream

(1 pint) 2 cups of half & half

One pack of instant vanilla pudding

2-oz. bourbon

Bread Pudding 

Grease two half quarter pan

in large bowl cut bread into cubes

melt butter & add cinnamon & sugar

coat bread cubes & toss evenly

and add to pan

mix in chocolate chips

Preheat oven on 350 degrees.
In a separate bowl beat eggs slightly and add 1 quart of half and half and mix with blender.

Pour mixture over bread crumbs and press cubes into mixture to absorb.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour (do the knife test)

Bourbon Sauce

Add 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and 2 cups of half & half in a bowl add packet of vanilla pudding and 2oz of bourbon.  Mix with a blender and chill in the refrigerator.

Serve bread pudding warm topped with cold bourbon sauce.

Alfredo

My daughter loves Alfredo, crab Alfredo is the only dish that she’s ever ordered from Red Lobsters.  Nine years ago someone from my workplace shared his recipe for making Alfredo with me.  I have used it ever since and my daughter loves it!  Since then, I have tweaked it a bit by adding feta cheese and pesto sauce I find that it adds so much more flavor.  It too has my daughters’ stamp of approval! 

Pasta

8oz Pasta of your choice (Ravioli, Fettuccini or Tortellini)

Alfredo

1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

3 teaspoons of parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon of feta cheese

1 teaspoon of pesto sauce (optional)

Add Alfredo ingredients as listed above in a saucepan and stir.  Bring to boil then turn on low for about 10 minutes, stir occasionally.  Boil pasta according to instructions on package.  Drain pasta and add sauce to pasta.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top

Optional

Whenever I bake a chicken I cut up the chicken breast and freeze it in a Ziploc bag.  I later use it to put in the Alfredo.  This recipe would also go well with some cooked shrimp or crab.

Jamaican Guinness Punch

I learned this recipe from my mother about twenty years ago.  This drink is very well known in the island of Jamaica, but some people add other ingredients such as eggs, oatmeal, vanilla ice-cream or vanilla nutriment drink. This drink is also called Stout or Guinness Stout.   I have received many compliments and peple have told me that my Guinness Punch is the best they have ever tasted!  People often think that I put extra ingredients in this drink and I secretly smile and allow them to think that I do, but I've never revealed my recipe until today. 

Ingredients

3 x 12 fluid oz. bottles of Guinness Stout

2 x 14 oz. cans of condensed milk

1/3 cup of evaporated milk

1 tablespoon of grated nutmeg

¾ cup of Wray & Nephew White Rum

Add ingredients in the order above and whisk with a hand blender.  Serve cold with ice.

Yummy Moist Tilapia

Ingredients

2 Tilapia Filets

Sprinkle of black pepper (front & back)

Sprinkle of garlic powder (front & back)

Sprinkle of onion powder (front & back)

Sprinkle of Badia complete seasoning (front & back)Yummy 

3 tablespoons Mr. Yoshida Sauce

3 tablespoons white wine

1/2 teaspoon of sweet chili sauce

I created this recipe about a year ago.  One day, I came home from work and wanted to quickly “throw” something together.  It has been a hit ever since.  The same recipe can be applied to chicken cutlets and Swai Fish.

Wash tilapia and add ingredients above, bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes broccoli, and roll.

Simple BUT Good

I love to cook food for others to enjoy.  I have often been told that I should open a restaurant, but I don't think that I would be able to manage that.  Some of the recipes that I will be sharing with you I have been using for many years and have tweaked them a little to make it my own.

The first recipe that I would like to share is my Pineapple Delight Cake.  An ex co-worker shared this recipe with me about 17 years ago and it has been a success ever since.  I love this cake because it is quick and easy to make.  It doesn’t taste sweet, and is refreshing.

The Cake Mix
One box of Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake
3 eggs
1 stick of butter
½ cup of water
Mix according to the instructions on the box.
Separate batter into two 8 ½   9” cake tins & bake according to box instructions

Frosting
¾ Pint heavy whipping cream
3.4oz Packet of instant vanilla pudding
8oz can of crushed pineapple in juice (strained)
Small can of mandarin in segments

Blend heavy whipping cream & instant pudding together until it thickens
Stir in strained pineapple (do not stir too much otherwise it will curdle)

Once cakes are baked and cooled off, frost cakes with frosting mix
Decorate with mandarins