20 Apr 2015

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

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Pink Ombre Cupcakes

I’ve actually made a full menu this week and I’m trying not to eat out as much (especially with the boys).  I’ve also done some things prior to menu planning in order to help us save money.

1.  Start with my freezer.  Since it is my smallest place for food, I don’t like to let it get too crowded (maybe in a few more years I’ll have room for a deep freezer).  Then I plugged in some ingredients into Pinterest and came up with a few meals.

2.  I made a shelf in my pantry for all the items I will need this week.  That will help to ensure I have everything I need and also help in time management.  It is much easier to look on one shelf than 5 shelves, especially with two toddlers wanting to help.

English Muffin Pizzas (Little Chef recipe coming soon)

Chili (freezer meal) and spoon bread

Vietnamese Chicken Salad.  Good thing about this salad is the one thing I needed to buy was some of the produce.  I love having a diversely-stocked pantry and spice cabinet

Fusili pasta with veggie sauce

Oreo Brownies with homemade chocolate sauce and homemade caramel sauce and whipped cream (for a grill out with friends)

Broccoli Chicken Potato bake

TJ Orange Chicken with rice and sugar snap peas

Berry muffin pancakes

Orange Currant muffins

What are you making this week?

13 Apr 2015

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

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IMG_6020

This is a bit of a different week for us, but I still always want to be about using my creative nature in the kitchen for my family and others.

And lest you think I always cook, the drive-thru ladies at our neighborhood McDonalds and the guy at Wendy’s know us!  And our boys love making them laugh and saying hello!

A pound cake for a special person and a guest coming over (real whipped cream on the way, folks)

Chicken salad with croissants

Carrot Ginger Soup (bc I want comfort food when its supposed to rain all week – where’s the sun?)

 

10 Apr 2015

Dark Chocolate Pecan Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

by | posted in: chocolate, food, north carolina, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Dark Chocolate Pecan Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

I didn’t grow up on homemade cookies.  The closest we got were a couple of Christmas goodies I remember my Mom training me to bake and Publix cookies.  Oreos were always my favorite and of course I was a Girl Scout so the peanut butter sandwich cookies were my favorite thin – now, it is the Thin Mints, hands down.

But, now, sometimes, I wake up thinking about chocolate chip cookies.  Who knows?  But, I woke up this morning thinking about cookies.  It was raining.  I have boys.  Friends were coming over.  No time to go to the store.  This is how these amazing cookies started.

A new friend gave me some toffee on a recent trip to the Triangle.  I had mini chips in the freezer.  My mom always stocks my pantry full of pecans, and I had bars of chocolate in my baking stash.

These are the perfect chewy consistency.  Nice and big but not too flat.  I tweaked a recipe and it turned out great.  I hope you enjoy!

Chewy Cookies

Print
Dark Chocolate Pecan Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Cookies
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 24-30
 
These chewy chunky toffee cookies will be a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ¾ tsp sea salt
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • Half cup each:
  • chopped toffee
  • mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • chopped milk chocolate
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray baking sheets.
  2. Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
  3. Cream together the butter and the sugars.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla.
  5. Add in the dry ingredients and stir together.
  6. Fold in the add-ins.
  7. Do not over mix
  8. I got 6 cookies per baking sheet - so these are pretty generous cookies.
  9. Bake for 12 minutes.
  10. Do not over bake.
  11. Let cool for 1-2 minutes and remove to a cooling rack. If you let them stay on the baking sheets, the toffee will stick to the pan.
 

10 Apr 2015

Cast Iron Macaroni and Cheese

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen, Uncategorized | 0

Cast Iron Macaroni and Cheese

My husband would quickly tell you that my favorite meal would either consist entirely of macaroni and cheese or maybe just throw a good medium steak topped with onion and mushrooms on the side for some more protein.

So, since my younger son is teething and longs for soft foods, I decided today would be the day to make some homemade cheesy goodness for their dinner – and to have as a side to some leftover bbq sliders for my husbands dinner.

 

 

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Cast Iron Macaroni and Cheese
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Pasta
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Southern, baked, double the cheese, heavy cream - how delicious!
Ingredients
  • 1 box elbow pasta, cooked to al dente according to directions
  • ½ stick unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 T dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • 1½ cup heavy cream
  • 1½ cup whole milk
  • 7 oz grated sharp white cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup italian bread crumbs
  • 2 T cold unsalted butter
  • 2 oz shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to directions. Cook with oil and salted water - so your pasta doesn't clump together.
  2. In a 10 inch cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk together until no clumps remain.
  3. Add in milk and cream and spices.
  4. Add in sharp cheddar.
  5. When all is blended together, fold in pasta.
  6. When pasta is all coated, sprinkle on Italian bread crumbs.
  7. Cut the butter in tiny pieces and place on top of the pasta.
  8. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese.
  9. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes until cheese on top is melted and browned.
16 Mar 2015

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

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Apple Peel

I have a love hate relationship with Pinterest and Instagram.

Pinterest gives me so many options but sometimes the recipes just aren’t any good. Then I’ve wasted a meal and may not even serve it to my family and resort then to pbj or cereal!

Instagram shows me lovely ways to style food and tells me what food days are coming – and I usually tend to bake or cook something that I don’t need.  But its fun!

We love brinner at our house and I have tons of eggs in the fridge.

I do love to bake with the boys and these will be a fun treat to have in the house.  I just can’t eat them all!

Love fish tacos.  Nothing beats grilled or fried mahi but we have swai so I will use it.

 

 

 

2 Mar 2015

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

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Revolution Donuts

I still cook, I promise!  I just don’t post it on here because I have really found hardly any time for blogging!

So, since I still cook, thought I would show you what is going down in my kitchen this week.

Its been 4 years tomorrow that my Granny passed away.  So, I’m making her chicken and rice, her most famous meal, tomorrow.  We’ll see how it turns out.

Two orders of sweet potatoes coming up this week:

Sweet Potatoes with a delicious herb sauce

Sweet potatoes, sausage, and swiss chard – yummy pot when it gets colder again this week.

For breakfasts we have cereal, granola, fruit.

I want to try these this week and see if my boys go for them.

What are you cooking this week?

 

22 Dec 2014

This Christmas Week in the Charming South Kitchen

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Merry Christmas week everyone!  We do celebrate Christmas in this home – Jesus!!  So thankful that Jesus came and that we have a reason to love this holiday season.

One of the sure ways that I love is through food.  So, this is a busy cooking week:

Balsamic Pot Roast, crockpot mac and cheese, veggies, oreo brownies with fun Christmas Sundae toppings

Meatballs and pasta, salad, and lemon mousse cups for Christmas day lunch with some sweet friends who are coming over.

Affogato and hot chocolate for the mister on Christmas Eve (part of his Christmas present)

 

1 Dec 2014

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

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Coconut Cupcakes

Boy this blog has been slow.

Honestly, I’m getting disillusioned by blogs and I’m so busy.  My life is noisy.  So when I have down time, I don’t necessarily want to open a computer and work.  Even if it is just spouting my opinion.

I do still love recipes, love to cook, love to write, but I just am more selective about what I put on here.

Thanks for reading – just sharing with you what’s going on!

I’m doing no breads this week so if there are breads here it is for my Misters and my MIL who is still here.  I may break it for a bite of a Sublime donut for donut day, but that’s about it!

Spaghetti

Leftover Pot roast with rice and veggies – this is so good and easy!

Brinner

These granola bars

This kale and avocado salad

And leftovers.

 

17 Nov 2014

This Week in the Charming South Kitchen

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 2

Train cupcakes

Sorry for the absence all week.  Last week was the toughest week of parenting to date.  And I know there will be more.

But, when life is tough I’ve come to not turn to blogging.  I really did find solace in the Word last week and journaling some prayers for mommas this morning.

But, I also didn’t turn to cooking, either. When I’m trying to eat healthy, I don’t always want to cook.  So, poor husband didn’t have a lot to eat last week.  One of my comforting things to do is to bake – well, that means I eat it – which won’t go well for me when I’m struggling because then I will eat all the cookies.  NOT GOOD. But delicious.

So, this week, here we go again!

This leftover soup tonight with some homemade hummus.

Chicken Korma – finally, if I can find Paneer without haven’t to go to every grocery store in Atlanta.

Turkey enchiladas.  I didn’t get to make them for my friend who visited this past weekend, so since I have all the ingredients I will make them for us this week – and my boys like them.

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Orange muffins for our end of the semester Bible study brunch.

A strawberry elmo cake for a neighbors birthday party.

What are you cooking this week?

 

8 Nov 2014

Pepper Jack Chicken Enchiladas

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen, Uncategorized | 0

Pepper Jack Chicken Enchiladas

Some moms ask me how in the world I make dinner and bake and cook the way I do with two littles two and under.  Well, its not always easy and you have to do what works for your family (like mine is really easy or fast food healthy-ish lunches) and leftovers so I’m not cooking everyday.  My mister also gets home at the boys’ bedtime, so I can cook our dinner as they are eating theirs.

So, I whipped this together in a couple of steps.  I relied on Publix with a Mojo Rotisserie Chicken.  Pulled it apart a few days ago and made stock.  Froze the stock for later.  Kept the chicken in a bowl in the fridge.  Then as the boys were eating their dinner, I was working in the kitchen right beside them (to make sure they didn’t toss things on the floor, which did happen) – I was talking with them, playing with them, showing them what I was doing (I do want my boys to love to cook if that is the Lord’s plan).  These were in the oven in less than 20 minutes.  Then as they baked, I had time to put my younger to bed and read to my older one, then come back, put some cheese on top while my older was watching some Thomas the Train waiting on Daddy to arrive.  Easy!

 

 

Print
Pepper Jack Chicken Enchiladas
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8-10
 
Spicy creamy healthy chicken enchiladas
Ingredients
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • evoo
  • small can green chilies, diced
  • ¾ cup black beans, rinsed
  • ¾ cup corn
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • ¼ tsp each cumin, pepper, salt
  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
  • 8-10 soft taco size whole wheat tortillas
  • 1 can green chili enchilada sauce
  • 1½ cup grated pepper jack cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Spray 9x13 pan with pam
  3. In a cast iron skillet, heat oil and saute onions for about 3 minutes.
  4. Add garlic and chilis, saute another 2 minutes.
  5. Add beans, corn, spices, and soup. Stir until heated through.
  6. Add chicken and stir until combined and warm.
  7. Scoop filling into tortillas and roll
  8. Place seam side down in 9x13 pan.
  9. Top with enchilada sauce.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes.
  11. Top with cheese and bake another 10 or until cheese is melted.
  12. Serve with avocado, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cilantro, tortilla chips, etc.