As we head into the middle of August it’s safe to assume many of us are gearing up for football season!!! It’s also safe to say we all will be attending at least one football party this fall and I have the perfect recipe to share with your friends. Not only is it delicious, it’s another fast and simple recipe that you probably already have the ingredients you need in your fridge. I hope you enjoy… Thanks mom for another great recipe! Go Pirates and Noles!!

Buffalo Wing Dip

1 8oz block cream cheese
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
3 cups frozen breaded chicken, cut up
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Pre heat oven to 350.

Spread room temperature cream cheese in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Cook chicken according to package directions, then cut into small cubes and spread over cream cheese.
Drizzle over with ranch dressing then wing sauce.
Top with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with crackers or corn chips. Yum!!!

Normally I like to share recipes that are pretty simple to make with few ingredients but I couldn’t pass up this delicious recipe for Turkey Burgers I saw on a recent episode of Oprah-- which by the way who doesn’t love Oprah?
The episode was “Oprah’s Favorite Things for Summer” and she started the show with this recipe. Apparently she went to one of Donald Trump’s hotels and fell in love with this burger. My husband and I tried them this weekend and while they do take some time to make, they were definitely worth it!!

Ingredients
• 1/4 cup scallion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
• 3 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 4 lbs ground turkey breast
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco chipotle pepper sauce
• 1 lemon, juice and zest of, grated
• 1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Major Grey chutney, pureed
Directions
1. Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.
2. Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Fresh Fruit Dip

This will probably be one of the easiest recipes I will post to my blog, however it’s also one of my absolute favorites. It only has 2 ingredients!! I also think this is a perfect July 4th recipe. It’s delicious with all kinds of fruit but I think strawberries taste the best with it. You probably don’t need to even write it down…

1 jar of Jett Puffed Marshmallow Crème
1 package of Cream Cheese (fat free and light won’t work)

Directions:
Mix together until creamy (no lumps) and then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cantaloupe, water melon, blue berries and pineapple are good fruits to try with it too.

Enjoy and Happy 4th!!!!!

I spent this past weekend in Savannah so I thought it was only fitting that I would feature another Paula Deen recipe. By the way, if you have not been to Savannah, (home of Paula Deen) I would highly recommend it. It’s about a 5 and half hour drive from Greenville and the scenery, history, food and architecture is some of the best on the East Coast. It’s a great weekend getaway. 

As for the corn salad, my Aunt Sue is the one who introduced me to this recipe and while the ingredients may sound a little strange it’s one of my favorite side dishes. The recipe is served cold and I think it’s such a delicious and refreshing side to go along with any other picnic type food (perfect for summer). Just like my other favorite recipes I have shared, this too, is very easy to make and can serve a lot of people if need be.

Ingredients
• 2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) bag crushed Fritos chili cheese corn chips (barbeque corn chips work as well)

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients (except chips) into serving dish and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving put a layer of Frito’s on top. Don’t put the chips on too early because you don’t want them to get soggy=0)

Have you ever been on your way out to a family get-together or a party and have been asked to bring something last minute? If you have, then this is the recipe for you!!!  My mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe and I think it’s one of the most clever desserts out there. For as easy and inexpensive as it is to make—it feeds a lot of people and will work for just about any occasion including birthdays, football parties and holidays. My husband and I actually had it at our wedding rehearsal dinner. And did I mention it’s delicious !?!?! Here it goes…

Ingredients:
- Ice Cream Sandwiches (the number depends on how big of a cake you would like to make). I normally buy two boxes for a 9x13 dish.
- Tub of cool whip
- Marchiano Cherries
- Chocolate Sauce

Directions:
In what ever size dish you would like…lay ice cream sandwiches, cookie part down, across bottom of dish (as many as you can fit). Then spread a layer of cool whip. Cover cool whip with another layer of ice cream sandwiches still cookie side flat but lay them the opposite direction. Spread another layer of cool whip. On top place how ever many cherries you would like and then pour syrup in what ever design you would like on top. Freeze until ready to serve.

I hope you enjoy and be creative with this simple recipe. You can mix it up by buying the Neapolitan sandwiches or mixing in different kinds of candy. I think M&M’s would be a good treat inside too!

An ice cream cake makes a great dish to bring to a football party!

This recipe is not only a great breakfast recipe--- but these muffins could also be used as a desert or a mid day snack =0) This is one of my favorite recipes passed down to me from my mom and I always ask her to make them for me when I come home. For some reason food always taste better when someone else makes it… especially your mom=0) I hope you enjoy.

-1 cup of Butter
- 2 cups of Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- ¼ TSP salt
- 4 cups Flour
- 6 Large VERY RIPE bananas
- 2 Tsp. Baking Soda
-1 bag of Mini Choc. Chips

Mix ingredients pour into muffin pan and bake at about 350 for 20- 30 minutes. It should make about 2 dozen if I remember correctly. I hope you enjoy.

Growing up I spent a lot of summers at my family’s beach house in Virginia. Looking out at Colonial beach there was one thing we always had plenty of…. blue crabs and Old Bay Seasoning. While my next recipe doesn’t include crabs, it does have my favorite ingredient, Old Bay. The recipe below is a Rachel Ray recipe and was introduced to our family through my brother-in-law Craig. He’ll be the first to admit he has a crush on Mrs. Ray, but we’re all ok with that because he’s one of the best chefs in our family and if Rachel Ray and Craig say it’s good then we can trust it =0)

Shrimp Orzo Pasta

1 lemon
1 bag of fresh spinach
1 pkg of cherry tomatoes
1 box of orzo pasta
½ cup olive oil
Shrimp (as many as you would like.. I normally use about a pound.)
1 Tablespoon Old Bay

First:
Mix olive oil, lemon zest and old bay together in bag with shrimp and let marinate in fridge.

Then:
Cut stems off of spinach and cut leaves into smaller pieces. Cut tomatoes in half. Cook orzo pasta and drain. Put tomatoes and spinach in pasta and add lemon juice. The heat form the pasta will help cook and wilt the spinach. Then cook the shrimp in a pan about 2-3 minutes on each side and add to pasta. I like to add extra old bay… you can never have too much.

For my next recipe I thought I would venture into the breakfast world. I got this recipe from my sister Erica. I love to make it when I have company staying with us because like the other’s I have shared with you… it is so easy to make and it easily serves 4-6 people. I like to serve fresh fruit with it as well. I hope you enjoy and don’t forget, breakfast can also make a good dinner for a change!!!

French Toast Casserole

1 Loaf of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Bread
6 Large Eggs
1 ½ Cups of Half and Half
1 ½ Cups milk
1 Tsp. Vanilla
5 Tsp. Butter

Directions:
Grease 9 X 13 casserole dish. Cut up loaf in squares and save 1 ½ cups in zip lock bag, Mix eggs, vanilla, half and half, milk in bowl. Pour over bread in pan and press down. Refrigerate over night!! The next morning melt butter and pour into your zip lock bag with bread and shake so butter covers all of bread cubes. Then put cubes on top of dish.
Bake for 45-50 minutes at 375. Serve with syrup!

Ok so I realized another reason on why I love food so much. I also love to travel and while I might not be able to go everywhere I would like to go and stay for as long as I would like… food can help take you to other places in the world (at least for a few minutes). It’s true, I’m not crazy. Think about it, a nice Mexican meal can take your mind to the beautiful beaches of Cozumel. And that’s why I like making this next recipe I’m going to share with you. “Aloha Chicken & Rice”. While I have never been to Hawaii this meal reminds me of how much I want to go!! But, what I love most about his recipe is how easy it is to make.

Aloha Chicken & Rice

2 cups of white rice, uncooked
2 cans (8 oz. each) pineapple tidbits in juice, undrained
1 can (14 ½ oz.) chicken broth
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup Shake ’N Bake Original Seasoned Coating Mix
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, or chicken strips

Preheat oven to 400. Mix rice, pineapple with juice, broth and green peppers in 13x9 inch baking dish.
Measure ½ cup coating mix and place in plastic bag; coat chicken as directed on pkg. Place chicken on rice mixture
Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

For extra flavor try a little Teriyaki sauce too! =0)

Have you ever really thought about how much our lives revolve around food? It almost completely does!  After all, food is one the 3 essentials of life.  Going to dinner is probably one of the most popular dates… Just think of the number of hours you spend at the grocery store every year and I hate to admit it but a lot of us ask the question “what are we doing for dinner?” right after lunch. With that said, I think we should enjoy food as much as possible!! =0)

My husband and I have a new favorite snack food at the house. Fresh Homemade Salsa. It’s pretty healthy too!

Here’s what you need:
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup finely diced onion ( I use a sweet onion)
5 Serrano chiles, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime juice
Directions:
Just mixed together, serve with chips. I really like the lime Tostitos.